Ethan covered his face and sighed. Celia eavesdropped on the conversation between him and Mio, leaving the latter fuming for revenge. The two bickered before him, throwing taunts at each other.

What to do about them?

His plan to date both girls would never see the light of day if things remained like this.

Even if he managed to succeed, what kind of insults will be thrown their way? He let out another sigh and glared down at his hands.

Fuck society. Fuck morals. Fuck everyone who stopped him.

Anything to make them happy.

The duo's fight ended abruptly. Ethan raised his head to find them looking his way, their eyes lacking focus as if mesmerized by something.

"Onii-sama's eyes are shining, so pretty..."

"Lovely. Ethan, your eyes are getting more charming."

Ethan started the front camera on his phone. Like the two said, his eyes shone as if someone fitted a light behind them. The glow ended shortly after.

Nothing is normal after that night.

At least the two stopped fighting.

"Celia, Mio, are you two free?"

Celia thumped her chest with a grin. "Anytime for my hus—"

Celia winced as Mio's elbow dug into her ribs. She pushed Mio and flung back her chair, tears growing in the corner of her eyes. "Honey, she is bullying me."

Mio waved her hands at the accusation. "S-Stop lying. It was just a friendly touch."

Ethan sighed and approached them. Mio shoved the chair aside and faced him together with Celia.

"I know it's too much to ask for." Ethan spread his arms and enveloped both women in his embrace. "But please, try to get along. I can't do my best in Avalon if the two women I love are always fighting meaningless battles."

"Onii-sama, I am sorry."

"I also apologize for butting heads with her."

Ethan's pupils dilated. How did he breeze through this situation with his slightly cringy words?

"It's fine. I am also sorry for not knowing how to handle this peculiar relationship."

Celia shook her head. Her gentle fingers glided across Ethan's face. "It's my fault for barging into this house."

Mio tapped Celia's shoulder. "The mistake… is mine. I shouldn't have jinxed with the stuff about another world."

Celia narrowed her eyes. "You still think of me as a nuisance."

Mio bit her tongue and buried her face in Ethan's chest. "No, I… couldn't have helped Onii-sama on my own… thank you for that."

Mio thanked someone? Ethan rubbed his ears. The bonafide yandere—who carried blades to school and terrified almost every girl away from him—just apologized to her love interest's potential girlfriend.

"Ethan, did she just thank me?"

Celia also held the same belief as him.

"Onii-sama, you too. Is Mio that irredeemable?" She asked, quivering in his embrace. "Trying to keep Onii-sama safe from bad girls is a good thing, right?"

Celia and Ethan shared a wry smile. He ran his fingers through Mio's soft hair and tightened his arms around her waist. Celia gently rubbed Mio's back, befuddling her further.

"You guys… Why are your eyes filled with pity?"

"It's fine, we understand."

Mio puffed her cheeks. "Onii-sama, I am going to get angry if you don't tell me."

"It's nothing. I just felt that Mio needs more love than me."

Mio just shrugged and relished the care Ethan and Celia gave her.

—x—x—x—

Back in Ethan's room, the three took control of the bed. Celia opened the laptop on her lap and frowned.

"I am ready."

Ethan found his heart palpitating. A pink spark rose from Celia and exploded similar to the fireworks.

He fell backward on the bed and checked the Aspect's description.

Another great Aspect wasted without a level up. Ethan groaned and swiped off the blue window.

"Alyssia, are you there?"

"Master?"

"Tell me more about Avalon. What kind of place is it? Races and different things in the world."

"I don't know how much has passed since my death. Nothing I know could be viable in the current world. So I will start with the basics. There used to be only two races in the world. Humans, whose territories stretch in the South, and Elves, who reign over the East, the territory of Golden Tree. Both races are creations of the Golden Tree."

"Golden Tree?" The word evoked something in his mind. The late-night RPG sessions confused him with the lore.

"A mysterious tree whose origins are unknown. But it sought to protect both Elves and Humans on several occasions."

Golden Tree sounded like the first thing that will wither once the final boss arrives. Ethan snickered and asked Alyssia to continue.

"Apart from those two, there is the Demon race. Rare humans who developed twisted Aspects. The Half-Beasts, who gained the features of their contracted Spirit Beast."

"Hold on! Will I also get your horn, ears, and tail?"

"Master, don't panic. The chance of that happening is one in a thousand."

"Don't jinx it."

"Master will look cute with them."

"Just no..."

The scientists here would slice him open if that were to happen.

"The Half-Beasts are the rulers of the West, while Avalon's northern side is dominated by all types of undead creatures. Anyone under Level 100 can't survive a second there."

Ethan wiped the sweat oozing from his forehead. He was lucky not to spawn there, or he would be dead meat already.

"I can't say much about the other countries but the Dracad Empire will still be around."

Dracad? A strange-sounding name for an Empire.

"Why is that?"

"Dragons. The protectors of the Empire as well as the contracted Spirit Beasts of the Royal Family. From the day they emerged from the Void to the date of my death, the Empire and Dragons shared a deep bond. Without their help, the Ancient Spirits would have ended the world many times."

Alyssia mentioned the Dragon Queen before. Phoenix, Elves, Dragons; he had become a part-time resident of the typical fantasy world.

"And?"

"That's all the races I can remember."

"Hmm… What about the Demons? Are they inherently bad?"

"It depends on their life before they become demon. If a lawless becomes a Demon, they will cause even more trouble with the Aspect Growth."

"Aspects, what are they?"

"A magician from the Golden Era had done thorough research on them. The conclusion he came to was: Aspects are tiny particles permeating every corner of the world. Each one is based on a concept that exists in the world."

Affection, Lament, Courage, Tenacity, Charm, Void—each represented a concept. Ethan nodded his head.

"Why do I have to reach Level 2 to get more than three Aspects?"

"Huh?! Master? You have more than three Aspects at Level 1?"

"Yes?"

"Amazing… People have a hard time awakening one at Level 1 but Master has more than three."

"Awaken?"

"As Lord Faust hypothesized, Aspects are everywhere. But to fuse them with your soul, we need a spark brighter than the sun."

"Does a near-death situation count as this spark?"

"Absolutely. Death brings out the strongest emotions within us… I had felt the urge to embrace my son and apologize for putting him through everything…"

Oh shit. He stepped on a landmine there. Never talk about death with someone who actually experienced it in a desolate cave.

"Alyssia, that's it for now. Take care of the shadow rabbits."

"I shall."

He sighed and repeated the things he learned to Mio and Celia.

"It's a lot to process. I will write everything down," Celia said and stroked the keys, her fingers blurring.

"Onii-sama, did you ask about the winged chicken?"

Mio still hadn't let go of her grudge, nor did he.

"No, I will ask her next time."

Celia shut her laptop with a smile. "Only if I could rub Alyssia's head for the job well done."

"I will do it for you."

Ethan took off to scan everything in the room. The progress was too low.

Even this depends on the item's rarity.

Next time he will ask about Skills and the Level—what did they represent?