The Villainess and I, her Zombie

Plum was weary - the only contact he had with the undead monsters was by dealing with low-level skeletons, zombies, or ghouls that would sometimes arise from the dead if some poor creature's corpse wasn't properly disposed of with fire.

The teal-scaled lizardfolk was aware that the high-ranked undead monsters should be able to gain consciousness and intelligence that was just as good as the one possessed by any living creature - but at the same time, he also knew that the hatred for the living that every undead was carrying in their lifeless bodies wasn't something that could be controlled...

Still...

Apparently, that hatred was directed only to the living beings of the same species that the undead was originally - so maybe it wasn't that strange that the undead knight calling himself Zombie was acting considerably friendly towards the lizardfolk, even going as far as patting the head of one of the children that were staring up at him in awe, admiring his armor.

After all, going by the facial features and the head structure - and the shape of ears... mostly the shape of ears...- the blue-skinned undead knight must have been a human before turning.

But then, what was the explanation for the obviously human-looking red-haired girl that he had on a leash and was calling a pet?

Creatures like him shouldn't care for causing pain – they should only crave to bring the lives of their former gene-related to an end.

"Hello, Zombie. My name is Plum, welcome to our humble village."

In the end, the lizardfolk Plum had to say something as prolonging his silent observation could tick off the blue undead the wrong way and end his peaceful behavior in a flash.

...and the blue undead suddenly getting violent while surrounded by the children encouraged by his friendly demeanor was not something that Plum would ever want to let happen...

"It's a pleasure. I was traveling from the north, moving on the edge of the sea of mist and before I knew it, I was here."

The blue undead knight sighed and shrugged his shoulders awkwardly.

"Did you say that you were lost? Did you miss the outpost on the way here? The troops there are a nice bunch and would help you out, maybe even give you an escort."

The teal-scaled lizardfolk asked, carefully tiptoeing around straight up asking the blue undead knight about his purpose while keenly observing his reaction about the news of the outpost...

...would he flinch...?

...would he be taken aback by the mention of a military force...?

If he was someone with hostile intentions that should be the case...

"They would? That's amazing!"

"...!"

And to Plum's surprise and relief at the same time, the blue undead perked up, looking genuinely happy about the information he got.

"How far back will I have to go to get to that outpost you are talking about, kind mister Plum?"

Zombie asked straight up turning away and showing his back in a completely defenseless manner.

...maybe he really wasn't a threat...?

Plum thought to himself before answering the question.

"In human measurement, it would be more or less twenty-five miles. How fast would it take you depends on your speed, though."

The teal-scaled lizardfolk explained without getting closer to the blue undead and the grumpy-looking human female who was still very much bothered by the collar on her neck.

"Twenty-five miles you say..."

The blue undead knight tilted his head and frowned before turning and moving towards the red-haired female.

"...?"

She glared at him with a grudge in her gree eyes but he clearly wasn't bothered by it.

Instead, he raised his hands and adjusted her collar, making sure that it isn't strangling her in that position, and wiped the little bit of drool from the corner of her mouth that came out when he pulled her back with his leash., with his thumb.

"I am terribly sorry to impose on you, kind mister Plum, but is there a chance for my pet to get some rest at your village before I leave? Humans don't have that whole stamina and exhaust easily and we've been walking quite a bit - I don't want to make this one die from exhaustion on me. I got used to having her around."

Zombie said while smirking confidently right in the face of the human female before turning back and facing Plum with a perfectly friendly and not at all threatening smile.

"..."

The teal-scaled lizardfolk stiffened, trying to figure out the right thing to do at that point – all while analyzing Zombie's words.

The undead knight just suggested that it was normal for him to have humans as pets and that at least one have died from exhaustion because he did not remember that only undead don't tire out.

"Oh, don't worry - she is well trained and won't cause any trouble..."

Seeing Plum's hesitation, Zombie waved his hand dismissively, leaning away from his pet human.

"...right...?"

He added, lightly tugging on the leash and making the girl take a step forward.

"...yes... master..."

She glared at him for a moment but then looked down all timidly and nodded with a slight blush.

"..."

"!!!!"

The satisfied, and absolutely villainous-looking, pure evil smile that bloomed on Zombie's face made Plum suddenly start to reconsider putting any sort of trust into the blue undead knight...

...for a moment it looked as if the undead's black eyes glowed with a pale blue light but it must have been a mere trick of the light because it lasted only for a split second...

"No problem. Zombie, you said that you came from the north – are you a northerner yourself?"

"P-Pear...?!"

While plum was considering what should be the best option, the green-scaled Pear walked in front of him and agreed – not only that, he started a friendly conversation with the undead and started leading him towards the inn!

"Plum, the undead said that he came from the north want's to see the monster city – not that he was invited or scouted... You know what's in the north, right...? He must be someone really strong, or at least someone we don't want to mess with – if we cooperate with him, he will go away faster."

But, right as the teal-scaled lizardfolk was about to start questioning his friend's sanity, Pear leaned towards him and whispered in a conspicuous tone.

"...!"

That made Plum flinch and open his mouth in realization.

Considering all the pros and cons, it really was best to go along with the blue undead knight.

"Oh, I'm planning to have a look at the monster city but before I decide whether to settle there or not, I will need to return north – I have a pair of boots waiting there for me after all~"

"O-okay... Anyway, come with us."

Zombie smiled mischievously while Plum raised his brow in confusion and started leading him to the inn.

---

The lizardfolk children were tagging along behind them, so Cranberry couldn't really properly speak with Zombie without being too suspicious, but even so, she ended up grabbing onto the finger of his armored glove and tugging on it to the undead's attention.

"...?"

Zombie didn't straight up answer or turn to her, but instead, he leaned slightly back and lent the red-haired girl his ear.

"I know it was my idea but... aren't you enjoying the situation a little bit too much...?"

She asked showing off her collar with a grumpy expression.

"Sweetie, the thing you're doing is called projecting - look it up in Patience's knowledge."

"Ha...? E-eh...?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?"

Zombie snorted and his offhanded sentence caused Cranberry's face to become bright pink from the extremely heavy blush.