Chapter 69

[1st POV]

I woke up surrounded by three girls and was more satisfied than ever.

However, I was a little uneasy by a notification from the system:

[New quest: Royal Favorite

Deep down, every monarch, regardless of gender, dreams of someone who will give them love and tenderness.

Objective: 1/5]

[Reward:

+1,000 relationships with the country/organization/world where you seduce your "target."

+1500 relationships with those seduced.

+10,000 experience for each "target."

+1,000 relationship with the Incubus faction]

[Duration: 3 years.]

[Failure or Refusal: None

[Do you want to accept this quest?]

[Yes/No]

Pam, who had fallen asleep on me, was the first to stir.

"Good morning, darling. What time is it?"

"Wake up, my cutie. It's already half-past ten, and we need to—"

"Huh?!"

Beatrice suddenly bolted, "I have a meeting with the ministers at eleven... Damn it, how did I manage to oversleep... Oh! My butt…"

"Hee-hee-hee."

The elegant and complete laugh that followed could only belong to Pamela.

"I did that!"

"You little—ugh! Fine, enjoy your rest. I'll have someone bring you something to eat."

"Could you keep it down? My head hurts…"

Zatanna groaned, burying her head under the pillow.

"And this is the great sorceress who can command… uh, what exactly is it that you command, Zatanna?"

I teased, nudging her gently.

She gave no response.

"Yeah, this one's a tough case."

"I'd even call it critical."

Pam sounded in with a smirk, making herself more comfortable on top of me to keep dozing.

"Pam, come on, get up. I'm going to help Zatanna."

A couple of minutes later, Zatanna sat, eyeing me suspiciously.

She was clearly checking herself for any lingering effects or, perhaps, magical interference.

"And how exactly did you do that? I can always recognize a fellow magic-user."

"I'm not a magician, just a regular human. Well, purebred, I think… but that's not important. What's important is that you feel fine now, no pain, nothing bothering you."

"But how did you do it?"

"Well, I possess a certain power but you must promise that no one will learn about it without my consent."

She gave me a scrutinizing look and nodded.

"I can swear a blood and magic oath if that would reassure you."

"I'm not a fan of such formalities, but… alright."

Ten minutes later, we were already seated at the table.

I was healing the wound on her hand using medical ninjutsu.

Pamela, still yawning, had finally risen but leaned against me, half-asleep.

"So, this power is called chakra. You might have heard of it somewhere before, but the legends don't always explain its nature or capabilities. By the way, I suspect 'my' chakra is a hybrid with another energy source or perhaps a variation of it..."

...

"Homo Magi—a magical race to which my mother belonged."

"I got it. Thanks for the clarification. Anyway, chakra has peaceful applications, but also more… combative ones. For example."

I said, forming a basic Rasengan in my left hand and a more refined Kirin in my right, "This is its combat side. I have access to the five basic elements: Water, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Lightning. I could possibly combine, but they're beyond me. Maybe my children could achieve that someday, but not me."

"Fascinating. But how did you obtain it? You're not a metahuman, are you?"

"No, I'm human and these abilities are mine, but I only awakened them recently. You could say they're genetic. The thing is, I don't know my biological parents. I was raised by the Dinklages my whole life. It's only a few weeks ago that I learned I might have other 'relatives'... or maybe not. When I get back to Gotham, I plan to start searching for them."

"You've truly piqued my curiosity, Isaac. I've never met anyone quite like you. Did you coordinate with the Queen of Bialya to set up our meeting?"

"I'm just here on vacation and had no idea you'd be performing here. It was a pleasant surprise for me."

I answered honestly.

"Well, it's clear you're not lying. Your abilities intrigue me greatly. Perhaps we could meet again for a more private conversation and discuss potential collaboration?"

"I'd love that! I've been having some difficulties understanding the elements, their nature, and how they interact with the world and each other. A professional perspective would be incredibly helpful. In return, I can offer quite a bit myself."

"Then it's a deal. Unfortunately, I'll have to leave today. But I suspect I'll be coming to Gotham soon enough. Let's exchange addresses and phone numbers…"

Afterward, our conversation turned away from the business.

It became more of a friendly chat over a cup of tea as if we hadn't been part of a wild group escapade just hours earlier.

Zatanna excused herself a couple of hours later, mentioning some matters, and said her goodbyes.

As for us, we decided not to wait for Beatrice to finish her meeting and instead returned to our little estate.

Surprisingly, I noticed that Strength of a Hundred Seal had accumulated far more chakra than usual.

That's when I realized it had to do with the woman I was sleeping with.

Thanks to one particularly useful skill, I was drawing energy from them, and once my reserves were full, it was automatically transferred to the seal.

As I've explained before, chakra is a blend of physical and spiritual energy, and everyone has it.

It's just that most people don't use it because they lack a source of control like mine or the Player System I'm fortunate enough to have.

There's also Sage Mode to consider.

Once I figure that out, I'll be able to increase my reserves by a third. Tomorrow, I'll make sure to relax completely before heading back.

It's settled!

I created eighty clones and felt just fine doing it, with plenty of chakra to spare.

 I sent ten of them to practice each element, another ten to focus on control training, and yet another ten to refine puppet techniques.

Another group of ten was assigned to fuinjutsu, and the final ten were set to train with melee weapons and hand-to-hand combat.

As for splitting a double for material division, I decided against it because my supplies were already depleted.

Instead, I'll dedicate some time to get a tan.

...

The last day in Bialya went by pretty quickly.

Pam kept running around, checking if we had forgotten anything or missed any gifts.

Meanwhile, I was enjoying my beer and crackers, reviewing my progress in terms of skill levels, attributes, and the new "Puppeteer Path" I had unlocked.

"Hi."

Beatrice gave a tired smile.

"Hey, come in, Betty."

Her guards stayed outside.

"Tea, coffee, or something stronger?"

"I'm here literally for a minute. Harton hasn't landed yet, so he couldn't say goodbye personally. I'm here on his behalf as he sent his regards."

"I got it. It's a shame the vacation is over but I'll try to visit more often. After all, I have the Flying Thunder God Technique. The main thing is to improve it a little, and I'll be able to pop in here from time to time."

"That would be wonderful."

Beatrice smiled sincerely, "Here!"

She handed me her phone.

"This is my number and Harton's. They'll give the same one to Pamela at the airport. The number is encrypted, can't be tracked or intercepted, and doesn't need to be topped up. So we can keep in touch more often."

"That's wonderful, Beatrice. We'll definitely give you a call."

"Hmm. But know this, if you change your mind and want to leave the service, I really hope you'll come here!"

"Of course. M-mhm."

Suddenly, I was silenced by a kiss.

"You should come back!"

She immediately turned and left.

She didn't wait for Pamela to say goodbye to her.

After all, I think she only wanted to bid farewell to her as a friend, and in my case, well... sigh!

The struggles of my life.

I told Pamela that Beatrice had stopped by when she arrived.

Pamela didn't seem upset with her, instead, she seemed to contemplate the situation with such a thoughtful expression.

Anyway, it's good they aren't holding grudges against each other.

We finished packing around five in the evening, and by six, we were at the airport, where Lucifer's private plane was waiting to take us back.

Then we left Bialya and headed back to the dark and dangerous Gotham City.

To be continued...