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He wrapped bandages across his arms, confirming their tautness by flexing them, muscles bulging from the effort. The long-sleeves of his uniform hid the bandages, with only his wrapped hands visible to others.

He stood alone inside the boy's restroom, doing slow, controlled breaths as he stilled the nervousness threatening to engulf him in its wide embrace, a haze of concentration slowly settling on his mind.

The reflection in front of the mirror now resembled a warrior prepping for battle rather than a high school student ready to enjoy his youth. His expression wide awake, instincts honed-in to any threat that may come his way, muscles tensing and compressing ready to unleash their stored power hidden inside him, with stance that expressed no openings, he was the perfect picture image of a martial artist going into a life-or-death duel.

Once again confirming his preparations, he turned away from the mirror and returned to the entrance, where Janice and the others waited for him.

Janice wore pants, a pink white t-shirt, and blue sneakers, Angelica short pants, lime-green sneakers and a sleeveless white and yellow hoodie, and Marie a black dress that went down her knees, a purple bracelet studded with gems, and wedge heels.

Together, the three of them carried their clothes well, a trio of beauties wearing designer-wear lounging around without a care in the world.

The male students and staff that passed them by would admire their bodies, their unblemished skin and perfect proportions igniting sexual thoughts in their active imaginations.

Their female counterparts would be jealous, observing their well-manicured nails, well-groomed hair, and the way they carried themselves.

A feast for both the eyes and the mind, disrupted by John's arrival who, despite still wearing the school uniform, in some mysterious way, still managed to blend in with the three girls, their gazes of affection, love, and happiness directed towards him breaking the hearts of both male and female.

Ignoring the reaction his arrival started, the four of them started their journey towards the park, the sun already setting over the horizon, the red-orange glow soon to give way to the blackness of night and the dance of stars.

They took their time walking, chatting, laughing, and teasing one another as they enjoyed their leisurely stroll through streets filled with the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

As they passed, they made a path for them, a handsome playboy with his three girlfriends, interacting with one another as if lovers, some unseen thread weaved between them.

Nearing the park entrance, where a few people loitered outside seated on wooden benches, they saw a medium-sized gray silver dog, gold eyes observing them.

"This feels familiar..."

"What do you mean, J?"

"Oh, I never told you about the incident with the dogs, right Angie? Well, I spotted two dogs guarding the entrance to my home days ago. It was the first time it happened and I don't know why."

As they went on their way, the dog never let them out of its sight, as if intent on ensuring that nothing bad will happen to them.

The park bought back memories when he was attacked by two of Karl's girls and noticed that the park remained the same as before, as if what happened to him days ago were but an illusion.

Deep inside him, his suspicion grew as he recalled all the mysterious events that had transpired for the past few days.

"This Arbiter must have something to do with these strange events."

His vision turned pink, light pink flames of desire rising from the depths of his soul.

"Trust this Arbiter to leave clues here and there, your Highness. Once you meet up with this Arbiter, you can start asking questions and clarifications for the things I've told you."

"I hope your right, Lu. I'm getting nervous about these strange events happening all around me."

Suddenly the dark night sky turned into a lurid purple, a translucent light yellow barrier surrounding the park from all sides, sealing their escape. 

The three girls reacted quickly, surrounding John on all sides forming into an echelon formation in front of him, weapons armed and ready.

Angelica, standing in front of him, held a double-barrel shotgun close to her chest, cocking it once on the off-chance that a fight will occur.

Janice, to his left, held a long oak staff with two hands, featuring a crescent moon shaped tip and a dark blue orb of energy humming and whirling inside its empty space.

Marie, on his right, summoned five glowing orbs of magical energy that orbited around her like autonomous drones.

John just kept his guard up, going into a fighting stance, sharpening his senses as he studied the strange phenomena around him.

"The three of them know how to fight? I have no idea what's happening right now. What's going on?!"

"I''ll tell you all about it later, your Highness. You should focus in front of you."

A jingling of bells and the chorus of angels reverberated inside the isolated space and a bright white light appeared from the sky, a silhouette of a slim androgynous person visible to their eyes.

