Chapter 5 - Voices in his Head

**Several hours earlier.**

Marc was leisurely watching the scenery outside his window when he heard the doors open. Turning his head, he saw a girl standing there. Her eyes were clearly swollen, and upon seeing him, her tears flowed with renewed vigor as she threw her arms around his neck. That was no way to treat a patient, but both the doctor and principal knew that the boy was completely healthy. The poison that had affected him was only harmful to the crystal core.

[Mersa: Vorst! #$##^%#@**#$^%. Vorst... (Vorst! Thank God! You are alive... Vorst...) ]

[Marc: ...]

[Mersa: *sob sob*]

[Marc: ... Mer-sa.]

<The Adamantine Dragon's Divine Deduction Skill> was activated. NOT. In fact, to miss this one, one would have to be absolutely dumb. His hands moved to hug her—an automatic reaction to a sincere crying girl. Before long, he found his right hand petting her head. Feeling his response, her bawling intensified...

[Mersa: &^#$%@&*@$%%^$# Vor^@. ^$$#^@$^@$$ (I'll protect you. I'll absolutely protect Vor-chan. So please don't go anywhere...) ]

[Marc: ... *continues to pet her*]

And at that moment, 'it' happened. Suddenly, Marc felt that familiar stabbing sensation in his chest. His pupils dilated, then immediately regained their sharpness. They contracted as he moved his gaze down to the young girl in his arms. For a moment, his face showed a hint of resignation. At that moment, a scene shocked the other people present. The originally dark gray fur on the girl's head slowly changed color, becoming brighter and brighter until it reached a pure white...

Both men present were utterly speechless. They knew the rank of White Wolves. In the Kollos Alliance, there were three White Wolves—one was Upper Circle Tier (after High Step Tier, there are three Circle Tiers). The other two were Rankers (people who achieved Rank level, beyond Circle). Rankers were definitely the strongest among living beings. Moreover, White Wolves were in the Upper High category of sub-races... This implied that a UHigh/UHigh hybrid had been born... The two men looked at each other and nodded. Tomorrow, they would have her test her sub-race again to confirm it.

That's what happened several hours earlier...

Right now, Marc was still sitting on the hospital bed, watching the outside world through his window. In fact, that was just a facade; the real him was immersed in analyzing the sounds he had heard today. All of today's lines replayed in his mind indefinitely. He did the same with every single image, gesture, muscle—everything was analyzed, divided, conquered. Then he stumbled upon the image of the crying girl in his arms and the feeling of something piercing his soul...

[--???--: Congratulations, you finally crossed the line. Now that the little girls are finally in your strike zone, Dalia will be overjoyed.]

A voice resounded inside his consciousness.

[--Marc--: Lily! But... You... Then...]

[--Lily--: That's right.]

As the voice confirmed his suspicions, Marc immediately retracted back to his soul space. The young boy appeared in front of the throne. In the middle sat a girl in a rather unladylike posture. Her partially disheveled red hair reached her hips. Wearing a gorgeous white dress that was a bit undone, nearly showing a portion of her bust, she exuded a bewitching aura with her smile, as if asking, 'Do you like what you see?'

[Lily: Hey, Marc.]

[???: Greetings, m'lord.]

[Marc: Lily, Calla.]

Marcdrak responded as he turned his head towards the second girl, who was now awake. A raven-haired girl sat on the arm of the throne with her legs crossed. With her side turned towards him, she looked like a statue. An elegant, dignified aura surrounded her as she watched him cautiously.

[Lily: Marc's new look is sooooo cute; I could get used to it.]

[Marc: Don’t—I’ll grow...]

[Calla: Black hair... Green eyes... It’s as if he was m'lord and my... our c-child...]

[Marc & Lily: ...]

[Calla: N-no! Please don’t misunderstand, m'lord. It’s not like I have an excessive urge to bear m'lord’s child, though I absolutely don’t mind. It’s just seeing m'lord like this makes me want to hug him...]

[Lily: *Snicker*]

[Marc: ...]

[Lily: That reminds me, is that child Lord Marcdrak's new target?]

She was obviously referring to Mersa. The redhead quickly fixed her appearance as she carefully left the throne. There were five more girls sleeping there, after all.

[Marc: ...]

When the question is too difficult to answer, it’s best to keep silent. 40,000 years of experience has its merits. Furthermore, at this moment, Marc’s face was also buried in something very soft. Calla was 1.86 meters tall, and with Marc’s new appearance as a child, his face was at the perfect height for a treat. Though the black-haired goddess wasn’t excessively endowed, they weren’t small either. They were absolutely perfect.

[Calla: I believe in m'lord. And even if he commits the crime, I’ll continue to follow him no matter what.]

[Marc: ... Still... Calla, you should have called me.]

[Calla: But m'lord was busy, then he was busy with that little girl, then afterwards too...]

[Marc: ... *sigh*]

[Lily: Hmm... Marc, you were learning the language, right?]

[Marc: Yes.]

[Lily: How far are you?]

[Marc: I’m halfway done. With what I got today, I think I’ll be able to reach 80%, which will be more than enough for small talk. The rest can be finished tomorrow.]

[Lily: Hehe, you never cease to amaze. Even though it’s a completely different language in a completely different world with no clues, you can still grasp it in just a few hours. My estimation is a week for me; with your help, maybe three days...]

[Marc: Feel free to ask me if you need something... Now...]

The aura surrounding Marc suddenly became solemn as his face showed the majesty of a king. Sensing the change, Calla immediately released him and knelt on one knee, bowing her head. Lily followed suit...

[Calla: M'lord.]

[Lily: Lord Marcdrak.]