My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager-Chapter 31: Leveling Up and Council Feud

(Sorry, this is the actual Chapter 31. I posted it incorrectly before and have reported it to the editor. Once again, I apologize for my mistake. Thank you for reading.

Best regards,

Author)

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Shortly after, they all returned to the station by train, as service had been temporarily suspended due to track damage. Once they got off and made their way downstairs, Gary immediately called a ride-share so they could head north without any delays. A moment later, two men approached Gary. They took him aside to talk a bit away from the rest, leaving Dennis and the others feeling a little confused.

"Who are those guys?" Jason asked Dennis.

"No idea, but it looks important. A hunter and a railway official talked to us on the train too, remember?" Dennis replied.

"Yeah, true. I wonder what they want," Jason asked, his mind full of questions.

"We’ll just ask Gary later," Dennis said.

"Hey... according to the map, our ride is almost here. We should head out front. Leave Gary be, he’ll catch up," Olivia said, showing them Gary’s smartphone which she was holding.

When a van arrived to pick them up, they tossed their luggage into the trunk and climbed inside. Gary sat up front with the driver, while Olivia, Kimberly, and Jason took the middle row. Dennis, being the biggest of the bunch, sat in the back with Daisy beside him.

The car set off immediately toward the north, cutting through the city center. It took about 45 minutes to reach the northern district.

"We ended up in a ride-share anyway. We should have just done this from the start," Olivia said, sounding annoyed as she kicked the seat in front of her.

"What can you do? The trains are out of service for now, so we had no choice but to take this," Gary replied.

"We should’ve just used our own car. You blew it, babe," Olivia snapped back.

"Enough already, stop complaining," Gary muttered, starting to lose his patience.

"Hey, hey, that’s enough. If you guys want to fight, save it for the villa. I don’t want to listen to a husband and wife bickering when there’s another couple right here with them," Kimberly said.

"Yep... she’s right. Just chill out, man," Jason added casually, staring out the window while hugging his sniper bag.

"Okay... we’ll finish this later, babe," Olivia said, leaning back and folding her arms across her chest while staring outside.

"At the very least, our teamwork was solid, right? So let’s just look at what happened as practice," Gary said.

"Yeah, the kind of practice where if you mess up, you die," Jason shot back.

Then Kimberly turned to look in the back. She saw Dennis sitting with his eyes closed, arms folded over his chest and his head bowed, while Daisy leaned against him, seemingly asleep with her head resting on Dennis’s chest, tucked between his folded arms.

"Wow... they’re out cold," Kimberly said.

"Just leave them be. They were the ones who charged the front line. If it wasn’t for Dennis, the hunters and the kids from the other schools wouldn’t have been so fired up, right?" Olivia remarked.

"Exactly. He’s actually incredible," Jason said, turning to look back.

"We’re lucky he’s on our team," Gary added, also glancing back.

None of Dennis or Daisy’s friends knew what was actually going on inside their heads. Despite his closed eyes, Dennis saw an interface screen hovering before his face, displaying his status after the recent battle.

[Exp gained: 750,000 points.]

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Character Profile:

Name: Dennis Larson.

Race: High Human.

Class: Barbarian.

Level: 12 -> 25 (200 / 32,500 -> 62,500).

Health: 8,000 / 8,000 -> 14,500.

Stamina (SP): 4,500 / 4,500 -> 7,750.

Strength: 10,100 -> 19,200.

Agility: 9,100 -> 18,200.

Dexterity: 9,300 -> 18,400.

Constitution: 10,100 -> 19,200.

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Skills:

Active:

1. War Cry (SP: 0) -> New Berserk Cry (SP: 1,000).

2. Blood Lust (SP: 10 / second).

3. Ultimate Rampage (SP: 500).

4. *New* Chain Area Shackle (SP: 1,500).

Passive:

1. All weapon mastery.

2. Martial art mastery.

3. All resistance.

4. Regeneration.

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After studying his new status, Dennis let out a sigh of relief. Without realizing it, a thin smile appeared on his face.

"Wow... I went up over ten levels and my War Cry upgraded to Berserk Cry... the effect is the same... but... hopefully there are no side effects," Dennis muttered in his heart.

