“I say we don’t split up. We should all sneak in together,” Rob suggested.
“And your reasoning is?” Yoan asked.
“Scouting the place, traipsing all the way back, and then preparing to attack just seems like an absurd waste of ti.”
“We also have non-combatants with us. They could get caught up in sothing unpleasant if we all go charging in.”
He had a point. Bliss and Freya, for example, were utterly indispensable to our party, but they were about as far from combat-ready as one could get.
“We’ll just have to protect each other, like always,” Rob argued. “Isn’t splitting up right now even more dangerous?”
“On the other hand, it could get all of us killed at once. We have no idea what the situation is inside. That’s the entire point of this infiltration.”
“Hmm. But what if we sneak in and can’t get back out easily? That’s a whole other problem, isn’t it?”
Yoan and Rob went back and forth, laying out various possibilities. Both of them had valid points.
After a mont of thoughtful silence, Yoan finally said, “All right. We’ll all go together.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“There’s no way we can take down the whole fortress with our numbers anyway,” he said, looking as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Our best bet is to take out their leader as quickly as possible. For that, I’d say having more firepower is better.”
I worried about how easy he made that sound, but I decided not to add my two cents. My bigger problem, however, was figuring out how to hide… well, .
“So… what about ?”
One look at and anyone could tell I was a zombie.
Sure, I could wear a hood and a mask to cover most of it, but I couldn’t stay hidden forever. They weren’t just going to let wander around without asking a few questions.
Rob just shrugged. “Can’t you just put on so makeup?”
“I’m terrible with my hands.”
“I figured.”
That little jerk…
Hoping for another option, I scanned the faces of our little group, but everyone else suddenly found the floorboards incredibly fascinating. Even the two won I’d secretly been counting on were studiously avoiding my gaze.
I was staring down at my useless hands, feeling utterly defeated, when Kira cautiously spoke up.
“If you don’t mind, I could… give it a try. I’m actually quite handy with… well, with just about anything that requires my hands.”
“Oh, really?”
“And since we’re in a general store, there should be plenty of supplies left over. I’ll give it a shot!”
It was the first ti I’d seen Kira show confidence in sothing other than making bombs. To my ears, it was the sweetest music.
***
The next morning, Kira and I went into a room by ourselves.
Rob hovered nearby, clearly dying to watch, but a single withering glare from Yoan sent him scurrying away.
Kira let out a light breath and shook out his hands.
“Whew, okay. Let’s begin. Relax your face.”
I’d seen my reflection a few tis, but I’d never really paid much attention to my looks. In a world like this, there was simply no ti to get all dolled up and enjoy life.
Of course, the main reason was that I was a zombie.
Thankfully, my flesh wasn’t rotting off my bones or dripping blood like so others I’d seen. I wasn’t covered in wounds, either.
Still, my facial muscles were so stiff that I was practically expressionless. The sll of at made drool instinctively. My skin was as rough as a dried patch of earth and so pale it had a definite bluish tint.
“Your skin is so fair, it’ll actually look more natural if we tone it down a bit,” Kira mumbled to himself as he got to work. “And a darker color on your lips would be better.”
The costics in this world were hardly top-of-the-line. I had to keep my eyes and mouth shut tight to avoid inhaling the cloud of powder that flew in every direction.
After so ti…
“I think I’m done!”
At Kira’s bright voice, I slowly lifted my eyelids.
“What do you think?” he asked.
A face that was both familiar and strange stared back at from the mirror.
Was that really… ?
“Oh, um, do you not like it?” Kira asked, nervous at seeing silent.
I gently brushed my cheek. “Looking at myself like this,” I said, in all seriousness, “don’t you think I’m actually quite pretty?”
“Huh? Oh, yes! You’re very cute.”
I asked if I was pretty, not cute. What is this bait-and-switch?
But whatever. I was happy.
I stood up and leaned closer to the mirror for a better look.
My dark brown hair fell in a neat bob around my shoulders, and my eyes—a surprisingly clear and bright shade of light green—seed to sparkle.
My features were soft, with gentle eyes and small, full lips.
“I’m pretty,” I murmured.
“Yes, I always thought you had a cute face, but seeing you now, you truly are a cute person.”
“But not pretty?”
“I, uh… pardon?”
Kira looked completely flustered. Apparently, he was the type who couldn’t tell a white lie to save his life.
Still, I was satisfied. And really, that was all that mattered.
