Gathering Wives with a System

Chapter 693: Greedy Evil Dragon, Be My Pet

Where did things go wrong? Isaac could not help wondering that as he stared at the group of adventurers standing in front of him. He was currently in his mansion in his own city, yet the six-man adventurer team from the Kingdom of Veloria was glaring at him as if he were their mortal enemy.

Especially their leader.

Reiner Albrecht, the leader of the team and the younger brother of the King of Veloria, stood at the front with a displeased expression. He looked like he had swallowed something bitter, and Isaac could tell that agreeing to this deal had not been an easy decision for him.

”We will accept your terms, Lord Isaac,” Reiner said, his voice carrying obvious displeasure.

Isaac was screaming internally. He had expected—hoped—them to reject his conditions, but they accepted it.

Despite his complaints, Isaac maintained a calm expression and nodded. ”In that case, let’s sign a Contract. After that, I will start clearing the Great Dungeon from today.”

The contract was signed shortly afterward, officially binding both sides to the agreement. Isaac glanced toward Saintess Sarah and immediately felt a headache coming on when he saw her biting her lips while looking at him.

She looked like a tragic heroine who had accepted her fate of being sacrificed to a greedy evil dragon.

Isaac sighed inwardly as he remembered his previous words. He seriously regretted how things had turned out because this entire situation had become much more troublesome than he had expected, especially from a political perspective.

He had essentially stolen a Saintess from another kingdom.

That alone was already enough to cause problems, but Isaac did not even want to imagine what Alice and Selene would do when they found out about Sarah. Selene was included in that concern because Isaac had already noticed that her attempts to act normal were becoming less convincing as her obsession with him slowly surfaced.

That was one of the main reasons he had left his main body with Selene and Catherine in the Sky City while he sent a clone to Florahti with the others. He intended to spend a considerable amount of time with Selene and pamper her. He had learned that giving dragons enough affection was important if he wanted to prevent their feelings from becoming unhealthy and twisted.

He had already pampered Alice quite a lot, but Selene was different.

If he neglected her for too long, there was a good chance her obsession would develop in a direction he did not want. Isaac made a mental note to spend plenty of time with her, although for now, he had a more immediate problem to deal with.

The Great Dungeon.

After signing the contract with the adventurer party, Isaac took them to the dungeon. They had already cleared up to the Fourth Area, while Isaac’s previous position had been the Fifth Area, but since he needed to bring them forward, he had to return to the beginning and clear the dungeon again.

It took Isaac about an hour to reach the Fourth Area.

When he finally arrived, Sarah immediately stared at him with surprise. ”How are you here already?”

”I cleared the previous areas,” Isaac answered casually.

His answer caused everyone to fall silent.

The expressions on Sarah, Reiner, and the other adventurers’ faces were enough to tell Isaac that they had been caught off guard. Even though they disliked him, or in Reiner’s case seemed to outright hate him, they could not completely hide their awe when confronted with the difference in their abilities.

Isaac did not pay much attention to their reactions. He simply continued moving forward.

Together, they cleared the Fourth Area, and Isaac soon found himself facing the Boss Monster. Unlike the last time he had fought it, Isaac was no longer struggling against the creature, and the fight was almost disappointingly easy.

He deliberately held himself back during the battle.

Even then, the Boss Monster was defeated without giving him much trouble. Isaac silently appreciated how much stronger he had actually become, and then continued toward the Fifth Area.

When they entered the Fifth Area, Isaac turned around to look at the others.

Everyone had blank expressions on their faces, as if they had just witnessed something that their minds were struggling to process. Isaac understood their reaction, considering that he had just cleared several Bosses by himself before casually arriving at their location.

He clapped his hands once to get their attention. ”Alright, you can leave now. I will clear as many Bosses as possible every day, and once I clear an Area each day, I will return and bring you to that location.”

Mira, another member of the team, swallowed before asking, ”Does that mean you are going to start from the First Area every day just to bring us forward?”

”Yes. Is there something wrong with that?” Isaac asked.