The light dissipated, showing an ambiguous figure wearing a gray tuxedo, gray pants, and well-polished leather shoes, wearing a mask with two upturned eyes and a permanently plastered ominous smile paired with a gray top-hat.

"It's a pleasant evening, isn't it Sir John?"

It spoke a mix of male and female voices, indistinguishable from the other, hollow and devoid of inflection.

"I see your harem members know what to do by instinct, but you may be thinking: How? Well, well, that's an interesting question, isn't it?"

Spreading its arms wide in front of them, three figures dressed in black clothes and wearing white masks with slits that glowed red appeared in a flash of black flames, standing in front of the figure, wielding two gleaming gold and silver knives.

"Before I give you answers, I want to conduct a little test, to see whether you deserve to be one of the chosen harem kings."

With a wave of its hand, the three figures split into different directions, each targeting one of the girls surrounding him.

Angelica made the first move, disappearing in a flash of wind and pointing the nuzzle of her shotgun in front of the on-rushing figure, raising both its arms in a fighting position, eager to cut her down. She fired two shotgun shells at the enemy which it split into two pieces mid-flight, forcing her to back flip to dodge its fast strikes.

Marie moved next, summoning a bright red ball of fire that she shot at the figure that split into three, honing in on her enemy. The black clad figure tried to shake the balls away, using its daggers to parry the attacks to no avail, landing direct hits on its solar plexus, skull, and head, knocking them unconscious.

Janice shifted her position in front of him and slammed the butt of her staff on the ground, summoning a spherical barrier that surrounded the two of them, forcing the enemy to change directions, hoping to spot a weak point in her defense. 

Marie saw the enemy circling both John and Janice and made her way towards them, launching another orb of fire that made the enemy retreat a couple of steps, entering the defensive bubble and took position facing the enemy.

Angelica and the other opponent kept dodging the other's attacks, wielding two black and gold pistols firing shot after shot at her opponent.

"This enemy's good, I'll grant it that. I guess it's time to use 'it.'"

Nearly dodging a stab aimed at her throat, she placed a spherical land mine on top of her previous position, timing it so that the moment the enemy landed, the mine would explode, taking them out, while she changed to another position using her wind spell.

The enemy, unaware of the trap set by Angelica, landed one foot on the mine, triggering a massive explosion that blew away chunks of concrete, blinding her eyes. As the smoke cleared, she saw the enemy shattered into several pieces, no blood indicating that they were not human to begin with and that they were something else, something alien.

"Good thing I made it so that the landmine camouflages itself automatically once placed on the ground. They'll never see it comin.'"

Proud of her handiwork, she appeared in a gust of wind inside the defensive barrier, pistols in hand.

The androgynous figure clapped, impressed with what it saw.

"Marvelous! Simply marvelous! Just as I expected of your harem! You are, indeed, one of the worthy candidates as harem king."

The clap died down, the figure straightening its clothes, clearing its voice, and strolled towards them, the group on high alert for any strange movements.

"There's no need to worry about me, Sir John. I'm not here to fight all four of you together. In fact, I came here to meet you since you've read the missive I sent you at school."

The girls were surprised that John received a letter without telling them, turning their eyes towards him.

He just shrugged, still on high alert, knowing that explanations would have to be in order.

"Oh-? The three of you seemed surprised. You should've felt it deep inside you, yes?"

Angelica returned her focus towards the figure, realizing that it was only a few steps in front of them.

"The unconscious desire to serve John. The urge to protect him from Karl's members, the desire to practice the mysterious gifts given to the three of you. Those feelings of sexual desire for him that awoke the femininity deep inside you, the excuses you created to deflect suspicion from him, secretly exploring your powers behind the others backs..."

"...Wait. Was that the time we awakened to our powers?"

It stopped a few paces from the group, summoned a chair, and sat on it, now doing a thinking position.

All four of them lowered their weapons and stances, now paying attention to its words.

