My interracial harem of beautiful queens

Chapter 194 Illusion

"I have a small idea," Adam informed them and stepped forward, standing about five meters away from the stack of scrolls and books. He extended his hand and mentally muttered the function name: "[Inventory]."

A faint glow appeared around all these items as if in an editing program, they had enabled the "outline" function with "glow" around objects like scrolls and bookshelves. After a brief glow, these items disappeared, and Adam received a short text notification.

Ding!

[125 scrolls, 2580 books, and 200 bookshelves have been moved. Inventory is now at 100% capacity.]

It wasn't surprising that so many items instantly filled the inventory's capacity, though Adam felt a momentary dizziness as if he had abruptly stood up from a couch. The woman didn't ask questions about his ability and silently decided not to pry into another person's personal life. After all, for practitioners, it's normal to conceal their skills.

Ding...

"What else?" he thought, raising an eyebrow and looking at several notifications before him.

[Detection of malevolent interference... assessment in progress]

[System evaluates items as cursed. Begin the purification process?]

[Yes] | [No]

"Wow..."

Adam was genuinely surprised by this. It seemed that the system had solved the problem, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Previously, they had only planned to stack the books one by one and try to remove curses carefully, but this pleasant event made him relax. So, without a doubt, he pressed the [Yes] button.

Ding!

[Permission granted. Initiating purification process...]

Boom... boom... boom...

Ticking sounds rang out as if someone held old clocks next to Adam's ear. This sound continued for about five minutes until the familiar "Ding" sound rang again, and the ticking sounds vanished.

Ding!

[Items have been successfully purified!]

While Veronika inspected the room for traps, he approached her and explained the situation with a smile. The woman was very pleased and promised to share her research once she finished everything.

In one way or another, the room's investigation continued. Since it was simply enormous, they split up and started searching the corners, trying to find something interesting, excluding some unimportant papers with love confessions written on them. It seemed that the love of ancient people was just as passionate as it is now.

However, apart from that, they didn't find anything else. There were a few chests hidden behind planks or in the walls, but most of them were empty. Most likely, it was an attempt to divert attention. Unfortunately, they couldn't find the map, and it seemed the rumors were false.

"What bad luck..." Adam muttered, sitting on the stone floor and sighing.

Everywhere he looked, there were papers and various kinds of calligraphy that now leaned more toward historical value. Unfortunately, he had no space, so he either had to manually transcribe most of these papers or take photographs. He couldn't even flip through some of the books, creating the feeling that he was watching a movie that abruptly cut off.

He gazed into the distance. Even with his special night vision abilities, he couldn't see beyond a hundred meters. It felt as though something was obstructing his vision, but he had no desire to go there alone. So he decided to sit somewhere and contemplate where the creature that had communicated with Veronika might be.

At that moment...

While the man sat lost in his thoughts, he suddenly found himself enveloped in green smoke. The peculiar thing was that he didn't notice anything, and gradually, his eyelids began to droop until he fell into a deep sleep. Somewhere in the distance, a sigh could be heard, and then a gruff voice, filled with coldness, spoke:

"Demons don't change even after tens of thousands of years. Greed is what drives you, and you have no qualms about dragging your victims along. Can you love without thinking about profit? Can you truly suffer? Do you feel guilt for your actions?" The unknown voice muttered with disappointment, and after a minute's pause, continued:

"I strongly doubt it."

***

The world was never a peaceful place to live. It was evident to anyone who had seen with their own eyes how the poor toiled in the fields and ate scraps fit only for pigs. War ruled the world, and the three great nations divided the dominion over all races.

Elfheim. The Lourian Holy Empire. The Kingdom of Elizis.

"How tired I am of studying..." A muffled, young male voice sounded.

The current location was one of the most prestigious academies in the Lourian Holy Empire called the Academy of Holy Knights. Here, young talents, regardless of their title, were trained in knighthood and holiness, consecrating them as knights and allowing them to join the church's army to fight for the Lord's will.

