Trapped at Home With the Male Leads

Chapter 4

The most important thing to remember was that a person bitten by an infected creature would also get infected before joining the horde themselves.

Aim for the head.

The original novel had described how infected humans would change into bizarre and monstrous creatures. Dealing with turned humans was difficult, at best. The physical condition of the victim before infection played a role in traits they would possess once turned into a monster. As a result, from time to time, a creature could have immense strength or possess unimaginable speed.

Still, all of them, no matter how strong or fast, have weak points.

The creatures had poor eyesight and were sensitive to sound. In other words, one could easily lure them away with a loud noise. On top of that, the creatures were weak to extreme heat, making fire a useful tool for dealing with them.

So, with the method I had seen in a movie, I had prepared several Molotov cocktails to have on hand: One wine bottle, refilled with lamp oil. Some cloth, to act as the wick, stuffed into the mouth of the bottle. Light the cloth with a flame, and voilà. One Molotov cocktail ready to throw. And for my main weapon, I had purchased an axe. I strapped the axe to a holster on my back and threw on a sizable robe to hide my weapon.

When the creature appears, I’ll throw a firebomb to clear the crowd around it, and then I’ll go for the brain with my axe.

It was a perfect plan. I kept going over it in my head, but I stopped breathing the moment I spotted a distant figure. Even at a glance, it was obviously a woman. Covered in a robe, she was scanning her surroundings, making her look as suspicious as me.

Is that... Aurora?

In the original novel, Aurora had only gone to Number 61 after receiving an anonymous letter.

[Come to 61 Nottingham Street. There, you will discover the secret behind your birth.]

The contents of the letter had been something like that. After losing her memories at fifteen years old, Aurora had been brought into the Lancaster family. Although she was showered with love by Duke Lancaster and Eden, her adopted brother, Aurora had always been curious about her origins. It was a fitting narrative for the novel’s heroine. But due to the sudden discontinuation of the novel, nothing about Aurora’s origins had been revealed, and the letter had remained anonymous with no information about who had sent it.

“Ack!”

A sudden yelp pulled me out of my reverie. The robed woman, while scuttling closer, had tripped over her own feet. She barely managed to avoid falling flat on her face, regaining her balance just before toppling over. Then, she quickly glanced around. She seemed to want to make certain that no one had witnessed her clumsiness.

She’s quite clumsy. How cute.

There was no doubt in my mind. That woman was Aurora. If nothing else, the fact that she continued to linger at the entrance of Number 61 made me sure.

This seems dangerous.

As the main character, there was no way she would die—I doubted she’d even get injured. However, if there was the slightest chance of things going wrong... The infected creature was going to appear at that exact location. So after thinking about it for a moment, I decided to go into Number 61 myself. The aelfinas herb should be inside, so I had to go in anyway.

I’ll climb over the wall.

Immediately after making up my mind, I hunched over, doing my best to avoid attention, and stepped into the alleyway next to the house. The walls weren’t that high. There wasn’t a single light on, making the house feel empty.

I placed my firebombs in the pouch belted around my waist, securing them to prevent any spillage. Then, I jumped over the wall. I landed safely in the courtyard, then checked on the firebombs at my waist, taking them out to examine them for cracks. Fortunately, all the bottles were intact.

The house was dark and showed no signs of life. Silence had settled over it like a cowl. I had to be extra careful. An infected creature could attack at any moment, so I couldn’t afford to be sloppy. Slowly, I approached the tightly shut front door, which felt like the entrance of a tiger’s lair.

I’d take a tiger’s lair over a monster’s lair any day.

My lips were parched, and my palms were starting to sweat. Slowly, I placed my hand on the doorknob. While I desperately hoped that someone else would deal with the creature before I had to, there was likely going to be no such miracle, so I twisted the knob.

Click.

It turned, unlocked, and the door swung open, its rusty hinges protesting in an uneasy manner. Past the open door, I could see the lobby of the first floor, shrouded in an impenetrable darkness. The air was cold, making it feel like the place had been abandoned for some time.

That might not be the case. No way to be sure though.

As far as I could remember, an infected person had spent several days in this house, surviving on their own. This had never been explained in the novel. The details of the infection were a complete mystery, and the novel had never mentioned how or where this person had been infected.

So many unsolved mysteries, and then to be discontinued! I grumbled to myself and scanned my surroundings once more.

At any rate, for a few days, the creature hadn’t been able to eat anyone and would be famished.

Gotta stay sharp in here.

