Harem System In A fantasy World

Chapter 242: Simple Questions

He decided to leave the room just as the first group was being called up.

Numbers were shown on the screens, and participants began moving out toward the platforms.

He glanced over briefly at the screens, noticing that Mira, Lyra, and Tess’s numbers were among them. All three of them were already stepping forward with confidence, so he stopped for a moment and watched them go.

“Good luck,” he said simply.

Mira gave him a small knowing smile, Lyra waved lightly, and Tessa cracked her neck like she was about to enjoy herself a bit too much, which honestly wasn’t surprising, and just like that, they disappeared through the tunnel with the others.

Elion didn’t feel the need to worry about Mira; she was more than capable, and from what he could tell, her opponent was nothing special.

It was someone low-ranked, so there was no reason for him to stay just to watch with bated breath, and with that thought in mind, he turned to leave, continuing with what he had already planned.

But just as he was about to step out, Aria and Isolde walked up to him.

“Where are you off to?” Aria asked, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him with that bright, loving smile.

Isolde stood just a step behind her, quiet as usual, but there was a subtle distance in the way she positioned herself that suggested that she didn’t quite belong in that space yet.

They hadn’t really addressed what happened between them after that kiss. So it made sense that she would feel a bit uncomfortable and unsure about her place among his women.

The way she stood behind Aria was obviously deliberate, whether subconsciously or not. It was like she was deferring to her, like a junior to a senior.

Which was strange.

Aria was anything but reserved; she was bold, brash, and expressive, while Isolde carried herself with a calm, composed elegance, and yet right now, their positions felt reversed in a subtle way that only made the situation more awkward than it needed to be.

Elion glanced between them. “Just getting some air.”

“Can we come with you?” Aria asked.

Elion gave it a bit of thought, his mind briefly drifting to William. There was a possibility that he might show up after he left, but there was no way in hell the guy would try something after the stunt he pulled the day before. But the possibility was still there, so in the end, he nodded.

“Alright.”

He glanced briefly at Isolde as he agreed, giving her a small smile as their eyes met, and she reacted just as he expected her to.

Her pointy ears turned red, and she quickly looked down at the floor, fidgeting with her fingers as if she didn’t know where to put herself.

“Great!” Aria beamed as she skipped to his side and pulled his arm into hers, clinging to him as they walked out together.

He didn’t really have a destination in mind when he thought about leaving the waiting room. So he decided to take a look at how the experience felt spectating from the stands, since he had never really done that before.

He led them there; the entrances that led to the stands in the academy seating area were close by, and with his decent spatial awareness, they made it there in no time.

As they walked, he had been occasionally glancing back at Isolde behind them as she followed like a third wheel. Her steps were very quiet, and she looked uncomfortable, honestly.

While he would have liked to tell her that it was fine to come walk beside him, she was probably much more comfortable this way, so he left it alone.

Luckily, Aria didn’t seem to notice the glances he gave Isolde, because if she did, she might throw a fit, and he really wasn’t in the mood for that right now.

Soon enough, they came to the corridor with multiple exit tunnels, walking into one as the noise started getting louder and louder with every one of their steps, until they finally walked out into the open air.

And then it hit him.

His ears were immediately assaulted by overwhelming, blaring noise. The many sounds crashed into him like a wave, loud enough that it almost felt like someone was hammering directly against his eardrums, and for a second, he just stood there, stunned.

“How the fuck…” he muttered under his breath. How the hell did all these people survive here for three days!?

He looked around and realised how. Because almost everyone he could see was part of the screaming crowd, shouting, cheering, roaring at the top of their lungs, as they were completely immersed in the fights below.

The noise was terrible. Honestly, it was unbearable.

But the view… The view was something else entirely.

A massive stone structure stretched out before him, built in an oval shape, descending in terraces that seemed to go on forever, packed with at least a hundred thousand people, maybe more, all of them focused on the battlefield below.

It was awe-inspiring.

He had always known how big it was, after all, he had seen it from down on the battlefield before. He had looked up at the thousands of people watching, and even then, he had been amazed.

But he was more focused on the fights themselves the whole time. The noise had already been intense, but this.

This was different.

Now he was inside it; he was within the crowd.

Surrounded by the chaos, it was overwhelming, intense, and almost suffocating. And his ears were crying out for mercy.

That was when he remembered to check on the girls. He looked back with a grimace on his face.

Aria and Isolde both had their hands clamped over their ears, their faces scrunched up as they tried to deal with the noise.

Yeah.

Between the time it had taken them to walk there, since they had taken their time, Mira and the others were already deep in their fights on their respective platforms, the crowd roaring even louder as the excitement built.

He had really thought he might enjoy this view, but apparently not.

“…Fucking hell.”

Elion gave the arena one last glance, taking it in for a moment longer, then he turned around without a second thought.

“Let’s go.”

The girls didn’t argue. They followed him out with gungho enthusiasm.

“It’s so loud out there,” Isolde complained first once they were finally out of range of the overwhelming noise, her hands still lingering near her ears like she didn’t quite trust the silence yet.

