Ch.187Chapter 20. Patriot (39)

Summer is coming to an end.

It’s still hot, but the maddening heat has subsided somewhat. Before, the surroundings would remain bright until 8 PM, but now it’s dark by then.

That’s the only thing that’s changed.

The city continues to decay, abandoned and dead. Windows remain broken with dust accumulating, signs that were once carefully maintained crumble under rain and wind, and flowers once displayed to attract customers are now withered stalks, grotesque in appearance.

Only corpses are neatly cleared away.

In the central district, the number of humanoid zombies has definitely decreased. Being at the bottom of the zombie food pyramid, it was inevitable.

Instead, the survivors have learned their own ways to survive.

Humanoid zombies no longer travel alone. Even when fighting among themselves, they’ll prioritize attacking beast zombies when they appear. The military police zombie is still skilled in combat. Its fighting style seems to be imitated by others who have joined it, making them even more aggressive.

“Have zombies developed learning abilities, or have only those with learning abilities survived?”

It was a chicken-or-egg question with no easy answer. What was certain was that beast zombies engaged in sex, while humanoid zombies did not.

“I wonder why.”

Leticia frowned as she watched monkey zombies fighting each other. It seemed like two males were claiming one female as their own. Reproduction is a biological instinct. So why don’t human zombies engage in such behavior?

“I once heard that zombies are monsters of desire.”

“Hmm? Johan, what does that mean?”

Camilla and Cassandra looked at me. I was a bit flustered by the unexpected attention but slowly gathered my thoughts.

“People say humans have three main desires: sleep, hunger, and sex, right? Zombies have slept for a very long time and woken up, so their desire for sleep is satisfied. Then they eat as much as they want to satisfy their hunger. And after sleeping well and eating their fill, they want to make love?”

“That makes sense, doesn’t it? It’s the same with other animals.”

Leticia agreed. I nodded.

“Yes. That’s why zombies are considered grotesque. What humans find most repulsive is something almost human but not quite. Zombies are bizarrely inflated versions of human desires, so we instinctively recoil from them. It sounds plausible.”

“…Human zombies.”

Camilla, who had been listening quietly, spoke softly. We all waited for her to continue. She seemed a bit embarrassed but finished her thought with a trembling voice.

“Are human zombies still hungry?”

“…That’s possible. The Limos virus affects humans most significantly. Other species are meaningfully affected too, but not to the same degree.”

Cassandra answered. It gave me a chilling feeling. The Limos virus is primarily active in human non-protected zones. This means that in human protected zones, the concentration of the Limos virus is low or almost non-existent.

There, humanoid zombies might be able to reproduce.

“Well, that seems rather horrifying.”

A pitiful scream was heard. One monkey had finally defeated the other. Part of the victorious monkey’s body elongated noticeably. The female zombie monkey tried to flee in terror, but the victor seemed unconcerned.

Somehow, I think it might be better not to see such a future. If zombies felt sexual desire as intensely as they now sleep and eat, it might be another vision of hell.

“It would truly become a world where only love remains.”

It was a mutter to myself, but Camilla looked at me and smiled.

“Yes. Just like what you told those fanatics. To love one another.”

The fanatics. We’ve been quite busy avoiding them for a while.

Nearly naked men and women would appear on the outskirts of the central district, calling out my name. At first, I thought it was some kind of courage test. Before they became a meal for the gathering zombies.

After about three similar incidents, they changed their approach. Instead of calling my name, they wrote it on flags they waved. They waved the flags so enthusiastically that it was hard to make out what was written, but from what I could see, one said, “Oh, Lord Johan! Where are you?”

“How does it feel to be an idol for fanatics, Johan? You gave them a fake name with Hoot, so why did you tell them your real name?”

“Leticia, if the first name was a lie, the second could be a lie too, right? In this world, lies are weapons too. Even appearing foolish is all part of my… Ah! Ah! Camilla! My ear! Stop pulling my ear!”

“You should have pulled his mouth instead, Camilla.”

“Oh, you’re right.”

A while later, I had to nurse my swollen lips and earlobe. Meanwhile, Cassandra held out a mobile phone connected to the RV helicopter camera. Those people had appeared in the outskirts again. At least they seemed to be infected with our Kro virus, as zombies approached them but then stopped.

“Why are they doing this? What are they teaching in that cult?”

I’d feel less anxious if they were just shooting guns. Instead, they’re almost naked, frantically waving and worshipping.

Leticia seemed to share my thoughts as she crossed her arms and sighed deeply.

“Well. Those fanatics believe that the Goddess will eventually ‘save’ Elsa. You already know that the Goddess faith isn’t popular in Römer or Minsk, right? Those two countries have been powerful for generations, so a Goddess of Hunger doesn’t appeal to them. Conversely, believing in the Goddess of Hunger means thinking deeply about and loving Elsa. It’s an identity that distinguishes them from us.”

Camilla nodded quietly.

“That’s right. In my grandparents’ generation, worshipping the Goddess was an important daily routine. They believed that someday Elsa would rise up on its own, and there would be no more suffering from being caught between those two countries. I once asked my grandmother if it wouldn’t be better to become a citizen of Minsk or Römer.”

“Wasn’t she angry?”

“No, she wasn’t. I was young, after all. She just answered, ‘Camilla, you’re too young to understand now, but even if you change your nationality, your roots as an Elsan will never disappear.’ The Liberation Corps also considered the Goddess faith important. It was connected to some ideological aspects. Wasn’t it the same in the National Military Police?”

Surprisingly, Leticia agreed with Camilla’s words.

“Many people who were loyal to Elsa as Römer’s satellite state still believed in the Goddess. Almost everyone did, I think. Because it wasn’t betraying Elsa. Maybe it was some kind of reactionary psychology to compensate for doing Römer’s bidding.

But well, I don’t really know. Claiming to be Elsan only brought stones flying at our house. Meanwhile, Römer? They gave scholarships and living expenses to my brother and me. Of course I’d lick Römer’s boots, right?”

Leticia was quite provocative, but Camilla, who would have gotten angry in the past, didn’t take the bait. Perhaps it was because they had become somewhat friendly, or maybe because she had also struggled to pay for her education and felt some kinship.

“Anyway, when asked ‘Are you Römer, Minsk, or Elsan?’ the best answer was ‘I am a devotee of the Goddess.’ It was practically the same as saying you were a patriot.”

Leticia gave a hollow laugh at Camilla’s words.

“Seems like the Liberation Corps wasn’t much different.”

“Both the Liberation Corps and the National Military Police were Elsans.”

“That’s true. So, does our smart doctor believe in the Goddess?”

Leticia probably expected an answer like ‘Cassandra is an atheist.’ But Cassandra’s answer was completely unexpected.

“What does believing in the Goddess of Hunger have to do with patriotism? The Goddess isn’t Elsa itself.”

Leticia, Camilla, and I fell into deep thought.

“Anyway, it’s a way of saying ‘I am Elsan.'”

Camilla finally offered a plausible answer, but Cassandra still seemed confused, tilting her head. Camilla added an explanation, though she didn’t seem very confident.

“I don’t know. Before, I thought patriotism meant Elsa’s independence. I felt it was right to fight for that. But now… I’m not sure.”

“Hey, why make it so complicated? Our grandparents all thought the same way! If you believe in the Goddess, you’re Elsan. It’s not about understanding; it’s about whether you accept what everyone in the world thinks the same way. Whether you understand it or not doesn’t matter.”

Leticia waved her hand dismissively. Cassandra’s eyes sparkled.

“Interesting. So you’re saying people engage in certain behaviors without even knowing what they mean?”