Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 13 - Lay the Bait

Chapter 13 Lay the Bait

 

 

“Staying here any longer is madness.”

Among the mages summoned long ago by the now-deceased former duke, Henry Keaton, the high-rank mage Merion muttered grimly.

“Exactly.”

“It’s terrifying.”

“Dear heavens, what were those things! The Keaton Duke… no, the former Duke Keaton never once mentioned monsters like that lurking around here!”

Led by Merion, the mages sent to the estate burst into complaints all at once.

Huddled in a corner of their assigned room, they spoke tremblingly about the terror of the zombies they had seen with their own eyes.

Of course, they also lamented becoming trapped like mice inside Keaton Duchy’s estate.

“Humans turning into monster-like creatures from some unknown plague—how are we supposed to solve that?”

“And we all saw it—the imperial capital of Caladia was destroyed! That mighty empire’s royal family vanished overnight like smoke… Forget solving the issue, we can’t even see how we survive this.”

“Sob… do you think we can return to the Tower? Maybe for short distances, but we don’t have the mana for long-distance teleportation. At this rate, we’ll be stuck here and become food for those monsters.”

Had the enemy been high-rank magical beasts they were familiar with, the mages wouldn’t have been this frightened.

But zombies were completely unknown monsters.

With so little information, they were terrified and desperate to flee back to the Magic Tower.

Merion, the highest-rank among them, was especially anxious.

“Living on thin ice inside the Keaton estate can only last so long. How long do you think they’ll keep feeding and housing outsiders like us?”

For now, they were being treated well because they were valuable combat power and had been summoned by the former duke.

‘But how long will that last in a place this isolated?’

Merion’s uneasiness deepened further when he noticed the servants walking around with wooden clubs.

The Keaton family was wealthy and held great authority, but in the capital—where one couldn’t station many private soldiers—they weren’t much different from other noble houses.

Meaning: the only real combat-capable people inside the estate were Merion, the other mages, and the holy knight, Michael.

Even though Elizabeth Keaton—formerly the dukedom’s daughter—had succeeded the title, Merion couldn’t trust her.

The most infamous woman in the empire. Said to be the rudest and most foolish person in all Caladia.

Rumors so terrible they even reached the Magic Tower, a famously closed-off community.

Merion didn’t have the patience to trust that bratty new duke.

‘I don’t want to die here!’

He wanted to return to the Magic Tower with his companions as quickly as possible.

Surely, they’d have a better chance of survival there than in this estate.

“We’ll look for an opportunity and escape.”

The other mages nodded immediately, as if waiting for those very words.

“Y-yes!”

“B-but… how do we escape?”

“We failed the commission the former Duke Keaton gave us… we don’t even have a proper excuse to return.”

The mages looked ready to cry.

Normally, they should have received top-grade mana stones from Duke Henry Keaton as payment for their work and then gone home.

But Henry Keaton was dead, and since the estate’s barrier ran on mana stones, it felt wrong to ask for them now.

‘Without quality mana stones, returning to the Tower is impossible…’

Half of the stones they’d brought for their return trip had already been used to teleport everyone during the surprise zombie attack.

Teleporting even a short distance with Elizabeth and the estate guards had consumed enormous mana.

“What do we do now?”

Someone shouted hysterically, eyes shaking.

“W-we just steal them and run!”

The usually dignified mages pricked their ears up, throwing away their pride.

“R-right! Merion! Those mana stones are what we were supposed to be paid anyway!”

“We can just leave a note saying the Magic Tower had an emergency. What can they do about it?”

“Exactly! Exactly!”

The moment someone suggested stealing, their plan lost all legitimacy—but Merion had no intention of stopping them.

“Where does the Keaton estate store the mana stones?”

“The ‘Earth Chamber,’ I believe. Butler Patrick takes stones from there to maintain the barrier.”

“Then tonight, we open the Earth Chamber’s door, take the high-grade mana stones, and flee.”

With Merion’s skill, opening a locked door would be trivial.

“We must act only when everyone is asleep. That holy knight might notice otherwise.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll follow your command, Merion!”

Excited by the thought of returning home, the mages scattered.

The plan was solid.

Or rather, it would have been—if not for Lena appearing silently in the hallway outside.

“My goodness. They really were plotting something, just like the young lady said.”

Lowering her footsteps, Lina shot a sharp glare at the room the mages had left, then turned on her heel and hurried toward Elizabeth’s office.

She needed to report this to her at once.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

I decided I needed to meet Lus Krichern, so I gave Lina one specific order.

