Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

"Your brother is saying that I will have to marry both you and Ruby."

"What?!" Maria exclaimed once again. "Why did it turn out like this?!"

"Naturally speaking, multiple marriages are not openly allowed, but who cares." Rusher pointed his finger at Rudy and said, "If you want to be with him, then you will have to share him with Ruby."

"But… she is my niece, and the husband of my niece would be my husband too…" Maria shook her head and said, "That's so messed up."

'Not as messed up as your brother being your biological father and your sister being your biological mother,' Rudy uttered inwardly.

"Did you ask Ruby about this?" Maria asked desperately. "There is no way she would agree to this!"

"She is currently out of state, so we will ask her once she returns."

"What would you do if she said no?"

"Then I guess you will have him by yourself."

"Alright! There is no way Ruby would marry someone she doesn't know. And once I tell her that I love Rudy, she wouldn't agree to marry him," Maria declared with a confident look on her face.

'Oh, come on, Rusher, you bastard! I planned to tell everything to Maria tonight before leaving for the tournament, but now you made things complicated. But I will tell her today before going home.

I can't keep the girls in dark if they put their trust in me. And obviously can't start an intimate relationship with them unless they agree to join my harem,' Rudy uttered inwardly.

"When will Ruby return?" Rudy asked calmly.

"She should be here by the end of this week. She might return early, but rest assured, you will meet her before the VIP or VVIP tournament ends," Rusher responded.

Then he looked at the time and said, "We are getting late for the tournament. Are you two ready?"

"Yes."

"I have my own matches, so I wouldn't be able to accompany you two. But Rudy, keep Maria with you and don't let her get away from your sight. Moreover, your name is registered with Maria, so you two are partners. The dealer can't keep her away with you."

"That's something I am impressed to hear. Good job, brother-in-law."

"Let's leave then. The car is ready for departure."

Maria glanced around and muttered, "Where is Lilim? I wanted to take her with me."

"She must be sleeping after the 'hard' session."

"Hmm?"

"Hard work," Rudy corrected himself. "She said she was tired and was going to sleep."

"Strange. She told me she wanted to come with me, but I guess there is no helping it. We will have to go without her."

'I also wanted Lilim to come with us. She would have paid extra attention to the surroundings. Now, I will have to keep my senses on. It's going to be a huge pain in the arse, not going to lie.'

Rudy's super sharp senses allowed him to sense, feel, and hear everything from his surroundings up to a certain distance, including the ants walking under the ground, flies buzzing, and all the incoming and outgoing signals.

Naturally, he didn't use it all the time as it was too much for him, and it overloaded his brain. However, the tournament was a place where hundreds of thousands of people would be around at a close distance. And Rudy was going to feel and hear everything they do and say.

'This tournament might be more troubling than I thought it to be…'

After that, Rusher left in a different car while Rudy and Maria went in the other.

Rudy and Maria were sitting next to each other, and Maria wasn't letting go of his hands. Naturally, the sexual tension between them was increasing.

Rudy, for once, could control his urges as he had gotten used to them. However, Maria couldn't. It was a new experience for her, and she wanted to enjoy the butterflies in her stomach.

She glanced at the driver and thought, 'Only if there was a window that could stop his vision. Or if it was Lilim's as my driver, I would have kissed him more.'

Since Maria was touching Rudy, he heard everything and didn't waste a single second to start kissing her. And even though it was Maria's idea, she was surprised as she didn't dare to kiss him in front of anyone.

They kissed and kissed until they reached the safe zone where the underground gambling tournament was held.

Even after getting out of the car, Maria didn't let go of Rudy's hand, and they made their way to the tournament ground.

After walking for about a minute, Rudy had found himself inside a massive amphitheater, which was multi-story architecture and looked eye-catching. It was capable of housing a large crowd comfortably.

The underworld Colosseum's architecture blended with the overall city's visual style. Built of marble, it boasted a sturdy construction. And with the strategic engraving of runes and arrays, the Colosseum would ensure that plenty of light and fresh air gets summoned to make spectators' viewing a pleasurable experience.

Heavy security was all over the place, which was monitored by the 'Under Blades' troops as security detail at various entry points of the Colosseum. One could imagine that additional security would include even more powerful weapons that wouldn't be visible to the spectators.

The tournament ground had arranged tables on the stages so multiple matches could happen simultaneously to minimize the waste of time of the viewers as well as the gamblers.

The spectator's seats were arranged in such a way that they would be easily able to see what was happening on the center stage. Plus, big spectral screens were projected in the air, covering multiple stages and matches to allow an immersive experience for viewers sitting anywhere.

The noises of cheers and jeers were coming from every corner of the Colosseum. The food vendors would add to that noise by shouting about what they were serving and delivering them to their customers' seats with even greater zeal.

"...no one mentioned it was a freaking colosseum…"