Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 72 - What Is This?

“Oh ho, what kind of sound was that?”

“Uh…….”

Before Benedict could make up another lie, Elizabeth tilted her head to the side and shouted awkwardly.

“Oh my, there are zombies over there!”

Even though they could not have heard Elizabeth’s voice, the zombies kept wandering around the magic barrier as if they had.

They seemed confused by the invisible wall blocking their way, circling around it.

As four zombies with dark red skin staggered nearby, Benedict’s trouble only grew heavier.

“You clearly said you were showing the stars to the spirits…….”

“Ugh.”

“It would be best if you explained in great detail what exactly is going on here, Mr. Benedict Fairman.”

There was no way out.

Near Benedict’s ears, the spirits burst into laughter like the ringing of clear bells.

【That was such a lame excuse!】

【Our kind and foolish Ben!】

【Even the sleeping spirits woke up because this was so funny!】

【Even the shadow spirit is hiding in your shadow trying not to laugh out loud!】

【Hahahahaha.】

‘I know that too, so stop already.’

Benedict’s pointed ears turned bright red.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

After catching Benedict at the scene, I asked him to take care of the zombies wandering nearby.

If we fired a gun, everyone sleeping in the duchy would wake up and it would turn into an emergency, so we could not use one.

【Pierce through.】

With a soft whoosh sound, the four zombies staggered and then collapsed to the ground all at once.

Clear holes, about the size of a coin, were left in their foreheads.

After lightly covering them with dirt, Benedict followed behind me with his head lowered, as if he were being escorted away.

‘What on earth are we doing in the middle of the night…….’

It was a good thing I had shaken Zero down for information and stayed hidden in the hallway instead of sleeping.

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

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

“……Endure what exactly.”

Your eyelids are already half closed. So not honest.

【Human of the Administrator! We saw everything!】

【Our child needs sleep!】

【He’s just a twenty-year-old baby!】

【Let him sleep! Quickly!】

Even Benedict’s spirits were shouting for me to let him sleep.

‘He can hear them too, but he’s pretending not to…….’

If I were an ordinary person, I might have been completely fooled.

It was ridiculous, but at the same time, I felt grateful.

The reason it had been strangely quiet all this time was because my party members had been taking turns staying up at night to deal with the zombies.

“Zero. Shouldn’t you have told me right away about something this admirable?”

Even though he knew everything, Zero had accepted a bribe of the party members’ orange juice and kept it a secret from me. I grabbed his cheek and pulled hard.

His cheek stretched like taffy, and Zero cried out.

「Ow, it hurts! I said it hurts! Violent human!」

“Eighty percent of my violence was raised by the stress you give me…….”

Welcome to being rich from stocks, you little brat.

I pinched him without mercy, and tears welled up in Zero’s eyes.

「I’m not exaggerating, it really hurts……. You’ve been building muscle lately……!」

“Ah.”

‘Was my hard training not useless after all?’

Fighting sandbags with all my strength must not have been for nothing.

These days I could finish two bowls of rice, had no constipation, and since I slept early and woke up early, my mind felt clear and refreshed.

‘……Now that I think about it, I’m living better than when my lifestyle was a mess in my original world.’

If you want to fight zombies, enrich your soul with a regular lifestyle.

Michael and Aston, my hell-like training instructors, would probably be good at running a fitness business with a slogan like that.

I was quietly giggling at my own silly thoughts when Benedict asked me,

“……Aren’t you going to scold me?”

“Huh?”

What is this now?

“Why would you think that?”

“Well…… you’re the leader and the one in power here, Duke Kitten, and I stood night watch on my own without permission.”

Since we did not want to keep walking around the hallway with candles, we had come into an empty room.

From where he sat, Benedict explained everything about why he had started staying up all night to eliminate zombies.

“I thought…… you would be angry because I acted without Your Grace’s permission.”

“Then are you saying it’s fine if I punish you now?”

“……Yes.”

Even though it was obvious he did not want to be punished, Benedict looked worried that he might have upset me.

‘……When we first met, he practically treated me like I was invisible.’

Even if he was still distant, it felt nice that he treated me like a precious teammate.

Is this the satisfaction people feel when they tame a prickly stray cat?

After admiring that for a moment, I spoke to Benedict in a stern voice.

“Then I will give you a punishment.”

“……Please don’t punish only me. If there is a punishment to receive, Sir Michael and His Highness Grand Duke Whitewood should receive it too for it to be fair.”

