"We… don't age?" Marie whispered.
"Not exactly… we just age extremely slowly to the point it's nearly irrelevant." Helix replied with a grave tone.
"Why are you so bent, Hellie? That's awe~some!" Charlotte cried.
"Our spicy life will never fade and we can live together forever."
Helix smiled and hugged her with the hand wrapped around her body.
He stroked Marie's cheek and then stroked Riley's with some effort.
"That's true, but that means…."
Helix frowned again.
"Sally Michaels walked in with broken stats and has lived here for sixty years."
Shock spread through the women wrapped around him.
"That means… if she's a Sensitive Sally…." Charlotte whispered.
"We're in trouble if she finds out." Marie whispered.
"Why did you do it then? It's not like you." Riley commented.
"Because Zenith told me she's technically contracted with the Mad Queen and likely come for us once she learns of our existence." Helix said with a wry smile, "So it doesn't matter."
The group groaned with understanding.
"People become evil with power, but they don't become pawns with power." He continued.
"She was tired of getting hunted down, so she exchanged periodic cooperation for living peacefully.
Whatever the reason, she's dangerous and will likely seek out her kind or get ordered."
Marie closed her eyes in thought.
"Have any of them come back before?" She asked.
Helix gave her a wry smile.
"Earthians haven't come here since her wave—the seventh wave.
The group destroyed the Alzerian Capital and needed to rebuild it.
That's why they carefully spent sixty years searching for people that were easy to manipulate before deciding on the otakus.
They're desperate now because many kingdoms in the Easeka continent are falling like dominos."
Marie, Charlotte, and Riley chuckled bitterly.
"I feel bad dragging her into this, but if we don't gain strong Earthian allies, we'll die if the past Earthians come onto the chess board.
It's extremely cliche that we're walking calamities and still weak compared to the intercontinental ballistic missile cheats." Helix sighed.
Marie, Charlotte, and Riley giggled nervously before falling silent again.
"I'm surprised the world still exists." Charlotte commented.
"Me too." Marie said with a serious expression.
Riley nodded on his stomach.
"Three live in seclusion, including Sally who was spotted near the Kozen region last year." Helix explained.
His partners listened quietly with serious expressions.
"The other three control kingdoms on three separate continents with a non-aggression pact.
Most are happy with their power and harems.
If two go to war, one is certain to die, and the other will lose their army." He explained.
"However, the three stopped growing statistically after the first five years.
The requirements to level up always increase.
So they settled into their new lives without pursuing constant fighting.
The three ruling kingdoms only gained power by warring and killing other Earthians."
The group grimaced at the revelation.
"So, what are we going to do?" Marie asked.
"Hmmm? We'll crush this invasion and join the seclusion category." Helix chuckled.
"We'll buy a home, get married, and live a peaceful life.
It won't last forever, but isn't achieving that life as long as possible the dream?"
Marie, Charlotte, and Riley's eyes lit up like fireworks after the reminder.
The three cuddled Helix with happy expressions.
Tomorrow would be a full day of constant drama, and no one wanted to deal with it.
So they enjoyed their night of peace together.
Helix didn't tell them anything else about what Zenith had told him during that time. If he knew what she would say, he never would have asked in the first place.
All he wanted was to have a peaceful life, and he didn't care how it happened.
So he pushed other Earthians out of his mind alongside any other potential implications.
They weren't his problem and the time gap ensured that he and his partners would have a long life regardless of potential circumstances.
The rest was irrelevant.
So he determined that he would bare the curse on his own unless it caused problems for his partners.
Any threat to their happiness was a threat to his own. So he vowed he'd share it if it threatened their happiness, but not before then.
For now, he was going to push it from his mind and do his best to forget.
—The Next Morning. Earthian Training, Alzerian Colloseum.—
"Hmmm? Did I hear that you wanted everyone to have another 100 swings?" Charlotte mused with a bored face.
