—Cole POV—
Returning from the Recycling Facility, Kota and I began tracing identical outlines of Christmas Trees on several cardboard sheets in the garage. As we were doing so, Cis came out with Grizzle and Darla to see what we were doing. Explaining to them that we were making props for the school play tomorrow, the three of them were interested in what sort of play it was.
"It's about Christmas, you know, the holiday I tried spreading through the last five worlds I lived on.", I teased them, "If I understood correctly, it is the story of Santa Claus and how he became the legend we know today."
"Santa is the fat man in the red suit that breaks into people's homes, eats their food, and leaves presents behind…right?", Darla said making him sound like a criminal.
"Close, but he isn't a criminal.", I stated before switching to telepathy, "Don't say that stuff in front of the children, let them have their fun. Eventually they will learn he isn't real, but till then let them believe."
Apologizing for her phrasing, Darla said she was trying to be humorous given the fact we are in a Hero World and they celebrate a criminal breaking into homes to leave presents. Understanding her point, I insisted she not say that to anyone except adults. Agreeing to that, she offered to help make the tree with us.
"You sure you can do it?", I questioned with a skeptical look, "Arts and crafts has never been your strong suit."
"Excuse me!?", she huffed, "I can cut shapes out of paper, I am not that bad!"
"Hehe, I am not so sure about that.", Grizzle remarked with a smirk, "Your cutting skills leave a lot to be desired."
Giving her the middle finger, Darla stated that not every person in existence was a Master Chef like her. Wearing a smug smile, Grizzle agreed that she was unique in that regard. Suggesting they wager on who could cut the shapes the best, the two women shook hands and agreed to it.
"Here are two sheets…please don't hurt anyone.", I said.
Assuring me that no one would be harmed, Darla picked up some scissors while Grizzle used a box cutter because her fingers were too big for the scissors on hand. Giving them a start signal, the two started cutting away on the cardboard at blistering speeds. Watching them go with a shocked expression, Kota said they were incredibly quick.
Finishing their work in minutes…the difference between them was astounding. Grizzle had very neat, clean cuts that appeared to be made by a machine while Darla…well that was a different story. She finished her cutting a few seconds before Grizzle, but her cuts looked like they were made by a chainsaw. The edges of the tree were uneven and in several places, she cut the tree too much making it rough.
"Told you.", Grizzle bragged.
"Ugh…fine!", Darla sighed in defeat.
"You guys were so cool!", Kota proclaimed, "Can you teach me how to cut that fast?"
"Of course we can.", Grizzle agreed, "You can only use safety scissors though, a knife is too dangerous for you right now."
Agreeing to her terms, the five of us assembled the tree and painted it with spray paint we had on hand. The tree was finished in less than an hour using some of Eri's glitter and clear coat to complete the tree.
"This coloring in a can is amazing!", Cis said looking in the nozzle.
"Let's not accidentally paint ourselves now.", I chuckled noticing that she almost pushed down on the nozzle.
Apologizing, she set the can down and began looking around the garage. Having never seen anything modern before, Cis had all sorts of questions for us that she wanted answers to. Hearing my wives in the kitchen call out that dinner was ready, I offered to answer the questions over a warm meal.
"I could go for more food!", Cis stated as her stomach roared like a lion, "Hehe…oops."
—3rd Person POV—
Hidden away from view, in between two worlds, the Wave Organization leadership was reviewing recent modifications to their forces. Wanting to make sure that everything was perfect before green lighting deployment, the slow process of testing the changes was wearing thin on the patience of two esteemed guests.
"Are we finally going to make a move? We have been hiding out here for months now and you haven't made a single attempt to help our cause!", the God of Deceit shouted as he voiced his dissatisfaction, "I am tired of hiding from Cole and our former colleagues, I want to leave this dump of a world."
"Agreed, we have played your little waiting game long enough. When are you going to make a move, coward!", the God of Nightmares added with a disgusted look, "Both of us have provided you with many advancements yet none of them have made it out into the field yet!"
Having heard nothing but complaints since their arrival, the Leader of the Wave Organization had been plotting their deaths for months now. The only reason they were still alive at this point was because…two of the organization's strongest fighters were their children. No one knew about this till the two people in question met them when the deities were introduced to the organization at a gathering, it was at that point that everything started to unwind.
From the moment they saw their fathers, the idiots became like obedient watchdogs for them. Driven by some unexplainable need to receive approval from their fathers, both of them had gone to extreme lengths to gain it. No matter what the request was, they completed it without a word of complaint or defiance. This need for approval stemmed from the abuse they received at the hands of their mothers who blamed the children for the deities abandoning them.
'I expected rage and anger about being abandoned as children, not obedience and obsession for approval. This is what I get for relying on mentally compromised people.', the Leader thought feeling the gaze of both idiots on him.
Setting the paperwork in his hands down, the Leader looked at them with an emotionless expression.
"We have a test run planned for tomorrow morning, I can't throw my people blindly into the fray without testing our amplified creations. Our research team has serious concerns that the monsters won't be controllable anymore.", the Leader stated watching how they reacted.
"Are you calling our Fathers liars!?", the God of Deceit's daughter Vermillion hissed in anger as she rose from her seat.
Knowing that she was strong enough to snap him like a twig, he carefully phrase his following statement.
"Of course not, we have full faith in your fathers' information. Our concern is that we do not possess any Divine Energy as the four of you do.", the Leader replied.