“Ah, of course. If you all planned this together, I can’t punish only you.”

Smiling slyly, I placed my finger against Benedict’s forehead.

“This is your punishment.”

“What do you—”

Flick!

“Ah, ow!”

The power of a finger flick backed by my newly gained strength was incredible!

“Ugh, that hurts…….”

Even Benedict, sturdy as a half-fairy, rolled around on the floor holding his forehead.

I had always been good at finger flicks, but this was the strongest one I had ever delivered in my life.

「S-So scary…… terrifying human……. You’re becoming a human weapon just like the party members planned……?」

‘What are you talking about? My flicks were always strong.’

I flipped my middle finger at Zero and checked on Benedict.

“……Does it hurt a lot?”

Watching him roll around made me wonder if I had gone too far.

【You went too far!】

【Even I felt that pain!】

【We oppose violent punishment!】

The spirits protested.

“Sorry, sorry.”

I kept apologizing as I looked at his forehead.

His neat forehead showed between his light green hair as he lay on the sofa.

‘Oh…… that swelled up a lot.’

The spot I flicked was puffed up like a mosquito bite.

“Um, I’m sorry I hit you too hard.”

“……It doesn’t hurt.”

As expected of a half-fairy, too proud to admit pain.

“You say it doesn’t hurt while holding your forehead like that?”

Feeling bad, I gently blew on the swollen spot.

Benedict sprang up like a coiled spring.

“W-What are you doing right now?!”

“……? As you can see, I was blowing on it so it wouldn’t hurt.”

I shrugged casually, but Benedict’s face twisted with embarrassment, fluster, and some other emotion I could not name.

“That kind of thing…… among fairies, you only do that for your spouse.”

“……Oh, damn. I’m sorry.”

So among fairies, that kind of contact is only allowed between spouses.

I learned something new.

Fairies are incredibly conservative.

‘Still, can’t friends do something like that?’

It felt unfair, but if it was a cultural difference, I had no choice but to bow my head.

“Um…… I’m really sorry. I truly didn’t know. It’s almost impossible to meet fairies, after all.”

At my words, Benedict ran a hand down his face and then glared at me with bright brown eyes.

“……Even if I weren’t half-fairy, doing something like that would cause misunderstandings.”

“……?”

I only do things like that with close friends, not just anyone.

Ever since I started distrusting people, I had been afraid of making friends.

So I only had a few people I truly opened my heart to. With them, I showed who I really was, let them understand me, and joked freely.

‘And here, Benedict was the first I did that to.’

And yet, who is lecturing who?

I placed my hands on my hips and spoke clearly.

“Excuse me, Mr. Benedict. You look young, like my younger brother, so I did it because I felt sorry. Don’t misunderstand. I really don’t act like that unless someone is very close to me.”

I had only corrected the misunderstanding, but Benedict’s expression became more rotten than a zombie’s.

“……Like a younger brother?”

Something had clearly struck a nerve.

“You look young. Even if you’re fully grown in height. You seem young, so you felt like a little brother.”

“……So you’re saying that kind of behavior doesn’t mean anything to you.”

“Yes. Why?”

What is he so upset about?

Benedict had grown up as the perfect example of a beautiful fairy-like boy. Even at twenty, he still had a youthful charm.

‘He’d be perfect for street casting.’

If Benedict lived in modern times, I was confident all four major idol agencies would fight to recruit him. He had that pure, refreshing, handsome boy look.

I meant it as a compliment, but Benedict muttered something, then stared at me with wide eyes.

“I’m not young. I’m twenty.”

“……? I know that.”

“I’m not your younger brother either. I’m not a child of the Kitten family.”

“……?”

What is he even saying?

“Why do you keep stating the obvious? Of course we’re not related. We’re complete strangers with no blood connection.”

“……Then do I not seem threatening to you at all?”

“Huh?”

Wouldn’t it be weirder if I felt threatened by an ally?

I seriously wanted to consult a scholar. A twenty-year-old man keeps asking strange things. Did he get a late case of teenage angst?

When I tilted my head, clearly not understanding, Benedict sat up properly on the sofa.

Then he leaned his head close to mine.

His brown eyes, which looked faintly golden under the light, fixed directly on me.

As his breath brushed close, the fine hairs on my skin stood up.

“W-Wh-what are you doing?”

He tilted his head and leaned close to my ear, whispering.

I almost drew my gun, but I stopped when I heard what he said.

“……This is what I mean when I say I can be threatening too.”

Something very light brushed across my cheek.