Chapter 103
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: New Allies
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Besides, considering Harrison’s wife, Isabella, his tastes and I were worlds apart.
Unlike me, Isabella was an innocent and maturely beautiful woman, as if painted with a fine brush.
Harrison adjusted his glasses and muttered again, almost like a sigh.
“After all the work I put into raising you…”
No, Harrison keeps saying he raised me. To be honest, he’s not wrong, but…
“Are you not coming?”
Ethan, who had gotten quite far ahead, turned around and asked us. Only then did Harrison and I start walking.
“But will the villagers be okay?”
At my question, Harrison looked puzzled. He didn’t know about the confrontation we’d had with the villagers when we rescued Emma and Victor.
I briefly explained to Harrison what had happened during the rescue. His face twisted into a grimace.
“How dare they try to do such a thing to you…”
Harrison muttered something uncharacteristically harsh, saying they deserved to be torn to shreds.
Watching Harrison take my problems as his own, I felt a sense of reassurance. He was the only elder I could rely on now.
Harrison usually wore a relaxed and calm expression, but perhaps due to the circumstances, I felt like I had seen many different sides of him in a short time.
‘Then again, in times like these, how many things can remain unchanged, just protecting themselves in their place?’
Meanwhile, Ethan, who had glanced at the fuming Harrison, made a suggestion to me.
“If anyone else like that appears, we’ll have no choice but to kick them out of the village, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Are you serious?”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Ethan.
“I know what you think of me, Miss Cherry, but being just is not synonymous with being a pushover.”
“I thought you were a pushover.”
After all, right after the world ended, Ethan had nearly gotten himself killed running around trying to save one more person.
“Miss Cherry, I’m not that soft. My nickname is Benton’s Mad Dog.”
I nodded with a dubious expression.
“Are you proud of the nickname ‘Benton’s Mad Dog’?”
“There’s no reason to dislike it, is there? Everyone trembles like an idiot at the mere mention of it.”
“Then should I be proud of ‘The Madwoman of the Abandoned House’ too?”
“That one’s a bit troublesome because it sounds like you’re actually mad.”
“It’s better than being called a dog, isn’t it?”
“Wow…”
Ethan let out a continuous stream of admiration. I had no idea what he was so impressed by, but I felt like asking would lead to a strange answer, so I decided to ignore it.
“What are you two doing right now?”
“…Sorry, Harrison. Let’s hurry.”
Suddenly embarrassed, I quietly shut my mouth. Of course, Ethan seemed completely unfazed and continued walking with his usual composure.
“By the way, who dared to call My Lady a madwoman?”
Harrison, Cherry’s so-called number one fan (a title mainly pushed by Amy), pressed on, his voice laced with a subtle anger.
If I confessed that many of the Brunel villagers called me that, I felt like Harrison might just burn down the chief’s house we were heading to, so I pretended not to know for a moment.
“Not everyone called me that. The… Star… Star… Star… Lady. A lot of people called me that, too.”
I was too embarrassed to say the name ‘Star Candy Lady’ out loud, so I mumbled, and Harrison frowned.
“The… Star… Lady?”
Beside me, Ethan burst out laughing. I said no more and simply remained silent.
In any case, we headed to the chief’s house, sharing such silly conversation.
Come to think of it, when did I start talking so comfortably with Ethan?
‘Ah. It was then.’
When he told me that whatever I had done before the world ended no longer mattered.
Ethan’s attitude toward me had definitely changed from that point on.
‘Whatever it is, it’s a positive sign, isn’t it?’
Ethan and I got along better than I thought.
I wondered if his brainwashing me into thinking of him as a partner had been effective, but Ethan was also the only one who genuinely enjoyed the nonsense I sometimes spouted.
‘It’s best not to listen to what trash says, Miss Cherry. It dirties your soul.’
Besides, it was Ethan who had reined me in when my uncontrollable emotions were surging…
Anyway, once we free the captured villagers, Ethan’s job will be done.
“Until you no longer need me, Miss Cherry…”
That’s what Ethan had said.
At this point, I secretly hoped Ethan would stay at the Happy House. But I had no way of knowing what he truly wanted.
‘Should I just throw a fit and say I still need him?’
But for some reason, I felt like if I did that, he would find me a bother and just leave. Ethan’s way of thinking seemed a bit odd, making it hard for an ordinary person to predict.
“This way.”
Ethan, looking as if he knew the village chief’s house very well, guided us.
