Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1074: New Developments

“Huh?”

Quinlan blinked dumbly at the two floating seeds.

A sudden streak of green light darted from his hair, zipping like a firefly across the space. Rosie twirled mid-air with a giggle and plopped herself down on Serika’s firm shoulder.

Serika was still cradling Mimi, the small blue dryad girl who was currently trembling against her chest. Serika’s hand moved carefully, steady as stone yet gentle as a whisper, stroking the girl’s hair.

“B-Big Sis Rosie…” Mimi whimpered when she felt Rosie’s presence nearby.

Rosie leaned forward with the exaggerated curiosity of a child. “Why are you scared, Mimi?” Her voice was sing-song, light enough to make the air feel less heavy.

Mimi hiccupped softly. Her watery eyes shimmered as she tried to explain. “I-I tried taking care of my tree… watering the flowers… brushing the moss, like always… when… when! Suddenly, everything felt… wrong. The roots were twisting.”

She trembled, words tumbling out in broken innocence. “Then two big, round, scary things just- just grew on my tree! And I didn’t know what they were!”

Her voice broke with a little squeak at the end, and Serika pulled her closer, protectively.

Rosie didn’t laugh. Her usual mischief was gone, replaced with a solemn nod. She even puffed her cheeks a little, as if to take Mimi’s fear seriously. “That’s very scary indeed…” She patted her tiny chest twice and beamed. “But don’t worry, Mimi! Big Sis knows what’s going on!”

Three voices rang at once.

“You do?”

Quinlan, Serika, and Mimi all spoke up in perfect unison.

Rosie puffed her chest out proudly. “Hehe~ of course! You see, when Rosie used Daddy’s Soul Realm to make Mimi’s new body, Rosie linked Mimi to the Soul Realm itself!” She tapped her temple as if it were the cleverest thing in the world. “And since Daddy’s Soul Realm was made to carry those shiny, scary-important seeds… Mimi became the guardian of the whole place!”

Her little feet kicked excitedly against Serika’s shoulder. “So that’s why the seeds popped up on Mimi’s tree! The Soul Realm trusts its guardian, and Mimi is that guardian! Hehe~!”

Mimi blinked, stunned. Her trembling slowed just a little. “I’m… a guardian…?”

Rosie nodded so hard she nearly fell off Serika’s shoulder. “Yup! Guardian Mimi!”

“Guardian Mimi…” The little dryad’s lips moved uncertainly around the words. Her big eyes were wide, confusion and innocence mixing together.

A quiet pause settled. Then Mimi bit her lip, fidgeting with her small fingers. “Um… i-is everything… okay then?” she asked timidly. Her weak voice was almost swallowed by the vast Soul Realm around them.

Serika’s hand froze mid-pat. Her fiery brows furrowed, her protective instincts flaring. She didn’t like this at all.

Rosie, however, beamed. “All fine! Totally fine!” she declared, puffing her chest.

But then she froze. Slowly, she realized Quinlan’s gaze was drilling into her back. His sharp eyes weren’t fooled by the cheerful tone or the playful kicks of her feet. She knew that he knew. He always knew… Knew that Rosie carried far more understanding than she liked to admit. That her “innocent little daughter” act was just that, an act. Something she did because she loved being pampered and treated like his young daughter.

Unlike Mimi, who is a newborn through and through, Rosie had inherited her parent Geim’s ancient knowledge that was passed down for generations, which is why she could draw up such deep theories about magic and life. If she wanted to, she could easily act more mature and grown-up. But that was something she refused to do.

That being said, this generational knowledge inheritance has lost a lot of its value when Quinlan… turned her from a Geim into what she is today, a new life form never mentioned in her ancestors’ knowledge base.

Rosie stiffened, refusing to meet his stare. Instead, she tilted her chin to the side and started whistling tunelessly, and fixed her attention on… well, a very interesting speck of air somewhere far in the distance.

Quinlan sighed. He let it go, for now.

His boots carried him closer to the tiny tree. Compared to the vastness of this world, it looked small. So incredibly young, delicate. Kneeling down, he leveled himself with it.

His eyes turned to Mimi, who shrank under the sudden focus. The little dryad was visibly intimidated by him and his imposing presence. “May I?” he asked gently, reaching a hand toward the glowing orbs.

Mimi’s hands curled together tightly. She looked from him to Rosie. But Rosie was still very busy whistling, looking anywhere but here. Then she turned to Serika. The redhead gave her a single, steady nod.

After a long, timid pause, Mimi gave the tiniest of nods. “… Okay.”

Quinlan’s hand touched the orbs.

Nothing exploded. Nothing burned. Nothing shattered.

The corruption seed pulsed beneath his fingertips. A wrongness lingered there, like tar sticking to his soul. But it did not ruin him; it only whispered.

The elemental seed, however, felt different. Fragmented. Its edges jagged, incomplete. The corruption had seeped into it, leaving it fragile, unsteady. His touch could not mend it, only reveal how broken it had become.

Quinlan had thought the elemental seed would be right up his alley, perhaps even letting him begin cultivating it already due to his vast affinity and experience with the elements. However, that was not the case. The seed was tainted, useless in its current state. He first had to contain corruption.

He drew back, standing slowly. And as he did, a heaviness fell on his shoulders. Weariness sank deep into his bones, and his mind and soul felt exhausted beyond what was natural.

“Thank you, Mimi,” he said quietly, offering the girl the faintest smile. “For letting me touch your tree.”

He turned toward Serika next. “I’m retiring for the day. Please wake me if anything changes here.”

“Of course,” his badass Solar Fist smiled supportively. The tanned woman was still visibly concerned with it all, but she knew keeping Quinlan here would not have much benefit. After everything that happened today, he deserved a good rest.

And that was exactly what he did.

Days passed by with Quinlan never waking.

Before falling asleep, he’d portaled Vex back to the Consortium lands as she had work to do. A lot of it. First, she consulted with Black Fang, then informed the whole syndicate of the developments. To say the Consortium entered a state of panic after learning they were being hunted by the whole kingdom as an entire duchy was the prize for the winner would be quite the understatement.

…

The largest and most well-known Adventurer’s Guild hall in the royal capital was louder than usual. Too many bodies packed together, too much tension thrumming through the air.

Lilith sat at the center of her squad’s table with her silvery hair falling over one side of her face. Around her sat her team, the full force of the Scarlet Lilies.

Scar, the cold-eyed assassin whose daggers never missed their mark. Void, the ever-exhausted mage, slumped over the table with her chin on her sleeve.

Jallen, their spearwoman and healer, who combined the two arts into one. She was a graceful woman even while sitting.

And, lastly, Bronnya, their broad-shouldered tank whose armor looked like it belonged on a walking fortress.

Jallen glanced around the room. “The atmosphere here has truly changed…” she murmured.

Scar didn’t even bother looking up from sharpening her blade. “Of course it did. The king put a bounty on every Shadow Vanguard and higher in the Consortium. Every head counts. That’s enough to set the whole guild on fire.”