Lindy was speechless after Leon's clap back. She didn't know what to say!
She wasn't a man-hating social justice warrior; she was just generally bold and outspoken to anyone being a prick. During the apocalypse, everyone was a prick. The same was true during peace times. Why? Because Lindy had a general anger problem.
However! Unlike all of the men underestimating her—the dead—Leon was just calling her incompetent for being incompetent.
He was the first person that day other than Sarah to treat her like a human, which was confusing, refreshing, and aggressively arousing. The last feeling pointed out another problem with Lindy, which she found extremely inconvenient at that moment. In short, she was a hot mess.
"Caitlyn, are you okay with telling them the truth about us?" Leon asked, "I'm okay with leaving if you're not comfortable."
The second he used the words [about us], her demeanor changed to joy.
"Whatever you feel is best." Caitlyn replied with an emotional gaze.
Leon sighed when she shifted the decision on him. He turned to Lindy and Sarah unenthusiastically.
"I'm sorry to have caused you both trouble," Leon began, "we'll leave if you wish, or we can explain what's going on."
"Heh. Shifting the responsibility to us?" Lindy asked in a calm voice.
"Correct." He replied matter-of-factly.
"That was blunt." She laughed.
"If I tried to explain willingly, I'd bet Timothy Lipson's life that you'd keep asking sarcastic, rhetorical questions." Leon countered.
"That's not much of a bet, considering he's dead." Lindy scoffed.
"He's [probably] dead. The odds of him living are the same as you stopping your onslaught of pointless rhetorical questions," Leon asserted with a mocking smile, "The payoffs for betting get smaller the more certain the outcome is."
Lindy took a deep breath in annoyance. "Fine, you win again, fuck boy."
Leon closed his eyes and considered his options.
"Caitlyn, what's the name of my first dog?" He asked.
"... You've never had a dog." Caitlyn replied in confusion. She was disturbingly ironclad in her confidence.
"What's the name of my elementary school?" Leon asked without pausing.
"Is this a trick question?" She asked.
While Caitlyn was confused, Lindy and Sarah were perplexed beyond comparison.
"No. Please just answer the questions." Leon said while rubbing her shoulder.
"You… never went to elementary school." Caitlyn grimaced. She didn't like disclosing his information.
"That's right. What city was I living in in 2050?" He continued.
"Maslow Heights." Caitlyn answered.
"What's my favorite sexual position?" Leon asked with a straight face.
The three women turned bright red with embarrassment.
"I-I… I'm sorry, I don't know that question!" Caitlyn cried in embarrassment.
"Why don't you know?" Leon chuckled in amusement.
"You've never brought women home, and your OPSEC is too strong to obtain your internet search results!" She whimpered.
Lindy's expression imploded instantly, and Sarah's face flushed bright red in mortification.
Leon hugged Caitlyn and whispered in her ear. "Thank you."
Then he turned to Lindy and Sarah with a straight face.
"Meet Caitlyn Mira. She's beautiful, intelligent, and has been obsessively stalking me like a charming serial killer for six years." Leon announced.
Lindy's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but her face became horrified when she saw Caitlyn's sparkling eyes.
He had finally called her beautiful after 2,148 days of her obsessively dreaming of it—including six weeks of cumulative vacation days.
"To answer the question burning like hellfire in your eyes, yes. Caitlyn's in my harem." Leon announced bruskly.
Lindy sent him a wry, mocking smile at his brazen attitude.
"Caitlyn, can you please punch that wall over there?" Leon requested.
When Lindy and Sarah turned around, their eyes widened in shock.
His finger was pointing to a building a 100 meters aw—
BOOOOM!
The two turned back to where Caitlyn was standing, only to find she had vanished.
Then they turned back to see a half-collapsed building and Caitlyn scampering back with a satisfied look on her face.
Leon had prevented her from actively killing and hitting his attackers for a grueling half-hour, and she finally released pent-up anger.
Lindy turned back to Leon with a gaping expression while Sarah continued staring at the wall in disbelief.
"In case you're wondering—no. You're not looking at an advertisement for the benefits of joining my harem." Leon announced bluntly.
"Then what…. Why?" Lindy whispered in confusion.
"My power allows me to make contracts with anyone and rewards my members when they reach relationship milestones with me." Leon explained while hugging Caitlyn.
"For example, reaching high loyalty, happiness, love, sexual willingness, or any other show of attachment to me will increase their stats.
I get part of their power but can level up by reciprocating those feelings."
Leon pointed at the wall in the distance again.
"That is a visualization of what six years of obsessive stalking, unwavering loyalty, and a desire to be used will earn you if you join me." He he explained dryly.
Lindy's mind went blank. She didn't want to think about what he had just said from any angle.
"In short, I assure you that neither of you would receive a fraction of that." Leon chuckled, "I hope. Or not, I can't decide."
She turned back to Leon with a complicated expression. "Your argument is hard to dispute, but it's equally hard to believe when you're actively manipulating my friend."
Leon circled the area, scanning his apocalyptic surroundings dramatically. He paused when he reached his left side and sent the world a wry smile.
Then he turned to Lindy and gave her a mocking smile packed with 21 years worth of explosive sarcasm.
"Lindy. If my power can do this to anyone, you'd be a fucking idiot if you didn't apply to my harem."
Sarah's face turned bright red, and she covered her face.
Lindy blinked twice before sighing in defeat.
