episode_0255

I immediately started tearing open the map.

There was no need to tear it all off, I thought it would be enough to just tear about half of it.

It seemed like if I just got this far, I wouldn’t have any problems finding my way.

But a problem arose here.

Perhaps because I came here assuming that I was going to fight, I didn’t have a bag to carry a map with me.

Well, it wasn’t a very big problem.

All you have to do is go to the mountain, come back, grab the map, and run away.

Anyway, if I ran at full speed, there were no insects that could follow me.

I was sure because no one other than the wasp had followed me before.

Map, if you fold it neatly and run while holding it, you won’t have to worry about it getting damaged.

“Okay, I got the map.”

So now all that was left was to take a look at the mountain.

If you see it marked like that on the map, there must be something there.

Whatever it was, it was worth a look.

I thought maybe the Margrave was there.

It’s not like there’s a nuclear power plant on the mountain.

There are no black bears or tigers here, right?

It was clear that they had told him to run away because a strong mutant had settled there.

“And strong variants are my specialty.”

I muttered that and smiled.

I was probably the only one scouting like this.

Well, I thought I was overdoing it.

I couldn’t help it.

Even at this very moment, other people are probably working harder.

The same goes for Kang Si-woo and Noh Chang-hoon.

Everyone is living hard, abandoning their old way of life, so I couldn’t mess around here.

Above all, I had to work hard so that others would be less tired.

I was able to find out because I stayed with Noh Chang-hoon on campus the other day.

How hard he works while I’m not looking.

“ Sons.#◦

Really, even thinking about it now, I can’t help but swear.

To be honest, the first meeting was not good at all.

He and I tried to trick each other.

Moreover, they probably even had thoughts of killing each other if they had to.

It was obvious just by looking at that guy threatening me with a revolver.

And it was an uncomfortable relationship that started with her being a goddess and all.

Somehow we end up together, and then we split up for different purposes.

Aren’t we going to meet again and pretend to be a married couple?

It felt really strange to join forces with Kang Si-woo, the original protagonist, and overcome the crisis together.

Plus, he was the first real friend I made in my life.

I thought it would be better for me to struggle a little more than for my friend to suffer like that.

The situation had to be that way.

Now, if I don’t get more information here, it’s Noh Chang-hoon who will be causing trouble.

Kang Si-woo? He’s rolling around in Jinju now.

Unless the work was completed in an instant, the burden would fall entirely on Noh Chang-hoon.

Of course, he would roll over like a dog in his sleep every few days.

I was not a capable leader like Kang Si-woo.

He did not have the experience of leading the community for 10 years.

It’s not like you can cut down all the variants with a single sword.

It’s not like you can just focus on one goal and move forward endlessly.

However, he was not as versatile as Noh Chang-hoon.

I didn’t even remember most of the elements that made up this world.

You won’t be able to be active enough to become an officer in an army you’ve never been to.

I wouldn’t be able to proudly take on the role of second-in-command in any community.

What I could do was just limited.

Of course, if there were a few things I could do, I had no choice but to dig deep.

In some ways, you could say it was an obsession, and in some ways, you could say it wasn’t.

Wanting to do something for someone you care about must be a healthy mind.

“… Well, I’m just doing some introspection here.”

I said that and smiled.

It’s simple to think about, but it was funny to think about it like this.

Explore the mountain and obtain all the information you can.

Then he returns to the county office and returns with the map.

When I thought about it that way, I felt like my head was becoming clearer.

I laughed for a moment, then made up my mind.

Even if Margrave was there anyway, I didn’t think it would be so strong that it would be impossible to escape.

He must have transcendental abilities, but he had no mental abilities.

At most, it would be something like being able to transform the body or something like that.

“Okay, let’s do it!”

I didn’t feel like I was going to lose.

Unlike then, I have grown to the point where I am unrecognizable.

By the way, I thought it would be a good idea to do some preparation before hiking.

