The grand dining hall was bathed in the warm, flickering glow of chandeliers, the long mahogany table laden with a lavish feast. Everyone had already taken their seats, plates clinking softly as dinner got underway.
King Andre raised his goblet with a hearty smile, looking down the table at the gathered group. "Ah, wonderful! I'm so glad you all made it. Let's not stand on ceremony tonight—dig in and enjoy!"
Lilith casually picked at a piece of food on her plate, muttering under her breath, "Honestly, this royal pressure gets exhausting..."
One of the queens sitting nearby shot her a sharp, warning glare. "Hush now, Lilith. Mind your tongue at the dinner table."
Lilith just rolled her eyes with a light scoff, ignoring her.
King Andre's gaze shifted down the line until his eyes landed on Philo and Geeli. He blinked, suddenly looking apologetic as he set his fork down. "Oh! Forgive me. I completely missed formal introductions for the two of you. Please, forgive my oversight—I am King Andre."
Philo straightened up immediately, offering a polite, slightly stiff bow. "I'm Philo! Nice to meet you, Your Majesty."
Geeli chimed in right after, giving a crisp nod. "And I am Geeli."
The king looked them over, his brow furrowing slightly as he took in their sleek, utilitarian outfits. "If you don't mind me asking... why are you both dressed in such unusual, striking attire? Those garments look entirely different from anything worn in the kingdom."
Philo and Geeli exchanged a quick glance before Philo answered proudly, "Oh, these? It's high-tech tactical gear from our city. It's way ahead of standard medieval technology."
King Andre's eyes widened slightly as the pieces clicked together in his mind. "Ah, I see... so you two are part of Haruto's inner circle as well."
Before Philo could respond, the king stood up from his seat, walking around the long table with a warm, welcoming smile. In his hands, he carried a velvet box holding the royal brooch and a matching ring—the exact same set Haruto had given her earlier.
He walked straight toward Philo, stopping right beside her chair. Philo froze, her eyes darting back and forth in sheer confusion as the king gently placed the items down in front of her.
"My dear, welcome to our home," King Andre said with a heartfelt smile. "From this day forward, this palace is your home, too."
Philo's breath hitched. She looked down at the ring resting on the table, her face flushing crimson as she realized what the king's gesture implied.
Down the table, one of the older queens gasped, dropping her fork with a sharp clatter. "Wait just a minute! Who authorized this betrothal?! Your Majesty, explain yourself!"
King Andre immediately shot her a sharp, authoritative glare that instantly silenced any further protests, before sweeping his gaze calmly across the entire dining hall.
Silence descended over the table.
Philo slumped back in her chair, burying her face in her hands with an internal groan. Oh god... not another public drama scene...
A few seats down, Lilith couldn't help it—she burst into a quiet, amused fit of laughter, covering her mouth as her shoulders shook.
Ivory blinked, tilting her head in utter confusion, trying to figure out what protocol had just been broken. Lustra's eyes narrowed slightly, a spark of pure jealousy flashing across her face. Bellona casually poked at her food, acting as if she hadn't noticed a thing, while Toya let out a long, deeply disappointed sigh, while Aeterna muttering under his breath: Seriously? Another wedding to sit through...
Seeing the heavy tension in the room, one of the queens gently stepped toward the king, placing a hand on his arm with a soft, calming smile. "Now, my dear, please take your seat. You're startling the poor girl."
King Andre let out an awkward, rumbling laugh, waving a hand dismissively. But the second he caught a glimpse of the queen's cold, unamused stare, the laughter died in his throat, and he quickly scurried back to his chair, completely subdued.
A heavy, suffocating silence settled back over the dining hall. Nobody dared to touch their food.
Abruptly, Haruto pushed his chair back and stood up, breaking the quiet. He let out a casual yawn and stretched his arms. "Alright, well, we're heading out now."
Instantly, the king and all the queens froze, their jaws dropping in pure shock.
Meanwhile, Haruto's entire team—Lilith, Philo, Geeli, Ivory, Lustra, and Bellona—remained completely unfazed, calmly sitting in their places as if traveling on a whim was the most normal thing in the world.
King Andre snapped out of his stupor, leaping halfway out of his seat. "What kind of sick joke is this?! Where do you think you're going?!"
Haruto blinked, looking at him as if the answer were obvious. "Like I mentioned before... we're going out to explore the world."
The king stammered, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Explore the world?! Fine, but couldn't you at least stay for a few days?! You've only just come back after all this time!"
Haruto shook his head, offering a completely unapologetic shrug. "Can't. We have a friend waiting for us."
Lilith instantly seized the opportunity to stir the pot, leaning forward with a wicked, mocking grin. "Oh, absolutely! By the way, Haruto, you should've seen him earlier today. When he thought I was leaving, he was literally sobbing buckets, clinging to my leg and bawling his eyes out like a baby. It was hilarious!"
The team and queens stared in absolute, stunned silence, trying and failing to mentally picture the terrifying, overpowered young man currently standing before them weeping over a spirit.
Lilith stretched lazily, patting her stomach. "Anyway, I'm done. We're heading out."
Without missing a beat, Haruto's entire team stood up in unison. Haruto offered a casual wave and a brief nod. "Thanks for the dinner. See ya."
Panicked, the queens lunged forward, physically blocking the doors and shouting over each other. "No! You are not going anywhere!"
King Andre slammed his hands down on the table, backing them up. "She's right! You can't just—"
Before the king could finish his sentence, one of the queens abruptly grabbed a heavy oak dining chair and hurled it right toward the main exit, smashing it against the doors to barricade them from the inside.
