“Alright!”

Mihail and Ruth gave one of the squirt guns or sprayers that Benedict and Ashton had been endlessly playing with and sprayed it together.

The room was filled with miniature magic bombs, and it was damp due to the holy water that had been sprayed.

After the four men had emptied the holy water they had brought, they quickly jumped into the entrance of the secret passage.

Crack.

At the same moment, a loud sound of something breaking echoed.

Creak. Creak-creak-creak.

‘Oh… My God.’

How can you break a wall just by throwing furniture and bare hands like a woodpecker?

Zombies can do that.

How incredible is their willpower! XX! Better than humans, XX!

“Grrrrrrrrrr… Aaaaah!”

Like a stream of water from a broken dam, zombies with red eyes poured into the building. And they quickly made it to the third floor.

Thump-thump.

After a few sounds of body-slamming, the door to the room we were in was torn open.

“Grrrrrrrrrrr…!”

Monsters that once were humans, reeking of rot, lunged at us with their mouths wide open.

“G… U… Ah…?”

Fortunately, the holy water’s effect was successfully activated.

“U… Ah…? Ah…?”

The holy water that had been meticulously sprayed on the floor, ceiling, and walls emitted a faint, holy light as soon as the zombies set foot inside the room, immobilizing them.

“Ah… Ah… Ah…”

Almost all three bottles of holy water had been used, so the room was filled with moisture. The zombies that had been charging in aggressively were instantly petrified, as if turned into pillars of salt.

‘The Pope’s stolen holy water is paying off!’

Zero clutched my scalp’s hair, trembling as he caught his breath.

He too seemed scared of the zombies, unprecedentedly created by an error.

Of course, I was too.

‘We need to run now!’

Though the holy water held the zombies for now, it was not a permanent solution, so we had to move before its effect ran out.

And there’s a bomb to detonate!

“Grrrrrrrr…”

Already paralyzed leading zombies were followed by lagging rearguard zombies crawling toward us.

If they entered the secret passage using the petrified zombies as stepping stones, it would be game over.

“Damn it, if you don’t want to die, run!”

Upon my shout, Mihail and Ashton first jumped into the passage, followed by me, Benedict, and Ruth. We ran hard to distance ourselves as much as possible from the entrance of the passage…

“Huff, huff! Huff!”

Unfortunately, the magician who had overexerted himself all day had run out of stamina.

“Phew, tired… Huff.”

The fairy hybrid, who had expended most of her energy assisting Ruth and purifying the area, seemed shaky on her feet.

‘Damn, are these sub-lead males’ stamina this bad?’

We had to run as if our feet were on fire, but due to physical limitations, we risked losing our lives.

I turned back, grabbed the hands of Ruth and Benedict, and urged them to run even more, panting heavily.

‘But Elizabeth’s body is good at running!’

Thankfully, I had a decent amount of stamina.

“No time to dawdle! Run, run!”

“Huff… Huff… I, I want to, but. Huff.”

“I, I’m too tired. Huff-huff.”

Their steps kept slowing down.

From afar, the red glint in the zombies’ eyes flickered, and we had to keep running.

“Ah, shit! Get up! Even if it feels like you’re going to die, run!”

Then, Mihail and Ashton, who had been leading, ran back towards me.

The stamina of these two seemed monstrous; they showed no signs of panting or sweating.

‘Is this the power of training…!’

If I could borrow even a tenth of the stamina of the strongest Paladin and the Duke of the North, it would be great.

I was also sweating profusely, feeling increasingly irritated.

“Why are you coming back…? Go ahead, quick! We need to set off the bomb to prevent those zombies!”

“…”

Instead of replying, Mihail and Ashton intensely stared at the hands I was holding, those of Ruth and Benedict.
Then the two exchanged a certain look and bowed at their waists on either side of me.

“Excuse us for a moment.”

“Huh? What are you tryi—eh?”

Mihael lifted Rus, and Ashton hoisted Benedict onto their shoulders.

“Ah, ah! What are you doing, Knight!”

“As you can see, we’re trying to carry you.”

“Why do you have to carry us like bags of flour?”

“If you wish to be held by the princess, we can do so.”

“I was wrong. Shut up.”

In the posture of carrying cargo, Rus’s mood plummeted significantly, but due to the urgent situation, she closed her mouth quickly.

“Benedict, was it? It may be uncomfortable, but given the situation, please understand.”

Ashton lightly wrapped Benedict and gave notice.

“……”

Benedict, a fairy hybrid, lowered his head in humiliation without saying a word, as if this treatment was a first for him.

「The fairy hybrid is sulking.」

Zero informed me of Benedict’s emotional state from above.

「My male pride is also hurt.」

Benedict’s spirits also fluttered around him, chuckling.

【Ben is sulking!】

【So sad.】

【Thought you were strong, but you’re not!】

【Ben, who borrows our power, is strong but!】