Investing in the Three Villainesses Gives Me Infinite Returns

Elias’s eyes widened as he read the message glowing on the orange screen, and for several seconds, he could only stare at them.

”Space-time Shard... What is that?” he mumbled in confusion, his heart beating with the anticipation of finally discovering a method to break the seal on his physique.

However, before he could think any further about it, his thoughts returned to his wives, and he immediately tried to push himself up from the bed.

”Ugh... fuck.”

Sharp pain coursed through his body the moment he moved, and his arms nearly gave out beneath him. He collapsed back onto the bed with a heavy breath, his chest rising and falling as he waited for the pain to subside.

Only then did he finally pay attention to his surroundings.

The familiar stone walls immediately caught his attention, and Elias narrowed his eyes as recognition slowly settled over him.

This was the underground hideout where he had first met Olide.

Understanding dawned instantly.

He remembered seeing a woman dressed entirely in black walking toward him shortly before he lost consciousness. He could now make a fairly good guess about who she had been.

Yet as his thoughts returned to that mysterious woman, another memory surfaced.

The status screen he had seen before losing consciousness.

His expression changed, and he immediately focused his attention.

’Status.’

The orange screen appeared before him.

[Status]

[Name: Natasha Sephila]

[Rank: Warrior]

[Affection Rate: 31]

[Talent: Child of Divine (SS)]

[Physical Constitution: Heavenly Demon Physique (Dormant – Stage: II)]

[Stage II Progression: 25%]

[Weapon: None]

[Weapon Mastery: None]

[Weapon Aura: None]

[Mana Aptitude: S]

[Mana Affinity: Light (S), Darkness (S), Holy (S), Unholy (S)]

[Mana Circle: None]

[Spiritual Aptitude: SS (None)]

[Spiritual Affinity: Divine (SS), Demonic (SS), Ghost (S), Elemental (S)]

[Spiritual Stars: None]

[Stats]

[Strength/Constitution: 31]

[Speed/Agility: 24]

[Stamina/Endurance: 29]

[Perception/Comprehension: 18]

[Mana/Spirit: 137 (0)]

[Skills]

[Spiritual Sense (C)]

[Spiritual Ritual (A)]

[Demonic Sovereignty (SSS)]

[Unknown — Requires Affection Rate: 40]

[Shares a connection beyond time-space with Elias Crimson.]

Elias stared at the screen for several moments before his eyes narrowed.

Her physical stats had been increased by five, and two new blocks had appeared.

One was beneath Natasha’s physique, while the other sat at the very bottom of her status.

He focused on the first unfamiliar section, and an explanation immediately appeared.

[Demonic energy is required to commence the Stage II (Reformation) of the Heavenly Demon Physique.]

[Stored Demonic Energy: 25%]

’Demonic energy?’ Elias mumbled inwardly, his brows furrowing as he studied the words.

He already knew Natasha’s physique was connected to demons, so it was not particularly surprising that something like demonic energy would be required to advance it.

What he did not know was what it was and where he was supposed to obtain such energy.

His gaze remained on the screen for another moment before eventually shifting toward the final block.

”So the connection shifted from Envy to Natasha...” he mumbled.

He could guess what had happened, although the truth was far beyond anything he could have imagined.

His eyes remained fixed upon those final words.

[Shares a connection beyond time-space with Elias Crimson.]

A complicated feeling settled within his chest.

He was happy that Envy was no longer affecting Stella, but at the same time, sorrow lingered within him because Envy’s deception had given him expectations that had never been real.

The thought of communicating with another person through the Boundless Tether had been something he had come to accept as possible.

But Envy had deceived him.

She had never been able to hear his thoughts naturally.

Elias had tested it himself.

When he called out to her mentally without using Mental Whisper, she never responded. When he lied about why he had actually met with Mekah, she never called him out on it, and when he hinted that he might choose someone who had helped him before, she simply agreed despite the fact that Belthon had never truly helped him.

Belthon had merely followed the procedure required to provide Elias with a weapon and armor.

Even before then, Elias had already begun noticing oddities in Envy’s behavior.

When she spoke about Stella, she claimed that she had been with her for several years, but that made little sense considering Stella had been born with the Sword Body Physique.

And after the entity had emerged from Stella’s body, Stella had immediately become more cheerful and brighter than before.

It was almost as though she had been the very thing suppressing her.

All of those inconsistencies had gradually made Elias distrust Envy’s words.

Because of that, he had also stopped believing her claim that he lacked defiance.

He did have defiance within his heart.

What he had lacked was the power to force the world to acknowledge it.

And now, at least, he possessed a fraction of that power.

His thoughts settled, and he focused once again.

’Status.’

[Status]

[Name: Elias Crimson]

[Rank: Exalted] (False)

[Affection Rate: 22.66]

[Talent: Indomitable Will (S)]

[Physical Constitution: Three-Star Harmonic Dragon Physique (Sealed)]

[Space-time Shard: 1/100]

[Weapon: Sword]

[Weapon Mastery: Sword — Elite I]

[Weapon Aura: Sword — Tier IV]

[Mana Aptitude: A]

[Mana Affinity: Wind (D), Earth (D), Shadow (SS)]

[Mana Circle: None]

[Spiritual Aptitude: None]

[Spiritual Affinity: None]

[Spiritual Stars: None]

[Stats]

[Strength/Constitution: 60] (120)

[Speed/Agility: 57] (114)

[Stamina/Endurance: 44] (88)

[Perception/Comprehension: 60] (120)

[Mana/Spirit: 51] (102)

[Stat Points: 0]

[Skills]

[Slash (F)]

[Stab (F)]

[Swing (F)]

[Parry (F)]

[Enhanced Mana Enhancement (B)]

[Heal (B)]

[Shadow Ghost Poison Resistance (A)]

[Aura Layering (A)]

[Mental Whisper (C)]

[Tyrannical Giant’s Immovable Stance (S)]

[Masterful Hands (S)]

[Thousand Poison Immunity (SS)]

[Serene Mind of Geldnor (SS)]

[I Can Do This All Day (SS)]

[Storyteller’s Captivating Tongue (SS)]

[Angel of Comfort (SSS)]

[Boundless Tether of Hearts and Souls (SSS)]

[Shares a connection beyond time-space with Natasha Sephila.]

