Necromancer Dreams of Mechs Chapter 50: Chapter 56

Read chapter 50 of Necromancer Dreams of Mechs by Magic on NovelPedia.

Chapter 50: Trashy Harem Anime I felt my face heat up. I didn't know how to handle a compliment that wasn't about my high score. I shifted gears—the only way I knew how to protect myself. I went into 'The Professional.' “This is a bit frustrating. I feel like I am stuck between a rock and a rock, with no room for compromise," I said, my voice dropping an octave, becoming colder, "you need to know what you're signing up for. I'm going to raid Oakhaven and I have feelings for a girl that I might never meet again." Seraphine paused, her tea cup suspended inches from her lips. She didn't flinch at the mention of another girl, nor did she look away. Instead, she set the cup down with a deliberate, hauntingly quiet clink and watched me. "A girl you might never meet again," she repeated, her voice smooth and devoid of the jealousy I expected. "She has a name, I presume? Or is she merely a ghost you carry to keep your heart from settling?" "Ciara," I muttered, looking at the steam rising from my cup. "And she’s not a ghost. She’s... complicated. Her dad is powerful, she’s popular, and for some reason, she actually spent years trying to get to know me. I’m pretty sure I have feelings for her, but I'm stuck here, and you’re here, and..." I trailed off, my brain spiraling into a mess of tropes and cliches. ‘This is it,’ I thought, my internal monologue screaming in a high-pitched panic. ‘ I’ve officially entered the trashy harem anime arc. Any second now, a third girl is going to fall through the roof of this tent. I’m going to be that dense protagonist who stammers through three seasons of indecision while everyone around me gets annoyed. Is this my life now? A poorly written light novel? I’m supposed to be a Necromancer, not a romantic lead with the emotional depth of a teaspoon.’ "Look," I said, voicing my internal frustration. "I can’t just... do the whole multiple-person thing. It’s messy. It’s confusing. In my world, you pick one person and you stick with it. Anything else is just... drama. I don't want to be one of those guys who has a 'collection' of people. It’s weird, Seraphine. It’s really weird." Seraphine let out a soft, melodic laugh—not a mocking one, but the kind a tutor gives a particularly confused child. "Allen," she said, her lilt becoming more courtly, more grounded. "You speak as though the heart were a finite well that runs dry if too many drink from it. You are a man of burgeoning power, potentially a sovereign of the restless dead. In this Realm, alliances are not merely matters of 'picking one.' A House is built on many foundations." She leaned in, her eyes gleaming with a pragmatism that felt worlds away from my high school hallways. "If this Ciara is as remarkable as you claim, then let her come. If she truly holds a claim upon your soul, I should be a fool to demand she surrender it. My House requires a Master of Bones; my heart requires a man of truth. Whether you share that truth with another woman of high standing does not diminish the steel in our pact." "You're... you're serious?" I asked, my jaw practically hitting the table. "You’re okay with me having feelings for someone else? You're actually encouraging the harem trope?" "I am encouraging stability," she corrected. "If she is worthy, she is an asset. If she loves you, she is an ally. Why should I fear her? Do you think so little of my own charms that I could not hold my place beside you?" I buried my face in my hands. She’s laughing at me. She’s literally laughing at my moral dilemma because she thinks in terms of 'assets' and 'House foundations' while I’m worried about being a cliché. "It’s not an asset! It’s a person!" I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "God, you’re so... Victorian. I’m over here having a moral crisis about being a 'harem protag' and you’re just like, 'Oh, more wives? More alliances! Great for the budget!'" Seraphine’s laugh grew louder this time, a genuine, ringing sound that filled the tent. "I know not what a 'harem protag