"Zombie, I really think that it's not a good idea. Could you, I don't know, think about some different request...?"

Mia, now a fifteen-year-old girl, leaned down and spoke to a five-year-old boy wearing oversized armor pieces that made him look like a bipedal turtle.

"You were the one who said that as a present for my birthday you will help me out whenever I ask."

*squish*

The heavily armored boy shrugged his shoulders and made the suspicious bag he was carrying let out a suspicious sound.

"Should have made me a card or get me a bracelet like Luke instead of trying to show off as a senior."

The boy smirked and raised his right arm, proudly presenting a rather flimsy hand-made bracelet made with various pretty but otherwise completely worthless stones.

"Reaching blunt weapon mastery level 4 has made you a bit too confident, it's a great achievement, and your pride is justified, but don't forget that a stronger person may be hiding just around the corner."

He added motioning with his chin at the shining spiked mace strapped to the girl's waist.

"...hard to forget when someone like that is right beside me in plain sight..."

Mia muttered to herself and rolled her eyes a bit ticked off.

"Badmouthing me behind my back, huh? Geez, Laura was right, you did enter your rebellious phase..."

Because of the hustle and bustle of the shopping district that the two of them were walking through, Zombie didn't hear what she said but definitely noticed her mumbling, so he sighed and shook his head like a worried parent.

"...! I-it's not like that! And Laura wants to keep me locked in the house forever even though she herself became an adventurer when she was even younger than I am now! It's not fair!"

Mia got embarrassed so she instantly covered it up by letting out an angry remark in a loud voice making a few passersby look their way with furrowed brows.

"Good thing you have a friend like me then."

Zombie shrugged his shoulders and smirked mischievously.

"As if...!"

Mia's voice got a few pitches higher and she looked away.

"...so? What do you want me to buy you? I warn you that I don't have much money to spare since I'm saving everything I earn in the tavern to buy myself good equipment for when I register as an adventurer!"

Yet after just a few seconds she turned back to the young boy and asked while pouting.

|She thinks we want her to sponsor us...?|

|As it would be said in your old world, this gives me a strong onee-shota vibe.|

"...!"

Zombie couldn't help himself but flinch in shock after the being sealed inside of him made a really unexpected comment.

|Patience... for the love of all that is holy, let's not set up any flags like that, alright...?|

|Hmm? Oh, sure. Sorry.|

Patience even sounded as if they were bowing down apologetically, but they certainly didn't sound like they were sincere.

"I knew it! You want me to buy you something expensive!"

Mia gasped with accusation after she misunderstood the origin of Zombie's sudden jolt.

"No, actually. On the other hand, I think that you will very much like what I have planned."

Zombie sighed and shook his head.

"..."

The girl squinted her eyes and looked at him, full of suspicion.

"That said, could you tell me where are we now? Being so short really sucks, I can't wait to change forms already..."

Zombie asked, allowing himself for a sigh at the end of his sentence.

"You mean you can't wait to get taller, right...? Your choice of words is really weird sometimes, you know?"

Mia scoffed at him but straightened her back nonetheless and looked around.

"Oh, we are walking quite fast, we're almost by the adventurers guild. Then? What is that thing that you want? We're about to move past the last shop with equipment, you know?"

She pointed out.

Zombie sighed and rolled his eyes.

Still, he did check his own equipment to make sure that there was nothing missing for a convincing disguise.

|...alright, this is the last time I'll ask you – will this plan really work? I will get mad at you if this is all just your idea of a joke, you know?|

He thought to himself while patting the armor that gave him the barrel-like appearance, and making sure that the short sword at his side is strapped properly.

|Why would I waste our time like that...? It will be alright as long as you will do as I say... Just make sure to let the girl on it too, or she will ruin everything if she'll get shocked.|

|True.|

Zombie nodded after a silent conversation, and reached inside his oversized armor, pulling up a sheet of paper.

"Here."

"Eh...?"

He said while passing it to the confused girl.

"Hey! This is my application to become an adventurer! Why do you have it?!"

Mia recognized her own handwriting and grabbed the paper out of Zombie's hand.

"Because you will need them to register as an adventurer of course."

Zombie shrugged his shoulders and explained with a smirk.

"We will both register, to be exact. My request was always simply for you to take me to the adventurers guild without making Laura suspicious. She already realized that I sneak out at night to hunt monsters and I really don't need to sit through another one of her talks."

He explained nonchalantly.

"Wh-what...? You're sneaking out at night to do WHAT?!"

Mia gasped loudly.

"Shhh! What, do you want to get both of us busted or something?"

Zombie put his index finger to his mouth and grabbed onto the girl's hand and pulled her down so that their faces almost touched.

"Listen. You will just register normally. There's nothing weird with a fifteen-year-old starting out as an adventurer – but it will be a bit different for me. I will still go by Zombie, but everything else will be lies..."

The boy explained while pulling out a whole set of papers and tapping them.

"I only ask you to not freak out no matter what you hear me say or do... I will probably try to pass off as your guardian or something and register us as a party too. Can you promise me that you will act accordingly?"

He asked looking into the wide-open and very confused eyes of the dark-skinned girl.

"What the hell are you thinking?! Laura will kill us both if she learns about it!"

Mia shook her head, clearing her mind, and whispered back.

"Then let's make sure she won't learn a thing – you know that she said she can't stand the adventurers from this territory anyway – there's no one who will tell on us to her if none of us two will let her know."

Zombie countered her worries and shrugged.

"What's your answer, Mia? You want to register or not?"

He asked with a serious expression.

"..."

Mia fidgetted nervously in hesitation.

She looked at the registration paper in her hand, then in the direction of the guild's building, and then back at the serious boy's face.

"...alright... But hold on with submitting the party registration, when you get busted for trying to cheat your way in, I don't want to be dragged down with you."

She finally agreed but only after adding a very reasonable condition.

"Alright then. It's not like I need to be in a party anyway."

Zombie's smile grew wider and he carefully hid back the unnecessary papers inside of his oversized armor.

"..."

And that's why he missed Mia's grumpy face as she pouted once she heard that she's not necessary for Zombie's plan.