My hand tightened around a firebomb. I was prepared to light it at a moment’s notice. Fortunately, this world was based on nineteenth-century Europe with its developed industry. If the author had chosen the eighteenth century instead, I would have needed to light a match in this situation.

Yup. An apocalyptic story with no guns. Make it make sense.

I continued to make my way forward, imagining all sorts of inane things to shake my anxiety. Two flights of stairs leading to the second floor greeted me in the lobby. I stood there for a moment, wondering about the location of the aelfinas herb and trying to figure out the best place to start looking, when a small box landed at my feet. Fear washed over me, my heart nearly stopping. There was an illustration on the box—a drawing of an oddly insect-like plant.

A plant that looks like an insect? This is it!

The plant matched the description from the novel. I had found the box containing the aelfinas herb, which I had been looking for.

Huh? Where did this come from?

For now, I settled on picking up the box and stowing it in my belt bag. After securing the herb, I raised my head only to meet the gaze of a man who was staring at me as he stood by the railing of the dark second floor.

F*cking hell!

The man’s eyes seemed to grow wider and wider.

“W-wait! Wait for me!” he yelled, running down the stairs. Halfway down, he seemed to lose his balance, tripping over his feet and tumbling down the stairs.

Crash!

A moment later, his crumpled form lay in front of me.

Wh-what’s going on?

“Please, I need help. Save me, save me!”

The man quickly pulled himself together as he struggled to right himself. He managed to sit up, barely, but seemed to have broken his right leg and was unable to put any weight on it. Thankfully, he didn’t look as if he’d been bitten, and he was also free of any bloodstains.

I pulled him behind me to get him into a safer position, then, I took out my oil lighter and was just about to ignite the firebomb, when suddenly the ground shook as a loud boom sounded nearby. Firebomb in hand, I checked my surroundings. The source of the sound was difficult to pinpoint, and I had no luck trying to find it, but I knew I’d felt the sound echo through the entire house.

Just then, a globule of sticky green fluid fell onto the floor, right in front of my toes.

Sh*t.

I slowly forced myself into action, my movements jerky like those of a broken robot. I warily looked up at the ceiling. The first thing I saw were three huge eyes, dangling from the ceiling, looking down at me.

Hanging from the chandelier was a long-limbed creature that reminded me of a spider. It had a large, swollen body, and its head was two times larger than that of a normal human. Through its open mouth, I could see its fangs, the sharp pincers of a spider. And then there was the green saliva, which oozed from its mouth. It was enough to make anyone recoil automatically.

Disgusting. Is this really what I was going to have to deal with after the end of the world?

I was stiff from head to toe, immobile in the face of this incomprehensible situation. The creature did not move.

Hiss. Hiss.

It stayed where it was, not letting its guard down as it emitted strange noises at me.

Clutching the firebomb in my hand tightly, I turned to the man hiding behind me and quietly asked, “Were you bitten?”

“Wh-what? Uh...”

“Answer me truthfully, and I’ll help you. Were you bitten by that thing?”

“N-no, I wasn’t! When I arrived at the house, that monster was tied up in one of the rooms. I hadn’t heard from my younger sister for a few days, so I came here to check, only to find that monster—”

Tied up? Someone had tied up the monster.

“What about other people? Was there anyone else here?”

“N-no, there wasn’t. There was no one else.”

The creature, which had been watching us intently, slowly started to move, one leg at a time. Taking note of this, I did not hesitate to light up the wick of the firebomb. Reacting accordingly, the creature rushed toward us, but I remained calm as I lobbed the firebomb at it.

Whoosh.

The flames caught in an instant, and the creature sank to the floor, screeching in pain. It continued to writhe in agony as the blaze consumed it.

“Someone, help!”

Meanwhile, the man had escaped through the front door, dragging his bum leg.

No matter. Best for him to get out anyway. He was only ever going to get in my way.

I took out the axe on my back and made my way to the creature, determined to send its head on a solo adventure. But as I got closer, the quick-witted monster turned tail and shot through the still-open door.

“Damn it! No!”

I cut through the courtyard in hot pursuit of the creature, which was headed straight for the front gate—straight for the woman whom I was pretty sure was Aurora.

“Danger incoming! Get out of the way!”

Hoping that Aurora would hear, I shouted at the top of my lungs and continued to run, breathless as I was. Then, at the very moment the creature broke through the gate, I flung my axe.

Thwack.

While I missed the head, the blade of the axe firmly embedded itself in the creature’s body.

Screech!

The creature fell to the ground, screaming in agony.

“Aaaack!”

The woman—most likely Aurora—let out a scream and collapsed just outside the gate.

I’m f*cked.