Nina slowly opened her eyes and found herself inside a hotel room, with Xialdre standing in the corner, arms folded. As she scanned the room, she realized it was just the two of them inside.
"What are you attempting?" Nina questioned calmly.
"Don't get your hopes up. I only helped you since you suddenly passed out in front of me," Xialdre explained.
Nina slowly recalled what happened before she lost consciousness. She felt her body lose its strength as if all her stamina had been drained instantly when she looked into Xialdre's past. She remembered falling, with Xialdre catching her, feeling her breasts press against him before she blacked out.
"Who are you?" Nina asked cautiously.
"I'm Xialdre Natori," he responded.
"No, I mean, who exactly are you hiding within yourself?" Nina pressed.
"Sorry, but that's information I can't share with a fellow aristocrat I just met," Xialdre explained.
"I'm not an aristocrat!" Nina exclaimed.
"Alright," Xialdre said nonchalantly.
"Anyway, where am I?" Nina questioned.
"You're in my room, or to be more precise, in my bed," Xialdre revealed.
"Eh?" Nina commented as her cheeks turned red, stunned in disbelief. "EHHHH!!?" she yelled out.
"Why, what's wrong?" Xialdre asked.
"What do you mean, what's wrong!? You're alone with a girl in your room, and oh, that's not all, especially since she's been unconscious in your bed all this time!" Nina exclaimed.
"So?" Xialdre pressed.
"You just don't get it, do you?" Nina asked.
"Sorry if I didn't meet your expectations," Xialdre responded.
"Is he trying to make me feel guilty here?" Nina thought to herself.
"Ehem, anyway, did you do something to me while I was unconscious? More specifically, to my body?" Nina asked, blushing in embarrassment.
"Why do you ask?" Xialdre continued to press.
"Just answer my question. Did you do anything inappropriate to my body while I was unconscious?" Nina continued.
"What makes you think that?" Xialdre asked.
"I SAID JUST ANSWER MY QUESTION!" Nina yelled out, embarrassed.
Xialdre sighed as he replied, "Would you believe me if I said no?"
"Definitely not!" Nina exclaimed.
"Then what's the point of answering if you wouldn't even believe me in the first place?" Xialdre commented.
"Because... because I want to hear your excuse," Nina exclaimed.
"It's not going to be an excuse," Xialdre replied.
"Ugh, I just want to hear you confirm that you didn't do anything to my body while I was unconscious," Nina blurted out.
There was a brief silence between them as a gust of air blew in through the open window, making Nina's hair sway.
"No, I didn't. I didn't do anything to your body while you were unconscious," Xialdre honestly answered.
"I don't believe you," Nina replied.
"See?"
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, I would like to hear your excuse," Nina pressed.
"I told you this isn't an excuse. This is the truth," Xialdre responded.
"I'm telling you to give me your full excuse why you say you didn't do anything to my body," Nina exclaimed.
"All that happened was that you threw yourself into my arms before losing consciousness," Xialdre revealed.
"Eh... I would never do that," Nina replied.
"Well, you just did," Xialdre confirmed.
"Just continue!" Nina yelled out.
"After that, I didn't know where to let you stay. There was this guy who said he knew you," Xialdre exclaimed.
"What—who?" Nina pressed.
"Well, he said he was a comrade of yours, and that you two were in the same adventuring party," Xialdre commented. "Of course, I wasn't buying it, so I didn't hand you over to him. Who knows? He didn't even know your name. All I could think was that he was a rapist."
"Though, seeing how you're acting now, I guess I should have handed you over to him," Xialdre teased calmly.
"Hey!" Nina yelled out.
"See, anyway, I also thought of handing you over to the enforcers and reporting that you suddenly passed out, but—" Xialdre began.
"Don't!" Nina interrupted.
"What do you mean?" Xialdre asked.
"Eh, well, just continue," Nina exclaimed.
"In the end, I couldn't just leave you on the ground, so I brought you here," Xialdre exclaimed.
"Thanks..." Nina replied.
"Are you convinced now that I didn't do anything to your body?" Xialdre asked once again.
"Yeah," Nina answered.
The door opened to the room they were in as Isayao, Furina, and Clementine entered, holding bags filled with items they had just bought. Xialdre and Nina turned their gazes to the three girls, who were stunned at the sight of Xialdre with another girl, possibly a new slave.
"Eh, Master, do you want to turn this girl into your slave?" Furina questioned.
"Slave?" Nina commented.
Xialdre shifted his eyes back to Nina. "These girls right here are my slaves. And if you don't mind, I recommend you leave our room. I only helped you, so there isn't really any reason for you to stay here, right?"
"What are you talking about?" Nina pressed.
"Did you forget? I'm Xialdre Natori, the one who caused half of the Hassia continent to shatter, the one who caused the Monkey King to use his Ruyi Jingu Bang, the one responsible for killing millions of lives inside the Hassia continent. That's right, it was me," Xialdre explained.
