novelraw Chapter 93
Chapter 93
Ch.93 The King of the Dead Shall Rise Again!
The next morning.
As I stepped out of my room, I ran into Leah in the hallway.
Her eyes, brimming with discontent, swept over me.
“What on earth did you do to Scarlet?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Leah’s sudden question made no sense to me.
“Ugh, forget it. Hurry up and wash up. Breakfast is ready.”
She shot me a glance and headed back to her room.
What’s going on?
Later, when I went to the kitchen for breakfast…
—Zap.
—Zap.
—Zap.
All the girls except Scarlet glared at me.
What’s wrong with these kids?
“Here, everyone, eat this.”
Scarlet placed soup and sandwiches on the table, a faint smile gracing her lips.
“Father Hans, this one’s for you.”
At Scarlet’s gesture, the other girls’ glares turned even colder.
—Squeak.
“Did everyone sleep well?”
As Nekhuf and Nephert entered the kitchen…
“U-um… why’s the atmosphere so weird?”
The icy tension startled them both.
I forced a smile and waved.
“Uh… slept well?”
“Yes… we slept fine… ahem… we’ll eat later.”
They vanished before I could stop them—leaving me in despair.
No! Don’t go! Don’t abandon me alone among these dangerously glaring girls!
But they paid no heed to my inner pleas and didn’t return.
Well, honestly, who’d want to stay when three furious girls stand there, arms crossed, glaring daggers at you?
I tried to stay positive…
“Here you go…”
Scarlet set food before Cecilia, Leah, and Mia.
“Thanks, I’ll dig in.”
“I’ll eat well.”
“Much obliged.”
They responded—but kept glaring only at me, while Scarlet ate cheerfully, smiling brightly.
Aren’t you eating?
Why keep staring at me?
I’m hungry since morning—why are you acting like this?
I couldn’t even tell if the soup was going into my mouth or up my nose.
—Munch… munch…
No conversation—just oppressive silence from the three.
Then, Scarlet finally spoke.
“How’s the food, everyone?”
“It’s good.”
“Delicious.”
“Tasty.”
Their replies were curt and flat.
Huh? Did something happen yesterday?
“What about you, Father Hans?”
“It’s good too.”
The food wasn’t bad at all.
I’d heard from the girls before that Scarlet was a great cook—but this was my first time actually tasting it myself.
—Slam!
Leah abruptly stood up, chair scraping loudly.
“Scarlet, are you really going to keep doing this?”
She snapped, brimming with irritation.
Scarlet’s expression turned icy as she met Leah’s flickering crimson eyes.
“Doing what?”
Huh? At this rate, they’ll start fighting!
I knew full well that if these two fought aboard this tiny ship, it’d end in utter disaster—so I tapped Leah’s shoulder.
“Leah? What’s wrong?”
“Master, stay out of this.”
Her rudeness made me finally glare back.
“Leah… teammates should get along, right?”
“Master?”
Our eyes locked in a silent battle—until Leah looked away.
“Tch!”
She clicked her tongue and stormed off.
Mia and Cecilia shot me one last glare before following Leah out, as if they couldn’t even bear to speak to me.
This… is actually kind of good?
But leaving this tension unresolved won’t bode well for our upcoming plans.
We need to split into two teams—one led by me, the other by Cecilia: one party to hunt the King of the Dead, another to guard the capital.
“But what happened last night?”
Just the day before yesterday, they’d happily accepted my confession—so why were they acting like this this morning?
“Well…”
Scarlet looked troubled.
She spoke cautiously.
“Last night… the girls suggested keeping their distance from you, Father Hans.”
“What? Why?”
Yesterday morning, they’d asked me to date them—so why this sudden cold shoulder?
Their behavior confused me more than angered me.
My head filled with nothing but question marks.
“Well… I told them you’re doing this to save the world, and… well, as you said, your original world’s culture differs from ours.”
She scratched her cheek shyly.
“So… we had a bit of an argument.”
“Oh?”
Did they really cut off all interest in me?
Honestly, that should be a relief.
But… how am I supposed to form parties now?
Scarlet and Leah’s group clearly aren’t getting along…
First, Cecilia can’t come with me.
Her divine power as a saintess would be devastating against the undead minions of the King of the Dead.
But since she’s relatively weaker in raw combat, I’ll need Scarlet and Leah as support.
This isn’t going to be easy…
Two unexpected problems had just landed in my lap.
***
While Hans and Scarlet ate in the dining area, three girls gathered in Cecilia’s room.
“Tch.”
Leah pulled an apple from her spatial bag and took a loud bite.
—Crunch.
“Give me some food too!”
“Me too.”
At Cecilia’s and Mia’s requests, Leah waved her hand—summoning baskets of fruit and cookies from thin air and sharing them.
Indeed.
Though they’d put on a tough front in front of Hans and Scarlet, they were still girls who couldn’t resist hunger.
—Crackle.
Cecilia chewed her cookies like they were personal enemies—either venting her anger through eating, or perhaps carrying a grudge from a past life where she died without ever tasting cookies.
‘How dare Father Hans confess to me and then charm Scarlet too? This time, I won’t let it slide.’
Her mouth chewed cookies, but her mind chewed on Hans.
Mia took a bite of strawberry and frowned.
“No matter how I think about it, I just don’t get it. Why would someone like Scarlet harbor feelings for that sage?”
