Lilith merely nodded.

  Aris and Lilith slid into the passenger seat. Being the smaller of the two, Aris sat between Lilith’s legs. Adam meanwhile sat in the driver’s side and started up the car, which emitted a low hum. This car ran on solar power and a miniature pulse reactor. It was nearly silent as he put it in reverse and pulled out.

  “Adam—” Aris started, but Adam held out a hand. She flinched, but he smiled at her to try to allay her fears.

  He pressed a button on his steering wheel. The sound of ringing soon echoed throughout the car. It only lasted for a second before it was picked up.

  “Master, what are your orders?” asked Asmodeus.

  “I would like you to station two squads around Fayte from now on. Eliminate any threats to her well-being. If you’re not sure something is a threat, report back to me immediately,” said Adam.

  “Yes, Master.”

  “Also, one of our vehicles is in Fayte’s parking garage. Have someone pick it up.”

  “It shall be as you command.”

  “Sorry,” Adam said as the call ended. “Since I’m no longer able to protect Fayte, I need to make sure we have people around her at all times. I don’t doubt Levon will try something once it becomes clear Fayte will win their bet. He’s not the type who can suffer any form of humiliation.”

  Aris just nodded.

  “What was it you wanted to say?”

  “I… I’m… sorry,” Aris mumbled, then she spoke in a louder voice. “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry I acted without thinking! I’m sorry my actions put us in this situation! I always thought everything would be okay so long as I was by your side. I thought things would always work themselves out somehow, but I was wrong! And now my recklessness has caused a rift to open between us and Fayte! I… I hurt someone I really care about! I love Fayte so much, and I hurt her! I promise to never do something like this again! I’ll think before I act from now on! I won’t be so reckless! Adam… I’m so sorry!”

  As Aris cried out all her grievances, Adam glanced at Lilith. She saw his look and wrapped her arms around the young woman as she cried. Adam couldn’t do much while driving, so she acted in his place.

  Aris’s sobs didn’t quiet down until they were halfway to their old apartment. After that, she just sniffled several times. Adam reached out a few times to pat her on the thigh, but he otherwise kept his eyes on the road.

  Adam eventually pulled into their parking lot. He shut the vehicle down, then got out and walked around to the other side. The door was already open, so he just scooped Aris into his arms like she was a princess. The girl didn’t hesitate to bury her face in his neck. She shuddered several times like she might start crying again.

  Lilith stepped outside and closed the doors. Adam smiled at her, which caused the woman’s face to turn red.

  “Let’s head inside and have a warm meal.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  Adam’s apartment was quite clean. Someone from the Grim Reapers must have been coming every day to clean the place. He made a mental note to find out who had been doing that and thank them.

  He set Aris on the couch, then went into the kitchen and set about preparing some food. They were fortunate his fridge was so advanced. It kept things in stasis rather than freezing them. “Fridge” wasn’t even an appropriate word for what he had, but companies continued to call it that. Old habits die hard.

  Adam prepared simple burritos with rice, beans, lettuce, and cheese. It wasn’t his best meal, but he wasn’t in the mood to cook right now.

  The three of them ate in silence. Lilith took away and cleaned the dishes when they were done.

  “Come on, Aris. Let’s get ready for bed.”

  “…Okay.”

  “Master, what should I do?”

  “You’re sleeping with us, so get ready for bed too.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  All three of them took turns in the shower, brushed their teeth, and got dressed in nightwear. Lilith didn’t have anything to wear since she had come over unprepared, but Adam gave her one of his large shirts. It looked good on her. Really good. Adam could admit, if only to himself, that he could get used to the sight.

  Adam slept in the middle. Lilith lay on her side, facing him. She wasn’t close enough for them to be touching, but she had grabbed onto his hand and held it tightly as though afraid he would disappear. Aris slept the same way she always did. Directly on top of him.

  “Adam?” she asked in a whisper.

  “Yes?”

  “Do you think… Fayte hates me now?”

  “No. She’s definitely upset with you—and me—but I know she doesn’t hate you. She’s just hurt.”

  “I feel really guilty.”

  “That’s good. You should feel guilty, but that’s a good thing.” Aris looked up at him. He smiled back. “If you felt no guilt over what happened… well, I don’t know what I would think. The fact that you feel this way shows you’re a good person. Remember what this feels like. Don’t forget, lest you make the same mistake a second time.”

  “Mmm. I’ll never forget how horrible this feels.” Aris tilted her face down and pressed her lips to his bare chest, then turned her head to press her ear against it. “I love you, Adam. Thanks for always being with me even though I’m such a mess.”

  “I love you too.” He turned his head to look at the other woman sharing their bed. “I also love you, Lilith.”

  Lilith didn’t say anything.

  But she did squeeze his hand a little tighter.

  Identity Discovered

  Levon was not playing Age of Gods at the moment. He would have liked to since that was what most of his holdings were now invested in, but there was a far more pressing matter that he was dealing with.

  “I see. So you were unable to find any information on the player, Adam.”

  “Correct. If we had more information to go on, we might be able to discover his identity, but without so much as an image of his face, I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do. We even checked to see if there was anyone named Adam who had been taught the Seven Phoenix Forms and came up empty.”

