Gacha Harem System

A/N: Special thanks to Moonman2633 for the castle, and just as promised, we’re getting a 3 Chapters mass release. Here’s the first Chapter. The remaining two will be here in a few hours. Enjoy!

***

A few hours had passed, and now, two men were seated in the lounge, discussing among themselves.

Barlas poured the wine himself, filling both their cups, a small gesture that Le Fay noticed, as Barlas had known he would.

"I was thinking about this city on the journey here," Le Fay said, leaning back in his chair as if he was the homeowner and Barlas was the guest.

"I came here when I was young. I’m sure you still remember, don’t you?" He picked up his glass of wine, swirling it. "You were still an Awakener then. What were you, nineteen?"

"Eighteen," Barlas said.

"If I remember correctly, you placed second in the Prodigy Tournament that year." Le Fay pointed at him. "I remember thinking the whole thing was quite fun. You were furious about it."

Barlas laughed despite himself. "I was. Though I’ve since made peace with it."

"Second in Havenhart is nothing to be ashamed of." Le Fay smiled. "Most people never get close."

"Of course." Barlas gave a polite smile.

Silence filled the air for a moment before he set his glass down, deciding to take the plunge.

"I’ll be honest with you. When Rollo told me who was leading the delegation, I was surprised." He kept his tone free of any insinuations.

"You’re the City Lord’s brother. The Le Fay family has governed Salaria for three generations."

He lifted his gaze to look at his guest directly. "Apologies, but this doesn’t sound like a routine visit."

Le Fay smiled over the rim of his glass. "Can’t an old friend come to see how a city he’s fond of is doing?"

"An old friend, certainly." Barlas returned the smile without letting it reach his eyes. "Three Adepts for a routine visit to a Tier 5 city, though."

He tilted his head slightly. "That’s a considerable investment of travel for nostalgia."

Le Fay was quiet for a moment. He finally sighed, before setting his glass down on the side table.

"The Brotherhood," he said, "has been pushing into Sovereign territory."

Barlas said nothing, but his brows rose in response.

"One of our cities took a significant hit three weeks ago. We lost people, and important infrastructure. The damage is being managed, but we got the message they were trying to pass."

Le Fay turned away to stare at the view outside the floor to ceiling windows.

"They’re no longer content with staying in the shadows."

Barlas leaned back in his chair and turned to the window.

He knew who the Brotherhood were, of course. Or to be more precise, the Fated Brotherhood.

The group had existed for as long as anyone in the lower floors could remember, with some saying they were even older than the Sovereign.

After the generally negative reception towards them, they moved their operations to the darkness, spreading their doctrine quietly among the desperate and the disillusioned.

They believed the Tower had been built as a punishment. A cage constructed by forces beyond understanding to hold every living being until the sentence was carried out.

They also held on to the belief that the world outside the Tower was already gone, and that the greatest mercy they could give everyone else was to end their misery.

Or in clearer terms, kill everyone in the Tower and end the ’punishment.’

They were, essentially, a doomsday cult. And they operated primarily within Sovereign territory.

Which included Havenhart.

The Sovereignty was the largest organized faction across the lower floors. They consisted of multiple races and had the largest number of cities under their control.

They presented themselves as the civilized option, encouraging order, law, and diplomacy.

But Barlas knew they were just as ruthless as everyone else. They were simply better at hiding it behind peaceful smiles.

He knew this because he was part of their system. Havenhart sat within their control and he had made his peace with that a long time ago.

But trust was a different matter altogether.

He trusted the Sovereignty the same amount he trusted anyone, which was to say, not at all. He didn’t trust Le Fay, and definitely not the City Lord of Salaria.

After all, no matter how many factions spring up, or what alignment a person has, every individual is still fighting for themselves.

That was the way the Tower was designed. And he doubted that would change anytime soon.

It didn’t take him long to arrive at three conclusions though.

The first was that Le Fay was here to keep an eye on him, and gauge where he stood.

Barlas’s neutrality was known within their circles, and that made some people uneasy.

Havenhart was small enough and far enough from the centers of power that plenty of people were willing to leave him to his own devices, but being small and far didn’t mean he was invisible.

And the Sovereignty had always been suspicious of anyone who operated outside their orbit without declaring whom they stood by.

Neutrality, to an organization that large, looked uncomfortably close to independence.

If it looked like he’d defected, or was working against them, Barlas knew Le Fay wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

The second was that Le Fay was here to look for Brotherhood presence in Havenhart.

If any had taken root here, maybe using the city as a staging ground, or sheltering their agents within its population, the Sovereignty would act on that information.

And Barlas had no illusions about what that action would look like.

The Sovereignty would not wait to hear if he knew about them or not. If he was on their side or not. They’d immediately erase his existence from the world.

After all, the two Adepts currently resting in their rooms were not here to sightsee. They were insurance against whatever might be found.

Le Fay himself was more than capable of handling most threats alone.

The man was an S-rank Adept, and the only reason he hadn’t advanced to Elite was because Salaria needed his presence more than the Third Floor needed another Climber.

The third reason was probably recruitment.

The Brotherhood moving openly meant the Sovereignty needed soldiers. Capable ones.

A tournament happening in a satellite city, producing promising new Awakeners, was not a coincidence Le Fay would ignore.

Barlas rubbed his eyes slowly and set his glass down.

He thought, not for the first time, about resigning.

About the day he would finally step back from being City Lord of Havenhart and begin the long climb towards Elite himself.

Maybe then, he’d finally be free of factions and obligations. Maybe he’d finally become what he wanted, a lone wolf, accountable to nothing except the Tower itself.

He suspected that day was still far away.

"I do have a bit of a personal favor to ask," Le Fay said, regaining Barlas’s attention.

The City Lord blinked, turning to look at the delegate, his curiosity bleeding into his expression despite himself.

"Oh?" he said.

What could the powerful Lord of Salaria possibly want from him?