Shocked by the little creature's words, Ryan regretfully stared at the Queen's corpse.
'That mouth could have done so many things,' Ryan sighed.
Deciding things were too strange, Ryan withdrew from the event and activated his token to leave.
'So much for my 'win or die mentality,' Ryan thought, shaking his head.
Arriving back in the Dawn Pavilion, Ryan quickly exited the building and headed towards the nearest teleportation array.
Little did he know, someone was following him. Someone he wouldn't have been able to sense even if he had checked with his bloodline.
===
Arriving back at the academy, Ryan first contacted the Duchess and set up an appointment for the evening.
He was hellbent on securing Yoko tonight, and if he couldn't get the damned bird, he'd storm the Duchess' castle himself.
"Girls!" Ryan called, entering his palace.
Soon an assortment of women, including Emily, Lizzy, Izzy, Grace, and Zoey, arrived before him.
"Zoey, I don't require your services this time," Ryan said.
"I'm only in my first month," Zoey complained. "Bunny girls need a year until they give birth."
Ryan blinked. "I know that," Ryan said, scratching his head.
'A year?! Thank god!' Ryan thought, breathing a silent sigh of relief.
"I was just testing your enthusiasm. Still great as ever," Ryan said, smiling.
"So what do you need us to do, Master?" Emily asked, tilting her head.
"Is it a battle?" Izzy asked, licking her lips. "I hope it's a battle.
"No." Ryan shook his head. "We're going to be going into the tower to train as a group today," Ryan said.
"Well, specifically, you girls will train while I do nothing. You need to start building chemistry with each other as you are my greatest ally with my ability [Harem Summon], which, for now, only summons my harem members," Ryan said, gauging the groups' reactions.
Lizzy raised her hand. "Who's going to be the leader, M-Master?" she asked, blushing when she used my new mandatory name.
'I would void the rule for my harem members, but respect is important, and with loyalty being such a big part, it's doubly so,' Ryan thought.
Ryan, of course, loved beautiful women calling him master and would never complain.
Still, it was important for his cat servants and knights to hear his more experienced members be respectful when talking so they knew they weren't being singled out.
"It's going to be our newest member, Grace," Ryan said, raising a few of the group's eyebrows.
Ryan chuckled, asking, "Is anyone doubting my judgment?"
Izzy started to raise her hand teasingly, but Lizzy held it down.
"You're no fun, sis," Izzy muttered.
"Well then, if anyone has any complaints after the training session, you can find me," Ryan said, locking eyes with Grace, the two sharing a knowing smile.
===
After the training session, the five came out of the training tower, all smiling and everyone sharing a laugh.
Ryan chuckled. "It seems you girls had a good time in there?"
Although he had told the girls he would do nothing, he had already gone inside the tower and used his bloodline to the max, climbing the tower's combat training tower simulator as high and fast as possible.
"You cheated," Lizzy said, smiling.
"That's Master, soldier," Grace said, teasingly poking Lizzy in the side, eliciting a yelp.
"How were we supposed to know Grace's specialty was in combat experience?" Izzy grumbled, still peeved that her uniqueness in battle was now taken away.
"Why don't you show them exactly what it is, Grace," Ryan said, nodding.
"Yes, master," Grace replied, waving her hand as she showed everyone her new ability.
[Battle Master (Passive)]
[Description: This ability gives anyone the user directs in battle 2x knowledge gain.]
"Double?!" Lizzy exclaimed, her mouth dropping open.
"No wonder," Zoey murmured. "It felt as though my very instincts were changing in real-time."
"What a useful ability," Emily said, pouting.
"Emily," Ryan said. "Your ability is extremely advantageous. It just requires the user to take some risk to use it properly."
"Pleasant face isn't something you need to use on Ravier, as you're the daughter of a Duke, but once we leave, it will be instrumental."
"Leave?" the collective chorus asked.
"That's for later," Ryan said. "We still have to join the multiverse, but eventually, we'll be leaving."
Lizzy and Izzy bit their lips and looked at each other.
"Ryan," Lizzy said. "Could we talk to you alone?"
"Sure," Ryan said, noting her serious tone. "That's enough training for today, girls. But I expect this daily from now on."
As the group dispersed, Ryan couldn't help but give them some motivation. "If you manage to cross floor 50, I'll give you a little surprise."
The girls paused, and Zoey muttered, "I hope it's a big surprise."
Giggling, the three girls left, leaving only the demon sisters.
"What's on your mind, ladies," Ryan asked, conjuring some couches for them to sit on.
Izzy sat awkwardly, looking up and away from Ryan at the sky, while Lizzy bit her fingernails, something Ryan had never seen her do before.
"Girls," Ryan sighed. "I'm not some monster, not to you."
"You two were my first true harem members. Who can I trust if I can't trust you to be open and honest with me?" Ryan asked.
Touched by his words, the two looked at Ryan. "We've been talking," Lizzy started.
"We know this is a lot to ask," Izzy continued.
"But would you please sleep with our mother when you meet her?" they both asked.
Coughing, Ryan wheezed, "What?"
"I knew it," Lizzy said, collapsing against the couch.
"We shouldn't have told him all those stories about mother. Now he thinks she'll eat him up or isn't pretty enough for him," Izzy said regretfully.
"Wait, what?" Ryan asked, confused at their line of reasoning. "Do you girls not care that she's your mother?"
Blinking, the girls asked, "What do you mean?"
"You wouldn't care that I slept with your mother?" Ryan asked, bewildered.
'Come to think of it; Ester was the same way. When I mentioned Mara, she shrugged it off like it was no big deal.'
"Why would we care?" Izzy asked.
"It's pervasive for unmarried mothers to take the same spouse as their children. After all, there are only so many good men to go around," Lizzy said. "That's why you got Mara's mother, right?"
Ryan grinned, rubbing his chin in thought. 'I think this world fits me perfectly.'
"That's not exactly what I had in mind," Ryan admitted. "But it couldn't hurt."
'Wait, does that mean my trip tonight with the Duchess could get hot and heavy?' Ryan suddenly thought. 'Is my harem going to be filled with a bunch of mother-daughter pairs?'
'Although that sounds lovely, I wasn't planning on having so many.'
While this conundrum plagued his thoughts, the two girls started whispering.
"Have you noticed how Ryan doesn't know much about Ravier?" Lizzy whispered.
"Yeah," Izzy nodded. "It's almost like what Emily's mother said was true, at least about him being from another world."
"I think it's just his upbringing," Lizzy replied, shaking her head at her sister's stupidity. "The chance that he's somehow from another world is too small."
"But it would explain a lot," Izzy said, nudging her sister. "He is, after all he's the quickest man the Zol'Gan Empire has ever seen."
"Don't remind me that our mother keeps that list," Lizzy put her head in her hands in embarrassment.
"Actually, I think she keeps it for a friend," Izzy said, remembering her mother mentioning the list.
"Mother has a friend?" Lizzy asked, surprised.
"Of course," Izzy nodded. "Aurora."
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