“Yeah,” Elion agreed with her. He exhaled lightly as his ears finally got a break. He glanced at the two of them.

“Do you guys have anywhere else you want to go?”

“Uhm…” Aria tilted her head, actually thinking about it for a few seconds before shaking it lightly, “I can’t think of anything right now.”

Elion then looked at Isolde.

She met his gaze for a second, her ears flushing slightly, then she shook her head as well.

“Well,” Elion said, looking ahead again as he started walking, “let me treat you guys to some sweets.”

However, the moment he lifted his gaze, his eyes went wide like saucers.

’Fuck…! Why now!?’

“Hello~”

Liora stood right in their path, waving her hand excitedly as if she had just run into a dear friend by chance; her expression was bright and cheerful as always.

Her eyes flicked briefly toward Aria and Isolde; she gave him just a cheery glance, nothing more than that. They didn’t know each other personally after all.

“Hey Liora, what’s up?” Elion asked, forcing his expression to remain calm.

“Not much really,” she said with a smile, “just walking around, what about you guys?”

“Well, we were just wandering around,” Elion admitted casually.

At the same time, he activated the love metre as his heart unknowingly sped up from the suspense.

And what he saw made all his composure crack instantly.

’What!?’ His mind screamed.

[Liora Wynfell Blossom]

[Love Metre Reading: -5%]

’What the fuck!?’

Negative five percent.

He almost thought he was seeing things. Maybe the system added the dash by mistake. But the text had also changed to a red color indicator, so it was most definitely real.

’How is that even possible?’

[… ]

’Negative five!?’

He could almost hear the system laughing at him.

’Is it even possible to get a negative reading?’

The system answered immediately, in a dry and condescending tone.

[If a reading above 100% is possible, what made you think a negative reading is impossible?]

“…Fair enough,” Elion thought, his expression stiff for just a fraction of a second.

But still—

’What the hell happened in that dream!?’

The ink of yearning was a divine artefact.

Sure, he had considered the possibility that it might fail. But this… This wasn’t just failure.

It had backfired spectacularly. Did this mean she hated him?

[Hate is a strong word]

’Is that supposed to make me feel better?’

“Everything alright, Elion?” Liora asked as she tilted her head slightly, her expression still as bright and harmless as ever.

“Y-yeah,” Elion replied quickly, a bit too quickly, but he forced himself to stay composed, because right now was definitely not the time to be thinking about it.

At the very least, she didn’t seem to be treating him any differently.

’What a tragedy,’

he thought dryly, ’going from hoping for a favourable opinion… to hoping nothing changes at all.’

[How the mighty have fallen]

Elion ignored the system’s mockery.

“If you’ll excuse us…” he said, deciding to leave before things got any weirder.

But just as he was about to move—

“Can I follow you around? If you don’t have any plans?” Liora asked suddenly.

Elion’s eyes widened slightly. He looked back at her.

’What’s her deal!?’

Seriously, nothing about this was making sense anymore. She wanted to follow him around for what reason?

’Did something so terrible happen that she wants to find an opportunity to get rid of me or something?’

Or maybe she was suspicious about something and wanted to confirm it for herself by observing him while they walked together. Either way, things were not looking good.

His thoughts spiraled for a brief second as he stared at her, trying to make sense of the situation, but the more he thought about it, the less it made sense, and just standing here, talking to her, was already starting to make him feel uneasy.

Something was off.

Very off.

He cleared his throat lightly and turned, deciding not to overthink it any further as he started walking.

“Let’s go.”

There was no point frying his brain over this; whatever was going on, it was probably just his own actions backfiring on him, and if worst came to worst—

’Deny, deny, deny.’

They left the academy grounds and went back into the city, taking the nearest open food place they could find, a small cozy shop with warm smells drifting out into the street, and since everyone had probably already eaten breakfast, they didn’t go for anything heavy, just some light tarts and cookies.

Elion bought a few and handed them out, even offering Liora one, which she accepted happily without hesitation.

They sat together and started talking, but it didn’t really feel like a normal conversation, at least not to Elion, because it felt more like Liora was using this chance to get to know the girls rather than just chatting casually.

She asked simple questions.

“So, how did you two fall for him?” she asked with a teasing smile, looking between Aria and Isolde.

Elion’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’What’s her game here…’

Why did it feel like she was gathering information?

Not like he could stop it.

Aria answered happily, not thinking too much about it, smiling as she spoke, while Isolde, on the other hand, turned red with every question, squirming slightly in her seat as she avoided eye contact, only sneaking glances at Elion whenever a question was directed at her.

Honestly, her reactions were cute. It warmed Elion’s heart a little.

Meanwhile, Liora listened carefully, nodding along, occasionally teasing them, laughing lightly, her expression playful as always, giving nothing away.

Eventually, after she finished her tart, she stood up, her chest bounced slightly as she leaned forward.

“Well, I’ll be off,” she said cheerfully as she waved at them. And just like that, she left the small shop.

The moment she stepped outside, her smile vanished. “Everything checks out…” she muttered under her breath.

She exhaled lightly. “…Better go give my report.”

Then, her bright smile returned as if nothing had happened. And she walked back toward the towering arena.