Chapter 18: The man of their dreams
The next morning.
Before the Silver Moon Teleportation Center, a convoy of silvery-white magic cars slowly pulled into the lane reserved for VIP guests.
The moment the car in the middle came to a stop, several female bodyguards quickly got out, checked the surroundings, and formed a private path.
The door of the rear compartment opened.
Elowen stepped out first.
Today, she wasn’t wearing a long dress like usual, but had changed into a silvery-white combat suit that hugged her body tight.
The material of the outfit was soft yet extremely durable. Her chest along with her waist were covered by a thin layer of armor engraved with green magic runes.
The armor wasn’t too bulky, and on the contrary accentuated her full chest, slender waist, along with her mature curves.
The lower portion was a short combat skirt slit on both sides, with form-fitting protective shorts underneath.
Her long legs were covered by white combat stockings along with shoes engraved with acceleration magic.
Her silver hair was tied up high behind her head, revealing her fair neck along with the pointed ears of an Elf.
Compared to her usual gentleness like a neighborhood older sister, Elowen in the combat suit carried a neat, noble, and seductive aura that made it hard for others to take their eyes off her.
After stepping out of the car, she didn’t immediately head into the Center.
Elowen turned around, bent down slightly, then respectfully reached her hand into the car compartment.
A large hand took hold of hers.
Erik stepped out.
He was wearing the black combat suit bought at the commercial center the day before.
Over it was the long silver-gray coat, just enough to cover most of the equipment yet still accentuating his broad shoulders along with his tall build.
After fusing with the Primordial Incubus, Erik’s appearance hadn’t changed to the point of becoming a different person.
But every detail on his body had been adjusted to become more well-proportioned.
The lines of his face were defined.
His black hair was healthy.
His skin was clean.
His gaze was deep and calm.
His shoulders were broader, his waist trim, the muscle lines clearly emerging yet not too showy.
He didn’t carry the soft beauty of most men in this world.
On Erik there was a strong, robust, and masculine quality that was very hard to find.
The moment he stepped out of the car, the women standing near the Center’s door went silent all at once.
Elowen sensed the gazes converging toward Erik, and a hard-to-conceal sense of pride immediately rose in her heart.
This was her partner.
The man who had stood in front of her, beaten Nathan to the ground, and forced him to kneel down and apologize.
Elowen was just about to lead Erik inside when his hand took the initiative to hold hers.
The fingers of the two of them interlaced.
Elowen’s body trembled faintly.
Her jade-green eyes immediately curved, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but break into a happy smile.
It was only a simple act of holding hands.
But to Elowen, it was no different from Erik openly acknowledging the relationship between them in front of everyone.
She hugged his arm tight and happily led him into the Center.
Erik didn’t know that his appearance had been awaited by a great many people in advance.
Normally, in the early morning hours, the Teleportation Center also had quite a few Awakened preparing to enter the Trial Space.
But today, the number of people was clearly several times greater than usual.
Especially the women sitting in the VIP area.
Some were the owners of large trading guilds.
Some were famous Healers.
There were also a few women from powerful, noble clans outside the safe zone.
On the surface, they all had legitimate reasons to be there.
Some said they had come to see their daughters off into the Trial Space.
Some said they wanted to inspect the operation of the teleportation gates.
Some had even brought along an entire team of Awakened, pretending to be preparing to organize a major mission.
But from the moment they walked into the great hall, their gazes had never truly looked toward the teleportation gates.
All of them were waiting for Erik.
When he appeared, the conversations in the hall immediately quieted down.
A few women who had watched the public video from the day before quickly recognized him.
Their faces flushed slightly, their gazes continuously resting on Erik’s arm along with his strong build.
Those who had managed to see the video Meira sent by mistake reacted even more obviously.
Some immediately shifted their sitting posture.
Legs that had been crossed pressed tightly together, and the hands holding teacups trembled slightly too.
Their gazes at Erik were no longer merely curious, but rather like they were trying to confirm whether the man in the video had truly appeared before them.
