Building a Safe Zone with My Harem In The Post-Apocalyptic World-Chapter 71: The Power of Order

Gideon froze. The conversation had escalated far too quickly. It felt like being thrown onto one of those CR450 bullet trains in China, racing at more than four hundred kilometers per hour with no way to slow it down.

He did not even know what love truly was. He had never felt it before.

Of course, he cared about Summer. He loved the way she blushed and grumbled when she was embarrassed. He enjoyed her jokes, her playful attitude, and the way she clung beneath him. He liked how adorable she looked when she moaned his name.

But love?

He was not sure.

Unfortunately, his silence spoke louder than any answer. To Summer, it sounded like rejection. She bit her lower lip before asking in a trembling voice, "You don’t want to marry me? Don’t you love me?"

And then it happened, pregnancy hormones hit hard as tears suddenly welled in her eyes.

"Do-do you hate me? Then why do you keep sleeping with me and flirting with me too? You cruel bastard!"

"No, no, Summer. That’s not it. Calm down, okay?" Gideon reached for her hand, but she slapped it away and stepped back.

"I am calm! You’re just a jerk! Huaaa!!! Mom is right, all men do is lie!!!"

Her crying grew louder, and Gideon immediately started to panic. If someone were to hear this, it would create serious trouble. She was naked, crying, and calling him a jerk all over again. People would point fingers at him as if he had done something immoral.

He knew he would eventually have to tell everyone about their relationship. Summer was already pregnant. Her stomach would only grow bigger, and there would be no way to hide it forever.

But telling Delilah now?

No way. Their relationship had finally reached a comfortable balance, and he had no intention of ruining it so suddenly.

Gideon stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders.

"Summer, hey. Listen to me. I do like you," he said gently, trying to calm her down. "But we need a plan. There’s a chance your mother might cut ties with you or even leave this place. Do you want that to happen?"

"Bu-but our child will be a bastard!" she exclaimed.

Gideon frowned. He did not fully understand how society worked in this world, but in his own experience having a child outside marriage was not such a huge issue.

"So? Will people persecute our child or us?"

Summer shook her head uncertainly. "Um... I don’t think so. I’m not sure. But my mom said the child wouldn’t have a father. They would die young and have a terrible illness if I don’t get married before the baby is born."

She sounded completely convinced, which made Gideon wonder if Delilah had been lying to scare her or perhaps she was telling the truth. This world was different from the one he came from. Maybe such a curse really existed here.

Still, it sounded unbelievable.

"Summer... are you sure your mother isn’t saying that just to scare you?" he asked carefully.

He hesitated because if Delilah had been deceiving her, Summer should have realized it by now. She was nearly twenty-five years old.

"I don’t know," she admitted. "But I think she’s right... so you have to marry me!"

Gideon nodded slowly, starting to suspect that Delilah had simply frightened her with a story and that Summer had been too naive to question it.

He reached out and gently rubbed her head. "It’s okay. I will marry you. Just not right now, so you don’t have to tell your mother yet, alright?"

Summer sniffed and nodded as her tears finally stopped. She looked down at the floor, her face turning bright red, though a happy smile slowly appeared.

"You promise me?"

"I promise," Gideon replied. "Now stop crying. You should go back to your room."

"Okay! I want a big wedding party and a beautiful dress!" she said with a bright grin.

She stood on her toes and kissed him quickly before running to the bathroom to change her clothes, leaving Gideon behind laughing softly.

For now, it was easier to simply say things that made her happy. Today was going to be a long day for him.

Gideon was already planning to use the [Civil Engineering Specialist Ticket] later when the workers arrived in his territory. At that moment, he walked back to the balcony to check the use of the [Skill Ticket].

"What exactly is a skill ticket?" he asked the system.

The system answered immediately.

[You can use the Skill Ticket to obtain any ability under (The Power of Order). This power can be used by aberrants or humans.]

"Huh?" Gideon tilted his head.

Another screen appeared before him. It displayed a long list of abilities along with short descriptions. After reading through several of them, Gideon finally understood.

These "skills" were powers similar to the ones possessed by the Children of Eden. One of them even resembled Daphne’s ability.

"I see. So most of these are natural or elemental powers," he murmured.

For now, the one that caught his interest was the power of Inferno. Since aberrants were mutated combinations of animals and plants, fire would likely be one of their major weaknesses.

He decided to choose it.

[Are you sure you want to obtain ’The Wrath of Inferno’?]

"Yes."

[Congratulations! You can now use the power of fire. Be careful when using it, as it is tied to your emotions. Continue leveling it up to strengthen the skill.]

Immediately, Gideon felt heat spreading through his body. The energy moved through his veins like flowing magma.

A small flame appeared in the center of his palm. He stared at it with satisfaction.

***

The old laboratory smelled of chemicals and decay. The room was dark, and exposed cables scattered across the floor sparked occasionally with electric jolts.

Large glass tubes filled the chamber. Inside them floated human bodies, submerged in clear liquid with wires attached across their skin.

Several tubes had already shattered. Broken glass littered the ground. Yet none of this seemed to bother the figures gathered in the center of the laboratory.

Each of them wore long black robes, standing silently as if waiting for something to happen.

Then, one of the figures inside a tube suddenly began to move. The body struggled beneath the water. One of the robed figures stepped forward and pressed a red button on the control panel.

The liquid inside the tube slowly drained away. With a mechanical hiss, the glass chamber opened.

The young man inside stumbled forward and nearly collapsed, but one of the robed figures quickly caught him.

"Oh, our prophet has finally awakened!"

"Shut it," the young man snapped.

He shoved the robed man aside, sending him falling onto the floor.

A moment later, the entire group dropped to their knees.

"Please give us your orders. We will do anything to return this world to its natural state... chaos."

The young man ran a hand through his damp blonde hair, pushing it back. His sharp blue eyes gleamed in the darkness as he spoke.

"We will move as usual. Capture every powerful aberrant you find and destroy any civilization that stands in our path."

One of the kneeling figures spoke again. "Then what should we call you?"

The young man smiled faintly. "Henry. That will be my name from now on."

His grin slowly widened. "After all, that man would never recognize me without it."