  “I see. Well, I appreciate you trying.”

  The call ended. Levon leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  He had been putting more effort into discovering Adam’s identity ever since the Guild War. That man was a menace. All of his plans felt like they were on the brink of being ruined thanks to him.

  He also stole Fayte from me…

  Levon had Fayte in the palm of his hand. He had set up everything perfectly, bribing her father to disown her, alienating her from everyone who could possibly help her--well, almost everyone--and coming to her with that bet just as she was on the verge of despair. She had accepted it without much thought. He believed it would only be a matter of time after that before she lost and became his.

  And yet that blasted man somehow arrived on the scene like a knight in shining armor and took her away from me.

  There was nothing Levon hated more than someone taking what was rightfully his. Adam needed to pay for what he had done. More than that, however, Levon needed to restore his shattered reputation, and the only way to do that would be to deal with Adam.

  Levon once more pulled up all the images he had of Adam and his party. Minus Susan, the fairy, and the little fox girl, everyone wore a mask. He assumed it was so no one could find them in the real world. The game avatars in Age of Gods were built on a person’s exact specifications and could not be changed, which meant it was easier to find someone IRL in this game than others.

  “A man who uses my family’s style is humiliating my family. The irony’s not lost on me. Since we couldn’t find anyone named Adam who was registered with the family, it means Adam is either an alias or he was taught in secret…”

  The Seven Phoenix Forms was an old style the Pleonexia Family had cultivated for many generations, long before they settled down in the American Federation. His family had existed for thousands of years. Each generation of his family was built upon the foundations of previous generations. And the Seven Phoenix Forms was as old as the family itself.

  “The Spear God also seems to know a variation of the Seven Phoenix Forms. He might be even better than Adam…”

  Levon remembered the battle between Adam and the Spear God. He had never noticed it before because all of the Spear God’s battles ended so quickly, but he now recognized that many of that man’s stances were similar to the Seven Phoenix Forms. Did that mean he had also been taught in secret? Just who was he?

  “Let’s focus on Adam for now.”

  The Spear God was a nuisance, but he was not a threat like Adam.

  Someone knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” Levon commanded.

  The door opened. Levon looked up, then raised an eyebrow when he saw who had entered.

  “What are you doing here, Thor? I thought you were doing a raid.”

  Thor God of Thunder shrugged as he closed the door behind him. His clothing was so much more casual than Levon’s that the disparity was not lost on him, but this man’s slovenly appearance belied his skills. He was too good at what he did for Levon to decry his lack of decorum and fashion… much.

  “We just finished. I heard you weren’t appearing in the game as much. Figured I’d come by.”

  “Unfortunately, I’ve been busy with more pressing matters.”

  “More pressing than running the guild?”

  “Yes.”

  Thor raised an eyebrow, then moved behind the desk to stand by Levon, who felt his right eye twitch. This was the only person brazen enough to get in his personal space like this. Even Connor Sword, known for his arrogance, would not do this. What made it worse was that Thor didn’t even realize he was doing something he shouldn’t. He just had no sense of propriety.

  “Oh! I see you’re looking at Fayte’s guild!” Thor exclaimed.

  “I’ve been trying to figure out Adam’s identity, though I’ve had little success,” Levon admitted.

  “Ah. Well, if he’s been wearing a mask this whole time, I doubt you’ll find anything about him,” Thor mumbled.

  Levon glanced at the man to see that he wasn’t staring at Adam at all, but at the lithe young woman dual-wielding scimitars. A veil covered her face, so he couldn’t make out her more prominent features, but even Levon would admit she was a beauty.

  “Is that your type?” asked Levon.

  “You know I don’t have a type. I love all women equally,” Thor said. Levon snorted, but Thor ignored that as he stroked his stubble. “I was just thinking about what a waste it is that she decided to put on a veil. She’s got such a cute face.”

  Levon felt like someone had dunked his mind in liquid nitrogen. He slowly cranked his neck to look at Thor, who seemed to feel the sudden intensity in his gaze. Of course, Thor being Thor merely tilted his head.

  “Something wrong, Boss?”

  “You know what this woman looks like?”

  “Yeah. That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”

  Levon took a deep breath to avoid shouting. Thor wasn’t the type to think most things through, so there was no way he would have considered the importance of telling Levon this long before now. He needed to stay focused.

  “Tell me what she looks like. Describe her in as much detail as possible.”

  “Er… all right. Wait. You’re not interested in her, are you? ’Cause if so, I hate to break it to you but--”

  “Just tell me!”

  “Okay! Okay! Yeesh. Gimme a second here…”

  Thor quickly described what Aris looked like. Levon made sure to memorize everything that was said, then sent Thor out of the room.

  He once more made a call to his contact within the government, explained that he wanted to find someone, and gave him the description of Aris. It wasn’t long before they had a match. The contact sent several files over, which Levon wasted no time digging into.

