"My name is Aikawa Ayumi, and I'm just an ordinary high school student. At least, I was supposed to be. But due to some special circumstances, I've become a zombie."
"Also, I have a rather unmentionable hobby, or rather, a unique ethical view. I like yuri. That's right, I like girls, not men. When I see beautiful girls, I get excited, but when I see men, I have the illusion that they're cucumbers. That's why I hate cucumbers the most."
"Though, this change doesn't seem so bad."
The zombie girl thought this as she watched Kurumi and Eucliwood Hellscythe drink tea. Both of them were her type, exactly what she liked.
"Ara~! Ara, young lady, are you thinking about something naughty?"
Kurumi casually glanced at the zombie girl, who was lost in her fantasies, then leaned forward in front of her. Ayumi could feel the faint, fragrant breath of Kurumi. Kurumi asked in a pleasant yet subtly ambiguous tone.
"No, no, how could I be?"
Looking at the pretty face so close to her, Ayumi nervously stepped back two paces and said. Such temptation was too much for a single person.
"If not, then go cook, Ayumi."
"I'm hungry."
At this moment, Eucliwood Hellscythe put down her teacup and said to Ayumi.
"Aye! Aye!"
The zombie girl, unable to refuse, grumbled, 'If only she called me Onee-san, how nice that would be!' and scurried off to make a late-night snack.
"I've really become non-human."
While cooking, she accidentally cut herself a small cut. Looking at the rapidly healing wound, Ayumi sighed. Although she knew she had died at the time, the disparity was still there.
"Never mind, the main thing is to find the culprit first."
Recalling that sharp, heart-piercing stab, Ayumi's hand tightened then relaxed.
"Is it not ready yet, Ayumi? Eucliwood Hellscythe asked me to ask you."
"It's ready, it'll be ready in a moment."
Saying this, Ayumi placed the stir-fried dishes onto a plate and brought them out.
"That!"
Watching the two eat gracefully, Ayumi felt a sense of disconnect, as if she wasn't in her dilapidated home at all, but in a palace, watching an elegant queen and princess dine.
"May I ask, what exactly are your identities?"
After dinner, Ayumi cleaned up the dishes, then saw Eucliwood Hellscythe and Kurumi watching TV in the living room and couldn't help but ask.
Both of them possessed superhuman strength and could revive people… no, could turn people into zombies. In the fantasy novels she remembered, only 'vampires' or 'necromancers'—these special races or professions—could do such a thing. Now, she only knew their names; these two were the ones who saved her, but she knew nothing else about them.
"Ara~! Do you want to know?"
Hearing Ayumi's question, Kurumi tilted her head and asked her with amusement.
"Mm, I want to know."
"But I won't tell."
"I give up."
Ayumi, caught off guard by Kurumi's sudden move, slumped onto the tatami, her eyes lifeless as she accused the certain spirit, who was happily clutching her stomach and laughing.
"Alright! Alright! I'll satisfy your curiosity."
"Eucliwood Hellscythe, a person from the Underworld, a necromancer."
"I am the Spirit of Time, Tokisaki Kurumi."
"That's it?"
"Are you effing kidding me?"
"Yes, I am just playing with you."
Calm down, calm down, Ayumi. You shouldn't trust this bad-tempered person. You should believe there are still decent people in the world. Thinking this, Ayumi turned her expectant gaze towards Eucliwood Hellscythe.
"Kurumi is right."
"Thump!"
Seeing the words on the notebook, Ayumi heavily knocked her head on the tatami. Sorry, Mom, am I too out of touch, or is this world changing too fast? Where have all the decent people gone?
"Be careful not to damage the tatami; it'll need to be replaced."
"Do you care more about the tatami than me?"
Kurumi happily watched Ayumi, who had been struck down into ashes, her smile growing even brighter.
"This time, I'm not playing with you. Let me tell you about it!"
Having had her laugh, Kurumi began to tell Ayumi some common knowledge about the inner world, such as the Underworld and Verrine, and also the representations of the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
"Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you something."
After speaking, Kurumi took a small sip of tea, then leaned close to Ayumi's ear in a very ambiguous posture and spoke to her, causing Eucliwood Hellscythe, who was beside them, to subtly furrow her brow.
"Please, please tell me."
Ayumi, her face red, leaned back, but Kurumi, whose playful mood had been re-ignited, also leaned forward, until Ayumi retreated directly to the wall, unable to go back any further.
"Although you are immortal, you are most afraid of sunlight. It's better during sunset, but at noon, the moisture in your body will instantly evaporate, turning you into a dried corpse. Please be careful."
Without continuing to tease Ayumi, Kurumi, in Ayumi's regretful gaze, stood up and sat down next to Eucliwood Hellscythe, saying to Ayumi.
"I… this."
Ayumi looked at her hands in confusion. After all, she was just an ordinary high school student. Suddenly encountering such things, confusion was inevitable.
"Are you prepared for eternal life?"
Kurumi asked with a serious tone. Eucliwood Hellscythe, beside her, heard Kurumi's question, and her tea-drinking motion suddenly paused. After a flicker of pain in her eyes, she also looked at Ayumi, curious about her choice.
"I… I don't know."
"In that moment of death, I thought so much. I felt so guilty towards my parents who raised me, that I wouldn't be able to care for them in their old age. I also felt so regretful that I hadn't found true love, hadn't experienced a passionate romance. I kept thinking, I can't die, I can't die, but my eyelids felt so heavy, so heavy, and my eyes closed unconsciously. Then my consciousness began to sink into darkness, but I was so scared, afraid that if I went down, I wouldn't wake up again."
"When I woke up again, I was so happy. I thought I was still alive, even if it was as an undead. But I still want to thank you two. I don't want to just leave like this, with regrets."
"Eternal life might be too far off for me right now. I am a very greedy person, with a whole bunch of wishes waiting for me to fulfill. I want to use this long, long time to achieve all my wishes."
"Maybe this path is lonely, but I don't regret it, because I'm still alive, and I will strive for life."
"That's what I think."
After a moment of silence, Ayumi began to vent all the bitterness in her heart. She was indeed afraid, but more than that, she longed for a beautiful life. One death had brought about a psychological transformation in her, which greatly pleased Kurumi. Their time was too long and too terrifying; without a strong heart, it would be impossible to survive.
You took a sip of the now slightly cool tea, but her slightly trembling hands showed that her mind was far from calm. At this moment, Kurumi reached out and held her trembling hand.
"Don't worry! I'll be with you."
Gently stroking the other's cute little head, Kurumi shed her enchanting smile and spoke to You with a motherly smile.
"Mm!"
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