John nodded. "Yeah, Zhaojun, Daji, and Xuannu. After my trip back to the Three Realms, it seemed like they came over to see me..." He trailed off, suddenly realizing that he forgot to mention that they were visiting to Yue.
Between spending time with his daughters and especially his beloved wife, it had slipped his mind to mention that those three had come to Earth to visit.
Yue's eyes turned frosty.
John cleared his throat and then rubbed the back of his neck. "Er... that won't be a problem, will it?"
Yue didn't respond for a moment, only quietly placing her hand over her belly.
John started to sweat, suddenly remembering the Heart Demon Tribulation that Yue had. It was sorted out now, but... Maybe he should give Qing a call and tell him to send the women home...?
After a long and tense silence, Yue let out a soft sigh. "It's fine." She forced a smile and said, "They're as close as family to my dear Husband, are they not? I'm not so petty as to begrudge your time with them."
John sighed in relief.
Good. It seemed like his beloved wife had gotten over her worries. Although...
John frowned and said, "Are you sure?" He grabbed her hand and said, "I don't want you to be upset."
Yue's forced smile relaxed, turning into a real one, and she said, "It's fine. My heart still stings a little at seeing you around other women... but it's simply something that I must become accustomed to. Moreover..." She shifted her gaze across the table. "I would be a poor mother if I continue to be jealous of my daughter's aunts."
Alphy's eyes lit up and she said, "Then..." She shifted her gaze to John and said, "Papa. If Mama's fine with it, can you ask Auntie Zhaojun to come watch me sing? Ah, and maybe ask her to teach us?"
Betty nodded. "If you are meeting with them, could you also bring Aunt Daji back with you? I could use some additional feedback on my latest manuscripts... And I have missed her comments."
"Ooh!" Meggie raised her hand and she said, "Could you ask Auntie Xuannu if she would spar with me again? I want to see if I can beat her now!"
Yue quickly turned her head to look at Meggie. "A-Auntie Xuannu?!"
"Hm?" Meggie looked at her mother and nodded. "Yeah. Auntie Xuannu..." She frowned and said, "Is that not okay, Mom?"
"No. I mean... yes. It's fine. But..." Yue furrowed her brows and said, "When did you get so close to her?" Under her breath, she muttered, "I don't remember ever letting that cow-bodied goddess come visit my darling daughter..."
"Oh." Meggie shrugged and said, "Auntie always came to help me practice when you were busy. She said that she told you about it though..."
"She most certainly did not!"
Meggie flinched, lowering her gaze.
Yue froze and then let out a sigh. "I'm sorry Meggie. I didn't mean to scold you. It's just a... surprise." She frowned and said, "To think that cow-bodied goddess snuck around and got so intimate with my own daughter..."
"Wait." Meggie frowned and said, "So is Auntie Xuannu the 'Cow Goddess' that Mom always rants about?" She tilted her head and placed her right hand on her chin. "I mean, I guess that she's a bit bigger than mom, but-"
"E-Enough about that." Yue cut Meggie off and then turned to John. "To reiterate, I am fine with Husband going to see those three. And since it appears that our dear daughters miss their aunts, I am also fine with you bringing them over to visit. However." Her eyes sharpened and she said, "Only them. Understand? Those three are the only three women that I will accept in our family, and only because of your history with them."
John let out an internal sigh of relief and then smiled. He pulled Yue in for a hug and said, "Thanks for your understanding, Wifey." After that, he gave her a soft kiss on her left cheek.
Yue blushed and then she pushed him away. "T-That's enough. And it's the least I could do. After all..." She trailed off and then glanced down at her left hand, fiddling with her wedding ring.
John noticed but he didn't bring it up. This was neither the time, place, nor audience to have that discussion.
Though he made a mental note to have those three sit down to hash things out with Yue now that she seemed to finally be a bit more rational instead of determined to completely sever them from his life.
...But that was probably better after the trip he had planned to take her to that nice and relaxing private onsen tomorrow.
John shook his head and then said, "Anyway... Let's finish our breakfast, alright?" He smiled and said, "It's our first proper family meal together, so let's enjoy it while we can." Saying that, he reached over with a napkin to grab some more donuts from Betty's plate.
Betty sighed and then held up the plate for him. "Here, Father."
John smiled and grabbed a handful with some napkins. "Thanks, Sweetheart."
Betty rolled her eyes and said, "Stop with the puns. They do not suit you, Father. Even if you are going to be a proper 'Dad' now."
John leaned back and then dunked one into his coffee. After taking a bite, he shrugged and said, "Gotta get used to the role now to embarrass your baby brother or sister, right?"
Meggie cut a piece of her pancakes and muttered, "This is who my invincible and cool father really is...?" She sighed and ate the piece before shaking her head.
