The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House-Chapter 143

At that moment, Harrison stood silently in front of the food storage room. If one opened the small side door to the right of the kitchen, a narrow, cramped storage room would be revealed.

Cherry had yet to grant the residents of Happy House access to the food storage and supply rooms.

Yet she had handed Harrison the master key.

Thanks to that, he could conveniently check the supplies, and Harrison felt immense pride in this responsibility. It reaffirmed that the young lady trusted him above anyone else.

As he quietly surveyed the storage room, Harrison meticulously checked the inventory with a conflicted expression.

"Not an ample supply."

While they had secured loot from the Sinclair Hotel, it still wasn’t enough for everyone in Happy House to eat comfortably.

"I originally intended for just you, me, and Suzanna to live here."

Harrison recalled Cherry’s words.

Those words were evidence that she had known the world would collapse.

"I’ve been too preoccupied to ask her about it."

When Cherry returned with Nox, he resolved to have a serious conversation with her this time.

Her purchase of this mansion, her request for him to procure weapons—it all suggested she knew something about this situation.

If she did know something, he had to find out what it was.

If Cherry was harboring some secret, he also needed to know how she had come by it.

"Could the young lady possibly have some connection to the virus?"

The thought crossed his mind before he hastily pushed it aside.

"No, that can’t be."

The Cherry he knew couldn’t possibly be involved with the virus or the corruption of the world.

"Or could she? No, no, I don’t know. The young lady she is now... she’s different."

Cherry had undoubtedly changed. It was almost as if she were a completely different person.

The Cherry he knew had been the frivolous, lovable young lady the world gossiped about—one who enjoyed shopping, parties, and leisure.

To him, she was still lovable, but different. Her gaze was sharper.

Moreover, the original Cherry wasn’t someone with this level of situational awareness or the ability to lead others so effectively.

If there truly was a connection between Cherry and the end of the world, Harrison decided he would keep that truth a secret.

After all, his duty was to protect his young lady.

"Mr. Harrison!"

At that moment, Jose came running toward the storage room.

"It’s an emergency!"

Victor, who had been washing dishes in the kitchen sink, looked over in surprise. Suzanna, cleaning the banquet hall, approached with a puzzled expression.

Harrison removed his glasses, rubbed his temples, and stepped out of the storage room adjacent to the kitchen.

"What’s the matter?"

"That damn Charlie caused a commotion, so I left the watchtower unattended for a bit."

Jose bit his lower lip and stomped his foot in frustration. Charlie—he must have meant Charlie Green, one of Elliot’s men, who was being held in the second-floor storage room.

Harrison had almost forgotten about him amidst everything that had happened, but it was about time to release him. He had outlived his usefulness.

"How troublesome. It’s a waste to give that man food. I’ll send him back to the Kint gang."

Jose jumped at Harrison’s calm response.

"Th-that’s not the issue, sir! While I was gone, a monster appeared!"

"What?"

"It came from the hill behind the police station. That crazed monster took the doctor! And worse, Lady Ruskin seems to be injured, and Miss Cherry went after the doctor!"

"Wait, what? Miss Cherry went after it? Where?"

"Into the forest!"

Harrison furrowed his brow, struggling to believe what he’d just heard. Miss Cherry... followed the monster into the forest?

"Damn it!"

He swore and grabbed Jose by the shoulders.

"Where is Sir Ethan? Have you seen him?"

"Huh? I haven’t, but when I passed by earlier, his door was open, and it seemed like no one was inside."

So, even after being told to stay put, he had likely gone after Cherry.

For once, Harrison felt relieved by Ethan’s impulsive nature.

"But, sir, shouldn’t Miss Cherry be worried about the monster’s well-being, not hers?"

Jose’s words left Harrison momentarily speechless. He didn’t know how to respond, so he stayed silent.

In truth, Jose was right. Cherry would indeed be more concerned about the monster’s safety.

"Can you punch a monster to death, Mr. Harrison?"

"If I have to, I could probably tear it apart."

Cherry’s earlier words weren’t mere bravado. She truly possessed that kind of strength.

"But that doesn’t mean she’s invincible. That strength isn’t all-powerful."

Clicking his tongue, Harrison bit his lip in frustration.

"Follow me if you want. If not, you can stay. I’m heading straight to the village."

Ethan was likely already heading there, assessing the situation and preparing to help Cherry. That was a relief.

"But what about guarding the mansion...?"

"Suzanna and Victor can handle that just fine."

"Oh, right. Yes, of course. I’ll come with you. This feels like what happened during the Kint raid."

Jose shook his head and muttered to himself.

"Leave the mansion to us! It’s a fortress; there won’t be any trouble here. Don’t worry about it."

Victor, overhearing from the kitchen, reassured them. Suzanna, standing at the entrance, nodded vigorously.

"Yes, we’ll take care of things here!"

