My Harem of Dangerous and Crazy Women as a Reincarnated Necromancer

Chapter 251: Nothing Is Left to Chance

Mark and Ely walked through the palace corridors toward the exit, where Yuki and the druid were waiting to begin the journey home.

For a while they moved in silence, until Ely, who had been turning something over in her head for a good while, finally let it out.

"Master," she said without stopping. "Are you really going to leave things like this, just like that?"

"What do you mean?" Mark asked, glancing at her sideways.

"All of this..." Ely replied with a vague gesture toward the palace they were leaving behind. "We came all the way here, did all the dirty work, and in the end the kingdom is practically the same as when we arrived."

"..."

"Yes, I know that Luna now ’leads’ a coalition government with her siblings, but... honestly, how does that actually benefit us?" she said, frowning.

"Go on..." Mark said, completely unfazed and calm.

"Coalitions are fragile, Master," she explained, looking at him steadily. "Yes, TODAY her siblings support her because it suits them, but the moment they smell an opportunity, they’re going to turn on her."

"You can bet they will," he added in an almost amused tone.

"Honestly... there are times I don’t understand what you’re thinking, Master," she admitted, letting out a small sigh. "And that frustrates me a great deal..."

Ely stayed quiet for a few seconds, as if putting her thoughts in order, before speaking again.

"And, if I’m being honest with you, I would have gone with the simpler solution... killing everyone who needed killing until the problem was ripped out at the root, even if the princess objected," Ely confessed, clenching her fists. "After all, a corpse doesn’t conspire."

"Blunt as always..." he said with a short laugh.

"You know I don’t like leaving loose ends, Master," Ely insisted, a little anxious. "And right now this entire kingdom is one enormous loose end... All it takes is for us to turn our backs and everything falls apart."

Mark walked a few more steps before answering.

"Do you really think I’m going to leave things to chance?" he said finally, in a tone considerably more serious than usual.

"Uh... yes?" Ely replied, a little embarrassed.

"Then it seems you don’t know me as well as you thought," he said with a grin.

"So... you do have a plan?"

"But of course I have a plan, Ely," he replied with a carefree smile. "And in fact, it’s a fairly simple one."

Mark slowed his pace to be able to talk with Ely more comfortably.

"In short, it consists of doing the exact opposite of what we did in the elven kingdom," he explained, looking at her directly. "No drawing attention, no kicking the hornet’s nest... and only killing a few people."

"And how do you plan to accomplish that, Master?" she asked, genuinely curious. "Because as far as I can see, the moment we set foot outside this kingdom, we lose all control over what happens here."

"Simple," he replied. "I just need to ask Yuki."

By the time Mark finished saying that, they had already reached one of the palace’s green areas.

There Yuki was waiting alongside the druid, who had once again transformed into that enormous beast they would use to return to the elven kingdom.

The assassin turned toward them the moment she sensed them arriving.

"Everything is ready to depart, Master," Yuki said in her usual flat tone.

"Perfect," Mark replied, walking toward her. "But before we leave, there’s something we need to talk about."

Yuki tilted her head slightly, puzzled by the sudden request.

"You’re not coming back with us," Mark said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I need you to stay here for at least a while."

"...Huh?"

"There are still a couple of things that need to be done, and only you can handle them."

"Like what?"

"The first is that I want you to protect Luna while the new government establishes itself," he explained. "If anyone tries to make an attempt on her life, deal with them before they can even get close."

"And the other?"

"The second, and also the most important, is that you need to eliminate every one of Luna’s siblings who doesn’t kneel before her," he said with a chilling calm. "Starting obviously with Jack and the one who ambushed us... those idiots don’t deserve to keep breathing."

Mark stayed quiet for a few moments before continuing.

"Oh, and one last thing... I want it all to look like accidents," Mark continued with a shrug. "You know, the usual, an unfortunate fall, a sudden health problem, and so on. Understood?"

"Of course, Master," Yuki replied without the slightest hesitation. "Consider it done."

Ely, who had been listening to the entire plan in silence, turned toward Mark with a surprised expression.

"Hold on a moment, Master," she interrupted. "Didn’t you just promise the princess, barely a few minutes ago, that you would let her handle things her own way?"

Mark simply looked at her as if the answer were obvious.

"Obviously that was a lie," he confessed with complete calm.

"I see."

"I just said exactly what she wanted to hear to look good," he continued. "After all, a powerful vassal equals less work for us."

"I understand..."

Ely looked at him in silence for a long few seconds before letting out a sigh.

"You know something, Master?" she said, shaking her head. "You really do love making life complicated for yourself..."

"You think so?"

"Yeah ,you would have gotten exactly the same result if, from the beginning, you had simply killed Princess Luna and revived her as one of us."

Mark couldn’t deny that option had crossed his mind at some point, but in the end he had decided to discard it.

"You’re right..." he admitted. "It would have been much simpler, I won’t deny it."

"Then why didn’t you do it?"

Mark paused thoughtfully for a moment, looking toward the enormous beast waiting for them.

"Because I like Luna," he confessed. "She’s smart, fun, has personality, and she doesn’t bore me... so it would be a shame to do something like that to her just for convenience."

Ely looked at him in silence and slowly narrowed her eyes.

"In other words... you thought with your dick," she stated in a dry tone.

Mark burst out laughing.

"Yeah," he admitted without the slightest embarrassment, still laughing.

Ely rolled her eyes at her Master’s laughter and let out a long sigh.

"Unbelievable..." she murmured in amusement. "Nobody would imagine that the great Emperor of Death, the man who has brought entire kingdoms to their knees, can’t make an important decision without first consulting his crotch."

"Hey, in my defense, that strategy has worked out pretty well for me so far," Mark said with a shrug as he approached the druid. "Just look at me, two kingdoms, a harem, and I’m still alive despite all the questionable decisions I’ve made."

Ely ended up letting out a loud laugh at seeing just how unserious her Master could be. But even with all his flaws, she loved him unconditionally.

While Ely was still laughing quietly, Mark turned his gaze back toward Yuki, who remained as serious as ever.

"I’ll send the druid back for you in a month," he said in a more serious tone. "I know it’s a complicated job, but I trust you can complete it."

"I won’t disappoint you, Master," Yuki said without the slightest hesitation, with that steadfastness of hers. "When the druid returns, everything will be done... I promise."

Mark looked at her for a moment and gave a warm smile.

"Come here," he said with a gesture of his hand.

Yuki blinked, slightly puzzled by the sudden request, but obeyed without questioning it and took a step toward him.

When she was close enough, Mark gently held her face and kissed her with intensity.

Yuki, after an instant of surprise, closed her eyes and kissed him back, pressing her body against his as the kiss deepened.

And for someone so serious and contained in everything else, the way she responded made it quite clear what she felt for him.

When they finally separated, Mark looked at her, slightly breathless.

"Consider it a small advance," he said, a thin thread of saliva still connecting them. "When you finish the mission and come home, I’ll give you a much better reward."

Then a faint flush appeared on Yuki’s normally pale cheeks.

"That’s the least I expect, Master," she replied, looking slightly to one side.

Mark gave Yuki one last caress on the cheek before turning and climbing onto the enormous beast’s back, where Ely was already waiting for him.

Yuki watched her Master settle in to begin the return journey.

"Take care and don’t let your guard down, no matter how easy things seem," Mark said from above. "I want you back in one piece..."

"Of course," she replied, letting out a small laugh.

After that the hippogriff let out a deep roar and beat its enormous wings, slowly rising from the ground before launching into the sky and setting course back toward the elven kingdom.

And from below, Yuki watched them grow smaller and smaller until they became a tiny dot on the horizon.