There was no need to eat, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring water.

“… Can’t I take anything from here?”

Even though it was a county office, it didn’t seem like there would be any food.

So I stayed still for a while and then went back down to the first floor.

It seemed like there was clearly a sign saying what was on each floor.

Of course, I felt like I could save something by referring to that.

And fortunately, the sign also had the words “bathroom” written on it.

If it was a typical bathroom I thought of, it was obvious that there would be something inside.

So, with high expectations, I kicked down the bathroom door and went inside.

“… Ah?”

The bathroom was almost empty.

There was nothing that could be called food.

It’s not that it wasn’t there at all, but it didn’t seem to be in an edible state.

I laughed hard as I looked at the biscuits with clear footprints.

Yeah, whatever.

I didn’t come here looking for food.

You came in expecting something like water to drink while hiking.

To be honest, I didn’t really need water.

However, I didn’t want to get in trouble by going there with the complacent mindset that there would be a spring on the mountain.

So, I rummaged around in the bathroom for a while and found a few useful things.

First, I saw 500mL bottled water in the corner of the bathroom.

There were only a few left, but I didn’t think there would be any problem with hiking at this level.

And the other one was a notebook covered in dust.

The notebook had a fairly familiar design.

It was a black one that was usually given out in places like companies.

I had a few lying around at home so I remembered them.

Did you say that since there was no one to take them, I could just ask for them and get five or six at a time?

Unlike what is so common, the owner of this notebook seemed to have written it very diligently.

I opened my notebook and started reading it.

The first part of the notebook contained articles related to just working.

Like numbers or names. There was also a schedule written down.

And the contents of the notebook changed drastically starting from exactly halfway through.

“… Ugh.”

I frowned and started reading my notebook again.

The man, who introduced himself as a civil servant belonging to this county office, continued writing in his diary.

I thought I had just settled in, but the situation has erupted and I am confused.

I can’t come up with a solution, but people keep asking for something.

Killed a zombie for the first time. It was disgusting, perhaps because it resembled a human.

In this way, every emotion and thought he felt was written down in detail.

I didn’t like this very much.

Maybe the person who wrote this diary is still alive because of luck.

… Anyone can tell that there is a greater possibility that he is not alive.

Of course, I felt bad because it felt like I was reading a will or something.

But I couldn’t help it. Because it was the only information that could figure out this situation.

So, without looking away, I started reading the notebook steadily.

If there was any information about this situation here, I had no choice but to bring it.

“… There is.”

The diary contained information about plants that eat people.

There were many different types. A sticky spatula or something. Like Parisian hell or something like that.

The names of things I had only seen in pictures in books were written in detail in the diary.

Of course people weren’t stupid.

I knew that I had to move to avoid those plants.

But it seemed like that couldn’t be done.

In order to survive, I had no choice but to walk down unknown paths.

Then, when they encountered zombies, they had to run away, and in the process, several people were sacrificed to the plants.

And plants gradually began to evolve.

It got bigger and bigger, and the stems and roots continued to grow.

Naturally, the insects that were in a symbiotic relationship with the plant also began to grow exponentially.

Then, after some time, both zombies and humans were prey to insects.

Most of the survivors were already dead or running away at that point.

Nevertheless, the reason this civil servant did not leave was simple.

Not only was it my hometown, but I also had a duty to let people know.

“… I think that thing on that mountain is the Margrave.”

I said that and started reading the last page of the diary.

The civil servants did everything they could, but they could no longer survive.

It was obvious what choice a person in such a corner would make.

He didn’t seem to want to end his life by committing suicide in the corner of his room.

He wants to burn those damn plants that polluted his hometown.

So, he made a makeshift flamethrower, slept here for the last time, and headed towards the mountains.

And this notebook is the only thing left here, lonely.

I slowly closed the notebook.

Then he put it down where it was and placed the map on top of it.

It wasn’t my intention, but I thought I would act like the owner of this notebook.