It was now a few days since Rory and the girls arrived at Cugine City. During that time, Rory didn’t leave their mansion, contrary to what Amelia and Reina expected. Instead, he spent all his time lazing around on the couch and watching television, while maids provided by Jane took care of his every need.

“So this is what a failure looks like. Well, I guess he was always a failure.”

Amelia said while watching Rory.

“What I want to know is how can he still have that godly aura while doing stuff like this?”

Said Reina.

“Lord Aniket, its almost dinner time. Do you have anything you want us to prepare for you?”

One of the maids asked Rory.

“Hmm…”

Rory had a pondering expression on his face, while rubbing the thigh of a maid who was on his lap. It was an envious sight.

“Then how about something cooked by you ReRe?”

“Huh? Why would I cook for you?”

“Because I’m your future husband. Wouldn’t it be better to learn my taste sooner rather than later?”

“You’re delusional if you think I’m cooking for you, and you’re crazy if you think that I’m marrying you in the future.”

Reina replied.

“Is that so? How unfortunate.”

“Then, wifey #1, what about you?”

“Who the hell is wifey #1? I’m not cooking either. If you’re hungry then go cook for yourself.”

Amelia answered.

“You two aren’t any fun.”

Rory frowned. He then made the maid get off his lap and stood up.

“Fine, I’ll cook something.”

He then started walking towards the kitchen.

“Please stop, my lord. We’ll prepare something for you. Just give us the word.”

“Nah, its fine. I haven’t cooked anything in a while, so I want to do it myself.”

“I understand.”

The maid didn’t stop insisting since she would only come off as annoying.

“Can he cook?”

Reina asked Amelia.

“I don’t know. The only thing I’ve seen him cook is that lizard a couple days back.”

They decided to not think about it that much and instead see what Rory was watching.

“As I thought, it’s the news again. It’s all he’s been watching since we’ve came here.”

Said Amelia.

“Could he be collecting information?”

“With this station? Everything about it seems outdated.”

“Not everything that glitters is gold.”

Rory’s voice came from the kitchen.

“And just because something looks like coal, doesn’t mean that it’s not actually a diamond underneath.”

“What, are you saying that we shouldn’t judge by appearances?”

“That’s right. That station is the oldest on this continent. Also, unlike the others which are secretly connected to the Sacred Army, it only reports genuine news.”

Rory replied.

“I didn’t know that the Sacred Army controls news networks even on this continent.”

“Even though this continent isn’t under their complete control, the army still has a strong presence. Well, not compared to the Beast Emperors and Guanyin.”

Rory walked out of the kitchen and said.

“Anyway, I’m finished. Do you guys want something to eat?”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“You’re finished already?”

“Isn’t that too fast?”

The girls said before walking into the kitchen.

“What’s that?”

They saw a dish with shredded meat that smelled like it was seasoned with a lot of spices, and sauces. It was mixed with a soft and delicious looking broad pasta.

“It’s Pappardelle with duck ragù. It was Serket favorite.”

Rory gave the girls a plate each. They took it and smelled it. The smell made their mouth water. They used a fork and tasted it.

“Mhm!”

Their faces lit up when the meals taste burst in their mouth.

“This is ridiculously delicious.”

“The meat is so tender too.”

The girls praised Rory.

“How did you make this so fast? It’s so delicious too.”

“When I was younger, Serket suddenly had the idea of using cooking to train my Anima control. I was forced to cook countless meals that required a delicate hand and with a time limit too. I had to use anima to apply the heat and cook ingredients to perfection in a few minutes.”

“Again, what kind of childhood did you have?”

“I think the queen just wanted some fancy dishes and used training as an excuse.”

Amelia and Reina replied respectively.

“Girls, what are you waiting for? I made your share as well.”

Rory said to the three maids that were still in the living room.

“You cooked for us as well?”

“Of course. You’ve been taking care of me these last few days, so it’s obvious I should return the favor. I’m the type of guy who only feels good if my partner feels good, after all.”

The maids looked at each other before entering the kitchen. Rory also gave them so plates he had prepared for them. They took it and eat it.

“Mhm!”

Just like Reina and Amelia, their faces lit up and they started eating faster without regard for their appearances.

“Heh.”

Rory watched all the girls eating happily with a smile on their faces.

“I made five beautiful women’s face light up with delight. Not a bad afternoon if I must say so myself.”

