After the crowd of State Knights, that had slowly been building up, dispersed, Vhalen let out a sigh of relief.
He fell on his bum in fatigue from having dodged numerous attacks and stood up to them.
The difference between his previous arrogance and how he now flopped over onto the ground was eye-opening for the girls. They expected a member of the Royal Family to have more dignity than this...
That strong back they leaned on suddenly looked frail.
They realised that he must not be the kind who was used to violence. Just as they thought he was going to go back on his words, the handsome shorty got up to look at the quintuplets intensely.
"Show me your wounds." Vhalen spoke while taking out his 'Timelight Staff' Spirit Essence.
He looking at their injuries extremely carefully.
The eldest sister realised what Class he had at that moment.
She naturally allowing him to get into their personal space to touch them.
The first one to experience his 'Healing Touch' Class Skill was that same sister among them.
He imbued his special Light Mana into her many wounds before secretly mumbling inwardly:
'This will leave a scar...' Thinking that it would be a pity for her face to get ruined, he used more effort.
[Medical Skill- Patchwork Heal!]
The eldest quintuplet was amazed as one touch of his hand sealed up the wounds on her face.
She didn't know how to thank him as the rest her sisters experienced similar occurrences from their arms to legs. The five young ladies blushed despite how Vhalen's facial expression didn't change one bit, as Healer's naturally had to touch bodies.
He wasn't just sending his Mana into them, but was also making sure to control the growth speed and manipulate the cells of the wounds he touched. As not doing so would result in imperfect 'Healing'.
From his own perspective, all he could see was anatomy and how to fix what is broken using his Class Skill. Anything else was cut out until he had enough leisure to notice their body language.
Once he was done, Vhalen looked at the blushing sisters and couldn't help but make a thin smile.
"You girls must be embarrassed." Now that he took a good look at them as they DID seem kinda cute.
The more they reacted like normal girls, the less he was able to connect them with the word 'murderer' the Knights were talking about.
That's why he felt no reason not to use his charms to get closer to them, since it wasn't like they were his enemies.
Vhalen was a prince who knew he was handsome as well as undesirable in the aspect of his height.
A normal person might grow up with a complex from this realisation, but he grounded himself in reality.
In fact, he used his height to boost his appeal.
To call him suave rich guy would be a lie, as he was more accurately a 'Beta Male' pretending to an Alpha Male. Think of him as a Oujidere (the guy version of Himedere, which meant to be both lovestruck with a princess-like attitude) if you will...
Vhalen had the guts to seduce someone and was unabashed of doing so. He felt it was his own right.
Why would an entitled Second Prince feel that he was inadequate anywhere? He had royal blood flowing through his veins and knew what his most charming aspects were without much thought.
The reason he grew up to be so self-aware was due to his mindless indulgence into the culture of the Ruling Kingdom... Despite being a Prince, you could say he was the most down-to-earth Healer you'd ever be able to find as a social butterfly.
Though he wasn't well-known as the 'Second Prince' due to the lack importance he had on a national level, those of the Northern District were very respectful to him. He was someone who well-liked joining in with the Bards and the 'Waltzers'.
He looked at the quintuplets with eyes without vanity, but understanding. It wasn't that he thought that any girl would be smitten by him, just that he had enough awareness to pick up on social cues.
He was the exact opposite of a Otaku in nature despite technically being one himself.
Especially true from the way he mindlessly indulged in the Arts of Music and Literature.
The shorty was even the kind to admire painting and saw the diligent effort put into making them.
"..." His words, that seemed to contain a double meaning, weren't lost on the quintuplets.
They looked at each other….
Polygamy was fine in Lancia as long as everyone agreed to it, and this was especially true for Royalty… who were the only form of true aristocracy on Gaia. Their bloodline was precious.
Those of high positions felt it was only natural that they could marry multiple wives without care.
"We're fine." The eldest sister was the first one to answer after the rest of them came back to reality.
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Right, they were now fugitives...
It was more a dream for anything to happen where they could get themselves a boyfriend.
Plus, sharing a man was rare in this world as well...
…so they weren't too keen on becoming lovers with him after thinking about the situation thoroughly.
Haha... Ahem... N-not at all~
"I know this is might be personal to you, but may I ask why you sisters chose to become Classless Beasts?" Vhalen asked the five of them while giving them the brightest smile he could offer.
That devastating handsomeness was so strong that they felt like it was a wave that washed over them... Not that his efforts were needed. They weren't desiring to keep what happened a secret.
Normally, it takes a strong emotion to turn one's Spirit Essence into a Body Enhancement.
Those who used this method were usually traitors of humanity… or perhaps those changing 'Roles'.
It was usually criminals who would leave their humanity behind for either love or something else.
Though it was most commonly love that made any living being resist their Role, just like in the case of Darren Moonshade. A genuine Dark Beast that finally 'Reclassed' himself to be Light Human.
Doing so took a lot of time and precious items…
Perhaps if Lily was born the Dark Attribute at her core, Minerva would've become a 'Dark Classless' instead. The chance to change your Attribute after rejecting your own humanity wouldn't be wasted.
That was the type of love they had for her...
"We were all forced...!" The answer the Second Prince got wasn't what he was expecting.
The eldest sibling spoke in a heavy tone. Her younger sisters also nodded their heads silently.
"Do you know who forced you into it?"
