After Yasenia confessed her harem's size, they didn't know what to think. The number was so ridiculous that they didn't feel anything about it.
Even with twenty years, with such a big harem, it would be impossible to create actual bonds with any of those girls.
Their faces turned strange, thinking that Yasenia's "strength" might have been far stronger than they thought. To maintain five-hundred-and-fifty-six women "satiated," Yasenia's prowess would have to be nothing more than a goddess in that aspect.
'Did we not satisfy her enough? Has she been holding back for us?' Their faces turned for the worse as they looked at Yasenia, feeling guilty for their dearest dragoness.
However, when Yasenia saw their expression, her guilt increased, thinking that they were feeling bad in the heart. She said with an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry... I-I wanted to know my limits, so I gathered under my wing every woman I found pleasing to the eye and had a decent personality."
Cecile looked at Yasenia's guilty expression and found it unbearably cute. If Yasenia had animal ears, they would have probably been plastered on her head because of the guilt. 'Thankfully, she doesn't have any, or my heart would not last.'
Cecile kissed Yasenia's cheek and asked curiously, "How was managing such a big Harem?"
Yasenia blinked and looked at Cecile. She used their connection and only felt amusement and understanding. Yasenia asked cautiously, "A-Are you not mad?"
Andrea answered, letting out an amused chuckle, "That number is so absurd that I actually feel nothing."
Evelyn continued Cecile's question line, "I'm also curious about the Harem managing; how did it go?"
Yasenia observed all of them, and to her surprise, she saw only curious eyes looking at her. She felt as if the weather brightened, as if those curious eyes warmed her heart and body. The heart of the dragoness beat loudly, becoming somewhat bashful.
Her previously numb feelings were not only returning but becoming much stronger than before. After experiencing so many things, the dragoness understood how precious it was the relationship she had with them. This led the more mature Yasenia to want to give her everything to them and everything else they wanted. Even if they asked for the Moon or the Stars, Yasenia wouldn't mind becoming strong enough to fulfill their dreams.
'Ah... This is how I felt. This is what it felt like to love. This is how I became so crazy for them.' The only thing Yasenia felt missing was the person she loved the most. That person that, even after all these years, had never left her mind. Even when Yasenia began losing a bit of herself inside the Trial, her feelings for this person never diminished, and right at this moment, she really wanted for her to be beside them.
The five of them saw in real-time as the somewhat distant presence Yasenia gave melted slowly, her golden-slit eyes regaining that previous lovely look they showed whenever she looked at them. They all felt their heart becoming hot as Yasenia's tempting red lips raised in a smile and moved to utter one sentence. "I love you."
A simple and direct sentence that made their cheeks feel hot. They didn't understand why asking about her harem made Yasenia change so much, but they knew from the bottom of their heart that the lovely dragoness they all knew was slowly returning.
Yasenia leaned back on the couch, and her idle tail circled around the five of them. They were close enough that her long tail could wrap around them once. Yasenia then began speaking about her harem a bit, not in detail. "Well, it was not easy managing so many women. They all wanted a piece of me, so I set prizes. Depending on the contribution in battles, they would receive more or less from me. I mainly focused on the War efforts; therefore, besides some filtring here and there, I didn't interact with them a whole lot."
Angel blinked, surprised, "That's quite... Hmm... I don't know how to express it."
Evelyn proposed, "Cold? Detached?"
Angel nodded and exclaimed, "Right! Who would've thought that Yasenia would treat her interactions as something that could be bought?"
Yasenia chuckled, "I never planned to become invested with any of them, so I always tried to maintain an invisible line. I think this is what created the most problems. All of them felt that although I had some affection for them, there was a wall between my heart and theirs. Before I continue speaking, let me sit with all of you better."
They didn't complain and moved around. Andrea sat behind Yasenia, hugging her waist. Angel on Yasenia's lap, Cecile at her right, Kali at her left, and Evelyn before her, facing Yasenia. Yasenia's long legs went around Evelyn's waist, and her tail circled their waists in a loop around Kali, Cecile, and Evelyn.
