Gathering Wives with a System

Chapter 495: You Wanted To Laugh? Laugh Now

Agreement came easily in the chaos. No one paused to question it.

Then, a different voice tried to cut through.

[ReasonableDude]: Uh... shouldn’t we be talking about more important things? Like her bloodline or abilities? What is this discussion even about?

[LightBearer]: I agree with the neighbor above. This is pointless. If we’re talking about anything, we should talk about Goddess Alice!

[SaintessDevotee01]: Finally, someone with sense. Goddess Alice deserves more attention.

[SaintessDevotee01]: Yes, exactly. Goddess Alice is the best.

[SaintessDevotee114]: I’ve been saying this from the start. No one compares to her.

[SaintessDevotee302]: She’s not just strong, she actually cares about people. That’s what matters.

[SaintessDevotee778]: Right? Power isn’t everything. Her personality alone makes her the best.

[SaintessDevotee990]: I don’t understand why this is even a debate. Goddess Alice the one everyone here should be talking about!

[GoddessEmilyFanClubMember8823]: What the hell are you lunatics rambling about? Goddess Emily is stronger, purer, and far more talented than Saintess Alice. There’s no comparison. Leave or stop with your stupid "Goddess Alice" talk.

[SaintessGuardian77]: Strength isn’t everything. Goddess Alice is kinder, and she uses her valuable time to heal and take care of the weak and the injured. That matters more.

The fans of Alice and Emily began to clash.

In the middle of it, someone added,

[SaltyMage]: I hate that bastard Isaac for being with my Goddess Alice. Their relationship is like a toad lusting after swan.

[SaltyMage]: There is no way Goddess Alice would be together with him on her own accord. He must’ve blackmailed her, and forced himself on her.

[CalmObserver]: That can’t be true. Goddess Alice is still pure! She’s a Saintess. There is no way that bastard can force her to do anything shameful.

[LoreReader]: Lil bro, where did you even get the idea that a Saintess has to stay pure? You’ve been reading too many novels.

[CollegeStudent]: I’m afraid the upstairs neighbor is correct. Isaac used to hover around Alice in the academy all the time. Back then, he had no background and could only follow her like a follower. But now...

The chat continued to scroll at a dizzying pace, with new comments constantly pushing the old ones out of view. Some users argued endlessly, trying to defend their own version of events, while others simply added fuel to the fire for entertainment.

The more exaggerated the claim, the more attention it seemed to gather.

...

Celia POV

"Hahahahahaha!"

Celia lay on her stomach, her legs kicking lightly in the air as she stared at the screen.

Her laughter had long since stopped being controlled. It came in bursts that shook her whole body, forcing her to press her face into the pillow just to breathe properly.

Isaac sat a short distance away, his posture stiff and his patience thinning. He had only agreed to stay because she kept insisting that she would miss everything important if he didn’t let out of her the Mirror Dimension.

Since he wanted to punish by her leaving her inside, but couldn’t bear seeing her miserable alone, he had decided to stay with her. Now, he was reconsidering that decision.

"Can you stop laughing for a moment?" Isaac asked, keeping his tone steady, though there was a clear hint of irritation beneath it.

Celia lifted her head slightly and looked at him, her eyes watery from laughing too much. She tried to respond, but the moment she recalled what she had just read, she broke again. Her shoulders shook as she buried her face back into the pillow.

"I can’t help it," she managed to say after a few seconds, though her voice still carried traces of laughter. "They are completely serious about this."

Isaac didn’t respond. He already knew what she found so funny, and that only made it worse.

Celia pushed herself up onto her elbows, still smiling.

"They think Emily is pure and innocent. And they think Alice was the one you kept chasing around the academy," she said, trying to compose herself.

She paused, studying his expression before continuing.

"They even said you were like a follower back then."

The moment she finished, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. The laughter came back stronger, and this time she didn’t even try to stop it.

Isaac’s expression darkened. He didn’t need to say anything for it to be obvious that he wasn’t amused.

Celia, however, couldn’t help it.

Celia was close to Emily, and Alice. She would talk with them whenever they had free time. She knew what kind of "requests" Emily would make from Isaac, and that it was Alice who had been chasing Isaac in academy and keeping all girls away from him.

If anything, Isaac was the most innocent person here.

The irony was just too funny for Celia.

"I said stop laughing," Isaac repeated.

"And what if I don’t? What are you going to do about it?"

Celia looked at him again, this time with a playful glint in her eyes. She tilted her head slightly, her lips curling into a teasing smile.

"Will the lecherous Isaac use some questionable method to make me behave?"

She was trying to keep a straight face, but the moment she noticed the faint twitch in his expression, she lost control again. The laughter returned, louder than before.

Isaac let out a slow breath. Then, without warning, he moved.

Behind him, soft fox-like tails materialized. They moved with nimbleness that made them seem far more controlled than their size suggested. They swayed once before acting.

Two of them wrapped around Celia’s wrists, pulling her arms upward before she could react, tying them above her head.

Another pair secured her ankles, as if making sure she could not run away.

Slowly, Celia’s laughter died.

"...um, Isaac... what are you doing?" she asked.

"Didn’t you want to laugh? I’m helping you," he said.

Before she could respond, the remaining two tails lifted her clothes slightly, exposing her midsection and started tickling her. At the same time, Isaac’s hand moved, tickling her exposed armpits.

For a brief moment, Celia froze.

Then she burst out laughing.

"Isaac—! Stop—" she tried to say, but her words kept breaking apart. "I’m sorry—just—stop—"

Her body twisted instinctively as she tried to escape, but the hold on her wrists and ankles didn’t loosen. Every attempt to move only seemed to make it worse.

Her laughter quickly became uncontrollable. Tears gathered in her eyes as she struggled to breathe properly, her voice turning into a series of broken pleas.

Isaac didn’t rush. He kept a steady pace, as if deliberately making sure she experienced every second of it. To him, it was a simple matter of teaching her a lesson.

When he finally stopped, Celia lay there, completely drained. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to catch her breath. She didn’t even have the energy to speak.

Isaac snorted, satisfied by the result.

He glanced at her briefly, then turned his attention back to the livestream. His expression shifted almost immediately as he focused on the ongoing battle.

The confrontation between Florathi’s team and Avery’s group felt suspicious to him.

’They’re not targeting Emily,’ he thought.

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the situation.

If they wanted to restrict Emily due to her taming ability, they should’ve tried to defeat Sera as soon as possible. After Sera’s skill deactivated, they would immediately give chase for Emily.

However, they seemed to be taking time.

’Sera appeared here suddenly, so she can’t be Florathi’s goal.’

’They are likely targeting Eleanor or Avery.’

’But why?’

The question lingered in his mind, unanswered.

At that moment, he felt something on his hand.

He looked down and saw Celia biting him, her eyes still slightly red as she glared at him. She was trying to take revenge for the past five minutes of tormenting Isaac put her through.

Unfortunately for her, Isaac’s stats were too high. He didn’t feel any pain, let alone be injured.

A smug smile appeared on his face.

Celia realized her "attack" wasn’t doing anything. If anything, she probably looked like a cute hamster to him.

Then, without saying anything, she reached into her storage ring and pulled the Heaven-Reversal Moon Elixir out.

Isaac’s expression changed instantly.

"Wait, don’t—"

But she was already moving.

She swallowed the Heaven-Reversal Moon Elixir without hesitation.

A smug smile appeared on her face as she looked at his expression.