"Cough! Cough!" Signora lay limp at the bottom of the crater, her luxurious gown torn to shreds. She was vomiting a considerable amount of fresh blood; all her energy was completely drained, and her body trembled from total paralysis. With just two casual martial arts moves devoid of any elemental power, Eiji had shattered the arrogance of the 8th Fatui Harbinger.
He had also killed the Fatui's elite agents, leaving only Signora behind.
Eiji lowered his foot again, then stared impassively at Signora, who lay helpless beneath him. "You're far too weak for someone who intended to recruit me, Signora."
"You—you attacked before I could react…" Signora clutched her chest with a pained expression, glaring at the man in front of her.
"Do you think I'm cheating? On the battlefield, you'd be dead by now, Signora." Eiji said indifferently.
Signora felt humiliated.
Her face was not only pale but also flushed with anger.
Even so, she couldn't deny what Eiji had said.
She was defeated!
In a single move, she was defeated!
"You harbor a very intense fire of hatred within your soul, Signora." Eiji changed the subject, his gaze seeming to pierce through his conversation partner.
Signora felt uneasy.
She shuddered.
"Serving as a tool of the Cryo Archon, Tsaritsa, and living in the grip of past grudges will only waste your beauty. That is why I decided to capture you. I'll take you to my carriage and transform you into a far better and more obedient woman under my command."
Hearing Eiji's words—which sounded very strange yet were filled with dominance—Lumine, Barbara, Paimon, Xianyun, and even Venti, who had just sat up straight on the stone floor, froze instantly. Their faces were filled with confusion.
Was it just their imagination, or had Eiji captured Signora because he was attracted to her beauty!?
"Wait a minute… What did he say?!" Paimon blinked repeatedly as she flew backward with a look of shock on her face. "Eiji defeated that terrifying Harbinger just to... make her a lady on the train?! What does that mean?"
She didn't actually understand what Eiji had said.
But strangely, a church servant like Barbara clasped her hands in front of her chest, and there was a slight blush on her cheeks. "Eiji… what exactly does he want to do to that wicked woman?"
She imagined a few things.
Jean would definitely be surprised if she were here. Barbara isn't as innocent as she thought! Who taught her such grown-up things!?
On the other side, Xianyun simply adjusted her red glasses while shaking her head slowly. She realized that even though Eiji was a being on a level no lower than that of the gods or the Archons, he still had worldly desires just like humans.
And his worldly desires were immense!
Still, why was she feeling a little annoyed?
"Eiji, you…" Lumine rolled her eyes and looked sulky.
However, considering he'd had many women—as his inner voice had revealed—long before today, She didn't bother trying to stop him.
After all, who was she to Eiji?
Even his own women didn't try to stop him from wooing other women—including her.
Eiji, you bastard!
[Host, you're a bastard.]
'Miss System, you're right.'
[!?]
Signora, upon hearing Eiji's intention, immediately widened her blue eyes. Her anger and her pride as a Harbinger vehemently rejected that crazy idea.
She tried to use her Delusion (an artificial device similar to Vision, created by the Fatui organization using the remnants of a dead god's energy) to create a wall of ice, but her body was too weak to move.
The Delusion grants immense elemental manipulation power, but it can drain the user's energy or accelerate their aging as a dangerous side effect.
Signora rarely used it because she didn't want to accelerate her aging, but even if she were to use it at full power right now—she simply couldn't do it!
It's not just because of the pain from being kicked by Eiji earlier, but also because of the uncontrolled internal fire energy within her body.
There's another reason why she uses the ice/cryo element Delusion. It was to suppress the other power within her and allow her to live longer.
Signora is actually seriously ill.
Eiji knew this, and he would certainly save her. Of course, it wouldn't come for free.
"D-Don't be so presumptuous, you bastard…!" Signora said in a hoarse voice trembling with rage. "I am a Harbinger of the Fatui! I'll never let myself be captured by a man like you… I refuse—!"
"That's too bad." Eiji cut her off with a flat tone. "In my presence, you have absolutely no choice but to comply, Signora."
Before Signora could let out another roar of anger, Eiji moved with a speed impossible for the human eye to follow. He positioned his hand behind Signora's shoulder, then delivered a short, precise strike right to the back of her slender neck.
*Thwack*
That brief touch instantly severed the flow of energy in Signora's central nervous system. Her pair of furious blue eyes instantly dimmed and closed tightly. Her voluptuous body went completely limp, and she fainted, helpless in Eiji's embrace.
Eiji stood up, cradling Signora's unconscious body in a bridal carry with one casual hand. He turned to look at Lumine and the others, who were still frozen in place.
There was no shame on his face as he had seized a woman and intended to carry her off by force.
"We'll meet again at the inn later. For now, I have other business to attend to with my captive."
"And don't worry—I'll also make sure she doesn't cause any more trouble in Mondstadt!"
Eiji said all that with a heroic expression on his handsome face. For a moment, he looked like a hero.
Even though the reality was quite the opposite.
Lumine and the others didn't know what to say.
*Swoosh!*
Before they could say anything, Eiji had already used his teleportation ability and taken Signora away with him.
