My Harem of Dangerous and Crazy Women as a Reincarnated Necromancer

After a while Mark, Ely, and Aria came out of the officer’s tent and walked toward what appeared to be the camp’s dining area.

It was an open area with several long wooden tables and benches on the sides, where the soldiers probably ate during the day.

"I can’t believe it," Aria said, letting out a huff as she walked. "We found absolutely nothing useful... just a bunch of personal notes and letters that didn’t say anything important," she added, crossing her arms with frustration.

"Maybe the information is in one of the other tents," Ely said, looking toward the few still standing. "But it would take us a while to search all of them."

Mark let out a long sigh.

"That was a huge waste of time..." he said, dropping onto one of the benches and then lying back on the table with his arms spread out.

His cheek rested against the wood and he lay there looking to one side with a tired expression.

’Well... at least all that wine fit in my inventory,’ Mark thought with some satisfaction. ’That’s the only salvageable thing from any of this.’

Four bottles of quality wine, some cured cheese and meat.

Not exactly what he had been looking for, but at least he wouldn’t be leaving completely empty-handed.

Mark still had his face against the table when he saw Alice and Zilu in the distance already making their way back.

The two were walking slowly, with Alice slightly ahead and Zilu following close behind.

When they finally reached the dining area, Alice was the first to speak.

"I apologize for the delay, my lord," Alice said, stopping in front of Mark. "I couldn’t find any women’s clothing in the entire camp, so we had to make do with the soldiers’ sleeping clothes."

Mark sat up straight on the bench and looked at Zilu.

The difference was noticeable now.

The blood and grime that had covered her body was gone.

Her black hair, which before had been tangled and matted, now fell clean over her shoulders.

And her bronzed skin looked clearer.

She was wearing grey shorts that were slightly too big for her and a matching grey t-shirt that was clearly men’s clothing given how it hung loose from her shoulders.

Her rabbit ears also looked noticeably more relaxed than before.

"You look pretty cute," Mark said without thinking too much about it, with a smile.

Zilu, hearing Mark’s compliment, opened her eyes slightly.

And her ears moved a little upward.

"Th-thank you..." she murmured, lowering her gaze as one of her hands began absentmindedly playing with a strand of her black hair.

Mark noticed out of the corner of his eye how Ely crossed her arms with more force than necessary and how Aria narrowed her eyes slightly, but decided to ignore both things.

"Now that you’re looking better," Mark said in a friendly tone, "I’d like to have a little chat with you, if you don’t mind."

Zilu raised her gaze toward him.

"A chat...?"

"Just a few questions," Mark clarified, gesturing for her to sit down. "Nothing complicated."

Then he looked at Alice and made the same gesture.

Alice sat down on the bench across from Mark, on the other side of the table, and Zilu sat beside her.

Mark rested his elbows on the table and interlaced his fingers.

"First of all, I’d like to know, how did you end up here?" Mark asked in a calm tone.

Zilu’s ears dropped slightly at the question.

She didn’t respond right away and stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, looking at her own hands resting on the table, before starting to speak.

"About a month ago, my sister disappeared," Zilu began in a quiet voice.

Mark listened carefully.

"She went out to hunt for food," Zilu continued without looking up. "It was something she did every two or three days — she’d hunt whatever she could find and be back before sunset."

Zilu paused.

"But that day she didn’t come back."

"..."

"I waited all afternoon and then all night," she said in a low tone. "But when morning came and she still hadn’t returned, I knew something bad had happened..."

"So you decided to go look for her?"

Zilu nodded.

"Yes, I left the village on my own and followed the route she usually used, looking for any trace of her... until I finally found it."

Zilu went quiet for a moment, biting her lower lip as she remembered what had happened.

"I didn’t see them coming..." Zilu said with her jaw slightly clenched. "I was so focused on following the trail that I didn’t realize the whole time I had been walking straight into one of their traps..."

Mark could see how she tensed at the memory.

"By the time I woke up I was already inside that cell... but luckily — or maybe unluckily — my sister was in the cage next to mine."

Hearing that last part, Mark went quiet for a moment before asking his next question.

"That means she... was one of the ones who died in those cages?"

"...Yes," she replied in a low tone, lowering her head.

"I’m sorry to hear that..."

Zilu fell completely silent, and after a few moments he noticed tears had begun welling up in the woman’s golden eyes.

Seeing her cry again, Mark decided the best thing would be to give her a moment to calm down.

Until after a few minutes Zilu stopped crying.

"I-I’m sorry..." Zilu said, wiping the tears from her face.

"You don’t have to apologize," he replied in an understanding tone.

Mark decided to give her another moment before continuing with his questions.

"And tell me — what are you planning to do now?"

"...I-I don’t know."

"Aren’t you planning to go back to your village?" Mark said, tilting his head slightly.

Zilu was quiet for a moment and then spoke again.

"My sister and I only had each other... but now that she’s gone, I don’t have anyone to turn to."

"Really?"

"Well... I have a friend, but I’d rather not be a burden, she has far more important things to worry about," Zilu admitted.

"I see," he said, leaning back slightly.

"..."

"Zilu... what do you think about the idea of traveling with us?"

"Eh?"