My Harem of Dangerous and Crazy Women as a Reincarnated Necromancer

Mark closed his eyes for a second and deep down, very deep down, let out a silent laugh.

’Looks like the solution to stopping them from fighting came on its own... maybe this could work with Rose and Alice too.’

"Hey, hey, wait a moment," Mark said, raising both hands in front of him.

Both stopped mid-lean toward him, both wearing the same disappointed expression.

"What’s wrong, Master?" Aria asked in a voice that was already starting to sound worried.

"Are you feeling sick again?" Ely added, frowning slightly.

"No, it’s not that," Mark said in a conciliatory tone. "I really appreciate everything you’ve done and I promise I’ll make it up to you properly, but... it’ll be later."

"Later?" Aria repeated in a tone that already had a pout forming.

"Yes, later," Mark confirmed with a nod. "Right now I’m still not fully recovered from the cold... the fever came down, yes, but my body still isn’t at a hundred percent."

To emphasize his point, Mark brought a hand to his throat and coughed a couple of times — not because he needed to at that moment, but because he knew a visual reminder would work better than any argument.

And it worked... halfway.

Because Aria puffed out her cheeks, crossed her arms over Mark’s chest, and dropped her chin onto them in what was clearly a pout.

"But Masterrr..." Aria said, drawing out the last vowel in a tone that was clearly an attempt at emotional manipulation. "I worked really hard on the healing spell for you."

"I know, Aria."

"I spent all night preparing the spell," she continued in an even more pitiful tone. "My mana reserves ran out twice, I had to rest and try again several times."

"Aria..."

"Because as you know I’m not a specialized healer," Aria said in a quieter voice. "My support magic is focused on amplifying others’ abilities, not healing, so my curative magic is pretty limited compared to a real healer."

Mark looked at her for a second, then raised a hand and rested it gently on top of her head.

He began stroking her blonde hair slowly, running his fingers between her two pigtails carefully so as not to undo them.

"You did an incredible job, Aria," Mark said in a much softer tone. "If I can move, talk, and even sit up without my whole body hurting, it’s because of you, so don’t underestimate what you did."

Aria, who until that second had been keeping her face turned away, turned her head very slowly toward him and her eyes looked at him with an expression that went from annoyance to amazement in less than a blink.

"...Do you really mean that, Master?"

"Of course I mean it."

"Really really?"

"Really really."

Then Aria hid her face between her crossed arms again, only this time it wasn’t from pouting.

It was because she didn’t want Mark to see how silly she felt.

"Well..." Aria murmured from her hiding spot. "If Master says so, then I suppose it’s true."

"Hehehe."

"...Silly Master."

"Silly Master?"

"It’s nothing, I didn’t say anything."

Mark was going to ask something else, but then a noticeably more insistent weight pressed against his other arm, making him turn to the right.

Ely was there, with her lips slightly pressed together, her blue eyes narrowed, and her cheeks slightly puffed out, all accompanied by a silence that was completely out of character for her.

"...What’s wrong?" Mark asked.

"Nothing, Master."

"Ely..."

"No, nothing’s wrong, Master, please continue spoiling Aria as much as you like — I’m only your head wife, it’s not like I need any attention or anything."

Aria lifted her head from her arms with a smile that appeared so fast it was obvious she had been waiting for that moment.

"Oh... are you jealous, Ely?" Aria said in a teasing tone.

"I AM NOT JEALOUS!"

"Sounds like you’re jealous."

"I’M NOT!"

"Then why are you talking like that?"

"BECAUSE—!"

"Girls," Mark interrupted in a calm tone before the two of them started up again.

Hearing him, both Ely and Aria stopped fighting and fixed their attention on him.

"Ely, you did something for me while I was unconscious too, right?"

Hearing that, Ely’s expression changed completely and a triumphant smile appeared on her face, directed straight at Aria.

"Of course I did, Master!" Ely said with renewed enthusiasm. "I was the one who bathed you when you arrived!"

"You already told me that."

"But I also carried you to bed when we finished bathing you!"

"By yourself?"

"By myself, Master," Ely said with a proud tone. "Aria wanted to help me but I told her it wasn’t necessary, because you’re not that heavy for me."

"You offered to let me help and you said no because you didn’t want to share!" Aria protested.

"I never said that!"

"Yes you did!"

"You’re making that up!"

Mark sighed and raised his right hand as well, resting it on Ely’s head with the same gentle motion he had used with Aria.

Feeling her Master’s touch, Ely went immediately silent.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Ely," Mark said in the same soft tone he’d used before.

"M-Master..."

"You did a good job too."

"W-well of course I did a good job," Ely murmured, trying to hold onto a shred of her usual attitude. "I’m your head wife, after all... it’s the least I can do for you."

"It’s still something to be grateful for."

"...Th-thank you, Master."

Mark looked at both of them, one on each side, with those two such different but equally flustered expressions, and let out a small laugh.

Then he withdrew both hands and pushed himself up to sit on the bed, the sheet falling to his waist.

"Well," Mark said, settling against the headboard. "Setting aside this whole argument..."

Ely and Aria settled too, one on each side, sitting on the bed but not quite letting go of him.

"...I need you to do something for me."

"What is it, Master?"

"Anything, Master!"

Mark cleared his throat, it was still a little rough but unlike before it was much better.

"I want you to gather everyone," Mark said. "I need to talk to you all about some important matters."

The two looked at each other with surprised expressions and then looked back at him.

Ely was the first to speak, and her tone had changed noticeably.

"It’s about that damn Demon Lord, isn’t it, Master?" Ely said with her eyes slightly narrowed. "Because if that’s it, we already know."

"You already know?"

"Yuki told us everything when they arrived," Aria confirmed, nodding. "That bastard, how dare she even lay a finger on my Master? Who does she think she is?"

"Ely—"

"Next time I see her I’m going to smash her face in myself!"

"Ely—"

"And then I’ll break her legs too so she can’t run away!"

"ELY!"

Ely went immediately quiet and looked at him.

"Yes, it has to do with her, partly," Mark said, raising a hand to calm her down. "But that’s not the main thing I want to talk about."

"It’s not?" Aria asked, tilting her head to one side.

"No," Mark confirmed. "There’s another matter, much more important, that I need to tell you all about... that’s why I want everyone together when I say it."

Then Aria asked a question that threw Mark off more than he expected.

"When you say ’everyone,’ Master..." Aria said in a curious tone, "you mean just your head wives, right?"

"Uh... yes, of course, you all know who I mean."

"Perfect!" Aria said with a satisfied smile.

"Understood, Master!" Ely said, jumping off the bed instantly with renewed energy.

"I’ll be waiting for everyone in the throne room," Mark added. "When you’re all gathered, I’ll come out."

"Right away!"

"We’ll go get them now!"

Both got up at full speed, quickly straightening their clothes, and shot out through the bedroom door.

The sound of both pairs of footsteps faded down the corridor until Mark could no longer hear them, leaving him completely alone in the room.

Mark sat on the bed for a couple of seconds without moving, staring at the door the two had just gone out of.

Then he let out a long sigh and ran a hand over his face.

"How the hell am I supposed to tell them I’m a reincarnated person?" he said as he got up and started getting dressed.

"I guess I’ll just say it straight... after all I can’t think of a good way to tell them anyway."