It happened a few days before Alex's group embarked on the journey toward Exodus.
•••••
Blue Haven Manor, in one of the meeting rooms.
Currently, the round table that was used for discussions between Alex and his guests was used for a different reason:
The first meeting of the women in Alex's life.
None of them wished to do this meeting outside.
That's why they finally decided to use this room.
The people present were Maria, Luna, Sakuya, Artemia, Lilith, Sera, Pandora (Meera), Eris, and Kuina.
Looking at all those splendid women sitting around a table, Pandora felt an indescribable emotion; raising her hand, she asked,
"Excuse me, I more or less understand why you all are here. What I don't understand is why–I am here. I am not one of Alex's lovers."
She had been dragged in this whole mess for no particular reason by Sera and Kuina.
On the side, Eris nodded shyly.
"The same goes for me."
She felt incredibly uncomfortable in this room; the concentration of power was simply insane, almost as if this was a battlefield; no, it's a battlefield. Factions have been formed already, Maria, Luna, and Sakuya on one side, while Kuina, Eris on another side, Artemia and Lilith on another side, while Sera and Pandora just sat there.
"Fufufu~! This meeting should concern all the women important to Alex, or–Perhaps you two do not want to be close to him? If so, you are free to go."
'What a Vixen, humans are too troublesome to deal with.'
Snarling at Kuina's provocative ways of formulating her words, Pandora, who had already stood up, sat back obediently, while Eris lowered her head as if lost in thoughts. Pandora put Kuina on must be wary list.
"Cough! Since this is done, let's speak about important matters. All the women reunited here have a more or less deep relationship with Alexander. Some are lovers; some are friends; some are simple acquaintances. But no matter the reasons, we all care for Alex, and we wish to protect him. At least--that's my opinion."
Saying so, Luna threw a look at Lilith and Pandora.
Luna had been surprised to see the two. She hadn't thought that they would choose to stay after hearing Kuina's words, she could understand for others, but these two she was still thinking what made them interested in Alex.
In the end, it didn't matter; what mattered was tonight's meeting. Luna thought and decided to let her talk; it was finally her turn.
"Alex wishes for us to have better relationships. He said it yesterday. So I have thought about it, but I couldn't find a solution. After all, most of us don't even know each other well except for my sisters beside me. But, there is one thing we all have in common– Alex. As such, I propose that each of us introduce herself then say one thing she knows about him or what we love about him."
Finally, the main host of tonight's gathering opened her mouth and announced, Maria had only one goal for this gathering.
Becoming the leader of the harem. She must make her place known; like this, nobody would challenge her authority.
If she could do so, she would become more helpful to Alex and could carry most of her plans. The others could see through Maria's intention; Artemia smiled while Kuina, who naturally doesn't like Maria, sneered. Sera had a passive face like Lilith while Sakuya, Luna, Pandora, Eris were smiling; none of them wished to compete for leader seat.
Kuina wouldn't let Maria have her way; she raised her hand and introduced herself.
''I'm Kuina Series Foxia, crown princess of the Foxia Empire. I have known Alex in the academy, the moment I saw him, I have immediately detected something unusual about him; thus, I became interested in him. At first, it might be because I wished to learn more about his world through him, but I have ended becoming curious about him, and there's saying: When a woman becomes curious about a man, it is only a matter of time before she fell in love with that man. While I'm not in love with him, I do not deny that if I will choose a potential partner to marry, he is at the top of the list.'' Kuina declared, her declaration irked Maria, but she decided to control herself; however, after hearing Kuina's following words, her face changed, becoming frosty.
''I understand Maria's approach, but why are you acting as though you're above us? As though you're the boss? Maybe I'm dreaming?"
Slap!
Kuina gave herself a light slap as if to check whether she was dreaming or not.
''I guess I'm not. So, dear Maria, can you explain why you are acting like that? We must be all equal in this place as we care about Alexander; that's the only thing we have in common; none of us want him to suffer and would help him if he asked. So tell me why you are acting as if you're the Boss?"
The atmosphere turned tense immediately; none said anything but the silence said more than anything.
Five minutes passed in a flash before Maria opened her mouth and asked.
''Kuina, you said that we should be all equal here?''
Kuina said nothing upon hearing Maria's question; seemingly unaffected by Kuina's silence, Maria continued.
''You know since birth, humans or any existing creatures are born unequal. For example, you're born as a princess while I was born as the mafia boss's daughter; our status is different; the same thing could be applied to relationships. I knew him before you; we came from the same world, went to the same school, died on the same bus, and reincarnated at the same time; I know him more than you do, I do have more advantages than you, these advantages gave the right to act as I'm currently doing.''
Before Kuina could say anything, Maria continued.
''Never forget that I was the one who pushed him on harem road; without this, none of you should be standing here.''
This declaration made the room turn silent.