Harem System In A fantasy World - Chapter 283: No right to refuse

Chapter 283: No right to refuse

Elion followed a few steps behind her, his bare feet meeting the cold stone floor as he stepped out of the room, the faint echo of his movements mixing with the soft, rhythmic sound of her heels clicking against the ground ahead of him.

The corridor outside was just as dim as the room he had woken up in, lined with the same jagged stone walls and faintly flickering torches that cast long, shifting shadows along the path.

Elion’s eyes moved subtly as he walked, taking everything in: the length of the corridor, the spacing between the torches, the lack of guards, the silence… it was all strange.

He narrowed his eyes slightly as his gaze settled on her back, watching the way she moved so attractively, and so confidently, like she had nothing to fear in this place.

He could tell with a simple glance that she was powerful, despite her apparent youthful appearance, which was exactly why he had no thoughts of putting up any sort of fuss right now; there was no point in acting recklessly when he didn’t even know what he was dealing with.

The real question was… how powerful?

His eyes narrowed slightly as he focused, activating his discerning eye as he ’attempted’ to peer into her strength. And then, his vision went completely dark in an instant.

His senses cut off for a split second, disoriented, and before he could react properly, his footing slipped.

Thud…

He tripped and fell forward, catching himself awkwardly on the ground.

A soft, amused laugh reached his ears.

“It’s not nice to peek at a lady without asking you know?” she said lightly.

Elion pushed himself up quickly, his expression tightening slightly from embarrassment.

“Fuck…” he muttered under his breath.

’How powerful is this woman!?’

Nothing seemed to be going well for him recently. Why did it feel like his abilities were suddenly useless?

And what she said, did that mean she would let him know what her level was if he asked nicely?

“Don’t stress your mind over it,” she added casually, as if reading his thoughts, “I’m just far stronger than you could ever imagine, so don’t even try anything funny.”

Even so…

Her warning was simply lighthearted, giving off the idea that she wouldn’t even care even if he put up any sort of fuss.

She began walking forward again, and Elion got up quickly and followed, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“Nice place you’ve got,” he said dryly after a few moments, “do you treat all your guests like this?”

She didn’t stop walking. But he saw her shoulders rise slightly, and a soft laugh escaped her.

“You’re quite bold for someone who was just at death’s door,” she replied casually.

Elion clicked his tongue lightly.

“Hard not to be,” he said, “after being chained up for weeks without so much as a ’hello’.”

She hummed faintly.

“Mm… I suppose I should apologise again,” she said, though there was no real weight behind her words, “but as I said, I was busy.”

Elion rolled his eyes slightly, though she couldn’t see it from where she was.

“Yeah, you mentioned,” he muttered. “Still not going to tell me who you are?” he asked again.

She slowed slightly this time. Just enough for him to notice. Then she turned her head just a little, her black and crimson eyes glancing back at him over her shoulder, “I already told you,” she said softly, “I’m no one important.”

“Right.” Elion snorted…

She wasn’t fooling anyone with that.

“If you’re not going to tell me who you are, can you at least give me a name?” Elion decided to try a different approach.

“Hm…” she hummed, looking up at the ceiling for a moment as if actually considering it, “isn’t that the same thing though?”

“Technically not,” Elion countered, keeping his gaze on her, “I can see that you are a demon, and from what was said before, you are participating in the war; my question was directed at asking what your position in the demon king’s army is, not your name.”

He paused briefly before continuing.

“Now I am asking for your name, that isn’t difficult, no?” He asked with a casual shrug, “I don’t believe I am asking too much.”

She smiled lightly as an odd light flashed in her eyes.

“Fair enough.” She looked back toward the front as she continued walking, her voice calm and unhurried.

“I am called Zenith,” she said simply, “that is my given name.”

Elion raised a brow slightly.

“Just Zenith?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied without turning back, “just Zenith.”

None of them spoke after that, so Elion took the opportunity to at least cover his upper body, pulling out a simple tunic from his storage and slipping it on while walking. He didn’t take anything out for his lower body, since he didn’t really want to slow them down.

Zenith didn’t say anything, but she did glance back at him when she heard the shifting fabric, her eyes flicking briefly over him before a faint smile formed on her lips at the gesture.

Of course…

Elion noticed the look, so he decided to comment on it.

“Was it really necessary to strip me naked, though?” Elion asked.

She glanced back at him, “Oh? Have you perhaps forgotten?” she said lightly, “I ’captured’ you while you were bathing in the river, and I pulled you out of the water like that, so technically I didn’t even need to strip you naked, I just didn’t bother to put your clothes back on you.”

