~ Chapter 22: Two rings to lock me in Hell… or Heaven? ~

[Illsyore’s point of view]

 There was a graveyard silence in my room as everyone looked at the black tattoo rings now decorating Nanya and Ayuseya’s left ring fingers. It didn’t take a genius to realize what they symbolized, but even the little gears inside my noggin were having a hard time turning around in an attempt to process the information. The reason was because all of this was so sudden and way too shocking for all of us.

Who would have guessed that my silly 'not not' joke could turn the two of them into my wives?

To make things more awkward for me, back on Earth I wasn't even able to gather the courage to pop the question to Alina, while in this one, I was able to ask two women of different ages, nationalities, and species to marry me...

I realized the impossible! I achieved the unthinkable! I achieved every man’s nightmare and dream at the same time! Unfortunately, it didn’t happen because I was madly in love with both of them, it was because of a simple joke; an honest to god insane mistake.

“So…” I said trying to break the awkward silence.

Nanya looked at me.

Showing me the new tattoo on her ring finger, she asked “Illsy? What is this?”

“Erm… a hand?” I replied, and she glared at me.

Oh, she’s mad! I thought.

“I believe… this is... a marriage contract?” asked Ayuseya.

“Marriage? I’m too young to be married!” complained Nanya, but her words only made me squint my eyes at her.

You are over 100 years old! I shouted in my mind.

“But… he asked not to marry him, right?” Ayuseya tried to confirm.

“Technically speaking… no.” I said.

“You actually asked us to marry you? Are you mad?” asked Nanya.

“Is that a trick question?” I asked.

“Illsy!” she frowned.

“I do not deny the banana!” I told her and as a result, they all blinked surprised.

Some strange little invisible bird told me the crazy act wasn’t working anymore.

“Sigh… Can you please take this off? The last thing I want is to be married to an insane, big, floating crystal.” said Nanya as she crossed her hands at her chest.

“I don’t mind.” said Ayuseya.

While Nanya’s opinion was understandable, Ayuseya’s took me by complete surprise. Who would have thought that a draconian princess would say such a thing? Seriously though, someone in her political situation, despite the minor details about a mad fiance… ex-fiance, should think twice before agreeing to marry like that, and by no means I was to be blamed for asking the question! Still, the joke was over, and it fulfilled its initial purpose of getting them to stop arguing, although, wouldn’t a 2000 Magic Energy [Fireball] have sufficed?

I should make a mental note of that. Destructive magic first, marriage question second! There! I thought while still trying to recollect my scattered thoughts.

“Alright, I’ll take it off now… or try to.” I said with a sigh.

“Good!” said Nanya with a big smile.

“Aw…” Ayuseya looked dejected.

I stared at those rings and thought hard about what I was supposed to say in order to cancel whatever I did. Thinking about it logically though, I didn’t cast a spell or anything like that, I just asked something as a joke. That being said, I wondered how exactly was I supposed to take them off now?

“Let’s see… Erm… Will you two divorce me?” I asked.

“Yes.” they replied at the same time, but nothing happened.

“Hm… Do you, Nanya, wish to divorce me?” I asked again.

“Yes!” she replied in a raised tone of voice.

We waited, but nothing happened.

“Do you, Nanya, wish to unmarry me?” I asked.

“I don’t think that word exists, but yes.” she told me, and nothing happened again.

I opened my status menu and looked around at my skills for a hint regarding what I was supposed to do with this marriage thing, unfortunately there was nothing there, and no matter how many vocal commands I tried, how many questions I asked, there was no reaction from their rings. They were stuck there for good.

“I… I don’t think I can take them off.” I said after more than an hour of trials and errors had passed.

“Guess I’ll end up a young widow!” said Nanya with an annoyed smile as she punched her palm with her fist.

“Wait now, don’t do anything you might regret! I’m the father of your future children after all!” I said with a dignified voice while on the inside, I prayed to all the deities out there to stop her from shattering me to a billion pieces.

“Honestly Illsy… How can you say something like that when you are using my panties for a hat!” she shouted at me.

“Huh? What panties?” I asked a bit confused.

Moving out of my body, I took a look around and right there, on top of my Crystal Body, was the frilly white fabric Nanya usually wore. I recognized it immediately, but I had to ask myself: why was it there in the first place?

“Seriously, that spell is beyond broken…” I muttered as I squinted my eyes at it.

Using [Telekinezy] I picked them up and returned the holy fabric to its rightful owner. Nanya snatched them out of my hand and threw a glare my way.

“But I do believe this settles it. Illsyore is now our husband even if we want to admit it or not.” stated Ayuseya as she looked back at Nanya.

“And tell me, what’s wrong with being a widow?” she asked raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe nothing, maybe everything, but do you really desire to become one without first giving Illsyore a chance? In the first place, what’s wrong with being his wife?” she asked calmly and rather relaxed for someone who just got married by mistake.

“Yes, yes! Widow bad! Chance at marriage good!” I said quickly like a bloke who forgot how to use verbs.

