Kisaragi Naoko hesitated for a long time.
In her opinion, Regulus's intentions were far too obvious, and the price he was asking was far too high.
"Compared to your current wives, my appearance and status are far inferior. Even if I were to submit and follow you, a powerful man like you would probably lose interest in me very quickly," Naoko said, making a small, self-deprecating remark. "So, please don't joke with me."
Of course, the main reason for her refusal was not actually a petty concern about being neglected in the future.
Just as she had said at the beginning, five grueling years of experience made it painstakingly clear that this fantasy world was absolutely not suitable for her. If possible, she desperately wanted to return to modern Japan and reunite with her parents and her sister.
And for the sake of that slimmest possibility of leaving this world in the future, as long as she hadn't completely given up hope, she would absolutely not leave any permanent anchors here. Once she forged deep ties—especially a husband or children—even if she did eventually find a portal back, she would fall into agonizing hesitation.
Since this overpowered man in front of her had clearly chosen to settle down and build a massive harem here, it was certain that he no longer had any real desire to return to Earth. Entrusting her entire life to him was definitely out of the question.
Regulus looked at Kisaragi Naoko, perfectly reading the storm of emotions in her eyes. Such an obvious, deeply rooted refusal—no one would fail to see it.
"I'm not joking," Regulus stated, his tone dropping its playful edge.
"This..."
Facing Regulus's serious, unwavering expression, Naoko could only smile awkwardly, her hands fidgeting in her lap.
Just as she was thinking of giving up on his help entirely and walking away...
"My situation is fundamentally different from yours," Regulus continued smoothly, leaning forward. "You came here and gained absolutely nothing but hardship. But as for me..."
Regulus did not finish the sentence, letting the implication hang heavily in the air.
However, Naoko, who had read enough light novels in her past life to understand the meaning behind his words, couldn't help but widen her eyes slightly. A deep hint of envy flashed in them.
'A cheat ability,' Naoko realized. 'He was summoned with an cheat.'
No wonder he had achieved such monstrous success and power in just a few short months. But even if that were the case, collaborating with a transmigrator who had zero intention of returning was basically a waste of effort, wasn't it?
"Moreover," Regulus smiled, "I've already gathered some very useful, high-level clues. It might actually be entirely possible to return."
"Eh...?!"
Regulus's words made Naoko both incredibly incredulous and overwhelmingly excited. But while her heart raced, her merchant's caution flared up. She wondered if this manipulative man was deliberately trying to trick her, fabricating a lie out of thin air just to lure her into his bed.
"Can you... tell me a little more?" Naoko asked cautiously.
"You know about the Great Sage from over four hundred years ago, right?" Regulus asked.
"No one could possibly not know about Flugel, even an isolated transmigrator like me," Naoko nodded.
"He was also a transmigrator from our world," Regulus revealed casually. "After resolving the calamities of his era, he completely disappeared from this world. Most likely, he found a way to leave it."
"He was from Japan too?!" Naoko gasped. "Wait... no, that doesn't make sense. I heard that the Great Sage is still alive, residing in the Pleiades Watchtower at the edge of the world!"
"What you heard is a historical fabrication," Regulus corrected her, waving his hand. "The Sage disappeared a long time ago. The person currently guarding the Pleiades Watchtower is actually the Sage's apprentice, a girl named Shaula."
Receiving highly classified lore that was completely different from common knowledge, Naoko frowned and fell into deep thought.
'Is this true or false?' she wondered.
Over four hundred years had passed, so verifying historical facts was practically impossible for a commoner. The simplest method would be to personally travel to the Pleiades Watchtower to verify it with Shaula, but the problem was that the Sand Dunes of Augria were not a place one could just walk into. It was said that since the Watchtower was built, no one had ever successfully breached it alive.
However, while it was true that ordinary people couldn't enter... Naoko looked up at the white-haired man in front of her, a transmigrator armed with a god-like cheat.
"Do you have a way to enter the Pleiades Watchtower?" she asked.