"Our fathers took that into consideration when they gave you the knowledge, don't question them!", the God of Nightmare's son Emotus spat with an annoyed look.
"Be that as it may, there are many in our group that are not as strong as you that have very valid concerns.", the Leader said coming up with a suggestion, "To ease their concerns, why don't one of you join the Test Run tomorrow as support? In the event their fears are realized, you can be there to deal with the fallout."
Knowing that this would put the two of them in a bind, the Leader was hopeful this would take pressure off of him and put it on them. Since neither of them was likely to separate from their father's side, he was curious how this would play out. Staring at one another for a few moments, Emotus was the first to yield.
"Fine, I will go…", he said not happy about being taken away from his father, "I will join the Test Run tomorrow, happy now?"
"Thank you, we will deploy at 1100 hours as planned. Please remember to avoid showing yourself, especially as their enemy will likely be present when the fighting starts.", the Leader reminded him.
"I will kill Cole myself, and bring his head back to my father as a trophy!", Emotus proclaimed.
"That's my boy!", the God of Nightmares praised him knowing full well Cole would easily kill his son, 'While Emotus keeps him preoccupied, I will use the opportunity to flee to where the others should be hiding. That world still has living deities that can help us, this world was a complete waste of time!'
While the organization prepared for their attack the next morning, Naofumi and company returned to their inn after a filling meal at the cafe. Raphtalia had passed out at the table from exhaustion so Naofumi had to carry her all the way back home for the night. Receiving their room key at the front desk, the woman behind the counter handed him a sealed scroll from the Castle. Seeing the King's seal on it, he wasn't sure if he should throw it in the fire immediately or read it.
"I think you should at least read the contents, it may be important. Sir Cole's actions yesterday may have set them on the right path now.", Senko reminded him, "The Kingdom of Melromarc may finally be working to help you."
"Yeah, your right.", Naofumi sighed not that hopeful, "I just really don't want anything to do with them right now. Between that bitch and her idiot father, I am about ready to go to Siltvelt and forget about Melromarc."
Thanking the innkeeper's wife for giving it to him, Naofumi took the group up to their room and got Raphtalia into her bed. Opening the scroll while Senko got Raphtalia into her pajamas, Naofumi read over the contents to see what the King sent him. Re-reading the scroll twice before reading it aloud, he couldn't believe what he was reading.
"Since you haven't visited the Dragon Hourglass at the Three Heroes Church yet, I thought it important to tell you of the upcoming Wave. Tomorrow at around 1100 you and your party will be automatically teleported to where the Wave will manifest. Please ensure that you are sufficiently prepared before then so that you are at full strength.", Naofumi read aloud with an annoyed look, "I remember you mentioning the hourglass to me…why did they wait till now to tell me!? Our new equipment won't be ready by tomorrow morning, and Cole won't be here to help us either. This is a terrible situation to be in all around."
"Normally we wouldn't have someone like Sir Cole around to aid us anyways, this is a good opportunity to test ourselves. Thanks to Sir Cole, Raphtalia and I are Level 40 and you are in the 50s…this puts us in a very good position for our first Wave", Senko said with a reassuring smile.
Having a fairly good idea of how strong the other Heroes were, Naofumi was confident his party was substantially stronger. Not only were they higher level, but they had also gone through a crash course with Cole who had far more experience than anyone they knew.
"Fair enough, let's get some sleep I guess, I want to get both of you a Class Up before the Wave starts tomorrow.", Naofumi stated.
"Of course!", Senko agreed as Naofumi turned around so she could change, "You know, as your slave, I have no right to privacy. If you want to look, I will gladly let you have a-"
"No no no, I have morals!", Naofumi remarked with a flustered expression, "Raphtalia is a child so I can accept helping her out, but you…you are my age and should preserve your body for whomever you marry."
Feeling the bed sink in a bit, Naofumi felt two arms wrap around him.
"What if I want to marry you?", she inquired with a curious look.
"Stop messing with me, and get some sleep.", Naofumi sighed.
"Hehe, yes Master Naofumi.", Senko stated slipping into bed with Raphtalia.
—Next Day, Cole POV—
Cuddled up with Aria and her tails, I was enjoying a peaceful slumber when the door to our room was flung open. Hearing two pairs of small footsteps come charging into the room, Eri and Kota came in proclaiming it was time to get up. Hearing several of my wives groan in response, the two of them climbed up on the bed and started saying we promised to go out for breakfast this morning.
"Come on, get up!", Kota said bouncing on the bed, "Get up, get up!"
"Ugh…are you sure you want more kids…", Ryuko groaned softly into my ear from behind me.
"Of course I do, just think one day that will be our biological children too.", I chuckled.
"No it won't…they will know better than to wake us up before 9 am.", Ryuko giggled.
Sitting up in a flash, I grabbed the two of them and pulled them into bed with us. Tickling the both of them, and telling them to wake up…the two kids giggled loudly ensuring that everyone else woke up.
"Where are we going for breakfast?", Eri inquired with excitement, "Are we going somewhere with drippy eggs and bacon!!"
"Of course we are, bacon is the most important part of every day.", I chuckled with a grin, "Go get ready, we will get up in a minute or two."
Wriggling out of our bed via under the sheets, the two fell to the ground and rolled across the room. Taking off in a dead sprint, they rushed off to get ready for breakfast.