Harem System In A fantasy World - Chapter 122: What do they want?

Chapter 122: What do they want?

Just as Elion stepped toward the door with Ophelia and Esmeralda at his sides, a group of five men shifted from near the entrance and blocked their path.

They were poorly dressed and rough around the edges. Their eyes slid lustfully over the two women, open and shamelessly. One of them let out a low whistle as he eyed the two women up and down.

“Well, well,” the largest of them said, cracking his knuckles. “Hey, kid, how about you leave the ladies with us?”

The others snickered, all of them stepping wider to cut off any easy escape.

“You may be good-looking,” another added mockingly, “but they’re obviously more than what you can handle. Let your big brothers have this one. We’ll let you walk away with all your limbs intact.”

The laughter grew louder.

Elion didn’t react immediately. He simply looked them over, his gaze calm and measuring. His eyes moved quickly from one to the next, assessing their posture.

The strongest among them barely reached level fifteen. The others were worse. Pitiful. Not even worth his breath.

Behind him, Ophelia gave a soft gasp and stepped closer. Esmeralda mirrored her, both of them subtly shifting behind Elion’s shoulders.

To the five men, it looked like fear, which made them all the more eager. To Elion, it was anything but. He could feel it.

The faint ripple of killing intent they barely concealed. The disdain in their eyes. These women were not frightened prey—they were predators pretending to be cornered.

It was clear that they wanted him to deal with these unsavoury characters.

He sighed quietly. So they want me to handle this.

Seriously. These two are proving to be more trouble than they’re worth.

He had no desire to waste effort brawling with fools who thought with their cocks rather than their heads.

So he didn’t.

Elion let a thin strand of directed killing intent slip from him.

A weak wave, just enough to overwhelm weak men like them. It was controlled, focused, and directed only at the five men before him, so that none of the people seated inside would feel it.

The effect was immediate. Their laughter died mid-breath.

Their faces drained of color as something ancient and suffocating pressed against their minds.

The leader’s knees buckled first. The others followed, collapsing to the ground as if strings had been cut. They trembled violently, hands clawing at the stone as cold sweat poured down their backs.

The tavern entrance fell silent.

Conversations stopped. Tankards froze mid-air. Every pair of eyes in the vicinity turned toward the scene in absolute shock.

The five men lay sprawled on the ground, shaking like frightened animals, unable to even meet Elion’s gaze.

Elion looked down at them without emotion.

“Move,” he said flatly.

They scrambled weakly to the side, dragging themselves away from his path.

He stepped past them without another word.

“Let’s go.”

Ophelia and Esmeralda followed smoothly behind him, their earlier discomfort gone as if it had never existed. As they walked past the trembling men, their eyes flickered, as if nodding in approval.

Behind them, the tavern remained in stunned silence.

They walked a short distance away from the tavern before Ophelia broke the silence.

“That was impressive,” she said softly, her voice light and smooth. “You didn’t even move.”

Esmeralda smiled faintly. “I can see that you are only a novice mage, and yet you crushed them without lifting a finger. Truly remarkable.”

Elion kept walking at the same steady pace. It reassured him that these mysterious women did not seem to be able to see through his true strength.

“They were weak,” he replied simply. “It wasn’t impressive.”

Ophelia moved a little closer to his side. “Even so, the control you showed… most people with that kind of power would have made a scene to impress us.”

“Yes,” Esmeralda added. “You didn’t even let the others inside feel it. Such precision.” She looked at him with what seemed like admiration. “You’re far stronger than you appear.”

I could say the same.

Elion gave a small smile.

It was a calm, polite, but distant smile.

He had heard such praise many times in these last few weeks. It was hollow.

“You two weren’t scared,” he said casually, glancing at them.

Ophelia blinked, then smiled again. “Of course we were.”

“No,” he said lightly. “You weren’t.”

Esmeralda’s eyes flickered for a brief second before she laughed softly. “You noticed.”

“You wanted me to handle it,” he continued. “You could have ended them yourselves.”

Ophelia tilted her head. “Perhaps. But where is the fun in that?”

“And,” Esmeralda added smoothly, “it is reassuring to walk with someone capable.”

Elion’s smile remained, but it did not deepen. He wasn’t buying it.

Esmeralda studied him quietly for a few steps. “You don’t trust easily.”

“No,” Elion replied.

Silence settled again, but it was different now. Less playful. More aware.

“But then, why did you choose to come with us anyway?”

“I have my reasons.”

Ophelia eventually gave a small shrug when she realised he wasn’t going to say any more than that. “Even so, you handled it beautifully.”

Elion let out a quiet breath through his nose.

“If you say so.”

He didn’t deny it. He didn’t accept it either.

They continued walking through the lantern-lit street, the sound of their steps steady against the stone.

Behind him, the two women exchanged a subtle glance.

After that, Elion allowed Ophelia and Esmeralda to take the lead. He walked half a step behind them, his hands loosely at his sides, expression calm, but his mind anything but relaxed.

They moved in relative silence. The area was very busy, and of course, they drew attention more than once or twice.

Eventually, the lively district slowly gave way to wider streets and cleaner stone paths. The buildings grew taller, their architecture more refined.

The air itself seemed fresher and quieter, less chaotic. Guards in polished armor patrolled at measured intervals, and carriages with noble crests rolled past without dust or noise.

Elion didn’t need to ask.

They were heading toward the upper district.

Just as I thought.

These women were not ordinary. Not even close. Which only made the situation stranger.

What exactly do they want?

He glanced at Ophelia’s back as she walked ahead of him, her long black dress flowing elegantly with each step. Even from behind, her posture radiated confidence and control. Esmeralda walked beside her, slightly quieter but equally composed.

Were they interested in him because of his looks?

That seemed too shallow.