Harem System In A fantasy World

Her blonde hair had been neatly tied up, exposing her slender neck, and she wore a sensual green dress that hugged her curves perfectly, and a pair of elegant earrings swayed lightly beneath her ears, while a gemstone necklace rested gently against her chest.

It was obvious she had put considerable effort into her appearance today, which was incredibly unlike her usual self.

“Are you going somewhere?” Elion asked absentmindedly as he stepped down from the raised platform with his arms crossed.

Isla immediately blushed and began fiddling nervously with her fingers.

“U-Uhm…” she started softly.

Over the past several days, the two had grown noticeably closer, and she had long since moved past the point of constantly becoming flustered around him.

So either she was uncomfortable dressing like this, or what she was about to say embarrassed her far more than usual.

“I-I wanted to ask if you have time to accompany me into the city today…”

Elion blanked out for several seconds.

’…Is she asking me out on a date?’

Almost immediately, Isla panicked.

“I-it’s fine if you don’t want to!” she hurriedly added. “Or if you’re busy, or maybe you already have plans, or—”

She rapidly began listing every possible reason he might reject her invitation. Elion had already recovered from his brief daze, and now he was simply watching her ramble with a faint smile on his face.

’…So cute,’ he thought inwardly.

“Isla.”

Elion gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

And she instantly stopped talking. Only to blush even harder once she realised just how much she had been blabbering.

“I would love to accompany you,” Elion said lightly.

Her eyes immediately lit up like twin suns. Not just her eyes though, a bright, radiant smile bloomed across her face as well.

The sheer relief visible in her expression was almost adorable.

“Really!?” she asked excitedly, balling her hands into fists.

“Yeah,” Elion chuckled softly. “Just give me a few minutes to prepare.”

He silently noticed that even after putting in so much effort into dressing up, she still wasn’t wearing any makeup.

’…Wait.’

Elion suddenly froze internally.

’Prepare?’

He almost felt the urge to facepalm. He didn’t even own any appropriate clothing for something like this.

He slowly turned toward Alexander.

The prince had managed to sit himself up from the floor by now and was staring at the scene with an incredibly annoyed look on his face. It honestly took a certain amount of skill to look as annoyed as Alexander did right now.

“You can wait for me in your room while I get ready. I’ll come get you,” Elion said as he looked back toward Isla.

“Un.”

She nodded lightly.

Elion nodded back before suddenly grabbing Alexander by the arm and yanking him to his feet and out of the training room.

“Come, let’s go!” he said quickly.

Alexander nearly stumbled forward.

“Where are we going? My body aches,” the prince complained bitterly.

“I need something to wear,” Elion replied matter-of-factly. “I can’t exactly go out with your sister looking like my usual self now, can I?”

Alexander smirked immediately.

“Oh? Is the great Elion feeling insecure about his appearance?” he mocked.

“Don’t delude yourself,” Elion scoffed. “I just don’t want to make Isla look bad.”

He added casually, “No doubt people will notice such a nice couple walking around together.”

Alexander clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Who said anything about you two being a couple?”

Then he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“It can’t be that you’ve already progressed that far…”

Elion only smiled mysteriously.

“What do you think?”

Alexander groaned inwardly.

As irritating as it was to admit, even he had to acknowledge that Elion had a frightening way with women. A kind of effortless charm Alexander himself simply could not comprehend.

On more than one occasion, he had watched maids and noble daughters alike squeal and giggle from nothing more than Elion casually smiling at them while walking past.

It was ridiculous.

Absolutely ridiculous. Frankly, it annoyed him more than anything else.

“Isla probably invited you out because a certain festival begins tonight,” Alexander explained as they walked through the halls. “Of course, those of us participating in the war don’t really have time to enjoy it this year… or the previous years.”

He shrugged lightly.

“But the general populace still has the freedom to celebrate as they please.”

Then he glanced sideways at Elion.

“I don’t know if any of my tailored clothes will fit you, but if you think you have the time, we can visit the palace seamstress. She might have something suitable stored away.”

Elion nodded immediately.

“Let’s do that.”

The pair quickly turned into another wing of the palace before eventually arriving at a spacious and elegant room.

Inside, a lonesome, bespectacled woman worked quietly, studying a set of dresses with such a profound and scrutinising gaze that she didn’t even notice them enter.

“Miss Gina.”

“Hmmm?”

The woman finally looked up.

“Oh, Prince Alexander.”

She smiled politely.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Alexander quickly explained the situation.

And thankfully, she understood their distress immediately.

Without wasting any time, the seamstress brought out several exquisite sets of formal attire that looked capable of fitting Elion.

After trying on a few different outfits and looking through the selections, Elion eventually settled on a sleek black formal set.

The fit was surprisingly perfect.

And the moment he finished changing, he promptly left, completely abandoning Alexander and the seamstress behind.

The two could only stare at the door in stunned silence. Apparently, Elion didn’t want to keep a lady waiting.

Once he returned to his room, he even went through the trouble of purchasing a cleaning spell from the system store so he wouldn’t need to waste time taking a bath.

After cleaning himself up, he put on the formal outfit before spending an embarrassing amount of effort combing and styling his hair. Only then did he finally head toward Isla’s room.

Knock knock.

He lightly knocked on the door.

“Isla,” he called softly.