I imdiately threw open the door, ready to show off my new look. The sound was loud enough to draw everyone’s attention, but only Derek and Rob were in the living room.
“Well now.” Rob, who spotted first, broke into a goofy, lopsided grin.
“Sis Sasha!” Derek shot up from the sofa and scurried over to stand before .
He looked up, his eyes sparkling. “You’re so pretty! I an, you were always pretty, but you’re really, really pretty now.”
“Oh, uh… am I?” Hearing it said so plainly to my face was actually rather embarrassing.
While I was awkwardly darting my eyes around, Rob went and rounded up the others.
“Oh my, Sasha. With a little makeup, the disguise is perfect!” said Bliss.
“I’ve thought this since we t, but you’re twice… no, five tis cuter now!” Freya gushed.
“Heh heh, you remind of my granddaughter,” Jeremy chuckled. “She had that sa round, cute little face. It makes miss her.”
Besides Derek, it was a unanimous verdict: I was cute.
That’s fine, I told myself. There’s a market for cute!
Besides, I’m possessing the body of Zombie Extra #1. The fact that I’m not hideous is a win in my book.
Yoan appeared a mont later, having just returned from wherever he’d been.
My heart fluttered as I looked at him with a sliver of hope. He was my last chance.
“Good. That should be enough to keep you from getting spotted.”
That was it?
He imdiately looked away and started briefing us again on the plan from yesterday. How heartless.
I knew this wasn’t the ti to care about such trivial things, but I couldn’t help the wave of disappointnt that washed over .
“That guy must have buttons for eyes,” Derek whispered, sensing my mood.
See? Derek was the only one who ever looked out for .
I managed a faint smile and nodded. “Tell about it. Utterly useless, those eyes.”
Or maybe I just wasn’t his type.
…No, wait. Who cares if I’m not Yoan’s type?
It was a total non-issue and definitely not sothing to get mopey about. I shook off the gloomy feeling.
“All right, the first group will depart now.”
We had decided to stagger our arrivals so as not to arouse suspicion.
First to go were Bliss and Rob. The two of them, who looked nothing alike, were posing as siblings.
Next up were Grandpa Jeremy, Kira, and Freya. Their cover was that they were companions who’d t in a survivor group.
Finally, it was my turn, along with Yoan and Derek. And just like that, we were a family.
After confirming that the others had made it safely inside the fortress, we walked up to the guards at the gate, trying to look as natural as possible.
“Hey, Baron. More newcors,” a sharp-faced man grumbled. “Honestly, why are there so many today?”
The man called Baron looked just as annoyed. “We’re not so charity that takes in every survivor who stumbles by. We’ve already had several today.”
I know. They’re with us.
“Anyway, what are you, three siblings?” Baron asked, eyeing us.
Yoan didn’t miss a beat. “Nope. We’re married.”
“What? Ha! Take us for fools?” The man scoffed, looking us up and down. “You look like a couple of kids. No way you’re married. Right, Venito?”
“Gotta be a lie.”
“It’s the truth. We were childhood sweethearts, married young.”
“Then what about the brat?”
“Our son, obviously.”
“You’re full of it.”
“…I-it’s not a lie,” Derek squeaked out, giving the performance of a lifeti. “She’s really my mom and… and my d-d-dad.”
“Just how young did you start to have a kid that big? You sure you’re not lying?”
“We just have baby faces. And we have no reason to lie,” Yoan said with a crooked smile, yanking by the shoulder.
I was standing there in a daze and stumbled right into his arms. Not to be outdone, Derek latched onto my other side.
“If you don’t believe us, want to show you sothing more?” Yoan continued.
“Ah, enough! Just wait there a minute!”
The two n scurried over to a corner and started whispering behind their hands, apparently trying to decide if we were telling the truth.
“Sasha, can you hear them?”
“Mhm. They’re saying my accent is strange, that I don’t sound like I’m from the north. But they think it’s probably fine to let us in, since they can use the kid as leverage to make us work.”
Then I added, “They still don’t buy the married couple bit, though. Apparently, the son looks like he hates the dad, and letting in a bunch of liars would just be a headache.”
Hearing my report, Derek chewed on his lip silently. Then, his entire expression shifted.
“Dad… does this an we can’t get in?”
I could feel the guards glance over at his words.
“Well? Dad?”
I shot Yoan a pointed look.
Derek is putting in so much effort. You’re the adult here. Shouldn’t you do sothing, too?!
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