He then walked out of the kitchen. The girls were too happily eating to realize something out of place. Despite initially saying that he was going to cook something to eat, Rory hadn’t eaten anything himself and only allowed the girls to eat.

“Now then.”

He sat back in front of the tv and listened carefully to the news.

“Are you sure about that?”

A female anchor asked her cohost.

“That’s right. This news is authentic. The next Emperors Conference will be held in the next two years, and this time the Human Sovereign, Arisa Lodon is said to have been invited. Whether she accepted the invitation or not is not yet known.”

Rory’s eyes sharpened when he heard that.

“The Emperors Conference is where all the Beast Emperors put aside their differences and have a peaceful meeting, yet, Arisa, who is human is invited? This smells fishy.”

He mumbled to himself.

“There’s also something else I would like to report.”

The male cohost wasn’t finished yet.

“There’s a report that Emperor Yashar will be announcing his retirement at the next conference.”

“?!”

Rory sprung from his seat when he heard that. There was clear shock on his face.

“What did he say?”

He mumbled.

“What?! That can’t be true!”

Even the female anchor was shocked.

“How can the Immortal Emperor just retire?! It’s against the Laws of the Emperor to retire!”

“That’s true in most cases, but we’re talking about the oldest living Emperor here, the teacher of dozens of emperors from previous generations until now. He’s different. He has the world’s respect, so no one would disrespect him and force him to remain an emperor.”

Said the male anchor.

“Then what about the merfolk? Who is going to protect the mermaids and mermen? Even if he’s a well respected person, that doesn’t mean that the other races won’t take advantage of his retirement to enslave his race.”

“Apparently his son, Triton, will take up his throne.”

“Triton? I’ve never heard of him before.”

Rory started to think.

‘Could it be that Yashar announced his retirement because he’s confident that his son can replace him as an Emperor? In the first place, is that even allowed?’

He thought to himself.

“This is nonsense. The other Emperors won’t accept a rookie into their ranks that easily. It would make their rank look like a joke. The Beastmen would be the laughingstock of the world.”

The woman said passionately. She obviously didn’t want to see her people be ridiculed.

“That’s right. The title of Beast Emperor isn’t even inheritable in the first place. Emperors like Lotan and Bennu might not care, but Zahak and Mihos won’t take that lying down. What about Arisa? If she’s there during such a tense meeting, then all hell will breaks loose. This continent might even fall from the sky.”

Rory muttered.

“I don’t know what Emperor Yashar is thinking, but this definitely wont end well if he goes through with it.”

Said the female anchor.

“I agree, but in the end what can we do about it? The Emperor’s are all egoistic…I mean proud warriors. There’s no way they’ll listen to those below them.”

“He just called the Emperors egoistic on air. If this was a popular network I’m sure that he would be shitting himself.”

Rory laughed a bit before changing the channel.

“To think that something like an emperor retiring may happen in the next two years….”

He leant back in his seat.

“Hm? Wait……If Yashar is confident that his son can become an Emperor, doesn’t that mean he’s stronger than me?”

He stood up again.

“Oh, hell nah. That can’t be right. How old is his son anyway? I didn’t hear about him having a son a century ago. Then he’s far younger than I am? And stronger than me too? At this rate, he might be more handsome too.”

Rory took a mirror and looked into it.

“Nah. Even gods envy my beauty.”

He then casually threw the mirror away.

“Either way, I can’t tolerate being weaker than someone else just because their daddy was a big shot.”

He clenched his fists.

“Alright! Time for a good old training arc!”

He shouted.

“Are you a handsome man who loves woman?”

Rory’s attention was suddenly caught by an advertisement on the tv.

“Do you really really love women? So much that you wished that there were more of you?”

“It’s like you’re speaking to me on a spiritual level.”

Rory replied to the tv.

“Then come down the Harem Garden! The #1 gentleman’s club on the continent! We have girls from every race, ready to show you heaven. Come down now and try our breast fountain, where you pour champagne on the girls breasts and watch as another girl drinks it!”

“Hmm…..”

Rory took a serious pose as if he was deciding something very important.

“Also for a limited time only, you can order your own harem! You just need to pick who you want and you’ll be a harem king for the night. If you’re lucky, you might obtain them permanently.”

“Elia, ReRe, I’m going out!”

Rory turned off the tv and said.

“The fate of the world can wait another day.”

He took his coat and spoke with a just and heroic tone.

“Tonight, I’ll live like a god!”