She was pretending to read a book that Helix had given her to improve her Tyrene game. It was getting strong.
"No… I was just asking for a break."
"Okay, another 150 swings for everyone before your break."
The otakus and weebs groaned, and hatred burned in their eyes.
They looked to Marie for their shining angel to save them.
"I thought you wanted Helix's training?" Marie giggled.
"If you do, we'll make it 2500 swings after using muscle memory circles to keep you at level 14 stats, and then make you go on a monster hunt afterward.
The training will be fourteen hours instead of six, and we'll viciously attack you if your form is off."
Shocked faces rippled through the training group.
Her voice was very cute, horrifying the otakus and weebs.
Many shivered in fear.
"Everyone, can I have a moment of your time?" Riley asked with a sweet voice.
Everyone turned to her in a daze.
"War Goddess Charlotte is mimicking Master Tyrene's behavior for us." She explained.
"If she weren't doing it, we would.
You can ask for mercy once, and we'll allow it if we find it reasonable.
However, if you ask again, you get more swings—"
"Riley! You're not supposed to tell them!" Charlotte cried.
BARK.
Tinker agreed indignantly, causing the group to shutter.
"Part of the journey is figuring that out!"
The otakus and weebs burst into laughter.
Charlotte huffed in annoyance.
Marie agreed with Charlotte.
However, she couldn't fault Riley since the Earthian Knights weren't voluntary apprentices, and they weren't Tyrene.
If they pushed them too hard, they'd snap.
"Everyone, please listen up." Marie said with an anime clap.
Everyone turned their attention to her with wide eyes.
Helix was their king, but Marie was their general.
"We're not Master Tyrene, so we're working together to be like her." Marie said with a gentle voice.
"This training isn't even a fraction of what she put us through.
However, it's the minimum amount you need if you ever want the title [Cheat Knight] or [Broken Cheat Knight]."
Faces lit up with understanding.
So much had happened that they had forgotten.
"Every practice, those who do not complain will receive one Roshak card." Marie continued.
The area exploded in excited whispers, but a violent wind sent sand into their eyes.
Many yelped, and others shivered.
Some looked at Riley as though she had betrayed them.
Marie, Charlotte, and Riley demonstrated that [all] of them were equally brutal during training.
Marie clapped again.
"You can be excited. However, don't forget that training ends when you have completed your goals." She continued.
"If you complain and earn more swings or penalties, you will continue until you're done."
Many immediately straightened up after that.
"Now start swinging again, and don't give Charlotte a hard time, or [I'll] take over." Marie declared.
The otakus and weebs stared at Marie with wide eyes.
Everything she said was law in their book.
So if she was threatening them, it meant that hell would follow.
"Thank you for your leniency, War Commander Marie!" Maze yelled out.
"Thank you for your leniency!" Leo followed.
Soon everyone was thanking her for her leniency.
Marie gave Maze a mischievous smile.
He was instructed ahead of time to use that terminology.
Maze killed it, and she planned to thank him later.
—
"I feel bad leaving them to handle the morning training." Helix sighed.
"I'll do something special for them tonight once everything calms down."
He reached for the door in a melancholy state.
He spent the first hour of his morning transcribing [Turning Points in Human Civilization] for Zenith.
Zenith popped in to thank him like a drug fiend when he tried searching for direction.
While he found it amusing, he couldn't enjoy it, knowing it would be another day of meetings.
When he opened his door, his eyes widened.
Four Knights were standing outside of the door.
Three were male, and the other was female.
"Is… there a problem?" Helix asked nervously.
"No, sir!" The four replied in unison.
"We're here under order from her majesty to serve as your protection at all times." A man said.
"Another six Knights are guarding the mistresses as well." The female added.
The four took a knee after saying so.
When they did, he saw a small female standing behind them, bowing nervously.
Helix's eyes widened in shock when he saw her.
There was also a fifth person waiting for him with a shy expression.
"Mira?" Helix whispered in disbelief.
—
Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)
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