Harem System In A fantasy World

"Today, we gather to honour a great king who once stood as a beacon of strength, hope, and freedom. Though he may no longer walk among us, he shall forever be remembered as the Hero King who saved our world from the evil clutches of the Demon Lord Asmodeus."

A priest from the local Church of the Goddess of Light led the proceedings of Melroy’s funeral from the city centre.

Elion watched silently from within the crowd, dressed in black, much like everyone else. A group of four stewards stepped forward, carrying an extravagant coffin containing the body of the fallen king. The lid had been left open, allowing the people of Haven to see their ruler’s face one final time.

A great deal had happened over the past four days, but the most nerve-racking part had already been taken care of.

Isla had been heartbroken, to say the least, when Elion broke the news to her. She stood beside him now, struggling to hold back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. The faint but persistent trembling of her shoulders told him as much.

She had already mourned plenty over the past few days, but it was nowhere near enough.

At least her mother stood beside her, holding her hand gently. However, the older woman looked just as distraught, much like most of the people gathered here.

Several elegantly dressed women stood among the important figures near the front, many of them sobbing openly as Melroy’s coffin passed by. It seemed the king had gathered quite a sizeable harem over the years.

All of them were no doubt devastated by the loss of their husband.

Elion watched them quietly.

He wanted to become stronger, as strong as possible. Strong enough that there would never come a day when his own women were forced into a similar situation.

That aside, Zenovia and Aeron were both alright, although that was somewhat relative.

They had been rescued by the Sage Mages after the ambush in the Great Forest, but things had not been looking good before reinforcements arrived.

The outpost had almost been annihilated, and most of the soldiers stationed there had been mercilessly slaughtered. The survivors had only barely managed to hold their ground long enough for help to arrive.

It could easily be considered the greatest tragedy the coalition had suffered throughout the war. The losses at the base nearly rivalled the number of deaths recorded along the front lines during the same period.

Zenovia and Aeron stood a short distance away, dressed in black like everyone else. Despite receiving treatment, they still looked somewhat ragged.

Their injuries had been that severe.

Apparently, Aeron had sustained the worst of them while trying to protect Zenovia. He had recovered well enough to stand, but Elion could only imagine what the pair must have looked like before the healers patched them up.

As for the war, the general consensus among the coalition was that the Saints had successfully killed the Demon Lord Asmodeus with the assistance of the hero Elion, who had already begun building a legend of his own among the people.

Zenith’s existence had been kept hidden from the general populace. At her request, of course.

She had yet to appear before Elion again since the day Asmodeus died. Perhaps she was still taking care of something important. At least, that was what he hoped.

With only two days remaining before the trial came to an end, it would put his mind at ease if she showed herself soon.

Once Melroy’s coffin completed its procession through the city centre, the important figures began escorting it back up the mountain toward the castle, with Alexander and Xavier leading the way.

Apparently, there were burial chambers somewhere deep beneath the royal castle where the remains of Veloria’s previous monarchs had been preserved.

Melroy would be laid to rest among them.

During the procession, Elion asked Zenovia whether Maya had shown herself again. She had not, but that was to be expected.

The message Elion wanted her to pass along had never reached Maya, but that hardly mattered now.

What surprised him more was Zenovia’s reaction to Maya’s betrayal. She did not seem particularly bothered, or perhaps she was simply good at hiding it.

Zenovia insisted that she was fine, and Elion could glean very little from her expression. She had always been skilled at maintaining a poker face.

By the end of the day, the funeral proceedings had concluded.

That same day at dusk, the court of nobles gathered inside the throne room, the very same hall where Elion had first met the boisterous former king.

Alexander was about to be crowned as the new ruler of the Kingdom of Veloria. `As expected, there was no serious opposition to his ascension.

That did not mean everyone was pleased.

A few nobles subtly raised concerns about Alexander’s age, suggesting that the prince might be too young to shoulder the immense responsibility of ruling a kingdom so soon after the war.

However, Alexander was the Crown Prince. Openly opposing his claim would have been viewed as treasonous, or at the very least, as an attempt to sow discord at a time when the kingdom desperately needed stability.

Most of his detractors swallowed their bitterness. Far more nobles supported his ascension than opposed it. And so, the ceremony proceeded smoothly.

When it was finally time for Alexander to take his vows, the same priest stepped forward once again, holding a large white tome in both hands. He read aloud from the book, delivering a long speech about duty, sacrifice, and the divine responsibility entrusted to those who ruled beneath the watchful gaze of the Goddess of Light.

Elion found most of it unnecessarily lengthy.

Once the priest finally finished speaking, he called upon the Goddess of Light to bless Alexander with her divine power and grant him the strength to protect his people.

Then he prompted the kneeling prince to recite his vows.

Alexander drew his sword and held it upright with both hands. His voice echoed steadily throughout the throne room.

"May my judgment remain just, my hand remain steady, and my heart forever belong to the people."

A brilliant ring of light erupted around him.

The gathered nobles gasped.

The radiance surged upward in a dazzling pillar, tearing through the upper reaches of the castle and stretching into the evening sky. It was visible far beyond the palace walls, illuminating the city below like a beacon.

Elion narrowed his eyes when the pillar finally dissipated. The change in Alexander’s aura was unmistakable.

He had broken through. Alexander had entered the Advanced Mage Stage.

’How?’ Elion watched the newly crowned king with a thoughtful frown. Surely, a simple request for a blessing could not have caused such a sudden breakthrough.

Then again, considering that Elion himself had received the Harem System from an equally mysterious and powerful figure, perhaps such things were not impossible under the right circumstances.

This was yet another mystery the current version of him did not fully understand.

As dusk settled over Haven, a grand celebration began throughout the palace and the city beyond. It commemorated not only the end of the war, but also Alexander’s ascension to the throne.

To Elion, the entire situation felt rather strange. A funeral and a coronation were held on the same day.

A kingdom mourning one ruler while celebrating the rise of another. But life continued, whether anyone was ready for it or not.

"Did you receive the countdown timer?"

Elion turned.

Zenovia and Aeron approached him just as he picked up a small plate of grilled steak from one of the buffet tables set up around the open courtyard.

Elion nodded before taking a seat at one of the nearby round tables.

"Yeah. I did." His gaze briefly shifted toward the edge of his vision, "Our time here will be over shortly."

Aeron sat down across from him and released a tired sigh.

"It was quite an eventful trial."

"That it was."

Elion cut off a small piece of steak and tossed it into his mouth. "What do you suppose the rest of the trials have in store for us?"

Aeron scoffed, "Something unpleasant, I’m sure."

Elion nodded slowly as he chewed, "Sounds about right." He looked toward Zenith and grinned.

She was not wearing her usual tight assassin’s bodysuit. Instead, she had chosen a beautiful dress for the occasion, one that fit her voluptuous figure perfectly. Even her usually wild hair had been carefully styled, framing her face rather elegantly.

"I must say, you look even more beautiful than usual, Zenith."

Zenith scoffed at the compliment.

To an unsuspecting bystander, it might have sounded as though the words had been spoken in complete goodwill. She knew better. The shamelessly lecherous look on the bastard’s face told her everything she needed to know.

"You think I will fall for your devilish charms?" she asked, raising a brow. "Why don’t you go and butter up the princess instead? I am sure she would be far more than happy to receive your words of praise."

"Ouch."

Elion dramatically placed a hand against his chest.

"You wound me, my lady. I truly meant what I said."

He placed his plate on the table and rose from his seat.

"How about I show you my sincerity?"

With a charming smile, he extended one hand toward her.

"May I have this dance?"