Kazuki stood in front of a wrought-iron gate shaped like an open jaw, where the skull of a cow glared down from its arch. Behind it, an entire graveyard sparkled with… glitter.
"Is it just me," he said slowly, "or is this place weirdly festive for being full of skeletons?"
Taka's wings rustled. "THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA."
"I agree," Himei hissed, slithering up to Kazuki's shoulder with casual elegance. "She reeks of unstable mana and sticky fingers."
Kazuki squinted through the fog as the iron gates creaked open.
"Come iiiiiiiin!" a high-pitched voice sang.
From behind the gates emerged a girl no taller than Kazuki's waist. She wore bunny slippers, a black lace cloak two sizes too big, and sunglasses shaped like cat eyes. In one hand, she held a staff made from what looked suspiciously like a mop with a skull duct-taped on top.
"I'm Ruru! I'm ten! I accidentally reanimated my grandma's entire graveyard and I'm grounded until I learn mana control!" she chirped.
Behind her, thirty skeletons danced in formation. One of them wore a party hat.
Kazuki blinked. "Okay. Nope. This is above my—"
"You said yes already!" the receptionist called from behind him, slamming the Guild quest scroll into his hand. "No backsies!"
Kazuki looked down.
Quest Title: Babysit Ruru the Necromancer
Objective:
Prevent Ruru from triggering mass necromantic resurrection again.Stop skeletons from forming a pop idol group.Make sure she finishes her mana workbook.
Taka let out a strangled caw.
Himei sighed. "Why do I feel like the skeletons will unionize by the end of the day?"
Inside the Glitter-Grave Manor…
"Welcome to Skullberry Mansion!" Ruru declared. "I gave it a name! Mommy says naming things makes the dread more polite!"
The interior looked like Halloween had exploded in a child's bedroom. There were floating pumpkins wearing monocles, a chandelier made of vertebrae, and a wall that kept changing colors like a mood ring. A skeleton in a frilly maid dress offered Kazuki tea.
He sipped it cautiously.
"This is… surprisingly chamomile."
The maid bowed. Its jaw fell off with a clatter.
Kazuki tried not to scream.
"Now!" Ruru said, slapping open a workbook that said Mana For Morons: Junior Necro Edition. "Time to teach me focus before I summon a second grandma."
"Second?" Kazuki asked.
Ruru blushed. "First grandma exploded. She got into a fight with the neighbor's mummy."
One hour later…
"Okay, deep breaths," Kazuki said, sitting cross-legged beside her. "Focus your mana. Picture a small, controlled spell. Like a spark."
"I AM A SHADOW PRINCESS OF DEATH AND ALSO GLITTER," Ruru intoned, raising her staff.
Mana surged. A single, tiny skeleton hand poked out of the floor.
Ruru grinned. "I DID IT!"
Then twenty more hands followed.
"Oopsie."
Kazuki stood. "Okay, containment plan: Plan C."
Taka leapt into the air with a cry. "WIND BLAST: GENTLE VERSION!"
The shockwave blew away all but three skeletons—and Ruru's coloring book.
"My stickers!!" Ruru wailed.
"Oh no."
Himei wrapped around Ruru protectively. "Focus, little one. Or I'll eat your mop."
Ruru sniffled. "You wouldn't."
"I would sauté it with butter."
Meanwhile…
Back in Kaigara City, Aurelis paused in mid-swing.
"…I sense him again."
He narrowed his eyes toward the mountains.
"He's doing something ridiculous."
His squire blinked. "Sire?"
Aurelis clenched his fists. "And he's still ahead of me in the rankings…"
"Because he… defeated a necromancer child?"
Aurelis's eye twitched. "On accident!"
Back at Skullberry Mansion…
Despite several magical mishaps, three tea breaks, and one minor skeleton karaoke session, Ruru finally managed to summon a single flower from the earth.
"A necro-rose," she said proudly. "It smells like cinnamon and death!"
Kazuki smiled.
It wilted instantly.
"Well, close enough," he said.
Suddenly, a bell rang out from the Guild scroll.
QUEST COMPLETED: Babysit Ruru the Necromancer!
Rewards: 1x Cursed Bunny Sticker (Very shiny)+500 Guild EXPRuru now considers you her 'Big Bone Brother'
Taka muttered, "That child is more dangerous than the warlords of the Eastern Peaks."
"She gave me a friendship bracelet made of teeth," Kazuki said.
Ruru waved them off from her skull-shaped balcony.
"Come back anytime! I'm working on a spell that summons cake!"
Kazuki smiled awkwardly. "What could possibly go wrong?"
The ground rumbled.
From far away, an ancient tomb cracked open.