The Villainess and I, her Zombie

"I'm a six-year-old human. I've been born with superbia skill and will most likely be the next avatar of pride, even though I'm not from the Pride family. I know about the Envy family kidnapping your kind and stealing your beauty all the way back since when lady Envy first managed to trick and kidnap Saint after she witnessed the benefits of the avatar of sin titles gave the other progenitors of the main families. I know about the basement in the Envys mansion and I know about the basement under the basement where a monster that's physical remains of Saint is locked away while continuously exploited to grant the avatar of envy a certain degree of power over the elves. I do not work for the envy family nor do I intend to – the only Envys I met were three robbers who were saying that they were from the Envy family, though it was rather doubtful at best, and the merchant who brought me here. What I do want is to make a deal with you. In the future when I will be strong enough I will make sure that the Envy family will get exposed and that the power that lets the avatar of envy keep your mouth shut about the kidnapping will be no more, which will result in setting your kind free after system-knows how many years. What I want in exchange for doing that is the artifact that grants enough magic defense power to the wielder so that they will be able to oppose even the strongest mind control skill that an avatar of any sort would be able to use even if the wielder was a blood relative to them. I need it to make sure that the person I want to protect will not end up dead and I'm willing to agree to a lot of additional demands on your part as long as you will provide the artifact immediately..."

The young boy somehow managed to say it all in one breath, without pausing for long enough to give his listeners the slightest chance to interrupt him.

"Yeah... I guess that's enough for the start – I can get in more detail as soon as you will start preparing the artifact I require s-so... please... I can't abandon her... I have to make it work somehow..."

He added with a slightly flushed face, and his voice broke down while he turned to an utterly flabbergasted Mirabelle.

"Fuck, alright. He's against us. I'll get rid of him."

Olive shook his head in disappointment and his arm lighted up on fire since he was already sure that the boy was lying and just trying to buy enough time for some sort of reinforcements or another trap to be ready.

"...Olive... Everything he said is true..."

Mirabelle whispered, staring wide-eyed at the teary-eyed boy – who was furiously wiping his eyes, furious at himself for showing weakness by the end of his almost perfect speech.

"Wh-what the fuck are you talking about?!"

Olive gasped and stared at the village elder in disbelief.

"He isn't with those fuckers, but even so...!"

Mirabelle wasn't able to mention anything that would suggest that the Envy family was guilty of doing anything wrong to the elves, so she just made eye contact with the old elf and looked at him hopefully.

"This... fuck... if he really can be our ally, then this is huge...!"

Olive clenched his fists and the fire covering his arm instantly evaporated from existence.

"Zombie, come with us! This is fucking amazing...! We need to discuss everything in more detail! Right fucking away!"

Mirabelle approached the boy leaned down to grab his hand and started leading him back to the hidden entrance she came from before.

"Olive! What the fuck are you waiting for?! You're coming too!"

She turned around and called out happily to the old elf.

"..."

Zombie was meekly letting the elf guide him through, and instantly a splendid settlement showed up seemingly out of nowhere, hidden from the unwanted attention of the outside world by the most powerful illusion skills and barriers that the strongest of the elves could create.

But the young boy wasn't really in the mood to watch the city-sized village that he massacred in his first playthrough.

|Wh-why can't I stop crying?! What is going on?! I refuse! I am not that pathetic to just turn into a faucet the moment I mention protecting Cranberry...!|

He sniffled internally, as he was doing his best to wipe away all the tears unceasingly pouring down his face.

|Well... this is what happens when you bottle things up for too long... You will be undead in a few months, but you aren't one now, humans aren't that strong emotionally – and you are really worried about your villainess.|

Patience explained in a gentle voice.

|I told you that's not it, I am not some pathetic crybaby!|

Zombie scoffed angrily even though on the outside he looked exactly like a defenseless abandoned child stuffed into an oversized armor and there was nothing that he could do about it.

|I know that you are strong. I know. But no one can be strong all the time...|

The unusually soft-spoken Patience agreed while sounding as if she was shaking her head.

|...I wish I could hug and comfort you... but just know that you don't have to try to do everything on your own. You can ask me more questions about everything. And we can discuss things when you're in doubt or worried. Since we merged together by the end of the previous playthrough, I'm the one who knows you the best, that's why I can say that there is no reason for you to worry that much. You will make everything work. We will make everything work. I promise you I will do everything in my might to help you.|

|...thank you...|

She assured him and promised, and with that Zombie somehow managed to calm down.

His eyes were still red but at least there were no more tears flowing when Mirabelle brought him inside a cozy little hut and Olive closed the door behind them.

"It's alright, kid. Since you really are on our side, we will make things work fucking perfectly!"

She assured him, with almost overwhelming enthusiasm.

"But first, we need to learn a few more details... Like how in the fuck did a six-year-old like you managed to get here with someone from the Envy family in the first place, and how come you got strong enough to pose as a banished dwarf! And... that's a badge of a low-level adventurer, right? How the fuck were you accepted as an adventurer?!"

Although Mirabelle turned trusting almost instantly, Olive kept his hesitation and doubt, although he lost all the threatening aura that he was giving off before.