Harem System In A fantasy World

For the most part, it turned out Elion had been worried for nothing. Well, not exactly. But at least no catastrophic event had occurred while he was away.

Mira had apparently done a good job keeping everyone together and safe from the most obvious problems. After most of their peers turned against the group closest to Elion, they had stuck together, and that unity had worked well enough.

"But Aria..." Tessa said, then paused with a wry laugh. "Aria, who is obviously very dependent on your presence, is not exactly stable right now."

Elion’s expression soured.

"And that is an understatement," Tessa added more seriously. "Being around her feels like standing beside an explosive spell that might go off at any moment."

Elion frowned as she continued, "There was an incident last week where she was almost expelled."

"What!"

Elion’s voice rose sharply. A few people at the terrace glanced toward their table, but Elion ignored them.

"Is it really that bad?" he asked grimly. "What happened?"

"Well, right now, the whole academy is on a two-week break in preparation for the Legacy World opening," Tessa explained. "A week before that, a certain someone who has been feeling rather powerless against us recently decided to throw out another string of unsavoury comments about you."

Elion’s gaze darkened, "William."

"Who else?" Tessa said with a dry smile. "He has been doing that a lot lately, since that is all he can do, but this time, I suppose Aria could not take it anymore."

She laughed helplessly, as though remembering the scene, "She pulled out a knife and attacked him during Professor George’s class."

Elion stared at her, "She did what?"

"The knife came out of nowhere," Tessa continued. "One second, William was running his mouth. The next, Aria was already on him, screaming as if her life depended on it."

Tessa took another sip of her drink.

"Professor George had to stop her, of course. But not before she did quite a bit of damage to William’s face."

She let out a dry laugh, "At this point, I doubt even his mother would recognise him without proper healing magic."

Elion sat there with a deadpan, shocked expression. Honestly, he did not know whether to be worried or proud that Aria had done something he used to hesitate about doing.

And she had done it in front of an entire class. For several seconds, he said nothing, then he slowly leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face. "That girl...Unbelievable," he muttered.

Tessa smiled faintly, "She misses you."

Elion’s hand paused, and the table went quiet for a moment.

Tessa’s expression softened, "W-We all do."

She seemed to be having trouble including herself in the we, but she managed to voice it in the end. The gesture brought a smile to his face. Tessa saying she missed him? It must have been quite an eventful and stressful month for her.

At that point, Zenovia finally spoke, "You have more women elsewhere?" she asked flatly. "Why am I not surprised?"

Elion’s brow twitched, but he decided not to dignify that with a response. Instead, he turned his attention back to Tessa, "So, do you have any idea where everyone else might be right now?"

Tessa rubbed her cheek thoughtfully, "Well, I am sure Mira is still staying on Grimholt."

"Grimholt!?" Aeron immediately interjected. "Wait. You were at the flying academy?"

Elion frowned and gave him a look. One that said, ’Bro, shut your mouth.’

Aeron raised both hands in surrender, realising his mistake, "Right. Questions later."

Tessa glanced between them briefly, then continued, "As I was saying, Mira is still on Grimholt. As for Aria, I assume she must have left with her parents. Either that, or she chose to stay with Mira during the break."

Elion nodded slowly.

That sounded reasonable, "As for Isolde, I have no idea," Tessa added. "She did not seem very eager to share her plans for the break."

She paused, as though remembering something important, "Oh, and I should mention this. Among the first years, only four of us were chosen to enter the Legacy World."

Elion’s gaze narrowed; he was already aware, but there was information related to that he was very curious about. How had his absence affected the selection?

"Who?"

"Me, Mira, Isolde, and William."

Elion leaned back in his chair. So Aria had not made it in the end. That was within his expectations. She didn’t stand a chance of earning a spot when he was there, and after losing to William, his absence didn’t mean much either, even though a part of him had hoped otherwise.

She was talented, but compared to the higher end, her chances had never been particularly high. The leap she had made in the latter days before the tournament was mostly thanks to him.

Either way, he was more relieved to know that the academy had not used their association with him as an excuse to take away Tessa, Mira’s, or Isolde’s right to enter.

Doing so would have invited trouble. The Crimson family and the Moon family were not exactly pushovers. And Isolde’s background did not seem simple either.

As for William, of course, that bastard had gotten a spot. It was almost funny.

The world seemed determined to keep placing William in his path, but this is what he had hoped for. As far as he had heard, students died all the time when they entered this legacy world.

A perfect place to eliminate an annoying insect without raising suspicion? Absolutely! Tessa watched his expression and smiled dryly, "Yes. I know that look."

Elion glanced at her, "What look?"

"The look that says you are already thinking about how to make William regret being born."

Elion smiled innocently, "I would never think something so cruel." Tessa stared at him, but Elion’s smile only widened, "Not in public, at least."

Zenovia sighed, and Aeron laughed under his breath. Tessa shook her head, but there was some relief in her expression.

For a moment, the table fell into a more comfortable silence. Elion’s gaze drifted toward the distant streets of Silvergrove. He tapped one finger lightly against the table.

His plans were beginning to take shape again. But first, he needed to finish matters here in Silvergrove.

"So, you sure changed a lot. How did you suddenly become a towering giant.?