Count Edmund rested next to the sleeping, undressed Aida. She slept, exhausted from their moment of intimacy, he considered the options that now appeared to him.

The implications were simple, but clear. Those ‘playable’ characters were essentially individuals blessed with fragments of the goddess. 

[You may use the fragment of the goddess to enhance the following abilities]

• [Magical resistance reduction - the resistance of magic-type individuals with the goddess's blessings will be reduced. Those with higher amounts of goddess fragments will have higher resistance]
• [Infested tentacle armor- you may infest armor with tentacles. Stronger versions available with more goddess fragments]

Only two options, but enough. Edmund looked at the two options, and decided to go with the Infested Tentacle Armor. He generally liked tentacle armors, and could see how it was useful. 

Then he looked back at Aida, and touched the mark on her belly. 

[Aida’s corruption level 1/3]

[At full corruption, Aida can get pregnant and can also be transformed into a demon. In demon form, she can merge with you and gain a weakened version of her powers. Her loyalty to you becomes unwavering at full corruption and cannot be reversed.]

All of this was not in the original game, but then again, he wasn’t in the original game either. He realised now that he was on the right track. He felt stronger, even if it was hard to explain how. He instinctively knew how to create a tentacle armor, and now he had to figure out how to do it. He really needed to steal the harem and gain the powers with it. 

***

Kiara looked at the note from her mother, delivered by a flying pigeon, and wasn’t sure how to feel. She was relieved that her mother was safe during the collapse, but who was this Count Edmund, and why was he helping her mom? 

Was he one of those who plotted her father’s death? It did sound incredibly convenient that her father just died after he fell off a horse, the father she remembered was a strong warrior, and such a thing would not happen. 

“Everything okay?” The hero, Aman, asked. 

“My mother’s alright.” Kiara answered, and she looked at the hero again. She was dressed seductively, but Aman seemed oblivious to her advances. He always seemed a little closer to Hannah, despite her attempts to win him over. Even all the intentional exposures to her breasts didn’t seem to work, all he did was blush and walk away. 

“That’s good.”

“My mother wants to hold a small ceremony once the estate stabilizes.” She remembered how poor their estate was, and how everyone looked down on her. Their lands were poor, despite all her mother did to try and cover up the condition. 

“Oh. That’s nice. You should be there.” Aman said. 

Kiara paused, and looked at the hero. “Would you like to go with me?”

The hero smiled. “Nah, you’ll be fine. I need to stop the demons! There’s so many of them making a mess everywhere!” 

The knight frowned. He really didn’t know how to win her heart, and she felt a little frustrated at how naive he was. He was a country bumpkin at heart, and she remembered all the times she struggled to have a conversation with him on anything other than fighting. Even his behavior and demeanour reflected his humble origins. 

“You sure you don’t want to go?” Kiara asked, trying to flirt.

Aman shook his head. “Nope. I got to fight the demons! They hurt people!”

“Is that all that’s in your head?”

“What do you mean?” Aman scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

Kiara didn’t reply. She was feeling a little upset, and annoyed at the hero. She wondered how such a person would ever be able to manage the lands that the King promised him. 

“So when do you need to leave to make it for the ceremony?” Aman asked.

“Are you chasing me out?” Kiara rebuked out of frustration. 

Aman’s face contorted at the sudden harshness. “Oh no, not like that. I’m just asking when the ceremony will be.”

“My mother didn’t say.” The female knight sighed, and looked back at her note. Her mother’s handwriting was neat. She needed to find out who this Count Edmund Natar was, and what he wanted from her mother.

“Oh. If you need to leave, just tell me. We can part ways and you can join me again after the event!” Aman said cheerily. 

Kiara just sighed.