〈Keep a close eye on the mages inside the estate.〉

〈The mages…? Why them…?〉

〈Sooner or later—sooner, really—they’re going to try to leave this dukedom.〉

For me and the estate’s servants, this place was home ground, and Michael had nowhere left to return to, so that wasn’t an issue.

But the mages from the Tower were different.

They had been horrified by the unknown monsters, and now that the capital was overrun with exponentially multiplying zombies, it was obvious they would want to escape.

The only place the mages could return to was the Mage Tower.

And with Henry Keaton dead, the mages—who had no loyalty to me—had no reason to stay.

Besides, “Elizabeth Keaton” had terrible public credibility, so their reaction was only natural.

If the mages’ escape was inevitable… then I might as well use it.

Just like how the mages didn’t have a proper excuse to leave immediately, I also didn’t have any legitimate reason to keep them here.

But this incident could be twisted into a perfect justification to summon Lus Krichern.

That’s why I had Lina take an invisibility magic tool and quietly monitor the mages… and then—

“Duke! You were right, absolutely right! The mages stayed in one room for over an hour without a sound, and then rushed out all at once—it was super suspicious!”

Already? That fast?

It was absurdly quick.

“As you said, they definitely used a sound-blocking spell. They’re plotting something!”

They pretended they were chatting to avoid the servants’ eyes, but since I’d read the original story, I knew better.

Lus Krichern had a line that went like this:

“Sienna, you’re so kind. You’re nothing like the mages in the Tower, who only see each other as rivals. I… I find your gentle nature truly lovely. I think… I could be friends with you.”

It was basically a confession, but Sienna—being the heroine—didn’t get it and just tilted her head.

“Huh? But mages are just like us, right? Lus, you didn’t have any friends in the Tower?”

“…Not a single one. Mages don’t have anything like friends. They’re people obsessed with magic. Purely selfish. If mages gather in one room and have a friendly conversation, it’s never for socializing.”

“Then why?”

“It always means they are joining forces to do something for their mutual benefit. That’s the only reason mages ever gather.”

The behavior of the mages Henry Keaton had called was exactly like the novel described.

They insisted on separate rooms, had no sense of teamwork at all, and didn’t care about each other.

They only began sticking together once they realized going outside was nearly impossible due to the zombies.

Them doing something they never do? Of course it’s suspicious.

“Well done, Lina. Then, will you do exactly as I say?”

Lina beamed with pride.

“Anything! Just give the order, Duke!”

“Go to the butler and to Sir Michael and tell them this. Say…”

Whisper, whisper.
After hearing what I said, Lina grinned like a mischievous child.

“As expected of you, Duke…! You truly are worthy of your reputation—the devil of high society! What a brilliant scheme!”

She looked at me with sparkling eyes—though honestly, it felt more like an insult.

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

“Leave it to me! Oh, I can’t wait to see how tonight turns out!”

Bouncing with excitement, Lina hopped away to find the butler and Michael.

Watching her leave, I asked Zero:

‘Hey, Zero.’

「What now?」

The golden hamster floating in the air finally responded.

‘Is there any reward for recruiting each party member for the “Defeat the Zombies” quest?’

There should be some kind of quest reward. Right? Right??

As a gamer, this flaw was unforgivable.

When I glared at him, the cheeky little rat whistled and looked away.

「Huh? Hmm? I don’t know what you’re talking about.」

Oh, really?

‘You’re supposed to be an employee of some “Possessor Management Bureau,” aren’t you? Don’t pretend! You gave me a quest window with party recruitment conditions, and now you’re playing dumb?’

Now I was actually getting angry.

‘You trying to make me work for free? On passion pay??’

Colored with fury, I grabbed Zero and stretched his soft cheeks. Zero shrieked.

「Ow—owowow!! Stop! Stop it hurts!」

Oh?
So you can feel pain?

‘Fine, then promise me rewards for every party member I recruit. You must have the authority to do that, right? Since you’re the one in charge of me?’

「Aaaagh! Let go! We agreed your reward would be winning the lottery when you return home!!」

Zero squeaked desperately.

But his cute act didn’t work on me.

Not when we were surrounded by zombies and survival was on the line.

‘That’s separate. This needs to be counted separately. Ever heard of additional service fees?’

「Y-you’re chosen as a Saint, aren’t you?!」

‘You little—you’re the one who slapped that job on me without asking!’

Trying to sell nonsense now?

‘Give it. I want rewards that’ll actually help me clear your quest.’

Rewards.
Rewards!
I want to see them!