Mira opened her mouth, but no words came out.

After a moment, she shook her head. ”No, it is nothing. I was just surprised.”

Isaac nodded and did not think much more about it. He helped them deal with a monster so that the group could open a portal to the outside world, but after a few moments, Isaac noticed that someone was still standing behind him.

Sarah had not left.

Isaac looked at her for a moment before speaking. ”I want the dungeon clears to remain solo, Miss Sarah, so please leave with the others.”

Sarah shook her head and stepped closer. ”Please let me stay. I will only follow you and will not interfere with your fights, so you can still have your solo clears. I will only act if the situation becomes dangerous, and since I am a Saintess, I can heal you if you are seriously injured.”

Isaac fell silent. Even an idiot could understand what she was really trying to do. Sarah wanted to observe him.

She had probably already guessed that Isaac was hiding a considerable amount of his strength. If she followed him through the dungeon, she would have an opportunity to study his abilities, his fighting style, and possibly discover some of his weaknesses.

Isaac could also guess what she intended to do with that information. She wanted to escape.

More specifically, she wanted to find a way to escape from him and return to Reiner and the others from her original group. Learning more about his abilities would naturally make that plan easier, so there was no reason for Isaac to believe that her request was motivated purely by concern for his safety.

Still, Isaac could not really blame her.

From Sarah’s perspective, her caution was completely justified. His public image was terrible, and he had already made an unreasonable demand by forcing her into this situation, so naturally she would want to understand the person who had taken her away.

”Can I stay, Lord Isaac?” Sarah asked.

Isaac remained silent for a while.

If he allowed her to follow him, there were only two realistic choices. He could reveal his abilities and let her see his true strength, or he could deliberately hold himself back while clearing the dungeon, which would slow his progress considerably.

Neither option was particularly appealing.

”Lord Isaac?” Sarah asked again when he did not answer. Her voice brought him out of his thoughts, but it did not make the decision any easier because the more he considered her request, the more uncomfortable he became with the idea.

Isaac disliked what she was doing. An intense sense of disgust was rising within him, and he knew that his reaction was not entirely rational. Sarah was currently someone working under him, and in his mind, that meant she was his just like this entire city was, so having her secretly observe him and investigate his abilities felt strangely similar to rebellion.

His dragon instincts were reacting strongly to that thought. He was angry, and some primitive part of him wanted to crush that rebellion before it could develop any further. Anything that belonged to him should remain with him and obey him, but Isaac’s rational mind immediately warned him not to let those instincts take control.

His rational mind told him that Sarah was not actually his possession.

She was a Saintess who had been dragged into an uncomfortable situation because of him, and he had already made things complicated enough without doing something that would make the situation even worse. His rational mind also reminded him that he should look at her sacred face and think carefully before doing anything stupid that would dig the hole beneath him even deeper.

Unfortunately, despite all those warnings, the words still left his mouth.

”Alright, you can follow me, but you have to wear this,” Isaac said as he reached into his spatial ring.

He took out a collar and threw it toward Sarah. She caught it with both hands and stared down at the object, clearly unable to understand what Isaac had suddenly decided to give her.

It was the same Pet Collar he had previously used with Catherine during their Solo Clear.

The collar had a special effect that allowed the person wearing it to be counted as the owner’s pet. Isaac had two of them, with one currently being held by Emily while the other remained with him, and he had originally planned to use the second collar for the Great Dungeon in case he needed others to follow him.

”W-What is the meaning of this!?” Sarah almost shouted.

Her face flushed red as she stared at him, and Isaac could not tell whether she was more angry or embarrassed. Judging from the way she held the collar as though it were something dangerous, he suspected that both emotions were involved.

Isaac took a step toward her.

Sarah instinctively stepped backward, but the tunnel behind her quickly prevented her from going any farther. She stopped with her back close to the wall, and although her body had started trembling slightly, she still managed to raise her voice.

”Even if it is for the sake of my kingdom, I will not allow you to trample on my dignity—”

”Check the item’s description,” Isaac said, cutting her off.