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No words could describe the feelings she had when she swung her katana and got her first kill. Nor was she able to explain the feeling of freedom that came with cutting down all five of her opponents with such focus and intensity.

For her, trained by her mother at a very early age to wield a sword, it was different from merely sparring using wooden swords, where the worst you could get was a large bruise that will heal after a day or two.

In the realm of swordplay, one single strike can decide a duel, but this was different because her opponents were not human. Not at all.

They were more than that, a strange creature or something else clad in black with arms, legs, and a face, holding two daggers for the purpose of assassination.

Yes. She told herself. Assassination.

For assassins, they did not mask their intentions because it was clear as day: lure her to them like a hunter setting bread crumbs for some poor bird, ready to be shot with no chance of escape.

Unfortunately for them, she was wise enough to just use force to...dispose of them. Not kill of course. It is unnoble-like to do so. Alice thought.

And now her question is: how did these black creatures appear, and what is their purpose? 

She decided then that too much thinking is bad for the mind and wearing a pink sleeveless shirt and pink shorts, went to find her mother, who had recently commissioned a new addition to their home, a wide building where she could practice her sword skills as well as spar with others.

The days after she poured out her feelings in front of both her parents were awkward to say the least. In fact, nobody told her that dealing with family would be so difficult. Better to swing a blade and think of lewd thoughts rather than talk it out with your mother.

Her mother. Who was the first to approach her two days after her outburst. Who cried in front of her daughter because of how she treated her all these years.

For the first time, she saw her mother as a mother, and not as a strict instructor or a stiff aristocrat that parades her daughter like some rare item to be displayed and admired.

She would never forget how she also cried because her mother finally understood her and embraced her with the warmth she sought after all these years. Mother and daughter crying until there were no more tears to shed between the two.

As for her father, well...she did not want to think about it. 

Even before she stepped into the building, called the training room because of the purpose it was built for, she heard the sound of wind being cut, blue eyes locked in absolute concentration, fighting against an imaginary opponent in front of her.

Unlike her, her mother's skill with the blade was flawless and had no openings. Many times she has tried to use a variety of feints to confuse her mother all to no avail, always being countered in every exchange.

It didn't matter whether her mother used a wooden sword or a long sword, it was all the same to her. A sword is still a sword, regardless of what it's made of.

Pulling the door to the side, she saw her mother, blonde hair tied into a braid, dressed in a sleeveless shirt and shorts, soaked in sweat and barefooted, pausing to take a break.

Her mother did not notice her appearance and decided to sit at the side, observing her movements, her brain breaking down every single one of those movements and absorbing them, learning them by instinct.

"Even at her age, mother can still fight as if she was still at her prime. How does she do it?"

Her mother then executed a series of movements that resembled a dance, each swing of her blade accompanied by the smoothness of her body, becoming one with the sword.

"Soon, I want to dance just like her...can I do it? Will I be able to?"

She shook off those thoughts and focused, barely able to follow her movements.

After executing another sword dance, her mother turned to her direction, a surprised expression on her face.

"What brings you her, my dear daughter? Come to spar with your mother?"

The glint in her mother's eyes and her taunting voice made her daughter Alice twitch.

"Well mother...I would like to spar with you, if only to release stress."

"Stress you say, hmm? Young girls like you shouldn't involve yourselves in stress. It's bad for your skin, my dear daughter."

"Not that mom! It's not stress, it's just..."

"If you can't express it through words then perhaps expressing it through your sword is better. Come on, Alice. Grab a wooden sword and meet me at the center."

Standing up, she went towards the sword rack where a wooden sword was placed, grabbed it, tested its weight, and went towards the center of the field, only a few paces away from each other.

"So, are you ready to suffer another loss?"

A mother taunting her own daughter to attack her is uncommon, but for Alice, she does not mind it at all. But it does make her temper rise.

"Yeah mom, keep gloating and I might be able to land a hit on you."

"If you're feeling lucky my dear daughter. Not even your father, who was a world-class fencer, could land a single hit on me. But I believe in you."

Both took up basic sword stances, bidding their time until one of them moved.

"By the way Alice. I am happy that you called me mom again. I'm glad."

She was surprised by what she said, because she always called her mom and not mother as far back as she can remember. Before her mother became obsessed with increasing their wealth and power.

"W-well, I-I just wanted you to feel that I appreciate what you've done for me even though you sometimes treated me as somebody else other than your own daughter."

Her mother smiled, happy that her daughter is now on the road to recovery, which will take time because of her husband's stubbornness and unwillingness to change.

"But don't forget Alice. You must practice the blade everyday because..."