"Of course I have a way. But there's actually no need to necessarily go all the way to the Augria Sand Dunes for initial verification," Regulus smirked, gesturing to the petite girl in his lap. "After all, right in front of you, there is an existence that knows the truth of that era."
"In front of me...?"
Naoko looked at Sphinx. There were only three people present in the room. She and Regulus were out of the question, so only one option remained.
The girl in front of her was a half-elf. Elves, unlike humans, were a race with extremely long lifespans. Even for a half-elf, one's true age could never be accurately judged by their outward appearance.
"Um..." Naoko hesitated. She still didn't even know the pink-haired girl's name.
"My name is Sphinx," the girl stated flatly.
"Miss Sphinx, may I politely ask your age?"
"I was physically created roughly three hundred years ago," Sphinx answered without blinking. "But my memories go back even further than my own birth, traceable directly to the era when the Great Sage Flugel and the Witches walked the earth."
"Memories from before your birth?" Naoko blinked in confusion.
"My method of birth was highly irregular," Sphinx explained meticulously. "I am an artificial clone. Therefore, I inherited a direct portion of my creator's soul and memories."
"I see..."
Naoko didn't know what to say anymore. Even in a fantasy world filled with magic and miracles, cloning and inheriting centuries-old memories was far too fantastical.
Wait!
Naoko's eyes suddenly widened. She remembered hearing that specific name recently in the market rumors. And this girl in front of her perfectly matched the physical description of the terrifying entity from the wetlands.
"M-Miss Sphinx..." Naoko stammered, pointing a trembling finger. "You wouldn't happen to be... the Witch Sphinx? The Great Commander of the Demi-Human alliance?!"
"That is correct," Sphinx nodded calmly.
"..."
Absolute silence fell over the room for a long moment.
Initially, Naoko had considered the possibility that the white-haired man in front of her was the famous 'Regulus' who had ended the civil war. But when he admitted he had only arrived in this world a few months ago, she completely dismissed the idea.
She firmly believed that the Regulus who ended the war could not be this man. The logic was simple: the hero Regulus was famously known as a native noble who had married over a hundred wives over many years. It was logically impossible for a man who had only transmigrated a few months ago to have built such a deeply rooted, massive harem and political standing. Therefore, to her, the Regulus in front of her didn't equal the native hero Regulus.
"Is it that strange?" Regulus chuckled, seeing the gears turning in her head. "Actually, I merely replaced the original Regulus, using a bit of... violent means."
"Violent... means?"
Naoko stared at the handsome man in front of her in sheer horror.
Naoko realized, her spine turning to ice. 'He murdered the original native Regulus and stole his identity... all because he coveted his massive harem!'
After all, the market rumors swore that Regulus's wives were all as breathtakingly beautiful as goddesses. A modern man transmigrating and violently stealing a ready-made harem of a hundred stunning beauties? It sounded exactly like the plot of a dark, twisted light novel.
However, this terrifying ruthlessness also absolutely proved the capabilities of the man sitting in front of her. Compared to her own solitary, pathetic investigations—where she had a practically zero percent chance of finding any dimensional clues—this overpowered monster offered genuine hope.
Naoko slowly exhaled, making her decision.
"Alright. I can follow you," Naoko said, her voice steadying as she laid down her bottom line. "But let me make one thing absolutely clear: cohabitating and working for you is fine. But I will absolutely not bear children for you. And in exchange for my loyalty, you must sign a binding magical contract with me, promising to tell me immediately if you find a definitive way to return to Japan."
"A contract, huh?" Regulus smiled, resting his chin on his hand. "No problem at all. Let's do it exactly that way."
Magical contracts of the soul genuinely existed in this world, and they were utterly binding. However, signing one with Kisaragi Naoko posed absolutely zero problems for Regulus.
To be completely honest, Regulus was also deeply interested in investigating the exact version of the 'modern world' Naoko had come from before arriving here. After all, from his meta-perspective, he knew she originally belonged to a 2D anime world, didn't she? Exploring the dimensional mechanics behind that was bound to be highly entertaining.
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Give me powerstones.
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