The village chief’s house was in a residential alley one block behind Brunel’s main street.
It was a cozy, two-story house with a spacious yard.
Opening the door and stepping inside, we found a group of people huddled together, tightly bound with ropes to a pillar in the living room. There seemed to be about ten of them.
Upon seeing us, the people trembled, their faces filled with fear. It seemed they thought we were with the Kintne folks.
Only then did I regret not bringing Amy, who would have been a more familiar face to them.
But soon, a few of them recognized Ethan and me.
They writhed as if having a seizure, pointing at us with their whole bodies. They were all gagged, so they couldn’t speak.
Ethan, Harrison, and I calmly began to untie the people. Even so, I was on edge.
Was it because I had become prejudiced due to the villagers who had tried to kill Victor and Emma?
I couldn’t shake the thought that once untied, they might turn on us, lashing out in anger or trying to harm us.
If they showed any hostility, I was prepared to kick them out of the village without mercy, just as Ethan had said.
We had taken over this village. It was useless for them to claim prior ownership from before the collapse.
We were the ones who had driven out all the monsters and eliminated the intruders.
In the current situation where the social structure had collapsed, and our lives were under constant threat from monsters, it couldn't be helped. This was reality.
But unexpectedly, none of the villagers who had been trapped in the chief’s house showed any hostility or made any aggressive remarks.
It seemed their fear was far greater.
“W-what is all this…?”
The first to speak was the village chief, who had said he was sixty this year.
I asked the chief a question.
“I heard the survivors from Kintne were trying to kidnap you all?”
“Y-yes… Those bastards said they were going to take us as slaves. They said they needed workers to develop the mountain behind Brunel village…”
The one who answered my question was a middle-aged woman sitting next to the chief.
‘Workers to develop the mountain behind Brunel…’
I had thought the Kintne survivors were here to steal the remaining food and supplies from Brunel, but it seemed they had a bigger picture in mind.
Certainly, the mountain behind Brunel would be a valuable resource to secure. It was also the main reason I had ultimately decided to purchase the Happy House.
I looked around at the exhausted and disheveled people and said.
“Those people are dead. They were bitten by monsters. The monsters are all dead too.”
After those words, a heavy silence fell over the living room. Everyone seemed to find my words hard to believe, merely exchanging glances.
Then, the woman who had spoken earlier asked me again.
“Th-then who killed the monsters?”
“We did.”
“Just the three of you?”
“We have a group.”
The last to answer was Harrison.
Harrison had a calm, composed voice and an authoritative tone, the type of person who easily gained people’s trust and confidence.
“The village is safe now, with all intruders and monsters eliminated. However, to keep it safe, we need to build a defensive wall to block the entrance. We need your help to rebuild the village. Will you help us?”
At Harrison’s words, the villagers exchanged glances before one by one, they rose to their feet.
“How can we help?”
“You saved us, so of course we should help.”
The people looked at us with proactive attitudes and spoke.
Oh. As expected of Harrison. It seems there’s something different about lawyers. A compelling voice can calm the other party and instill trust. Harrison’s voice was exactly like that.
I made a mental note to have Harrison give any speeches from now on.
Just then, a middle-aged woman approached me and gently took both of my hands. Everyone’s attention turned to us.
“I actually saw you a few days ago, young lady.”
She began to speak with difficulty.
“Carrying the doctor on your back. And sending the monsters flying with that axe on your back.”
At the woman’s words, a murmur went through the crowd. Suddenly, as if a dam had broken, people came forward one by one, adding their own comments to the woman's story.
“I-I saw it too. I was hiding on the second floor of the weapon shop. It was you who took care of all the monsters out there, wasn’t it, Miss Sinclair?”
“Goodness. I saw it too. The young lady is strong as an ox. Thank you.”
The thanks kept pouring in. I scratched my cheek with an embarrassed expression, accepting their gratitude.
Wow, I can’t believe they all saw me carrying Knox. He would hate it if he found out.
“It was something our whole group did together. From now on, you all must remember that we can only survive if we all work together.”
I clasped their hands in return and said as much. They nodded repeatedly, their faces filled with emotion.
“You saved our lives. Our lives are yours now.”
“No. We don’t need anything that grand.”
My hesitant reply brought laughter from here and there. Thanks to that, I smiled too.
Fortunately, these people were different from those who had tried to kill Victor and Emma.
Yes. It’s because of people like them that even though the world has ended, there might still be hope.