The Villainess and I, her Zombie

"...and you are sure that the -cursed sister- quest is THE secret or special or whatever quest that is necessary for the secret true ending...?|

Zombie was walking through the forest while giving the sleeping kobold girl the piggyback ride and asked the crimson-haired girl with a golden snake earring, keeping up with him on his right.

"Nnnn... Yes."

Kopia furrowed her brows and closed her eyes letting out a peculiar sound before looking right at the blue undead and nodding semi-confidently.

"Oh, dear... I was expecting that since Lairs has a unique name that there will be something going on with her – and now that I think about it, I have never seen any other elf with black hair... Ugh... I should have realized that something was off..."

Zombie groaned, shaking his head, severely disappointed in himself and his deduction skills.

"...wait... Lairs have a connection to Mason... I know for a fact that Shanks is connected to the Sloth family too... Could it be that the other Dandelions also have some sort of connection with the secret true ending...?"

He gasped in disbelief.

"No wonder that my Cranberry killing that healer girl during the first playthrough was a big deal! In're is probably connected to the secret ending too!"

The blue undead experienced an epiphany but he certainly wasn't too happy with it.

"This all sounds really like some crazy talk, if you ask me, master..."

The green bushy bracelet on Zombie's wrist moved and revealed itself to be a rather large centipede monster with carapace covered in fresh green moss and its legs looking like healthy blooming wigs – it also did not screech but instead when it was moving its mandibles a clear voice of a young man would be heard.

"Well, you are a remnant of a god of spirits who got kidnapped by humans – that also doesn't sound very plausible and yet it is the truth, wouldn't you say, George?"

Zombie shrugged his shoulders looking down, right into the glistening jet-black eyes of the half-plant insect.

"Hmmm... If you put it that way..."

The small monster nodded his head segment and looked around curiously.

"That said – I quite like this place, lots of pretty plants. If you will trap me here I won't even mind."

George moved his legs excitedly, taking in the view.

"I am not going to trap or lock you up anywhere, mister green centipede of pillage – I promised you that we will travel and you will see as many places as possible, and I will keep my word."

Zombie shook his head and scoffed slightly surprised by the words of the remnant on his wrist.

"Yeah... nope, I do not believe you, master. Player characters are not to be trusted, and you are one despite being a monster."

George shook his head from left to right before resting it back on Zombie's hand making himself look like an innocent bracelet.

"Haa... Oh, that reminds me!"

The blue undead let out a worried sigh before flinching and raising his brows.

"Don't go around telling anyone else that I am a player character, alright? I would like to keep it a secret just between us."

He said, looking down at the centipede with a rather self-explanatory expectant look.

"Understood. I will also refrain from talking when creatures I don't know are in the area."

George easily agreed, tapping his legs on Zombie's skin reassuringly.

"Alright – but just so you know, if I'll ask you something, it's okay to answer out loud – same if you notice something is wrong – don't hold yourself back and talk."

"Noted."

Zombie pointed out and the half-plant centipede confirmed in an easy-going manner.

Their group was already quite far into the forest, mostly due to Kopia who was immune to Olive's illusions taking the lead, but that didn't change the fact that the old elf didn't show up at all...

The blue undead was trying to keep a positive mindset, but it was rather a difficult task.

"...why are we circling around like this, master? I suspect that you want to get to the settlement of the elves, right? The trees are telling me that we are taking the long path."

After a few more minutes, George tapped on Zombie's wrist and asked.

"Hey! I am doing my best! There's too much mana in the air, I get lost!"

"Sssss! (Yeah, leave Kopia alone!)"

Kopia turned to them and cried out surprisingly pitifully, and Monty joined in, hissing in her defense.

"..."

Zombie's eyes widened – to tell the truth, he had no idea that Kopia was fining her way using mana – earlier she merely said that she remembers the correct route, and the blue undead believed her.

"No, no, miss sword. I am not blaming you – I was was, I would speak to you directly – I am simply curious why our master isn't ordering me to make a path for us... Ah, could it be that you want to give me more time to enjoy the scenery...? I am grateful but you don't have to get out of your way to be nice to me – I already swore my allegiance to you, master."

George hurriedly waved around ten of his legs and explained his point to Kopia before turning around and glancing at the blue undead's face.

"...eh...?"

The humanoid sword tilted her head and looked towards Zombie for an explanation.

"You speak about making a path, but aren't you too weak to do that? Monty lost all his powers on his second incarnation, wouldn't you be the same...?"

Zombie asked curiously, though he himself had realized that it wasn't necessarily true – after all, during the first playthrough he and Cranberry met and hunted down the physical remnant of the fire god, Wing – and it was always keeping its strength no matter the times it revived...

...up until that point, the blue undead wrote it off as something unique to the powers of the phoenix, but it looked like he was wrong...

"Ah, so that's why. You worry for no reason, master, though, your consideration is appreciated. Snake's and mine powers are completely different. Its are based on the sin of greed and it can use only as much strength as it gathers because it doesn't trust anything other than itself. Mine are based on envy – I see something, I want it, I take it."

"Ssssss! (Hey! Why does it sound like I am weaker than you!) Ssss! (Know your place, stupid green, I'm older than you, and I'm with master longer than you!)"

George explained politely but something that he said must have rubbed Monty the wrong way since it sprung up, supporting itself n Kopia's ear, and hissed furiously at the half-plant centipede.

"I don't have to answer to an idiot who hadn't figured out it can create an outer shell that could speak a human language for itself."

...Geroge didn't even attempt to peek at the golden snake and simply scoffed...

"Sssss! (I'm not an idiot!) Sssss! (You're an idiot!)"

Unsurprisingly, his tone made Monty even angrier.

"You will settle things between yourselves later – now – George, I take it that you can create that straight path for us. Will it be illusion-free?"

Zombie cut the escalating quarrel short and asked the centipede on his wrist.

"...I will try, but the one who put them in place was really good – better prepare to experience some effects..."

George answered hesitantly before his body began glowing with a ridiculously powerful white light...

*CREAAAAAK*

...and the noise of trees and shrubs literally moving around, reshaping the landscape pierced the peaceful forest air...

"...ssss... (...show off...)"

Monty hissed grumpily and looked away.

"Don't worry, gold, I think you are the best."

The crimson-haired girl whispered and patted the tiny golden serpent's head with her middle finger.

"Sssssss! (Waaaaah...! Kopiaaaaaa!)"

Monty cried out and nuzzled against her hand gratefully.