After Sol and his companion left the now vanished or rather erased Goblin’s nest, Sol was laying down and admiring the flowing scenery. His head was resting on Milia's smooth thighs and she was currently cleaning his ears, causing him to twitch sometimes from the pleasure and relief he felt in this soothing gesture.
The way she handled his ear was like a pro and the calming aura she emitted reminded him of the days when Milia took care of him as a kid.
This time, the one driving the chariot was Medea instead. Persephone was teasing her sister as she instructed her how to move forward and how to control the horses with just her aura alone.
Meanwhile, Setsuna was gently wiping her sword with a cleaning cloth while sitting on the back with them. As a knight, it was her responsibility to maintain her weapon of choice and she took it rather seriously, ever-stoic as she was.
All around them were beautiful large trees, the odor of nature, and the sounds of small animals that registered in their ears and calmed them down.
Sol sighed in contentment at this.
He may not have obtained the super exciting adventure he had been dreaming of, but the current situation was not bad at all.
He could say that it was even better than the stressful and rigorous scenarios that he had been imagining in his mind.
This was a rare moment of absolute peace for him. No hurry because of the danger of death incoming, no having to plot to face the rebellion in his kingdom or fight against a world-ending threat, and even less running against the clock to save someone dear to him.
As for the war against Wratharis, the only thing Sol cared about was how to diminish the human losses that they would sustain.
While nothing was impossible in this world, the chances of Lustburg losing were so low that if they did lose Sol would have nothing to say about it. As he was a Duke rank and ‘only the crown prince’, he had absolutely no restrictions when it came to participating on the battlefield.
He doubted anyone but a King could defeat Lilin and Milia and while Isis couldn’t use her powers as a necromancer, she was still a Duke-ranked Phoenix in her own right.
To this, he could add Sheherazade and even Nefertiti into the mix. Two people who could affect the entire battlefield with their broken abilities.
Finally, while Setsuna was not a Duke yet, she was stronger than many Dukes and could hold her own without losing to the rest so there was nothing wrong with their side.
And what if Wratharis upped their hands and brought the King ranked instead?
Well— technically speaking, Lilith was also still a King rank being still, so they could just unleash her into the battlefield and let her slaughter everyone in her path with her sword. That would make everything much easier for them.
‘I hope I didn’t trigger a flag here.’
Sol laughed quietly at himself. Even if he did trigger a flag, even if something big happened, they still had Ambrosia on their backs.
The flags could go fuck themselves for all he cared. [1]
Slowly, Sol's breathing became even and he drifted off to sleep. It was something that would be hard to do normally after his training in Tartarus where he had to be constantly on the lookout for any and all sorts of danger.
But right now, right here, he was just surrounded by his loved ones. People he knew he could trust with his life. And that was enough for him to let himself drift off to the peaceful realm of sleep.
———
When Sol’s breathing completely settled down, Medea waved her hand and covered him with a temporal shield to block off all sounds that could disturb him from his nap while Persephone filled the zone with the power of life to help him have a good sleep that would fully energize his tired mind.
Milia smiled quietly as she passed her hand through Sol’s hair. She had seen the young man on her lap slowly grow and become a reliable and strong pillar for his Kingdom. But in moments like this, as he simply fell asleep, she could once again see the shadow of the boy she once pampered and raised with her own hands.
The four women were silent. Each of them focused on their thoughts. Without Sol working as a lubricant, it was quite hard for them to have any meaningful discussion of their own.
Persephone and Medea represented one side, while Setsuna and Milia represented a second and third sides.
It was quite awkward, to say the least, and the first one to speak about this was Milia. the assassin herself.
“So, my dear friends. I believe we should use this occasion to become closer to each other. What do you think?”
It was one thing to remember but, just because they all loved Sol did not means they liked each other. In fact, during the whole travel until now, they had barely spoken to each other other than when needed.
Even so, they were willing to make the effort necessary to keep the peace and harmony in the harem. Thankfully, while they did not like each other very much, they did not hate each other either. So it was easy to keep things cordial between the girls.
“Do you want to propose another one of your contracts?”
Milia gave a calm smile at Medea’s words. “In the past, I trusted none of you. After all, I am quite weak when it comes down to it. I had to take measures to make sure to protect myself and avoid unnecessary bloodshed in the future.”
Before Sol went to the Astral Realm, they had all signed what amounted to a non-aggression pact between them. In Milia’s opinion, there was nothing wrong with what she did and she did not regret her actions a single bit.
“But now, I believe some amount of trust has formed between us.”
Persephone smiled quietly. It was oh so interesting to her. How the one with the lowest origin and influence was the one giving the orders. But even then, Persephone listened to them. Her relationship with Sol was extremely ambiguous, to say the least. But this didn’t mean that she wanted out of it. She was fond of the boy in her own way.
In the few months she had known Sol, he had provided more excitement in her life than anyone before. All the stories she witnessed with him as a protagonist were colorful and epic like no other.
“So, what do you propose?”
“Simple. Let’s be friends, everyone. I believe this would be a good first step for our future together.”
She spoke candidly. Milia understood that a relationship based on a contract was too frail. What she needed were solid bonds. A more friendly relationship. One based on love and trust.
“Soon we will have our first night in the woods. I believe all of you know His Highness’ strong libido, right?”
Setsuna looked up quietly when she felt Milia’s gaze on her. “Why don’t we do it like this? Let’s leave the first night to both the oldest and the youngest.”
She said so as she looked alternatively between Setsuna and Persephone.
Milia’s relationship with Camelia became slightly closer after the experience they shared with Sol.
Few things could help create bonds faster than barring your body and soul while making love to the man you gave your everything to.
Setsuna blushed and Persephone laughed out loud.
“You… I already like you very much.”
Persephone’s laughter soon stopped as she felt the ring that was attached to a necklace around her neck.
This was the accessory created by Sol. The one that would allow her to have a close relationship without actually worrying about sucking her partner dry.
It seemed like it was time to give it a try.
“I…”
Setsuna, however, became a little fidgety with that remark. After all, she could not have full intercourse with Sol yet.
She wanted to speak but Milia gave her a meaningful glance toward her, “I know about the preparations you made after what happened when you visited the Milaris house with Sol.” [2]
Setsuna groaned and covered her face in shame and humiliation…
“I will kill those maids with my own hands.”
“Hahaha. Don’t blame them. Anyway, it’s time to see if the preparations were good, right?”
Setsuna wished she could simply hide in a crack beneath the earth. But at the same time… She could only nod helplessly.
After all — She was indeed interested.
[1]: That moment when you realize you leveled yourself and your party so much that 70% of the known world became an easy mode.
[2]: SHK CH 90
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