Harem System In A fantasy World

His mind naturally filtered out the four men; he only had eyes for the trio of absolute beauties seated among them.

His gaze instinctively landed on the most beautiful and enigmatic of the three, the wolfkin woman who was without a doubt the legendary Beast Queen, Fenrir herself.

Even while seated, her many tails lazily swirled around the chair behind her.

Elion didn’t even bother counting them, despite the fact that it would have taken him less than a second.

He was too enthralled and occupied with her other assets.

’…Well damn.’

Not only was she beautiful, but she was also elegant in a way that immediately stood out, and unlike the others, she was dressed rather uniquely for the occasion.

’That’s a kimono… if I’m not mistaken.’

Elion didn’t know much about the history behind the garment, but he knew enough to recognise it. Not many people wore that robe-like dress and sash combination.

The kimono itself was white, perfectly matching the colour of both her hair and tails, while the sash tied around her waist was black, creating a stark contrast that somehow made her look even more striking.

Her lashes were long and white as well, framing a pair of unusual eyes that seemed caught somewhere between hazel and gold.

The exact shade was strangely difficult to pin down. Her face held an unusual symmetry near her jawline that was oddly pointed, a face you rarely ever saw from the general populace.

Her figure was perfect in every sense of the word. Her chest was bountiful without being excessive, and her curves carried a natural balance that made her beauty feel almost unreal.

[Picture]

Elion eventually forced himself to look away before it became obvious he had been staring for too long.

He shifted his attention toward the others. The second woman was a middle-aged vampire with a distinctly motherly aura.

Though “motherly” did little to diminish how stunning she was.

She was easily the leanest of the three women, with long black hair and a pale, almost ghostly complexion. Beautiful in a colder way and more mature.

Judging from how close she sat to the male vampire beside her, Elion quickly concluded they were likely husband and wife.

Then there was the final woman, an auburn-haired beauty wearing a silver spiraling crown. From what Elion could tell, she had to be Melroy’s queen. Though strangely enough, they had never actually met before, not even once during his lengthy stay in the palace.

Nor had anyone bothered introducing them. It was only natural that he would assume that she had been away until this very day.

The thought confused him slightly, but he quickly pushed it aside as Alexander approached the large round table where the rulers were seated, casually conversing over tea as though they weren’t discussing a war that had lasted for years.

“The children are here,” the crowned woman said calmly as her gaze settled upon Alexander, Isla, and Elion.

For some reason, all six pairs of eyes seated around the table suddenly turned toward Elion.

He knew they were technically looking at all three of them, but since they were already familiar with Alexander and Isla, their attention naturally gravitated towards the unfamiliar face instead.

Him.

The moment their gazes settled on him, Elion’s body reacted instinctively. His muscles suddenly tightened, and his breathing hitched.

Goosebumps rose across his skin as a suffocating pressure descended upon him from every direction. It felt as though they were stripping him bare with nothing but their eyes.

’What the hell!’

His body trembled slightly, and for a brief moment, he genuinely struggled to breathe.

“Hey now, don’t intimidate our new hero.”

Melroy’s voice suddenly cut through the pressure.

And instantly, the suffocating feeling vanished. Elion sharply inhaled a lungful of air.

“Hah…”

Only then did Alexander and Isla finally notice something was wrong. The two looked toward him with raised brows. Meanwhile, Miss Fenrir casually shrugged her shoulders.

“I was only checking to see whether you were exaggerating,” she said calmly toward Melroy. “Your words tend to be blown out of proportion.”

” So you can’t blame us too much.”

Elion silently ran a hand across his forehead. His fingers came away damp with sweat.

’…Ridiculous.’

What exactly was he supposed to do in that situation?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

So he simply swallowed the disrespect and quietly steadied his breathing. But he was sure of one thing: these people deserved their titles of strongest and rulers. If they wanted him dead, no doubt, his head would roll without suspense.

“Forgive my friends here, Elion,” Melroy said with a grin. “As you can see, they’re a little cranky.”

Elion nodded calmly.

“Also, I apologise for not being able to meet you the past week; however, I heard from Alexander that you’ve been enjoying your time—”

The elderly vampire seated beside him nudged Melroy in the side without even opening his eyes.

“Are we forgetting something?” he asked dryly.

“Oh, right, I need to get to the important stuff.”

Melroy cleared his throat loudly.

“We have come to a unified decision as the Council of Rulers.”

The atmosphere around the table subtly shifted.

“This is extremely confidential information. While the operation itself has already become common knowledge, the exact specifics of what we plan to do are known only to those present within this room.”

His gaze moved toward Elion and Alexander.

“And we have called you two here because you will both play a major role in this operation. Is that understood?”

Alexander immediately straightened slightly.

“Yes, father.”

“Now then,” Melroy said as he leaned back in his chair, “I’ll let Noctis explain the finer details of our plan…”

The elderly vampire slowly opened his eyes.

For the next thirty minutes or so, the operation was thoroughly explained to them.

Not every tiny detail, of course, but enough for Elion and Alexander to understand the scope of what was about to happen.

Their roles were outlined carefully, as were Aeron’s, Zenovia’s, and Maya’s.

