The Villainess and I, her Zombie

"...?"

Cranberry turned around and glared down at the verbose adventurers.

"Did this receptionist or I have asked any one of you for your opinion?"

She asked in a disgusted tone.

"Young lady, with all due respect to you, that gnom works here. Just standing here all day, in warmth and under the roof, and she is even getting paid."

One of the adventurers bowed his head to the red-haired girl, doing his best that his problem doesn't have anything to do with her but rather with the small receptionist girl.

„Yeah! Us adventurers are the ones who actually risk our lives out there. The least that this gnome can do is to do her work as fast as possible so we don't have to spend here all day lining up like some cattle!"

Another one joined him and a murmur of agreement circled amongst the other waiting people, while the receptionist could only keep their mouth shut and grit their teeth.

As per their contract, they weren't allowed to argue with customers about anything other than mission levels and the rewards - since none of those were up to them to decide.

"..."

Cranberry frowned and outstretched her hand without adding even a single word.

And she waited.

"...?"

That odd move caused both receptionist and the queuing people to stare at her in bewilderment.

But even so, she didn't budge and kept holding out her hand.

"Wha...?"

"Graough. (Sorry for the wait.)"

Just as one of the adventurers was about to ask out loud what the red-haired girl was doing, the blue corpse puppet by her side finally managed to take off a long thin package from his back, unwrapped it, and handed the elegant baseball bat to his master while growling apologetically.

"Thank you."

Cranberry nodded her head with a warm smile directed only to her eternal servant. Then she gripped the weapon's handle so hard that her knuckles turned white and her eyes become ice-cold as she turned back to the talkative adventurers.

"I was always under the impression that all members of the intelligent races were able to understand something so simple as the right to rest for everyone legally hired in any kind of business. Was I wrong Zombie?"

She asked, tilting her head towards the blue undead.

"Graough! (No, you were most definitely right, master!)"

Zombie waved his left hand while growling in explanation that only the red-haired girl could understand.

"You all heard that? I'm not wrong."

Cranberry smiled mockingly looking at all the people taken aback so much as if they saw a bloodthirsty monster sing and dance.

"But then, if you can't accept that obvious right, then maybe you are just something only looking like a human, a disguised monster perhaps...?"

Cranberry's voice became cold again and despite it not being loud at all, everyone heard her clearly due to the silence that has befallen the entire room.

"And if that's the case... Miss receptionist, correct me if I'm wrong here, but as the pledge of the adventurers goes: 'it's a duty of an adventurer to protect every member of any of the intelligent races from the beasts and monsters of the world... correct?"

The corners of her lips turned up in a smug smile and her body began to glow.

"C-correct, word by word, young lady...!"

The little gnome receptionist confirmed from behind the counter.

"Ha ha! You all heard that?"

Cranberry laughed in her own nasty way and looked around making eye contact with every single person there,

"So...? How will it be? Are you two humans, or monsters?"

Cranberry finally looked back at the impatient adventurers and asked provocatively.

"...! damn it! Fine! It's not like waiting a few more minutes will change anything! She can go on her break, okay?!"

The first one backed down instantly and stepped away.

"...I'm just waiting to submit the results of my gathering mission..."

The other hot-headed adventurer retreated while showing off the small bag that he had hung over his shoulder.

"Ha! You can use your brains, let's say that you are humans. For now."

The red-haired girl mocked them with a smirk, and then she turned back.

"Miss receptionist, have a nice break."

Cranberry deactivated her skills and nodded to the gnome girl while making a friendly smile.

"...! Th-thank you so much, young lady Pride...!"

The little receptionist bowed one more time, disappearing completely behind the counter, and hurriedly trotted away, towards the door in the back.

"Graough? (Master, is this a carrot and a stick approach again?)"

Zombie gently tugged on Cranberry's clothes and curiously growled into her ear.

"...!"

Cranberry flinched and glanced at him with a blush, but neither confirmed nor denied anything.

Instead, she gestured at him to follow her and walked towards the big noticeboard full of various notes containing the information about different available quests free for the taking for the adventurers.

"Graough? (Umm... We aren't registered yet, right?) Graough? (Can we really just start picking out quests like that?)"

The blue undead asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"True. But who is going to stop us? The grateful receptionists?"

Cranberry snorted and waved her hand dismissively.

"...?"

Hearing that Zombie curiously looked over his shoulder and noticed that two more receptionist have left their spots to get their due break without being bothered by the adventurers who kept nervously glancing at the red-haired girl.

"Graough! (So it was the carrot and the stick again!)"

Zombie growled impressed.

"Haa... no, not really. Just some basic human empathy."

Cranberry sighed and shook her head.

"Graough... (Oh, I see, humans are complex, huh...)"

Zombie nodded as if he learned some profound knowledge, while it was something that he should know since he was human before.

But it seemed that he had simply forgotten about that small detail.

Cranberry glanced at him with worried eyes and bit her lips.

Still, it wasn't really the time for discussing the humanity of someone who was no longer a human, so she got back to the noticeboard.

"Zombie, help me here, check for the monster killing quests - would be perfect if they didn't require to be a specific rank to accept them, were not urgent, and preferably mentioned that they can be done over and over again."

She instructed while already holding on to two or three notes with quests that met her criteria.

"Graough! (Master, this one says that they are willing to buy the pelts of the frenzy wolves!) Graough! (Their population should have increased enough for us to made a nice profit!)"

Zombie growled happily showing off the note.

"Wolves you say... well, I would rather much prefer something a bit more exotic, but considering the pay, it is a great mission to chose for our first."

Cranberry smiled and praised her servant generously.

"And with the money, we'll be able to get better equipment... we are both long overdue for some strengthening accessories."

Cranberry declared while wrapping her arms around Zombie's left arm and started pulling him towards the exit.

"Graough?! (Ah! Is it shopping time?!)"

Zombie's eyes lighted up - not with skill but rather from the excitement.