Langrum was busy working hard on dual cultivation in her room when she received the message that she needed to leave. They had only had a single day of rest, and the whale wanted to leave as soon as possible.
When she met up with the large group, Langrum wore an extremely dissatisfied expression. It wasn’t clear if it was due to the limited time available or if she simply couldn’t enjoy herself as before, after the intense experiences inside the prison. Soon, an unconscious body was thrown in her direction; it was Almin, who clearly hadn’t fully recovered.
They headed towards Dark Night City, with Almin’s ten women following Langrum, who carried Almin again with a strange look. Ruri was radiant, sitting on the whale’s shoulders, while the other five women followed behind her in silence.
The group moved slowly due to the burden they carried. Alm’s irritation only grew, as he didn’t want to waste time this way. During the night, they were forced to stop so the women could rest. Only at that moment did Almin wake up and move away with his women for a long conversation.
Ruri quickly fell asleep, hugging the whale, while the looks of the five women became increasingly strange as they witnessed that scene.
One of them murmured to the other four in a low voice, trying to make sure Goku wouldn’t hear. ’Do you really think that Meatbal did nothing to Ruri?’
Another one quickly answered .’Ruri said countless times that he really had no such urges. Instead...’
The other quickly got curious. ’Instead what?’
That girl looked at Goku with even more strangeness than the others. ’He seems to have a... peculiar taste... for other men.’
Alm almost vomited blood several meters away. There was indeed a time Ruri asked if Alm was gay, and it seems like Ruri hasn’t forgotten that yet. She even told them about it!
Those women thought he couldn’t hear, but how could he not with his senses? Earth Qi began to gather around his body, but it quickly disappeared as Alm complained. ’Why are you stopping me? Ruri is sleeping. We can kill them very fast and blame some beasts or whatever.’
’Calm down, idiot. They are just worried for Ruri. It seems like the Montide people are really close to each other, so it is a good thing instead,’ Bruno answered. It was he who stopped Alm from acting.
’Hmph!’ Alm could only accept it. Of course, he reprimanded the girls, who quickly went silent.
When Almin’s group returned, the looks turned to the whale. Then, everyone took steps toward the leader, who observed with a cold face.
All ten women bowed in gratitude for the freedom they received. They then expressed intense gratitude for helping Almin change so much. Their words represented everything Almin couldn’t express, leaving him extremely embarrassed. Surprisingly, for Alm and Bruno, they seemed to genuinely like their brother. Without any slave marks, they were free to leave, but they chose not to leave Almin alone.
Then, they tried to kneel, and the whale’s expression twisted. Alm quickly remembered the moments when he was named a deity in the main quests, and his bloodthirsty fury began to show, quickly frightening them.
Almin tried to intervene. "Um... Goku, I don’t want anything bad to happen to them. And I’m not strong enough..."
He was interrupted by one of ’his’ women. "No, sir! We want to take care of him properly, not be protected. We won’t let this opportunity slip away."
All ten of them nodded, clenching their fists. Even Langrum, who was watching nearby, nodded approvingly. A woman shouldn’t bow to anyone and should never stay under someone else’s wings. If they loved someone, they should be strong enough to protect them.
Almin was stunned and trembling. These women were kidnapped by his grandfather and used in a dungeon. Some were there for years, extremely physically and emotionally injured. After destroying the entire city, he freed them, but he didn’t know what to do. In the end, under the influence of old Dyen, he placed slave seals on them and brought them to the sect without asking anything, turning them into his furnaces... or so others thought.
"You... I really made them suffer without asking for their opinion... I just took them out of my grandfather’s clutches to put them in an even worse hell... please, just live peacefully." Almin murmured dejectedly, lowering his head.
Another blonde-haired woman took a step toward Almin and gently lifted his face, making him look affectionately at all of them. Their joyful gazes further shook Almin’s mind.
"None of us blame you. We want to be free, and we are doing this of our own accord," the woman said softly.
Then, another one spoke. "You saved us... and then... well, at first, most of us didn’t like the new life much. But you always went out of your way to please us, treating us as equals and getting to know and talk to each one individually. If just you weren’t so adamant against doing that with us..."
"Ahem!" Almin quickly stopped them. "There is no need to get into details." In the end, Almin truly only had Lyra in his heart.
Soon, another added, "You never treated us inferiorly, and you tried your hardest to protect us, even accepting that old man sucking your life. We don’t want to see anyone hurting you anymore!"