"That amazing guy has already left with Rosalyne? I didn't get a chance to thank him... He wouldn't do anything that bad to her, would he?"
Venti walked over to Lumine and the others and asked them as well. Besides wanting to thank Eiji, he was actually worried about Signora.
Even after what she'd done to him earlier, he didn't hate her—he was actually worried about her.
"Don't worry—even though Eiji… is a big pervert. He wouldn't torture a beautiful woman—he'd just try to persuade her." Lumine said, based on her understanding of Eiji.
"Persuade? What does he want to persuade Rosalyne to do?"
"...." Lumine hesitated to answer.
Venti's eyes widened.
"Seriously? I thought Eiji was just joking earlier, but is he actually serious about trying to seduce Rosalyne so she'll become a 'good woman'?"
Of course, an Archon who'd lived for so long could tell that Eiji had a crush on Signora.
Even so, he actually felt relieved.
If that man, Eiji, could make Rosalyne repent and return to being a good person... Even if he had to force her, Venti thought that was a good thing.
He didn't hate Eiji.
In fact, his favorable impression of him had only grown stronger.
He was also glad he'd given him his Gnosis.
Miss System: People's reactions are strange, but my host isn't an ordinary person. He's a vil— Ahem, a protagonist with a system as awesome as mine! So, people often view him in a positive light.
The protagonist's halo is truly terrifying.
Eiji's Halo level is even higher than Ye Chen's. It's only natural for the latter to get a green hat from him
...
Time passed.
Slowly, Signora's eyelids fluttered open. Her consciousness returned gradually, accompanied by a faint dizziness at the back of her neck.
Her vision, which had been blurry at first, now revealed that she was no longer in the courtyard of Favonius Cathedral, but lying on an extraordinarily soft bed in a bedroom. The room's walls were clad in high-quality steel with dark, gold-plated engravings, exuding the distinctive luxury of the Astral Express's interiors.
Signora had no idea where she was.
She jolted awake and immediately sat up. But the next second, her breath caught in her throat. She felt the sensation of an extremely soft, barely-there silk fabric against her skin.
As she lowered her head to examine herself, Signora's eyes widened in shock. Her clothes and mask were gone. Instead, her curvaceous body was now draped in a sexy, bright red evening gown with a plunging neckline and a high slit that exposed her smooth thighs.
Not only that, the fresh, floral scent of soap wafted from her entire body and her platinum blonde hair.
"W-What… What on earth is this?!" Signora asked, her voice trembling.
Her mind immediately began racing in panic. Recalling Eiji's arrogant words before she fainted, her mind was immediately filled with the worst possible scenarios.
'The scent of this soap... my clean body... What on earth did that bastard do to me while I was unconscious?!'
Anger, shame, and humiliation swirled together, burning in Signora's chest until her beautiful face flushed crimson. "How dare he! How dare he touch my body!"
She roared and clenched her right fist, trying to channel the Cryo energy from her Delusion to freeze the entire room.
But—
"Huh?"
Not a single speck of ice emerged.
Signora was stunned. She tried again, pouring all her focus into summoning the Crimson Witch of Flames' eternal fire from deep within her soul.
But she couldn't do it either. The flow of elemental energy within her body suddenly felt completely blocked by an invisible chain that locked down the core of her power. The authority that bound her soul reduced her to nothing more than a helpless, mortal woman.
Signora panicked.
*Hiss*
The bedroom's automatic sliding door opened with a soft hiss. A man stepped inside with a very relaxed and indifferent demeanor. It was Eiji. He walked over without a hint of hostility, then pulled up a jade chair in the corner of the room to sit back and cross his legs.
"You're finally awake. How are you feeling, Signora? Or… should I call you Rosalyne?"
Eiji gave a faint smile.
His eyes swept over the curves of Signora's body, now clad in a red dress that looked sexy, especially the cleavage.
He whistled in his heart.
Hearing her real name from the past—Rosalyne—mentioned so casually by Eiji, Signora tensed up even more on the bed.
"You…!" Signora growled, clutching the silk blanket tightly to cover her sexy body. "What did you do to my powers?! And what did you do to my body while I was unconscious, you bastard?!"
Eiji just chuckled softly, but replied flatly. "I've healed all the internal injuries you sustained from our previous fight, and I've also sealed your elemental powers (using Disempowerment) so you'll sit still and listen. And… don't get the wrong idea just yet. It wasn't me who bathed you or changed your clothes into something so revealing."
Eiji glanced toward the door. From the shadows, Cassandra stepped in wearing an elegant black-and-white maid's dress, then stood upright and obediently right behind the chair where Eiji was sitting.
For a moment, Signora's gaze focused on Cassandra's extra hands—more than a normal person has.
"The one who bathed you and chose that red dress was Cassandra," Eiji continued casually as he stroked Cassandra's fingers resting on his shoulder. "She's one of my maids and also my loyal companion on this train. So, put that silly anger of yours aside for now, Rosalyne. On the Astral Express, you're my guest… and you'll soon be part of my family."
His words sounded shameless.
At first, Eiji had wanted to take a slow approach, but Lumine, Jean, Lisa, and the other women were waiting for him.