Alphy giggled and said, "If you think Papa's silly now, should I tell you some stories about when he was younger?"
John froze.
Alphy noticed and giggled again, letting out a sly smile.
John coughed and said, "N-Now Alphy. There's no need to bring up that dark history here..."
Yue leaned forward. "Dark history?" She turned to look at John and said, "Is there something you're hiding from me, Husband?"
John rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Nothing serious. Just a... rather colorful misspent youth."
And one filled with him having to get really creative in bluffing in order to not die. Which also led to a few rather... awkward situations at times that he would rather not relive.
Betty's orange eyes sparkled, turning a sparkling rainbow of colors as she laced her fingers together. "Ah, yes. If we are sharing old tales, I have quite the few as well. My memory is a bit faint in regards to the early days, but I do recall some rather striking incidents. Like the time father infiltrated a sect by dressing as a female outer disciple."
John stood up, his face a beet red. "Y-You remember that?!"
Betty's eyes shifted to red and then she laughed. "I do now. And I suppose Aunt Zhaojun could elaborate on it more considering she helped you with the disguise."
"Oh!" Alphy giggled. "That's right! I forgot about that! She made Papa look super pretty too!"
Betty smiled and idly tore off a piece of a powdered donut to dip in her coffee. "Indeed. Father makes for a surprisingly beautiful woman."
Meggie groaned and then set down her fork and knife to hide her face in her hands. "Has everything been a lie? My father, a man who would dress as a woman to infiltrate a sect?"
Yue hummed and then gave John a thoughtful look. "Come to think of it, Husband does have a rather fair appearance... If your body were a bit less trained and you were a bit more youthful..."
John groaned and sat back down in his chair. Snatching his coffee off the table, he shook his head and said, "Yeah, yeah. Not my fault I look like that Ex-Soldier and can rock a dress."
Betty nodded. "Indeed. And apparently Father can 'rock a dress' well enough to charm even those old monsters back in the day to come to your aid."
"Ugh." Meggie shook her head and said, "Can we please stop? I... seriously can't handle more of this right now."
John quickly nodded and said, "Listen to your sister, girls. Let's just have a nice and peaceful breakfast, alright? I mean... we've all got a long day ahead of ourselves, right?"
It was a blatant attempt to change the subject.
But thankfully, it seemed like everyone had enough of having fun at John's expense.
"Fine, fine." Alphy smiled and said, "Whatever you say, Papa."
"I suppose you have a point." Betty picked up another piece of a donut and said, "Stories like those can always wait for the holidays when Father has no place to run."
John suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought. Also at the realization that the other three women with even more embarrassing stories of his past were present... and probably would insist on visiting during the holidays as well to share those stories.
...Maybe he could make an excuse to take Yue out on a private trip then? A honeymoon for the two of them?
"True." Yue nodded and said, "It would be more fun then as well. Some fine food, a warm atmosphere, and just us with no business or affairs to settle... I'm looking forward to it." She placed her hand over her belly and said, "Aren't you?"
...Damn. So that plan was out.
W-Well, that was still a month away. Enough time to steel himself and then revisit that library in his Heavenly Realm where he kept his more embarrassing memories compartmentalized as books so that he wouldn't be caught off guard.
John sighed and took a long sip of his coffee.
After some more laughter and idle chatter, everyone went back to eating. Yet again, that peaceful and warm atmosphere, paired with the slowly rising sun beyond the window.
Betty, slowly but methodically working her way through her pile of donuts with a faint dusting of white sugar on her lips.
Alphy, smiling with bright and content eyes as she neatly ate her omelet.
Meggie, syrup and some cream on her face as she ate her pancakes.
Yue, calmly sipping on some tea now that she had finished her food.
And then John, watching his family with a warm smile while drinking his coffee.
A picture-perfect scene. One that John wanted to capture forever...
And so he did.
A brief flash of light.
"Eh?" Alphy raised her head, frowning.
Betty narrowed her eyes and looked around the room. "What was that?"
Meggie stood up, shifting into a combat stance, clutching her knife in a reverse grip. "An enemy?"
Yue tensed, quickly moving close to John.
As for John himself... He lazily reached out into the air and plucked a piece of paper that floated down from above. No, it wasn't a paper, but a photo.
He shook it a few times and then took a look, smiling. "I knew it. Definitely a Codac moment."
Silence. And then the air grew heavy.
Betty narrowed her eyes, staring at the photo in John's hand. "Father. What is that?"
John quickly pocketed the photo and stood up. "Okay. With that, I'm off for the day."
"Papa!" Alphy stood up as well. "What did you do?"
John spun around and started walking. "Take care girls. I'm off for the day, so be good and call me if you need me."
