CHAPTER 69
Now that I had obtained the god’s permission, all that was left was to go to the girls and tell them that I could legally build a harem.
And judging by their reactions, they would either reluctantly accept it or just give up on me and leave. One way or another, a conclusion would be reached.
However…

Ares is the problem. Even if the other girls accepted it and the Death Knights were forced to obey due to my orders, there was no way she would accept something like this.
I was right in the middle of worrying about how to persuade Ares.

"I will handle Count Ares myself."
High Priest Namiel said out of nowhere, as if she had peered right into my mind.

"Huh?"

"She will certainly not agree to this matter. When we return, tell her that I summoned her. I will make up an excuse, bring her to the temple, and keep her tied up there for as long as possible."

"...Wait, don't tell me?"

"Yes, it is the method the Heavenly God taught me."

That guy’s social skills are seriously incredible! To think he had even anticipated Ares's reaction and given orders in advance.
How do the demons of this world even manage to survive while antagonizing a temple that follows a god like this? Defying a god is already a reckless endeavor, but if the Heavenly God is your opponent, it's as retarded as setting your own head on fire.
The reason the Demon King probably managed to survive until she was killed by the First Emperor was simply because, no matter what she did, she was nothing more than an insignificant bug in the Heavenly God's eyes.

"Alright, then I’ll leave her to you."

Giving silent thanks to Namiel and the Heavenly God, I returned to where my group was waiting.
And then...

"Mother, the temple says they have something to discuss with you. Would you mind heading over there for a bit?"

"...Tch."

Though puzzled by the sudden summons, Ares clicked her tongue and stepped outside.

"Listen closely from now on, all of you."
Once it was just me and the remaining women, I told them about the oracle the Heavenly God had handed down.

"...?"
"Excuse me?"
"W-What the!"
"Is that bastard crazy?"

Viol, Hames, Alios, Sibylius, and Red reacted one after another.
To Red, who was the most dumbfounded and even cursing, I spoke coldly.

"Technically, I'm the crazy one. The Heavenly God merely granted my wish."

"That crazy wish of yours to live with all of us just because you hate seeing us fight?!"

"Yeah."
I spoke firmly, looking around at the group.
"I'll say this now, but I don't really care if you refuse. There’s no coercion here. You can just reject it and leave me. That's it."

"But we can't do that...!"

"Stop. I'm not taking objections."
I cut Red off.
"Of course, I'm not asking for an answer right this second. You'll need time to think. Take your time, think it over calmly, and come to me when you have your answer."

I turned and walked out of the room where the group was gathered.
"I'll be in my room, so only come to me when you've made your decision. Niobe, you stay here and make sure they don't try anything funny."

"...Understood."
Niobe looked like she had a lot to say, but seeing my stubborn resolve, she yielded as if she had no other choice.

Leaving the Death Knights to guard the remaining women, I returned to my room.
About thirty minutes passed.

"Ceres."
The first one to seek me out was Alios.

"I've come to give my answer."

"You can take more time to think about it. You're here already?"

"...Because agonizing over it any longer is meaningless."
Alios looked at me with deeply sunken, calm eyes.
"To be honest, most of my 'thinking' was just debating whether I should kill all the other bitches. ...But I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Why?"

"Because I've already seen the absolute worst-case scenario that unfolds when I get greedy like that."
It seemed the actions of the original novel's Alios had caused a massive shift in her state of mind.

"So, for now, I will accept your proposal."

"For now?"

"Because as we live together later, I might persuade you, or my mind might change. Towards killing the rest of them, I mean."
Having declared her participation in the harem, Alios said her piece and immediately walked out.
I thought she would cling to me, so I was surprised she left so quickly, but the reason became clear a moment later.

"Ceres."
Because she knew someone else was coming right behind her.

The next to arrive was Hames. She was looking at me with those same trembling, confused eyes.

"Do we really have to go this far?"

Hames asked desperately, but I replied coldly.
"That's my line. You guys are the ones who gave me the excuses that forced me to go this far."

"..."
Hames let out a groan, unable to find the words to argue back.
She stood there for a long time before continuing bitterly.
"In the past, I would have absolutely opposed something like this. Not out of my own greed, but for your sake."

It seemed Hames also thought I was making some sort of grand sacrifice. She stared at me with eyes full of complex emotions, then added a "However."

