Harem System In A fantasy World - Chapter 149: One of the pleasant ones

Chapter 149: One of the pleasant ones

Elion burst out laughing.

The sound echoed in the large lounge, breaking the heavy tension that had been sitting between them. Even Liora blinked in surprise at how suddenly he laughed.

Celeste’s cheeks turned red again.

“Why are you laughing?” she asked, clearly embarrassed.

“Nothing,” he said, still smiling. “You just looked… kind of cute.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Her cheeks puffed out in anger. She crossed her arms lightly but said nothing more.

After a moment, Elion’s laughter faded. His expression grew thoughtful as he turned his gaze toward Liora.

“I’m curious, though,” he said calmly. “Why did you come find me instead of a professor when you were in such a precarious situation?”

Liora tilted her head slightly.

“When Celeste was in that state, wouldn’t it have been safer to call a teacher?” he continued. “You can’t really trust me that much, can you? It just makes no sense.”

For a brief second, Liora’s carefree smile froze. It was small and barely noticeable. But it was there. Then it returned just as quickly.

Elion did not miss it. He was now making a point to start watching this woman much more closely.

He wasn’t going to fall for the carefree front she put up anymore. There was much more to her than meets the eye.

Call it the result of a bruised ego, maybe it was. But he was going to be watching her.

“I didn’t say I trusted you that much,” Liora replied lightly.

Elion raised a brow.

“I just trusted my judgment,” she added. “And I remembered what we talked about before.”

She looked at him directly now, her tone softer.

“When we joked about your sudden talent growth, I thought it might be connected to a powerful bloodline. When Celeste started losing control, I remembered that.”

She shrugged lightly.

“A professor might have suppressed her awakening. Or forced it down. I didn’t want that risk.”

Celeste’s eyes shifted slightly at that.

Liora continued, “You were the closest match to what she needed. A strong bloodline that wouldn’t collapse under pressure.”

Elion studied her face carefully.

“And if it didn’t work?” he asked.

Liora’s smile softened.

“Then I would have taken the blame.”

The room went quiet again. A perfectly reasonable explanation. Or a perfectly crafted excuse for something much deeper.

Celeste looked between them, her expression unreadable.

Elion leaned back slightly. “So you gambled on me,” he said.

Liora’s eyes sparkled faintly. “I did.”

He held her gaze for a moment longer.

Three percent, huh?

His lips curved faintly. He wasn’t buying it.

Interesting.

“As for what I want,” Elion continued casually as he shifted the conversation back to Celeste, “how about a lunch date in the city?”

Both girls stared at him, dumbfounded.

For a moment, it looked like they were waiting for him to say he was joking. Maybe they thought they had misheard him.

Elion, however, looked completely serious.

At the same time, he quietly activated the Love Meter on Celeste as if to confirm his thoughts.

A small blue panel appeared in his vision.

CelesteLove Meter Reading: 40% – Crush.

Perfect, he thought. So she already likes me. This should be easy.

He leaned back slightly, confident. She was already in his grasp.

“Absolutely not,” Celeste said immediately.

There was no hesitation. She didn’t even pause to think!

“Ask for something else.”

Elion blinked. “Huh?” He genuinely looked confused.

Just seconds ago, the system had clearly shown forty percent. That wasn’t small. That was a crush. A solid one.

And yet she rejected him so fast it felt like she had been waiting to say no.

Liora looked between the two of them with interest, clearly enjoying the shift in mood.

Elion frowned slightly. This makes no sense.

One girl was bright, cheerful, and easy to talk to, but she was barely interested in him, with a three percent reading, despite spending plenty of time together.

The other was clearly romantically interested at forty percent, and coldly rejected a simple lunch date without even batting an eye.

These women are confusing, he thought.

Celeste crossed her arms lightly, trying to regain her calm expression.

“I said ask for something reasonable,” she added.

Elion stared at her.

“A lunch date isn’t reasonable?” he asked.

