I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl

The spring breeze blew gently, sweeping the leaves of the silver willow trees in Nocture’s city park. Sylvia was still sitting back on the wooden bench, her eyes half-closed behind the shadow of her dull cloak’s hood. The tension that usually clung to a ruler’s existence had evaporated along with the warmth of the afternoon sun.

Suddenly, a small rattan ball rolled slowly and bumped into the tip of Sylvia’s leather boot.

Sylvia opened her eyes, staring at the neatly woven rattan ball. Shortly after, the sound of hurried little footsteps could be heard. A little girl from the wolf Beastmen race with erect furry gray ears and a tail swinging in panic ran up to her. The little girl’s clothes were simple but clean and intact, far from the ragged appearance of street children in the apocalyptic era.

"I-I’m sorry, Miss!" said the little girl breathlessly, bowing her head deeply. "I kicked it too hard. Did the ball hit your foot?"

Sylvia stared at the little girl for a moment. If this had happened three years ago outside Nocture’s borders, this child would have surely become bones chewed by wild zombies. But here, this child could play freely without the fear of lurking death.

Slowly, Sylvia bent down, picked up the rattan ball with her pale hand, and offered it back.

"It’s fine," Sylvia answered softly. Her voice was controlled to sound ordinary, hiding the resonance of Absolute Death that could make a mortal soul tremble. "You have a strong kick for a child your age."

The wolf girl’s golden-yellow eyes shone brightly as she received her ball back. Her tail wagged enthusiastically. "Thank you, Miss! I really have to practice my kicks every day! My father said that if I practice diligently and eat vegetables and meat, I can grow up to be a strong warrior!"

Sylvia tilted her head slightly from behind the hood. "Why do you want to be a strong warrior? Isn’t this city already guarded by an army that never sleeps?"

"To repay the kindness of Lady Sofia and the Queen of Death, of course!" the girl answered with a proud tone, patting her small chest. "Lady Sofia saved my family from the toxic ash storm last year. And the Queen... the adults say that the Queen is a terrifyingly grand existence, as high as the sky and as big as a mountain! She swallowed all the evil monsters on this continent in a single night! I want to become strong enough to join the city’s elite guard unit and protect the castle where they rest!"

Hearing the absurd description of herself being ’as high as the sky and as big as a mountain’, the corners of Sylvia’s lips twitched, holding back a laugh. Myths and legends apparently spread very wildly among the mortal citizens.

"Is that so," Sylvia replied with a suppressed tone of amusement. "In that case, keep practicing. The Queen will surely greatly appreciate your good intentions."

"Of course!" The girl bowed once more with great enthusiasm. "Thank you, Miss Gray Cloak! I have to go back, my friends are waiting!"

Sylvia watched the small back running cheerfully until she disappeared behind the trees. The Absolute Death leaned her back against the wooden bench again, a faint genuine smile blooming on her lips.

She did not need an army of humans or beastmen to protect her. She had tens of millions of zombies, a Rank 7 Dragon, and god-like powers. However, hearing the pure, unforced loyalty of her people provided a unique satisfaction that could not be measured by levels or magical power. Sofia had truly built a kingdom that had a soul.

"Time to go home," Sylvia murmured. She rose from her park bench, pulled her hood tighter, and stepped back toward the Obsidian Castle towering in the city center, impatient to claim the dinner promise from her beloved hero.

Night fell quickly, replacing the blue sky with a stretch of stars sparkling cleanly without the obstruction of ash clouds.

The castle’s main dining hall was an extremely magnificent room. Its walls were adorned with silk tapestries and black marble stone pillars. A giant crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, radiating a warm golden light. In the middle of the room, a long dining table made of carved mahogany wood had been prepared.

However, there were no undead servants passing by delivering food. Tonight, the dining hall was sterilized of any subordinates. This was a family event.

The highly savory aroma of broth, combined with the fragrance of sea spices and warm steam, filled the entire room to the point of making anyone’s stomach who smelled it rumble.

The double doors opened, and Sylvia stepped in, this time having removed her disguise cloak and returned to wearing a relaxed yet elegant black evening gown. Her eyes immediately fell on the dining table full of appetizing dishes, and of course, on the figure who was placing the final bowl of soup on the table.

Sofia. The eight-winged angel girl capable of annihilating a mountain of meat monster was now wearing a simple white dress covered by a light brown cooking apron. Her blonde hair was tied up into a slightly messy bun, and her face was slightly flushed from the kitchen’s heat. This domestic sight heavily contrasted with her title as the Supreme Commander, but in Sylvia’s eyes, Sofia currently looked a thousand times more dazzling.