A madam in a purple dress lowered her voice to speak with the person beside her:
"He’s even more attractive in person than in the video."
The woman beside her softly swallowed.
"That arm... it seems the video wasn’t exaggerating at all."
"Keep your voice down a little. Elowen is looking over here."
The two immediately raised their teacups, pretending they hadn’t said anything.
Erik didn’t know the content of those conversations.
He only felt that the Center was unusually crowded today.
"Is this place this full of people every single day?"
Erik tilted his head to ask Elowen.
Elowen looked at the women deliberately avoiding her gaze, and in her heart she had already guessed most of the reason.
Even so, she still smiled and answered:
"Maybe today is a bit special."
Erik nodded and didn’t keep asking.
He and Elowen passed through the security checkpoint.
The entire procedure had already been handled in advance by her family’s people. Erik didn’t need to line up, nor did he need to fill out any documents himself.
A female manager of the Center walked directly over and respectfully bowed before the two of them.
"Miss Elowen, sir Erik, your teleportation gate is being prepared."
"The estimated wait is about thirty more minutes."
"While you wait, please head to rest area number one."
Elowen nodded gently.
"Alright."
The two of them were led to a spacious seating area near the center of the great hall.
Female bodyguards stood dispersed around them, forming a protective ring but without making others feel too uncomfortable.
The moment Erik sat down, he could feel countless gazes still fixed on him.
Some didn’t hide it at all.
Some pretended to look at their phones, but the cameras were pointed straight at him.
A few young women even continuously changed angles, trying to clearly capture his face along with his body.
Erik looked around and felt as if he weren’t someone preparing to enter the Trial Space, but rather some kind of rare monster that had just been put on display.
He used his thoughts to check the System.
[Primordial Charm: Off.]
The effect indeed hadn’t been activated.
So the reactions before him had nothing to do with the ability to increase affection.
Erik quietly asked:
"Do I have something strange on my face?"
Elowen was hugging his arm, and upon hearing that she broke into a laugh.
"No."
"Then why is everyone looking at me?"
Elowen took out her phone, opened a social media page, and set it in front of him.
"Because yesterday’s video has become very famous."
Erik looked at the screen.
The video of him beating Nathan had over ten million views after just one night.
Not only that, there were also dozens of different edited versions.
Some had slowed down the moment he threw the punch.
Some had cut out the scene of him grabbing Nathan’s hair and dragging him before Elowen.
Another had even added music, zooming in on his cold gaze along with the arm on which the muscle lines clearly stood out.
The comments section had already surpassed several hundred thousand.
Erik scrolled down to look.
Most of the comments from women were full of excitement.
[Crimson Rose: THIS is the man of my dreams. Not only handsome but also actively protecting his Succubus.]
[The Sleepless Madam: Does anyone know how many contracts he’s signed? I could prepare a betrothal gift this very day.]
[Little Fox: I heard he can also cook, cleans the house himself, and once took care of his previous Succubus for three whole months. Does this kind of man really exist?]
[Doctor in White: His arm is so beautiful. I’ve watched the punch clip over thirty times.]
[Flower-Loving Elf: Elowen really is too lucky. A man who knows how to take care of others while also being able to stand up and protect his partner, I wouldn’t dare dream of it.]
[Little Sun: The video isn’t anything special at all. I’ve only watched it two hundred times and still haven’t found anything special about it.]
Below there were also a great many proposals to connect.
A few people directly posted photos of their assets, villas, along with items they wanted to use as betrothal gifts, hoping to obtain his contact information.
But when Erik kept scrolling down, the content began to change.
A group of men were clearly displeased with his actions.
[Young Master Silver Moon: Beating another man over a Succubus, he’s lost face for all of male-kind.]
[The Adorable Prince: Why would a noble man need to fight himself? Just ordering a Succubus to handle it is enough.]
[Heir of the Future: Nathan only touched a Succubus’s face. Was there a need to blow it up that much?]
