“Oho, what’s this sound?”

“Uh…”

Without a moment to fabricate more lies, Elizabeth, tilting her head to the side, awkwardly exclaimed.

“Oh my, there are zombies over there!”

Even though the zombies probably couldn’t hear Elizabeth’s voice, they continued to linger around the magic barrier as if they heard something. Perplexed by the unapproachable barrier, they seemed to be wandering around it.

Four or more zombies, revealing their crimson-colored skin, hesitated, and Benedict’s dilemma only grew.

“Clearly, you were trying to show the spirits a starry night…”

“Ugh.”

“It would be best to very candidly explain what happened. Mr. Benedict Fairman.”

There was no way out.

Over Benedict’s ear, the spirits laughed with a clear sound like wind chimes.

【That was such a lame excuse!】

【Our kind and foolish Ben!】

【Even the dormant spirits woke up at this news and found it hilarious!】

【Even the shadow spirits are hiding in your shadow, laughing!】

【Hahaha.】

‘I wish they’d just stop.’

Benedict’s pointed ears turned bright red.

Separate from capturing Benedict on-site, I asked him to take out the heads of the zombies wandering around. Using a gun would trigger an emergency situation, waking up everyone in the mansion.

【Penetrate.】

With a whooshing sound, all four zombies staggered and collapsed simultaneously.

Clear, coin-sized holes were distinctly visible on their foreheads.

After lightly covering them with soil, Benedict bowed his head in a manner similar to being led away.

‘What’s he doing in the middle of the night…’

After thoroughly extracting information from Zero, who luckily remained hidden in the corridor without falling asleep, I asked him to eliminate the zombies wandering around.

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

“…I’m fine. I’m still young, so I can endure this much.”

“…What’s there to endure?”

Half of his eyelids were closed. Not very honest.

【Administrator! Good job!】

【Our kid needs to sleep!】

【He’s like a bloody kid who’s not even twenty yet.】

【Put him to sleep! Quickly!】

Benedict’s spirits also shouted, asking to put the child to sleep.

‘Even though Benedict would probably hear it, he pretends not to…’

If I were an ordinary person, I might have fallen for it.

It was absurd, yet gratitude surged within me.

During the time when the party members, who had been strangely quiet, couldn’t sleep at night, they dealt with the zombies. Benedict’s spirits, who knew all the facts, also pretended not to hear the zombie sounds.

“Zero, for such a commendable deed, shouldn’t you tell me immediately?”

Although he knew everything, Zero, who had sipped his party members’ share of orange juice as a bribe, had his cheeks pulled like a long stretch of rubber.

Stretching out his elongated cheeks, Zero made a crying sound.

“Ouch, it hurts! It hurts! Violent human!”
“Eighty percent of my violence was cultivated because of the stress you caused…”

Congratulations on becoming a stock rich guy, you rascal.

Zero, who was pinched without mercy, shed a few tears.

“It’s not an exaggeration; it really hurts… You’ve been building up your strength lately, haven’t you?”

“Ah.”

‘Was it worth the effort of training so hard?’

Fighting desperately with sandbags didn’t seem entirely useless. Lately, I’ve been eating two bowls of rice, having no constipation, and going to bed and waking up early, making my mind clear and refreshed.

‘…When I think about it, I’m living better now than I did with the lifestyle that failed in the original world.’

Stand against zombies, enrich your soul with a regular lifestyle.

Michael and Aston, hellish instructors educating me, seemed well-suited for a health training business with slogans like these.

While laughing at my own funny imagination, Benedict asked me.

“…Aren’t you going to scold me?”

“Huh?”

What’s he talking about again?

“Why would you think that?”

“Well… You are the commander and the real deal here is the Kitten Duke. I just arbitrarily stood in for him.”

Since I didn’t want to keep wandering around the corridor with a candle, we were inside an empty room.

Benedict explained why he ended up removing zombies all night while sitting.

“I thought you would be angry since it was an unauthorized act without the duke’s permission…”

“Does that mean it’s okay for me to give you punishment now?”

“…Yes.”

Although he didn’t want to receive it, Benedict was worried that my mood might be bad.

‘…When I first saw him, he was almost treated like a transparent person.’

Even if it’s gruff, it felt proud to treat a precious companion well.

Is this the sense of accomplishment that comes when you tame a grumpy cat!

For a moment, admiration, and then I spoke to Benedict with a strict tone.

“Okay, then I’ll give you a penalty.”

“…Please don’t give me a penalty alone. If you’re going to give a penalty, it should be fair for Michael, Lou, and Viscount Whitewood as well.”

“Ah, of course. Since we all acted together, Benedict can’t be singled out for punishment.”