Created a Reverse Harem in a Doomed World (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14

Late at night.

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was asleep, the mages moved swiftly through the darkness.

Thanks to the sound-dampening magic they had cast, they walked noisily without a care in the world.

“No one suspected a thing—what a relief.”

“I even pretended to have no appetite and secretly packed some food in my subspace pouch, just in case. No one noticed!”

“Not to mention, the butler in charge of safeguarding the mana crystals today fell ill with a fever. How fortunate!”

“Even the heavens are on our side.”

Merion smiled in relief and hurried forward.

“This is the ‘Chamber of Earth’…”

The Chamber of Earth, where precious mana crystals and other treasures were kept, was tightly secured with intricate locking mechanisms.

Beyond the small glass window, the duke’s treasures shimmered proudly, displaying their splendor.

“Hmm…”

Lying sprawled before the door was a servant, lulled into dreamland by a sleep spell.

His gentle, rhythmic snoring sounded almost like a lullaby.

‘Good thing I cast a sleep spell over the entire mansion, just in case.’

Merion sighed in relief and carefully murmured an incantation before the Chamber of Earth.

“Door, open.”

With a series of clicks and clacks, the firmly locked mechanisms smoothly turned.

How many clicks rang out? Within mere seconds, every lock had been undone.

“Just as expected of Lady Merion!”

“For an archmage, breaching the duke’s security was effortless!”

Though clearly flattery with intent, Merion was encouraged by the mages’ enthusiastic reactions.

“Hmph. This is merely basic. Let’s quickly grab the mana crystals and return to the Mage Tower!”

Merion and the mages hurried into the Chamber of Earth to search for the mana crystals.

“Huh?”

“…There are no mana crystals?”

No matter how thoroughly they searched, they couldn’t even find a single fragment of a mana crystal.

“How is this possible? The mansion’s butler clearly said he’d taken the crystals from here…”

Before Merion could finish speaking, the door to the Chamber of Earth slammed shut with a loud bang.

The mages, who had been relying on tiny flames like matchsticks for light, were utterly terrified.

“Waaah! A—a ghost!”

“A… a zombie?”

“That can’t be. The Keaton manor’s barrier is still functioning normally… Wait, what?”

Merion, flustered, pointed toward the glass panel in the door.

“S-Sir Michael?”

Outside the Chamber of Earth stood a towering paladin with platinum hair and sky-blue eyes.

His brow furrowed, arms crossed firmly over his chest.

‘How did this happen?’

I was certain I’d put everyone in the mansion to sleep with my spell!

‘Now that I think about it…’

The servant’s snoring hadn’t been audible for a while now.

Realizing this, cold sweat streamed down Merion’s forehead.

Into the bewildered mages’ field of vision stepped a silver-haired woman.

“Oh, hello there, mages! What on earth are you searching for at this ungodly hour before dawn?”

“Eep!”

The mages collectively gasped.

Silver hair and violet eyes.

Elisabeth Keaton, mistress of the manor, glared at them with piercing intensity.

At her waist hung a holster holding twin revolvers.

“That’s our family treasury… You weren’t planning to steal from us and flee in the night, were you?”

“W-well…”

Intimidated by her fierce aura, the mages turned pale as ghosts.

What excuse could they possibly offer? Having trespassed into the Chamber of Earth, they were like cornered rats caught red-handed.

Merion tried to persuade the two with the most harmless expression she could muster.

“Haha… I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

Elisabeth let out a derisive snort and snapped her fingers.

“Jack. Wake up. You need to testify about what these mages did.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The servant, who had been pretending to sleep soundly just moments before, sprang upright instantly.

It was Jack—the very servant assigned to guard the Chamber of Earth’s door today in place of the butler Patrick.

The mages were shocked at the sight.

“What the—!”

“We cast a sleep spell! How is this possible…!”

“There’s always a way.”

As Elisabeth Keaton clapped her hands, the lights inside the manor—previously swallowed by darkness—began flickering on one by one.

Beneath them stood dozens of servants, lined up in formation.

“How dare you try to rob our manor?”

“We welcomed you as guests, and you turn out to be common thieves!”

The furious servants, brandishing wooden clubs carved by Michael himself, looked ready to charge at any moment.

“…We’re done for.”

The mages lost all will to fight upon seeing this scene.

Even Merion, who had spearheaded the escape plan, bit her lip in despair.

‘We’ve been outplayed.’

Since they’d failed to secure the mana crystals, there was nowhere left to run.

If they recklessly tried to flee outside now, they’d only become zombie fodder.

The door before the bewildered mages creaked open.

It was Elisabeth Keaton’s doing.

“Now then, shall we have ourselves a little chat?”

I wonder when “chatting” started meaning holding a mana-charged gun while talking.

But the mages, now at a severe disadvantage, had no choice.

