Harem Tournament of Champions

"I... I..." Kritz gritted his teeth as he thought about a plausible way of presenting his reason.

Hisha shook his head, eager to get over their discussion and peer into the interface which connects him with Melody.

The fact that Melody could act on her own was a little disturbing and without proper supervision, she was like a ticking time bomb.

'What if she gets intimate with anyone who approaches, all in the name of getting information or killing them off later?' Hisha's thoughts spiraled as he stared down at Kritz with anticipation.

Kritz pulled on his white collar and coughed out so he could prepare himself.

"There was a time when I was drunk..."

'You, Kritz, drunk?!' Hisha was quick to swallow an outburst of laughter.

If this was a memory he remembered that might have also had Hisha's presence, he needed to thread carefully.

The drunken part was still unbelievable and he waited eagerly to hear the full story.

"We were both drunk actually so it is possible that you couldn't recall that little encounter, my lord." Kritz dropped the bombshell with a stoic face.

'That's it! How the heck was I supposed to remember something that wasn't even present when I came to this world?'

Simply grunting in response to him relating all he had said, Hisha hoped he would speak sanely so he could understand.

"I had accompanied you to your chambers when..."

'When?' Hisha stomped his feet when he witnessed all around him had frozen.

'HTC, you were the one who implemented time manipulation!' Hisha complained, not too happy about the distraction.

[It had to be done before you reply like your old self]

'Why, I outta...' He made strangling gestures at HTC's communication interface.

"I had grown, and I'm proud of what I have made

Calming down his thoughts, he looked on the bright side–he had more time to get the information needed on what had transpired between the two and how it was linked to him getting tested with an attack.

Rubbing his jaw, he thought of a better way to get the information out of HTC.

'Do you know what goes around even if it's a couple of months or years?'

[When did you begin underestimating my capacity?]

'From the moment you ditched being the regular informative system and went slightly lewd.' Hisha retorted, much to the dissatisfaction of HTC.

[I am not slightly lewd, that is nothing but an understatement. I am a desire system meant to–]

'Save it, now tell me what I need to know.' Hisha interjected, eager to witness what Melody was up to.

Even though he did freeze time around him, that didn't apply to the countless others outside the citadel or his room.

[Kritz had thrown a punch in a way of testing out his abilities since you two were intoxicated, and failed badly]

Hisha looked over towards a still Kritz and facepalmed, 'so what you're trying to tell me is if I didn't react quickly, my identity would have been spotted by him?'

[It would appear your previous stupidity didn't go unnoticed by the one person who has stuck closely to you like a leech]

Letting out a sigh, Hisha shook his head and could understand the point that Kritz was trying to point out.

Releasing his hold on time, he watched as Kritz gasped for air and was temporarily stunned to notice time had been tampered with.

"My lord, did I say something wrong?" Kritz looked up to Hisha with concern.

"You should be glad I hadn't killed you the first time you tried that while we were intoxicated." Hisha laughed it off, offering his hand to pull him up.

Kritz blinked several times and stared at Hisha's outstretched hand with awe.

Those words could only confirm what he had wanted to find out for a long while, "it is you, Lord Hisha!"

'The one and only fraud at your service.' Hisha's brows twitched as he managed to keep his mouth shut at the comment made by Kritz.

"Would you just take this?" Hisha clicked his tongue and shook his hand to get his attention.

Taking the gesture, he was pulled to his feet, still skeptical about meeting eye to eye while he stood.

"Do I look scary? Am I that scary?" Hisha challenged.

Kritz shook his head which immediately calmed Hisha but he had other plans while he had paused to get his reaction.

"Your aura is unbelievably frightening, my lord." Kritz coughed out and refused to speak his true thoughts afterward.

[Ouch!]

Hisha glared at the translucent screen in front of him but was mistaken for his dissatisfaction with Kritz's words.

"I apologize for my words, my lord." Kritz lowered his head.

Internally facepalming, Hisha couldn't believe he had been misunderstood yet again. 'Is it possible you stop popping your user interface if you're taunting me?'

[...]

"What brings you here?" He turned towards him and forced a smile. Slapping him at the side.

Kritz grinned from ear to ear at the opportunity given. "It's news about the Merchief.

"Mm..? Wasn't he the only one who acted out rashly?" Hisha chuckled and shook his head.

"He had left so quickly after the tournament that I had to send some of our guards to tail him." Kritz smiled with pride, expecting to get a commendation before questioning him on what he had found.

Instead of what he had thought would have happened, he was stunned to see a flash of shock cross Hisha's face.

"You did what?" Hisha hissed with irritation.

Thinking about what would happen if Melody were to meet who Kritz had sent would ruin his plan.

"This person sent, is it a male by any chance?" Hisha's sweat dropped as he hoped for the worst.

Nodding his head, Kritz wondered why he would ask him such a random question all of a sudden.

"Name?" Hisha pried further, hoping to get the details before Melody does something brutal.

Unsure if he should answer, Kritz, furrowed his brows and had a suspicious gaze on his lord.

"Lord Hisha, did you pull some sort of trick again?"

Hisha's sweat dropped and gulped, "again? How so?"

Kritz grimaced at the response and could easily tell his lord was one step ahead of him.

"I could pull the spy out at the snap of my fingers..."

"It's for the best." Hisha exhaled with a refreshing smile.

"... if it'll help with whatever dubious plan you have in mind, besides we wouldn't want to put any of our own in danger." Kritz wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, leaving Hisha stunned.

Shaking his head and a smug look gradually gracing his lips, Hisha grinned and patted Kritz on the shoulder. "Nothing seems to pass by you except you want to be oblivious, am I right?"

Kritz had a grin at Hisha's words, he could recall when he had caught up with Hisha when he had strangely gotten a disguise.

Not meaning to pry further, he refrained from questioning his lord's motive.

"This time I am a little curious about your motive and how you were able to do it without going personally." Kritz teased.

Hisha internally facepalmed, wishing for the stone-cold assistant that he had met on the first day he had arrived in the world.

"I can choose to reply and I don't think it's necessary to know for the time being." Hisha shook his head.

Kritz's face fell at the words and nodded his head, there was no way he could argue it out. "I understand, my lord."

Hisha closed one of his eyes and grinned at the new attitude displayed by Kritz, it was fun to mess with someone who was normally unresponsive and cold to the rest.

"All I can say is that Mich would enjoy the special present that I had set up for him." Hisha snickered with mischief.

Kritz had a slight bow and made it obvious that he had nothing more to report and would leave so he could await his call if needed.

Turning to leave, Kritz looked over his shoulder and had a warm smile. "Thank you for bringing this side of you, we– I had missed that and I'm sure she would be proud of who you have become."

Hisha had been listening with keen attention to what was being said and was proud he had been able to impact meaningfully into the original host's life.

The fact that he had almost blended in with the life in Kurg was a miracle and he was grateful.

The last words came as a shock to him but he had managed to hide his confusion and shock just in time before Kritz noticed.

'Yes, go on.' Hisha urged, watching him leave.

Click!

Pressing his back against the door, he furrowed his brows at the words playing in his head.

"Who the heck would be proud of who I've become?" He hissed and massaged his temple.

*****

A/N

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