The silence that fell was long and painful.

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*

He wondered when the hammer would fall.

"I see." Luxuria murmured before looking at all the goddesses who stayed silent on their thrones. "Sisters, what do you think?"

'What does she mean?'

He couldn't hear them, but he could see Luxuria nod or shake her head from time to time.

Finally, after a torturing amount of time.

A gentle voice sounded in the air.

"We have lost."

Sol tilted his head, in confusion.

'Lost?'

Luxuria's smile stretched before she put back her attention to Sol.

"Sol Luxuria, my dear child, in our infinite love and compassion," *Snicker*"Ira, I heard that.*Ahem*So as I was saying, in our infinite love and compassion, we have decided a way for you to pay for Camelia mistakes.

Sol put everything else aside and focused his attention on what she was saying.

"Three tasks. For each wish she made, you will have to carry one task of our choice. The time limit and clearing conditions will be decided by us. In exchange, Camelia will pay close to no price."

Sol closed his eyes and said, "For the first part, I am willing to do anything as long as it is not something that will hurt those I care for. As for the second part… What price will she have to pay?"

"Hehe! A life for a life. Since you begged us in such a way, we of course will not kill her, but, the fact is that a life will be paid. Just–in a different way."

Sol could feel that whatever was about to happen wasn't something he would be happy about. But, did he have a choice?

'Sigh, this doesn't seem like Camellia kind to commit such a mistake. Why did she ask for so many unreasonable wishes?'

This was something that was bothering him as if he was missing an important part of the puzzle.

'Well, it does not matter. I will have my answer once we go back.'

Looking at the still sleeping Camelia, a soft smile formed on his face. Whatever was about to happen, the most important was that she was safe for now.

"Well, this is it for now. If you are confused, ask Camelia what happened once she wakes up. It was a very entertaining night, I hope you will provide us as much fun as your father did. Bye-bye!"

*Clap*

Once the sound of her clapping sounded, Sol immediately passed out.

------

This night was destined to be a restless one. While Sol was facing the goddesses, different movements and schemes were forming.

At the heart of all this were the four noble families.

Few people knew and even less understood the significance of a Saint fall.

The loss of power and blessing.

Now that in the mind of everyone Camelia had lost her blessing, they were debating about an important question.

Who would be chosen as the holy daughter?

This position had been empty for a long time after Camelia was promoted from holy daughter to Supreme daughter.

But now, she would have no other choice aside from choosing a successor. They just had to make sure the one chosen was faithful to their causes.

----[A few hours later]

*Chirp* *Chirp*

Camelia's eyes trembled a little before she slowly opened them. Her mind was still foggy and it took a few seconds for her to recognize her surroundings.

"My, room?"

She shook her head a little and so cleared the fog that covered her mind before being sure that she was indeed in her bedroom.

Her mind immediately flashed to the important event that should have happened. When she saw her still golden hair from. The corner of her eyes, a bright smile illuminated her face,

'He succeeded!'

Joy and excitement flashed on her face as she tried to sit up, but,

*Clang*

The sound of chains resonated in her ears as she remarked that her body was completely bound. From head to toe. It didn't help that the way the bounding was done was rather indecent.

"[He succeeded] hehe~! Interesting. Seems like you have many things to tell me. Don't you, Camelia?"

Camelia flushed a little before understanding something,

"You read my thoughts?"

Sol nodded before sighing, "You know, I have found it weird. You aren't reckless and you should know that I would never let you pay such a price."

Sol indeed thought that something was fishy.

This whole thing reeked of the set-up. It was just that back then, he was too stressed to completely understand.

"Even more so the last part. Luxuria simply said that they have lost. But, this begs the question. What did they lose? And who did they lose to?"

Camelia, even though bounded, listened to him quietly,

"See, I am really angry now."

His voice was still as calm as always but Camelia couldn't help but hide a shiver,

"Wai-"

"There's no need to explain. Seeing the results I can already guess most of what happened. I am really happy that you bet so much on me but see. I am still very angry!"

Sol touched his chin as he searched the words.

"I am not angry about having to beg for your life. I would do it gladly again without any hesitation. I am not angry about being manipulated. I know that you only have my own good in mind and you aren't a child who must follow my orders."

He was indeed frustrated about having been made a fool of, but he was in no way angry because of that. The result spoke for themselves. Camelia had bet on him with her life and soul on the line. It wasn't something you could do without an extreme amount of confidence in the person you gave your life to.

No, what made him angry was,

"Hey, Camelia, do you know how much anguish I felt when I thought you were about to die?"

Yes, this was what made him so angry.

The moment he thought he would lose her forever, he felt as if his heart was about to burst.

Anxiety, fear, powerlessness.

He felt as if the very ground under him was about to collapse.

"You know, it really hurts me. Do you think your life is a joke for me?"

An ashamed expression formed on her face. He could also feel the chaos in her mind.

"This isn't all, right now, as the goddess said, à life for a life. Your life is now connected to mine. If I die you die. Do you think it made me happy? Say, do you think I want power so much I am ready to use your life as a bargain?"

Camelia wasn't just feeling shame now, tears were outright pouring.

"I am sorry." She nearly let out a sob as she said so.

The connection between them wasn't completely one way. Even though she couldn't read his thoughts, she could feel his emotions and she knew that rather than exaggerating, he was downplaying how bad and frustrated he was feeling right now.

It was a deep-seated frustration.

"See, while I was begging to the goddess, what really struck me wasn't the action of begging, but the reality that should they have wished for your death, there's absolutely nothing I could have done against it."

For Sol, a man who couldn't protect or at least bring a feeling of security to his loved one was worthless. Nothing more than a waste of space.

This was one of the reasons he trained so much before even obtaining mana. He wanted to become strong. He wanted to become reliable. He wished to bring security to all those who took care of him for as long as he could remember.

But this night made him aware of how small he really was. Goddesses aside, he was just a newly awakened while all the women around him were already powerhouses in their own rights.

*Sigh*

"Well, raging and whining is useless. What is done, is done. But," His previously distraught smile changed into a naughty one, "bad girls need to be punished~! I hope you are ready to be spanked."

Camelia was briefly stunned by the sudden change in track before remembering that she was still bound in a rather indecent way with only her underwear on.

She could recognize the kind of rope he used. It was entirely made out of mana.

Camelia became speechless as she couldn't decide whether she should be impressed with the fact that he could already materialize and give form to his mana less than 24 hours after awakening or the fact that he used it in such a way.

Sol didn't pay attention to her shock and pondered for a while. His expression focused, as if he was deliberating about the fate of the world.

"Let's go with 30 hits for now."