SSR Waifu Summoner

"T-Thank you very much, nya!"

Nero could faintly hear her gratitude as the group went towards the recommended inn.

As they stepped inside, the inn's interior proved as comfortable as its exterior suggested.

A cheerful woman with laugh lines and warm eyes greeted them from behind the counter.

"Welcome to the Floating Lantern! I'm Mira, the owner. How can I help you folks?"

"Niya recommended your establishment," Nero explained. "We need rooms for the night."

"Any friend of Niya's gets good rates!"

Mira pulled out a large ledger.

"How many rooms are we talking about?"

"Four in total," Nero decided after a moment's thought. "One for myself and Aurelia, one for Celis, and two for the others to share."

The arrangements made sense practically and kept everyone comfortable without excessive cost.

"That'll be 5 silver coins for each room for the night, 20 silver coins in total, including breakfast in the morning," Mira quoted. "All rooms come with hot water and fresh linens… but since Niya recommended you guys, I'll make 18 coins in total."

"Thanks… Here."

The transaction completed smoothly, keys exchanged and directions given to their respective rooms on the second floor.

"... She was quite enthusiastic," Aurelia made a comment once they were in their own respective rooms.

The space was modest but clean, with a comfortable-looking bed, a small table, and a window overlooking the street below.

"Yeah, and a good information source too," Nero replied, setting down his pack. "It's genuinely helpful."

He moved to the window, looking out at the city that sprawled in all directions.

Eidralis.

A free city built by merchants in a matter of weeks.

13 territories.

Countless races and factions.

Unknown powers and hidden dangers.

Along the way, he and the others learnt most of the names of the new lands that completely changed the geography of the past Earth.

And summarizing them it would be,

The Elven Dominion – Sylphid.

Dwarven Strongholds – Kharaz-Dhum.

Dragon Peaks & Volcanic Wastes – Vol'k of Drocalia.

Dark Faction Territories – Continent of Nyxen.

Mythological Realms – Mylgrid.

Celestial Territories – Haëven.

Corrupted Territories – Nefarynth.

Otherworldly Mythical Humans / Heroic Faction – Legendor.

Beastkin Territories – Feralis.

Spiritual Faction Territories – Espiria.

True Monster Territories – Grimgar.

Witch Faction Territories – Solaresna.

'Haahhh... That's a lot of info dump to memorize.'

Nero thought as he looked at the list of the said new lands, with some of them even being situated somewhere complicated according to some information that they gathered.

It looks like the world has progressed by a lot while they were busy during the whole month.

'I mean, who knew that the world would transform into pure fantasy after going modern apocalyptic?'

It's truly a surprise in his opinion.

They would need a sort of map next if they're going to continue their travel.

But before all that,

'... We need a base. ASAP for that.'

They need an operational base, indeed.

Not only because having a land where you could actually let some steam off is essential, but having a base where you don't need to be wary of some businessman trying to ogle your lady, or some unwanted enemies lurking behind your bed is nice…

Basically, they need a private space where they can actually relax and not worry about a single damn thing.

And not to mention,

===

[Card Inventory]

R-Tier Summon Card: x35

SR-Tier Summon Card: 2x

SSR-Tier Summon Card: 2x

===

'There's still a harem army to build.'

That's right.

The reason why Nero is not exchanging the R-Tier waifus into Coin for the system shop is in order to build an army for himself.

Exploiting the complete loyalty feature, he would need a pretty big land… no, probably a city or a town, where he could make both a paradise and a military prowess at his command.

***

Aurelia looked at her Lord Nero as she found him staring at something far off with a determined gaze.

"..."

As the silence settled in, a frown settled on his face as she could sense a sort of desire and… acceptance from him…?

"Lord Nero? Is something wrong?"

And knowing that he could be thinking something serious, Aurelia tilted her head slightly, her golden eyes curious.

"No, it's nothing wrong, just... important."

Nero took a breath, his expression softening for a bit but still serious.

He moved to sit on the edge of the bed, gesturing for her to join him.

"I need to talk to you about something that's been on my mind. About... the future. About us."

The angel blinked for a minute before she sat beside him, her full attention focused on his words.

"Yes?"

"I..."

He ran a hand through his hair, clearly struggling with how to phrase this.

"Look, I'm just going to be direct because you deserve that. I've been thinking about... wanting a harem."

The words hung in the air.