  “Aris Purity. Seventeen years old. She has Mortems Disease… hmm… relatives dead. Has one adopted older brother… Adam… Lancer…”

  Levon read through her files quickly, but began pulling up every image of Aris that had been captured on the security cameras. All of them contained two people. One of them was Aris, no doubt, but the other was a man. Levon felt a moment of competitiveness when he realized how handsome this Adam Lancer was, but beyond that, he felt elation.

  “This is him. This must be him. Adam Lancer… so you were using your real name this whole time.”

  Now that he knew Adam’s identity in the real world, he began making phone calls. It was time to finally remove the thorn in his side.

  With the money Fayte made from auctioning off the items they got from clearing Alexandra’s Magic Academy, she had cleared the first goal of her bet with Levon. And thanks to her recent fame from winning the tournament and defeating the Pleonexia Alliance during the Guild War, she was well on her way to completing the second goal of her bet.

  The current least powerful family among the top ten was the Peking Family. They were a family of Chinese immigrants who had settled in the American Federation due to some friction between them and the current largest guild in the Eurasian Continent. What made them so famous was their medicines, which were able to stall the progression of Mortems Disease if not halt it entirely.

  Once Dr. Sofocor was able to replicate the device used to cure Aris, goal two would be resolved.

  The last goal was that she needed to create a guild in Age of Gods that ranked among the top five guilds. Adam figured they had more or less completed this already. They had demolished the Pleonexia Alliance in a Guild War and everyone saw it. No one could contest were among the strongest guilds in the game.

  That didn’t mean they could rest on their laurels, however.

  Adam, Aris, Fayte, Garyck, Kureha, Lilith, Susan, and Titania had set about completing tasks other than leveling up.

  Garyck spent most of his time in the forge, smithing weapons and armor that they would sell at the auction house. Several of his items had already sold for over a hundred million gold coins, which was about a billion dollars in American Federation credits. Dwarf-made items were a hot commodity, and they made sure to advertise them as such to make sure everyone knew their value.

  Adam had also decided to add [Blacksmith] as his secondary class skill. His current class was technically [Blacksmith Apprentice] because he was apprenticed under Garyck, but that was neither here nor there. He was already well on his way to learning how to forge swords under Garyck’s tutelage, though right now, all he did was help the Dwarf.

  Aris had also chosen a secondary class, though hers was [Seamstress]. She had decided to learn how to make clothing since Adam and Garyck could make armor and weapons. Adam had asked her reasons for this and she had said, “Because it sounds fun! You make our equipment and I’ll make our clothes! Tee-hee! We’ll be the most fashionable guild around!”

  Susan’s secondary class was [Cartographer] and Lilith had gained the [Chef] secondary class. He wasn’t sure what Lilith would do with that class, but he knew Susan planned on mapping out the areas they explored, which would not only make it easier on them, but they could sell the maps she made. Adam planned on having them move on from here soon. They would make a lot of money if they could sell maps of unexplored regions.

  At the moment, Adam was taking a break from smithing. He sat on the couch in the living room with a cup of tea prepared by Lilith. She stood behind him like a silent statue. He briefly considered asking her why she had decided to wear a maid outfit, but he was almost afraid of the answer.

  “Oh, Adam. There you are,” someone said from the entrance.

  “Su,” Adam smiled at the girl. “Were you looking for me?”

  Susan nodded. She blushed a little and asked, “May I talk to you for a moment?”

  “You can always talk to me.”

  “Thanks…”

  Susan sat down on the couch beside him, closer than he was used to--at least, from her. Their thighs were touching and he could feel the warmth from her skin.

  “I wanted to talk to you about Fayte,” she said after a long pause. “Did something happen between you two?”

  “I… suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you noticed that,” Adam said with a sigh.

  Susan nodded. “Fayte has been avoiding you. It’s not always obvious, but I noticed it the last time we went out. She used to confer with you all the time, but now she’s making all the decisions on her own. I’m… a little worried. She seems very sad.”

  Adam wondered what he was supposed to tell this girl. Was it appropriate to let her know that Fayte caught him having a threesome with Aris and Lilith? He couldn’t imagine that would help the situation, but he also wasn’t sure lying to Susan was a good idea. Maybe… he should just be half-honest? No. She’d probably find out what happened eventually. It was better to be upfront about these things.

  “Fayte… caught me, Aris, and Lilith in a, uh, a rather compromising situation,” Adam confessed.

  “Compromising…?” Susan didn’t get it at first, but then she looked at Lilith, whose cheeks were now a little pink, then back at Adam. Her eyes widened and she raised her hands to her mouth. “Oh!”

  “Yeah. Oh,” Adam smiled humorlessly.

  Susan blushed but continued. “I get why she’s avoiding you now. Fayte… has never been a fan of polyamorous relationships. They remind her of Levon Pleonexia’s lifestyle. You know Levon already has four wives, right? They never show up in public anymore, but they were all very famous for their beauty. Once they married Levon, they just seemed to vanish. They’re only ever seen during social events.”

  Of course, that was the case. Levon was the kind of guy who couldn’t abide other men coveting what he believed belonged to him. Items, money, women… he considered all of them possessions. That was why he didn’t allow his wives out in public.

  “And that’s why she hates polyamory?” asked Adam.