In the small tavern near in Partisan, a barmaid wiped the tables in annoyance.
"Hmph! Where are all the people? Normally at this time, we would be swamped! Maybe I've lost my appeal? No. That can't be it. "
Just then the doors to the bar opened and a group of four walked in, a handsome man with three voluptuous women. The barmaid got spellbound at the appearance of the four. The women had near-perfect figures and seductive smiles.
"Hello, can we get your daily special and two beers, a cup of coffee, and a cup of tea? Will you do that for me, sweetheart?"
The one who just spoke was the man who had the body of an Olympian. His muscles looked chiseled even through the fabric of his expensive-looking battle suit.
A face devoid of any blemish and had devilish looks made a small smile as he ordered. While he already had the confidence of a lady killer, having white hair and crimson eyes only served to accentuate it.
"Uhm…ah…yes!" Turning red to her ears the young barmaid ran towards the kitchen in a panic. Amused a childish grin appeared on the man's face as he returned to his seat. The faces of his compatriots could be considered anything but friendly.
A heavily armored blue-haired woman in a ponytail crossed her arms in anger. She then kicked the man in the shins. The impact caused her target to yelp in surprise.
"OW! Lene, it was a joke! Relax! Why are you getting angry?"
Raylene then looked to the right with her eyes closed. "HMPH! Lecher. Baka! Go ahead and flirt! It's not like I care!" knowing his woman got annoyed he tried to come closer by leaning across the table; an arm drove a knife into the furniture, however. The impact point was just beside his wrist.
"Hiro-sama, that child hasn't even reached fourteen years old. Is that what you want now? Are we too old for you? Is that it? After taking our innocence you would throw us away? Are we no good anymore?"
A blond woman in ranger armor with Heterochromia eyes asked with a face full of madness. Her hand which gripped the dagger on the table trembled like crazy.
"What? Nessa, it is nothing like that! I just wanted to tease her! Why would I cheat on you?! Jei, please speak some sense into these two!"
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At his reply, the man sought the help of the last woman on the table. She had red hair in a long braid and wore a battle dress and had her arms around her staff. Jei then stared at her man with a pout and looked away.
"Wifey! Not you too. I honestly was just teasing. Come on girls don't be angry!"
At that moment a couple walked into the bar and approached the quartet's table. Currently, the bar had no other patrons aside from Jei's party. The man quickly removed his hat and did a quick bow to the white-haired man.
The new arrival looked in his late thirties and had a robust figure packed with power. His battle suit gave him an air of competence while his gray beard made him look like an intellectual.
"Master. I am glad you got here without issue. I thought you guys would barely make it on time. I finished your registration to the battle harem royale a minute before the deadline."
The man then looked towards the three ravishing women and greeted them in turn.
"As always such a pleasure to marvel at your radiances my ladies. Alan Srayver greats the beautiful empresses of Musashi." Hiro then complained to Alan like a child. "Alan! The girls are all angry at me for ordering our food. Help me out will you!"
Alan a merchant serving Hiro closed his eyes as he answered in generic lines seemingly out from a manual. "I don't know what happened, but I'm sure Master is wrong. Please take this time to reflect on your actions."
"Look here you bast…"
"Master. My ladies. Xing Jin of Arcus Kiss greets the Dominant and the empresses of Musashi. May your strength never fade and beauty never loses its luster. Might I invite you all to stay at our humble accommodation for the duration of the qualifiers?"I think you should take a look at
Interrupting the discussion was a beauty that looked around her late twenties. She had a luxurious body-hugging cocktail dress that showed off her curves. The smile on the beauty's face had enough sensuality to charm even bears to give up their cubs.
Raylene then replied to their greetings. "Alan, Xing. It is wonderful to see you."
"We will look around but will head there later, thank you for taking care of us." Added Vanessa.
Jei then made a mischievous smile as she teased. "You two look good. Leveling up was worth it. Alan probably has the energy to spare now no?"
Xing demurely hid behind her lover as she shyly professed. "Insightful as always my lady, my husband went from a puppy to a rabid wolf when his body improved. I am afraid my body might break soon."
The women then proceeded to catch up as they giggled like teenagers at the newfound vitality of Madam Xing's sex life. Alan could only smile wryly as he looked at Hiro. "Serves you right you ungrateful bastard."
Alan and Xing moved the separate table to join Hiro before taking their seats. Four months have passed since their group left Partisan. During that time Hiro's faction bonded while resting and killing monsters over the Apocalypse zone.
Their growth in power would leave most speechless even the weakest of them Alan know was at level 50, allowing him to enter the ranks of the [Adepts]. One of the biggest advantages of doing so was gaining a powerful body that remained youthful no matter how many years passed.
Of course like height, the age one looked could be adjusted per level-up at the preference of the system user. Originally younger than Xing, now Alan looked older. Such were the perks of being system users.
The barmaid returned at this time and delivered the plates and drinks to Hiro's group. She got mesmerized when she saw Xing but got hot under the collar upon seeing Alan. At a speed faster than lighting, a palm covered in spirit smashed the merchant in the cheek and returned to its owner.
Unable to see the action due to being a regular human, the lovestruck girl was about to approach the new arrivals but got stopped when Alan raised his hand while massaging his cheek. "No need, my wife and I will be leaving soon, can you please give us some privacy?"
The barmaid then nodded and quickly retreated. Hiro who saw the slap tried to keep himself from laughing. But as he found the situation extremely humorous. The grin on his face looked like something from a cartoon.
"Right. That hurt a lot by the way. As I was saying, master, the Qualifiers will be held in the Partisan Arena. I had it structured as you suggested Master. The prince expresses his gratitude for the design as well as the support in the rebuilding."
Hiro nonchalantly waved his hand and spoke in a calm tone. The mood around the table then became as sharp as a knife as the cheerfulness evaporated. "Tell him, it's okay. About my other requests?"
Xing then gave a book and a storage ring to Hiro as she started to give her report. "Master, here is the information Redeemed compiled about the [Convent of Shadows]. There is not much difference from last month but we are still looking.
"For the matters with the Author Tasukete, this storage ring has everything we were able to purchase. The books go back as many as two hundred years ago and span almost every genre imaginable. We also got the news that as of a month back, all publications by Tasukete have ceased. Redeemed is trying to figure out why that is."
Nodding at the report, Hiro took both the book and the ring and stored them in his inventory. "Then what about the party we have been preparing?" Xing made a beautiful smile as she pulled out a map of the continent with over twenty red cross marks.
"This is one I am most proud of. The materials from the apocalypse zone have been stored by the tons in twenty cities of the crown princess. As expected local groups have started bloody confrontations for their acquisition. No partnerships have withstood the temptation of them.
"As the master expected one of the local hegemony managed to overpower the rest and is now severely weakened. They don't even have funds to process the materials due to paying hush money to the local authorities.
"I am just expecting the details to be finalized. They intend to sell the materials in an auction to gain resources to process their loot."
Hiro then smiled as he nodded in approval. "Well done. We will ensure they have no choice but to hold an auction. It seems our blades are having fun."
The door then opened and a group of five came in. A white-haired fairy at the front spoke with a voice full of heroism. "HAHAHA! Why wouldn't we Nii-sama? They give more EXP than monsters but die twice as fast!"
