“Alright, that should do it.”
“Whoa, the pain’s gone. Thanks a bunch, Doc.”
Zenos spoke, and the Lizardman patient thanked him before leaving.
“Lily, how many more?”
“That was the last patient for the morning.”
Lily answered from her seat at the reception desk, and Zenos let out a sigh.
The clinic in the ruined district.
As per his initial contract with Becker, Zenos had returned to his familiar place for the weekend. He had finally finished with the week’s worth of waiting patients, when a voice called out from the dining table in the back.
“You must be tired, Doctor. It’s been a while. I’ll give you a shoulder rub.”
“Then Ringa will massage your arms. And your legs. Ringa will massage anywhere Zenos likes.”
“Yeah, isn’t that a bit overprotective?”
“Then, in return, I shall let you massage my ample bosom.”
“No, why would I?”
In their usual spot sat the usual trio. The demi-human female leaders suddenly turned to him with expectant looks.
“By the way, Doctor, do you notice anything?”
“Hmm…”
Zenos folded his arms and looked around.
“I thought the room looked cleaner. Did you guys do this…?”
“Well, we’re staying here, so it’s only natural,” Zofia replied, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Ringa polished every nook and cranny.” added Ringa looking equally embarrassed.
Beside them, Reve puffed out her chest proudly.
“I even went as far as to repair the door.”
“You just fixed it after you broke it yourself,” Zenos pointed out.
“Ringa thinks Reve effectively did nothing.”
“Guh…”
Challenged by the two, Reve dropped to one knee. Seeing their usual interaction, Zenos felt a sense of relief.
“Anyway, what was the cause of the undead outbreak, Zenos?”
“Oh, well, about that…”
Zenos hesitated at Lily’s innocent question. He wasn’t sure if Camilla herself was aware of it, so he felt awkward bringing it up.
However, Ringa spoke up in his stead.
“A massive undead outbreak? Ringa thinks it might have been caused by Lord Wraith. Undead have a tendency to be drawn to stronger undead.”
“Ah, you said it…”
The werewolf, a creature of the night, seemed to have noticed. Then, Camilla appeared from the second floor and crossed her legs haughtily on the bed.
“Hoh. So, I am the cause?”
With no other choice, Zenos gave a small nod.
“You knew?”
“Well, it’s not surprising. I’ve often seen them around me since long ago.”
He recalled that when he first came to this house, there were a lot of ghosts around.
“Kukuku… This is what you call the overflowing aura of a king.”
She didn’t seem particularly apologetic, but her tone dropped slightly.
“…It can’t be helped. Then, I suppose I shall stay here and watch over the place for a while.”
“That’s up to you, but—”
Zenos thought for a moment, then continued.
“Considering the safety of those around, wouldn’t it be better if you stayed by my side?”
““““What?!””””
The three at the table and Lily exclaimed simultaneously.
“Eh, what’s wrong?”
“D-Doctor, so cool…”
“By my side… Ringa wants to be told that too.”
“Guh, I have mixed feelings. My chest hurts!”
“M-Mmm… But Lily would be happier if Camilla-san was with us.”
The demi-humans were writhing for some reason, and Lily was cupping her cheeks with both hands. Camilla, on the other hand, was frozen, staring intently at Zenos. Zofia spoke with a grin.
“Oh my, Camilla. Is your face turning red?”
“Y-You fool. Do not tease a Wraith.”
Camilla quickly turned her face away and floated.
“…To tell a loathed Wraith to stay by your side, you truly are a strange man.”
And, just before disappearing to the second floor, she said one last thing.
“Kukuku… Very well. Then I shall continue to tease you without restraint. Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee…”
“What kind of parting line is that?”
In reality, undead didn’t constantly appear wherever Camilla was. It was likely that the condition was the proximity of places where undead tended to gather, like the ruined district or a graveyard. Since he had cleaned up the area, it should be fine for the time being, but he might not be able to relax for too long.
“So, are you getting things sorted out with your work, Doctor?”
“Well…”
Life at the Royal Clinic was refreshingly interesting, but the purpose of his infiltration was to gather information on the missing persons. He needed to get closer to the Goldrun Laboratory, where a man named Alfred had worked until recently, but to do that, he needed to build up a track record and catch the professor’s eye—
“Zenos defeated a lot of undead, so Lily thinks he’s amazing.”
“If that’s enough to be considered an achievement, that’s good, but…”
Zenos leaned back against the backrest and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Rather, the problem before that was that, apart from Umin, no one else believed Zenos had done the undead extermination. The key was Umin’s colleague…
“Excuse me. It’s Cresson.”
“Come in.”
Meanwhile, Cresson stepped into a room in the research wing of the Royal Clinic.
Sitting in the chair was Professor Goldrun’s second secretary. Although he was a fox borrowing the authority of a tiger, being a direct subordinate of the professor, his words carried weight.
Translator’s Note
“Fox borrowing the authority of a tiger” is a Japanese idiom for someone who uses someone else’s power or influence to their advantage.
“Cresson. I hear you did quite well in the undead extermination.”
“W-Well, it was nothing for someone like me.”
Cresson puffed out his chest and replied.
“The young ones who went with you were all praising you. They said you wiped out a large number of undead and defeated the Zombie King single-handedly. That’s quite impressive. I’m proud to have recommended you to the professor.”
“H-Haha…”
The second secretary furrowed his brow deeply.
“However, if you were so successful, does that mean the special trainee, Zeno, was a disappointment?”
“…”
Before heading out for the extermination, Cresson had been summoned by this second secretary and instructed to force the special trainee named Zeno to join the extermination squad and to check his abilities. He quickly understood that this was based on the professor’s desire to add talented individuals to his faction. Therefore, Cresson would rather Zeno not be successful.
The second secretary nervously shook his knee.
“Tsk, I introduced an unnecessary person to the professor. This will reflect badly on me.”
“Yes. Well…”
Cresson stopped speaking. He stood there for a while, and the second secretary frowned.
“What is it, Cresson? You’re dismissed. Continue to serve the professor well.”
“Y-Yes. Um…”
“Is there something else?”
Cresson remained standing and clenched his fist tightly.
“He… The special trainee is the real deal.”
“…Hmm?”
“He’s the one who actually defeated the large number of undead and the Zombie King.”
“…What are you saying?”
“It’s the truth. I saw it with my own eyes. Well then, excuse me.”
Cresson left the room without looking back.
When he was surrounded by a large number of undead. When he confronted the Zombie King. He was scared. He thought he was going to die. He had prepared for the worst. Even so, his pride got in the way, and he refused to ask for help.
Yet, in the end, that guy saved him. And he did it so easily, as if it were nothing.
Cresson clicked his tongue loudly and punched the wall in the hallway.
“Damn it, I’ve repaid my debt.”
“…”
After Cresson left, the second secretary stared silently at the closed door. Then, he slowly stood up and headed towards the professor’s office.