Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 14 - Got You, You Rascal!

Chapter 14 Got You, You Rascal!

 

Deep in the night.

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was asleep, the magicians moved busily through the darkness.

Thanks to the sound-proofing spell they had cast, they walked freely, no longer needing to tiptoe or hold their breath.

“No one seemed suspicious. Thank goodness.”

“Just in case, I pretended to have no appetite and secretly packed some food into my sub-space pouch, but no one noticed.”

“And even the butler in charge of storing today’s mana stones collapsed with a fever. Lucky us.”

“Heaven must be helping us.”

Marion allowed herself a relieved smile as she hurried her steps.

“This is the ‘Earth Room’…”

The ‘Earth Room,’ where precious mana stones and other treasures were stored, was firmly locked with an elaborate locking mechanism.

Through the small glass window, the treasures kept inside glittered proudly.

“Zzz…”

A servant lay sprawled in front of the door, fast asleep under a sleep spell.

His soft snoring sounded almost like a lullaby.

Good thing I cast that sleep spell over the entire mansion, just in case.

Marion exhaled in relief and carefully chanted a magic spell in front of the Earth Room.

『Door, open.』

Click. Click.

With a string of mechanical sounds, the firmly locked mechanisms began to release one by one.

It took only a few seconds before they all clicked open.

“As expected of Marion-nim!”

“She breaks through the mansion’s security just like that—truly a high-rank mage!”

It was blatant flattery, but Marion felt no reason to stop herself from basking in it.

“Hmph. This is basic. Now hurry, let’s grab the mana stones and return to the Tower!”

They rushed into the Earth Room in search of the stones.

“Huh?”

“…Where are the mana stones?”

No matter how thoroughly they searched, there wasn’t a single mana stone—not even a sliver.

“How is this possible? I’m sure the butler retrieved mana stones from here…”

Before Marion could even finish,

—BANG!

The door to the Earth Room slammed shut.

Depending only on a small match-sized flame for light, the magicians panicked instantly.

“Eek! A g-ghost!”

“I–Is it a zombie!?”

“That can’t be. The Keaton barrier is still functioning normally… huh?”

Marion pointed at the window on the door, trembling.

“M-Michael-nim?”

Outside the Earth Room stood a tall knight with platinum-blond hair and sky-blue eyes.

Arms crossed, brows furrowed.

What is going on?

They had put everyone in the mansion to sleep! Without exception!

Wait…

The servant who had been snoring earlier—had gone silent.

Realizing this, cold sweat trickled down Marion’s forehead.

Just then, another figure appeared in the magicians’ line of vision.

“Ah, hello, magicians? What are you searching for at this hour before dawn?”

“H-hiik.”

The magicians inhaled sharply.

Silver hair. Violet eyes.

Elizabeth Keaton, the mistress of this mansion, stood there glaring sharply at them.

And she wore a holster at her waist—one made to hold dual pistols.

“That’s our treasure vault. Surely you weren’t planning to steal from us and flee in the night?”

“T-that is…”

Their faces turned pale under her icy pressure.

What excuse could they possibly make? They had been caught red-handed inside the Earth Room.

Marion tried putting on the most harmless expression she could manage as she attempted to talk their way out.

“Haha, I believe there’s been some sort of misunderstanding—”

“A misunderstanding?”

Elizabeth let out a soft laugh and snapped her fingers.

“Jack. Get up. Time to testify about what the magicians did.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The servant who had been pretending to snore jumped to his feet.

It was Jack, who had been assigned to guard the Earth Room in place of the butler today.

The magicians recoiled in horror.

“What!?”

“W-we cast a sleep spell—how?!”

“There are ways around that.”

Elizabeth clapped once.

Lights flickered on throughout the mansion interior, dispelling the dark.

And beneath the bright glow—

A long line of mansion servants stood waiting.

“Trying to rob our mansion, were you?”

“We treat you like guests, and you turn out to be filthy thieves?”

Angry servants held up the wooden clubs Michael had carved for them, ready to rush in at any moment.

“…We’re doomed.”

The magicians’ morale collapsed.

Marion, who had led the escape plan, clenched her lips tightly.

We’ve been had.

Without the mana stones, there was no escape.

If they ran outside now, they’d simply become zombie food.

As they panicked helplessly, the door creaked open.

Elizabeth Keaton had opened it.

“Now then, why don’t we have a little chat?”

Since when did “chatting” involve holding guns loaded with mana bullets?

But the magicians, cornered as they were, had no room to argue.

