Reincarnated Lord: I Conquered Fate With My Harem-Chapter 54: The Tide Changed [II]

The blast reached me, and everything went white again.

So, I thought I would die.

Yet, I was surprisingly still breathing, although hitched, but it was still enough to give me the hope of living.

No. This was my last, struggling breath, I thought, using my hands to weakly block the sight of the light.

Then, a figure appeared in front of me. The figure of a girl.

"If it isn’t Mr. Handsome, who shall it be," the familiar voice spoke. "Ha ha ha."

Removing my hands, I noticed the cloud-colored hair flowing behind her back and her sky-blue eyes gleaming pitifully at me.

"Miriam?" I mumbled, now staring back into her eyes.

She smiled and brushed her hand against my jaw, raising my face slightly upward. As if she was examining something, she shook her head disapprovingly and muttered—

"Not good."

Shifting my eyes from her sight, I noticed that the white blast of light had been a result of her defensive attack.

The air, in its gray form, was swirling massively, spiraling consistently to absorb the attack the sentry had unleashed.

On the side of the Sentry, it hadn’t expected that its attack would be blocked. Moreover, it imagined I was still able to keep up at my state.

But that was not the case... I just got a helper. Surprisingly, a lazy helper.

"How did you get here?" I asked, knowing that the sentry had clearly established this different zone on its own.

"Shhh," Miriam placed her hands on my mouth and removed them again.

Then, with a hushed tone, she said. "Let me say, I was sleeping and suddenly felt this immense power coming from this direction... hehe."

’Sleeping? This girl is surely insane. In the middle of a test?’

"Who knew this power would be coming from the arena allocated to our Mr. Handsome here," she blotted and bent forward.

"I’ve been around for quite a while now, hiding behind that rock," she pointed behind me and muttered after. "You sure are strong."

"How about I do you a favor?"

"Uhm, thanks, but you’ve done me a favor already by saving me. I can handle the rest from now on," I replied bluntly.

But she disagreed and shook her head in essence.

Taking me by the collar, she dragged me along the ground back to a wall beside me and dropped me there.

"I haven’t achieved anything since I started this test," she said. "If only I pretended perfectly back at home... Tch."

"I have an idea..." she said and turned to me. "How about you use this period to sleep while I continue from where you stopped."

’Sleep? To hell with sleep. When will you ever become serious?’ I thought.

As if she read my thoughts, her expression turned serious instantly, and she turned to the sentry.

"Right about now, I must admit that you have gotten stronger, even more than anyone can imagine. But this sentry seems invincible too. Fighting it in your current state will only mean endangering your life," she concluded and leaned again towards me.

"Allow me to help you out," she lightened her face again. "And in the end, you will marry me..."

"..."

"..."

I didn’t know the suitable reply to give her at this point, and all I could do was just to glance blankly at her.

She coupled her index finger against my thumb and, with them, flicked my forehead with a smile.

"I will take your silence for ’yes,’ my dear husband."

"Huh, I never agreed yet. I... I wasn’t even listening to—" I stuttered, but she had dashed out.

Coming to think of it, I saw it as a better idea. Marrying the Lord of Air Duchedom would automatically make her a harem member, and not only that, it would grant a plus to my Affiliation.

I was still in between thoughts when the system chimed in front of me.

«↓ Supreme Harem Member Detected | Lord of the Air Duchedom—Miriam Aeralis ↑»

"Supreme?"

« Yes. Any Harem member that grants you a new affiliation is Supreme according to the system. »

"Why?"

« Because granting you a new Affiliation simply means solidifying your bond into one. Hence, such a person is called your "wife." »

« ... »

"..."

The system muted for a while, and at the same time, I didn’t know what I was going to say after that last information.

Wife? Just like that?

I guessed I shouldn’t become too hasty about this. Besides, being declared my wife by the system doesn’t make me agree to the fact.

As if to solidify its claim, the system chimed again in front of me.

«↓ Affiliation: 2 | Seafrost, Aeralis [+3 slots available] ↑»

"But what if her mother disagrees?"

The system was far from listening.

«↓ Congrats on unlocking a new Affiliation ↑»

«↓ +100 Free Stat Points have been rewarded ↑»

«↓ New Title Unlocked | A Husband ↑»

’For Christ’s sake, I’m still 17 to become a husband,’ I yelled in my mind, but the system was too busy to listen.

« A Husband: This title, once activated, automatically grants the user a caring personality, especially when handling your wife(ves). You will be able to understand their needs, desires, and concerns. And even wish to accomplish their littlest wants. »

.

.

«↓ Do you wish to view your new wife’s stats? ↑»

« Yes | No »

"No. I would do that once the battle is over."

«↓ Do you wish to allocate the free stat points? ↑»

« Yes | No »

Earlier, after going through my stats, I realized my Vitality stat was too low to allow me to engage in a fight.

