(That’s strange... Where did Melt go?)
Around that time, Zenon had paid a visit to the guest house where Melt was staying to see her. However, he’d been hit with a bit of a shock when the other female students informed him she wasn’t there, and he was currently wandering around in search of her.
In the game, accepting this request was supposed to trigger a "night conversation" event with a party member. He’d gone to see her specifically to meet the requirements for that event, but it was all for nothing if he couldn't even find her.
Actually, that wasn't even the biggest issue. The real problem was that the girls back at the guest house had already finished their baths.
At this rate, there was a high possibility that the event flag for the other fanservice event he’d been looking forward to had also been broken.
(Dammit...! Does the game not register us as being in the same party just because we're on the same request? Is that why the event flag broke...?)
Zenon clenched his fists in frustration as he recalled the message that had echoed in his mind before: "Melt can no longer be made an ally."
He had been so hopeful when she joined the request just like in the original scenario, but it seemed the game's decisions couldn't be overturned so easily after all.
However, if all hope were truly lost, she shouldn't have been participating in this request according to the scenario in the first place. In that sense, the fact that Melt was here at all was proof that there was still a chance for him, the protagonist.
(I couldn't trigger the event during this request, but if I can somehow restore Melt's flag later, things should balance out. To do that, I have to milk the upcoming developments for all the affection levels I can get...!)
Though the situation regarding Melt's event was unfortunate, he decided to set her aside for the moment. His primary goals were to earn experience points and affection levels. Now that he knew the specific event flags were broken, he needed to double down on those objectives.
Based on his conversations with the other students so far, they still held him in high regard. It seemed that as long as there were no other reincarnators around to interfere, they were more than willing to view him as a hero.
In that case, there was still plenty of room for a comeback. With that thought in mind, Zenon headed toward the edge of the village and called out to a pair of male students talking there.
After confirming the timing and the situation—and ensuring the event conditions were met—he exchanged a few words with the students. Then, one of the boys pointed toward the outskirts of the village.
"Hey, what’s that?"
"Huh...? Is that... mist? But why is it red?"
The male students watched in confusion as a hazy substance drifted toward them. Slowly but surely, a crimson mist was rolling into the village.
Here it comes... Zenon smirked inwardly as the incident scheduled for this request finally began. Right on cue, several men emerged from the haze.
"...ome here. Hey, come here...!"
"Come to us... come to us...!"
"Wha—what?! What is this?!"
Not a single trace of life could be felt from the expressions of the men, who continued to spill delirium from their half-open mouths. Walking toward them with slow, swaying, and bizarre movements, the figures—presumably villagers—looked exactly like zombies from a horror movie.
(Good, this event triggered without any problems. Time to farm some experience points and affection levels!)
This was the main event of the request, hidden behind the mundane task of making deliveries to a mountain hut. After confirming that the event had started by observing the clearly abnormal villagers, Zenon fired light attribute magic at them.
"Ugh, guh..."
"Gah...!"
"Ze—Zenon-san?! What are you doing all of a sudden...?!"
"H-Hey! Look at that!!"
The male student was startled by Zenon's sudden attack, but as he stared into the red mist as prompted by his companion, his confusion turned to pure terror.
Dozens of people were emerging from the mist, heading their way with zombie-like, lifeless expressions. As the male students froze in fear at the sight of the sluggishly approaching crowd—which included both villagers and mountain climbers—Zenon shouted to them.
"Get a hold of yourselves! This is clearly an emergency! You two, go warn the villagers! I’m going to check on the girls!"
"Y-Yes! Understood!"
After seeing off the male students who ran to inform the village as ordered, Zenon allowed himself a satisfied grin. He was pleased that he had earned at least a small amount of experience points in what could hardly even be called a battle. He immediately hurried back to the guest house where the female students were staying.
"Everyone, it's an emergency! Get your gear ready for combat and come outside right now!"
"Zenon-sama? What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry...?"
"There's no time to explain! Just trust me and follow me without a word!"
Seeing Zenon's desperate act, the female students followed his instructions just like the boys had. They grabbed their magic items and hurried outside.
As Zenon led the girls through the village to regroup with the boys, surreptitiously inhaling the floral scent of shampoo wafting from the group, he was already making two critical blunders.
The first was his choice of words. He had told the girls to "follow him without a word," and they were doing exactly that—which meant they never got the chance to tell him something very important.
Zenon's second mistake was failing to notice what that was. Caught up in the exhilaration of the event and the sweet fragrance of the girls, he failed to notice the truth until the very end.
He never realized that Melt had actually returned to the guest house while the chaos was unfolding.