Conquering Heroines: Starting From A World Of Zombies Chapter 32: Waiting in the Darkness (Bonus)

Ryuji took out his lighter and flicked it gently. A small fla the size of a bean instantly lit up the dark space around them, casting its warm glow over their little corner of the world.

Normally, they'd just sleep through the night without much fuss. If there was an ergency, they'd simply light a fire or sothing for illumination. There wasn't much to do at night anyway — no entertainnt, no distractions. So up until now, Ryuji never really bothered to prepare any modern lighting tools.

After all, compared to everything else they were facing, the inconvenience of moving around in the dark felt like a trivial problem.

In the dim firelight, he could see clearly: Tsunade — of all people, the one who should be the least afraid of zombies — was curled up in the corner, hugging her head, trembling uncontrollably. Her long hair had fallen down to cover her face, hiding her expression from view.

And though the constant howls and pounding of the zombies outside drowned out most sounds, Ryuji could still faintly hear it — Tsunade was crying. No doubt about it. Crying in sheer, overwhelming terror.

Ryuji had no idea what triggered this reaction from her, but before he could put away his lighter, Kiri spoke up beside him.

"Probably claustrophobia," she said casually. "People with hemophobia often have it too. Back where I'm from, lots of soldiers caught it. After spending too long trapped in trenches or shelters, staring at the corpses of their friends and family... they just broke. I don't know what Tsunade's been through, but... it's probably sothing like that."

Ryuji stayed silent, just nodding quietly as he closed his lighter.

But Kiri didn't seem willing to let the atmosphere sink completely into oppressive silence. She turned to Ryuji, her voice breaking the tension.

"Hey, what kind of person were you... before all this?"

Ryuji blinked, glancing toward where Kiri sat in the shadows. At that mont, she flicked on her own lighter, a faint orange glow illuminating her face.

"I an," she continued, "who knows what's waiting for us out there. If we're gonna die together... shouldn't we at least know a little about each other? That way, at least we'll know who we're dying with. What we've been through. Besides, just sitting here waiting is boring as hell."

There was no trace of her usual grin now — only a slightly awkward grimace. After all, no one could feel cheerful while trapped in a tiny space surrounded by countless man-eating monsters.

"?" Ryuji chuckled faintly. "Nothing special. Just an ordinary guy. Grew up in a peaceful country. Made it to my twenties without even getting married. Then, out of nowhere, I ended up here. t a girl nad Erina Nakiri... and sent her back ho during the last zombie horde. That's about it."

He played idly with his lighter. Eventually, Kiri let hers go out too — the tal had grown too hot to hold.

"Really?" she asked. "That's all true?"

"It is. Though honestly, I find the whole thing pretty ridiculous."

Ryuji leaned his head against the cold, creaking steel wall. Thanks to Tsunade's solid construction work, even with the zombies hamring away outside, the tightly welded steel pipes showed no signs of loosening. In fact, the constant pounding only seed to make them fit together even more snugly.

"Why ridiculous?" Kiri asked, puzzled.

"Because anyone willing to... do that kind of thing with must have felt sothing for . And without exception, every one of them ca from a world far better than this one. If I really cared about them... the only thing I could do for them was to send them back ho."

Ryuji took a deep breath.

"Like Erina. Her world is incredible. People there can cook als so delicious they feel almost like aphrodisiacs — without adding anything weird at all. To soone like , from an ordinary world, it was downright unbelievable."

As he spoke, a trace of longing crept into his voice. He truly missed Erina — that vibrant, gentle girl.

Sure, she could be tsundere like in her manga appearances, but most of the ti, she showed him her softer, more vulnerable side. To Ryuji, Erina had always been utterly adorable.

"In her world, even disputes could be settled through cooking battles — whoever made the better dish won. And Erina's 'God Tongue' could detect the subtlest flavors in any al. In a world obsessed with cuisine, her talent shone bright. But here... that ability is completely useless. A burden, even."

He sighed again.

"So, during the last blood moon, when I realized we couldn't possibly hold back the horde... I sent her away. To be honest, after doing that with her and discovering my ability... my first instinct was to hide it. Because surviving alone in this world is just... too damn exhausting."

Ryuji shuddered at the mory. The early arrival of this blood moon — and the zombies that were even stronger than last ti — terrified him far more than any supposed "Master of Dinsions" power.

He had no desire to stay in this hellhole.

Unfortunately, he couldn't cross over to any other world.

Without leveling up that ability, there was no way for him to travel to another dinsion. And even if he tried to force it, both Kiri and Tsunade could easily overpower him.

"I see..." Kiri murmured, lighting her lighter again, casting a gentle glow over the cramped space.

"I think I understand you a little better now."

To be honest, she'd never thought too badly of Ryuji. She just found him suspicious — like he was always hiding sothing, always scheming.

But now, feeling his hesitation and frustration... she finally believed him.

"As for ," Kiri continued, "I told you before, didn't I? Just an orphan whose parents were killed by kallet. Grew up, fought back, killed them right back. Nothing special."

She snapped her lighter shut again. After all, it was precious fuel for future fires — wasting it now would be stupid.

Instead, she pulled out two glass bottles.

"Speaking of which... I've got so leftover beer here. Want so? The taste is kinda weird, but honestly, it's really good."

Her voice was lively again, full of that unyielding energy of hers. Ryuji felt sothing cold and solid pressed into his hand — a bottle filled with liquid.

Then Kiri tugged him to his feet.

"Co on," she grinned. "Let's go have a drink with Tsunade."