“Yes, ma’am…”

They could only inwardly weep tears of blood and obediently comply with the mistress of the house.

“Oh, I see it, I see it!”

The reward I extracted by stretching Zero’s cheeks like glutinous rice cakes was incredibly satisfying.

「I’ll give it! Just take it already!」

Terrified by the madness gleaming in my eyes, Zero finally surrendered and accepted my demand.

[A new quest has been updated.] [Sub-Quest : Gather Party Members!] [Each time you recruit a potential member for the ‘Zombie Extermination’ party, you’ll receive a modest reward.] [Current Progress: Elisabeth Keaton (1/1), Michael Easter (1/1), Luce Krichern (0/1), ??? (0/1), ??? (0/1)]

Since I already knew all the male leads from the original story, I felt there was no need to obscure their names with question marks…

“Hey, Zero. Michael’s already been recruited as a party member, so you should hand over the corresponding reward right away, right?”

「You vicious, scheming spirit…!」

That thought was quickly forgotten thanks to the quest reward I wrangled out of Zero.

The “modest” reward Zero reluctantly gave me was this:

[Wise Eye (Intermediate)] [Once per day, up to three times, you may view information about any desired item or person.] [Note: For high-tier beings impervious to insight, the Advanced version is required.]

‘This is it!’

Thrilled to have acquired a useful skill, I immediately activated it.

“Wise Eye.”

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

I’d already decided whom I wanted to investigate.

“Analyze the holy water.”

When I presented the silver bowl containing the holy water I’d taken from the Pope, a neatly organized information window appeared before my eyes.

[Papal Holy Water] [Rank: S] [Description: Holy water drawn exclusively from the sacred spring within the Papal See. Warning: Any commoner attempting to steal it will end up as roast chicken.] [Effects: 1) Temporarily paralyzes zombies. 2) Grants brief resistance against low-tier magic, as its divine power counters magic; drinking even a single drop provides this effect.]

“Oh!”

Exactly the effect I’d hoped for.

‘In the original story, Michael gave Siena holy water to prevent her from falling into Elisabeth’s trap involving summoned mages. I had a hunch, and it paid off.’

Just as priests wielding divine power and mages wielding magic were natural enemies, holy water possessed resistance against magic.

I used this to my advantage, giving each servant in the mansion a single drop of holy water.

Upon hearing my plan, the servants gladly joined in. Perhaps because I’d brought the entire sacred spring with me, there was more than enough holy water to spare—even after giving a drop to many people.

Thanks to this, not a single servant in the mansion fell under the sleep spell, allowing them to stay awake and apprehend the fleeing mages.

The high-grade mana crystals had already been moved from the Chamber of Earth and stored elsewhere.

After explaining all this, the mages were utterly deflated.

“How could this be…”

“We underestimated the new Keaton Duke far too much…”

‘Exactly. Their plan was so absurdly straightforward it was almost anticlimactic.’

How foolish must they have thought Elisabeth was!

Even if mages were ignorant of worldly affairs beyond the Mage Tower, this was still an insult to Elisabeth.

Thus, I felt not a shred of guilt about tightly binding the mages who’d tried to escape for their own survival and forcing them to kneel.

One by one, I kindly fitted each mage—who hung their heads like ripe rice stalks—with mana restraints, eliminating any chance of escape.

“…What do you intend to do with us?”

Merion, seemingly the leader among the dispatched mages, asked me.

「That one fears you.」

Zero whispered to me. I thought I understood why Merion and the other mages shrank away in my presence.

‘Ah yes—I did say that anyone in this mansion caught misbehaving would be immediately fed to the zombies.’

Of course, the mages were no exception—but now was the time to invest in the future.

“I have no intention of harming you.”

With our lives hanging in the balance due to the zombies, I had no desire to fight fellow humans.

Doing so would surely plant a death flag right in my chest.

“I want just one thing. If you grant it, I’ll release you and even provide the mana crystals needed for your return to the Mage Tower.”

The mages, who had braced themselves for extreme punishment, widened their eyes in surprise, their voices softening slightly.

“…What is it? What must we do?”

Without hesitation, I made my demand.

“Contact Luce Krichern, the Mage Tower’s strongest mage, and summon him here.”

“What?”

“The next Archmage himself?”

The bound mages gaped at my request.

It was true Luce Krichern was powerful, but he had never interacted with any mage in the Mage Tower.

‘If anything, they actively avoided him, calling him ill-tempered and unlucky.’

True to his role as a canonical male lead, Luce Krichern was gentle as a lamb only in front of the heroine Siena—making him the number one person to avoid among the Mage Tower’s mages.

“C-can’t we do something else…?”

The mages pleaded with tearful faces, but I flatly refused.

I adopted a threatening stance, as if ready to slit their throats.

“Do you want to die, or will you just obey?”

I need to survive too.