Necromancer Dreams of Mechs Chapter 71: Chapter 77

Read chapter 71 of Necromancer Dreams of Mechs by Magic on NovelPedia.

Chapter 71: King of Hoodies Seraphine waited while I pulled my shirt on, making a show of looking away toward the window. Yet, I caught her reflection in the glass peeking at me more than once. In those stolen glances, the "Iron Marchioness" felt younger than Ciara—curious, flustered, and hiding behind a wall of etiquette. I knew she had something heavy to drop on me, but I planned to take it in stride. I had a level 300 mindset now; panic was inefficient. “So,” I said casually, gesturing to the velvet chaise in the corner. “I think we all have some things to talk about.” Seraphine nodded, composing herself before sitting beside me. For the first time, she looked genuinely timid, her hands clasping together in her lap. “Yes. My Lord, there is a matter of—” I placed my hand over hers—a gesture that was becoming surprisingly easy—and shook my head. “Just Allen. It’s just us here, Seraphine. I know I haven’t put in enough effort to get to know you , the person behind the title. I was worried about how Ciara would react, but she is willing to give this... arrangement... a chance. To that end, I have lost time to make up. But you seem to have something urgent to tell me.” Seraphine looked at my hand, then up at my face. She squeezed my fingers, offering a small, fragile smile. “It is my fervent hope that your demeanor remains unaltered when I confess the truth,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “My father, the Duke, has pledged my hand in betrothal to a sovereign of a neighboring realm. The King of Aethelgard. He is a powerful monarch, and he is not known for his benevolence.” I shrugged with practiced indifference. A "Powerful Evil King"? If I had loaded into this game properly, he would have been a chaotic end-game raid boss. Now? He was just another obstacle. Depending on how the cookie crumbled, I might just be able to send Highlander to solo him. “Sure, I assumed as much,” I said with a smile, straightening my posture. Seraphine stared at me, hard. She was searching for the crack in the armor, the fear that should have been there. But she didn’t understand what "Grand Seeker" meant in my world. To me, it meant nearly fifty lives lived, looping through failure until perfection was achieved. A King was just a mob with a bigger health bar. “Does this truly not disturb your spirit in the slightest?” she asked after a long silence. I shook my head. “No. He’s just another variable. Another force multiplier we have to account for.” I tapped my temple with my free hand, signaling my imps, Chip and Crack, to start running scenarios. “How vast is this King's army? Say, compared to the garrison at Oakhaven?” Before Seraphine could answer, the bathroom door swung open. Ciara walked out. She was wearing a tight white t-shirt and incredibly short blue shorts. What was wrong with this girl? Where did she even get those? And was her hair... wet? “Allen,” Seraphine said. I winced as her grip on my hand tightened to a Level 150 vice, snapping my focus back to her. In the background, Ciara pumped her fist and mouthed, “Oh yeah!” I was going to die very young if this kept up. “Sorry,” Ciara said playfully, flopping down on the other side of Seraphine rather than beside me. The couch was huge, but I appreciated the tactical spacing. “I was messing around with the wardrobe last night. Turns out, we can craft up to ten non-magical outfits. Basically anything we can imagine, though the gems are fake. Anyway, I asked Nathan what kind of outfit Allen likes most on girls, and... well, here we are. So, sorry, not sorry!” Seraphine turned to give Ciara a scandalized appraisal. I took the opportunity to get another peak, but swiftly pivoted to whistling a random tune as Seraphine turned back to me. “I see,” Seraphine said, her tone stiff. “I shall... keep that intelligence in mind. But to return to the matter at hand: The King of Aethelgard’s legions are vast, My Lord. They are bred for war and conquest.” She was speaking of doom and destruction,