Reminiscing and temporary stay.
[Adara POV],
After we managed to escape the big cat and some other abominations that joined, the total number of people who were alive before all of this began was reduced by more than half.
Some of my schoolmates were sobbing on the ground around me.
I didn't have time to care about them because I was still stunned.
My hands were slightly trembling.
I wanted to believe it was all a nightmare, but the exhaustion I was experiencing told me otherwise.
All I could do now was force myself to calm down, but it wasn't working because I was on the verge of collapsing.
I used to call myself composed, but that was back then.
After all, I witnessed someone's head being bitten off in front of me.
I hadn't even had time to calm down when I heard roars in the distance.
When this happened, everyone kept quiet subconsciously, but the dread on their faces grew.
As my thoughts raced through my mind, the guard beside me called out to me in hushed tones.
"Princess we need to get out of here", he said but even with the low tone, some schoolmates still heard it as they looked in my direction or more correctly, they looked at me with hope in their eyes.
Seeing this, I wanted to make things clear to them, but when I heard the roars again, I gave up and ran in a random direction, and the others followed me.
I didn't bother talking at this point because I was too busy running.
This went on for several hours.
I'm not sure when it started, but my schoolmates began to follow my lead.
I was helpless, and every time I tried to clarify things, I couldn't, so it went on.
Due to previous experiences, we never stayed in one place for long and kept moving.
However, rather than things getting better, the number of deaths increased instead.
But we couldn't stop moving because even with our numbers reduced, we were still more than a dozen, making us an easy target if we stayed too long in a single place.
Our levels were the only thing that increased, but there were still causalities.
At some point, we met some survivors who wanted to join our group after seeing our prowess.
I wanted to say no, but that idiot Brian insisted on acting like a hero and accepted them.
He had no idea that his presence had increased my burdens.
But when I considered the assistance he provided to the group as a whole, I could only swallow my words.
Finally, due to the increasing number of survivors who later joined, I had no choice but to look for a place to settle down.
In the end, we had to settle for an estate.
Fortunately, in addition to my guards, there were some guards from my schoolmates who had survived and had a certain level of strength.
We were able to clear the zombies in the estate as a result, increasing our strength and providing us with a place to stay.
After dividing the residents into the residences in the estate, I and the guards, along with other strong people, hurriedly built a barricade.
Though it did not keep us safe, it did give us a sense of security.
After everything was done, I was able to get some sleep after being tossed around.
When I woke up this morning, I overheard some survivors complaining about not having enough food.
Finally, I had to establish some ground rules.
Though hurried, it was the best I could do at the time, which meant a lot.
I rubbed my forehead's temples as I thought of these things and heard a knock at the door.
Seeing this, I took my attention away from what I was doing and looked at the door, waiting for the person on the other side of the door to enter.
Contrary to what I had assumed, it was a group of people and not a single person.
But I was surprised to see a familiar face among the people who had just arrived.
'What is he doing here?' was the first thought that came to mind when I saw his familiar emotionless face.
'At least he's okay, that's good,' I thought to myself as I tried to ignore the unfamiliar-looking girl behind him with a child.
Looking at Ace's familiar face, I softly called out his name and asked what he was doing here.
But Elsie had already responded for him before he could respond.
I kept a calm expression on my face and listened, even though I was utterly unappreciative.
After learning the details of Ace's being here, I motioned to the classmates in the room with me to excuse us so that I could speak with Ace more.
Of course, I didn't say the last part.
I only continued to speak after they had gone.
Knowing Ace, I went right to the point and we discussed business.
After everything had been settled and the 'deal' had been finalized.
Ace stood up from the seat I offered him and went to an open space in the room, where he brought out from thin air a large number of supplies.
I was surprised by how much he brought out, but I was even more surprised by how much space his ring had.
'Hmmm, I wonder what use these red crystals have that Ace wants them and can exchange for this much;' I thought.
As I was thinking about this, I noticed Ace, who said something I didn't quite understand and then suddenly turned around to leave.
Startled, I called out his name and told him to let's talk, which he unexpectedly did.
My mind went blank after he sat down and looked at me to continue.
I called him subconsciously just now, and I don't even have a topic to discuss.
For a brief moment, there was an awkward silence in the air that slapped me the longer it lingered.
Thankfully, Eleanor came to my aid and asked if he had a place he was staying.
'Now this is what I appreciate!' I thought as I listened to Ace's words.
.........
[Ace POV],
After Adara called me and I took my seat, I looked at her to continue, but she didn't say anything, and the room was silent until Eleanor beside me asked a question.
"Ace, do you have a place to stay?" she inquired, continuing.
"Because it's going to be dangerous if you go out now in the middle of the night without a plan," she stated.
Hearing her query. I moved my attention to Eleanor and responded.
"No, I don't have a place to stay right now. In fact, I wanted to ask if I could spend the night in one of the camp's buildings ", I said directly and went on.
"Don't worry, I'm leaving tomorrow," I clarified.
Eleanor did not respond when she heard this, instead looked at Adara.
Seeing this, I knew my assumption that Adara had something to do with camp management was correct.
When Adara caught my gaze, she simply smiled and said, "No problem."
She then turned her attention to Eleanor and Elsie and began instructing them.
Seeing this, I kept quiet and waited.
..........
[Third Person POV],
A few minutes after Adara instructed Eleanor and Elsie to lead Ace and his team to their temporary residence, the door was knocked on, and after receiving her permission to enter, the door was opened and a handsome-looking man entered.
Adara was about to say something when she saw who it was, but she was interrupted before she could finish.
"Brian......."
"I heard Ace was here, Adara?" The handsome-looking male questioned.
Adara had a visible frown on her face when she saw him and his attitude and said;
"It's none of your concern, and please don't call me that; we're not familiar," she said.
Hearing this, Brain clenched his fist and walked out of the study room without saying anything.
Adara noticed this but ignored him and his actions, continuing with her work.
Back to Ace side~