Harem Of Eternal Yandere Beasts: My Legendary Wives

Chapter 64: First Blood

Orion did not sleep particularly well. It wasn’t because he was afraid, but rather because the System had decided to lean into the dramatic again.

*Host Has Been Observed.*

The notification replayed in his memory like a broken record. There was no identity provided, no clarifying explanation—just a blunt, vague warning. The ancient entity running the interface clearly enjoyed suspense, a preference Orion did not share. He preferred actionable information.

When morning arrived, the academy exploded into a chaotic hive of activity. Students flooded the stone pathways, the distant training grounds rapidly filled, and instructors drifted between the various districts. The entire campus felt aggressively alive.

The moment Orion stepped out of Dormitory Seven, he noticed an immediate shift in the atmosphere. People were staring at him. Not just a few curious glances like yesterday, but dozens of sustained, intense looks.

Intrigued, he followed the collective gaze of the crowd, which eventually led toward a towering marble notice board near the central plaza. A massive sea of students had gathered around it, whispering, pointing, and arguing with the unique fervor of teenagers presented with competitive metrics. The academy had officially released the First-Year Assessment results.

Luna materialized casually beside his shadow. "They’re staring."

"I noticed."

"I can bite them if you want."

"You cannot."

"I easily could."

"You may not," Orion said firmly.

Luna let out a dramatic, long-suffering sigh. "You really are no fun."

Orion chose to ignore her, a tactical response that experience had proven to be the most effective way to handle her moods.

The crowd parted automatically as he approached the plaza, several students whispering and recognizing his face immediately. Apparently, exploding a high-grade piece of academy testing equipment on your first day was an excellent way to generate immediate publicity.

The massive ranking board towered over the cobblestones, displaying hundreds of names, scores, and brief, clinical evaluations. Orion scanned the top of the list, his eyes lingering briefly on the very apex.

*Rank 1: Selene Valeheart.*

It wasn’t a surprise. The silver-haired menace had clearly been operating within the academy’s ecosystem long enough to establish total dominance. He let his gaze drift down the column until he located his own entry.

*Rank 7: Orion Ashbourne.*

He considered the number. He had intentionally held back a significant portion of his capabilities during the evaluation, yet the faculty had still placed him in the top ten. It was higher than he had expected, and likely lower than some of his more ambitious peers would prefer. It was a comfortable, dangerous position. Perfect.

Unfortunately, someone else had already done the math.

"You’re Orion Ashbourne."

The voice carried the exact, heavy dose of unearned arrogance Orion expected from an unprovoked confrontation. He turned to find a tall, broad-shouldered young noble clad in an exceptionally expensive variant of the academy uniform, a high-grade weapon strapped to his hip. His expression was a familiar one—the look of someone raised to believe the world existed primarily for his personal convenience.

The noble folded his arms, looking down his nose. "I expected more from the person who broke the crystal."

There it was: the academy equivalent of a territorial challenge. Beside him, Luna’s lips curled into a thoroughly dangerous smile.

"And you are?" Orion asked, his tone perfectly flat.

The noble looked genuinely offended that his name wasn’t already common knowledge, which provided all the answer Orion needed. "Rhett Blackthorne."

The name triggered an immediate wave of hushed murmurs from the surrounding spectators. Recognition, respect, and a trace of genuine concern rippled through the crowd. The Blackthorne family clearly held substantial political weight within the empire, though Orion didn’t particularly care.

"Nice to meet you," Orion said mildly.

Rhett blinked, the polite, indifferent response completely throwing him off his mental script. "You ranked seventh."

"Apparently."

"You destroyed an entire assessment array."

"Apparently."

"And you’ve already drawn the personal attention of several senior instructors."

"Apparently."

Rhett’s brow furrowed. The conversation was refusing to escalate the way he had planned, leaving him visibly frustrated.

"I want a public challenge match," Rhett demanded, finally cutting to the core of the issue.

Orion had been wondering when the school’s cutthroat culture would manifest. A public duel—visible, sanctioned, and highly competitive. The entire institution was engineered to foster this exact kind of friction.

"Why?" Orion asked.

Rhett stared at him, bewildered. "Why?"

"Yes. Why do you want to fight me?"

The noble looked genuinely confused by the inquiry. "Asking *why* someone wants to challenge you for a rank is incredibly strange."

"No, it isn’t."

"It absolutely is."

"It really isn’t," Orion countered.

The petty back-and-forth was rapidly attracting a massive circle of spectators, creating exactly the kind of public spectacle Orion preferred to avoid.

Finally, Rhett let out an irritated huff and gestured toward the marble board. "Fine. Look at the numbers. You’re seventh." He pointed a thumb at his own chest. "I’m eighth."

Understanding clicked. The noble wasn’t pursuing a personal vendetta; he simply wanted the rank, the prestige, and the immediate privileges that came with a top-seven placement. It was a completely pragmatic, annoying, yet entirely logical motive.