Alice felt the tip of her mother's sword at her throat, unable to react because her mother just...vanished. Gone. As if some supernatural force allowed her to close the distance without giving her away.

"You'll die if you let your guard down. And I'm sure that you want to know the technique I just used. I'm going to teach it you because you're my successor after all."

She didn't pay attention to her mother's words, still in shock, her body quivering from fear. Unable to react to her mother's attack.

Her mother noticed that she was trembling and told her to relax. That she overdid it and was only trying to teach her a lesson. A lesson that went too far.

It took a couple of minutes for Anna to calm and assure her daughter that it was okay to fail. That it was okay to react that way because she still lacks experience.

They never did spar afterwards though, which meant that Alice had to request her mother for another chance. A chance she took advantage of since she wanted to tell her daughter about the request she made to an old friend, or rather her ex-boyfriend.

Her daughter doesn't know of course and she prefers to keep it that way.

As they clashed swords, wood on wood, clacking and weaving between strikes, she told Alice that she asked help. So that she can open herself up again to other people.

"Mom? Are you trying to pair me up again?"

A quick step followed by a downward slash, deflected by a two-handed counter.

"No Alice. I want you to interact with him. I know you have developed a subconscious revulsion to boys so I asked him if he would give me permission to put you under his son's care."

A series of quick strikes, loud clacking noises, and the sound of feet gliding on the floor.

"Is it really necessary mom? I don't even have female friends at school. Not to mention I'm completely alone most of the time. What good would it do me to talk to a boy?"

Now they were pushing against the others wooden blade, gritting their teeth as they put more force into letting one of them break their guard for a hit.

"Well, he has a few girls with him. It's a win-win right?"

Her mother was now on the offensive, Alice barely able to deflect and parry most of her strikes, maintaining balance even as openings started to appear in her stance.

"Well...since it's just about overcoming my fear of boys, then I trust you mom. I just hope you made the right call in asking your friend for this favor."

After being pushed back near the wall, she was able to launch a counter-attack of her own, surprising her mother as she got pushed back, little-by-little, despite her increasing fatigue.

"Don't worry, leave it to your mother to help her youngest daughter become her best."

Alas. Daughter was still unable to land a single strike on her mother. However, the sudden counter-attack executed by Alice impressed her and decided to go back to the spartan way of training her. Just like old times. Which Alice did not like.

Afterwards, mother and daughter bonded, cooking, painting, and even learning a new language. The road to mending their connection still a long way off.

[][][][][]

Angelica, Marie, and Janice were visited by the Joker at school, erecting the same barrier they saw at the park to keep unwanted visitors out.

The three of them were surprised that Joker would visit them and not John, a fact that made them uneasy and cautious. The fact that it was the gymnasium of all places just made it more eerie. 

A gymnasium is wide enough to summon the black-clad figures with knives and kill them all so it's understandable that they would be nervous despite the powers they have.

"A pleasant day to you Miss Angelica, Miss Marie, and Miss Janice. You are wondering why I wanted to meet you, yes?"

Each of the girls received a missive, the same one that John received, asking them to meet at school. What part of the school though was not specified since Joker can just use magic to transport them to a different dimension. Same yet different.

"I just want to share to all of you the things I told John when we first met at the park."

Of how John was chosen as one of the Harem Kings. That he has a mark on his right hand as proof. That they were chosen because of their close bond with him. That he possessed a King's Armament, one that represented the Sin of Lust. That John needs their power if he wants to protect the world from the Harem Slayers as well as other threats. 

"The three of you don't have to worry because I've invited him as well to join us, isn't that right, Sir John?"

John appeared in a flash of pink light, unnoticed by the three girls until he answered Joker's question.

"I guess. Using teleportation is no good though. The world's spinning around me."

"J-J?! You're here too?"

"Hey, I got the same letter as you guys. So might as well go, right?"

Marie was the first one to ask him if what Joker said is true and nodded.

"Yep. The Joker is right Mar. I do possess one of the King's Armaments with me, although I can't manifest its form yet."

Instead of disappointment, he saw that she was awestruck.

"That's amazing! So you can use powers like a hero, or a mage, or a wizard?"

"Hmm...maybe. I can produce a copy of people I've fought against though but it's no good for fighting..."

He murmured, forgetting the question on why Janice was able to learn Joker's name even if she was frozen days ago during their conversation.

"So John. Joker told us that doing lewd things increases not only your power but ours as well...I guess I made the right call~"

"Wait, what do you mean the right call!? You sound smug!"

"Well....we did this and that. A shame you were not there to see it."

"Why you...I'll burn you to a crisp! You purple monster!"