The door opened barely a second later, and Isla appeared before him once more.

’Beautiful.’

Truly beautiful.

For a moment, she simply stared at him silently. Clearly stunned by his unusually enhanced appearance.

The black formal wear fit him absurdly well, especially combined with the sharper, more devilishly handsome features he had developed over time.

Even his slightly longer hair, now properly styled, somehow added to his charm instead of detracting from it.

“Isla?”

Elion waved a hand lightly in front of her face.

“Oh, sorry.”

She quickly snapped out of her daze. A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she smiled softly.

“You look handsome.”

Elion smiled back.

“And you,” he said smoothly, “look radiant, my lady.”

Then he extended an arm toward her, offering it for her to hold.

Once they walked out beyond the palace walls, through the massive outer court, and onto the paved pathway leading into the city, Elion immediately noticed the large host of spectacularly dressed people all heading in the same direction.

The night air was cool and refreshing, but what truly stood out to him was the atmosphere itself. Beyond the pathway down the mountainside, the entire city was glowing. Lamp lights floated everywhere, bathing the surroundings in a vibrant reddish hue.

“When was all this set up?” Elion asked as he looked around.

He had been in the city just yesterday, and while he had noticed it was busier than usual, he hadn’t thought too much of it at the time.

Now, the entire city looked like it had transformed.

“People have been discreetly preparing for the festival over the past few days,” Isla explained softly as they walked side by side.

Though she tilted her head slightly afterward.

“Even then… You could say it’s less festive than usual at this time of year.”

’Less festive than usual?’

Elion could hardly believe it. This was already the most festive setup he had ever seen in his entire life. He could only imagine what it looked like during a proper celebration.

The pair slowly walked down the long pathway into the city, the roads lined beautifully with floating lantern lights drifting gently through the air.

Eventually, they entered the bustling streets proper. People filled the roads everywhere.

Children ran excitedly through the crowds while vendors loudly called out to passing customers.

At one point, a particularly energetic pair of children accidentally bumped into Elion before stumbling backward in alarm. The moment they looked up and met his detached gaze, the poor kids nearly turned pale.

“S-Sorry sir!”

They repeatedly bowed and apologised profusely.

Even after Elion calmly told them it was fine several times, they still looked on the verge of tears before finally scurrying away.

Beside him, Isla burst into laughter.

“Your face is so scary,” she teased lightly. “The poor kids looked like they wanted to cry.”

Elion grunted quietly. He could only smile wryly. He genuinely didn’t think he looked scary at all. Regardless, the two continued walking leisurely through the crowd.

More and more people gradually converged toward the central plaza, and the buildings surrounding them only grew taller the closer they got.

Thankfully, the cobbled streets were wide enough to accommodate the massive crowds moving together.

At one point, a street vendor approached them and offered a pair of masks. Only then did Elion notice that nearly half the people around them were wearing masks of some sort.

Without much thought, he bought a pair.

For himself, he chose a simple half-black, half-white painted mask. For Isla, a fox mask with carved ears and painted whiskers.

The moment she put it on, she somehow became even more charming than before, despite the fact that he couldn’t see her face.

Soon enough, Isla quietly slipped her hand into Elion’s once more as they continued forward together. Eventually, they finally arrived at the central plaza.

Large crowds had already gathered around the countless floating lanterns filling the sky. Near the centre, around a grand fountain, a small group of people led the singing of a familiar song.

And strangely enough, it sounded familiar to Elion, even though he was sure that he had never heard this particular song in his whole life.

In ancestral footsteps we tread.

Through the shadows, we persevered.

Glory, pride, honour.

Approach with care.

Ever the best.

Sow knowledge, reap wisdom.

Risen from the ashes.

Heaven’s light in the darkness.

Take what they owe, ever growing.

He knew the song. But something about this felt unusual. Why had he never once heard about this festival in his own time?

“Hey, Isla,” Elion called quietly. “What makes this festival so special?”

“Hmmm? You don’t know?”

She looked genuinely surprised.

“That’s odd.”

Still, she quickly smiled afterward.

“Well, in any case, I’ll explain it. I’ll keep it short.”

Then she began telling the story.

“It is said that the founder of the Veloria Kingdom, whose name has long since been lost to time, once journeyed alongside five companions in search of the origin of this world.”

Elion listened quietly.

“Along the way, they faced seven great trials and tribulations. But during the final trial…”

Her voice softened slightly.

“The world presented them with an impossible choice.”

She paused shortly before going on.

“To advance and obtain the answer they sought, they had to sacrifice one member of the group.”

Elion’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“And tragically… after a long and bitter argument, the founder himself was betrayed and chosen as the sacrifice.”

The sounds of singing and celebration continued around them as Isla calmly told the tale.

“The specifics of the sacrifice have been lost to history,” she continued. “But it’s said he died not long afterward, while the remaining five finally obtained the answer they had all been searching for.”

She looked toward the lanterns floating overhead.

“But after obtaining it… they realised something horrifying.”

“The answer was utterly simple. Pointless, even.

“The sacrifice had never been worth it.”

Her voice grew quieter.

“And only then did they realise they had thrown away a dear friend for nothing.”

Elion remained silent.

“However…”

Isla’s eyes slowly lifted toward the night sky.

“What they didn’t know was that their friend had never truly died.”