"..."

Zombie was standing by the four carts, staring into the distance and swaying from side to side like some dumb corpse.

Cranberry and the Dandelions just entered the appraiser's office, but the blue undead was already getting anxious, unable to see his master.

His eyes were glowing red as he kept checking on her life signature to stay calm.

After all, the red-haired girl asked him to watch the cargo.

He couldn't just leave and join her inside...

"Hmph..."

*crunch*

"AAAGHHH...!"

Zombie grunted and kicked a thief who was using a sneak skill and already reaching for the jewelry on the first wagon, crushing his crotch into a bloody pulp.

Just as Cranberry instructed him before, the blue undead wasn't going to finish anyone who his master didn't kill in one hit.

...he interpreted it as 'don't kill anyone'...

Though whether or not the unlucky thief would prefer to be dead was a different matter altogether...

Unable to hold back tears and snot the thief skulked away with blood soaking through his pants, making a trail on the road.

"..."

Zombie puffed out his cheeks and returned to watching his master's life signature.

"...!"

He perked up instantly seeing that she's coming back outside!

And indeed, Cranberry indeed left the building.

She and the three Dandelions were leading some skinny man towards the carts.

Zombie checked the man's posture and lost interest.

The man's life signature's intensity suggested that he was only in the middle levels and had a non-combat vocation...

Also... he could be snapped in two like a dry twig even by Zombie not using his strength-enhancing skills.

So of course he didn't notice that the appraiser's eyes lighted up when he saw the mound of valuables stacked on the first cart.

Nor how he licked his dry lips in an obnoxious way.

"I see... I see..."

The appraiser nodded and the greedy light disappeared from his eyes.

He turned to Cranberry and made a tired expression.

"While the amount is nothing to scoff at, I can tell at a glance that many of those things are just some cheap toys that peddlers sell to kids."

He sighed with disappointment.

"I can perform the appraisal on few things that look somewhat promising, but honestly, it might be just a waste of my time and your money. The cost of the appraisal will surely be higher than the worth of the items."

The appraiser was bowing his head apologetically.

Zombie rolled his eyes and held back a sigh.

To him, the man's words seemed not only plausible but straight up true.

After all, it made sense, the elves living in the middle of a forest, in hiding no less...

Why would they had anything of worth with them?

Although Zombie didn't bother to ask while he was slaughtering all of them, the forest elves seemed like the type of people that get fooled by merchants.

...

That rotten brain +1's side effects were in full swing...!

...

"Is that so? Let's shovel through them just in case."

Cranberry smirked and asked in a lighthearted voice.

"Of course, dearest customer, if that's what you wish for."

It looked like the appraiser was trying to test his flexibility with how deep he was bowing to the red-haired girl.

Seeing that behavior Zombie nodded with approval.

Then the appraiser got on top of the cart and started rummaging through the loot.

"...!"

He was doing fine with keeping a bored, composed expression, but one pendant, in particular, caused him to tremble and his eyes glowed brightly.

"Did you found something good amongst this garbage?"

Cranberry laughed condescendingly, leaning on the side of the wagon and looking at the skinny man with mockery.

"...y-yes, actually."

But instead of backing down the man smile and nodded.

"You might have hit a jackpot with that miss, this one can be worth more than half of all this stuff added together!"

He pulled up the pendant and show it off to the girl and the Dandelions...

...but it wasn't the pendant that has caused him to show such a strong reaction.

The appraiser managed to skillfully hide the real one in his sleeve and seamlessly pick up a different one to present.

He did it so skillfully that no one even noticed...

Or did he...?

Cranberry simply nodded and smiled with satisfaction and picked up a shiny earring from the pile.

"So you say... will you write down its properties for us? And while you're at it, don't you know a trustworthy merchant who would be willing to buy all of this from us? We're in a hurry."

She explained and threw the earring back as if it was just a piece of trash.

"Dearest customer! But of course, I do! It just so happens that a good friend of mine runs a..."

"I-it's him...! That's the corpse puppet that attacked me!"

The appraiser's joyous rant was interrupted by a pained cry of a man in blood-soaked pants pointing his finger at the idly standing Zombie.

"Doesn't look that strong... is there only one of those here?"

Captain of the guards raised his brow making a condescending face and waved at his men to surround the blue undead.

"Who is the owner of this creature? Hmm...?"

He was beginning a speech when another guard, most likely his vice-commander, jogged to him and started whispering into his ear.

The Dandelions and Cranberry looked at each other.

That other guard was the same person who pointed them to the skinny appraiser.

The captain's eyes were looking between Zombie, the skinny appraiser showing a confident smile, and the pile of valuables, books, and the corpse of the large draconid.

"I see..."

The captain nodded and squinted his eyes.

His eyes stopped at the pile of jewelry and other valuables and a nasty smile bloomed on his face.

Seeing that, the skinny appraiser paled and the aura of confidence that was surrounding him evaporated.

"An assault on the civilian is a serious crime, the safety of the citizens is the highest priority of us, the guards of Tart!"

The captain declared in a booming voice.

"You lot! The foreign adventurers! This corpse puppet belongs to one of you, doesn't it? You are all under arrest and all of your belongings will be confiscated as evidence for the case! Men! Secure everything!"

The guards' captain proclaimed.