Since the other heroes were currently stationed at the battlefield, Elion and Alexander were tasked with relaying the information to them once they returned.

The entire explanation was calm and methodical, almost frighteningly so. Not once did the rulers sound uncertain about what they intended to do.

Elion was introduced properly to each of them, even though their statuses were easy to tell from their physical appearances alone. The last person in the room, a scholarly man, turned out to be a simple scribe who oversaw keeping records of council meetings and the like.

Noctis briefly complained about the dwarven king’s absence, even though an invitation had been extended to him as well. The matter was brushed off since his presence was not explicitly needed.

’The old drunk,’ as Noctis had called him, was not particularly gifted in combat, and his role lay primarily in financial support and providing the resources the rest of them used.

However, the lower-ranking members of the coalition were not as lax about the dwarves’ half-hearted participation in the war; those of them here understood that their role was just as important, even if they did not fight personally.

The funds and equipment the dwarven kingdom invested into the war were astronomical. Perks of being the richest kingdom in the realm. And a few of them did actually individually volunteer to fight.

Once everything had finally been explained, the trio was promptly chased out of the chamber. Apparently, the rulers still had other matters to discuss privately, though Elion noticed how Fenrir had been eyeing him with a knowing glance as they left.

What he didn’t know was that she had been looking at him this whole time, only discreetly. He never got the chance to dwell on it, as the doors shut behind them with a heavy thud.

And for several seconds, nobody spoke. The people waiting outside did not bother asking any questions, though you would notice the curiosity in their gazes; the trio left the hall after briefly bidding the escorts farewell.

Elion’s mind was still reeling, and a storm of emotions churned inside him. Mostly, shock, confusion, and disbelief.

To put it simply, this entire plan was insane, not necessarily the operation itself. The operation actually made sense. What truly shocked him was his role in it.

’How the fuck is the most important task being left to me?’

Even now, he struggled to process it.

A room full of Saint Mages, monsters capable of flattening entire armies by themselves. And somehow, the fate of every kingdom involved had been placed squarely onto his shoulders.

’Ridiculous.’

Absolutely ridiculous.

And the worst part was that none of them had looked uncertain while assigning him that role, not even for a second.

As though they genuinely believed he could do it.

’…These people are insane,’ Elion thought numbly as they walked away from the council chamber.

’What did that bastard king even tell them?’ Elion thought inwardly. There was no way those rulers would place that kind of blind faith in him without proper reason.

He sighed deeply.

Meanwhile, Isla and Alexander exchanged a subtle knowing glance. They could understand why he was troubled.

But truthfully, he really was the perfect person for the role.

The task required someone reliable and strong enough to survive what was coming. But not so monstrously powerful that the enemy would immediately notice and focus on him the moment he appeared.

And despite Elion’s lax personality and tendency to fool around, both of them could agree on one thing: he was reliable, especially in battle.

Even Alexander, despite all his grievances, had to admit it. In just a single week, Elion had pushed him further than the royal tutors hired by Melroy had managed in half a year.

The man simply knew how to force results out of people.

…

That same afternoon, they went right back to training. As per Melroy’s orders, the first steps of the operation had already begun moving into place.

The forces that could be deployed immediately had already departed.

As for Elion, he would wait until his equipment was finished before leaving alongside a smaller group led by Alexander himself.

Apparently, they would not be using the teleportation gates this time.

Alexander had matters to inspect along the checkpoints leading toward the Great Forest, and the journey would only take two or three days at most.

On another note, Elion had remained curious about the crowned woman seated beside Melroy during the council meeting.

So eventually, he asked about her. Alexander understood the confusion and didn’t mind explaining. That woman was not actually his mother; rather, she was one of the women Melroy had married after Alexander’s real mother passed away.

As for Isla, she had been born from yet another woman entirely.

Alexander’s mother had been the queen before her death, while Isla’s mother had originally been one of Melroy’s concubines. It seemed the king maintained a fairly small harem of women.

Surprisingly enough, Elion eventually met Isla’s mother by accident a few days later. And the two became fairly acquainted afterward.

She was a beautiful woman, which was hardly surprising considering that such a trait would be a requirement to become a king’s concubine. What surprised Elion most was how grounded she seemed.

She didn’t appear particularly concerned about Isla’s apparent growing closeness with him either.

Then again, as a concubine, she likely understood her own position within the palace hierarchy. She had little say in such matters. But she seemed like a genuinely kind person.

Meanwhile, despite an entire week having passed, there was still no word from Cecil regarding Elion’s sword and armour.

So they continued waiting.

And so a few days after the council meeting, they found themselves going through yet another normal training session, or at least, it had started normally.

By the time the session ended, Alexander was sprawled shirtless across the training room floor, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily like a dying man.

Meanwhile, Elion stood nearby atop a raised stone platform he had casually created using earth magic.

That was when Isla entered the room.

Her heels clicked softly against the floor as she walked in, which immediately made Elion raise a brow because Isla never wore heels.

When his gaze slowly drifted upward, his brow rose even higher. She looked beautiful. Far more beautiful than usual.