"You’re just in time, Sylvia," Sofia looked up, wiped a bit of sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand, and then smiled brightly. "Everything has just finished cooking. Let’s sit down."

Around the table, the others had already taken their seats. Celes was staring at her silver fork seriously as if it were a sword, while Aurellia was holding back drool looking at the glowing red giant crab in the middle of the table. Stacia sat hovering a few centimeters off her chair, reading a parchment with sparkling eyes, before finally Alicia, who was sitting next to her, gently pulled the parchment and folded it.

"No books or reports at the dining table, Stacia. That’s an unwritten rule," Alicia reprimanded with a motherly smile.

"But Sister Alicia, this is a report on the anomaly of the mutant coral structure on the southern coast!" Stacia protested, though she complied and landed in her chair with a slightly pouting face.

Sylvia walked toward the main chair at the end of the table, but before sitting down, she approached Sofia, wrapped her arms from behind the girl’s waist, and gently kissed Sofia’s cheek.

"The aroma is incredible, my substitute Queen. You really granted my selfish request," Sylvia whispered.

Sofia’s face turned red up to her ears. She cleared her throat softly, trying to maintain her dignity in front of Celes and Aurellia who were now fake coughing and averting their gazes toward the ceiling. "Ahem... of course. Sit down. This is a King Crab of the Rank 4 Abyssal Crustacean species that was successfully caught by the south coast expedition team last month. I used a high-level Holy Light element to purify all the toxins and miasma inside its meat, so this is pure protein and mana."

Sofia took off her apron and sat on Sylvia’s right. At the other end of the room, near the giant fireplace, Sol and Noir who were still in their forms as golden and black cats were sleeping curled up together after getting exhausted from playing tag, while Kirin lay gracefully near Alicia’s feet.

Thus, dinner began.

Sylvia scooped the clear broth from the porcelain bowl in front of her. She blew on it softly, then took a sip. Her heterochromic eyes widened slightly. The broth was amazing. The savory taste of the deep seafood broth, a combination of magical seaweed and mana-infused fish bone extract, exploded in her mouth. The texture was very light, not greasy, yet it left a trail of warmth flowing straight to the core of her soul. Three years confined in the vacuum of the underworld were instantly paid off in full with just this one bite.

"How is it?" Sofia asked hesitantly, staring at Sylvia full of hope.

"Perfect," Sylvia answered briefly, but the genuine smile blooming on her lips said more than a thousand words. "This is the best broth I have ever eaten. You could open a stall in the commercial district and make all the merchants go bankrupt in a day."

Sofia sighed in relief, a proud smile adorning her face. "Thank goodness. As for the crab, its shell was extremely hard, equivalent to pure steel. I had to use my holy spear to crack it in the kitchen earlier."

Hearing that, Celes choked on her drinking water. "You used the Holy Spear to crack a crab shell?"

"An ordinary meat cleaver wouldn’t work, Celes! Besides, Aurellia’s fire is too hot; if I asked for her help, the crab meat would surely be scorched to ash," Sofia argued in self-defense.

Aurellia laughed uproariously while chewing on a giant crab claw. "Hey, my element is absolute destruction, not a cake-baking oven! But I must admit, this sea monster meat is incredibly delicious after being purified."

The atmosphere at the dining table was so lively and warm. Laughter, light chatter, and the clinking of cutlery filled the void of the usually silent and gloomy obsidian castle. Sylvia enjoyed every second of this moment. She fed a piece of tender and sweet white crab meat into her mouth, occasionally feeding a small piece into Sofia’s mouth when the girl was too busy recounting Zark’s silliness while trying to bathe his skeletal horse.

After the main course was finished and replaced with herbal tea and sweet fruits from the hydroponic fields, the atmosphere slowly became slightly more serious.

Stacia, who could no longer hold it in, finally snapped her fingers. A giant holographic globe projection appeared floating above the dining table, emitting blue and red lights.

"Alright, since our stomachs are all full, it’s time to discuss our next steps!" Stacia exclaimed enthusiastically, her glasses reflecting the holographic light. "As we know, thanks to the ’magic fingers’ intervention of our Queen of Death yesterday, ninety percent of the threats on this continent we stand on have been annihilated or submitted. Zark is currently distributing those millions of zombies to clear out the remaining ruins and build guard posts all along the coast."