At that moment, Amy burst out of Cherry’s room, appearing from the fireplace.

"Damn it! It’s an emergency!"

Panting, Amy ran into the kitchen, stomping her feet.

"A monster suddenly showed up! No, that’s not the problem. On my way here, I ran into Sir Ethan and told him about it. He kept asking if Sugar Star was okay, over and over. I told him she’d gone after the monster, and then he just...!"

Amy clutched her hair, her face twisting in frustration, and screamed.

"Sir Ethan looked insane!"

Silence fell. Jose awkwardly scratched his cheek before replying.

"Sir Ethan always had a scary look in his eyes."

"No, no! That’s not it! He looked unhinged, like he was going to do something crazy!"

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"If he’s going to do something, it’ll probably be to save Cherry, so that’s good."

Harrison’s retort was calm. If Ethan was losing his mind, it would undoubtedly be in a way that prioritized Cherry’s safety.

"...Either way, we need to move quickly."

At Harrison’s words, Jose nodded and hurriedly armed himself.

*****

Nox gradually regained consciousness. Though his mind was hazy and his eyes refused to open, his hearing returned first.

"Save me... Please... Sob."

"Give it up. We're going to die here."

Voices filled with despair reached his ears, accompanied by intermittent sounds of sobbing.

'Where am I...?'

His eyelids trembled slightly.

"Hey, is he waking up?"

"Wasn't he the doctor?"

"Oh, thank heavens. Maybe we're not completely abandoned yet!"

He felt the presence of people gathering around him. A moment later, Nox slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the sky painted with the colors of a setting sun. Then, as his vision focused, he noticed several faces staring down at him.

Startled, he flinched, which caused the onlookers to exchange worried whispers.

"Do you think he's injured?"

"Could he be infected?"

"No, the thing didn’t bite us on purpose. It even avoided hurting us."

"Yeah, it seemed... intelligent."

Listening to their conversation, Nox sat up.

The people nearby helped him into a sitting position. With a puzzled expression, he scanned his surroundings.

What he saw was a muddy pit, its walls grimy with dirt. Around him were five or so people, similarly disheveled and anxious.

Nox brushed the dirt off his hands.

"Are you... alright?"

"Oh, Doctor, how did you end up being dragged here?"

The people, despite their shared dire situation, expressed sympathy for Nox as he regained his senses.

Rubbing his head, he winced at the pain from a rock he'd struck when being dragged away by the creature. His head throbbed, likely from a mild concussion. Massaging his temples, he addressed the group.

"I have no idea what’s going on here. Where am I, and who are you?"

"The monster brought us here," one of them replied.

"It’s a mutant, I think. It was different from the others."

A mutant?

Nox considered their explanation carefully. If the virus had spread across the entire city, it wasn’t surprising that a mutated strain had appeared.

'This isn’t good news for us.'

The creature he had encountered near the police station must have been a result of the mutation, and now it had brought him to this place. This suggested a grim situation.

Its unnaturally fast movements and the fact that no one in the pit bore any bite wounds... This creature knew how to hunt.

"Ugh," groaned someone nearby, breaking Nox's train of thought. The group’s attention shifted to the source of the sound.

"Sir Knight, you should rest."

"Yes, don’t overdo it. That leg wound is severe."

The injured man, likely in his late twenties, wore the uniform of a royal guard from the Kingdom of Graydon. His leg was drenched in blood.

'A royal guard? What is someone like that doing here?'

Unable to believe his eyes, Nox scrutinized the man carefully.

'Graydon soldiers disguised as royal guards tried to infiltrate Brunel before.'

Back then, their goal had been to kidnap Ethan. The man before him might be one of them. Remaining cautious, Nox questioned him.

"A royal guard? What are you doing here?"

The man, leaning against the wall with a face full of irritation, glanced at Nox. His gray eyes revealed little.

"Yeah, well... things happened. It's classified."

His response was frustratingly vague.

Nox figured further probing would be pointless. Shifting his focus, his gaze landed on the man’s injured leg.

"Is that a bite wound?" Nox asked.

Before the man could respond, the others hastily shook their heads and explained.

"No, no. It’s not a bite. He got snagged on a branch while the monster dragged us here. We just pulled a splinter out of his leg earlier."

"What if it gets infected and kills him?" someone muttered anxiously.

"Don’t jinx us like that!" another snapped.

Excluding Nox, there were five people in total. Of them, only one was from Brunel Village and familiar to him. The rest were strangers.

Casting a sidelong glance at the injured man, Nox carefully examined the wound again. As the others claimed, it didn’t appear to be from a bite. He even spotted a bloodied branch lying beside the man.

Rising to his feet, Nox made a decision.

"Let me take a closer look at that wound."

If the man truly was a royal guard, saving him might prove beneficial. And if he was an imposter, keeping him alive would still be useful for extracting information.