A chair screeched and then Yue's sharp voice called out. "Husband! Don't you dare run away! Explain yourself!"
John laughed and then raised his right hand, waving. "Catch you girls later! Have fun!"
Before they could say anything else, he vanished, reappearing on the first floor of the building. When he did, he waved his hands to change his outfit.
A black long coat, a gray turtleneck sweater, and blue jeans. Fairly stylish, but not over the top like how Betty enjoyed dressing.
After a brief check to make sure he was ready, he nodded and then walked out of the office. "Heh. That'll teach them to make fun of me." John stuck his hands in his coat pockets and looked up at the sky, thinking. "Now all I need to do is blow up a giant version of the picture and stick it on the wall in my office." He chuckled and said, "We'll see who gets embarrassed more when they walk in and see how sweet they were being-"
A soft bump. Someone running into him from the side.
"O-Oh! I'm so sorry!"
John blinked and glanced over.
A shy-looking young woman with copper-brown hair and red-rimmed glasses framing clear blue eyes. She wasn't outstandingly beautiful, but she was cute in the secretary or librarian way, emphasized by her outfit of a white dress shirt and black skirt along with the faint dusting of freckles along her nose. Her hair was tied in a pony-tail and she seemed a bit disheveled, like she was in a hurry.
And come to think of it, her dress shirt was buttoned haphazardly, with the top few loose and uneven, as if hastily put back together...
Before John could dwell on it, the young woman bowed her head and said, "I didn't mean it! Uu~ of all the people to accidentally run into on my first task for Mistress...!"
John waved his hand. "It's not a big deal. Seriously."
So he said. But at the same time he quickly backed off.
The young woman seemed a bit strange... but in that eccentric bookish otaku way.
Which absolutely meant that he would probably get wrapped up in weird things if he stuck too long around her.
"Just be more careful next time, alright? And don't stick around the front door of office buildings."
A piece of seemingly friendly advice... but mostly just to try and keep her away from the front of Myth Inc. HQ.
The young woman raised her head and said, "Y-Yes! I'll make sure to be careful- Ah!"
A faint 'pop.' The top button of the young woman's shirt snapping off, and then a faint rustling as something unraveled.
Before John could see anything, he quickly spun around and sprinted away from the young woman.
Yeah... No. He JUST got into a good place with his wife and family, and he was *not* about to let things get messed up like-
Wait.
John paused, suddenly realizing that something was off.
His karma should have stopped acting up now that he got full mastery of his Accumulation. Not only that, but he had settled everything with his wife and the higher-ups managing the world, so there shouldn't be anything causing him to run into young women again.
So then why...?
A faint suspicion.
John frowned and then spun around to look at the young woman... only to see that she was gone.
An empty street, with nothing but the faint dusting of snow that was normally there.
The only person around was John.
His frown deepened and he scanned the area with his spiritual sense.
Even if that young woman wasn't normal, he should be able to find her with that. But...
"Nothing?"
There wasn't anyone matching that young woman nearby. And there wasn't any traces of someone hiding as well.
It was... like that woman never existed in the first place.
John rubbed his chin, thinking. "She definitely wasn't a ghost, and she was definitely just a normal young woman... A bit weird, but definitely ordinary."
That much, John was sure. His senses might be fooled, but his intuition about the sort of women he bumped into was never wrong.
...Except for his dear wife, but that was because she wasn't completely normal to begin with and the unique circumstances behind him meeting her were complicated, so she didn't count.
In that case...
"An accidental dimension transfer?"
The recent events with Yue and the Three Realms *did* cause a dimensional rift for a while... Maybe time and space were still a bit wobbly?
John paused to think, considering whether or not to look into it further. But then he shook his head. "It's probably fine."
The local overseer of this plane of existence kept a tight ship, so there wouldn't be any troublesome things popping in even if time and space were looser than normal. And that guy's power seemed to specialize in barring extraordinary presences from entering, so...
"Yeah. Should be good."
In short, not John's problem. And if it turned out to be, he now had a person to complain to.
So, with that settled, John set the matter of the weird but ordinary young woman aside and started to think about the other women he was about to meet.
Specifically, the three women who he had said were as dear to him as family... but also who he left behind without saying anything either.
John sighed. "Well. At least our relationships are strictly platonic."
He couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of disaster would be taking place they weren't.
Suddenly leaving without a trace and then showing up again after saying that you chose one woman over the others... John really felt bad for the guy who had to deal with a situation like that.
John shook his head and started walking. "Let's see... If I remember correctly, Qing said he only a few miles away or something, right? Hm... Might as well take the time to go over what to say."
Hopefully they would be more understanding about him leaving without saying anything.
...And not chew him out for leaving Yue behind.
Maybe?
"...Yeah. That's not happening, is it?" John sighed and kept walking.