The Villainess and I, her Zombie

|Wow... she really didn't joke about the length of the scolding...|

Zombie sighed internally while going to bed as the sun was already setting.

|She was worried. Even if she is overbearing, in the end, everything she does she does with the good of the kids she's taking care of in mind. Can't blame her for getting really scared when you suddenly disappeared.|

Patience responded lightheartedly, sounding as if she shrugged her shoulders.

|Yeah... I guess. I bet that if it only took four days everything would be fine.|

Zombie complained, closing his eyes.

|It would, but it didn't.|

Patience sighed dismissively.

|You are extremely lucky to have her actually allow you to continue the adventuring business, although under her watchful eye. Seriously, your human form must be contesting Corvus in terms of the LUC stat! Just don't show Laura that you have superbia or overpower and everything should be fine. Goodnight~|

She added as if she also was ready to sleep.

|...why do you sound so... uninterested...?|

Zombie furrowed his brows and turned on his side.

|Meh. We basically completed everything we possibly could. You made connections with every accessible character that will be of importance during future story events. What's left is for you to hone your skills, but not too much or else you won't be able to use them once you turn into an undead.|

Patience explained while sounding as if she was stretching lazily.

|I guess you can say that I'm going to take things easy for the next few months. And you can do the same.|

She added making it sound as if she was smiling.

|Wait, really?|

Zombie opened his eyes and furrowed his eyes in disbelief.

|Really.|

Patience breathed out sounding as if she was getting comfortable just as if she was on the bed next to the boy.

|What about getting in contact with Corvus? Shouldn't we be able to visit the Wraths territory and meet him in the church he is camping out in?|

|Meeting him for the first time is a part of one of the main quests, so no.|

|Then the capture target from the Sloth family! The two of us are supposed to have a connection!|

|A connection formed thanks to the bounded bard questline available during the later part of the story.|

|How about Mason? We already are in the Envys territory, and his family doesn't like him so it will be easy to get close to him!|

|We do need to come in contact with both him and Filia, but only after Cranberry is with us, making friends with them now would only cause them both to become more distant in the future instead.|

|How about Claymore? Ah, no, wait...|

|As you surely know, Claymore is the greatest treasure of the Lust family, they will not allow anyone from the outside to even look at them, much less coming close enough for a conversation.|

|Then Arion!|

|Although he would most definitely use a friend as he is currently still in his human form getting bullied by his siblings in the Gluttony territory. We won't make it in time before he receives the curse of gluttony, and once he does, it will take him more than a year to regain his senses. Even if you meet him during that time, he won't remember you.|

|Roan...?|

After having every option proposed rejected by the sealed overseer, Zombie gave his last pick though even he himself already knew that it would end up the same way as the rest.

|Yeah, sure, of course. Go ahead, sneak into the royal palace and become friends with the first prince of the kingdom. I'm sure that is a really easy thing to do!|

Patience spoke mockingly, sounding as if she shook her head.

|Listen, if you really want to do something that much, go and help Mia train. Nothing will infuriate her more than seeing the ridiculous gap in your skill, ensuring that she will join Durian. You can also do something in the background to assure that Luke will follow her. I will make sure to observe everything and warn you if you're going too far.|

Patience sighed deeply, sounding as if she rolled her eyes and shrugged dismissively.

"Kopia, were you listening?"

Zombie asked out loud and tugged on a single crimson string coiled around his right hand connected to the pommel of the one-handed sword leaning against his bed.

"I did!"

The sword's blade showed up just a little bit from above the sheath and the high-frequency vibrations of the blade formed into enthusiastic words.

"This means that we can complete a lot of quests and buy you many swords to eat, aren't you happy?"

Zombie grinned, reached out, and caressed both the pommel and the crossguard of the weapon.

"Ehehe~ I will have master all to myself!"

Kopia giggled and burrowed herself comfortably back into the expensive sheath.

|As if! I'm not going anywhere, you know?!|

Patience cried out, totally sulking.

"Of course you're not. I'll continue to be in your care."

Zombie smiled softly and bowed his head.

|H-hmph! Cheeky idiot!|

Patience's scoffed in embarrassment and went silent after muttering to herself.

"Now then..."

Zombie's smile turned into a smirk and he walked towards the window.