"What do you want, Leon?" She groaned.
"For you to join us in a party." He replied while glancing to his left.
"Party? I thought you were looking for harem members? Did I mishear that?" Lindy asked.
"I am. However, my power doesn't enslave people. It magnifies their natural emotions." Leon explained.
"If I made a contract with you right now, you'd fantasize about assassinating me 24/7 and carry it out enthusiastically if Caitlyn wasn't around."
Lindy's face filled with shock. "Wait! Are you kidding me? No, wait! If women do like you, wouldn't it make them obsessive like Caitlyn is right now!?"
Leon glanced to the left like a clock and sighed in impatience.
"Look, my power has slapped every debuff on Caitlyn possible." He replied hurriedly.
"Caitlyn's like this because she's finally with the person she loves, and the comfort perk means she doesn't have to hide. It has very little to do with my power.
We're codependent. Manipulative tactics are a basic form of communication for me and an erotic turn-on for her. It's Caitlyn's love language.
If you expect me to immediately respect, love, and adore a criminally obsessive stalker, check your damn privilege. Or at least know your ideology.
Now, will you join our party for mutual survival, or will you continue ignoring the massive vortex opening up to your right to ask me about my harem power?"
Lindy turned her neck to the right with the fluidity of a rusty cog. Sarah was too afraid to look, so she watched her friend's reaction.
"W-What the f-fuck is that!?" Lindy cried.
There was a massive, crimson vortex opening in the sky that appeared to have smoke coming from it. However, the [smoke] was actually just a wall of creatures so thick it blocked out the setting sun.
Flying creatures the size of dragons were flying out of it, and hundreds more were the size of wyverns. Bats and other smaller creatures poured out of it in the thousands.
The death potential leaking from it could only be described with statistics. It was an image a person would associate with the rapture.
So the fact that Lindy didn't notice it was a show of her extreme lack of situational awareness!
"A seven-course argument on why you should join my party. Now can you please say yes?" Leon asked in exasperation.
"If I spent 20 minutes getting accused of being a stupid misogynist by someone who doesn't know when to shut up and survive—for nothing—I'm going to hop on my woman and hit four G's in that direction." Leon declared while pointing to her left.
"Then I'll prove you were right by manipulating my way into her pants and having raging consensual sex with her while watching you get eaten alive.
Considering she can fly at 90 mph, and she'll drop her panties right now if I ask her to, I assure you I can prove you right before your final scream."
"I… uh…." Lindy stuttered. She felt like Leon just snapped her mind in half.
"Good enough. Give me five seconds and pray." Leon said bruskly.
Lindy and Sarah looked at Leon in confusion but didn't stop him. They still couldn't process everything happening.
'Interface, Aphrodite's Corner.'
—
Congratulations! After receiving the blessing from Aphrodite, you have been given access to her product line. You may purchase items with [Sexy Points].
The user can earn Sexy Points by performing steamy sexual acts with anyone. While anyone will do, performing them with members is recommended to level up among other benefits.
-
Congratulations! You've earned (10) Sexy Points by sharing your lip chastity with another lip virgin.
Patron Note: "While comically awkward, you've been given an additional (40) Sexy Points as a participation prize.
Buy yourself something to get yourself in the mood on me. I recommend tequila, but you look like you'd need a chaser for a long island. So stick to hard seltzers. Preferably grapefruit.
Have~fun. Muah! <3 - Aphrodite.
P.S. Don't tell the Harem God I contacted his favorite pupil. If we get into a gift war to earn your loyalty at your current level, your pelvis will look like a porcelain tea cup that made out with a jackhammer. Be~warned. <3"
[Shop]
[More Information]
—
Leon's confident front shattered instantly. However, he didn't have time to worry, so he continued onward.
—
Welcome to Aphrodite's Corner.
Balance: 50 SP
[Search]
[Browse]
[More Information]
…
Query: Rope
Results:
Aphrodite's Bondage Tape for Basic Bitchaz (20ft) | 150 SP
Bouncy Bondage Bungee Rope (440ft) | 375 SP
Bedroom Bondage Rope for Artists (1937ft) | 1,250 SP
Professional Bondage Rope for Artists (29178ft) | 11,875
—
"Fuck. I need three first kisses for 20ft of Basic Bitch tape!? This is insulting!" Leon cried.
"Uh… A-Leon, is everything alright? P-Please tell me you have a plan." Lindy asked with a trembling voice.
Leon closed down the interface and turned in the vortex direction.
"Keeeeeyyyyyyaaaahhhhhhkkkk!"
Boooom!
"Gharrrraaak!"
Boom!
"Screeeeech!"
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
Only one word could describe what he was looking at: A please-fuck-me-I-don't-want-to-die-a-virgin-hellscape.
"Love… I like these two, but shouldn't we be focusing on ourselves right now?" Caitlyn asked with trembling eyes.
Lindy and Sarah felt like their hearts sank instantly.
"No, We're not leaving these two." Leon replied before turning to Lindy.
The young woman's heart instantly burned with hope.
"On one condition." He added with a cold expression.
—
[A/N: Voting has officially opened for the novel! It's Aug 1st, 2022, LUPYITA's birthday, so please vote for her and make her feel loved on this special occasion! The first vote will get a second chapter. After that, I'll post a chapter for every five voters for the next 24 hours (max 4). I'll post an extra chapter for every review without limitation. Please bring this celebration to life!]