"Zombie?!"

As soon as Mia saw who the thief was, she got taken aback more than ever before.

Until that point, although Zombie never pitched up the idea of them teaming up, he would always make sure to not compete against Mia when picking up missions because he knew that she could hardly find a time to complete them in the first place so there wasn't that many that fit her.

A few times Mia even noticed that the boy was preventing other adventurers from snatching missions from her too...

Then, what was this sudden change all about?!

"I'm taking this one."

The boy posing as a dwarf spoke dismissively while carefully studying the partially torn poster while frowning more and more as if something in the wording has really ticked him off.

"E-eh...? Wait, what...?"

Mia flinched and looked around as if she expected to find some proof that Zombie was joking.

"This one definitely isn't for you. Get another one."

Since the boy turned away and his voice grew cold and distant.

"FFFGH...!"

That got Mia to grit her teeth and let out an angry hiss that she never made before in her life.

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"..."

She exclaimed but got no reaction, the boy simply started walking to the counter, completely ignoring the queue.

"H-hey! Dwarf! It says in the description that it's up to two party members, if you want to take that mission, so be it – let's form a temporary party and complete it together!"

Despite the cold treatment, Mia managed to hold back her fury and came up with a pretty seamless way out of the situation that would benefit them both without sounding as if she wanted to form a party with him – after all, in Envy's territory it was all about the personal gain and leaving others in the dust.

"And why would I team up with you? Get a bit stronger before you come up with such a proposition."

Zombie shook his head and placed the poster on the counter.

"I'm taking the emergency mission."

"Of course, mister Zombie!"

He said to the guild staff member, the same human male who made the poster, turned all smiles and hurriedly picked up a book, and started noting.

"M-me too! We're taking it together!"

Mia ran to the counter and exclaimed.

"...?"

The guild staff member's hand stopped and he glanced at Zombie, waiting for his answer.

"No. She's not. We're not in a party together. I'm taking this mission alone."

"Yes, of course."

The boy shook his head and the guild staff member nodded his head in affirmation and wrote the correct information.

"Zombie! That is not fair! I wanted to take this mission but you have stolen it from me and you don't even want to share! Why are you like that?! Like, what, do you think I will be a burden?! I can protect myself, you know?!"

The girl has burst into an angry fit and cause everyone inside the guild to look at her in confusion.

|Is she for real...? Did she actually not realize what this mission is all about?|

Zombie thought to himself, raising his brow at the agitated girl.

|Well... you know... The guild staff member did spend a lot of time on wording the poster so that it wouldn't be too obvious from the start...|

Patience responded in an apologetic voice as if they were sorry that this was the best excuse they came up with.

|Ha! As if! This guy made it abundantly clear what this mission is truly about – the location, the reward, the time it would take... She sure somehow managed to live a sheltered life to miss all of the red lights!|

Zombie was actually getting angry at how angry Mia was – despite all that she's been through, being so naive as to happily jump on a mission like that while smiling like an idiot, and acting like a spoiled kid the moment someone took the danger away from her – and even went as far as to act unnaturally cold so that she would notice that something was off...

|Now I understand why she died so easily during the first playthrough. She got most of her head blown off because she wasn't using it properly and just jumped to a conclusion without thinking things through!|

Zombie scoffed internally and grit his teeth, looking at the girl waving her arms around as if that would help anything.

|That's rich coming from the person who killed her back then.|

Patience pointed out.

|I'm saying that exactly because I was the one who killed her.|

Zombie responded dead serious.

|Ugh, I wouldn't have taken this mission either if not for the fact that it will lead us to the right exact place where we want to go – but at the same time, it's a bit unnerving with how perfect this all is...|

He added with a hint of concern.

|...? Perfect? A mission about hunting down elves to enslave and sell off to Envy family in the area where we do know that the elves do reside... What is perfect about that mission? It's awful! It means that the guardian of the hidden village will be on high alert and it will be especially troublesome to get his cooperation! The perfection you are talking about would be a mission to escort a merchant to the human village nearby the entrance to the Great northern woods that would give us a bit of a time off to stealthily get in contact with the elves before we return - and not this mess!|

Patience scoffed at the overly-cautious Zombie, sounding as if they were shaking their head.

|Alright, you cheeky little know-it-all, so maybe I am overthinking it, but in that case, can you promise me that nothing unexpected will happen? Huh?|

|Hey! I'm just saying it how it is! And if there was anything suggesting that this plan would fail, I would have told you instantly in the first place! I'm the one who wants you to succeed the most!|

The two of them shouted at each other inside of Zombie's head.

"I'm going to follow you on that mission whether you want it or not so you might as well just let me join in officially!"

On top of that Mia's childish behavior only added the fuel to the fire...

"..."

Zombie's face turned grim and without a moment of hesitation, he reached for Kopia strapped to his waist and pulled it out from the fancy sheath in one swift motion.

"!!!!"

Which made Mia close her mouth and take a step back.

Even though it has been almost three years, the memories of the little boy brutally killing three thugs trying to kidnap her and Luke, were still fresh in the girl's mind.

"This is not some childish make belief! If you want to play a make-belief adventurer, go and get Luke to humor you! If you continue spouting the same nonsense about following me on this mission..."

Zombie growled, glaring down at Mia, despite her being much taller than him, and both his eyes and his sword began glowing with a threatening white light.

"...I'll chop off your legs to make sure you won't be able to."

"...!"

His words sent chills down the spines of not only Mia but everyone present.

"Go gather your herbs or something."

Seeing the dark-skinned girl completely frozen in place, Zombie scoffed and hid his sword after deactivating his skills.

"Will the client be waiting at the northern gate or did he gave some other meeting point?"

The boy posing as a dwarf turned away and asked the guild staff member.

"Northern gate."

The man nodded, glancing between the boy and the girl.

"Alright then, tell the client that I will be there tomorrow, alone."

Zombie nodded, leaving the guild after sending one last glare towards Mia.

|Look at you, knowing exactly what to say to make her start pursuing strength at all cost without me having to guide you! Excellent work!|

Patience sounded as if they were nodding their head in approval.

|What are you talking about? She just got under my skin so she got what was coming.|

Zombie scoffed and shook his head with a furious grimace twisting his face.

|Oh...! Oooohhh...|