After getting inside, the two boys treated her like normal human beings, but that was only on the surface. That night, they even gave her the remaining food. Nothing happened while they slept.
But the next morning, things changed. They decided to take action against her, trying to force themselves on her.
That was when Damien came and saved her.
Jennifer's eyes were filled with tears she had been holding back. She didn't let them fall. Instead, she quickly brushed them away with her hand.
Seeing Jennifer's face, Damien decided not to press the conversation further. Instead, he turned to Alice.
"I've already cleared the upper floors. All the zombies are gone," he said calmly. "Let's head up. We can choose rooms there. We'll need to clean the place first, at least enough for us to stay the night."
Damien and Alice began packing their things. To their surprise, Jennifer quietly joined in to help. The duo exchanged a glance, both silently agreeing not to draw attention to her wounds—both visible and hidden.
Once everything was ready, Damien ordered one of his skeletons to carry the bag, now acting as a silent porter for his belongings.
As they left the room, Damien asked casually, walking side by side with Alice. Jennifer followed a step behind them, and at the very end trailed the carrier skeleton.
"What inheritance did you get?" Damien asked.
Jennifer shook her head. "I didn't get anything. The boy with the sword… he was the only one in the group who received an inheritance. The other boy didn't get one either."
By then, they had reached the last floor, which also provided access to the rooftop. Damien's captain skeleton had already stationed the others around the area, with two specifically guarding the stairwell to prevent any zombies from entering.
After searching, they found two rooms in decent condition—no bloodstains, no foul smell, just a bit of dust. Damien and Alice chose one, while Jennifer was given the other.
Jennifer and Alice went off to clean the rooms while Damien focused on strengthening himself. Inside his room, he summoned new skeletons. His forces had now grown to fifteen—a significant boost to his power.
From the body of the mutant zombie, something unexpected had also been left behind: a crystal orb. When Damien had raised its corpse, the flesh decayed as usual, but this strange object had remained intact.
Holding it in his hand, Damien felt a faint energy pulsing from within. He decided to investigate it further. Taking the swordsman skeleton and a few others, he headed up to the rooftop. Just as he expected, the place was free of zombies.
Meanwhile, his captain skeleton had been ordered to command the rest, patrolling the lower floors to create a double layer of protection against both zombies and the far more unpredictable threat of other humans.
After checking the rooftop, Damien went back down to the room where the bodies were kept. He started using his new skill to shape the bones from the dead bodies. Slowly, he turned them into armor and weapons for his skeleton soldiers.
He made breastplates for each of them, covering their chest and shoulders. Then, he created bone knives. They were long and sharp, almost the same size as his katana. Damien made them extra sharp so they would cut zombies more easily.
When he was done, he called Captain Skeleton.
"Give this armor and these weapons to everyone," Damien ordered.
Captain Skeleton nodded and began passing them out.
Damien thought about making a shield for the captain, but he didn't have a good idea for it yet. Also, the sword of the swordsman skeleton was still stronger than the bone blades he had made.
Soon, all the skeletons wore bone armor and held sharp weapons. Damien looked at them and felt that his small army was starting to grow stronger.
After Alice and Jennifer had cleaned up their rooms, they called Damien to eat their dinner, and it was also getting dark.
Damien followed them toward one of the cleaned rooms and ate with them. They talked here and there for a few moments while finishing their food.
Jennifer was also improving; she had started to open up to them and would also join in their conversations, not being quiet, which was not like her.
After dinner, Alice and Damien went toward their room. Damien thought there would be two separate beds, but there was only one bed.
Alice quickly went to the bathroom, whereas Damien also started to change his dress as it had become all dirty, smelled from the fight, and the bloodstains on his clothes, along with his sweat.
While Damien was changing, Alice had already changed into a simple nightdress that highlighted her body perfectly. Damien was lost at the sight of her beauty when he looked at her.
Alice slowly walked toward the bed where Damien was sitting. She came closer and gently rested her head on his shoulder.
Damien softly stroked her hair while she leaned against him. After a moment, Alice spoke."Damien… do you really like me? Or did you only agree to my confession just to keep me happy?"
Damien kissed the top of her head and answered, "No, Alice. I really do like you. I just never confessed before because I was afraid it would ruin our friendship."
Hearing that, Alice smiled a little. She then started talking about their past—about the times when they traveled to different places together. Even when she sometimes tried to cancel the plan, Damien always made sure to take her anyway.
While they were talking, their bond grew stronger, and it felt like they were moving into a new kind of relationship.
At one point, their eyes met. Neither of them looked away. Slowly, Alice leaned forward, her face close to Damien's, and kissed him on the lips. Damien also leaned in, and soon the two of them were kissing each other, their feelings finally showing through action instead of words.