The position was very intimate with everyone. They all squinted happily, feeling Yasenia's presence one way or another. Evelyn played with Yasenia's calves and asked, "Yasenia, what kind of problems did you have?"
Yasenia sighed and rested her back on Andrea's firm body, "Well, betrayal, cheating, backstabbing, loss... Everything in general."
Andrea suddenly realized something and asked carefully, "Did any of them… Die?"
Yasenia answered calmly, "Yes. The final number of them when I finished conquering the other country was fifty-two. Most of them sacrificed themselves, betrayed me, or just left the army. However, those that went against me were only thirty-four."
The others were surprised. Angel looked up at Yasenia and asked, "How is it possible for someone to betray you?"
Yasenia kissed her nose and smiled, "Those that betrayed me were those that loved me the most. Although most of them were happy with a carnal relationship, a lot of them wanted to become something more. However, I always evaded those problems. In the end, crazed by love for me, they wanted to kill, destroy, or make all my efforts fail."
Cecile asked next, "How did you manage that?"
"The first five or six times it happened, it made me realize that carnal relationships won't last. You need something more. You need love. However, even if I was the one at fault, I became a demon and killed all of those who betrayed me with my own hands."
They opened their eyes, completely surprised. Yasenia saw their expressions and said, "My nickname in the War was Ruthless Dragon General. To win a battle, I wouldn't mind sacrificing one thousand to kill five thousand. At the end of the War, from the five and eight million troops, only six hundred thousand remained on my side and two hundred thousand on the enemy country. The devastation of land was absurd, to the point that winning or losing almost didn't matter."
Yasenia commented with a calm face, "To make our country win, I even sacrificed harem members... Although they knew they didn't have my love, they were very loyal and always did their best for me…. I used everything in my power to win as fast as possible, and even then, I took twenty-three years."
Their heart felt like a claw was gripping it and squeezing blood. They knew that Yasenia was decisive, but they also knew that she treated those close to her extremely well.
Just looking at her interactions with the maids, they all had an inkling that the maids would become something more than maids in the future. Maybe not as close as lovers, but there will be some interactions with Yasenia. However, they had accepted it because they understood that Yasenia was extremely grateful to them, and giving in to some of their deepest wishes would be inevitable.
'How often had she experienced losing someone she considered close to her? How often had Yasenia steeled her heart to make the hardest decisions? How often had she sent those she considered close to their deaths with an order coming from her mouth?'
Those questions couldn't help but appear in their minds, leading them to hug Yasenia and get closer to them. They wanted to soak the dragoness in their warmth, to make her forget the coldness of those days.
Yasenia knew what they were thinking, so she said, her voice calm. "I got over it a long time ago. Although the first time, I went somewhat… berserk. I managed to control myself in the end. Thankfully, I didn't invest many feelings. Even then, I almost lost my life more times than I would like to admit, hahaha."
Evelyn lifted one of Yasenia's legs and kissed it, "Let's stop here. I bet there are plenty of stories you could tell us… Especially your big orgies with five hundred women. We must move now."
Yasenia looked at Evelyn with a lifted eyebrow and laughed, "Are you curious?"
Imagining their dragoness dominating large groups of women, they all felt something burning inside of them. They somewhat wanted to see that scene, at least once, to know how Yasenia took on those situations.
Yasenia saw their expression and teased them a bit, earning some eye-rolls and heated glances from her dears. "We can speak about this in the future, but I can tell you that the biggest one was me against seventy-three..., and I won~." Yasenia laughed after seeing their flustered faces.
She felt extremely relieved after having this conversation, like a stone pressing on her heart lifted.
Feeling liberated, Yasenia asked, "I still want to know one last thing before we depart. How strong are all of you? Although I've somewhat heard about it, I still don't know Cecile's innate skills and the current spiritual sense reach."