Elion’s eyes widened, “That’s right…”

He had forgotten that detail. But how? Was he going senile already? Why had he just assumed that someone had stripped him?

…Or maybe…

He had been hoping something like that had happened. He pinched the bridge of his nose, his expression turning slightly strained.

He remembered thinking that maybe his captor had some weird kink.

Now it seemed…

It was him.

’What the fuck is wrong with me…’ he thought to himself.

They walked in silence for a bit longer, the corridor stretching on, turning once, then again, until eventually, a faint glow appeared ahead that was brighter than the torches lining the walls.

It was an exit.

They had reached the end of the corridor. As she stepped forward into the light, Elion followed.

As she stepped forward into the light and out of the tunnel, Elion followed closely behind, his eyes adjusting quickly to the sudden change in lighting, and what he saw made him pause for a brief moment.

They had stepped into an extravagant bedroom.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Zenith said casually as she walked forward, her steps light as she made her way toward a large canopy bed positioned not far from the hidden entrance they had just come through.

Behind Elion, the entrance slid shut silently, the mechanism seamless as the passage concealed itself behind what now looked like an ordinary bookshelf, leaving no trace that a tunnel had ever been there.

Zenith sat down on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping slightly beneath her weight as she crossed one leg over the other, her posture relaxed as she looked at him calmly.

Elion, meanwhile, was already scanning the room.

It was spacious.

Far larger than any normal bedroom, with dark polished floors, elegant furnishings, and rich fabrics that spoke of both luxury and power, the kind of place that didn’t just belong to someone important, but someone who ruled.

“You can put some pants on if that makes you more comfortable,” Zenith suggested lightly.

Elion didn’t hesitate. He immediately summoned a pair of pants from his storage and pulled them on.

“I didn’t bother picking up your clothes from the riverbank either,” she added casually, watching him for a moment, “but I am a bit surprised… You pulled those out of nowhere, even though you have no storage ring.”

Elion shrugged, but he chose not to answer that. He really had failed to consider that detail. Instead, he shifted the topic.

“I thought you wanted to take me quietly,” he said, his tone thoughtful, “wouldn’t it have been better if you took my clothes with you, or at least got rid of them so that my comrades would assume I deserted them?”

He paused slightly.

“Leaving them behind gives them a chance to think I was killed… or captured.”

Zenith nodded slowly.

“Yes,” she said simply, “you are right. As much as I hate to admit it, I failed to account for that possibility,” she admitted calmly, her tone carrying no real regret.

“Not that it makes much of a difference,” she added, her gaze settling on him as she slowly looked him over from head to toe, a faint smile forming on her lips as she crossed one leg over the other, “I don’t really care about what happened after I left, after all… I already got what I wanted.”

Elion frowned slightly at that.

“I suppose I should explain why I enthralled you, captured you, then left you chained for weeks…” she continued.

“Well, you already explained that the last part was unintentional,” Elion grumbled under his breath.

She didn’t react to that, instead lifting a hand and gesturing toward the single chair in the room, before patting the spot on the bed beside her.

“You can sit where you like,” she said lightly, “though I would prefer that you come sit beside me,” she said seductively.

Elion raised a brow. His choice was obvious.

He walked toward her without hesitation and sat down right beside her on the bed, the mattress dipping once again under his weight.

He didn’t immediately look at her.

Instead, his gaze shifted toward the only window in the room. It was small and narrow.

The thick walls around it were made of the same stacked granite stone, tightly bound together with dark mortar, leaving only a sliver of the outside world visible through it.

Not much of an escape route. Not that he had expected one

He looked back toward the drop-dead gorgeous blue-skinned demon beside him, and just as his eyes met hers, he flinched slightly as he felt a soft hand land gently on his thigh.

Her fingers moved slowly, tracing along the fabric of his pants in a deliberate, almost absent-minded motion, yet there was nothing absent about the way she looked at him.

Their eyes locked. Red met blue.

“I brought you here because I have one simple request,” she said, her voice low and steady, “and I should warn you though… I’m asking, but you have no right to refuse.”

Her fingers paused for a brief moment on his thigh before continuing their slow, deliberate motion.

“Keeping you locked up in this room would be quite easy, as you’ve already seen.”

Elion didn’t interrupt; he simply watched her and listened as she stated her reason.

“What I want is simple,” she continued, her lips curling into a confident, almost triumphant smile.

She leaned in just slightly.

“Why don’t you become my boy toy… Elion Nova?”

“…Huh?”