She couldn’t understand why a beauty like Scarlet would cling so desperately to Hans.
Sure, she herself had publicly declared her Elven Vow—if she didn’t end up with him, she’d lose her noble elven honor.
But Scarlet?
‘That’s absolutely unacceptable!’
“Right?! Scarlet clearly doesn’t understand love at all!”
Cecilia was equally baffled. Why would she like someone with such complicated romantic entanglements?
Cecilia had known him since her mid-teens—it was a long-standing affection.
But Scarlet’s connection was far more recent.
From Cecilia’s perspective, Leah and Mia seemed to have already given up on Hans.
She had no idea they were actually manipulating her—just like her, they wanted Scarlet, their strongest rival, to lose interest quickly.
‘I might not be able to accept a harem…but if I’m the main wife, maybe I could tolerate one(?) other girl.’
Of course, if Hans heard this, he’d tremble in fear.
And of course, every other girl besides Cecilia would never accept a harem…
Anyway.
“Exactly! Why should we keep suffering for a man like Master? He needs to become human this time—not stay a pervert like now.”
Innocent Hans, who’d never acted lecherously in his life, would’ve been deeply wronged by this.
As soon as Leah finished speaking, the girls smirked inwardly.
‘Now we’re sure—they’ve truly moved on.’
‘If we can just turn Scarlet’s heart away…’
‘She’s the last strong opponent, but it can’t be helped—the riffraff are already gone.’
Each felt quietly satisfied.
***
After breakfast…
The dull routine of sea life resumed.
We’d soon arrive at Long Beach Harbor, where we’d find a ship back to the Old Continent—crossing the ocean on a herring-fishing boat was clearly impractical.
But what about the girls?
Leah’s group had clearly distanced themselves from Scarlet.
Apparently, they’d even discussed ignoring and ostracizing me.
Though their honesty baffled me…
the outcome was undeniably great—they’d let go of their feelings for me!
That meant I’d narrowly escaped a tragic, three-way doom.
Still… this was humanity’s fight. We needed to cooperate.
Lost in thought, I headed toward my room—only to find Cecilia lingering outside my door.
“Do you have something to—”
“Hmph!”
—Whoosh!
She scoffed and hurried into her room.
If she’s mad at me, why was she loitering outside my door?
Cecilia made no sense—but then again, if I claimed to understand her, that’d mean I was just as crazy.
Forget it. Ignoring it is best.
I need some rest in my room.
After such a hearty breakfast, I was feeling a bit drowsy.
—Creak.
As I opened the door…
three letters lay before me.
“What’s this…?”
—Slam!
I shut the door and examined the letters.
> Father Hans,
> I apologize for this morning. It was merely a test of their love for you.
> But Leah and Mia gave up far too easily—they clearly lack the qualifications to be concubines.
> Now only Scarlet remains…
> I will surely prove to you that her feelings aren’t true love.
“What on earth is this?”
The letter was bizarre and incomprehensible.
Concubine qualifications? True love?
“Is she insane?”
Ah… right. She’s always been insane.
Accepting that readily, I opened the next letter.
> Master! Don’t misunderstand this morning’s events.
> We were simply removing obstacles to our relationship.
> Now only Scarlet remains.
> O Sage, forgive me for this morning.
> It was a necessary deception to eliminate the other riffraff.
> My heart hasn’t changed—don’t be too sad.
> I’m merely fighting to remove all who stand between us and our love.
“These girls’ delusions are getting worse…”
With that thought, I opened the window—revealing an endless horizon.
“Nice weather.”
—Flutter!
I tossed their letters overboard.
Since I couldn’t understand their twisted logic anyway.
I just hope they stop acting so strangely…
But somehow, things will work out.
And with that, I fell asleep.
***
Several days later.
We arrived at Long Beach—the original destination for Selena and me—to secure passage back to the Old Continent.
Crossing the ocean on a herring boat was simply out of the question.
“Thank you, Captain.”
Mia spoke on behalf of our group, expressing gratitude to the captain.
After all, crossing from the northern continent to here wasn’t easy.
“Heh, it’s all for the money, isn’t it? Truth be told, I should thank you—I got paid handsomely this time.”
Was the captain’s name Harald?
We’d exchanged greetings a few times during the voyage.
“Thank you.”
After brief farewells, we strolled through Long Beach village with our companions.
Shantytowns dotted the landscape; filth rolled along the streets.
The stench stung my nose, making my face twist involuntarily.
“Ugh…”
Was the smell too strong?
Nephert’s face turned pale.
“What is this stench?”
Nekhuf and Mia also pinched their noses, grimacing.
“Seriously? The whole place reeks!”
“Disgusting.”
Leah sighed, surveying the surroundings.
“Hah… nothing’s changed here.”
“You’ve been here before?”
At Cecilia’s question, Leah shot me a sidelong glance.
“Yeah, Master and I came here once.”
Before her words even finished…
—Zap.
“So someone sent a ridiculous letter claiming they’d died, and the two of you went on some sweet little date, is that it?”
Cecilia’s glare—along with Scarlet’s and Mia’s—was far from gentle.
“How could you even think of such a thing?”
“Lying about your own death… humans never cease to amaze.”
“Oh…”
Overwhelmed by their collective fury, I quickly changed the subject.
“Alright, alright! We need to hurry back to the Old Continent!
At this rate, the King of the Dead really will rise again!”
Seriously… my life is such a mess…
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