Huh?

Huh—?

Diona was stunned.

But she tried to calm down.

Once she’d calmed herself, she closed her eyes for a moment and thought…

Huh????

What—what happened? What on earth just happened? Did I somehow confuse reality with a fantasy just now?!!

No, no, no, no, no, no…

After working up a little courage, Diona opened her eyes again with a bright smile.

“Hmm—?”

The moment her gaze swept over the boy who really did seem to be a boy, Diona let out a sound before she could stop herself.

Her pupils widened, her breathing quickened, and her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Her mind went briefly blank.

It was as if even the instinct to breathe had been completely erased.

He was a black-haired, black-eyed boy, a trace of melancholy hidden at the corners of his mouth, yet his face was so pure and exquisite it made one’s throat go dry.

He wore relatively clean clothes. His trousers were long, but one could still vaguely guess that beneath those light gray pants lay a pair of sturdy, shapely thighs.

Most importantly, he was wearing black lace-up ankle boots.

From Diona’s vantage point, the first things she noticed were his short boots and the hint of pale white socks peeking out above them.

Though it was already autumn, the weather remained hot; in other words, for handsome boys, even just wearing sandals barefoot and doing nothing all day would inevitably result in a considerable accumulation of sour odor. As for those boys who insisted on wearing boots while walking outside or scavenging, there was no need to elaborate on how stifled their feet would become…

“Gulp.” Diona nervously swallowed.

Not to mention, the socks he wore seemed quite thick. Especially since he appeared to have been in this state for some time, she felt that even from dozens of meters away, through the stains and scratches on his boots, she could faintly smell a rich, pungent stench that, even filtered through a layer of leather, was strangely alluring…

Ah, ah! Of course, Diona was absolutely not some pervert with bizarre tastes!!

She was merely… merely, as a lady, concerned about the physical well-being of this cute boy before her. That was all.

…

Ah!

Wait, was he trying to escape too?!

No way. That wouldn’t do at all!!

In almost an instant, Diona’s body reacted before her mind could catch up.

The blonde girl strode forward, then lunged, grabbing the black-haired boy’s left arm just before he could slip out the side door with the fleeing bandits.

“You, stop right—uh, ahem. I mean, are you hurt?”

“Huh—?” Lin Mo whipped around in shock.

He’d suspected someone was watching him for a while. He hadn’t expected them to actually reach out and grab him.

(All my friends have been killed.)

(She even took down that female bandit leader. I don’t stand a chance against her.)

The image of the red-haired boss and the blonde girl knocking each other’s attacks aside during the fight still circled in Lin Mo’s mind. He couldn’t shake it.

“You… I—!”

Lin Mo tentatively opened his mouth.

This is the Matriarchal Apocalypse. I probably won’t be killed, he thought.

“I-I, I was captured by them.”

For a moment, Lin Mo’s eyes grew hazy with tears. “Just now, all my companions were killed.”

“But I still want to live. Let go of me— I-I don’t want the zombies to eat me!”

The other girl would obviously be suspicious. After all, Lin Mo had been mixed in with a group of bandits. That was suspicious in itself.

But everything he was saying now was true. Even if they investigated him later, he was fairly confident he’d get through it without trouble.

“Mm. I believe you.” Diona nodded firmly.

Diona nodded…

Nodded…

“Huh?” This time, Lin Mo was the one left dumbfounded.

After all, drawing on years of experience watching and assassinating his enemies, he could tell that this girl truly believed what he’d said.

It wasn’t as if he’d lied, either… But still!

“Y-you really believe me?” Still pretending to be a frightened boy, Lin Mo let his shoulders droop and deliberately lifted his eyes to her pretty face, his gaze full of hope.

“I do! I believe you!” Diona turned his shoulder toward her and quickly pulled him into her arms.

In a solemn tone, she made a remarkably cool declaration:

“A handsome boy like you must have a pure and beautiful heart! Whatever you say, I’ll believe you with my dying breath!”

“Uh…” Lin Mo tried to pull away.

However, his face was pressed tight against Diona’s left breast. It was incredibly soft and hot there; could it be that the dominant women of this matriarchal world did this intentionally? Frowning in suspicion, Lin Mo glanced upward—but on the girl’s face, he found only an ever more righteous and resolute determination.

Had he misjudged her?

Thinking it over, Lin Mo didn’t mind the idea of surviving the zombie siege under the protection of such a righteous, upstanding girl.

After meeting so many bizarre women in this world, it was actually nice to come across a kind girl who seemed relatively normal.

…

He’s pressing against me.

That cute, tender, smooth, silky cheek is pressing right against me!!

Diona’s entire heart was trembling.

She even felt she could barely hold her pistol. The illusion of first love swirled in her mind; for the first time in her life, Diona had fallen into the depths of desire and love.

“Don’t worry. I’m here. I’ll protect you.”

(“Waaah, I love him so much. I want to be with him, living all sorts of ‘harmonious,’ happy lives together, never stopping!!”)

Diona kept up her kind expression.

But her heart had long since flown off to various soft, plush beds, or even to the remote wilderness where no zombies or scavengers would disturb them.

But now wasn’t the time.

Besides, this child was clearly not in the right state of mind—come to think of it, since I found him in the bandit camp, that absolutely means those damn bandits must have already had their way with him until he was practically flying! Guh, damn it… that shameless, barbaric, ugly red-haired witch! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have given her the mercy of a quick headshot!

…And why didn’t the scout tell me beforehand that there was such an exquisite boy here when they were investigating this place??

Were they planning to keep him all to themselves??

Unforgivable! That little bitch!! She’s got a death wish! Just wait until I get back and settle the score with her!!

Waging an internal war within her heart, Diona maintained a dazed composure. She struggled to suppress her body and mind, which grew ever more ravenous from the scent of masculine pheromones emanating from him.