Several weeks had passed since Corneus had turned Olba into his subordinate.

Around these weeks, be gained three more subordinates, but because they're children that were around his age and older, Olba was commanded to take care of those children.

Despite some of his concerns, the prince promised that he will be funded directly by him and that everything will be fine.

Except some headaches Olba will have of course.

Not just that, the formerly possessed children were definitely noticed by the cult, only for a moment before they were told it was a mere false alarm.

Corneus delivered the cult fake flesh dummies he created himself with a constant mana discharge, at the cost of a lot of Zeni.

Creation of those fake flesh dummies required transmuted materials, and literal gravedigging for DNA samples that were turned into those similar of the possessed children.

Also, it cost him a lot of Magical Power, despite it not even giving him trouble because of his extreme MP (Magical Power) recharge rate.

This meant he was an entire MP generator equal to three Nuclear Power Plants at their absolute limit without gaining repercussions.

All the transactions with the cult happened while he was the "Abyss Merchant", a persona of his making, perfected through a few loops.

The supposed Abyss Merchant was a man in his 50s that supposedly researched about the Possessed Children while he was selling powerful artifacts and through a deal, he managed to begin gaining tens to hundreds of thousands of Zeni in weeks.

It may turn into millions in just two months, then billions in a year. Until, he "runs out of stock" or "dies in the hands of an unknown person who hunts the shadows".

Questionably illegal, of course. But that does mean having a bigger chance of saving and protecting more Possessed Children.

Also, that meant he might have to build an orphanage in several months.

Knowing that his acts alone will attract some attention to a certain religious organization, he calculated it would be months or years before they eventually acted.

And there were also two problems: "Who will protect the children and raise them?", and "What if they find out?"

He sighed to himself, having to resort into pulling a certain women to his side, despite the

"Keikaku doori. It all goes according to my plans and strategies." Was the confident thought of our protagonist, as he decided to take a few days of rest and a few weeks of inactivity.

Weeks spent through a few training/sparring sessions with both Iris and Alexia, or even through attending a banquet and several events that meant little problem to him, including watching the yearly Bushin Festival event.

Which wasn't boring since several different skilled fighters from all around the world attended the festival.

One of them was Olba, who proceeded to rise up the ranks of the tournament with his increased strength and technique. The only problem was, he was too arrogant and prideful after he became the champion of the current Bushin Tournament, bringing honor to the Kingdom.

And he was very displeased with this.

So, the moment they returned to the castle, Corneus reprimanded Olba.

"What is it that you wish to tell me, Prince Corneus?" He asked, confused and a bit fearful because of a strangely cold gaze from the prince.

"Arrogance and pride are refreshing, right? Having an incredible power doesn't mean you should think about being on the top of the world, always think that there is someone stronger than you. Both corrupts."

That was all that was spoken, before Corneus stood up and began his leave.

"What do you mean by that? Please answer me!"

Before Corneus opened the door and left the room, he pointed at his head.

The door closed, and Olba is now alone.

"... Crap. I realize it now!"

He almost lost in the champions round of the tournament just before Olba became incredibly serious and pushed forwards, until victory was claimed.

"... Fufufufu... Fuhahahahaha!!! Damn it, I really was too carried away!"

Olba wouldn't mind sharing this knowledge about Corneus' wisdom, and decided it would be best to become careful since his back is going to be exposed to the secretive enemies.

After a while of laughing, he rested his self on the couch, thinking what he really should do now.

"You know what? I'll just visit Millia and her playmates soon, hopefully her fellow children aren't as crazy as the prince... They have an impressive devotion towards him, and crazy personalities to boot. Heh, children."

They truly weren't as crazy as Corneus, but they're still pretty crazy.

There was a brown haired rabbit therianthrope that casually appears out of nowhere, like a silent shadow. Her footsteps couldn't be heard at all, even when he tried to enhance his hearing.

Another was a therianthrope like the previous girl, and was pretty normal, however she had a dislike towards swordfights, preferring to just use her fists and kicks.

The third was a seemingly ordinary human, until she crafted an artifact out of just some metallic junk and kept being insanely prideful about it.

'... Formerly possessed children are definitely crazy...'

Hopefully, Millia won't be cursed, she might become like those girls.

[ ~ Line • Break ~ ]

So what was the guide to gathering subordinates? Corneus even wondered this many loops ago.

He had desired quality over quantity, as he believed that the better the quality, the less need for quantity. It was also the reason why he decided to get a bit more personal regarding this topic.

Seeking those talented and those who had an incredible potential was no simple task.

Hurdles like having to attend on certain tasks, having to study things he already knew because his parents wanted him to and because he was homeschooled by an instructor.

Aside from that, several plans were put to a complete halt because he was very, very busy.

At least it will be a relief once he gains more subordinates, and there is a very high chance that certain subordinate will become a female.

Strange, it's as if this world encourages harems for several different reasons.

In front of him were 250 small crystals made purely of Magical Power and the willpower to create one per day. They were stored inside a hidden room inside the castle's basement.

Said hidden room was his creation, cloaked within several tens of powerful barriers mixed with certain illusions and anti-scrying wards, it is the perfect hiding spot for anybody else.

Taking out several materials bought from the black market, he decided to begin creating a wide magic circle out of said materials.

Then, he accelerated his flow of time, allowing him to perceive and be in a world of slowed time, even if it is quite temporary.

"Now, let's begin!"

For hours with no end in the world of slowed time, Corneus had carefully yet swiftly engraved markings on the ground.

Placing several mana crystals inside the open areas of the magic circle once he was done engraving, he stood back, tired, exhausted, and incredibly sweaty.

"Oh dear... I'm going to want some good rest after a cold bath, I've almost exhausted my mana."

So what was the point of the magic crystals?

You will find out soon. As it is a very special magic circle that would be used the next day.

When Corneus exited the basement, he was very surprised that some people were looking for him. Checking the time, it was late at night, the moon being clear from the outside.

What should have been 5 hours of nonstop engraving turned into just 2 hours of pure work. Time dilation always proves to be quite handy while being costly.

Nevertheless, he supposed it was time to be natural.

[ ~ TO • BE • CONTINUED ~ ]

What do you really think the magic circle is for?