This was Professor Klaus's classroom, where he taught magic. Mastery of this complex and mysterious energy was considered a necessity, and the stronger one became in it, the better their future would be, or so the professors said.

"Tired, you say? This is already the second year of our education, and we still have ten more years to go. How do you plan to survive?" Another voice, a female voice, responded with a smirk.

The classroom was empty. In the very back, two people sat at the desks – a man in a white robe with pants of the same color. He had neatly trimmed light hair and bright blue eyes that could reflect your face if you met his gaze. He was undeniably handsome, standing out among the other men. He had broad shoulders and well-defined muscles, though he exuded a carefree aura.

"Lily, my white flower, am I to blame for being bad at my studies?" The man said poetically, addressing the lovely girl named Lily. He gazed at her with narrowed eyes, where a storm of emotions could be seen, with room for passionate love, which he carefully concealed, hiding behind the pretense of fatigue.

"Of course, you're not to blame. But you need to work harder, Alexander," murmured the girl, gently stroking his hair and tilting her head to the side, affectionately smiling at him, not breaking her gaze away from his beautiful blue eyes.

She was beautiful, complementing him perfectly. She had delicate chestnut hair neatly tied into a high ponytail. Her eyes were pure as the night sky, and despite their black color, which might repel some, they contained stars.

"..."

The man remained silent, looking into her eyes. He felt melancholy and boundless love emanating from his heart, but the memories that came with it made him suffer, filling his mind with weeds, and the determination he gained when looking at her was hidden behind an endless stream of thoughts.

Lily. She had been his long-standing love. Meeting her for the first time in their first year of education, Alexander felt boundless love for her, radiating from his heart and filling him with energy, and prompting his growth. There was a significant difference in their talents – the girl was much more talented, hailing from a noble family of knights that had emerged a hundred years ago, a fairly young lineage.

She excelled in both swordsmanship and magic, while Alexander was only talented in magic, struggling with swordsmanship. He came from a family of wealthy merchants, not nobility, creating a psychological barrier.

"Lily, about your engagement..." He murmured, straightening his back and looking at her with a serious expression. His hands were clenched under the table, and his heart filled with fear, but he still asked the question that had troubled him for a long time: "Are you going to accept this engagement?"

"This..." Lily hadn't had time to prepare for his straightforward question and panicked. Panic, fear, and signs that she was about to burst into tears appeared on her face. Alexander remained silent, not trying to comfort her, and just waited for her response.

And he received it.

"Yes..."

"..."

He simply nodded and leaned back in his chair, not saying a word. It was clear that there was sincere love between them, but the issue was their origin. To break off this engagement, Alexander had to either be exceptionally talented or become a nobleman.

...And these two options were impossible.

Talent is determined from birth, and becoming a nobleman is impossible, even if he desires it greatly. There is a special quota, and he must compete with another aristocrat to claim that title. The competition isn't in the form of a duel but rather a war - the armies of both sides must clash in battle.

"So that's how it is..." The man muttered and stood up, stretching and cracking his joints. He turned his gaze to Lily, who had slumped after his question, and called her by name, "Lily! It's getting late; let's go before the guards scold us."

"Y-yes!"

The field of vision was filled with darkness. The image of the two departing figures became less clear. This was the reason why Adam was able to awaken from the illusion.

"..."

He crossed his arms on his chest and curiously observed the scene before him. Raising an eyebrow, he tried to understand whether the unknown enemy was bragging about his fantasy. Because right before his eyes...

"Aaah! Alexander, please be gentle..."

Alexander and Lily were having sex...

***

Half an hour had passed. Adam, wearing a tired expression, observed how these two lovebirds flirted carelessly. He attempted to leave this place, but it was futile. He had the distinct feeling that he was being openly mocked.

In brief, at one point he found himself in an unfamiliar place watching events as if he were watching a movie. And then he was forced to watch two teenagers flirting while engaging in inappropriate behavior.

"Is this some kind of love story that will make me tear up and make me reevaluate my life? Seems too funny to me to be my re-education material..."

To be continued...