Candide's spirits were slowly lifted after Han Shuo gave him a round of consolation. Emma, the former Chancellor, had a brief conversation with him before returning to attend to various duties.
Han Shuo gestured to Graeae, the banshee, from a distance. She understood immediately and left with Candide. Graeae and Pegasus were the trump card experts Han Shuo had brought into the Dark Mantle. With the duo working for the Dark Mantle, missions that had previously been impossible were now a walk in the park. This allowed the Dark Mantle to better serve the Lancelot Empire.
The aristocrats and influential figures of the Empire began to leave after Lawrence's departure. But before they left, they had gone to Han Shuo to express their sincere gratitude one by one. They had even ambiguously expressed that they would stand by Han Shuo no matter what.
Although Han Shuo knew very well what was really on their minds, he just went with the flow, feigning politeness and exchanging pleasantries with them until they all left.
Amyes had left the square with Firenze. But before he left, he looked at Han Shuo from a distance. Han Shuo could see the excitement and gratitude in his eyes. It was only when Han Shuo smiled and nodded to Amyes that he actually left.
Han Shuo understood that after the near catastrophic event of that day, there would surely not be a single soul left in the entire Lancelot Empire who would stand against him and his allies. For every day he was in the Lancelot Empire, not only the aristocrats of the Empire, but even King Lawrence would have to act according to his wishes.
As the crowd slowly dispersed, Han Shuo returned to the camp at the Necromancy School where he had been staying for some time. Accompanying him were the three goddesses of the Lancelot Empire. Their expressions were calm as they listened to Han Shuo's tales of his time there. Sometimes they frowned, and sometimes they laughed.
"Hehe, my wildly ambitious nature was nurtured a long time ago. Power, wealth and women were the goals I sought. And today I have it all. I still find all those interesting incidents and thoughts I had back then very interesting. It all feels like it was only yesterday. The warehouse hadn't changed much since he'd last set foot in it. The narrow wooden bed was still there. There were still piles of worthless materials from necromancy experiments all around. It was messy and untidy.
Standing shoulder to shoulder behind Han Shuo, the three goddesses that all the people of the Lancelot Empire longed for even in their dreams, gazed at the wide open wooden door of the warehouse as they listened to Han Shuo describe the memories he had in this place. Their minds were calm and they all had relaxed expressions on their faces.
""You've been a naughty boy, Bryan! Come to think of it, a lot of the riots that happened at the necromancy school back then must have been your doing!" Fanny giggled. Then she remembered an incident from long ago when Lisa was attacked by a little skeleton at midnight. Fanny's expression suddenly changed before she asked, "Oh, by the way, have you seen Lisa since you arrived at the Academy? She has missed you very much and has reminisced about you a lot over the years. Right, how come I haven't seen Lisa in the last two days? Logically, she wouldn't have left the school if she knew you were coming here. That's strange..."
"I met her." As Han Shuo looked at the warehouse in front of him, he remembered all the entertaining incidents he had experienced with Lisa. These events had all become unforgettable memories that filled his heart with joy when he remembered them.
"You've met her?" Fanny gasped slightly and seemed quite surprised.
Han Shuo cleared his throat softly and turned to look at his three ladies somewhat embarrassed. With a goofy smile, he said, "There is something I need to tell you all!"
An ominous feeling rose in the ladies' hearts as they saw this expression on Han Shuo's face. Phoebe's eyes had immediately turned dark. She glared at Han Shuo fiercely and asked, "What is it?"
Fanny stared blankly for a moment before revealing a thoughtful expression. Before the bitterly smiling Han Shuo could explain, she began to speak, "Sigh... Lisa, that girl, is really quite pathetic. She has been waiting for you in silence for all these years. Even though you clearly rejected her, she never gave up. Besides, during that trip to the Dark Forest, when Lisa and I were attacked by a Deepwater Venom Python in the pond, you groped her naked body all over. Not to mention stealing her first kiss. Also there..."
"Enough. That's enough," Phoebe interrupted before Fanny could finish. She looked at Han Shuo with furrowed brows and pressed, "Say it. What's going on?"
"Um... It's... exactly what you're thinking." Han Shuo forced a smile and shrugged his shoulders.
"You! Why can't you stop adding more girls to the pile?" Phoebe was furious. It had only been a few days ago that Han Shuo had explained to them that the whole absurd thing was caused by the peculiarity of the martial art in which he was cultivating, and he had promised them that he would stop his womanising ways. Little did they know that another such thing would happen just a few days later. Phoebe was furious, of course.
Emily sighed too, but said nothing. She was one who could completely give in to Han Shuo. Even though she didn't feel well in her heart either, she wouldn't show it in front of Han Shuo.
"This, um, Bryan, did I come at the wrong time?" At that moment, a timid voice sounded from behind the three ladies.