“Y-yes ma’am…”

All they could do was follow the mansion’s mistress while shedding invisible tears.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

“Oooh, I see it, I see it.”

Stretching Zero’s chubby cheeks like sticky rice cakes paid off very handsomely.

「I’ll give it! I’ll give it, okay!?」

Maybe terrified by the madness in my eyes, Zero finally surrendered and accepted my demands.

[New quest has been updated.]

[Sub-Quest – Gather Your Party!]

[A small reward will be given each time you recruit someone who can become a member of the ‘Zombie-Slaying Party.’]

[Current Progress : Elizabeth Keaton (1/1), Michael Easter (1/1), Ruth Chricerne (0/1), ???(0/1), ???(0/1)]

Since I already knew every single male lead candidate in the original story, I didn’t see the point of hiding their names behind question marks…

“Hey, Zero. Michael has already joined the party, so you need to hand over the corresponding reward. Right? Hmm?”

「You evil possessed human…!」

That concern vanished instantly once I bullied Zero into handing over the quest reward.

Zero, crying as if he was being mugged, handed over a “small” reward.

[Eye of the Sage (Intermediate)]

[Three times per day, you may view detailed information about any item or individual.]

[However, higher-tier beings resistant to insight require the Advanced version.]

Yes, this is it!

Thrilled with a genuinely useful skill, I immediately activated it.

“Sage’s Eye.”

[Please select the item or individual you wish to analyze.]

I already knew my target.

“Analyze the holy water.”

When I held out the silver bowl filled with the holy water I extorted from the Pope, an information window neatly unfolded before my eyes.

[Holy Water of the Papal State]

[Grade: S]

[Description: Holy water drawn only from the sacred spring within the Papal State. Any ordinary person trying to steal it will be roasted like a chicken—exercise caution.]

[Effects: 1) Can temporarily paralyze zombies. 2) Possesses divine power that conflicts with magic; a single drop grants temporary resistance to low-grade magic.]

“Oh-ho!”

Exactly the effect I wanted.

I suspected as much, since in the original story, Michael gave Siena holy water so she wouldn’t fall into the trap Elizabeth set using a summoned magician.

Just like priests with divine power and magicians with mana were natural enemies, holy water also had resistance against magic.

I used this to feed every servant in the mansion a single drop.

After hearing the situation, all of them gladly cooperated. Because I had practically stolen the entire sacred spring, the holy water was abundant enough that a single drop each was no problem.

As a result, not a single servant in the mansion fell for the sleep spell—and they successfully caught the magicians trying to escape.

The high-grade mana stones were moved from the Earth Room to another hidden location.

Once I explained all this, the magicians looked utterly defeated.

“No way…”

“We underestimated the new Keaton duchess…”

Honestly, it was such a straightforward, honest plan that it might have seemed almost disappointing.

How stupid did they think Elizabeth was?

Even if magicians were clueless about the world outside the Tower, this was practically an insult.

So I felt zero guilt as I tied them up and forced them to kneel for attempting to escape.

One by one, I attached mana restraints to prevent any possibility of them slipping away.

“…What do you plan to do with us?”

Marion, seemingly the leader among the dispatched mages, asked.

「That human is terrified of you.」

Zero whispered. And I could guess why the magicians shrank under my gaze.

Right… I did tell everyone in the mansion that if they were caught doing anything stupid, I’d throw them out to become zombie feed.

The magicians weren’t exceptions—but now was a time for investing in the future.

“I have no intention of harming you.”

With zombies roaming around, every day was a life-or-death gamble. I had no interest in fighting humans on top of that.

That would be the fastest way to trigger a death flag.

“There’s only one thing I want. If you do it, I’ll free you and even give you the mana stones you need to return to the Tower.”

Their eyes widened. Their voices came out much softer.

“…What is it? What do you want us to do?”

Without hesitation, I stated my demand.

“Contact the Tower’s powerhouse, Ruth Chricerne, and summon him here.”

“…What?”

“The next Tower Master?”

The magicians froze, jaws dropping.

Ruth Chricerne was indeed strong—but he had zero connection to any magician in the Tower.

If anything, they avoided him because he was temperamental and insufferable.

As expected of a male lead candidate, Ruth Chricerne acted like a gentle lamb only around Siena, making him the #1 avoidance target in the Tower.

“I-isn’t there anything else we can do…?”

The magicians begged with tearful faces.

But I rejected them firmly.

With a threatening gesture of slicing my thumb across my neck—

“You want to die? Or do you want to just do as you’re told?”

Let me survive too, damn it.