The sudden shift in the room was nothing short of whiplash. The fierce, barricade-building queens instantly softened, their stern expressions melting into warm, affectionate smiles as they threw their hands up.
"Alright! Just give us a proper hug each before you step outside, and nobody will stop you,"
one of the queens declared, opening her arms wide.
King Andre's eyes nearly popped out of his skull as he stared at his wife, completely breaking character. "What….!"
Unable to help themselves, Haruto and the rest of the group chuckled, walking down the line to give each of the queens a warm, reassuring hug. The tension dissolved entirely, replaced by a fond, familial warmth as the queens even insisted on escorting them all the way down to the lower level of the palace.
As they reached the grand ground-floor foyer, the heavy iron doors swung open, but their steps came to an abrupt halt.
A squad of elite royal guards in full armor came marching through, dragging someone along with them. They had a young, battered boy roughly by the collar, shoving him forward before halting right in front of the queens.
One of the guards saluted sharply, looking directly at the royals. "Your Majesties. We have the boy."
Hearing this, one of the queens turned sharply toward Serephin, narrowing her eyes. "Serephin, take a look. Is this who we think it is?"
Serephin stepped forward, peering past the armor-clad guards. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the bruised, dirt-streaked face.
Everyone crowded around, staring closely at the captive. It was Kenjin—the very same noble who had tried to corner them earlier, now completely battered, bruised, and thoroughly put in his place.
Serephin squinted down at the battered captive, her expression hardening. "Yeah, that's him."
One of the queens wrinkled her nose, looking at Kenjin with utter disgust. "Get this trash out of my sight. Throw him in the deepest cell."
"Hold on, wait a second," Haruto interrupted, stepping forward. He crouched down right in front of the trembling noble, poking him mockingly in the cheek. "Well, well, well. Look who it is. Aww, what happened to you, buddy?"
Kenjin's face was already a swelling canvas of bruises and cuts from prior beatings. Haruto looked back over his shoulder, pointing a thumb at the boy. "Serephin, did you do this to him?"
Serephin gave a calm, unapologetic nod.
Haruto snickered, waving his hand dismissively at the guards. "Alright, take him away."
As the guards dragged the whimpering noble down the stone hallway, philo crossed her arms with an amused smirk. "My, my. What a charming little guest. Who even was that?"
"Just some obnoxious classmate of ours named Kenjin," Haruto replied casually.
Serephin's expression darkened at the mention of his name. "He's the one who had the nerve to propose to me—even after knowing full well I was already taken. When I rejected him, he tried to force the issue, and even had some filthy, scummy plan to target all of you and make you his wives, too."
Haruto's playful demeanor instantly evaporated. A cold, heavy glint entered his eyes as he dusted off his hands.
"Anyway," Haruto said, turning back toward his team with a bright, easygoing smile as he adjusted his jacket. "We've got a world to explore. Let's move."
Stepping out through the grand palace gates, the group made their way toward their waiting transport van parked just along the outer avenue.
Before they could reach the doors, a familiar figure stepped out from the shadows of a pillar. Professor Elara stood there with her arms crossed, glaring down at them. "Well, well. Took you long enough. What kept you?"
Lilith blinked, tilting her head in confusion. "Wait... why is she here?"
Haruto immediately lowered his head in a deep, exaggerated bow, turning to face his party members with a sheepish grin. "Ah... so, about that. I forgot to mention earlier—she's joining our party starting today."
The queens stepped forward, eyeing the professor with sudden, intense scrutiny. "You... you're his academy professor?"
Professor Elara bowed her head respectfully to the royals. "Yes, Your Majesty."
One of the queens turned back to Haruto, grabbing him by the ear and pulling him down with a scolding glare. "You brought your professor along with you?! Honestly, how much trouble do you plan on causing?!"
"Ow, ow, ow! Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Haruto winced, rubbing his ear once the queen finally let go.
With the brief chaos settled, everyone climbed into the spacious transport van, piling in together. Philo looked around at the crowded seats, muttering under her breath about how cramped it was getting with all these new girls joining the party.
Meanwhile, Geeli sat quietly near the back window, staring blankly out at the palace lights as her brain completely short-circuited all over again. She turned to Haruto with a deadpan, deeply confused stare, still trying to process how her teammate had somehow managed to get married.
As everyone piled into the transport van, Lilith surprisingly stepped aside, gesturing for Serephin to take the front passenger seat right next to Haruto.
Haruto immediately protested, insisting that he wanted to drive. Philo quickly agreed, waving her hands. "Go ahead, Haruto! You drive, we'll sit in the back."
With that sorted, Haruto slid into the driver's seat, and Serephin buckled up right beside him. In the back, the rest of the party settled into their rows—only for a tense, heavy wave of awkward silence to blanket the cabin the moment everyone realized Professor Elara was sitting right there amongst them.
Nobody quite knew how to act with their strict academy professor casually tagging along on a late-night dimensional road trip. Professor Elara herself seemed blissfully unaware of the tension, looking entirely too excited as she peered out the window at the glowing landscape.
Up front, Serephin leaned over toward Haruto, chatting animatedly as the van's engine hummed to life. Outside, three unusual moons hung in the night sky, casting a surreal, silver glow over the road as their journey officially began.
Behind the steering wheel, Haruto gripped the wheel, a determined glint in his eyes. No more messing around, he thought to himself as the van sped into the dark. Once we reach the designated zone, it's straight to work. Time to get stronger, break past the cap, and finally hit Level 100.