“I love you all, good luck.”

I had just finished explaining my plans to Lydia and her party and was now setting them on their way. I said my farewell to Lydia, Celeste, and Terra, including a long night with Pervert equipped. It had gone up another level, and so had Harem Master. I didn’t know what I did to get Harem Master to increase, but it seemed to have been leveling normally. I equipped it just for kicks. I was now at level 3, and it had given me three skills.

The first skill was another Status Bonus that seemed to only affect girls in my harem and also in my party. The second level gave me Harem Boost. I didn’t know what it did, but I presumed it was a status boost as well. It didn’t appear to be an active skill, whatever it was. The third ability was called Harmony, and I could guess what that meant. It helped the girls get along a bit easier. It had to be working, because Astria and Elaya seemed to be getting along better with the others recently. They even agreed to help protect the city while we were gone.

Well, if it was anything major, I could use Return and be home in a second, so I made sure that the mayor knew not to depend on them too much. I had a bit more trust for Astria than I did Elaya. She was still a wild card. I hadn’t made her my slave. She was just a tamed monster. However, a tamed monster was just that, someone who was tamed. Dogs were tamed, but that didn’t mean they didn’t bite their Masters. Monsters couldn’t be controlled fully, where slaves could, at least in this world. Slavery was a removal of freedom, where taming was a form of reliance.

As for Miki, Raissa, Carmine, and Salicia, we would be gone from Chalm for a while. We’d be out in east Aberis, hunting bandits and forging alliances. Then, when Carmine needed to do her gladiatorial fights, we’d get involved in those as well. With Portal, it was rather easy to move around, so just like how I slowly descended in the dungeons while sleeping at the mansion every night, things wouldn’t be much different here. We’d progress along the countryside and then return to Alerith every night.

Why was I staying in Alerith? I wanted to give Chalm some time to grow without me. I didn’t want the city to be too reliant. I had a feeling that I would be outgrowing Chalm in time. After sending that Miner’s town to the grave, I realized the importance of having more support. I needed other cities. That’s why my girls were trying to survey the wilderness. If we could reclaim it and build another city, that would be best. With Terra’s increasing skills, a second city, maybe a few forts, would all be possible.

I even had such fanciful dreams as taming a dungeon. It wasn’t a monster, but it might be possible to control it like one of the Great dungeons. Then I could have a city like Dirage that attracts people. Furthermore, I could always pilfer mana for my own dungeon, if needed. I had many plans, but they needed to be fulfilled little by little.

The old me who first came to this place wouldn’t even be able to recognize the current me. I didn’t know at what point I had started having this kind of ambition. I had always been someone who just went with the flow. However, after being in the company of so many people who depended on me, I had started to want to become a man they could depend on. I wanted to grow, and I wanted those around me to grow as well. As a result, it was necessary to part for a time.

I gave them each a final hug and a kiss, and the girls walked off into the wilderness. I marked them on my Map. They might have left, but they’d never be farther than a step from me. I would build a future for all of us.