He decided to take a quick approach without worrying about his image.
[What image are you referring to, host?]
'Of course, my image as the gray protagonist.'
Pfft!
Miss System couldn't help but laugh.
Eiji fell silent for a moment.
Signora glanced back and forth between Eiji and Cassandra, who stood obediently behind him. Knowing that she hadn't been physically harmed while unconscious eased her panic somewhat, but the fact that her powers had now been sealed and she was forced to submit dealt a severe blow to her pride.
"By the way, you might have been wondering who took this item from you first."
Eiji decided to show off. He took out the Anemo Gnosis he had received from Merraid earlier.
The brightly glowing chess-piece-shaped object hovered above his palm.
Signora's pupils contracted as she looked at the object. "A-Anemo Gnosis... Barbatos' Gnosis?!"
Signora stared at Eiji, then turned to Cassandra, who stood obediently behind him, until finally it dawned on her. "So… so the person who beat me to it and snatched this object from Barbatos's hands before I arrived… was you?!"
"To be precise, the women of my Oarburgh did it on my orders," Eiji replied casually as he twirled the Gnosis between his fingers. "Merraid, Cassandra, and Gilberda voluntarily secured it from Venti before you had a chance to land your blow last night."
That reality shattered Signora's pride into a million pieces.
She felt like a clown.
Eiji had toyed with her.
But put that aside. Signora tried to calm the anger in her heart and decided to swallow her pride.
"You hold all the winning cards, Eiji... Tell me, what exactly do you want from me in exchange for letting me go? Snezhnaya or Fatui can give you anything you ask for."
Signora was finally prepared to compromise for her own safety.
Eiji chuckled softly, a look of amusement on his face. He put the Anemo Gnosis back into his inventory, then leaned forward, staring intently at Signora's beautiful face as she struggled to hide her embarrassment.
"I'm glad to hear what you said, Rosalyne. Not only are you incredibly beautiful, but you're also smart enough to read the situation."
Signora's fists trembled as she forced a smile at the man in front of her.
Did he think that even though she was very beautiful, she wasn't very smart?
Bastard!
However, what Eiji said wasn't entirely wrong. In the original work, if Signora had been smart enough to keep her arrogance in check, she wouldn't have been killed by the slash of one of his future wives.
To be precise, the Archon of Inazuma.
Signora died after being executed by Raiden Shogun at Tenshukaku in Inazuma. She was killed after losing a duel in front of the Archon and the Traveler (Lumine), then struck down with the ultimate lightning-slicing technique, Musou no Hitotachi, after failing in her political schemes and the struggle for Gnosis in Inazuma.
She did not die at the hands of the God of Thunder or the Electro Archon, but at the hands of an automaton resembling her, Raiden Shogun.
The real God of Thunder, Radein Ei, didn't even bother to come out of hiding just because of him.
[I, Eiji Seiya, am willing to be called a villain or a bad guy to save beautiful women!]
[Even if I have to resort to despicable methods, I'll do it.]
The heroines: Okay.
So, what exactly do you want to do to a woman this time, Eiji?
How lewd is it?
You seem to be enjoying it, and you're not being forced at all.
"I'll release the seal on your power and let you move freely inside this train, as long as you agree to leave Fatui and become one of my loyal women. And not only that..."
Eiji paused mid-sentence; he didn't let Signora rush to refuse just yet. His gaze shifted to her ample chest—I mean, the place where her cursed flame resides. "If you agree, I'll even offer to help you tame and fully control the Crimson Witch of Flames within your body without needing to use that ice Delusion anymore. I can stabilize your soul, erase the pain from your past burns, and make you many times stronger than you are now."
Hearing the last two offers Eiji made, Signora was immediately stunned and froze on the bed.
Not even Tsaritsa could offer her anything that good.
But Eiji?
Cassandra: Just as expected of Eiji-sama. He made offers that no woman could possibly refuse!
Cassandra's eyes sparkled as she gazed at Eiji with adoration in her eyes. Ever since becoming one of his women, her loyalty to him has surpassed her loyalty to Merraid.
"Is this… Is this for real?" Signora didn't immediately refuse even though she wanted to; she was actually hesitant. "Tame my flame… and make me stronger? Not even an Archon like Tsaritsa could do that."
"Oh, you don't believe I'm capable of doing it? I can prove it as long as you're willing to cooperate in the process, of course."
Eiji wasn't disappointed; in fact, he seemed excited.
Signora was confused; she couldn't understand the man's train of thought! But since he said that, her doubts began to fade.
"Allright... you win, Eiji. If you can free me from the pain caused by the flame inside my body, then I... I'll be your woman and even give you my loyalty."
She tried to look indifferent, but there was a slight blush on her pale cheeks.
The deceased Fatui agents who had once been under her command would surely be shocked if they saw that scene.
Their Lady was blushing!?
How cute, thought Eiji.
[Hehehe. Time to have some fun again, our King!]
'Leme, you're saying that as if I'm having more fun than doing serious work.'
Hearing this, Leme was speechless.
Miss System was even too lazy to say that it was true.
Her host isn't a serious person.