The Villainess and I, her Zombie

Back in her room, Cranberry, wearing a dress that she tolerated the most, was leaning back in the chair and flipping through the pages of one of her many books.

But her eyes weren't following the text at all.

Instead, she was focused on listening in for the approaching footsteps.

Of course, she wasn't sure whether or not her mother would allow Claymore to stay for a bit, but still, the red-haired girl couldn't help but feel anticipation thinking about the possibility of having a conversation with the person she was exchanging letters since she was eleven.

The whole thing with letters started rather simply.

One day after the first kill party, a polite letter arrived at the Pride's mansion, asking about Cranberry's health.

It was written by Claymore Lust and therefore couldn't be ignored so lady Raspberry made Cranberry respond.

But after she did, another letter arrived just a few days later.

She responded to it too, but then again another letter came after mere days.

Claymore was either too thick-headed or too starved for interaction with someone who wasn't confessing their love after few first words, that she or he - depending on Claymore's mood - was adamant on keeping the relationship alive.

Soon Cranberry took a liking to this exchange and would write to Claymore without waiting for the response.

And now Claymore arrived at her home.

She could have of course pick a better timing.

She could have, preferably, warned Cranberry about the visit.

But in the end, she was there.

"...she won't try anything stupid with my Zombie, right..?"

Suddenly Cranberry looked up from above her book and frowned at the door.

/Charm type skill detected

/Rotten brain +1[max] active

/Charm type skill repelled

Just as she finished voicing her concerns, a system message popped up in front of her eyes confirming it.

"...I knew I shouldn't have left those two alone..."

She closed the book and started massaging her forehead.

/The unique skill of the avatar of sin detected

Binding of lust

/Calculating...

/Rotten brain +1[max] detected

/Calculating...

/Binding of lust repelled

"Ha!"

She cheered triumphantly seeing another message.

"No. Wait... Stop! Claymore, you dumbass, what are you trying to do to my Zombie?!"

After the initial reaction Cranberry realized that there was nothing to be happy about in that sutuation.

She clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles turned white and stood up, but then froze in mid-air.

Zombie managed to repel the skills both times, so the wasn't really anything to worry about, while, if she went to look for them, she risked meeting her mother.

"Haa... Zombie knows that Claymore is my friend so he won't harm her... yeah... I'll just wait..."

She breathed out and sat back down.

Then she started tapping her fingers on her arm.

Something was off...

Claymore using seduction skills on others, even though 'others' meant an undead, was... odd...

Completely out of her character even.

At least if what she wrote in her letters was the truth.

"Haa..."

The red-haired girl sighed, frowned, and picked up the book she previously put down, without opening it.

Then she started glancing at the door while fidgeting.

Honestly, now that no new messages were popping up, Cranberry started feeling anxious.

Claymore was cute.

And no matter whether she acted like a boy or a girl, her personality was cute too.

"Haa..."

But the person that Cranberry was exchanging letters didn't like all the excessive attention.

But now she was actively looking for it...?

Cranberry breathed out again trying to calm down.

On the other hand, it was easy for her to fall in love.

As a member of the Lust family, Claymore's strike zone was extremely wide, basically encompassing anything and everything that had a free will and wouldn't kill her - which actually was the exact phrase she wrote to Cranberry in one of her letters...

And then sent at least twenty letters back to back, taking all of that back, and apologizing, and explaining her unique circumstances.

The only reason that Claymore would try to seduce Zombie would be if one of her problematic skills activate on its own.

But that would mean...

"...!"

Cranberry stormed towards the door pushing aside any furniture in her way, but at the last moment, right before she grabbed the doorknob, the door opened...

"Cranberry...!"

Crying Claymore threw herself at Cranberry's neck without a moment of hesitation.

"Your course puppet was bullying meee...!"

Claymore sobbed pitifully, hanging off of Cranberry's neck and looking up at her with tearful eyes.

"You have to lend him to me now so..."

It sounded like the little guest had some naughty plans on her own.

Well...

"Graough...?! (Lend me to you...?!) Graough?! (And where did that came from?!)"

Zombie entered the room right after Claymore, and after hearing the petite guest state such an outrageous demand, he reached towards her head and mercilessly grabbed the tuft of hair that was sticking out, and pulled on it.

"Ow, ow, ow! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was joking! A joke! It was a joke...!"

To protect her precious antenna, Claymore had to let go of the frozen Cranberry and grabbed onto Zombie's arm because the blue undead had literally lifted her up.

Because of the size difference, it left Claymore pitifully kicking her legs in the air while desperately clinging to Zombie's outstretched arm.

Seeing that interaction made Cranberry tense up and start sweating.

"Zombie, enough. Let her go...!"

She forced a smile and nodded at her servant.

"Graough. (If you say so.)"

Zombie nodded back releasing his grip without any delay.

"Kyaah! Uuu...!"

Cried Claymore falling on her but and holding onto her hair tuft.

"I see you two are getting along nicely."

Cranberry gave her best to act calmly and returned to her desk, picked up the chair she knocked off, and sat on it as if she wasn't trying to run out of the room just a moment ago.

"Graough... (She's the one having a blast at least...)"

Zombie grunted with a bitter expression.

"Uuu... Nnnngh...! You... you meanie...!"

Claymore moaned and fidgeted on the floor, she was clenching her legs together and biting her lips looking up at Zombie with moist eyes filled with little ligh-blue hearts.

"Graough?! (What the... Again with that?!)"

Zombie frowned and it looked like he was going to pull Claymore back on her feet.

"Don't touch her now!"

The next moment Cranberry was in between the two of them, blocking Zombie's hand and Claymore's view.

"Graough...? (Master...?)"

Zombie grunted but Cranberry just glanced at him and shook her head.

"Claymore. Claymore, look at me."

Her voice was calm and composed, she made sure that the heart-filled eyes were focusing on her.

"Cran...! I want him...! I want hiiim...!"

It looked like the petite girl was in some kind of trance, with a flushed bright red face, each of her breaths was appearing as steam, and she was continuing to rub her legs together.

"Claymore. Focus. You came here today so we can write you a training program like you wanted, remember?"

Cranberry explained slowly.

"Ooohhh, I will come alright...! As long as he will be training me...!"

A lustful smile bloomed on Claymore's face, and it made her look so insanely captivating that it could only be compared to an actual physical attack.

/Warning

/Dominion of Lust activated

Iron will (level 2) active

/Calculating...

/Master resisted the effects of the dominion

/Rotten brain +1[max] active

/Calculating...

/Servant resisted the effects of the dominion

Actually, messages that popped up straight-up confirmed that it really was an attack...!