The first thing I noticed about being summoned to another world? The floor was ridiculously hard. No clouds, no heroic winds, no glowing grass—just cold stone. And an old man in robes so tattered he looked like he'd survived three wars was bowing so low I feared he might snap in half.
"Ah! You've arrived!" he cried, flailing his arms like a man trying to fly. "The system has chosen you!"
"System? Chosen me? Dude, I'm late for breakfast," I muttered, rubbing my eyes. Apparently, sleep schedules didn't exist in fantasy worlds.
The old man straightened, looking horrified. "No, you don't understand! The Harem System—"
"Harem System?" I repeated. My life had officially jumped from zero to chaos in five seconds.
"Yes!" he said, nodding vigorously. "It will guide your interactions, manage your relationships, and—"
"Wait," I interrupted, holding up a hand. "You're telling me it controls who likes me?"
"Yes!" he beamed.
I blinked. "That's… horrifyingly dumb."
Then a floating holographic menu appeared before me.
Harem System 1.0
Primary Target: Arcelia Brightwall (100% affection)
Secondary Targets: None
Morality Flag: Default
System Warnings: None
I stared at it. My first thought: this is ridiculously easy to hack.
"Oh no," the old man whispered, realizing what I was thinking. "Don't—"
Too late. I typed a few commands. The menu blinked and changed.
Arcelia Brightwall: Free will restored
System Notification: Affection flags neutralized
Corruption Meter: 1%
I whispered, "Yes…"
That's when she appeared.
Arcelia Brightwall, the "perfectly loyal knight," stood there in full armor, sword clutched in both hands, eyes wide as saucers.
"Master…?" she asked cautiously.
I blinked. "Uh… yeah, that's me."
Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. "I… I'm supposed to… serve you?"
"Not anymore," I said, pointing at my menu. "You're free now."
She tilted her head. "Free?"
"Yeah, free," I replied. "Not forced to like me. You can live your own life."
Her cheeks flushed pink. "I… I don't understand."
I shrugged. "Honestly, neither do I. But the system says I can do whatever I want now. So…"
She narrowed her eyes, gripping her sword tighter. "You're… illegal?"
"Bingo," I said, throwing my arms up. "And being illegal is fun."
The world started glitching. Grass flickered, a bird froze mid-flight, and a random NPC screamed, "I… I am free?!" before collapsing.
"Uh… system?" I muttered. Corruption meter: 2%.
Arcelia stared at me. "Why… is the world broken?"
"Minor side effect," I said, grinning. "You'll get used to it."
She lunged at the menu. "I… will not be controlled by this!"
I dodged, leaning back. "Chill! We're a team now. Kind of. Maybe. Possibly."
Her armor clanked. "I… I don't like this!"
"Perfect. That's the point," I said. The first hack was done. She was officially confused, free, and furious. Exactly how I liked my heroines.
Then, a shadowy figure appeared above the castle gates—a Correction Agent.
"Oh. Ohhh no," I muttered. "Guess I just got noticed."
Arcelia's eyes widened. "Master… what is that?"
"Probably the system trying to delete me," I said. "Could be a boss fight. Or a tutorial. Either way, grab your sword. Let's make this illegal existence really fun."
And that's how my first day in this new world went: summoned as a harem target, hacked the system, made a knight furious, broke the world a little, and got my first notice from a literal world-deleting agent.
I sighed. Welcome to my harem. It's going to be one hell of a ride.