The continent projection on the globe was bright blue, indicating a safe zone. However, when Stacia spun the globe, a vast expanse of ocean was revealed, pulsating in a deep blackish red.

"This is our next problem," continued Stacia, pointing at the holographic ocean. "The vast ocean surrounding this continent. The level of miasma in the waters is extremely extreme, much denser than on land. The ocean has become a giant virus soup."

Aurellia leaned her elbows on the table, staring at the projection with furrowed brows. "You mean, little fishes became zombies and bite each other?"

"Not little fishes, Aurellia," Celes chimed in with a cold tone, her eyes squinting. "Remember our coastal expedition last year? The land limits the size of monsters due to gravity and food sources. But in the ocean... biological mutations have no size limits."

Stacia nodded quickly. "Exactly, Celes! The magical satellite data from my grimoire detected mana fluctuations from Rank 6 to Pseudo-Rank 7 swimming in the depths. They are infected colossal sea monsters. If they are allowed to mutate further, they could crawl up onto land one day. Furthermore, there are three other continents across this ocean whose statuses remain unknown. We’ve completely lost contact with the outside world."

Sofia looked at Sylvia, waiting for directions. "What should we do, Sylvia? Zark and his undead army are very strong on land, but they are highly inefficient for underwater combat. Bones and iron plates will sink to the bottom of the trenches."

Sylvia sipped her herbal tea slowly, staring at the red ocean projection with a gaze that was hard to interpret. On one hand, she had just decided to relax and let everything go with the flow. On the other hand, allowing threats to evolve until they disturbed the peace of the city of Nocture was something she could not tolerate.

Moreover...

"Do you guys remember the delicious crab we just ate?" Sylvia asked suddenly.

Everyone at the dining table fell silent, staring at Sylvia in confusion.

"Yes... the Rank 4 Abyssal Crab," Sofia answered slowly. "What about that crab?"

Sylvia put down her teacup, her heterochromic eyes now radiating a very awkward seriousness. "If a Rank 4 crab from the coast tastes this good... imagine what the broth from a Rank 6 mutant octopus would taste like. Or grilled meat from a Rank 7 deep-sea monster purified by holy magic."

Complete silence enveloped the dining hall. Alicia blinked her eyes, Stacia almost dropped her holographic projection, while Celes and Aurellia looked at each other with expressions of disbelief.

"Wait a minute," Aurellia pointed at the Queen of Death who was feared by the whole world. "Don’t tell me... you want us to conquer a deadly ocean filled with island-sized monsters... just to find new food ingredients?!"

"Why not?" Sylvia shrugged casually, as if she had just suggested a picnic in the park. "As Absolute Death, I am free to determine this world’s line of destiny. And my destiny says that the ocean hides rare seafood that must be tasted. If there are giant miasmic sea monsters blocking our path, we just need to take their lives, ask Sofia to purify the remaining meat, and throw them into a giant pot."

Sofia covered her face with both hands, her shoulders shaking between holding back laughter and holding back despair seeing how absurd her lover’s motivation was. "Sylvia... you are truly the most ridiculous ruler that has ever existed."

Alicia laughed softly, her laugh melodious and soothing. "Isn’t that good? Rather than going to war due to bloody conquest ambitions, fighting a war to expand the dinner menu sounds much more peaceful."

"Peaceful from where?!" protested Celes, though the corners of her lips twitched holding back a smile. "We are going to fight continent-sized monsters, Alicia!"

"Oh, this will be fantastic research material!" Stacia started writing at lightning speed on her floating parchments. "Underwater ecology, virus composition in saltwater, and spatial-splitting tactics under extreme hydrostatic pressure! Celes, you must prepare to slice through the ocean space! Aurellia, your fire magic might be weak underwater, so we must create an area evaporation spell!"

Seeing her friends hyped up again and debating about silly tactics to cook giant sea monsters, Sylvia smiled faintly.

She reached for Sofia’s hand under the table, holding it tightly. Sofia turned her head, looking into Sylvia’s eyes which now radiated gentleness.

"We don’t need to rush," Sylvia said softly, only to be heard by Sofia. "Let Zark build giant ports and storm-resistant skeleton ships. Let this city breathe and fully develop for a year or two. After that, we will sail across that black ocean together; besides, the ocean is currently still being fought over between the two Greek and Nordic sea gods."

Sofia returned the grip, a bright and genuine smile gracing her face. She rested her head on Sylvia’s shoulder. "Wherever you go, my Lord. Even if it means I have to chop up the tentacles of giant monsters for your broth soup."