"Ohh I'm scared~NOT! Do you really think your magic can destroy my barriers? Hmm?~Baba Yaga."

Now both girls were pissed off, their magical energy rising as they glared at each other.

Angelica just stood there and gave up on understanding whatever the hell is happening around her. 

Yes. Angelica thought. No use applying logic to this harem business or something. Just accept it as truth and move on.

Joker just laughed in his signature way, a voice from another world with a mix of male and female.

"You, Sir John, are an amusing man to interact with."

"Uh...so anything else then, Joker, or are we done here?"

"I mentioned to you that you need to win your first harem war before I give you access to the Harem Dimension right?"

He nodded.

"Unfortunately, because of you and your harems latent potential, I need to find a more suitable opponent for your debut, one that is roughly equal in power to yours."

Angelica heard their conversation and decided to join them, ignoring the cat-fight in the background, the surge of magical energy bouncing on the barriers surface.

"Wait, you're saying that me, J, and the others are too strong?"

"Correct, Miss Angelica. The standard practice is pitting a newly awakened Harem King with another, whether or not their harem is complete. Your cases are different, so I've decided to look for other Harem Kings that are at your level."

"Wait. Isn't that a bit arrogant to claim that we are stronger compared to the others who recently awakened?"

"It's not arrogance if it's true and has merit. When you learn the abilities of your own harem, then you'll be surprised by what you'll find."

John raised his eyebrows, skeptical of his claims.

"When you can manifest the gauntlet is the time you receive basic information on your harem's abilities, Sir John. Based on my evaluation you're about to reach that stage soon so I would recommend practicing until you can summon it."

He glanced at his right hand, where the mark of kingship was located.

"Let me get this straight: I train, I unlock the gauntlet, then I unlock information regarding the abilities of Janice and the others?"

"Yes, Sir John. You've gotten the jist of it. Simple, is it not?"

Joker clapped, stopping the fight between Janice and Marie, turning their focus towards the androgynous being.

"My time runs short so I'll be taking my leave and meet with all of you once more to share more information."

A vertical slash of light appeared a few steps behind Joker's back and, walking a few steps backwards inside the gate, disappeared, the barrier collapsing into a million crystal pieces.

"So guys, what do you want to know about?"

"Um...we want to know from which among us would you like to spend time with. I-It's up to you to decide thought...but..."

He just groaned, knowing that to grow stronger means spending time with all of them that involved more than going on dates and kisses.

At least he has the Lust Gear with him, although he doubted whether it can make a difference despite its namesake.

[][][][][]

The next day at school, Karl met John outside the canteen and wanted to talk to him. Alone.

"Are you planning something Karl, because if I'm correct, then you're a Harem King, right?"

Karl was shocked that he knew about them, and nodded his head. And told him that he was also briefed on the same things as he did. 

"Yeah...so you were chosen too, huh? I'm not surprised thought. I mean..."

"Let's talk somewhere else private because I don't want anybody hearing us."

"S-sure John." He signaled to his two harem members hiding near the corner to leave them alone.

"Then how about on the rooftop? You don't mind heights, do you?"

He nodded, and followed him to the rooftop, ignoring the stares the students gave them.

Lu made himself present once more, turning his surroundings a slight shade of pink before returning to normal.

"I sense something from your friend Karl, partner. It must be another of the Seven Sins Regalia."

"You sure about that, Lu?"

"I am. This feeling of jealousy and covetousness could only mean one thing: The Lens of Envy has been gifted to your friend Karl and has now awakened before me."

"I see...then it should be interesting then to get to know his gear."

They ended their conversation when they reached the rooftop, feeling the cool breeze caress their skin.

"Alright Karl, out with it."

It took a few seconds for Karl to gather his thoughts and asked him something that he's never done before.

"I...I want to apologize, bro! F-for being petty and making your life difficult. I...know it was wrong and immature...but I can't help it y'know? You're simply better than me at everything! And I felt jealous...I wanted to be like you...but I knew deep down inside that I'll never be you...and I asked my mother about it and she told me to say sorry because I was..."

He just smiled. And forgave him then and there. No special event. No fuss. As simple as accepting his apology which made him cry tears of regret and joy. 

"There's no need to cry Karl. You know I issued a challenge to you when I knocked out two of your members right? Actually, that was a test to see if you would take the bait because in the years I've known you Karl, you let others do the dirty work for you."

"I-I know man! How can I let my jealousy get the better of me...I'm so stupid."

"Don't say that bro. Just learn from this experience and grow up. We all make mistakes so might as well own up to it, right?"

On this day, they shook hands, rekindling the friendship that was broken because of a mere trifle.

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