Elias stared at the screen in silence for a long while, taking in every change.

Then, despite the pain still running through his body, a thin and satisfied smile slowly appeared on his face.

He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

”Exalted... hah. I really did it,” he mumbled, and then his gaze returned to the screen.

The first thing he noticed was the word beside his rank.

(False).

His brows furrowed, and the moment he focused on it, an explanation appeared.

[The host has the Three-Star Harmonic Dragon Physique and thus the ability to become a True Exalted by traversing all of the three great paths.]

Elias stared at the explanation before his expression gradually turned complicated.

’So to become a True Exalted, I have to first become an Exalted mage and an Exalted Spiritualist?’

A deep frown appeared across his face.

The idea sounded absurd.

He had only just awakened his Aura Core and reached the threshold of the Exalted rank as a swordsman, yet the system was telling him that this was not enough.

He still had to walk two completely different paths before he could become a true Exalted.

How was he even supposed to accomplish something like that?

Elias sighed quietly and continued reading.

’All of my stats have been increased by ten, and the ones on the side must show how much I can enhance them with Aura.’

His gaze soon stopped on the new A-grade skill he had obtained after awakening his Aura.

[Aura Layering (A)]

The skill allowed him to coat his weapons, armor, and even his body with Aura, greatly increasing their defensive and offensive capabilities.

His gaze slowly shifted toward the final block.

[Shares a connection beyond time-space with Natasha Sephila.]

His pupils trembled.

Envy had given him an illusion that those bound by the Boundless Tether of Hearts and Souls could communicate through their minds.

But that had never been true.

She had merely used her own abilities and tricks to make him believe otherwise.

Even so, the deception had left him with expectations that were difficult to abandon.

Elias had once believed that perhaps the connection would allow him to speak with his wives whenever he wanted, even when they were separated by distance.

Above all, it would allow Natasha to speak to him... if not for it being a deception by the vile demon.

His fingers slowly curled against the bedsheets, and he stared at the words for several seconds.

He felt nervous.

After everything Envy had done, part of him was afraid that the connection would turn out to be another disappointment.

Yet another part of him desperately wanted it to be real.

He had no idea what Natasha had experienced after Envy entered her body, nor did he know whether everyone was safe.

He wanted to hear from her.

Elias took a slow breath and focused on the strange connection stretching somewhere beyond his perception.

Then, with his fists clenched at his sides, he sent a Mental Whisper through it.

[Natasha...?]

He waited with bated breath, his eyes slowly becoming dull and heavy with sorrow.

Suddenly, a sweet voice like chimes of a silver bell sounded in his head.

[Elias?]

He froze. His heart stopped beating for a few moments, and he mumbled, [Did... Did you just talk to me?]

[I-I did... I did! I spoke, Elias! I spoke! I can talk to you... I-I can...] she said, her voice cracking.

Elias could feel the heavy emotions in each word. There was joy and sorrow, burden and relief, and above all, a new spark of hope.

[Yeah... you can speak.]

His body fell loose onto the bed as he stared at the ceiling with a genuine smile and added, [I am so... so glad.]

[W-What happened? Why... why can I do... this all of a sudden?]

She took pauses as she sent her thoughts to him, still unable to hold the weight of what felt like liberation.

[Does it matter?] He asked, silently praying for her to drop the matter and move on.

However, she wasn’t one to move on so easily.

[It does,] she insisted.

Elias let out a sigh and asked, [Before that, is everyone safe?]

[We are safe but...]

He furrowed his brows. [But?]

[Stella fell unconscious just a few minutes after taking the fruit,] Natasha answered.

Confusion spread across his face.

[Huh? How is that possible? The fruit’s effects should stay for an hour,] he muttered.

[I think... it is because of that sword,] she replied, but her words only made it more confusing for him.

[What do you mean?]

[When she held... the sword, something strange happened... her hair grew longer a-and her eyes turned radiant golden,] Natasha explained.

Elias’s eyes narrowed in thought for a moment before they widened.

’That message...’

He remembered the strange messages he had obtained about unknown... was it in some way related to what had happened to Stella? He didn’t know for sure, and he wasn’t going to think about it too much.

He had asked the question to pull his mind and body away from the heavy emotions of getting to hear his first wife’s voice.

[How are you feeling?] He asked.

[I do not know,] she said. [This... this is too much for me to handle. I am barely able to talk to you.]

A mischievous smile appeared on his face.

[So you do not want to talk to me?] He asked.

A few seconds passed, and then she answered, [Yeah, I do not.]

His mischievous smile instantly turned into a frown.

[Not like this... I want you to be with me.]

’Gods, this woman...’ He felt like rubbing his forehead, but his body was still aching.

Right then, footsteps echoed off the wall, and a familiar voice drifted into his ear. ”Oh, you are already awake, Lord Elias?”

The merchant walked into the room with his arms folded behind his back. The woman dressed in black followed behind him.

Elias looked at Olide, and his eyes shifted to the woman for a moment before he asked, ”Why am I here?”

The merchant smiled and said, ”It would have been quite disappointing if you had died there, no?”