It was my desire then to increase it using my Harem Sharing Points, but I couldn’t since it was restricted. Luckily, Miriam came from nowhere and announced her desire to become my wife.

I chuckled. I mean, it was funny and unexpected. But so be it.

"Yes. Allocate it to my Vitality."

« Completed. »

«↓ VIT: 122 ↑»

"Yes, with this, I can still be able to survive while fighting. This time, I will have to win and—"

BOOOOOM!

The ground before me split, forming a hole in between that sped towards me.

Having gathered strength from the little rest, I rose immediately and leaped to the other side of the impact.

The fight had been going on without my acknowledgement, and it seems Miriam is a battle maniac.

Her smile refused to fade as she continued engaging the sentry in unstoppable attacks, and to think that—

"Holy shit. She was able to sever one of its arms?"

Still, like it was no big deal, the arm materialized again in the Sentry’s favor.

Suspended in the air above was Miriam, with her never-fading smile, flapping the wings behind her back.

She yelled, pointing furiously at the sentry. "Didn’t I warn you to forget my husband until he sleeps to his satisfaction?!"

’This girl is damn serious about this "husband and wife" thing. Anyway.’

The Sentry itself seemed to have gotten words to respond to Miriam’s caution.

"I AM SORRY, BUT OUR MAIN TARGET IS THE YOUNG MAN NAMED MOBIX SEAFROST. WHETHER DEAD OR ALIVE!"

Then added, "THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE WILL LEAVE YOU ALIVE AFTER NOW!"

’Main target, me? Why would I be the main target?’

This led me to replay some warnings Milton had given me as a way of discouraging me from participating in the Academy contest.

He had warned me that I would surely be a target if I were to participate.

"What the hell is going on!" I yelled, unknowingly unleashing a Presence that could be called ’a mixture of my titles,’ and stood from where I rested.

Just then, another figure stepped into view and was clapping as she advanced closer to us.

Her golden hair was swaying with relentless energy as she made calculated steps forward.

"If it isn’t the lazy maniac and the Doom Lord... Ha ha ha ha!"

It was Lyra Pyrrath.

Paying attention to her presence had cost me not knowing when Miriam flew towards me and gave me a peck on the chin.

I was still trying to ascertain the situation when she waved her hand circularly, and gray air, in the form of a hurricane, covered me.

"Cool down so you can rest for a bit, my husband. Your condition is still not favorable for you to continue the fight," she said, and flew to Lyra.

"Your husband?!" Lyra screamed.

"Yes, of course. We already had our agreement and will wait for time to reap so we have our marriage ceremony," Miriam said and leaned forward.

"Isn’t Mr. Handsome fit?" Then forming a baby face, she added.

"I was thinking that our children will be even more ’Handsomes’ and ’Beauties,’ considering my pretty face," she said, rubbing her hands against her chin in self-admiration.

"Are you out of your mind? To think that you would wish to marry him after his engagement with the Princess was nullified!" Lyra roared, pointing behind her.

"Who are you pointing at?" Miriam asked, then switched her mood. "The Emperor was simply blindfolded enough to foresee the benefits of—"

"The benefits? What benefits?" Lyra asked, already having a few thoughts slip into her mind.

Before participating in the test, her mother had asked her a favor: to make sure she ended Mobix’s life.

On arrival, the king had immediately ended his daughter’s engagement with Mobix.

At first thought, it could be that they still imagined he was still the weakling they used to know.

But even during this test, she had felt a massive, condemning power coming from this direction. Which meant that Mobix had been in a fierce fight with this Sentry of a thing.

Raising her head in thought, she observed the Sentry accordingly, taking note of the different color hues shimmering in turns along its body.

"The seven elemental arcane sentries," Miriam said, and Lyra nodded.

"This artifact is known to be crafted by the Demon Master. Even after acknowledging his power, it still deems Mobix a target..." Lyra thought out loud.

"Exactly my point. As a demon artifact, it shouldn’t have been fierce to Mr. Handsome if our speculations ever since were right and could have killed him if he were still the weakling everyone knew.

This only proves that the claims against Mr. Handsome are not right," Miriam reasoned.

"Which means that for the demon artifact to acknowledge and make him a target..." Lyra keyed in.

"Just what is special about Mobix... about Mr. Handsome?!" Both of them asked in unison.

All the while the two Elements were contemplating, I was busy enjoying the moment a little and a bit happy that their former notion against me was cleared.

Although I understood their plight, it was also one of the major reasons I decided to become a Purifier.

I wanted to know the reason I had been resented to the extent of getting my gate of energy locked and, recently, getting my engagement called off.

Still, at the same time, the Sentry was watching confusedly with its seven eyes and, when it couldn’t hold it anymore, began to formulate another massive attack.

Once the bomb-like substance it formulated at its center was ready, it spoke.

"AS IF I HAVE TIME TO LISTEN TO YOUR BLABBING!"

And struck—