Harem System In A fantasy World

Elion’s golden eye glowed faintly.

"You cannot feel most of it because your technique is suppressing the pain, but I can see every injury."

Her gaze drifted towards his eyes. She seemed to finally understand that they were capable of more than just looking beautiful.

Mayumi lowered her head slightly, biting her lower lip with frustration until it bled.

The water restraints remained around her, though their pressure loosened enough to allow her to breathe more comfortably.

Marilyn stepped closer to the barrier.

"Mayumi."

The young swordswoman remained silent.

"You have fought well," Marilyn continued gently. "But this duel is over."

It would have been simple for Marilyn to just call the match, but she wanted Mayumi to come to terms with it; otherwise, there would be lingering bitterness afterwards.

Mayumi’s fingers curled against the stone.

She had known from the first exchange that Elion was stronger. The difference had only become more obvious as the duel continued.

Even so, accepting defeat was never easy, especially when it meant losing the position she had worked so hard to earn.

Several seconds passed before Mayumi finally released a slow breath.

"I surrender."

The formations around the arena dimmed.

Marilyn raised her hand.

"The duel is concluded. Elion Nova is the victor."

The water restraints immediately lost their shape and splashed harmlessly across the ground.

Elion stepped forward and offered Mayumi his hand with a kind smile on his face.

She stared at it briefly before accepting, managing a weak, resigned smile of her own as he pulled her back onto her feet with little effort.

Mayumi swayed slightly as the exhaustion and suppressed pain began catching up with her. Elion placed one hand against her shoulder to steady her.

"You fought well," he said sincerely.

She looked up at him.

"It doesn’t matter; I still lost."

"That does not change what I said."

"I was not close to defeating you."

"No," Elion admitted.

Mayumi’s brow twitched at his answer.

"You could have lied, you know."

"You do not seem like someone who would appreciate empty comfort."

She stared at him for another moment before giving a faint nod.

"I guess you are right."

Elion smiled.

"Besides, you forced me to take you seriously. Very few people at your level could manage that."

The disappointment in her eyes did not disappear, but some of the bitterness faded.

Mayumi looked towards the sword she had dropped earlier.

"I still have much to improve."

"So does everyone."

"You do not."

"I have plenty to improve."

Mayumi glanced at his mismatched eyes, then at the deep cuts his simple water blades had left across the arena.

"I find that difficult to believe."

"Don’t sell yourself short; you are much better than me with the sword. I just happen to be stronger than you are, but I can see that you have trained with the sword your entire life. In that regard, you are far more skilled than I am."

She gave him a wry smile without answering.

While she could agree that he was right, how was that supposed to help her?

Elion seemed to understand that, so he let her be and bent down, retrieving the borrowed longsword.

The blade was badly chipped, with several cracks running across its surface, but it had somehow remained in one piece.

He looked towards its owner in the crowd.

"I kept my promise."

The swordsman stared at the ruined weapon.

"Barely."

Elion gave him an apologetic smile.

"I will compensate you."

"You certainly will."

Laughter spread through the spectators, breaking the tense atmosphere that had settled after the duel.

Mayumi watched Elion for a moment longer before reaching for her own sword.

When she attempted to bend down, pain shot through her shoulder, forcing her to stop.

Elion picked it up instead and offered it to her.

"Thank you."

As she accepted the weapon, his golden eye briefly brightened.

"You should not train for at least three days, or at least not unless you go see a healer."

Mayumi frowned.

Zenith hurried onto the arena the moment the barrier completely disappeared.

"Can I heal her?"

Mayumi looked towards the extraordinarily beautiful woman approaching them with an almost unsettling amount of excitement.

"Yes, please!" She nodded enthusiastically.

And so, Zenith ended up doing exactly that, with the healing taking no more than a few seconds.

Mayumi stretched her limbs experimentally and was pleasantly surprised to discover that she was not only completely healed, but also felt much better than she had been before the duel.

What intrigued Elion more, however, was the fact that this was not the first time he had seen Zenith use healing magic, despite her possessing neither the light affinity normally required for it nor an innate healing ability like those who could heal without one.

He could already make a reasonable connection as to how it was possible, but decided to ask for confirmation.

"Zenith, your healing magic..." he began.

"One of the many expressions of my dark magic," she explained before he could finish.

Elion smiled pleasantly.

"Meaning you have mastered more than one expression, yet you acted surprised when I said I could do the same."

Zenith put on a thoughtful expression.

"That is because I know how difficult it is. It is almost like going against not only your own nature, but the nature of the element itself."

Her expression softened as she looked at him.

"But I suppose that if anyone can do it, it would have to be you, Lord Husband."

Elion puffed out his chest proudly at the compliment, accepting it without the slightest trace of modesty.

The sight drew a burst of laughter from Mira, Zenith, Marilyn, and Yaana.

While that was happening, Mayumi quietly excused herself.

She probably believed she had managed to slip away without anyone noticing, but Elion caught sight of her from the corner of his eye.

Honestly, the somber expression on her face made him feel a little terrible.

She had not complained even once, despite how clearly disappointed she was.

What Elion did not know was that Mayumi walked directly back to her quarters in the boarding facility owned by the alliance and cried beneath the shower while taking a bath.

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