Each girl gave a different reply:
"He was a scary thug!"
"Ya think we're lying? He was super scary!"
"He beat us up...!"
"Watcha think? We're not the bad guys!"
The younger sisters spoke up. The more they started speaking, the more he got a certain feeling:
"You girls were all Fighters before losing your Classes, weren't you?" They nodded their heads.
As someone who had seen most places of the kingdom personally, he was well aware of how Battle Gyms that had Fighters in mind tended to have the aesthetic of gangsters. They were probably influenced a lot by movies of that genre...
After all, Fighters and other close-combat types had quite a different way of fighting than Warriors.
Most only had 'Knuckle Duster' Spirit Essences, and they seemed more brutal than Warriors in their style of fighting despite a common origin. They lacked a certain charm swordsmen were known for.
There was an air of grace when a sword sliced through a person and shook their Magic Pathways a bunch. However, Fighters would accidentally injure people most the time due to having to physically hit their opponent when punching.
This eventually lead to a difference in image where Fighters would be portray as more dark and gritty characters on television, all while Warriors were given a more elegant look in their overall image.
Especially if the Warriors had regular sized Spirit Essences... They were well-liked all around.
"We were..." They all didn't hide anything.
"I see. Don't worry, I'll investigate and bring that guy to justice... Do you know anything about the murders you sisters are being blamed for?" They shivered and lowered their heads submissively.
The memory of the black-haired youth stabbing someone to death arose in their heads.
That gruesome scene, paired with that satanic smile, scared the girls witless at the mere thought.
"We don't." Although they had the courage to reveal they weren't at fault for losing their Classes in the first place, they were too fearful of that black-haired psychopath to reveal his identity.
Vhalen sensed a difference in the eldest sister's tone, but didn't push her to answer anything else.
Once 'that person' got here, he would have less to worry about when investigating this little incident.
"Let me invite you inside for now. This place isn't owned by me, so you will have to stay somewhere else once I've finished properly healing your injuries. Patchwork Heal only closes wounds rather that fully healing them." He dutifully told them.
He was very sensitive about his role, and abided by his Healer Class faithfully. It was thanks to Drake that he grew up with the philosophies on life his older brother already internalised at a young age.
He was a believer of the Holy God, but many experiences had lead him to the conclusion that following the Church's teachings wasn't as easy as Priests made it out to be... Especially when it came to dealing with people who became Classless.
Sure, the world was a utopia where conflicts were minimal. However, the lack of these conflict is what made it easier for people to be moved whatever that was going on. Like sheep being herded…
People were intuitively sensitive to each other, and naturally desired understanding one another.
He would fulfil the role Gaia had imparted on him at birth, but he will do it the way he sees fit...!
All the quintuplets agreed to his suggestion and became curious about the owner of this great mansion. The eldest sister being especially curious due to not remembering why she even came here.
It was almost like there was a hole where the person who had handed her the note containing this place's address had run off to... She couldn't even remember what he sounded like or the shape of his figure, only that a 'person' guided her here.
In fact, even that was on the table as she felt like a ghost had directed her to this strange place...
In another side of the mansion, Alex was showing off the warehouse again. The place where he stored many prototype weapons he had been 'enchanting' over the years using Attribute Runes.
He no longer had any makeshift equipment and now carried around his own personal weaponry in his 'Personal Space', with the only things in his extensive warehouse being things he wouldn't normally bring with him on a regular day.
His Personal Space had a limit…
Most of it was filled with food in time stasis rather than battle equipment, but as he showed his friend around, a runic light flashed in his eyes. He realised through his connection to the mansion's security mainframe that 'Beasts' had entered his home.
He took out a device and looked at the screen, before turning it off after seeing that it was just Vhalen inviting Beast girls to the living room. The Arcanist sighed in relief after the false alarm.
He wasn't sure what they were doing, but from the fact he started touching them after entering...
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Ahem…
This was better to talk about in person than through a communicator. Alex never knew Vhalen was such a playboy... and was curious to the point that even he felt a little bit jealous on the inside.
He may have the memories of an over seventy year old, but he was a fifteen year old teenager at heart.
Experiences may give maturity, but they didn't fundamentally alter his nature. The old freak of the Dragon Family had already died, and now there only existed the magic prodigy of the same name.
I may call him a 'scholarly freak' most times, but he was more of the Arcanist he was in his current life…
…rather than the old man who misused his power for personal gain in his past life...
…though most of the bad things he did was to help out his 'Family'.
"Hey, Alex."
"What?" The scholarly freak woke out of his daze.
Arthur pointed at a specific 'tool' he created.
"You're making a 'person'?" Arthur asked.
He looked at the humanoid puppet his friend was working on.
The object was placed above many other less expensive-looking robotic entities.
Though the mansion looked pretty ordinary on the outside, you could tell just from the futuristic look of the warehouse that Alex hadn't really been relaxing in the time he had re-entered society...
How is it that the mansion he seemingly brought after entering Lancia was this advanced?
It was because he used some of the very advanced mailing organisations and builders who were part of other kingdoms.
I may not have been mentioning the other four Kingdoms much, but they certainly existed.
Things were going on in the background...
And there were things to be saved for later.
This was especially true for what Alex's hid in his warehouse...
There was a mysterious smile on his face. The arcane engineer started to explain his 'technology':
"I call them 'Androids'."