[King of the Ladies: A Succubus is by nature a tool for fighting and serving men. Making a man kneel before a Succubus is no different from overturning the natural order.]
[I’m Always Right: I propose the Awakened Association penalize Erik. Otherwise, other Succubi will start imitating Elowen and forget their place.]
Below those comments, countless rebuttals from women immediately appeared.
[Crimson Rose: Nathan actively molested someone, getting beaten is exactly what he deserved.]
[Doctor in White: It’s precisely because there are too many men who think like you that Erik has become so precious.]
[The Sleepless Madam: Tools? Try entering the Trial Space yourselves without a Succubus to protect you and see how long you survive.]
[Little Fox: A bunch of people who need someone to help them even just to walk actually dare to mock a man who can fight for himself.]
The two sides argued to the point where hundreds of new comments appeared every second.
Erik read for a while, then turned off the screen.
He had already known that the difference in status between men and women in this world was enormous.
But only now did Erik truly see just how deeply that gap had rooted itself into everyone’s thinking.
In the eyes of a great many men, Nathan carelessly touching Elowen wasn’t a problem.
The one at fault was instead Erik, because he had beaten another man to protect a Succubus.
Most Succubi, meanwhile, viewed his action as something almost unimaginable.
Erik had only done what any ordinary man on Earth should do.
But in this world, that simple action alone had turned him into the man of countless women’s dreams.
Elowen looked at his pensive expression and asked with a bit of worry:
"You don’t like being paid attention to by others?"
"A bit unaccustomed to it."
Erik answered honestly.
"But later on I’ll probably have to get used to it gradually."
He possessed a rank SSS talent.
Once he began growing stronger, the people paying attention to him would surely become more and more numerous.
Running away couldn’t solve the problem.
Erik looked at the hand Elowen was hugging, then took the initiative to gently squeeze her fingers.
"At the very least, the video isn’t entirely a bad thing."
Elowen lifted her head.
"Why?"
"Now everyone knows you’re my woman."
Elowen’s face immediately flushed red.
Her jade-green eyes went wide, then quickly curved into a gentle line.
If it weren’t for the fact that there were far too many people around, she really wanted to directly embrace Erik and kiss him.
In the end, all Elowen could do was press closer, almost burying his arm between her soft chest.
The women around them saw that scene, and their eyes immediately filled with jealousy.
A few couldn’t keep waiting any longer and stood up, intending to head toward Erik.
But the moment they drew close, they were politely stopped by the female bodyguards.
"I’m sorry, sir Erik is preparing to enter the Trial Space. It isn’t convenient to receive guests right now."
A madam in a blue dress smiled.
"I only want to say a quick hello."
"Please schedule an appointment in advance."
"May I leave my card?"
"You can hand it to us."
The madam looked at Erik a few more times before reluctantly handing her card to the bodyguard.
In less than ten minutes, the female bodyguards had received more than twenty cards along with several party invitations.
Erik looked at that scene, the corner of his eye twitching slightly.
He was beginning to understand why Elowen had brought along so many bodyguards.
At this very moment, the large door of the Teleportation Center opened once again.
A black-haired woman slowly stepped in.
She wore a black high-collared top that hugged her full figure, with matching long pants below held up by a simple belt.
Her long black hair fell down over both shoulders, her bangs covering almost down to her dark red eyes.
Her mature, beautiful face carried a coldness along with a weariness that was very hard to notice.
Under the light of the great hall, the faint red mark on her forehead still hadn’t completely faded.
The moment she appeared, she didn’t look at the teleportation gates, nor did she pay attention to the madams sitting around.
Her red eyes immediately sought out Erik.
Elowen’s footsteps faltered slightly.
The smile on her face quickly withdrew, and the hand hugging Erik unconsciously gripped tighter as well.
Erik sensed the change in her and tilted his head slightly to ask:
"Do you know that person?"
Elowen looked at the black-haired woman slowly heading toward them and said in a low voice:
"Mr. Erik, that woman is Carmilla... Nathan’s mother."