Chapter 1120: No Friends
Chapter 1118 of "Primordial Villain With A Slave Harem" begins unfolding events: "You have no friends.""...What?" Quinlan blinked, genuinely thrown by what the oriental beauty had just... Continue reading!
"You have no friends.""...What?" Quinlan blinked, genuinely thrown by what the oriental beauty had just said.
"Youâre surrounded by women," Ayame explained evenly. There was no mockery nor hints of joking in her tone; she was dead serious. "I think you should have a male friend or two as well. Even you told me this earlier in our journey, but youâve not been following your own words."
"But I do have male friends."
"Hah!" Ayameâs snort was quick, sharp, and merciless. "Yeah? Who? You joked around with Ronan, sure, but heâs off in Miri Town doing construction work. And letâs be honest, heâs your slave, not the kind of friendship Iâm talking about. Heâs also a horny pig, so letâs forget him. I donât want you to associate with that human garbage; he could be a very bad influence."
Quinlanâs lips curved into a grin. "So your opinion on him hasnât changed, hmm?"
Of course it hadnât. Sheâd been showing animosity toward the man ever since they bought him.
The reason for Ayameâs feeling stemmed from the fact that Ronan wasnât enslaved for debt or theft; he was shackled because he had charmed and bedded a nobleâs daughter despite being a commoner. A very big taboo. Ayame, herself a girl of noble birth, considered him a scumbag for that reason. Not because she disbelieved in love between nobles and commonersâfar from itâbut because Ronan had gone behind the familyâs back for nothing more than a tumble.
Heâd deflowered the girl, ruined her prospects, and most likely destroyed her standing in her household. Ayame knew better than most what that meant. She could see with painful clarity how the girlâs future had likely spiraled for the worse, all because of Ronan not being able to keep it in his pants.
Though, of course, one could also argue that the same was true for the girl as well.
This was why Ayame didnât reach out to help her. She reaped what she sowed. The consequences for her actions were a lot more favorable than what Ronan faced.
But this knowledge didnât make Ayame like Ronan anymore.
"... Broderick?" Quinlan tried.
Ayame burst into full-blown laughter, hearing that name. "You havenât spoken to that guy since the day you entered the Consortium. Some friendship you share with him! You dropped him the moment you registered for the Phenom Trials. He became useless to you, and you forgot his existence."
"Hey, we did visit him that one time when we bought Ronan and Iselda."
Ayameâs stare cut right through his skull.
"... Got it," Quinlan muttered, conceding that he was indeed not Broderickâs best friend.
She turned her attention toward Feng and Felicity, who were watching the exchange with wide-eyed curiosity. It was so interesting, in fact, that Felicity even forgot for a bit that she was being explained why she should let herself be .
While watching the two children, Ayame continued. "Your best buddies are, in fact, teenage girls. Iâm starting to worry. I know youâre a possessive, jealous man, but it wouldnât hurt to have some drinking pals. My father was always so happy when he could step away from family matters and just spend a few hours joking with his friends. I donât expect you to cultivate some inseparable bond with another man; I think youâre incapable of that unless you sire a son. I just think having a menâs outing or whatever itâs called once every few months could be healthy for you."
Seraphiel voiced her agreement. "When youâre busy with something, we girls often spend some bonding time together. I have a lot of fun during such gatherings."
"We can talk about things that would be difficult in your presence. If you associate with women only, you will alienate yourself from your own gender," Even Kitsara spoke up with an uncharacteristically serious tone.
"Though I only participated in a few gatherings, I couldnât have said it better myself," Serika nodded while sending Quinlan a supportive smile.
It was obvious his girls only wanted the best.
Quinlan rubbed the bridge of his nose, exhaling. "Your words hold some truth to them..."
Then he examined Ayame and noted something. "You look like you have someone specific in mind."
Ayame nodded. "Ignis."
"Oh." Quinlanâs face eased a fraction. "I like him. Heâs a nice guy."
"Indeed. Weâve only met him briefly, but one could even say he saved our lives back in the beastman mission."
"So what, you want me to invite him over for drinks?"
"No." It was Auroraâs turn to voice her thoughts. "Weâre not delusional enough to think youâd let another man into our home willingly. Even if weâve never given you a single reason to worry."
Quinlan gave her a side-eye. "So...?"
"Ignis is a wanted man," Serika said. "Alexios put a bounty on all Shadow Vanguards and Veil Walkers. Heâs hunted, just like us."
Seraphiel took over. "But heâs not just a criminal. Heâs also a family man who has three housewives. I donât think heâs stupid enough to reveal where they live, but members of the Syndicate surely know. And the Syndicate itself might turn on itself. That information might get sold."
"The wives would be used to capture him..." Quinlan concluded darkly. Then his gaze became even less amused as he added, "Your concerns are warranted, by the way. Some members of the Consortium seem to have already sold information about me to the king."
"... Thatâs horrible news," Vex sighed, finally slipping out of her jealous mode. "I didnât expect fractures to happen so soon."
"Weâll discuss this later. Letâs quickly finish the Ignis topic first," Ayame spoke up. "Hereâs my proposal. Knowing how possessive you are, having them here is out of the question. But Miri Town? Thatâs different. Itâs growing quickly, and Ignisâs wives are retired combatants. Older than anyone else there. Theyâd add real value to the community. At the same time, youâd earn Ignisâs trust. As I said, I donât expect you two to become best buddies, but it could be a start. As your partner, I thought it was about time I voiced my concerns."
As Seraphiel weaved another spell to keep Raika among the living, her eyes shone with calculation. "Not only would we gain Ignisâs support, but as a man who knows a lot about us, we would ensure the king canât use him to harvest even more damning information."
Auroraâs voice chimed in smoothly next. "If the three wives joined in with Mavena to do some family business together, Iâm sure Lucille would also feel better about leaving her behind in Miri Town. She was fine leaving Mavena in Braedon, as she grew up there. But Miri Town is uncharted territory for Mavena."
Vex also voiced her support for the plan. "This is something I can get behind. Ignis has a pristine track record; heâs as trustworthy as they get. And heâs got a fulfilling love life, so our possessive hubby wonât have to worry about him getting any ideas."
"Iâm honestly unsure if our man is even capable of making friends with other men. Real friends, I mean," Kitsara giggled.
"Well, true," Vex admitted with a lovely giggle of her own. "I still remember back during the beastkin war. Hubby built us that elaborate bath just so he could âexplore my tattoosâ or more accurately, molest my skin to his heartâs content, and then he gave Ignis the cuck tub. I think he even broke it." The source of thÉŞs content is novel-fire.É´et
"... That was not very nice," Ayame said dryly, her eyes cutting toward Quinlan. She folded her arms. "You can start by apologizing to him for being a rude bastard."
Seeing the many feminine gazes concentrating on him, all being on the same page, forced him to raise his hands in surrender.
It was decided.
Today, it was time to retire for the night (swim in dogkin juices). Tomorrow would bring an incredible amount of surprising changes, including the move of Quinlan in the chaotic manhunt.