Chapter 24

“I suddenly feel like doodling again…

I have a feeling that inspiration is about to strike me like when I hastily scribbled down the paper about ‘performing dark healing on a living human as a sacrifice to the demon tribe makes myth-level healing possible.’

‘Reviving a zombie is probably impossible, but perhaps it could be possible to revive individual organs with dark healing and use them as transplant organs…’

It’s a night filled with a zombie outbreak.

With nothing else to do, I was lying in a guest room of the demon lord’s castle, imagining and discarding various possibilities of zombies while staring at the ceiling.

“Lady Alaya, honestly, you’ve been thinking about zombies all the time… You’ll have nightmares at this rate, you know?”

“If I could research zombies in my dreams, I would want to do that. It wouldn’t cost anything, and it would be wonderful. By the way, Milphobia-kun? How long do you intend to stay in this room…?”

“Eh?”

In response to my question, Milphobia tilted her head curiously.

Dinner was over, and it was time to sleep.

“Could it be that you’re seriously planning to keep watch over me all night…?”

“Yes, of course, why?”

Milphobia had somehow changed into her nightwear without me noticing.

She even had a thin blanket in her hands.

“Rest assured. I will sleep on the floor in front of the door. Lady Alaya, please don’t think of jumping out of the window to escape, alright? This is the third floor.”

“I wouldn’t go that far… No, are you really planning to sleep on the floor? That’s bad for your health.”

“Don’t worry. It won’t affect my work.”

“No, I’m just concerned about it…”

It’s rather troublesome for her to be so dutiful to her job.

Well, her actions stem from the fact that I had escaped once, so the responsibility lies with me.

…Having her sleep on the floor next to me while I use the bed is quite uncomfortable.

“If that’s the case, may I rest with you in the same bed, Lady Alaya?”

Milphobia offered a mischievous smile as if she had just come up with the idea.

Her question seemed to imply that she thought I would refuse.

“I don’t mind.”

“Eh?”

I pushed the pillow aside and snuggled into the blanket on the opposite side of the pillow.

I don’t need a pillow, so it’s not a problem.

“Hmm, there’s enough space for us both to lie down.”

“…I never expected to be invited to the bed by you, Lady Alaya.”

“Rest assured. I have good sleeping posture.”

Since I usually sleep on the sofa at the clinic, I’ve developed a habit of fixing my body in place to avoid falling off.

“Well then, good night.”

“…So you really don’t mind? Then I’ll gratefully intrude on your space. Good night.”

Milphobia quietly climbed into the blanket next to me and lay down.

Without any further conversation, my consciousness began to drift away into sleep.

…

…

…

…Rustling.

…Huh?

I feel like my body is being shaken.

“Ugh…?”

Drowsily, I try to sort out the situation.

Could it be Milphobia?

Is she trying to siphon off my energy while I’m asleep…?

If that’s the case, that would be valuable data.

“Paper… and… a pen… please…”

A floating sensation.

It feels like my body is being lifted…

Or rather, I am being lifted?

…Is it now a trend for succubi to lift humans while milking them? The book Milphobia gave me didn’t mention anything like that.

But Milphobia has surprisingly muscular arms for her appearance.

Or could it be that she only becomes muscular during the milking process?

“…Heh, interesting…”

As I mutter this, I hear a voice from beside me saying, “Huh… what’s that?”

It was Milphobia’s voice.

…Huh?

If I can hear Milphobia’s voice next to me, then who is the owner of the arms lifting me?

I open my eyes.

In front of me is the face of a rotting male zombie, muscular and fully equipped with a metal helmet and armor.

…Who could it be?

“Kyahhh!?”

Milphobia’s scream echoes from beside me.

Milphobia, too, was being lifted and held in a horizontal embrace by a mummy-like male zombie, tied up with ropes.

“C-could it be that Lady Alaya is requesting a special bondage play while sleeping, and I was just sitting still… but why are there zombies in this room!?”

“What, you don’t even know Milphobia-kun?”

“Of course, I don’t have any acquaintances who are zombies!”

The two male zombies, still holding us, silently walked toward a window that had been opened without us noticing.

In front of the window stood another unfamiliar female zombie.

She wore revealing armor that I had never seen in the kingdom.

Her upper body was clad only in an armor that separated at the chest, and her lower body exposed most of her thighs, with a flimsy metal waistband hanging just over her groin.

She wore a helmet that, while rusty, looked quite sophisticated.

Could she have been a knight in life?

[Ugh… Ah…]

The female knight zombie seemed to possess some intelligence; she pointed toward the window and gracefully jumped outside.

“W-wait… this is the third floor—Gah!?”

Milphobia’s face turned pale as she tried to say something, but the mummy zombie covered her mouth with its hand.

The stench of death was overwhelming.

…It seems calling for help by shouting here isn’t a wise choice.

As expected, the two male zombies also leaped out of the window after the female knight zombie, still carrying us.

“Whoa…”

I expected to feel a shock upon landing, but we gently floated down to the ground like feathers.

These zombies are remarkably high-performance.

They’re not comparable to the naturally occurring zombies at all.

“Could it be that these three… are real human-based zombies?”

I immediately began my “examination” of the muscular zombie holding me.

…Hmm, it’s probably true. The muscle density is extraordinarily high. It must be a former warrior zombie.

Next, I examined the brain. Upon closer inspection, it seems there’s a “distorted mass of magical power” in part of the brain.

…What is this magical power? Could this distortion be the cause of this zombie’s strange behavior…?

The zombies continued moving without stopping, seemingly trying to take us somewhere without harming us.

I sensed intelligence in their actions.

If I just shake them off with brute strength, who knows what might happen? For now, I’ll do what I can.

“Uuuuuuu! Mmm… Oegh…!”

Milphobia has been having her mouth covered by the mummy zombie for a while now, and she’s about to throw up from the terrible stench of death.

I’ll have to hurry as much as I can