Harem System In A fantasy World

The deaths of six powerful captains had already been communicated to the capital the night before.

From what Elion gathered, the council had already reached a preliminary judgement. The loss was being attributed to negligence… a lack of oversight on Tristan’s part.

The words were carefully chosen, but the meaning was clear. The blame rested on him. Elion watched in silence as the scene played out.

It was a harsh thing to witness. To lose comrades in war, and then be held accountable for their deaths while still mourning them.

But it seemed like this was the norm. Commanders always bore responsibility for any great losses to warriors and mages under their direct command, no matter the circumstances.

Tristan didn’t argue or protest; it was likely that he had already expected something like this to happen when he sent the news. And though he looked visibly shaken at first, he gradually composed himself, returning to his usual demeanour, even if the weight of losing his captains still lingered.

Once that matter was settled, Alexander shifted his attention back to Elion.

“Ser Elion,” he said, his tone more measured now, “I was instructed to return with you when I make my way back to Haven.”

Of course, Elion knew that Haven was the capital of the human kingdom.

And it seemed like it was being used as the administrative centre of the entire coalition war effort.

Elion nodded in understanding.

“I do apologise for the short notice, but we are to leave immediately,” Alexander added.

“Huh?”

Elion raised a brow.

“Why the rush?”

Alexander didn’t seem surprised by the question.

“Well, I assume your presence will be required back here as soon as possible,” he replied calmly. “Especially now that we’ve lost six important pillars.”

His gaze flickered briefly toward Tristan before returning to Elion.

“Reinforcements will likely be dispatched from the capital…, but until then, this front remains weakened.”

“The other reason I was sent here,” Alexander continued, “was to retrieve the bodies of the six captains who fell in battle.”

That was understandable.

In war, most soldiers died where they stood, only to be buried on the same battlefield if they were lucky. Some were recovered by comrades and given a proper resting place. Others… were reduced to nothing, leaving no trace behind.

That was simply how war worked.

But, captains, mages of that level and importance were treated differently

Their bodies would, of course, be retrieved and returned to their people and their families for proper mourning and a proper burial. It was the least they deserved.

“If you have any matters to attend to before we depart,” Alexander added, “please do so swiftly. I’ll discuss a few remaining issues with the commander here.”

Elion nodded lightly and turned to leave, but just before stepping out, he paused, and his gaze shifted back to Tristan.

“How is Yakuza doing?”

Tristan’s jaw tightened, and he visibly bit his lip in frustration. He didn’t say anything, but he simply shook his head.

He didn’t need to say anything. That was enough of an answer for Elion to understand. He gave a quiet nod, then turned and left the tent.

He didn’t have anything specific to take care of before leaving.

However, he went back to check on Zenovia, intending to tell her that he would be heading to the capital for a while, but he found that she wasn’t there. The spot where he had left her sleeping was empty.

Elion frowned slightly. He walked around the camp for a bit, hoping to run into Maya or Aeron as well, but they were nowhere to be found either.

’Where the hell did they all go…’

With nothing else to do, he decided to make a quick trip to the river.

He needed to clean up properly, since he was going to be dealing with nobles and important figures; he might as well look the part.

The early morning air was calm, and the view was nice, just as he remembered.

The sun was just beginning to rise in the distance, casting a soft glow over the water along with the flickering orbs of light on the surface of the water.

It seemed the orbs were dormant during the day, lying on the surface instead of floating in the air. He lingered there for a moment, soaking in the water, then he bathed properly. Afterwards, he changed into a fresh set of clothes.

He had run out of spare outfits in his storage, so he spent a few system points to buy new ones.

Interestingly enough, even though basic necessities weren’t listed in the store, if he imagined a specific item, it would appear with a price attached.

Though that only seemed to work for simple things, such as clothes and so on. Once that was sorted, he returned to camp to find that the legion of warriors and mages camped out in the large area were already starting to march out to battle.

He paid them no mind and headed straight for Tristan’s tent.

The guards stationed outside recognised him this time and let him through without question.

As he stepped inside, he was surprised to find that Maya, Zenovia, and Aeron, whom he had been looking for earlier, were all inside speaking to Prince Alexander.

It seemed they had come to offer their greetings to the young prince.

“Oh, you’ve returned just in time, Ser Elion,” Alexander said as he rose from his seat.

“I trust you three will be fine without him for a short time,” he added, glancing back at Zenovia and the others. They all nodded.

“I’ll be borrowing him for a bit. Come.”

Elion gave the trio a few casual nods and smiles, and a special wink toward Zenovia. She scowled at him in response and gave him the middle finger.

’Right back to her feisty self.’

That alone made him smile faintly.

“Commander Tristan… I’ll see you when I return,” Elion waved, stepping out of the tent alongside Alexander.

“Is it time for us to depart, Your Highness?” one of the guards asked as he fell into step beside them.

Elion’s thoughts began to turn.

’How did they even get here so quickly…?’

It didn’t make total sense to him. Even if they had travelled overnight after receiving the news, it should have taken a couple of days, three, maybe four, to get from Haven to the Great Forest, depending on how fast the mount you are riding is.

Unless they had used some other mysterious means of travel. Otherwise, there was no way they had made that journey so quickly, without rest, only to immediately prepare for another trip back.

“You have the formation prepared, Youm?” Alexander asked one of the guards.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Elion narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed he would have to wait to sate his curiosity

“Good,” Alexander said calmly. “Let’s find a secluded place deeper in the forest. Then we can teleport back home.”

Elion’s steps slowed slightly.

’Teleport…?’

His eyes narrowed.

’Did he just say teleport?’

A teleportation formation? Of course, Elion had heard about formations before, but he had never actually seen one, nor did he understand how they worked.

He remembered Ophelia mentioning that a protective formation had been placed around their house, but he had never looked into what that actually meant.

And now, it seemed more and more like powerful figures relied on them regularly. He let out a quiet sigh.

’The system would be really useful right about now…’

It might have thrown him a snarky explanation right about now. He hadn’t seen anything resembling formations in the system store either, not even while skimming through.

From what little he had picked up through conversations, formations sounded like some kind of tool that held or replicated spells.

But how did they work? And how were they made?

It was frustrating that he didn’t know.

’Argh… this is so confusing, he thought.

It was also strange that they had never been taught about formations at the academy. Then again, he was only a first-year, and they already had their hands full with basic classes and training.

Maybe it was a subject reserved for higher years.

’I will ask Alexander when I get the chance,’ He thought, ’Maybe he won’t mind educating my ignorant self.’