My Harem of Dangerous and Crazy Women as a Reincarnated Necromancer

Chapter 259: A Little Help Never Hurts

The Demon Lord’s voice paused deliberately, loaded with intent, savoring the suspense.

"I bring news, darling... and I have a feeling you won’t be able to ignore it."

Mark narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at the tiny shadow demon planted in the center of the table.

"Well?" he said, crossing his arms. "Are you going to tell me, or are you planning to stand there dragging this out all night?"

"Ooh, someone’s got an attitude," the Demon Lord’s voice replied with a little laugh. "Relax a bit, won’t you? Are you always this impatient, or only when you’re with your wives and want to look interesting?"

"Mary..."

"Fine, fine," she conceded with a sigh. "You have such little sense of drama."

The shadow demon tilted its little head, and for an instant it seemed to stretch before continuing.

"Turns out my babies brought me some very interesting information recently," the Demon Lord said. "And as your good partner, I decided to share it with you right away. Doesn’t that seem like a lovely gesture on my part?"

"Your babies?" Aria repeated, still on guard.

"She means the shadow demons," Mark clarified without taking his eyes off the creature. "That’s what she calls them."

"They’re my little ones, and there’s no corner of this world they can’t reach," the Demon Lord said in an almost maternal tone. "Thanks to them, a few days ago I discovered something... truly interesting."

She paused deliberately.

"A new friend has just arrived."

"A new friend?" he repeated, frowning. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, darling, and here I was starting to think you were one of the smart ones."

Mark stayed silent for a few seconds.

Then, as if a piece had just clicked into place in his head, his eyes snapped open and his entire body tensed.

"Wait... are you saying another reincarnated person showed up?"

"There it is," the Demon Lord said, satisfied. "I knew you’d get there on your own."

Mark’s wives exchanged a quick look, unable to hide the unease that news had caused them.

He, on the other hand, let out a long sigh and slumped back in his seat, rubbing his face with one hand.

"Great, just great," he muttered with annoyance. "As if I didn’t have enough things to deal with already."

"Cheer up," she said, clearly amused by his reaction. "Think about how fun this is going to be."

"I just hope this one doesn’t try to kill me the second he sets foot near me, like the last idiot," Mark continued, ignoring her.

At that, the Demon Lord burst out laughing.

"You always manage to surprise me with that optimism of yours," she said between laughs, clearly savoring the moment. "It almost feels bad to be the one ruining your illusions."

"..."

"But don’t worry too much about it for now, my little ones are already keeping an eye on him," she continued. "The moment they find out what he wants and what he’s capable of, you’ll be the first to know."

"Okay..."

Mark stayed thoughtful for a moment.

"And what exactly are we going to do about it?" he asked finally.

"We?" the Demon Lord replied. "For now, I’m going to do absolutely nothing."

"What?"

"I’m not going to do anything," she confirmed with complete calm. "It’s not time yet."

"But—"

"Look, darling, one of the things you learn when you’ve been in this world as long as I have is patience," she interrupted him. "Moving too early is the fastest way to ruin everything."

"So your grand plan is for us to sit around waiting with our arms crossed?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Just because I’m not going to do anything doesn’t mean you get to sit around doing nothing either," the Demon Lord replied, and her tone shifted slightly, growing sharper.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You still have a main quest pending, or did you already forget?" she said in an irritated tone. "As long as you don’t complete it, you’re going to stay stuck. So stop wasting time and finish that damn quest already. Because honestly, in your current state you’re not much use to me."

And that was all it took.

"Okay, hold on a minute!" Ely burst out, stepping forward, hand still on the hilt of her sword. "Who the hell do you think you are, giving orders to our Master like he’s your servant?!"

"Ely’s right," Aria seconded, visibly outraged. "He’s not your employee or your errand boy. You have no right to speak to him in that tone."

"Show some respect," Alice added coldly.

The shadow demon slowly turned its little head toward them, and the Demon Lord’s laughter filled the room once again.

"Oh, how cute," she said with a condescension that was downright insulting. "You’re all really adorable when you get protective of him like this."

"Don’t you dare mock us, you bitch!", Ely said.

"But I’m not mocking you," the Demon Lord replied calmly. "I’m simply explaining something that, clearly, none of you are capable of understanding."

"If you’re not mocking us, then what exactly are you doing?" Rose said, clearly annoyed.

"You see, when I talk to him like that, I’m not giving him orders," the Demon Lord replied. "I’m speaking to him as an equal."

"That’s not—"

"Though, of course, I suppose it’s not your fault you don’t understand it," she interrupted, and her voice took on a venomous tone. "After all, I understand a different kind of relationship, one that isn’t based on total submission... You, on the other hand..."

She paused, loaded with intent.

"You’re nothing more than a bunch of bootlickers," the Demon Lord said, venom soaking every word. "You call him ’Master’ because you live to obey him. So forgive me if I find it hard to take seriously a lecture from you all about how to treat a man."

For a few seconds, nobody said a word.

Ely clenched her jaw until it trembled, Aria couldn’t find a response, and Alice went pale with rage. Only Rose remained seated in silence, showing no reaction at all.

But before the situation could escalate further, Mark stepped in.

"Enough," he said, raising his voice slightly, cutting through the tension in the room.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, and fixed his gaze on the small shadow demon.

"Let’s focus," he continued firmly. "You say I should finish my quest. Fine. Am I to understand you’re going to help me with that? Because so far all you’ve done is tell me what to do without lifting a finger."

"But of course I’m going to help you, darling," the Demon Lord replied, immediately recovering her sweet tone. "In fact, I already have. You didn’t even thank me for it."

"What do you mean you already did?" he said, confused.

"You see, your mission is to unify the south, right?"

"That’s correct."

"Well, I’m afraid you’re a bit late."

"Huh?"

"One of my subordinates has spent a while gathering all the wild demi-human tribes," she said. "Clan by clan, one after another... until they were all placed under a single command."

"And that means...?" he said, straightening up in his seat.

"It means I already set the stage for you," the Demon Lord replied with obvious satisfaction. "You just have to defeat their ’leader,’ and the moment he’s defeated, all those savages will kneel before you. Piece of cake, don’t you think?"

Mark stared at the shadow demon in silence for a long moment.

"...Thank you," he said finally.

"Don’t mention it."

"Honestly I wasn’t expecting to get this much help..." Mark admitted, clearly surprised. "I thought I’d have to figure this out on my own while you just watched from your dungeon laughing at my misfortunes."

"Darling, I already told you, we’re a team now," the Demon Lord said, feigning offense. "If I promised to have your back, it’s because I intend to... but you also have to do your part. I need you to get stronger, and the sooner the better."

Mark nodded slowly, still somewhat incredulous about the help.

"Anyway, I think that’s enough talk for today," the Demon Lord said suddenly, in the tone of someone about to hang up the phone. "I have important things to do, and you have a house full of jealous women to attend to, so I’d better get going."

"Wait, I still have—"

"One of my subordinates will arrive in a few days," she continued without letting him finish. "He’ll give you all the details you need. So treat him well, alright? And remember our agreement... no hurting my subordinates, understood?"

"Mary—"

"Be good, darling, and if it’s not too much trouble, try not to fuck every woman who crosses your path," she said in farewell, laughing. "At this rate you’re going to end up catching something."

And then, the small shadow demon opened that disproportionate mouth and began devouring itself.

It folded inward, swallowing its own body piece by piece with a grotesque naturalness, until absolutely nothing of it remained on the table.

No shadow, no trace, no stain.

Just the silence of the meeting room and five people staring at the empty spot where it had been.

"...Okay, that last part was pretty disgusting," Mark muttered to himself.