Gathering Wives with a System Chapter 415: Understanding

Though he might have been timid, Averon wasn't the type to betray those who helped him. The factory's inhabitants all watched over one another with genuine concern.

Averon had benefited from their goodwill.

That's why he wouldn't take their lives.

Still, a persistent voice echoed in his thoughts.

’Kill them.’

’Just a few.’

’To reach level five.’

’Your SSS-rank Talent will grant a mighty first skill.’

’Sacrifice a handful, and you can rescue the others.’

’Do nothing, and they'll perish one way or another.’

Those moments revealed the terrifying power of temptation to Averon.

The bodily torment from consuming the ores paled in comparison to the inner turmoil of his conflicting decisions.

He had no idea what path to choose.

Right as he sensed his resolve cracking—

’She’ appeared.

A kitsune.

She descended like a divine entity from the skies, serene and mighty, utterly mismatched in that savage prison.

She rescued Averon.

She sliced through the guards with ease.

She aided Averon in eliminating the tyrannical Solkaras who upheld the cruel regime.

She uprooted the very notion of cannibalism at its core.

She assisted in claiming dungeon supplies. She directed them to other means of sustenance.

For the first time, Averon savored food that didn't scorch his innards.

For the first time, he rested without tallying the survivors.

Every Solkara familiar with her felt profound thanks.

Averon felt even more.

To him, she embodied deliverance.

A heavenly deity who came from above to aid them.

And like such a deity, she vanished one day, maybe ascending back to the realms above.

The time Averon shared with her marked his most joyful days.

That motivated him to establish a purpose.

He vowed to become more powerful.

He aimed to encounter her once more.

Next time, he'd stand at her side.

Not trailing behind.

Abruptly, Averon's dream of his history halted.

An unfamiliar noise resounded.

A sigh.

Averon whipped his head toward the origin.

Isaac was positioned not far off.

For an instant, Averon tensed up.

Then comprehension hit.

This was merely a dream.

And this intruder had invaded it.

Fury ignited without delay.

It felt as if his most private truths were exposed, igniting a desire to tear Isaac limb from limb for the violation.

The environment shifted abruptly, under Isaac's command.

The factory vanished. The memories fragmented like brittle shards.

Moments later, they both were atop Solkara City Hall's roof, the tallest structure in the domain.

Darkness shrouded the city beneath.

A vast sky arched overhead, dotted with far-off stars.

This spot was one Averon frequented in solitude, gazing upward at the heavens, pondering if Catherine dwelled among them.

Isaac paid no heed to Averon.

He strolled to the roof's brink and settled down leisurely, feet dangling.

He tapped the vacant spot next to him.

"Come sit with me."

"You think I will do that?" Averon hissed sharply. "Give me one reason I shouldn’t rip you apart right now."

Isaac let out a gentle laugh.

Oddly, the prior annoyance he held for Averon had dissipated upon glimpsing his history.

Isaac hadn't crafted this dream.

He'd simply commandeered the vision Averon was experiencing. It appeared Averon often relived nightmarish memories of old.

"Come sit, kid. You know how anxious Simraj is about us fighting again. Are you really going to go against his hopes and start something when I’m trying to talk peacefully?" Isaac said.

"..."

"You are Lord Averon. You carry the responsibility of an entire race on your shoulders. So make your choices carefully. Remember that the Solkara race’s stability exists because of you. If you die, they’ll collapse."

Averon’s fist clenched.

"If you were to die," Isaac went on steadily, "the horrors of past would return as the ones below you would scramble to survive. And when survival becomes desperate, people return to what worked before. Cannibalism. Factories. Everything you worked so hard to erase."

Averon gnashed his teeth.

His anger flared again.

For a moment, it seemed like the rooftop might crack under the pressure of his emotions.

But just before it reached the point of eruption, Averon exhaled.

He dragged a hand through his hair in frustration, then walked forward and dropped down beside Isaac, leaving a narrow gap between them.

"What is it? Why did you make me sit here?" Averon asked with an unfriendly tone.

"Did you ever figure out why Catherine approached you when you were a child?" Isaac asked.

Averon stiffened.

