Gathering Wives with a System

Chapter 737: Mastermind, Past Events

Jasmine shook her head slightly. "It’s another god. I don’t know which one, but someone is supporting the catastrophe."

Isaac nodded slowly, considering her words. "Why would a god help a catastrophe, though? Do they have some specific goal, or are they targeting Florathi because we’re enemies of the Goddess of Love, Harvest, and War?"

"I have no idea," Jasmine admitted.

Isaac sighed. "Then what use is the Talent to see the future when you don’t know the most important details?"

The corner of Jasmine’s lips twitched. Anyone could tell Isaac was getting on her nerves, and judging by the faint smile on his face, he was perfectly aware of it. He seemed almost pleased with himself.

"Anyway, my plan is..." Jasmine began as she started explaining what she intended to do. She went over the important details, including what they would need to accomplish and the risks they would face if anything went wrong.

After hearing everything, Selene shook her head. "No, it’s too dangerous. There are too many things that could go wrong, and I don’t think we should proceed without knowing more about what we’re dealing with."

Isaac remained silent, lost in thought as he went over the plan in his mind. There were certainly risks involved, but that did not necessarily mean the plan was impossible, and after considering the alternatives, he realized they did not have many better options.

Eventually, Isaac turned toward Alice. "What do you think?"

Alice thought about it for a moment before answering. "It’s doable. There are risks, but I think we can handle them if we’re careful."

Isaac nodded. "Then, I guess we’ll agree to the plan."

Jasmine smiled, clearly relieved that both Isaac and Alice had agreed. She had probably expected more resistance, but now that the two people who would actually be carrying out the plan had accepted it, there was little point in continuing the argument.

Afterward, Jasmine returned the space to the way it had been before they arrived, removing the strange environment that had surrounded them during their discussion. Alice, Isaac, and Selene then returned to the hotel room they had booked, where they could finally relax without Jasmine watching over them.

Jasmine still was not inviting them to the palace, even though it had already been reconstructed. Isaac suspected she was still holding a grudge against him for destroying it previously, and considering how much trouble rebuilding the place must have caused, he decided it was probably better not to bring up the subject.

"It’s too risky," Selene finally said, unable to hold herself back any longer. "I know we’ve already agreed to it, but that doesn’t mean I have to pretend I’m comfortable with the plan."

"Don’t worry. We won’t take too many risks," Isaac said, trying to reassure her.

"Yes," Alice added with a nod. "We’ll be careful, and we won’t do anything unnecessary."

Selene’s brows furrowed. "Do you know how that sounds coming from the two most reckless people I know? Whenever either of you says you’ll be careful, I start worrying even more because I know exactly what you consider to be reasonable."

"Hey, I’m not reckless," Isaac said, sounding genuinely offended by the accusation.

"I agree Isaac is reckless, but what did I do?" Alice asked, looking at Selene with some confusion.

Selene turned toward Isaac first. "Isaac, don’t you dare say you aren’t reckless. Have some shame."

She then looked at Alice and continued, "And as for you, should I count everything one by one?"

Alice hesitated, already seeming to realize where this was going.

"You once sneaked Isaac into the Calloway mansion," Selene began. "You fought against Dad when he recommended that you go to a different academy because he thought it might be better for you. You challenged an Adept-rank Awakener when you were still unawakened, and you’ve done plenty of other things like—"

Selene stopped when she noticed that both Isaac and Alice were blushing. It was quite rare for Alice to blush so openly, while it was even more unusual for Isaac, who had become so shameless in recent time that it sometimes seemed like nothing could embarrass him anymore.

"Why are you two..." Selene narrowed her eyes as she looked between them. "Wait, is this about when you sneaked him into the mansion? Did you two back then—"

"No, we didn’t do anything," Alice said quickly, cutting her off. She puckered her lips slightly, pouting slightly as she explained, "This guy was a complete coward. I went so far as to set everything up, and he didn’t do anything."

Isaac smiled wryly but did not say anything. Honestly, even now, remembering that night made his heart race, and he still remembered how close he had come to making a decision that could have changed their relationship much earlier.

The only reason he had not crossed the line with Alice back then had been his situation. The economic gap between him, who barely had enough money for food and rent, and Alice, who was the heir of the richest conglomerate in the city, had already been enormous.

There was also a chance that Isaac might never have awakened a Talent. If that had happened, he could have ended up ruining Alice’s life simply by tying her to someone who had no future, and that possibility had been enough to make him hold himself back.

If he had only been a hot-blooded young man, he might have ignored all of those concerns and entered a relationship with Alice anyway. However, he was a reincarnator, and in this second life, he had already suffered enough to understand that acting on impulse could have consequences that lasted far longer than the moment itself.

Alice had always been a good friend to him, and Isaac had not wanted to hurt her just because he was unwilling to think about what might happen afterward. At the time, keeping his distance had seemed like the safer choice, even if it had not been easy.

"Well, that was fine too," Alice said after a moment. "I could keep you away from the other girls, so that’s a win in my book."

Isaac glanced at her before asking, "Now that I think about it, I’ve heard you say that multiple times. Were there really any girls interested in me? I never thought there were."

Alice frowned and stared directly into his eyes.

Isaac waited for an answer for a few seconds before raising his eyebrows and asking, "Hello? Are you going to say something?"

"Are you seriously thinking I’m going to answer something like that?" Alice asked. Her expression made it clear that she was becoming increasingly annoyed with him.

Isaac fell silent. He could tell that Alice was getting pissed, and in hindsight, even he had to admit it had not been a very smart question.

If their positions were reversed and Alice casually asked him whether he knew other men who were interested in her, Isaac knew he would probably react in much the same way. His reaction might be worse. Thinking about it from that perspective, he decided it was probably better to let the subject go.

"I’m curious about it too," Selene suddenly said.

Isaac and Alice both turned toward her, clearly surprised that Selene had decided to join the conversation.

Selene noticed their strange expressions and asked. "Why are you two looking at me like that?"

"I thought you would be more possessive, so you wouldn’t want to hear something like that," Isaac said. "I figured you’d probably be annoyed just hearing about other people being interested in me."

"Hmm, well, I suppose I don’t like it, but I also don’t think it’s a big thing," Selene replied. "I know you won’t have any interest in those people, and if you do, I can just make them disappear—"

Selene closed her mouth before she could finish her sentence. She looked at Isaac with a hint of worry, as though she had suddenly realized how that particular choice of words might sound and was now waiting to see how he would react.

Isaac chuckled and reached over to pat her head. "Yeah, now that is the reaction I was expecting from you."

Selene sighed in relief, and despite herself, she clearly enjoyed the attention. After a moment, she looked toward Alice, seemingly deciding that it was now her turn to answer Isaac’s question.

Alice sighed before speaking. "Well, I don’t know about serious relationships, but quite a few girls were interested in having a fling with you. You were quite good-looking, after all, and a few of them even approached me to ask if I was your girlfriend and whether I’d be interested in having a threesome with you."

"Who was—" Isaac began before immediately stopping himself when Alice gave him a sharp glare.

He let out an awkward chuckle and leaned over to kiss her.

"I was just joking. I was never really interested in anyone at the academy anyway, so even if someone had approached me, I would have refused."

Isaac smiled at her before continuing, his expression becoming more sincere.

"The only person I had eyes for was you."