"I cannot do that now. Because I have already witnessed the horrifying tragedy brought about by our obsession with you."
Hames couldn't ignore the alternate reality of the original novel. She predicted that if I didn't do this, a disaster would occur.

"Yes, perhaps this is a good method. I don't like it, but I don't even know if I have the right to complain in the first place."

"...Don't beat yourself up too much."

"Things rarely go the way we want."
Hames sighed and stated that she, too, would accept my proposal.
"The others will likely do the same. There's no point in me being the only one to refuse and drop out."

"Probably."

"...I'll be going now. I need some time alone to cool my head."
Hames left.

About ten minutes passed?

"...Ceres."
This time, Viol walked in.
In that moment, I thought, Finally, here it is. Honestly, out of all the girls, I was the most curious about her reaction.
What the hell was she going to say? Was she going to be so furious that she’d regain her lost energy and go on a rampage to kill the others?
I watched Viol’s next move with tension, but something completely unexpected happened.

Thud.
Viol dropped to her knees and collapsed in front of me.

"Ceres, I'll do whatever you tell me, so please, just don't leave me!"
She grabbed the hem of my clothes and pleaded.
"Ever since I saw the scenery of that other world the Heavenly God showed us, I've been terrified! Terrified that you might die here just like you did in that world!"

"And when I realized that you had seen it too, I was even more terrified! Terrified that you would grow sick of me and leave!"

...Well, I definitely didn't see this coming.
It seemed Viol's psychological state was far more unstable than I had thought.
Still unable to gather her senses, she just clung to me and begged.

"I'll do anything, so please!"

"Uh, so what about my proposal?"

"I accept! I'll accept it!"
I hurriedly got Viol's agreement as well. Taking advantage of her mental breakdown to do this made me feel a bit guilty, but it couldn't be helped.

"Alright. I won't leave you. We'll live together from now on. So, Viol, you should get some rest. Go back to your room and get a good sleep."
I coaxed Viol and sent her back to her room.

And then...

"Excuse me."
A moment later.
As if tagging in, Sibylius entered.
She showed the most violent reaction out of the four so far. As soon as she walked in, her black eyes glowed crimson as she glared at me.

"Do you have any idea how despicable of a man you are?"

"What's so despicable about me?"

"This entire situation right now is despicable!"
Sibylius shouted.
"You're doing this because you know that I—that none of us—can reject that proposal and give you up!"

"True. I won't deny it."

"If you were going to do this, you should have just picked the one you liked best out of the five! At least then it wouldn't be as absurd as this!"

To the infuriated Sibylius, I replied.
"I don't have a specific favorite among the five of you. To put it the other way around, I like all five of you."

"...Excuse me?"

"The other girls, and you too, have treated me well and helped me a lot. So, I have feelings for all of you, which is why I couldn't just pick one."

When I stated my feelings honestly, Sibylius wore a blank expression for a moment.

"Does that mean you have feelings for me as well?"

"Yeah. If I didn't, I would have just said no. I wouldn't have offered the condition that we all live together."

"..."
Sibylius made a seriously conflicted expression.
"...If that's the case, is it possible that your feelings for me might grow larger than your feelings for the other four later on?"

"I don't know. Even if I became a god, I can't predict the future."

"Very well. Then I will accept your proposal."
Sibylius looked at me with cold eyes.
"I debated whether it would be better to just kill the other four, but if this is a proposal you made because you have feelings for me, I will agree to it for now."

"If it's 'for now,' what are you planning to do later?"

"It seems someone else has already said something similar. Maybe I will, maybe I won't."
With those words, Sibylius turned and walked out haughtily.

And so, only Red was left.

"Yeah, playing the role of your mistress sounds like it could be fun."
As soon as she arrived, she said something that was basically an agreement.

"Technically, you wouldn't be a mistress. You'll formally be my wife."

"One of your many wives, you mean. Aren't you a big shot!"
Red scoffed in disbelief before continuing.
"Judging by the looks of it, all the other bitches reluctantly accepted your proposal too, didn't they?"

"Yeah."

"So what are you going to do now? You don't just have one amazing wife, you have five."

Well, there was really only one thing left to do.

"Make babies."
We were practically married now, so that was the only thing left, and it was what the Heavenly God ordered anyway.