The question was simple, but it struck deep.

Isaac noticed the silence and continued, his voice even.

"You must have tried to find her after she disappeared. And I’m guessing you also tried to find out why she chose to save you. Your silence tells me you found the answer."

"..."

"Don’t want to say it?" Isaac let out a small chuckle. "Fine. Then I will."

He lowered his gaze from the sky and turned to look directly at Averon.

"I was raised in the same place as Catherine. So I know exactly why she approached you."

Averon’s head snapped toward him.

"What?" he muttered. "You were raised in the same place as her? I thought children raised by that organization were sent to support Lords. How did you become a Lord yourself?"

Isaac shrugged lightly.

"My situation was... different."

Averon stared at him, and the anger in his eyes shifted. It didn’t disappear, but it changed shape. There was something else now. Curiosity. Pity. Maybe even a trace of sympathy.

Both of them had been raised at inhuman places.

Averon exhaled slowly.

"Three Color Organization. They raise talented children and assign them to Lords with potential to defeat the Apocalypse. That’s what I found," Averon muttered.

He looked forward, eyes fixed on nothing.

"They must have known about my Talent somehow. Or predicted it. That’s why they sent Catherine to that factory. They saw potential in me. They saw someone who could become a powerful Lord."

Isaac nodded once.

"That sounds right."

Averon continued quietly.

"When I learned how those children were raised—trained as weapons, conditioned to obey—I was furious. I wanted to find Catherine and free her. I wanted to return the favor and save her just like she saved me."

"But she was already saved," Isaac said.

"By you?" Averon asked.

"No."

Isaac shook his head.

"By her master."

Averon closed his eyes briefly.

It seemed Isaac’s words had eased something inside him, but the sadness remained. It lingered quietly in his expression.

"I thought she was serving you because she was ordered to. But..."

Averon chewed his lips.

"If what you say is true, then... it means she is with you willingly."

Averon’s hands trembled slightly. His shoulders were tense. The emotional storm inside him had not fully calmed; it had simply changed direction.

"Are you her partner?" Averon asked, and there was something fragile in his voice. "Tell me honestly."

Isaac studied him for a moment.

Unlike what Simraj had implied earlier, Averon wasn’t a mindless, arrogant brute. His earlier hostility hadn’t come from possessiveness alone. It came from misunderstanding.

He hadn’t attacked Isaac because he thought Isaac was Catherine’s partner.

He attacked because he believed Catherine was bound to Isaac by orders.

And if that were true, she was being forced to live like a weapon.

That was what truly angered him.

"Yes," Isaac said finally. "I’m her partner."

Averon’s shoulders trembled again.

He looked away quickly, biting his lip.

They didn’t speak after that.

The only sound was faint, suppressed sobbing.

It wasn’t loud. Averon tried hard to hide it.

Isaac didn’t mock him.

He didn’t offer comfort either.

He simply sat there.

After a while, the rooftop began to fade. The dream was losing stability.

Before everything dissolved, Averon spoke softly.

"Then... I’ll stop."

Isaac glanced at him.

"I won’t interfere anymore. If she chose you on her own... then I have no right."

The world shattered like glass.

...

Isaac’s consciousness pulled back into his body.

He opened his eyes inside the office.

His hand was still resting on Averon’s temple. He withdrew it calmly.

Averon stirred.

Simraj stood nearby, his expression tight with worry. Old Man Jeremy remained on the side, watching carefully.

Averon’s eyes opened slowly.

For a moment, he looked confused. Then recognition dawned.

Isaac was standing very close.

A faint smirk formed on Isaac’s lips.

"You really are a child, huh?" he said lightly. "You cry pretty easily—"

"Why are you standing so close to me? Get away from me. I’m not into men," Averon snapped, cutting him off quickly.

Isaac snickered, knowing Averon was trying to hide the fact he had cried.

Simraj, who saw Averon not blowing his head off and attacking Isaac, was stunned.

What happened in the dream?

Why did it look like these two had become friends?

...

A/N: There will be no NTR. I just wanted to make this clear, because some of you might get worried that a character like Averon was introduced. He will never make any moves on Catherine after this.