"Yes, you're correct Miss Angelica. You, as well as Miss Marie and Miss Janice, should've felt a sudden jolt inside your bodies when you awakened your powers. That is the side-effect of being chosen as one of John's future harem members."

"Are you saying that the three of us were automatically chosen from the start?"

"Correct, Miss Marie. However, this wouldn't be possible without the strong connections the three of you share with him, which is a prerequisite for awakening your powers. The most common situation is that a chosen harem king that shares at least a friendly bond with a girl will be given powers that she'll awaken to once she's ready. In your case, the powers you have were already given to you from the start since elementary school, and only when you hit the age of 16 did it start to awaken."

"Hmm...so the bonds we've forged since elementary school led us to getting powers that awakened once we hit our 16th birthday?"

The figure nodded its head in approval.

"You're a smart one, Miss Janice, as expected of the Ace."

"Pardon?"

"The Ace, one of the seven positions during a harem war. The others are: Ranger, Summoner, Healer, Knight, Fighter, and Creator. Each of these seven positions are important, with one no less important than the others, but I'll explain the purpose of these roles later because John has lots of questions to ask, isn't that right John?"

He nodded. The figure summoned a chair and invited him to sit on it, the two now facing each other while the three girls took a couple of steps back, positioning themselves in a triangle formation, one on each side and at the back of the chair.

The figure cast a spell that froze the three girls like statues, preventing them from eavesdropping on their conversation.

He turned and looked around the frozen forms of the girls, feeling a mix of curiosity and fear as he observed them. After a few more seconds, he returned his focus on the figure sitting in front of him, eager to seek answers.

"That's right. I have a lot of questions, some of which I've forgotten due to my nervousness, but the first one I'd like to ask is: Magic is real, then?"

"Yes, Sir John, as real as the sun in the sky and the fishes under the sea. You might have thought that real magic refers to mere tricks that use illusions and sleigh-of-hand to amaze people but it's not. You've seen Marie summon and launch balls of fire awhile ago, yes?"

"Hmm."

"And you've seen Angela use the wind to move around her opponent, right?"

"Hmm."

"And you also saw Janice cast a barrier to protect you, hmm?"

"Hmm...wait, why am I accepting these that easily?"

"It means that you're starting to understand the world you've been dragged into. A world where individual strength does not matter and where group cooperation is the order of the day. Where waging war does not involve only fighting to the death but also a lot of other things. Where a harem king can be stripped of his powers under only special circumstances that warrant such an action."

"I see...does that mean I'm a part of this world now?"

"Yes, from the moment you were chosen, the same as your best friend Karl."

A look of comprehension dawned on his face, remembering the group of girls that always followed him everywhere.

"So he accepted this harem king role easily, and knew everything about it?"

"Naturally, although a different Arbiter oriented him on what he should do as a harem king."

"That's another one of my questions: What is the purpose of a harem king?"

"The purpose of a harem king is to create a harem, not in the traditional sense of having as many partners as possible, but in the sense of having seven powerful women who'll fight for you during harem wars and to protect the world."

"Grow? In what way do we grow from having a harem? And protect the world from whom?"

"As you win more and more harem wars, your power, as well as the power of your harem, will grow stronger, which will be important in the future to protect the world from the harem slayers."

"Harem slayers? What are they?"

The figure fell silent and felt a shiver pass through him.

"Harem slayers are the anti-thesis of harem kings. They seek to slaughter harem kings like you as well as your harem. They don't take prisoners nor rape them but kill them instead. Some torture them before ending their lives, all for the purpose of cleansing the world of harems, for they feel that harems are an affront to real relationships, their final goal being to end the world to start anew where the concept of a harem does not exist."

"That sounds...stupid...and insane."

"It is, but since the awakening of harem kings all over the world, the number of harem slayers has continuously grown to the point that they've started attacking some of the harem kings."

"That's...bad."

"It is Sir John. In fact, the Harem Council has fought a stalemate against the Harem Slayers for centuries, with countless harem kings and their harems having fallen in battle. They use the same system as the harem kings do, the only difference being the labels used. You will come to know them in time once you've acquired more experience. For now, you must gather the missing pieces of your harem and train hard for the inevitable confrontation."