Evelyn smirked and said, "I reached the first level of the Unification Realm~. I currently can feel up to two-hundred meters around me! I'm impressive or what? Hahaha!"
Andrea crossed her arms and said lightly, "Not bad, Evelyn. However, I'm already in the second level of the Unification realm. My spiritual sense is at the two-hundred-and-fifty mark."
Evelyn exclaimed, "How!? I feel like I will need at least a year to reach the second level, even with Yasenia's assistance!"
Andrea smirked and patted Ebirah, who was resting beside her calmly. "Thanks to her. After I absorbed the Heaven-born flame, my cultivation leaped to the next level."
The others were impressed. Andrea said, "It was at the end of the labyrinth I entered. Ebirah found the powerful minerals created by its heat. We followed after them, and we entered that place. We found an altar with this thing on it. After absorbing it, I broke through the Unification Realm second level. The name of the flame is [Star Born Searing Flame]."
They frowned, and Yasenia said, "I've never heard or read that name in the ranking of the natural flames."
Valeria entered the conversation. She had been observing from the side, quietly seeing Kali's reaction. Now that everything more or less came to a conclusion, she didn't mind speaking aloud. "That's normal, Yasenia. This flame is superior to mortal flames. The name isn't an exaggeration, as this flame was literally born in the center of a star. However, it is very weakened right now. As Andrea increases her strength, the power of this flame will also increase. If I'm correct, your Sun attribute will have a mutation in the future, Andrea. Although the name may be different, it should transform into something along the lines of [Star-core Sunfire]."
Cecile was stupefied and asked aloud. "Since when did the [Golden crown] speak?"
They all looked at her and laughed.
All of them put Cecile up to speed; they forgot that Cecile only had the time to get filled by Yasenia and then listen to her story.
Cecile, of course, was impressed by everybody's increase. "So, all of you have also entered the Unification Realm?"
Andrea stood up and nodded, "That's right… Wait, are you also in the Unification Realm?"
Cecile nodded, making everyone stumped. Cecile was clearly the strongest before, so they thought that they would be able to create a distance between them. However, now the powerful Moon Phoenix was also inside the Unification realm. "The place I cultivated into was extremely powerful. Although I didn't receive any inheritances, I've become a complete Moon Phoenix. Moreover, my cultivation is completely stable."
Yasenia asked with frowned eyebrows, "How was the tribulation?"
Cecile explained, "It was difficult. However, don't worry. I asked the senior that sent me there, and since I had reached the middle of the lake and cultivated there for a week, I had refined my body enough to resist it. I received the fifty-four strikes, and with the Tear-lake's help, I was able to remain alive. When you called me. I was recuperating from my injuries. That's why I couldn't rush toward you right away."
Angel exclaimed, "Fifty-four strikes!? That's double the number a person normally receives!"
Cecile patted Angel and said, "Well, I'm here perfectly fine and in one piece, right? No need to worry."
Yasenia sighed, relieved. "That's good to hear. I've always been very worried about this tribulation since I'm influencing you into increasing the difficulty; being my mate is not something easy."
Cecile kissed Yasenia's cheek and smiled, full of love. "Don't worry, my love. I welcome these challenges. They will only make me stronger, allowing me to protect you with my all."
Yaseinia smiled and pecked her lips, "I'm happy to hear that."
Cecile finished by saying, her cool voice like a pleasant stream in the mountain. "My innate skills are four. I won't go into much detail. First, [Frosted Skin] is a resistance skill that protects me against Ice, wind, and water. Then, I learned [Phoenix Plumage], a transformation skill. I can now become a phoenix at will, I'm still amateurish, so I need some time, but it is within my capabilities. Next, [Chilling ashes] is a domain that uses Moon and Space attributes. Finally, [Moon Phoenix's lonesome elegance] is a battle dance that increases my strength with any weapon or fighting in my beast form."
They all looked on with their mouths agape. 'Monster! Absolute Monster! How is her strength even fair!?'