Nina saw Xialdre's dead eyes and felt herself trembling and intimidated. Xialdre continued to stare down at her. She tried to confirm his words with her magic, but it shattered, unable to penetrate Xialdre's aura and presence.
"Is there anything that you need that I can do to help you with?" Xialdre asked calmly, maintaining his demeanor.
Nina teleported out of the apartment, forgetting her hat and wand. She felt sweat dripping from fear, and in just a second, she was running for her life.
"Who is he? Did everything he just said true? I remember myself attempting to see through him but—" Nina stopped running and stood still.
"Wait, what did I see when I looked through his memories?" she questioned herself.
Nina's memories of Xialdre's past had been erased by magic. All she could remember was that Xialdre helped her, brought her back to his apartment, chatted with her when she woke up, then kicked her out, confirming he was responsible for the Ruyi Jingu Bang incident.
Nina's breathing grew heavier until she heard someone call her name. "Nina!"
She looked behind and saw it was just Johan, a friend of hers. "What's the matter, Nina?" he asked.
"Eh, well—" Nina started.
"That doesn't matter. Did you manage to hire him?" Johan interrupted.
"You mean Xialdre?" Nina questioned.
"Yes. Did you?" Johan continued.
"Why do you want to hire him anyway, Town Leader?" Nina asked.
"I can't tell you yet," Johan responded.
"Is it because he is responsible for the Ruyi Jingu Bang incident?" Nina revealed as all the fear within her disappear.
A brief silence passed between the two as Johan's eyes turned dead serious. "Did he tell you that himself?"
"Why?" Nina replied.
"I guess I'll have to end you right here and now then," Johan exclaimed.
"Are you threatening me?" Nina replied seriously.
"No, I mean it. I'm going to end you right here and now," Johan insisted.
"*Huhu*, try me," Nina replied confidently.
"That information is safe in your mouth. If anyone in this town knows about this, the town will go rogue in fear," Johan exclaimed.
"I guess this situation will end up in violence," Nina commented.
"I didn't hire you to hire Xialdre so you could know my true intentions," Johan exclaimed.
"Did you forget? If the townspeople realize a witch is in this town, they will go rough on it. They will hunt it until it's dead or out of their population completely," Johan concluded.
"I know, but the true question is, are they capable enough?" Nina questioned.
"You're still as cool as a cucumber, Nina, despite knowing everyone in this town is your enemy," Johan retorted.
"Why wouldn't I be? This entire town isn't strong enough to intimidate me," Nina commented.
"Then I'll prove to you that you should be," Johan retorted.
Meanwhile, Xialdre stared out the window as Furina, Clementine, and Isayao stood behind him, silently watching fixed on his back.
"You girls love me with all your hearts, knowing you aren't the only ones destined to become my future wives," Xialdre began. "You hide that immense jealousy within you, smiling all the time, despite even though something in your mind reminds you that I might forget you someday or that I love another more than you."
"This pressure of love is evident inside you, Clementine. You despise polygamy, and as a result, nothing ever feels right in your head."
"I don't blame you, though. It's only natural to think this way since you love me so much that you don't want anyone else to have the same place in my heart as you do," he continued. "Despite knowing I don't care about any of you and only see you as tools, manipulating you all to fall in love with me, you still accept it. Your goal is to serve me your entire life and never go against my decisions."
Clementine looked down as Furina and Isayao shifted their eyes to her. Xialdre continued, "The world is a much darker place than you can imagine. You need to be strong enough to accept it or deny it. Accepting polygamy despite not wanting it can ruin your true self."
"But at the same time, it's never too late to change. You turned back and decided to change for the betterment of your future. I'm proud of you, Clementine," Xialdre concluded, turning to look at her.
"Master, this shouldn't be shocking for me, but why am I still in tears?" Clementine asked. "I knew from the start I couldn't keep a secret from you, yet it still makes me emotional."
"Out of all the girls, Clementine, you're the strongest when it comes to making hard decisions, just like Natalia," Xialdre praised. "And Furina, you're the strongest in your resolve to stay with me, despite knowing you should be the least loved as the last to join the group."
"You didn't accept that and continued to believe that all that matters is that you are loved," he added.
"I guess I cannot hide secrets from you, Master Xialdre. Even my true belief," Furina commented.
"And you, Isayao, you changed your personality just for me to see you as a woman and not as a sister," Xialdre said. "You don't want me to see you as a sister; you want me to see you romantically. It hurt you when you found more girls clinging to me than you should be."
"But you kept that to yourself so you could continue to pursue your goal: to make me see you as a woman and not as a sister anymore," Xialdre concluded.
"Brother, no secrets can be hidden from you," Isayao commented.
"The three of you hold different values for me, and not just the three of you, but all of you share a similar goal," Xialdre stated. "And that is to make me fall in love with you, to make me feel emotions again, and to see you as lovers, not just as tools."