Dennis opened his eyes. He glanced at Daisy sleeping with her neck tucked into his arm. He finally unfolded his arms and pulled her close, pressing her body against his own while he smiled.

"She really is something. I got so many XP points because she killed that giant monster so easily and took its heart... on one hand, I’m grateful to her, but on the other, I’m starting to get scared of her. She pulled that monster’s heart out so effortlessly and invisibly... but the scariest part was her expression. It was totally normal... no remorse at all after killing something... my wife is terrifying... even though I love her," Dennis said in his heart while glancing at Daisy’s face, which looked so innocent as she slept.

Dennis rested his head against Daisy’s and savored their togetherness in the back of the van. About fifteen minutes later, the vehicle re-entered the central district, cutting straight through a downtown area that was bustling and thick with traffic due to the heavy activity in the city’s business hub.

***

Meanwhile, inside Daisy’s head, within the "Council of Daisies," the atmosphere was tense. Numbers one through seven were all staring at Number Five, who was looking down at the table with deep regret, as if hoping the table itself could offer her forgiveness. Suddenly, Number Six, who was sitting next to Number Five, stood up. Blam! She slammed Number Five’s head onto the table.

"Hey... don’t be so rough, Number Six," Number Seven shouted.

"Yeah, let her go," Number Three yelled.

"That’s not how you scold someone," Number Four cried out.

Meanwhile, Number Two and Number One remained silent, simply staring at Number Six with sharp eyes. Finally, Number Six let out a sigh and released Number Five, who immediately lifted her head and gasped for air. She then looked at the others and rubbed the back of her head with a smile.

"Sorry, hehe," Number Five said casually.

"Sorry? Is that all you have to say? What if our husband starts to hate us because of you, huh?" Number Six shouted, clearly frustrated.

"We made a promise. It’s fine for us to go out in our individual forms, but don’t show off our true power. We all know why, right? Dennis lacks self-confidence. Even though he’s changed completely, I still feel the same thing from him. Please, don’t make him feel small because he’s outclassed by his wife. That’s why I prefer to be the one in front, because I’m the weakest among you," said Daisy Primary, or Number One.

"You aren’t weak either. You’re just storing your power, because we are all your power," Number Four said.

"Hmm... true, but don’t show it to our husband! I don’t want him to stop loving me," Number One said, sounding annoyed.

"Yes, I’m sorry. I should have let our husband defeat the monster first before taking the heart... sorry... I was impatient," Number Five admitted.

"It’s a habit of yours whenever you see new research material. I understand your passion, but please hold back and look at your surroundings before you do whatever it is you want to do," Number Two said.

"Yeah, I learned a valuable lesson this time," Number Five replied.

"Haaah... fine, whatever. It’s my turn tomorrow. You’ll see, there’s no way I’ll make the same mistake as you," Number Six said.

"Really? Want to bet?" Number Four teased.

"You looking for a fight with me?" Number Six responded angrily, standing up.

"Hey... why are you guys trying to fight now? Everyone shut up and sit down," Number Seven shouted.

"Right... right... fighting is bad," Number Three added, nodding along as she leaned back, folding her arms and closing her eyes.

"Enough. Please, just be careful next time. We all love our husband, right? We have to be a good wife for him, so please, restrain yourselves. Everyone understand?" Number One asked.

"Understood," Numbers Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Seven answered in unison.

"Great, I’m looking forward to everyone’s cooperation," Daisy number one said with a wide smile.

"Number one’s power is that she can erase me whenever she wants even though she’s actually weak; I have to be careful when dealing with her," numbers two, three, four, five, six, and seven said simultaneously in their own hearts, even though their faces were smiling.

Eventually, they went back to their usual chatter, making plans and offering each other advice, all while feeling the warmth of Dennis’s arms holding them tight. The car finally emerged from the congested city streets and began heading down the straight road leading north. Gary, sitting in the front, was starting to nod off even though he hadn’t quite fallen asleep yet.

Meanwhile, Olivia, Kimberly, and Jason in the middle row had already drifted off to dreamland; it seemed like nothing would wake them up until they reached their destination. In the back, Dennis finally fell into a deep sleep as well, his arms wrapped around Daisy as she rested against his chest. They all looked completely exhausted after facing that swarm of monsters on the train tracks earlier.