Nanya took another look at her ring and then glared back at me. It felt like it would take her quite a while to come to terms with the current situation, but she didn’t seem to be completely against it either. A clear proof of that was the fact that I was still alive. On the other hand, Ayuseya was the complete opposite. As for Shanteya, she remained quiet and didn’t say a single word about it, but she didn’t look at me either. She was my trusty maid, but I had to be really dense not to see her fidgeting about the fact that she missed the opportunity to say 'yes' as well.

I never thought I would be THIS popular! I thought to myself, however, the problem remained, there was no way to remove the rings on their fingers. Unlike the tattoos from the [Make a Slave] spell, these ones appeared to be permanent.

“Erm, maybe Tuberculus or the others know something about it? Or maybe we need a priest?” I asked.

Shaking her head, Nanya denied both options.

“We mustn’t tell Tuberculus about this. Ayuseya is an important political guest, after all… It would be easier to destroy you, Illsy, than to undo the spell.” she pointed out.

I gulped.

“I wouldn’t let them, rest assured.” Ayuseya stood in my defense.

“Maybe, but what about the other countries? The higher ups as they say? We don’t command armies or have Supremes to protect us…” she explained with a sigh.

“Huh?” I furrowed my brow in surprise.

“As Nanya said, I AM a political guest. My stay here cannot be for an indeterminable period of time. My marriage to you would stir up quite a lot of problems within this country as well as mine. There are many nobles out there who just can’t wait to point a finger at one of foreign royal blood just so they can bring them down. To avoid those bothersome situations and unneeded troubles, we can employ the use of an army or Supreme Rank adventurers. Having an army would help us declare the independence of this territory. Having the vows of protection from two or more Supremes guarantees our safety. As of yet we have none, but there is the third option. If I am hidden from Dankyun’s gaze, and he leaves this academy alone, then Illsyore can focus on building a dungeon and expand his territory. At the same time, we can make allies out of all the noble children who joined this academy. With their help as well as a powerful dungeon, we can gain the favor of the Shoraya higher nobility or even that of the royal family itself. Once it’s found out that I am married to Illsyore, we can invoke that favor and request their protection. I’m sure they would be more than willing to accept a friendly Dungeon on their territory if we offer certain services in return.” explained Ayuseya, while the rest of us listened to her patiently.

“Indeed, a bunch of political hogwash, but that is a possibility and probably the best one yet. HOWEVER…” Nanya said, and with a sharp gaze, she looked back at the draconian princess “this is all good only and only if Dankyun doesn’t discover you, and this leads us back to our original topic.”

I gulped and asked “But now, there is a good reason for me to hide her, right? If I don’t, this Dankyun fellow will most likely kill me to free Ayuseya from the marriage contract, and I would pretty much like to keep my crystal hide intact, thank you!”

Nanya only looked at Ayuseya and appeared to have ignored me. There was a real lightning storm going on between the two of them, and I had no way of stopping it without using brute force, which I rather not do.

After a minute or so, Nanya let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.

“Well?” I asked.

A few moments later, she opened her eyes and looked straight at my Crystal Body. In a calm tone of voice, she began to give out instructions on what I was to do from now on.

“Fine, but Illsy, you have to build more levels to your dungeon in the following years. Make it have at least fifty levels. Make them harder than the current ones. We also need to teach you how to enchant walls and stuff. I think I have a few books on this subject. You also need to build a lot more other weaker and smaller dungeons all over the place. It will increase your value in the king’s eyes. We must absolutely not tell the idiot teachers about this. They are already upset about you for your so called ‘easy’ dungeon floors. As for your Core, you need to start using Magic Armor on it, expand your territory to double, no, triple the current size. You also need to do something about this room. Guard yourself with something, but keep your Core here. Nobody will complain about it being guarded, but if it’s hidden, they will doubt your loyalty towards us.”

When she suggested to make my dungeon a bit harder and with more floors, I couldn’t help but let a grin form on my invisible lips. Various devious ideas were already forming in my mind. I didn’t know what it was, but the idea of building something incredibly complex, deadly, and insanely annoying brought a smile of delight on my face. I did wonder what she meant by enchanting walls, but what caught my attention was something else.

“Magic Armor? I think I remember you mentioning something about it… Well, in this case, I’ll just need your guidance on how to do it, sensei Nanya!” I said with a smile.

“Wait, isn’t that a bit too much even for him? Other Dungeons take countless years to make their dungeons. For him to make more than one and in such a short amount of time…” said Ayuseya knitting her brow and looking at both of us a bit confused.

“Nyahaha! No need to worry about that, Illsy is a Godlike, not a Heroic!” the little girl said with a big smirk on her face.

“G-G-Godlike?!” the draconian shouted.

“Sssh! Not so loud!” said Nanya putting her hand over the woman’s mouth.

“That would explain the large amount of Magic Energy consumption as well as why he was able to cure me, but I thought of him to be an Ancestral or maybe a Demigod, certainly not a Godlike!” said Ayuseya, who was pretty shocked by the truth.

