System's POV

Chapter 1444: You’re In Second Place

“… What the hell happened to you?” Stella asked as soon as Thirteen returned from the Domain of the apocalypse.

Tiona only gave her Master a knowing smirk after seeing the kiss marks on his neck, arms, hands, and collarbone.

Withouth checking, she already knew kiss marks littered the skin beneath the fabric. No point declaring it though, so she kept mum.

Whenever Thirteen’s lovers felt possessive of him, they habitually left marks like these on his body. It was their way of claiming him, as if to tell the world he was already taken.

“A few mosquitoes bit me,” Thirteen replied.

“Those are… very big mosquitoes.” Stella sneered. “You really had fun on the other side, huh?”

Growing up with her father wearing hickies like badges, Stella had quickly recognized the marks as soon as she saw Thirteen.

Her father had so many wives in his harem, all with needs. Kiss marks on exposed skin were normal, so she was already desensitized.

“Let’s have breakfast first,” Thirteen said. “Today is going to be a busy day.”

The formation was nearing completion. According to his estimate, he would still need three more days to complete the magical formation and do some test runs to make sure that it was working.

Tiona noticed that her Master’s eyes were a little red and assumed he cried in his sleep again.

Even Stella realized this, so she no longer said anything and joined Thirteen on the dining table.

Their breakfast was quite simple. It was oats and milk with a drizzle of honey. It was Stella’s turn to make breakfast today, so she made a simple one that Thirteen might like.

Frankly, he wasn’t a picky eater. He would eat anything as long as it was edible and not detrimental to his health.

After eating and thanking Stella for the food, Thirteen went back to work again. He inscribed runes on Cores and crystals that had been mined by Forneus’ army deep under the sea.

Once he finished inscribing rune magic on the ores and crystals, the demons that served him would take them to the location where it needed to be placed.

It was a monotonous manual labor that drained him of his mental power, stamina, and concentration.

He only took a break when it was time to eat, which was once during lunch and once during early dinner.

Thirteen would continue to inscribe rune magic until late at night. In fact, he would have continued if not for Stella or Tiona, asking him to rest with them for the night.

Today, a few Nagas had gone up to shore, delivering a fresh batch of Beast Cores and crystals.

They still didn’t think too highly of Thirteen. But since Forneus told them to follow his orders, they had no choice but to obey.

Tiona always stayed by Thirteen’s side as her bodyguard, making sure that none of the monsters would dare to do anything funny to her Master.

As for Stella, she often flew with Aethon far off to sea, patrolling the area to make sure that nothing dangerous could threaten Thirteen as he worked on his task.

“I’ll be there soon,” Dantanian said to Tiona’s clone that was with him. “Zaphiel and the others have left. I’ll just stay one more day here just to be safe.”

“Alright,” Thirteen replied while inscribing a rune on a Beast Core. “Send your After Image first to scout just in case they’re still around Fractured Heaven.”

“Understood.” Dantanian agreed that this was a good idea to avoid any type of ambush. “How are the preparations going? You’re near completion, right?”

“Three more days,” Thirteen replied. “After that, I’ll rest for two days, then we can start to hold a strategy meeting for the war against Zaphiel and his army.”

Until Zaphiel was defeated, the tension and chaos in Solterra wouldn’t go away. At least, this was Dantanian’s point of view.

Thirteen had a different take on the matter. But, he kept silent for now. Since it was only a possibility, he didn’t plan to become a naysayer and scare his allies silly.

———

Somewhere in the Valbarra Archipelago…

“Are you almost recovered?” Shasha asked Cranky.

“Yes,” Cranky replied. “You taking care of me sped up my recovery.”

The young lady blushed and averted her gaze. Cranky was now back in his demi-human form, and frankly, his rizz was too much even for Shasha.

Cranky was incredibly handsome, as if his face and body were sculpted by the gods themselves.

Even some of the ladies who visited the Heroes Monument as part of their pilgrimage couldn’t help but give Cranky a few bashful gazes.

Clearly, they were maidens who had fallen in love with him at first sight.

“Where do you think my brother is?” Shasha asked. “Sometimes, I worry Zion isn’t eating properly.”

“Tiona is always with him, so he will be just fine,” Cranky replied. “Stella is there too, so I believe that he won’t go hungry even if he wanted to.”

“I hope you’re right.” Shasha sighed. “I’m just worried about him because even if he’s hurt, he would just smile and tell me he’s fine.”

“Zion is probably the most incredible human I have met in my lifetime,” Cranky stated. “You’re in second place though.”

“Why thank you?” Shasha arched an eyebrow. “I agree that my brother is really incredible. Don’t worry, you’re also second place.”

Cranky blinked once then twice. A moment later he sighed helplessly, understanding that Shasha deliberately returned his comment back to him.

Since it was his fault, he decided to take it like a man. He then reached out to hold Shasha’s hand as they walked across the beach.

Shasha didn’t resist and allowed Cranky to intertwine his fingers with hers. The two of them continued to walk, chatting about random things until they reached the Heroes Monument.

There, they saw Mikhail surrounded by beautiful ladies of every race. There were Orcs, Goblins, Trolls, Tigerkins, and Barbarians.

All of them were very eager to be part of the Leventis Family, but Mikhail was playing hard to get… at least in their eyes.

As for Remi, she was surrounded by the Head Priest, as well as the other priests, who presided over the Hero Monument.

They wanted her to become the “Saintess” of the Zion Religion, which Remi flatly refused due to embarrassment.

Hours moved quickly, and before they knew it, night had finally arrived.

Remi thought of her brother, who was somewhere out there doing his best to ensure that they would be able to leave their lives in peace.

———

Fortunate Isles…

Thirteen finished inscribing the last Beast Core for the day and sighed deeply.

He was very tired, so he wanted to sleep on the bed.

Fortunately, Tiona was there to assist him until they arrived at the house that they were currently using as their temporary home.

As soon as Thirteen’s head hit the pillow, he fell asleep right away.

A minute later, he found himself standing on a flower field, where Kate was already waiting for him with a smile on her face.

“What took you so long?” Kate asked.

“Work,” Thirteen replied. “Have you been waiting for me?”

“Yes.” Kate nodded. “You look very tired.”

“That is because I’m tired.”

“Well, then. I guess I should help you rest.”

The young lady sat on the grass. She then looked at Thirteen before lightly patting her lap.

Her message was clear. Come here, and rest to your heart’s content.

Thirteen obliged and rested his head on her lap.

Kate then hummed a song, while lightly patting his chest. The teenage boy felt so comfortable that he closed his eyes to rest.

A few seconds later, he fell asleep within his dream, lulled by his beloved’s singing. It reminded him of a past where he could have lived a happy life with her.