"I know how that sounds," he continued quickly. "And I know a lot of protagonists in stories just let it happen naturally, accumulating women without ever addressing it directly. But that feels like disrespecting you… like I'm just assuming you'd be okay with it without actually asking."

"..."

He looked at her directly, his dull black eyes meeting hers.

"You're important to me, Aurelia. You've been with me through everything since my revival. And I feel like a hypocrite even bringing this up because I'm already thinking about it, but... I need to be transparent with you. I need to know how you actually feel about this."

Aurelia blinked slowly, processing his words.

For a moment, she simply studied his face.

Then, unexpectedly, she spoke with her usual calm tone, actually… She sounded a bit confused?

"Polygamy is normal, Lord Nero."

"... What?"

"I can't say for the dimension of Reality but in many cultures and dimensions from Fantasia, multiple partners are standard practice," she explained matter-of-factly. "Angels, humans, high-ranking nobility, it's expected that powerful individuals would have multiple companions to maintain the security of bloodlines."

She tilted her head slightly.

"Considering your ability to summon others and your expressed desire to have such arrangements... it would be more unusual if you didn't pursue this path?"

"So you're... okay with it?"

"I am still Lord Nero's knight," Aurelia stated simply. "Whatever wish Lord Nero has, I will follow. That is the oath I made to you, Lord Nero… But,"

Relief flooded through Nero, though something in her phrasing made him pause.

"... But?"

A small smile, so rare on her usually stoic face, appeared.

"Ah, but since you're asking me this, can I have a request?"

"Of course. Anything."

Her tone remained measured, but there was something almost playful underneath it, but she seemed to be embarrassed by what she's about to say next, as she turned red,

"... A-Always make me your number one woman."

"..."

The words were delivered in her characteristic stoic voice, but the slight curve of her lips suggested a hint of playfulness, almost like a small joke.

She opened her mouth, probably to clarify it was just a jest, but,

Nero inhaled and then,

"Best girl ever!"

Nero's emotional reaction caught her completely off-guard.

He pulled her into a tight embrace, his voice thick with genuine feeling.

"I swear it, Aurelia. You'll always be my number one. Always."

"L-Lord Nero…"

She immediately went flustered.

"I swear I'll protect you with my life," he continued, pulling back just enough to look at her face. "I'll love you and cherish you. You'll never have to doubt your place with me. Ever."

The blush deepened with each word, spreading across her normally composed features.

"That's... very..."

She struggled to maintain her composure as he kept going, listing all the ways he valued her, all the promises he wanted to make.

It was objectively cringe-worthy, the kind of overly romantic declarations that would make most people uncomfortable.

But the sincerity in his voice, the genuine emotion in his eyes, made it impossible to dismiss.

"You're incredible, you know that?" he finished finally. "Strong, loyal, beautiful... I'm lucky to have you."

"I... yes... thank you…?"

Aurelia's usual eloquence had completely abandoned her, replaced by flustered half-sentences and a blush that refused to fade.

Nero grinned, suddenly struck by inspiration.

"Hey, can I call you something else? A nickname?"

"A... nickname?"

"Aury."

He tested it out, his grin widening. "It's cute. Fits you."

"I don't think that's..."

"Aury it is," he declared with playful finality.

Then his expression softened again, becoming more intimate.

"And... could you do something for me?"

"... W-What is it?"

"Drop the 'Lord' when we're alone. Just... call me Nero."

Aurelia's eyes widened slightly.

"But that would be..."

"Intimate. Exactly."

He smiled warmly. "I want that with you. No titles, no formality. Just us."

"I..."

She hesitated, clearly uncomfortable with the informality despite her feelings.

"Come on," he encouraged gently. "Just once. Say my name."

"Lord N..."

"Nope. Just the name."

"..."

"I believe in you, Aury."

The nickname combined with his encouraging smile finally broke through her resistance.

"Ne... Nero."

His name came out almost whisper-quiet, but the intimacy of hearing it from her lips without the title made his heart skip.

"Perfect," he breathed. "Again?"

"... Nero."

Slightly more confident this time, though her blush remained.

"See? That wasn't so hard."

He pulled her close again, this time more gently.

"Thank you for understanding. For accepting this. For being you."

Aurelia's arms slowly wrapped around him in return, her voice soft against his shoulder.

"Thank you for asking. For being honest with me... Nero."

They stayed like that for a long moment, simply holding each other in comfortable silence.

As for the rest of the lovely night…

Let's leave it to the imaginations of the viewers, shall we?