As for me, I couldn't help but wonder if I was really all that special as they claimed.

“Sigh. Anyway, keep quiet about him, and I’ll make sure to keep the teachers silent. But listen, Ayuseya, if you do or plan to do anything to Illsy that will lead to his destruction or harm, I will hunt you down and skin you alive! You have my promise as a Godlike adventurer on that!” she threatened her and even I could feel the killing intent she was emanating.

“The same applies to you too, Nanya.” retorted the princess without even flinching in front of her.

“Something tells me coming back late at night from a drink with the guys will be ten times more difficult to explain now…” I sighed heavily.

From then on, I would need to focus more on building my dungeon, creating new ones, and also developing new ways to lead the poor fellows who ventured in there on the brink of insanity. Unfortunately, at that time, I had no idea what sort of danger was heading my way…

[Dankyun’s point of view]

 “Master Alttoros, we should reach Therion by the end of the day.” replied Fellian, one of my four Emperor Rank commanders.

I didn’t reply to his words, I merely looked out in the far. Was there a need to reply to one such as him? An Emperor Rank was nothing but a maggot when compared to me as for the 40 Master Rank Soldiers behind me, they were even lower than that.

Why it was so? Was that even a question needed to be asked?

I was a Supreme Ranked draconian engaged to the royal princess, Ayuseya Pleyades, so of course they were nothing but maggots when compared to me!

In this world, power was what ruled the weak. Your adventurer rank could decide both your social status and the amount of people you could crush under your foot. As such, one who was Supreme had to stay in the highest ranking position. That was why the Pleyades royal family married only to this Rank. They represented the power and authority their bloodline of the kings could never hope to achieve. But while I was a symbol of their strength, Ayuseya was nothing but a stepping stone for me to gain a power even a Supreme didn’t hold and yet was offered nonchalantly to someone weaker than even a Beginner Rank adventurer.

THAT was the power of a king!

The power to rightfully command armies and mountains of gold without worrying about maggots barking up at you or other Supremes trying to challenge you to a battle. For me, Ayuseya was the ticket to legally and politically gain that power.

When thinking about it, one had to wonder: what sort of purpose did those 44 men accompanying me could possibly have for one such as me? I was stronger, faster, and smarter than all of them put together. Naturally, I could decimate them in but a few moments, but even maggots were worth something when employed properly.

My current desire was simple: it was to retrieve my puppet, the pathetic little woman who held the bloodline of the kings. I knew for a fact that she couldn’t escape me. The reason for that was the small golden plaque hanging around my neck. It was a gift from the High Priests of Teslov, who blessed our engagement and cast a special spell on us. It allowed me to always know her exact location. The plaque was proof of that, and nothing could break the spell except for another High Priest. However, how could she speak to one when her throat was cursed as well? Writing was a possibility, but a High Priest or anyone with a high noble rank would only see it as an insult and quickly dismiss her before she had a chance to tell her tale.

I closed my eyes and remembered the moment I poured down her throat the potion made from the remains of 1000 flesh-eating worms. She struggled and screamed in pain from the burn, but even now, all I saw in her was nothing but an inferior being who was blessed only with the blood in her veins. Anything else was worth throwing at the trash! What use does a princess have who cannot speak nor fight? She’s a shame to our entire kind, one which I was willing to rectify.

Hm? Who could even dare to stop me, a Supreme? I thought as a smile formed on my lips.

Opening my eyes, I looked up at the sky, but the smell of something burning reached my nose. Blinking surprised, I looked down and saw the gold plaque smoking.

“What’s this?” I asked as I pulled it off.

The smoke intensified and covered the entire plaque. I stopped the horse and watched in horror as the symbol of my engagement with Ayuseya as well as my only means of tracking her turned into a pile of ash.

How could this be? Someone broke the spell? NO! That can’t be… There’s no way a High Priest could possibly be here! I shouted in my mind.

The sight of the smoke angered me.

“Master?” asked Fellian.

I unsheathed my sword and cut him and his horse in half. His Magic Armor was second highest among all the Emperor Ranks following me, but against my might, only one strike was enough to shatter it.

What impudence to disturb me! I thought.

Nonetheless, his death served me well to quench a part of my anger. The others saw this, but none dared to move or comment. They knew all too well what would happen to them if they did.

“I want the best scout out of all of you to go ahead to the Magic Academy Fellyore! Find out what you can about Princess Ayuseya and whoever else worth mentioning is there!” I ordered firmly.

One draconian approached me, but he kept a good distance out of my blade’s reach. The dead body of his former commander was warning enough for him.

“Understood, Master!” he said and punched his chest.

“You are to return by the time I desire to leave Therion.” I declared.

“Yes, Master!” he replied and hit his horse with his spurs.

The beast neighed once and galloped past me.

As I watched him head off, only one thought crossed my mind I wonder what sort of man dared to make ME his enemy?