“It is unnecessary,” she replied coolly.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. So she likes me… but refuses a date? Elion let out a quiet sigh.

“Okay, fine,” he said. “I can’t think of anything right now. How about you give me time to think about it?”

Celeste looked relieved that he wasn’t pushing the matter further.

“No problem,” she replied calmly.

The tension eased a little after that. The air in the room no longer felt as heavy, and Liora leaned back into the couch more comfortably.

Elion looked down at himself.

Right.

He was still wearing nothing but a towel.

“I can’t exactly walk all the way to the first floor like this,” he muttered dryly.

Liora blinked and looked him up and down before quickly looking away.

“That would certainly… attract attention,” she said.

Celeste cleared her throat.

“Liora,” she said evenly, “why don’t you go to his dorm and fetch him a change of clothes?”

Liora looked between them suspiciously for a second.

“You’re not planning anything weird while I’m gone, are you?” she asked.

Elion raised a brow. “You’re the one who dragged me into a boiling bath situation.”

“Fair,” she admitted.

Elion walked back to the bath where his clothes were hung to dry, reached into his pocket where he had placed his key earlier, came back, and handed it to her.

“You know the room number.” He said casually

Liora took the key and stood up.

“I’ll be quick.”

As soon as the door closed behind her, the room became quiet again.

Celeste remained seated for a second, then slowly stood up.

She cleared her throat softly.

“Elion,” she said.

He looked at her.

Her usual calm expression had returned, but there was a faint blush creeping up her pale cheeks again.

“I… have something to tell you.”

Her fingers tightened slightly at her sides as she gathered her courage. It was clear she had been holding this in. She stood there for a moment, trying to steady herself.

Her fingers tightened slightly at the hem of her nightgown before she finally spoke.

“When a female vampire marks a man…” she began slowly, her voice calm but softer than usual, “it is not something trivial.”

Elion stayed quiet and watched her carefully.

“The mark is not just a bite,” she continued. “It is a claim. An instinctual bond formed during heightened states—especially during bloodline awakenings.”

Her blush deepened slightly, but she forced herself to continue.

“When I bit you, I did not just feed. My bloodline recognized yours as a compatible anchor. In that moment, the mark became sealed.”

Elion’s face remained calm.

Inside, however, he was slowly brightening up.

“A marked male,” Celeste explained, “is considered… bound. Not publicly or formally. But within vampire customs, it means he is acknowledged as a chosen partner.”

She swallowed lightly. “Until the mark is cleansed.”

Elion tilted his head slightly. “Cleansed?” He didn’t like the sound of that. Why couldn’t it be permanent!?

She nodded.

“The mark does not disappear on its own. It can only be removed in the ancestral lands of the vampire clan. There is a ritual site there that can dissolve it.”

She looked away briefly.

“Until then… You are, by our traditions… my unofficial mate.”

The words hung in the air.

Elion kept his expression neutral, thoughtful.

Inside?

He was very excited.

So he had unknowingly become the mate to a young Ancestor-level vampire.

And the only way to undo it was to travel to some ancient vampire homeland and perform a ritual.

Who was complaining?

He sure wasn’t.

Celeste, meanwhile, couldn’t seem to figure out where to look. Her eyes darted to the floor, to the wall, anywhere but him.

Finally, she forced herself to glance up.

And what she saw made her pause.

Elion was smiling. “It’s not so bad, is it?” he said casually.

Celeste blinked.

She had expected shock. Maybe anger. Possibly frustration.

Instead, he looked almost…entertained?

Her blush deepened again.

“You… are taking this far too lightly,” she muttered, though there was no real heat behind her words.

Elion shrugged slightly.

“I’ve had worse things happen to me. Trust me, this is one of the more pleasant ones. I don’t mind it in the least.” He paused before adding shamelessly, “I don’t mind settling for being your man.”

Celeste stared at him. It took her a few seconds to understand his thought process. Was he… flirting with her?

This man… was impossible!