"If you allow, I'll teleport you to the royal castle at once."

Persimmon stood up and offered his hand toward the master-servant pair with a respectful bow.

​​

"There's no need to. I can carry my Cranberry whenever she wants just as fast."

Zombie scoffed, raising his head, and glared down at the middle-aged butler.

The blue undead went as far as to pick up his red-haired villainess and turn away so that the other man couldn't even look at her properly.

"...."

Persimmon lifted his head and showed his surprised expression.

"But... isn't your full acceleration so powerful that it can create explosions and shockwaves...? I understand that you don't mind wreaking havoc, sir puppet, but please reconsider, the cost of the repairs for the potential damages would make the queen rip all of her hair out. Once again, please reconsider."

He bowed his head right back and pleaded.

"And why would I ca..."

"Zombie, calm down. We will go with him."

The blue undead scoffed and was even in the middle of denying the butler's plea but the red-haired girl in his arms shook her head and decided on something completely different than what Zombie had in mind.

"Once again, thank you for your understanding, young lady!"

Persimmon hurriedly got back on to his knees to show off his gratitude - but he was the only one with such a warm reaction.

"Cranberry... do you really want us to let that guy teleport us whenever he wants?"

Zombie furrowed his brows and lowered his head so that he could whisper into the red-haired girl's ear.

"...haa... we can just treat it as the test of the queen's intelligence - if she asked this guy to get us into some dangerous place, we will know that she was just plotting against us. But before that. If by any chance her offer is real, I want to give it a try. What other option do we have?"

Cranberry smiled softly and whispered back, nuzzling against Zombie's face.

"..."

Zombie furrowed his brows and gritted his teeth.

There actually was something bothering him, but instead of it being a concrete thing, he was just feeling that both he and his villainess were missing something important.

"...fine..."

Instead of voicing his vague concerns, the blue undead sighed and nodded.

"I will protect you no matter what, so you trust me just a bit more, alright?"

He added before pulling back just a little bit and leaning back down just so their foreheads were touching.

"Z-Zombie...?"

Cranberry looked up at Zombie with her still slightly reddened eyes and asked hopefully, closing her eyes in preparation for what would come next.

"Your hands must be hurting. Let me fix that for you."

The blue undead smirked a little bit mockingly.

...and then they kissed.

"...!"

A gentle act of touching each other's lips caused the middle-aged butler watching them from the side to flinch in utter shock - he was made aware of the relationship of the two but hearing about it and seeing the interaction between a lady of the noble house and a corpse puppet of all things, were two completely different things altogether.

Meanwhile, the black and red smoke slip its way inside the villainess's body, seeping into her every cell before being sucked out together as the damage absorption skill had done its work and restored the damages that the red-haired girl had caused to herself while obliterating the entire territory.

"Haa... thank yo-"

*peck*

"...eh...?"

Once healed, Cranberry sighed with relief and smiled at Zombie, but her blue undead wasn't quite finished.

Zombie kissed her forehead.

"Everything will be alright."

*peck*

And her nose.

"Even if the queen is plotting against you."

*peck*

And her cheek.

"You are strong and smart, you will win."

*peck*

"Ah...!"

And her neck - which caused her to let out a surprised voice.

"And if you worry about something you think you may not be able to oppose with your strength and wits alone, like some unknown future events, or Patience, or even the memories of your mother... just remember that I am and always will be by your side. Forever."

Zombie ended his speech resting his forehead on Cranberry's collarbone.

"...haa... my rotten brain..."

The red-haired villainess breathed out with delight and wrapped her arms around the blue-skinned capture target.

"..."

That left things considerably awkward for the middle-aged butler waiting for them on their side.

Needless to be said, Persimmon was a clever man, he would not have become an important member of the prestigious and important group like the eleventh unit of the royal guards if he didn't know how to read the mood and keep his mouth shut when needed - even if he saw that the person he was ordered to bring with all the VIP treatment was doing something widely considered as repulsive by the majority of the population.

After all, he has heard a quick report about what happened to a waitress who dared to point out the faults in the young lady Pride's act - and he certainly wasn't keen on experiencing the same thing on his own.

"Well then, Persimmon. Take us to the queen - let's see what other things she has in store for us."

"....!"

Once the middle-aged butler raised his head he saw a red-haired girl and the blue-skinned corpse puppet standing side by side waiting for him to get up and teleport them away.

"Ah! At once, young lady!"

---

"...father...!"

The ashen-haired girl was kneeling by the pile of bloody meat and bones as people around her were searching through the debris to look for anyone still trapped in the destroyed Wraths mansion.

"Mika, don't be sad..."

A white-haired child approached the ashen-haired girl and hugged her, but the girl continued crying as if she didn't realize a thing.

"Caramel, don't you think that making me steal her anger was a bit too much? It is her right to be furious about her parent's death."

A hooded man standing a few feet behind the crying ashen-haired girl leaned towards the light brown-haired young woman and whispered.

"If she could feel anger right now, she would destroy the entire city and we don't need any of that."

Caramel shook her head and responded.

"Your improved skills can now hold onto anything you've stolen without the need to keep it or push it onto someone else, right, mister fallen elf?"

She asked.

"That's right."

Mason nodded.

"Then just hold onto her anger - if things go wrong and the condemnation event won't play out as we want - you will just return it to her and make her deal with that wretched woman."

The young woman shrugged her shoulders.

"What about keeping the system's balance and saving the world? Wouldn't going overboard make us as big of a menace as the villainess?"

Mason raised his brow and smirked.

"Oh, please. You've seen my memories. The system will survive everything - what's fragile is Patience's ego. As long as we appease that sad overseer abandoned by their creator, we can mold this whole world to our liking, right? That's what I've been told by the very creator who sent me here. I'll 'save' this world and live happily ever after with my beloved man."

Caramel snorted and shook her head with a malicious smile while stepping closer to the hooded man.

"...and I've told you that I'm not the man you are looking for. I'm not a reincarnated person."

Mason shook his head and took a step back to regain the distance that the light brown-haired girl closed.

"But you'll do in the meantime."

Caramel's smile became even more unsettling.

"Keep away from me, freak."

Mason clicked his tongue and took another step back.

"See? You even talk to me just like he did~!"

Despite being insulted, the young woman laughed and blushed - which caused the hooded man to shiver.