System's POV

Chapter 1392: Following The Guidebook

Stella fiddled with her fingers as she looked at the pair of men locked in a staring contest. Her father and her "boy" friend hadn’t blinked for what felt like an eternity, and her anxiety grew with each passing second.

The red-haired Half-Elf’s visual completely beat the young man. His confidence overflowed, perfectly backed up by his height and good looks. In short, he was a winner in life.

A normal person would’ve been intimidated by him, but not Thirteen. He stood still with an expression as calm as a still lake, unbothered by the older man’s pressure.

Not that far from the main scene were William’s wives. Sidonie and the other ladies who had vowed to keep him in their bed apologized to Belle and Chiffon for letting their husband escape from the bedroom.

Frankly, it was inevitable. The Half-Elf’s senses easily covered the entirety of the Ainsworth Empire. Even when distracted by many wives, he still sensed the presence of a stranger near his children.

As soon as the realization hit him, he didn’t even think twice before sprinting out of the bedroom butt-naked, intending to come to their rescue.

As soon as he was out the door, he naturally "equipped" clothes, then immediately teleported right beside the teenager who entered his sanctuary without permission.

This might be the first time Thirteen had seen the redhead Half-Elf, but he instantly connected the dots upon seeing Stella’s reaction.

"You must be Stella’s father, William Von Ainsworth," Thirteen said with a smile. "I played baseball with your daughter, and I hit a home run."

Of course, what he said was utter nonsense.

He merely followed the script written in the guidebook Vincent had given him a long time ago, nailing everything down to the smile and how the words should be delivered.

According to that guidebook, when meeting the father of your "girl" friend for the first time, you must say these words right away to get a good first impression.

But Vincent was smart. He made sure to include a fine print at the bottom that said, "results may vary."

"... Baseball?" the Half-Elf repeated slowly, as if tasting the familiar word that he knew far too well.

Stella’s soul quietly attempted to leave her body, but she failed. In the depths of her mind, a thought jumped to the surface—Zion should learn how to "play dead" and do it right here, right now.

Watching from afar, Belle covered her mouth to cover her smile. William once used the same baseball joke at their school reunion, which made her almost want to jump off the balcony at that time.

"Oh no," Sidonie said in a teasing tone. "He used the baseball line."

As the Lady who represented the Sin of Lust, her familiarity with the game was top-notch, and she could say for sure that the teenage boy’s words were the worst thing he could say to her husband.

"That poor boy." Chiffon blinked. "I wonder if he even knows what he said. Please listen to me, sisters. As soon as William mentions the word ’fishing,’ we dive in and save Zion from his sharp, terrifying claws."

All the ladies nodded in understanding. This wasn’t their first rodeo, so they had an idea about what to do. They’ve collectively given birth to plenty of daughters. Given their outstanding genes, lacking a suitor would be odd.

Unfortunately, their husband had brought most, if not all, those brave young’uns on a fishing trip and... they never heard from some of them ever again.

William leaned forward, towering over Thirteen. Although he wore a smile on his face, it didn’t reach his eyes, making him look terrifying.

"Young man," William said in a calm voice that would have terrified the Kings and Emperors in their world. "Why don’t you elaborate on what you mean by home run? You hit a home run with my daughter?"

Thirteen nodded, unfazed. "Yes. It was our first time playing baseball, but I managed to hit all bases without breaking a sweat. She enjoyed every second of it as well."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Even the nosy ones who whispered as they listened to the conversation completely quieted.

Right on cue, a breeze passed through the courtyard.

Somewhere, a bird reconsidered landing and turned back after sensing William’s bloodlust.

The Half-Elf straightened, stared at Thirteen for three long seconds, and "gently" placed his hands on the teenage boy’s shoulders, holding them in a vice grip.

"Hey, are you courting death?" William asked, his voice tinged with killing intent.

Thirteen frowned, wondering if this was what Vincent meant when he wrote the "results may vary" warning on the guidebook.

Although the conversation didn’t seem to be heading toward a favorable direction, Thirteen remained calm and stared straight at the Half-Elf’s eyes as if looking at a child who couldn’t take a hint.

The guidebook had already taken into consideration the instance when the conversation steered to the wrong path and had written instructions for a follow-up.

"Sir," Thirteen replied politely despite the Half-Elf’s grip being a step away from detaching his shoulders from his body. "I assure you that Stella held my bat for a long time. Even after three strikes, she didn’t let go and kept going."

Stella facepalmed before glancing at the ground beneath her feet.

Since her soul couldn’t escape, she entertained the idea of summoning her bow and arrow to create a hole deep enough to throw herself in.

William smiled.

A smile that reeked of murder.

The same smile that had ended bloodlines with crimson.

But Thirteen wasn’t done yet. The guidebook’s instructions had more steps listed.

"Sir, I’d like to be perfectly clear. Stella was the one who made the rules," Thirteen said firmly. "She said no stealing bases and no sliding without permission. But in the end, she begged me to play rough, so I hit a homerun, stole some bases, and slid inside with her permission."

James, Belle, Chiffon, Sidonie, as well as William’s wives all facepalmed in unison.

Influenced by their elders, their children also facepalmed, even though some of them didn’t understand what was happening.

They simply imitated their parents, thinking they were playing a fun game.

"... I see," William said at last, his tone frighteningly calm. "So my daughter not only set the rules, but also authorized... rough play."

"Yes, sir," Thirteen replied, nodding earnestly. "Verbal consent was very clear."

"PLEASE STOP TALKING!" Stella shouted. "Both of you!"

Without another word, she grabbed Thirteen’s arm and pulled him away. Her mothers thought that her face couldn’t turn any redder, but she broke everyone’s expectations.

William was about to pursue Stella and Zion when dozens of women grabbed hold of his body, locking him in place.

"Calm down, Will!" Belle said anxiously. "Deep breaths, okay? Deep breaths! Zion was just joking! Don’t take it seriously!"

"She’s right!" Sidonie commented. "She’s still a maiden! Trust me! I’m sure of it! I’m the Sin of Lust!"

Chiffon grabbed hold of William’s right arm, but she couldn’t control the corner of her lips from rising.

The scene from earlier simply made her want to laugh hysterically. After all, such a rare sight had never happened before and likely wouldn’t happen again in the future.

No one in their world had the guts to say even the watered-down version of Thirteen’s bold statements to her husband unless they were deliberately courting death, specifically the kind where they’d be thrown at the River of Hell to suffer for hundreds of years.

James could only scratch his head helplessly at the sight in front of him.

William might be the strongest in this world, but his wives were no pushovers either. All of them were powerhouses in their own right. Individually, they might not be able to overpower him, but... how many were they?

William also didn’t want to accidentally hurt his wives, so he forced himself to calm down.

While this was happening, Stella summoned Aethon and took Zion to a place that she often visited when she was still young.

It was none other than the "Kazo Land!" which was the biggest amusement park in the Empire.

She needed to calm down, so she thought that getting away by bringing Zion there to unwind was a good plan.

On top of that, it would be too embarrassing to face her parents now, especially after Zion said those words without breaking a sweat.