They all clenched their fists in determination again while the whale observed the exchange of words with a strange look.
’They stayed outside isolated, talking and didn’t resolve anything. Why the hell are they discussing this in front of us? Are we in a love and romance story now?’ Alm grumbled mentally.
’Pfft... look at our little brother getting multiple declarations. And he already has a respectable harem,’ Bruno said, amused.
’What harem, idiot? Do you really think this idiot brother of ours would truly try to have a relationship with more than one woman? Didn’t you hear that other girl saying he was adamant against doing ’that’ with them? We don’t know anyone more loyal than this idiot when it comes to this kind of matter. If he did really have sex with someone, that someone was Lyra, but even that, I’m not sure,’ Alm commented sarcastically.
’Don’t be so grumpy. Life is simpler than you think, and we’re not on Earth. Here is where a person can have the power to destroy a city or a planet. Naturally, men and women gather around to increase their power, and a harem around a powerful and normal person is common here.’ Bruno retorted, seeming to enjoy Alm’s discontent. ’Well, I do agree with the part that our brother most likely never did anything to those women. It’s not really his character. All the embarrassment on his face is more than proof enough of it.’
Alm nodded. ’Obviously.’
Soon, the whale felt even stranger as tears began to roll down as the scene played out in front of them, and the group threatened a collective hug. Alm and Bruno then coughed forcibly, ending the mood before they all they turned towards the whale. At that moment, Alm and Bruno realized that Ruri had awakened and was watching that lively scene.
All ten women took a step towards the whale and threatened to kneel again. But this time, it was Ruri who intervened, speaking sharply.
"My master doesn’t accept disciples, let alone women!" They all froze, looking at that little girl with piercing eyes.
"I’m the only disciple! And if you want to become one, you’ll have to defeat me!" Ruri said, puffing out her chest.
All ten women were between the first and third levels of the Qi Gathering Realm. Ruri was at the fifth level, but even if they were of a higher level than her; within the same realm, Ruri was overwhelmingly powerful and almost invincible.
Alm smiled inwardly, satisfied with his disciple. ’That’s right! No ridiculous things like a harem.’ Soon, he firmly decided that he would make Ruri grow as powerful and bloodthirsty as possible; she would be his blade to prevent any woman from trying to get close to them.
The whale sighed, and Bruno intervened. "I can give you some tips as we cross the desert. But my pet is very emotional, and if he wants to save Lyra, he’ll have to go to the divine world."
Everyone, including Almin, had heard about the divine world at some point in stories and fantasies of that world. Obviously, they were shocked by Alm’s statement.
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"Wanting to protect him is absurd with just a purely emotional will like that. It won’t last long. So just accept him taking care of you without complaining." the whale concluded dryly.
Langrum and Ruri immediately gave the whale a furious look, but they didn’t care. Soon, the women looked at each other and didn’t need to say a word. They had already made up their minds. So, finally, on the third attempt, they all kneeled in front of the whale.
"We’d rather die trying than be mediocre and helpless again. Please teach us and give us a chance," one of them spoke firmly. Then, all of them responded together, "And we also don’t want to live without him!"
Almin, Ruri, and Langrum lost their breath. But the whale had a strangely contorted face in extreme disgust.
Silent seconds passed as the whale threatened to open its mouth. They noticed Ruri looking to a spot on the right, and then quickly, five other women hurriedly ran and knelt before the whale. Soon, they shouted, declaring their intention to cultivate, with Ruri nodding in agreement.
’Damn! Everyone is going to start praising the Whale God!’ Bruno mentally exclaimed, excited.
Then, Alm took over angrily, speaking out, "I don’t train pathetic people. Almin and Ruri were tested and trained on the brink of death in the most brutal and painful ways possible. If you want it so badly... I’ll make sure you regret it." He concluded, emanating a cold and sinister malice.
Ruri then innocently commented excitedly, "Master, I’ve already told the five about everything you taught me. They really want this!"
"Fine, I’ll give them some points until we reach our destination, just like I said yesterday. That’s all." Since Alm and Bruno were already bringing them away, and it will take a few days, it will not change their schedule too much. They can dispose of all the extra hindrances once they find a safe home for all these people while giving them some power to defend themselves. After all, it is simply impossible to bring so many people with them on their travels. Once again they resumed their travel to Dark Night City.