Harem Overlord: I ALWAYS Finish Quick!

The Holy Phoenix Empire (23 days until the wedding)...

Unlike entering the Red Dragon Empire, Ryan experienced no border checkpoints.

After showing the token he received from the Zol'Gan Empress, he was allowed into the Holy Phoenix Empire's capital without issue.

Lizzy and Izzy had explained that although the Zol'Gan Empire and Holy Phoenix Empire were anything but friendly, no one wanted to cause trouble and face heaven's wrath when a heavenly event occurred.

Plenty of signs pointed Ryan in the right direction to the Military Summit, which was apparently deeper into the capital.

But before he ventured in too deep, he wanted to secure lodging near the outer part of the capital.

'There will be a lot of highly skilled cultivators at this summit as advisors or mentors,' Ryan thought. 'And my palace entrance is still vulnerable. I don't know if they'll be able to sense it. Better to be on the safe side.'

As he walked up to a relatively good establishment, Ryan cocked his head to the side, noticing a girl appear before him wearing tattered clothing and dirty hair.

She looked about eighteen years old and wore a tired smile.

"Hello, sir. Could I interest you in a money-making opportunity you've never seen before?"

"No," Ryan instantly said, pushing past the girl and walking into the inn.

Ryan scoffed. 'A beggar with a money-making opportunity? Please.'

"The grand prize is a night with one of the three princesses!" the girl shouted.

Ryan stopped and scratched his ear. 'Then again, some man's trash is another man's treasure.'

"What are you peddling? What scam is it today?" Ryan asked, unable to keep from chuckling.

He reached out and grabbed her arm. "You look like you need food."

She opened her eyes wide and puffed up her chest. "I do not! How dare you!" she barked. "But if you had some..."

Ryan chuckled and nodded inside, "Let's see if they have something good to eat."

The girl hesitated.

"What?" Ryan asked. "Come on, spit it out."

"Well, this place is slightly over-priced and has the worst grub in town."

Ryan waved his hand. "Then please, lead the way."

Smiling, the girl trotted off with Ryan in toe, following a well-worn path through the city.

While they walked, the girl said, "Since you're being so kind as to buy me a meal, I'll give you the contest overview."

"Contest?" he repeated.

"Yes, sir. Whenever the Military Summit is held in the Holy Phoenix Empire, the princesses hold a contest to see if there are any men worthy enough to bed them," The girl explained excitedly.

"What does one do when they partake in such a contest?" Ryan asked skeptically.

"One gets to play with our tied-up prisoners who have been jailed for some crime and will get a lighter punishment for participating."

"All females, of course," she added, seeing Ryan's look.

"And you said this would be lucrative... how?"

"That's the fun part!" the girl said enthusiastically, which seemed out of place for how poorly she was dressed.

"The more pleasure you make the slave, which is how they'll be referred to just to be extra kinky," the girl added, giggling, "experience will determine how many heavenly credits you earn."

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. 'I'm free for the two days before the event anyway.'

"Does this mean there are a lot of men that attend the Military Summit?" Ryan asked, recalling that the reason for this competition was the Holy Phoenix Empire's hosting of the Military Summit.

"Yes," the girl nodded. "At least compared to other military-related things. At least men can be useful in tactics."

"No offense," she hurriedly added, waving her hands.

Ryan looked at the girl but didn't see any hate or scorn in her eyes, so he shrugged.

"I don't care," Ryan said. "It looks like we're here."

In front of them was a large building made of wood. It looked like a cozy log cabin that Ryan wouldn't have taken for an inn without the sign that read, "Nancy's Inn".

Ryan felt a refreshing and relaxing warmth come over his body as the two entered the inn.

"Greetings, Stacy. Have you brought back a customer?" the woman from behind the counter asked, looking at the two.

Ryan chuckled. 'Looks like I've been played for a fool.'

Turning to the girl he now knew was Stacy, Ryan raised his eyebrow and asked, "So, this is the best inn in town, huh?"

Stacy, shameless as ever, simply stared at Ryan and said, "Damn right it is."

"A room for one and a meal for two," Ryan said, turning and walking toward the counter.

"Sorry about my daughter, she sometimes likes to... mislead customers. But I promise we are a good establishment," the woman said, giving her daughter a stare.

"Quite alright, ma'am." Ryan leaned closer to the older woman and whispered, "What's with her clothes, though? It looks like you could afford some better ones."

Letting out a long sigh, the woman shook her head. "She says rich men like poor girls, and one day her prince Charmander, or whatever his name was, will come and save her."

"It's prince charming, mother!" Stacy shrieked, then blushed, seeing Ryan's gaze.

"Yes, prince charming from the Fantasy World. She's obsessed with a non-existent world," the woman said in disappointment.

Ryan raised his eyebrows as he turned to Stacy. "Is that so? Mind answering a few questions for me?"

Stacy grinned. "If it's over a fresh hot and free meal, I'm always willing to talk."

After a few minutes of Nancy, Stacy's mother, getting the food prepared, Stacy and Ryan sat in a booth in the corner of the room.

"So," Ryan said, taking a bite from his cheese pizza, "what does one need to get into the Fantasy World?"

Stacy was munching on nachos covered in cheese and said, "Oh, you can't."

Ryan tilted his head. "I've heard people say that if one gets lucky, the heavens will send them to the Fantasy World if they upgrade in cultivation."

Stacy nodded. "Exactly," she said with a mouthful of nacho, "which is why you'll never be able to go."

Ryan's eyebrow twitched, and he had to calm his breathing. "Is there no other way?"

"Not that I know of," Stacy shrugged, stuffing her face with another nacho.

"Then can you explain to me what happens when a person goes to the Fantasy World as a cultivator?"

"Ah, look, a man can ask a good question," Stacy said sarcastically.

Ryan bit back a reply as Stacy kept speaking.

"Once someone is graced with the opportunity to visit the Fantasy World, they take over the body of someone in that world who is about to die."

Ryan's hands started shaking as a bead of sweat formed on his forehead. "How long can some of these visits last?"

Stacy pondered the question before replying, "They can last anywhere from a few weeks to years."

"Does that mean that people who go to the Fantasy World are still alive, even if they die on Earth?"

"I don't know what this Earth is, but in the Fantasy World, yes. The body must die for the cultivator to return to Ravier."