Chapter 92. The Least Dignified Name Attached to Anything Reshaping a Continent
William took a breath, bracing himself. "You remember how I mentioned I had some kind of power boost when I arrived here?"
"The reason I could suddenly fight at this level and the reason I can train people with such... unnatural efficacy?" He leaned back, choosing his words with surgical precision. "It’s not just talent or luck..."
"It’s a mechanism... An interface."
"And also experience from my last life."
Catherine nodded slowly, her brow furrowing. "An interface?"
"It’s called the Harem Training System."
Catherine blinked. The silence that followed was absolute. "I... I’m sorry... it’s called what now...?"
"The Harem Training System... I know it sounds stupid."
The silence that followed was absolute, stretching taut like a bowstring. Catherine sat frozen, her fork halfway to her mouth, her brain visibly attempting to process the linguistic absurdity of what she had just heard.
Her expression underwent a rapid, fascinating metamorphosis: first, genuine confusion clouding her brow; then, a dawning, horrified understanding; and finally, something else entirely, something that looked dangerously close to a complete loss of professional composure.
"That’s... that’s the actual name?" she asked, her voice pitched higher than usual. "The source of your superhuman reflexes, your terrifying combat prowess, and the mechanism that allows you to train six extraordinarily capable women to peak performance... that is truly the Harem Training System?"
"That’s the actual name," William repeated flatly.
He didn’t flinch and he didn’t blush. He delivered the line with the weary resignation of a man who had been forced to carry a ridiculous burden for far too long.
"All of that was thanks to my experience as well, by the way..."
Catherine stared at him, her lips twitching. "Somebody named that... Someone named that on purpose..."
"Someone was sitting behind a screen somewhere laughing their head off when they typed that out."
"I didn’t choose it, for the record," William said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I had as much say in the naming convention as you did."
Catherine pressed a hand over her mouth. Her shoulders began to shake.
William watched as the last of her vice headmaster dignity crumbled, falling away in pieces as she finally broke into open, delighted laughter. It wasn’t just a giggle; it was a full-bodied, unguarded release of amusement that made her double over slightly in her chair.
"I... I’m sorry...!" she gasped, clutching her stomach as she tried to suck in enough air to speak. "I’m sorry, William, I truly am...!"
"I know this was supposed to be a moment of vulnerability, a serious revelation about the nature of your power, but... oh gods, that is the least dignified name I have ever heard attached to anything capable of reshaping a continent!"
"I’m aware," he said, though he couldn’t help the small, wry smile tugging at his own mouth.
The absurdity of it was undeniable.
"Does it explain itself?" she asked between giggles, wiping tears from her eyes. "Does the system justify its own name?"
"Is there a manual that says ’Step One: Form a Harem’?"
William took a breath, deciding to steer the conversation back to the mechanics before she laughed him off the premises entirely. "It’s not what you think."
’It’s not a magical compulsion to seduce... It’s just a measurement system."
"It tracks emotional bonds—’Affection ’Progress,’ it calls it... It measures genuine trust, shared hardship, and authentic care between me and the people I train."
"Nothing manipulative, nothing forced. When that bond reaches full completion with someone, both parties receive a unique skill as a reward."
He paused, watching her face closely. "There’s also ’Training Progress,’ which tracks actual mastery of techniques, and ’Points,’ which allow me to unlock new abilities."
"Your Reflexive Acceleration? That didn’t come from talent and hard work alone."
"That reward was unlocked by the system once we collectively reached a specific threshold of trust."
Catherine’s laughter died down, replaced by a sharp, analytical curiosity that never truly left her. She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "So it’s a reward for... connection."
She was already considering the implications and the significant tactical advantage that emotional intimacy could provide. "How many people currently have their own ’Affection Progress’ with you?"
William felt a flicker of irritation, though it was tempered by amusement. "That’s not really the point I was hoping you’d focus on..."
"It’s a very natural follow-up question, William," she countered, a playful challenge in her voice. "If I’m assessing the threat level and the potential recruitment pool of this... system of yours, I need numbers."
William sighed, deciding to be blunt. He had learned that with Catherine, evasion only led to more questions. "Five, technically..."
"Six, counting you." He said it plainly, refusing to soften the number or hide behind ambiguity. "And for the record, none of it is romantic by default."
’Ellie’s affection reads just as strongly as anyone else’s, and that’s built entirely out of trust forged in sweat and training."
"The system doesn’t force feelings; it simply measures what is already there."
Catherine considered that for a moment, something thoughtful settling behind her amusement. "And the points... What have you actually spent them on, beyond my skill?"
"Small things, mostly... A stamina boost for Kaela after one of her harder sparring sessions."
"A minor control stabilizer for Ellie that’s made her increments noticeably steadier this past week, though she doesn’t know that’s part of why."
"I’ve been careful about it... It’s not meant to replace the actual work anyone’s putting in, just to smooth the edges once in a while."
"That’s more restrained than I would have expected, honestly, given how useful it clearly is."
"It stops being useful the second it replaces genuine effort instead of supporting it..." William said. "I’ve watched what happens to people who get handed power without earning any of it themselves."
"It never ends well." William shrugged, unwilling to dwell too long on old memories the comment skirted close to. "Your reflexive acceleration came from exactly that system."
"That’s not just talent and hard work... Part of it came from something the system unlocked once we hit a specific threshold together."
Catherine’s laughter finally settled, though the smile stayed firmly in place. "So I am... technically, part of your harem."
"Catherine."
"I’m asking a serious question... technically speaking."
"It’s not, it doesn’t work like—" William floundered for a moment, caught somewhere between defending the mechanics of a system he still found faintly embarrassing and not wanting to undersell what had actually grown between them. "The system tracks bonds with people I train."
"You’re someone I train. So mechanically, yes, I suppose you’d qualify."
"But that’s not, I mean, what’s actually between us isn’t some system generated—"
"William." Catherine reached across the table and rested her hand over his, cutting off his increasingly tangled explanation with visible amusement still dancing in her eyes. "I’m teasing you~!"
"I understand the difference perfectly well."
"Right... Good... Ehem! Sorry."
"You get flustered easily for a man who fought a tier-five monster without blinking."
"That’s different... Monsters don’t tease me about the name of my magic system."
Catherine laughed again, softer this time, and then her expression shifted into something quieter and more sincere, the teasing giving way to genuine warmth. "Thank you for telling me that, William..."
"Both things, the reincarnation and this... I know how long you must have carried all of it alone before you decided to trust me with it."
"You’ve trusted me with plenty that wasn’t easy to say out loud either."
"I have." She squeezed his hand once before letting go, something soft and settled behind her eyes. "I think that’s what this is, isn’t it?"
"We keep handing each other pieces of ourselves that neither of us has shown anyone else."
"I think that’s exactly what this is."