*thump* *thump* *thump*

He had a perfect view of the sixteen-year-old dark-skinned girl practicing tirelessly with the mace on the training dummy in the backyard.

"Laura didn't punish me, so there's no reason for me to wait with helping Mia train."

Zombie cackled before grabbing Kopia and strapping her to his waist, opening the window, jumping out, and landing softly thanks to the whirlwind kick, all in a single fluent motion.

"Zombie!"

Mia froze mid-swing and turned towards him with a gasp.

"Yo! Listen, as an apology for rejecting taking you on that mission..."

"Zombie! I am so sorry!"

"...huh...?"

Zombie came up with an easy way of offering his help without making it seem like a mockery but got taken aback by the older girl suddenly bowing her head down to him.

"The girls back at the tavern... they told me about that merchant, Jackfruit! I had no idea that the mission was about hunting elves to turn into slaves! And not just that! That bastard is a well-known creep who tries to get his hands on any girl unlucky enough to grab his attention - and what's worse, since the color of my skin is uncommon in this kingdom, I could have even ended up as one of the merchandise in his shop if things got really bad! I am so sorry, I was acting like such a brat while you were just trying to keep me away from the real danger...!"

Mia exclaimed it all in a single breath, lowering her head more and more, not even trying to make eye contact with the boy.

|...so she caught on that, huh...|

|What, did you hope to keep it a secret?|

Zombie sighed internally while Patience sounded as if she raised her brow in disbelief.

"I don't need you to apologize and there's no need to feel grateful. If you were stronger, there would be no need for me to worry about you. Let's train together from now on."

The boy patted Kopia's pommel and crossguard affectionately while looking at the girl with a challenge.

"...so you were worried about me... Let's!"

Mia let out a soft laugh before straightening her back and smiling at Zombie.

|Uh-oh, not another one...!|

Patience cried out in a pained voice.

|Shut it! We want Luke to follow her, right? What's better than getting him jealous? For some people, that's the best way to make them realize their feelings. Now shush for a bit.|

Zombie scoffed at the sealed overseer and stealthily glanced back at the shy skinny boy peeking at the two of them from behind the corner of the house.

|...|

And Patience indeed went silent.

"I've heard from Laura that you decided to quit the job at the tavern and go full-on adventuring, good for you, maybe we can do some missions together."

Zombie nodded at the girl and started walking towards Mia.

"Here, I have a congratulation gift for finally speaking up your mind to her."

The boy beckoned the girl to lean down, which she did with a curious expression.

"Although - thankfully - no elves were caught during the mission, that bastard did set up a minimal reward, remember?"

Zombie asked pulling something out of his back pocket.

"Eh...?! You don't mean...?!"

Mia gasped and almost backed out in surprise but the boy was faster and already had his arms around her neck.

"!!!!"

"!!!!"

Mia was shocked by the sudden action while Luke watching from afar was shocked because from his perspective it looked as if Zombie was kissing the girl.

"It's not really that good because most of his merchandise was a lower-medium quality stuff, but this little thing should be useful for you until you reach the medium-levels as an adventurer."

Zombie explained while finishing tying up a thin letter strap behind Mia's nape without getting even slightly bothered over how close their faces were and that Mia could feel his breath on her skin as he spoke.

"...!"

As soon as he was done, the girl backed away and put her hand up to her neck, and her eyes widened once she felt a shape of a lightning-shaped artifact and instantly received a system message informing her that she became its first owner as well as a list of benefits the artifact was giving her.

"Z-Zombie...! I-I don't know what to say...!"

Mia gasped, struggling to find the right words to express her gratitude.

"You don't have to say anything. I didn't need anything from his dingy shop so I got the second-best thing."

The boy smirked evilly, making sure that the girl realized he meant that he is already above the level of such toys.

"Well then, let's get you nice and strong so I can stop worrying about your safety, I honestly have better things to do than that."

He added pulling out Kopia and assumed a battle stance.

"Remember, even with that artifact, you aren't some unstoppable force now. Let's have a test run - I will be only defending and you will try to hit me once. I have the responsibility to show you that the equipment is not everything!"

|Good! Make her realize that she wants to level up as strong as possible!|

Zombie boasted as his body lighted up with skills and Patience cheered from within him.