Harem System In A fantasy World

The answer was simple and almost childish, yet somehow, the way Zenith said it made the room quiet. She looked down at her own hand for a moment.

"When I was among demons, touching someone was rarely gentle. Hands were used to strike, restrain, tear, claim, or kill."

Tessa’s teasing expression faded, replaced by a rare serious expression, perhaps intrigued to hear sentimental words from someone of Zenith’s strength.

"When Hubby holds my hand, he does not do it because he is afraid I will run away, or because he wants to control me. He does it because he wants me beside him." Her smile softened. "I like that very much."

Mira’s expression became gentle. "That is a beautiful answer."

Zenith smiled, "Thank you."

Tessa muttered, "Now anything the rest of us say is going to sound stupid."

Mira’s gaze immediately slid toward her. "Then perhaps you should go next."

Tessa froze. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

Mira smiled. "Tessa, please cooperate."

"I said no."

"You are lying on the bed kicking your feet like a child while pretending you do not have anything to say, but I’m sure you do."

Tessa lifted her head and glared. "I am not kicking my feet like a child." Her feet stopped moving on their own.

Aria glanced down. "You were."

Tessa looked betrayed. "Not you too."

Aria looked away. "What?" She asked, dumbfounded, "It was obvious."

Mira giggled softly.

Tessa sighed. "Fine, I’ll go next! Happy?" She asked, " But I will only say one thing."

Mira nodded gracefully. "We are listening."

Tessa turned her face slightly toward the mattress, clearly not wanting to look at any of them directly. "I like that he does not treat protection like pity."

Tessa voice became lower. "When he stands in front of someone, it is not because he thinks they are useless, it is because he decided they matter. There is a difference."

Mira’s smile softened as Tessa continued.

"I hate feeling weak. I hate needing help, and I hate when people act like helping you means they are above you."

Her fingers curled slightly into the bedding.

"Elion is annoying, shameless, and far too pleased with himself, but when he protects you, it does not feel like he is looking down on you." She paused. "It feels like he is saying you are worth protecting."

Mira smiled softly. "That was very sweet."

Tessa’s ears reddened. "It was not."

"It was."

"It was just an answer."

"A sweet answer."

Tessa dropped her face back into the bed. "Fuck! I regret participating."

Zenith smiled brightly. "Sister Tessa is cute."

"I am not your sister."

"Yet?"

Tessa turned her head sharply. "Please do not learn from Mira."

Mira placed a hand over her chest. "I am a wonderful influence."

Aria muttered, "That is debatable."

Mira turned her gaze toward Aria, and Aria stiffened. "No."

"I have not asked."

"You were going to."

Mira’s smile softened, "Only if you want to go next."

Aria stared at her for a moment. Then she looked down at the pillow in her arms. "Fine," She sighed.

It didn’t take a lot to convince her, probably because it was about Elion. She began speaking softly. "I like that he came back," she said quietly, her fingers tightening around the pillow.

"When he disappeared, everyone told me to calm down. Mira said he was strong, and that we should just wait." Her voice grew softer. "But each day, waiting felt like dying slowly."

Tessa lifted her head again, this time without any teasing. Isla watched Aria with a faint ache in her expression, and Mira remained silent.

Aria swallowed. "So I like that he came back. I like that he did not forget me. I like that even after changing so much, even after becoming something I barely understand, he still held me like I belonged with him." Her cheeks flushed. "And I like his warmth."

Zenith nodded seriously. "Hubby is very warm." Aria looked up and met Zenith’s eyes. They shared a brief understanding gaze before Aria looked away first, embarrassed.

"Do not make it strange"

Zenith tilted her head. "I did not."

Tessa muttered, "You kind of did, but it was sweet."

Aria glared at her.

Mira wisely decided to spare Aria for the moment and turned toward Isla. "Would you like to say something too, Isla?"

Isla’s shoulders stiffened slightly. "Me?"

"Only if you want to," Mira said gently.

