Harem System In A fantasy World

"What should we do, then?" Uta asked seriously. "From what you’ve explained, I understand that we’re basically stuck here, with no clear way to leave."

Elion nodded. "Basically. We have no way of knowing what this person wants from us, but considering everything that led us here, they’re almost certainly an enemy. However, I still think we should try to leave. Perhaps I’m being paranoid, and we aren’t trapped after all."

"And what are the chances that you’re wrong?" Cole asked.

Elion gave him a pale smile. "Very unlikely. Everything fits together too well. I should commend this person; they’re quite thorough. Even though I’m sure they could overpower us through strength alone, they’ve still gone to all this trouble."

He shrugged, letting out a dry laugh. "But who knows? Maybe this is all just a game to them."

"In any case, we should assume this person is an enemy and that staying here means certain death," he continued. "With that in mind, I’d like us to sneak back to the entrance and see whether we can make a quiet escape. We’ll all have to go together, since we don’t want to leave anyone behind if it turns out we can get through."

"And the guards?" Cole asked.

"We’ll have to get past them," Elion replied.

He could deal with two armed men easily enough, assuming they were anything like the ordinary inhabitants he had appraised.

The problem was what might happen the instant either of them saw him approaching with his sword drawn. If their eyes truly belonged to the master, even a brief struggle could announce their intentions.

"I can check where they’re standing," Cole offered. "There might be another way out of the building."

"Stay inside," Maya said immediately. "Look for a rear stairway or another exit, but come back if you run into anyone."

Cole nodded and rose, moving toward the door that connected the sitting area to their rooms. Elion watched him go before turning back toward Maya.

"What about the ceiling?" Yaana asked, speaking for the first time since he had explained his suspicions. "Big Bro Elion can fly. If the entrance won’t let us through, couldn’t we go up instead?"

Her suggestion drew everyone’s eyes toward him.

"I can look," he replied. "But I don’t know how much stone is above us, and I doubt the barrier only covers the entrance."

Maya nodded slowly. "We’ll keep that as an option. For now, we use the route we know."

Uta had remained beside the wall, his arms folded and his expression unusually severe. When he finally spoke, his gaze moved toward the room where Eva slept.

"What are we doing with her?"

Elion followed his eyes.

The little girl was the reason they had found this place, and perhaps the means through which their arrival had been reported before the elderly woman ever approached them.

Elion understood what Uta was suggesting, of course.

However, taking her along might allow the master to follow every step of their escape.

Leaving her behind meant returning her to the people who had banished her into the ruins, but this was no time to be sentimental.

To him, the fact that she had been eating a decaying corpse alone was a clear indication that she was a broken soul.

Was there any hope for her? He wasn’t sure, but he hadn’t suddenly become so attached to her that he would risk everyone else to rescue her.

Perhaps she had been bait for wandering travellers. Although it had been his questions that led them here, he no longer believed their meeting was a mere coincidence.

What he felt for her was closer to pity, and even that wasn’t enough to make him take such a risk. His first priority was ensuring that everyone in his cohort made it out alive.

"She didn’t do this on purpose," Nora said, looking between them. "She doesn’t even understand what’s happening."

"No one said she did," Mayumi replied gently. "But the thread is still attached to her."

Nora gazed down at the floor with a conflicted expression.

Her words only made the decision harder for them. Elion pressed his fingers against his brow and closed his eyes for a moment, considering their options while the others watched him.

At some point during this whole mess, he had more or less taken over the lead from Maya.

No one had objected, since the situation had called for it, and none of them seemed to blame him for following Eva here, despite that decision being what had landed them in trouble.

Still, as far as Elion was concerned, getting them out alive was now his responsibility. To that end, it would be better for everyone if they left the inhabitants of this place behind, Eva included.

"We leave her here," Elion said at last.

Nora’s head snapped up, and he thought she might object for a moment. Her gaze moved toward the adjoining room before returning to him, but whatever she had been about to say remained unspoken.

"The thread is attached to her," he continued. "We don’t know what exactly it does, how much information it gives the master, or whether removing it would hurt her. Taking her with us could put everyone at risk."

Mayumi lowered her eyes, and so did Uta. Elion understood their reluctance, but understanding it didn’t make him any more willing to gamble their lives.

He had already made one disastrous decision.

He wasn’t going to make another simply because the first had left him feeling guilty.

Maya nodded slowly. "Then we need to move before someone comes to check on us."

Elion looked toward the window, its curtains concealing the square beyond.

He let his perspective shift, limiting the reach of his eyes to the building and its immediate surroundings.

The two guards remained at the front.

One had rested against a pillar beneath the overhang, while the other stood near the entrance with his weapon upright beside him. Inside, the woman who had brought their food was sitting behind the counter, her head lowered over something in her hands.

The rear courtyard appeared empty.

At least, it was empty for now.

"Elion."

Cole’s voice drew him back to the sitting room. The scout had returned through the adjoining doorway, and his expression offered the first small piece of encouragement Elion had seen since they began discussing their escape.

"There’s a narrow staircase at the back," he reported. "It leads to a courtyard between this building and the next. The gate isn’t locked, and I couldn’t see anyone outside."

"Where does it lead?"

"A side street. We’ll have to go around the neighbouring houses to get back toward the entrance, but it should keep us away from the guards."

Elion nodded. "Then that’s our way out."

They gathered their belongings without wasting another moment, and whatever they had taken from their storage spaces was quickly put away again. The abandoned bread and tea remained on the table, untouched beneath the feeble glow of the lamps.

Nora was the last to return from Eva’s room.

"She’s still asleep," she said quietly.

Elion gave a small nod, then turned toward the rear passage before his thoughts could wander to the little girl again. There would be time to think about her once the people depending on him were safe.

Maya closed her fingers around the talisman. Its light faded, and the silencing barrier dissolved, allowing the faint sounds of the building to return around them.