Chapter 188: Wives and a Harem System

Reality was a bit different than what he had expected. Strax entered the inn and headed straight for his room. It had been a long day, and he was both stressed and exhausted from what the System had revealed in the past few hours.

He felt nervous as he prepared to explain to his wives about the System and how it had awakened within him. He knew it would be difficult--not just because the information was complex, but because it could directly affect the dynamics between them.

As he entered, accompanied by Cristine, who had offered to meet her new "sisters," since she was now a part of this... unusual situation, he saw them waiting. Beatrice, Monica, and Samira stood with their arms crossed, each with three glowing windows in front of them. They were huddled together, discussing what on earth this guide in front of them could be.

Cristine, walking a bit behind him, remained silent. Her clothes were still slightly disheveled after the... playful night she'd had with their husband. She felt a wave of guilt, knowing she'd slept with him without consulting them first. Though she didn't regret it, she feared rejection.

'This is going to be complicated,' Strax thought, seeing the three staring at him with curious, yet nearly murderous, eyes.

"You're going to explain this, right? Darling?" Samira said, a massive vein bulging on her forehead. Her tone was almost sweet, but the tension in her voice made it clear she was anything but calm. She could already smell the lingering scent of lust, and Cristine's guilty expression wasn't helping.

Strax cleared his throat, walking into the center of the room, feeling their gaze weighing down on him. There was no way to avoid the subject, so he decided to cut to the chase.

"Well, ladies... I think it's time you all understand a few things about me and what's been happening recently," he began, doing his best to maintain composure.

"Oh, great! He's finally going to tell us that he's been hiding something from us. How nice, don't you think?" Beatrice chimed in, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Like Samira, she looked ready to tear into him. They seemed to be in sync, both prepared to accuse and attack. Monica, on the other hand, was quietly waiting for him to explain whatever the glowing guide was.

He cleared his throat again. "Well... it's been a while since something happened to me... it was when I awakened my cultivation..." Strax murmured.

"Ah, so you've been keeping secrets since you 'married' me. How delightful," Beatrice said with a crooked smile, a vein on her temple pulsing as she tried to keep her composure.

"Look, cut the crap, okay? If I had told you about this earlier, would you have believed me? Of course not. So, let's just get to the point. This is the System," Strax said, pulling up the Status screen and turning it toward them.

"System?" Monica raised an eyebrow, visibly confused.

Strax nodded, taking a deep breath before continuing, grateful at least one of them seemed willing to listen without killing him on sight.

"Yes, a System... something that only I could see until recently. It's hard to explain, but basically, it grants me certain... abilities. Quests, stats, rewards... It's as if my life is part of some sort of game, but much more real. I had no idea how or why this happened, but somehow, it's changed everything."

"Game? Like cards?" Beatrice asked, puzzled.

'Oh crap... they don't have games here,' Strax remembered, realizing how out of place his explanation sounded in their world.

"No, not like that... Think of it more as a guide that helps me gain new abilities and such," Strax explained, trying to find the right words.

Beatrice leaned forward, the curiosity in her eyes growing.

"So... why did Cristine get involved if it was just one night together?" Beatrice questioned.

Cristine, who had been silent until now, looked visibly uncomfortable. She knew the question was directed at Strax, but she felt as though all the women's gazes were also on her in some way.

Strax took a deep breath, trying to find the right words.

"Look, I didn't know this was going to happen either. The System is... unpredictable, and when I accepted Cristine as part of my life, I think the System interpreted that in a...

literal, and well, I wasn't going to let her go anyway, you already knew that, don't give me that look." Strax said, it was reality, these three women already knew they wouldn't be the only ones, Beatrice herself had fought to be the first wife, so now it was time to accept what was coming.

Beatrice looked at Cristine with an expression that was hard to read, while Monica was clearly one step away from saying something more sarcastic. Samira, however, laughed again, without humor.

"Well, we seem to have an interesting problem here, don't we?" She said, crossing her arms. "We're going to need to talk about it. A lot." She said, letting out a mischievous smile...

'Fuck...' Strax felt the sweat on his forehead begin to form. He knew that this conversation was about to turn into something he'd rather avoid.

"Maybe I... should go out and buy some things for us." He suggested, smiling crookedly in an attempt to escape the tension that was building in the room. "You can talk... and sort it out between you." He said, throwing everything at Cristine...

Before anyone could reply, he turned and walked quickly out the door, feeling the weight of the four women's gaze on his back.

'Good luck, dear!' Strax sent her a mental mana transmission, simple communication magic... Something that made Cristine wonder if it was right to have chosen him as her husband... 'Not regret it? I'm almost sorry...'

As he left, he could hear the murmurs that began between them.

Inside the room, Beatrice was the first to speak.

"So, Cristine... Let's be direct. How did this really happen?" The air between the women became heavy, and the rivalry that had been latent until then began to show.

"W-what?" Cristine asked. "Ah... Let's be honest here... Did anyone expect him to be normal?" Beatrice let out a heavy sigh, and they all nodded with her comment. "No."

"So, what's left to do? Let's talk about him... Even more so now, we have nowhere to run anyway, that idiot man will arrest us if he has to, so let's at least share our experiences." Beatrice dictated the rules...

"I-I'm not going to talk about it!" It wasn't even Cristine who interrupted, but Monica, who was completely flushed. "How can I talk about it in front of you! You're my daughter!" She exclaimed.

"Do you really want to talk about motherhood? As far back as I can remember, you were moaning like crazy while my husband, now yours too, fucked you in the kitchen of our house without even bothering. You seduced your daughter's husband... Come on, don't be a hypocrite, Mom."

Beatrice threw in, and Samira and Cristine looked at Monica with a look that said: She's right.