Isla lowered her gaze to her hands. For a while, she seemed unsure.

Slowly, she unfolded her fingers. The calluses on her palms caught the soft light. "I like that Elion looked at my hands and did not think they were ugly, even as he held onto them."

Isla smiled faintly, though there was a trace of sadness in it. "In my world, people liked to call me princess. They expected soft hands, pretty hands. Hands that looked nice when holding flowers, letters, or a teacup."

Her thumb brushed across one of the rougher marks on her palm.

"But I liked crafting, I liked metal, tools, heat, enchantment quills, and the feeling of making something real. Something useful. So its not surprising that my hands became rough and calloused over time."

Her voice became gentler.

"When Elion saw my work, he did not praise it because I was a princess. He looked at it properly. He asked questions, and he listened when I answered." She smiled shyly. "He made me feel like what I loved mattered."

Zenith smiled. "Hubby is good at seeing people."

Isla nodded with a smile. "Yes."

Mira smiled as well. "He is." But then everyone looked at her.

Mira blinked. "What?"

Tessa raised a brow. "You started this."

Aria nodded. "Your turn."

Mira smiled as though she had expected this. "My, how demanding of you."

"You deserve it," Aria said.

Mira laughed softly, then let her gaze drift toward the window. "What I like about Elion," she said at last, "is that he does not make possession feel like a cage."

Tessa frowned slightly.

"My father called control protection. He tied my hands and said it was for my own good. He wanted obedience and dressed it up as family duty."

Her fingers lightly touched her wrist where the rope had been. "Elion is possessive. We all know this, but when Elion says I belong to him, it does not feel the same. He wants me close, yes. He wants to claim me, yes, but he also wants me to choose him. He wants me to stand beside him, not kneel quietly behind him."

Her voice softened. "He freed my hands before anything else. That is what I like." For a while, no one said anything.

Aria muttered, "Your father was wrong."

Mira looked at her. Aria’s face was slightly red, but her gaze was surprisingly serious for once. "He should not have tied you up like that."

Tessa nodded. "Yes, that was low of him."

Zenith smiled gently, but her words were not gentle at all. "If he does it again, I can remove his hands."

Zenith blinked innocently.

"What?" Tessa slowly sat up. "You cannot just say that so casually Zenith."

Zenith tilted her head. "But it would solve the problem."

Mira’s lips twitched. "It would create several new ones."

Zenith considered that. "Then I will wait for permission."

Mira looked as though she wanted to say permission granted, but she held herself back. Tessa noticed and stared at her. "Do not encourage her."

The conversation continued like that, moving between warmth and teasing, between awkward honesty and ridiculous remarks that only made sense because Elion was somehow involved.

They spoke about his worst habits next. Aria immediately said his worst habit was how he seemed to have some sort of unkown object built into his body to unnecessarily attract women wherever he went.

Tessa said it was flirting at the worst possible times, and pretending that it was completely normal.

Mira said it was how he had an almost inextinguishable stamina especially when it came to bedroom activities. Isla quietly said he sometimes forgot that people worried about him.

Zenith said his worst habit was changing clothes too often. Tessa dropped her face into the bed again with a tired yawn. "Of course."

Mira laughed until her shoulders shook.

Zenith looked between them. "What? It is true."

"No, it is not," Tessa said into the blanket.

"It is to me, every time I saw him, he seemed to rip clothes apart for fun just so he could put on a fresh set." She tried to explain, but it didn’t seem like anyone was particularly interested in this particular story of hers.

After a long talking session that lasted well into the dead of night, filled with giggles and chuckles that slowly faded away into tired mumbles, it wasn’t long before Zenith realised that everyone else had fallen asleep.

Even Mira had dozed off wile sitting on the chair. Their breaths gradually became slow and even, as they slowly fell deep into slumber.

With a heavy sigh, Zenith’s copy slowly dissolved into nothingness. Considering the activities her main body was up to, maintaining a physical was becoming more and more difficult.