"Oh my, the handsome Lord Graham is finally back. Can I take a look at your dagger?"
Seeing Graham turn back, Yae put on a cute, flattering expression, trying to examine his dagger.
"Here, take it." Graham shrugged and handed it to her.
"Strange, this is just an ordinary dagger, maybe a bit fancy. Then, how does Lord Graham manage to kill zombies like slicing through vegetables?" Yae asked, her big, adorable eyes carefully examining him.
She felt like she needed to reassess this person in every sense.
Graham rolled his eyes at her, "Without some skills, how could I be the princess's knight?" Then, he added pointedly, "By the way, Yae, you threw that kunai at me earlier, didn't you?"
Yae's face stiffened, then she put on her usual expression and explained, "Ahaha~ What are you talking about, Lord Graham? I was aiming at the zombie in front of you. See, it fell down, didn't it?"
"Stop babbling. You almost scratched my handsome face. So, how are you going to compensate me?"
"Compensate? But I didn't even scratch you." Yae reasoned.
"Emotional distress! Just thinking about my handsome face possibly being scratched by your kunai makes me anxious..." Graham said 'seriously', though it was clear that he was joking.
"Madam, look at Lord Graham. He is busy bullying me, a weak maid!" Yae, having no other options, pitifully complained to Priscilla.
"Hmph~! Graham, if you have time to tease the maid, then don't you think you should check if there are any stragglers? The women and children have not been found yet." Priscilla humored her.
"Yes, yes~!" Graham waved his hand, glared at Yae who was sticking out her tongue, and headed towards the village houses.
"Yae, you go too." Priscilla suddenly instructed.
"Ah! But I need to protect the madam-" Just as she was about to find an excuse to slack off, Yae was scared into submission by Priscilla's glare, "I understand, I'll go!"
...
After a few rounds, Graham did not find anything. As he walked out of a house, he encountered a solemn-faced Yae.
"What's wrong? Did you find the women and children?"
"I did, but they seem to have been hidden in a storage room, forced to live a 'normal' life."
"That's really tragic..." Graham sighed.
Not only did they have to pretend to be happy and live with the 'monsters' occupying their relatives' bodies, but they also had to help sew up the monsters' bodies...
"But, it's strange. Why are there no female zombies, only male ones? Is there a key point here?" Yae raised a crucial question.
"Maybe the women have some strange antibodies in their bodies that these tentacle-like creatures can't occupy. It's almost like a parasite."
Graham answered while leading the women and children to Priscilla's dragon carriage.
Priscilla had sent the carriage ahead and came to meet them.
"Are these the surviving women and children?" Priscilla asked, stopping in front of them.
"Yes, madam. They were likely kept as food for the zombies... I found them imprisoned in the storage room." Yae's face was solemn. She was more concerned about how to tell them that all the adult men in the village had been killed and burned.
Graham remained silent, trusting Priscilla to handle everything.
At that moment, a young lady among the women and children seemed to make up her mind and called out to Priscilla, "Um... is Array okay?"
"...Array?" Graham was puzzled. He didn't remember anyone by that name.
"He's the young man who went to the mansion to report the undead case, Array Denkuts." Yae whispered in his ear.
Memory was her strong suit.
Since this girl asked about that young man specifically, it meant she was his childhood friend.
"He's fine. Did you help him escape the village?"
Priscilla asked.
"I just helped distract those people and prepared food and water for him. As long as he's okay..." The girl seemed relieved.
It was clear she cared deeply for that young man, even risking her life for him.
It a result of this life-risking act that led Priscilla to discover the zombies.
"Come closer, I'll reward you!" Priscilla beckoned.
"Huh?... Uh, okay." The girl timidly walked over, but Graham felt something was wrong.
Since the men had 'parasites' in their bodies, the women might too!
But before he could warn her, Priscilla acted, "Don't bite your tongue!" She warned.
"Huh?"
Before the girl could react, Priscilla pulled her head and unhesitatingly kissed her on the lips.
"No way! What's with this enviable reward?" Graham was stunned.
Without any explanation or warning, Priscilla took the lips of another woman upon their first meeting.
Though shocked, Graham immediately understood Priscilla's intention. He pulled Priscilla into his arms and simultaneously grabbed the tentacle emerging from the girl's mouth!
The tentacle, over a foot long, was forcibly pulled out by Graham and thrown to the ground.
The grotesque, root-like tentacle extended its sharp end, trying to attack Priscilla again.
But in the next second, it was engulfed in flames, "You don't deserve to live!"
Priscilla had acted!
At the same time, she glared at Graham, who was still holding her, "Still not letting go of me?"
"Ah? Right..." Graham looked up at the sky, pretending nothing had happened.
Everyone else finally understood what was going on.
Their guess was correct. The women also had these parasites, and this must be the main body!
...
{T/N: So there are basically no takers for my previous suggestion? One person responded, but so far I've seen no update from them. What about the rest of y'all? Is anyone willing to takeover translating this fanfiction?}