Harem System In A fantasy World

Elion, Alexander, and his five retainers flew through the skies with great speed.

Elion and the retainers were riding the usual large birds.

Alexander, however, was riding a winged serpent. Apparently, they were even stronger and faster than wyverns, which Elion found a little odd.

Everyone remained mostly quiet.

Elion had already been introduced to the five young men who served as the prince’s retainers, but they were nothing particularly special. The powerful pair who had accompanied Alexander last time were not here. Apparently, they had gone on ahead, since greater numbers had been requested on the battlefield.

No doubt Melroy trusted Elion to keep his son safe.

Otherwise, he would have sent at least one High Mage or someone even stronger as part of the escort.

But no.

They travelled mostly in silence, though the retainers spoke among themselves now and then. They even spoke to Alexander, mostly about important checkpoint matters, camping arrangements, travel pacing, and so on.

For some reason, however, they seemed to avoid Elion, which was odd to him at least. Given their youth, he had somewhat expected them to be excited about meeting a hero.

Not that he was being narcissistic, but he had recently started noticing patterns in general human behaviour, and people tended to be very excited to meet him.

Other than the initial greetings, they had not spoken to him afterward.

Unbeknownst to Elion, they were silently treating him like a plague because, in their minds, he was already a dead man.

They didn’t want to associate too closely with someone who had so shamelessly wooed the princess in broad daylight, with lots of people watching.

As far as they were concerned, it was only a matter of time before the king found out and took this so-called hero’s head.

If only they knew that their king had been the one to set this entire Isla-Elion dynamic into motion, they might have bashed their own heads against the nearest wall.

Elion didn’t make any effort to speak with them either.

So instead, he settled for enjoying the view from above once again. It was always quite an experience.

The vast land stretched endlessly beneath them, rivers cutting through forests like silver threads, roads winding across the terrain, and distant settlements appearing and disappearing beneath drifting clouds.

The sharp sting of wind brushed against his face and body, cold enough to be noticeable, but not enough to bother him.

His hair, however… That had been annoying.

The strands had grown longer than they used to be, mostly because he had never bothered cutting them. During the flight, they kept whipping across his face and getting in his eyes.

Eventually, he had used a simple piece of string to tie most of it behind his head.

Now, only a few loose bangs fell across his eyes, shifting lightly with the wind as he gazed down at the world below.

What he didn’t understand was how that seemed to annoy the already annoyed Alexander even more.

“How much more handsome can you get? Simply tying your hair, and suddenly, he’s an angel…”

Elion heard the boy mutter under his breath.

Perhaps Alexander had thought the wind would carry his words away. Unfortunately for him, Elion’s ears were far too sharp to miss it.

“What was that?” Elion smirked as he looked toward Alexander. “If you like my glorious appearance, say it to my face, Alexander.”

His voice was unbearably smug.

“W-what!?”

Alexander seemed to realise that he had been heard.

“You said I look even more handsome with my hair up, did you not?” Elion asked matter-of-factly.

“I did not!” Alexander hurriedly denied.

“Yes, you did. I heard you loud and clear,” Elion countered.

Then his smirk widened.

“Unfortunately for you, young prince, I don’t swing that way. I only have eyes for curvy bodies, soft breasts, and tight asses. And I am glad to say, I am a man of variety.”

Alexander’s mouth fell open.

“Ack—!”

He couldn’t even find the words to respond and ended up choking on his own spit. To protect his own sexuality as a man, he had to pretend he hadn’t heard the crass language coming out of Elion’s mouth.

“I don’t swing that way either, you bastard! Why would you even—!”

Elion burst into uproarious laughter.

Alexander’s retainers could only smile wryly from the side while desperately suppressing their snickers.

“This guy won’t even let the prince go?” one of them whispered.

“Do you think perhaps his real target is the king after all?” another chimed in quietly. “He seems to be working toward that goal gradually. First the princess, now the prince? It cannot be a coincidence!”

They began coming up with conspiracy theories on the spot, whispering to themselves, and completely unaware that they could be heard.

“You may be right,” another retainer muttered. “I’ve read a few books like that, you know… where guys…”

He trailed off suddenly.

“He’s looking at us.”

Two of them yelped in alarm when they noticed Elion’s malevolent gaze settling on them, paired with a wicked grin that promised nothing good.

“Do you think he heard us?” the one with the round belly asked in fear.

“I hope not…”

A different retainer swallowed nervously.

“He would certainly kill us all in our sleep if that’s true. He looks like the type to drink virgin blood just to grow stronger and become more handsome. Didn’t you hear what he did to the demon army on the front lines?”

“Wait…”

One of the young men’s expressions turned grim.

“I’m still a virgin… Does that mean…”

The others froze.

“Oh gods, have mercy on us all…” he whispered in despair. “I’m going to die a virgin!”

“Shut up, Peter! He’s coming here.”

Elion slowed his mount down and brought it level with them. Immediately, every single retainer stiffened in fear atop their mounts.

’We are all going to die!’ All five of them thought quietly. It didn’t help that Elion’s grin widened malevolently as he stopped before them.

“Hello there,” he said teasingly.