"It's all right. I asked you to come here at this time because I wanted you to meet her," Han Shuo reassured her gently. For some reason, his heart hurt when he saw Lisa's shy appearance.
Lisa's mind had been in great turmoil as Han Shuo had recently left memories in her soul. For the past few days, she had locked herself in her room to silently digest all those huge and jumbled chunks of memories. She even had to skip Fanny's inauguration ceremony.
Before she continued to sort out and digest the memories, Han Shuo had instructed her to look for him in this place after she had completed the memory cleanup. Han Shuo had calculated ahead and knew that Lisa would have completely digested the memories by then. He had brought Fanny, Phoebe and Emily to this place at this particular time to settle the matter.
Lisa still seemed rather shy even after Han Shuo reassured her with a soft voice. On the one hand, she was aware that she was not in an honourable position at the moment, and on the other hand, Fanny, Phoebe and Emily were well-known and respected women who had achieved success in their careers. Not only did each of them possess courageous strength, but they also had elite family backgrounds.
After her family's decline, Lisa had always felt inferior in her heart. Besides, it was perfectly normal to feel inferior in front of the three most dazzling women in the Lancelot Empire.
"So this is the girl?" Phoebe became even more enraged when she saw how tenderly Han Shuo treated Lisa. She looked at Lisa with cold eyes and groaned, "Little girl, quite skilled, aren't you? You managed to enchant him in just a few days. You really are remarkable,"
Lisa panicked. She hastily waved her hands and explained, "It's not what you think! I knew Bryan from before, long before you!"
"So what if you knew him first? Don't think I don't know anything. I know that it was you who almost killed him back then. But now that Bryan has become successful, you have decided to cling to him and not let him go.
Is that not so?" Having seen all kinds of despicable things in the business world, Phoebe saw everything subjectively and therefore believed that to be the case.
"Phoebe, what are you talking about? Lisa is my student. I know better than anyone what kind of person she is. If she were really the person you say she is, I would have told Bryan by now. Can you not hurt people's feelings when you know nothing?" Fanny felt that Phoebe's words were quite mean. Even though they were on the same front, she couldn't bear to listen and do nothing.
Phoebe and Fanny had become very close without any animosity for a long time. The three ladies had often met to reminisce about their interactions with Han Shuo to ease their intense longing for Han Shuo during his years of absence. Over time, the three of them had developed a close relationship.
Phoebe did not refute Fanny's criticism, but instead sized up Lisa with a furrowed brow. Maybe it was because Han Shuo was so gentle with Lisa, because no matter what, Lisa was just unpleasant in her eyes. She continued with a cold voice, "As you can see, Bryan already has the three of us.
Regardless of what is on your mind, you should know when it is time to withdraw. No matter how I try to look at it, you just don't fit next to Bryan.
Lisa's eyes filled with tears as Phoebe told her this.
"I, I love him!" she cried as she looked stubbornly at Han Shuo.
"Love? Do you know what love is?"
Phoebe sneered. The more she thought about Han Shuo's repeated love affairs, the more hatred filled her heart. She groaned angrily, "Any kind of relationship mixed with benefits is not love!"
She did not acknowledge Fanny's words from earlier. She still believed that Lisa had seduced Han Shuo for his position and power.
"I love him, completely and unconditionally!" Lisa cried tearfully. After finishing these words, she looked at Han Shuo helplessly, as if he was everything to her.
"I don't believe you!" Phoebe sneered coldly.
"I believe you!" Unexpectedly, Emily, who had been silent the whole time, and Fanny suddenly spoke at the same time.
"You, you two... " Phoebe was stunned for a moment before she turned to glare at Fanny and Emily.
She had no idea why the two of them were supporting an outsider.
"Enough!" Han Shuo groaned coldly. Then he looked at Phoebe in a rather displeased manner and said, "Enough of this.
From now on, Lisa will be your younger sister. As older sisters, you should take care of her and show her consideration. Don't make things so uncomfortable for her."
"I will not accept her as my sister!" Phoebe said coldly. The more Han Shuo protected Lisa, the angrier Phoebe became.
Compared to Emily and Fanny, Phoebe was much more possessive. She had suppressed her resentment of Han Shuo's unfaithfulness for too long. And now she finally let it out.
Han Shuo's patience was limited. Seeing Phoebe continue to be so menacing even while Lisa was crying her eyes out, Han Shuo was furious from the bottom of his heart. He fumed, "I don't care if you admit it or not, if you can't stand me, then you can leave me. You have no right to veto my decisions!"
"What, what did you say?" Phoebe, who had been icily arrogant all along, suddenly pointed at Han Shuo in disbelief and said in a trembling voice.
"If you can't stand me, then you can leave!" Han Shuo repeated coldly in anger. He then pulled Lisa away as she cried uncontrollably and left without giving Phoebe another look.
Phoebe cried out bitterly as soon as Han Shuo left, "Ah!!! How could he be so heartless, how could he say that!"