"What happens if I simply decline?" Orion asked.

The question caused a collective gasp from half the student audience. Apparently, turning down a challenge was a concept the student body couldn’t fathom.

Rhett recovered first, a smug look returning to his face. "If you decline, your public reputation plummets."

"That’s all?"

"That’s all."

Orion offered a calm, dismissive smile. "Then no."

Rhett froze, his brain seemingly stalling out. "What?"

"No."

"No?"

"No," Orion repeated smoothly.

An absolute, stunned silence washed over the plaza, quickly broken by a few upperclassmen in the back who burst out laughing at the noble’s expression.

Rhett’s face flushed a deep, angry crimson. "You’re openly refusing a direct challenge?"

"Correct."

"Why?"

"Because I don’t care about a number on a board."

The blunt declaration seemed to hit the surrounding crowd harder than intended, with several nearby students looking personally insulted by his lack of competitive drive. The culture here ran deep. Rhett took an aggressive step forward, raw mana beginning to crackle around his shoulders. "You’re just a coward. You’re afraid."

Orion almost laughed. Luna, completely lacking his restraint, did so openly, her clear amusement cutting through the tense plaza.

"Oh, that is incredibly funny," Luna giggled, pointing a mocking finger at the noble. "He actually thinks you’re afraid of him."

The absolute derision in her voice was devastating. Rhett snapped, turning his full, furious attention toward her—a catastrophic error in judgment. Luna’s golden eyes locked onto his, and for a fleeting second, Rhett’s mana faltered. Pure, unadulterated survival instinct flared inside the noble’s chest, recognizing the sheer predator standing right in front of him. His instincts were good; they were just a little too late.

Before the confrontation could turn bloody, a sudden, crushing weight descended over the plaza. It didn’t originate from Rhett or Orion, but from somewhere high above. The crowd scattered instantly, students straightening their uniforms as the nearby wardens went on high alert.

"If you’re going to waste everyone’s time challenging someone..." a familiar, clear voice drifted down from above.

Every head in the plaza looked up. Selene Valeheart was sitting casually atop the high frame of the ranking board, her legs dangling over the edge. No one, not even Orion’s refined senses, had detected her arrival.

The silver-haired girl offered a sharp, merciless smile. "...at least have the decency to challenge someone stronger than you."

Rhett’s face drained of color.

Selene dropped from the thirty-meter structure, landing with an effortless, silent grace on the cobblestones. She strolled forward, completely ignoring the whispering crowd, and stopped right beside Orion. Then, to the absolute shock of every spectator in the courtyard, she casually threw an arm over his shoulders like they were old childhood friends.

The plaza exploded into a furious frenzy of hushed gossip. Orion quietly closed his eyes, feeling a massive headache rapidly developing in his temples.

Selene leveled her violent violet gaze at Rhett. "Is there a problem here?"

The Blackthorne heir visibly reevaluated several of his recent life choices, a healthy, intelligent response. Unfortunately, his pride managed to override his caution. "Stay out of this, Valeheart. This doesn’t concern you."

The moment the words left his mouth, every single upperclassman in the vicinity collectively winced and took three steps back. Orion found that synchronized retreat deeply concerning.

Selene’s smile turned very small, the exact kind of smile that usually preceded a localized natural disaster. "Oh." Her smile widened, a terrifying light dancing in her eyes. "Oh, we’re actually doing this."

Rhett finally realized the sheer magnitude of his mistake, but it was far too late to recant.

The academy’s newly minted seventh-ranked first-year watched in utter silence as the number-one ranked student calmly began rolling up her uniform sleeves. Luna looked completely delighted by the impending violence, the crowd looked terrified, and Rhett looked like a man facing a executioner.

Orion looked up at the morning sky, letting out a slow sigh. Sometimes, chaotic situations simply happened, and there was absolutely nothing a practical man could do to stop them.

A quarter of an hour later, the challenge arena was packed to absolute capacity. Word of the confrontation had spread like wildfire across the campus, drawing hundreds of students into the tiered stands while senior instructors occupied the high observation platforms to oversee the duel. Bets were already being rapidly exchanged; the academy’s infrastructure for spontaneous violence was impressively efficient.

Orion sat comfortably beside Luna in the lower spectator section, entirely uninvolved and exactly where he wanted to be. Unfortunately, his interface completely disagreed with his lifestyle choices.

◈ MYTHIC SUMMONING SYSTEM ◈

Current Situation Assessment: Highly amusing.

Probability Of Complete Chaos: 99.7%

*Additional Observation: The unknown observer is currently present in the arena.*

◈ ◈ ◈

Orion’s detached smile vanished instantly. His eyes narrowed as his gaze swept across the sweeping tiers of the stadium. Thousands of unfamiliar faces, hundreds of rowdy students, dozens of calm instructors. Somewhere among that sea of people, someone was actively tracking him. And according to the System’s grim phrasing, they had come close enough to watch him in person.

The parameters of his arrival had changed again.