"Where exactly do these Harem Slayers come from? I mean, they should have a base of operations somewhere, right?"

"They're found inside the Harem Dimension, a place split into two areas: one for harem kings and their harems, the other for the harem slayers. Once you've fought your first harem war, you'll gain access to it, allowing you to come and go as you please, Sir John."

As he absorbed the information, he became more confused, knowing that another world existed and that it is real and not something made up by people.

"That's...a lot to take in...I mean...I'm feeling overwhelmed right now and my head is spinning..."

A familiar feeling welled up inside him again, making his condition worse. Thoughts of war, death, and destruction flashed in his mind, the memories of Lu's past invading his unprepared mental defenses.

"You need to calm down your Highness and relax. And you...you're Joker aren't you?"

Seeing that John was on the verge of collapse, he took over his body and used his magic to stabilize him, while starting his conversation with the Arbiter.

The Arbiter smiled...or as close a smile could be due to the mask it was wearing.

"Indeed. It's been awhile, eh Lu...or should I call you Luscious?"

The voice grunted, acknowledging its presence.

"You're also here to unseal me, right? You've been waiting for this moment. The moment you unleash my full power to help John fight."

"Correct. Ever since you got destroyed in battle fighting against the Gauntlets of Revelation during the Great Harem Blood War, you've been dormant for a long time, only gathering enough lust to awaken once more, but weaker than your previous self."

"That's true. Fighting against that monster was a big mistake. In fact, the destruction of both the Gauntlets of Wrath and the Armlets of Sloth during the closing days of the war assured our mutual destruction of one another. And I don't like the fact that I'm speaking formally with him. My tongue gets tired easily, you know...not in a sexual way, mind you."

Joker laughed...a discordant, unnatural laugh filled with...whatever it is...that unnerved Luscious.

"Ah, it seems years of rest have made you more funny, and I know you don't mean it in that way, so I'm going to do what I promised you before."

It stood up from its seat, raising its hand and placing it on top of John's head, who was unconscious due to Lu's intervention and took over to preserve his life.

A bright white light shone on the top of his head, releasing massive amounts of light pink waves of light that crashed and tumbled against the barrier.

The light shone for a few more minutes before dissipating, wisps of pink energy circling around John's body.

"With this, the Lust Gear has been awakened, and he's now officially part of the harem war."

Seeing the massive influx of magic inside of John, Lu used some of it to further stabilize his condition and, seeing that he had recovered, bid goodbye to Joker and disappeared, bringing him back to consciousness.

He blinked his eyes, remembering Lu's conversation with the figure named Joker.

"So what should I call you? Arbiter, or Joker?"

"Call me Joker, Sir John. I much rather prefer that compared to a generic term like Arbiter."

The voice was still the same, both a man and a woman's, the sound of voices echoing inside a deep crevice.

"Sure...anyway, I felt hot the moment I woke up. Do you know anything about it?"

He felt a rising heat all over his body, heart palpitating, thoughts of sex dominating his mind, and his manhood erect.

"Let's just say I've awakened the Harem Armament inside of you, Sir John. You're lucky to possess the strongest from among the seven."

"The strongest from among the seven?"

"Yes. Harem armaments are weapons given to harem kings that grant a variety of abilities. You, Sir John, possess the Lust Gear, the strongest from among the Seven Sins Regalia. The chance of you acquiring it is a one in a billion chance, and the fact that you have it means that you are worthy enough to wield it."

"I see."

Joker clapped its hands, seeing that John was tired just from their conversation.

"I shall discuss more about the other duties of a harem king tomorrow seeing as you've learnt too much information today. Before I leave, I would suggest practicing in the clearing behind your home."

Turning its back towards him, Joker snapped its finger, unfreezing the three girls who just blinked in surprise before disappearing in a bright white flash, the barrier crumbling and breaking into a million pieces, the bodies of the three black-clad figures disappearing into black flames.

"Eh? What happened to the figure?"

John just sighed, knowing its going to be a long conversation.

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