— Leon Greyrat —
"Is that good?" I asked.
"Yes… it's wonderful," Ariel said, looking at her hair in the mirror. "While not as good as Sylphy, it seems that dealing with Aria has made you quite skilled."
"Well… I'm glad, but I think I'll leave this to Sylphy from now on," I said.
"Mm… that is acceptable," she said, smiling at me through the reflection. "Anyway, I think we should head down to breakfast. It smells wonderful, even from here."
"I agree," I said, taking her hand as she got to her feet.
After a very active night in bed, Ariel and I then went back to my room, where we slept together with Roxy and Eris, as Sylphy had decided to keep watch of Anna in Roxy's room for the night.
I did make sure to focus on Eris and Roxy before falling asleep, ensuring that they knew that my love for them didn't diminish in the slightest, but I ended up cuddling quite a bit with Ariel through the night as well, as she became very needy.
Not that I minded, though.
After all, this was the part of our relationship that Ariel wanted the most, and was also why I had become so quickly endeared to her.
She wanted the love and warmth she had always been deprived of throughout her entire life, and so, while she enjoyed the rough and passionate sides of sex, she also enjoyed cuddling afterwards.
Something which I happily granted, especially with how cute she was.
But still… I definitely needed to stop at four.
Ignoring the fact that the four women I was with were the only ones I could conceivably think of forming such a close connection with, there was also the fact that I was only one man.
Considering Ariel's devotion to the throne, Roxy's devotion to knowledge, Eris' to the sword, Sylphy's to the home, as well as the multiple children we were bound to have, I was confident in being able to be there for my wives when needed… but this was absolutely my limit.
Anyway, with Ariel's hair done, and her clothing prepared for the day, we then headed downstairs hand in hand, spotting Sylphy as she carried a plate of food from the kitchen to the dining room.
"Ah! Good morning!" she said, smiling at the two of us. "Your hair looks wonderful, Ariel."
"Why thank you, Sylphy. But rest assured, this is meant to be your job," Ariel returned, smiling back at her. "Only the touch of my favourite guard is enough for a princess like me."
"Fufu! Yes, I suppose so," Sylphy said. "Though, at this point, I'm not simply your guard. We're family, no?"
Ariel's eyes widened before she calmed into a smile.
"Yes… that is precisely right," she said happily.
The two of them seemed to have a conversation with only their eyes, only to stop as they both giggled sweetly.
That… was a little creepy, but I suppose they were close like that.
Considering how long I was Eris' tutor and how I went to the Begaritt Continent without my silver-haired wife, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that these two had been together longer than Sylphy and I.
With us moving toward the dining room, I was met with the sight of Eris talking down to Aria, seemingly scolding her for playing with her food as my daughter pouted and turned away, while Roxy was feeding Anna some crushed fruit with a small smile.
But aside from my family, I noticed that there was another guest here this morning.
"So it's true…" the man said, looking at Ariel and me, or more specifically, our intertwined hands. "Princess… you… with him… what is this farce?"
The guest being one Luke Notos Greyrat, as one might have expected.
After returning from my morning training, and starting on Ariel's morning routine, the two of us had a little talk about her guardian knight.
After all, we both expected him to not take the news of our relationship very well, but more importantly, now that Ariel was to be my family, I wanted to explain to her a bit more about some things that I knew.
Particularly about what I had learned in Oldeus' diary, and how Luke was a likely candidate to be manipulated by the Man-God, if he wasn't already.
And seeing how he was angrily glaring at me, his eyes swimming with confusion and frustration, if there was any time for him to become my enemy, it would surely be now.
I don't believe Luke was an apostle, at least at the moment, but that could easily change.
And I wasn't one to keep an enemy so close.
But just as I had promised after revealing this to Ariel, I would leave this all to her.
She believed in his loyalty, and I did as well… but just because he was loyal to Ariel, doesn't mean he was loyal to my and the rest of my family.
"This is no farce, Luke," Ariel said calmly. "You understand I need a husband, correct? What is the issue for choosing Leon to be it, considering I can already trust him to be on my side."
Luke gritted his teeth. "But that… he already has three women!"
"And I will be his fourth," Ariel responded. "Is that a problem?"
"Of course, it is!" Luke shouted, flinching slightly as Eris glared at him before continuing in a quieter tone. "You… how do you know he isn't using you? Why would you be with someone like him, especially with your standing!"
"Why? Well, that is a simple thing to answer," Ariel said, looking up at me. "It's because I love him."
Seeing how warmly her eyes stared at me, filled with affection and trust, I felt a warmth blossom in my heart, the heat burning through any last shards of hesitation in my decision.
"And I love you," I said, leaning down to peck her nose.
"Mmm… I know," she said, smirking teasingly. "Especially after last night~"
This princess… she was mine now, but she was definitely still the same, especially in regard to her perverseness.
Reaching over, I grabbed her ear before lightly pulling it to quiet her.
"Ah~! That only makes me hornier~!" she said, squinting in happiness.
I quickly let go.
Dammit… this girl… to be honest, I was a bit worried that my princess might be a bit too much for me.
"No… that's… impossible…" Luke said, his eyes wide in confusion.
Oh, right. He was here too.
I had kind of gotten lost in Ariel's antics.
"It is very possible, as it has already happened," Ariel said. "Luke… if you want to talk about this later, we can at your own leisure. But for now, let us have breakfast together. Now that I have a husband, and possibly an heir in the future, we need to revise our plans for our return. And there is no way we can do that on an empty stomach."
Luke calmed down a bit at this, his intense glare never leaving my figure as he nodded.
"Yes… alright, my princess… I will ready everyone else for a meeting," he said before walking away.
With the sound of the front door slamming behind him, Ariel slowly released a pent-up sigh.
"Haa… I had expected this, but it is still unfortunate for him to be so frustrated," she said before looking at me. "But alas, with enough time and explanation, I am sure things will become clear. So you can leave everything on that front to me, darling."
Right… at least I knew that Luke's feelings weren't related to jealousy, but that still didn't change how difficult he was going to be about all this.
Ignoring the way my heart soared at the nickname, I nodded my head. "I trust you, but still…"
"I know. You have told me of the dangers of that being quite a bit," she said before raising an eyebrow. "But still… isn't there something else you should be worried about? Such as informing your parents about their new soon-to-be daughter-in-law…"
Ah… right.
Fuck… Mama was absolutely going to kill me.
Aisha would probably be happy since she knew Ariel, and Norn and Rudy would likely not care, but Mama was going to be a problem.
And Paul too, now that I thought about it.
Not with him being against it, but rather the relentless teasing I was about to face.
Before, I could use the defence of all three of my wives having the agreement to polygamy beforehand, but with Ariel… that wasn't the case.
Well, I guess I would just have to bear with it.
With Aria widening her arms with a gleeful smile after seeing me, I gave her a smile in return as Eris used the moment to shove a spoonful of porridge into her open mouth, quickly ending the touching father-daughter scene that was taking place.
Well, I was just glad Eris was taking to motherhood so well, though it was a different type of love compared to Sylphy and Roxy.
A much tougher love.
Sorry, Aria.
Turning my gaze over to my other daughter, I returned her smile, as I then noticed Roxy looking at me with a small frown.
Actually, she was looking at Ariel and me.
Did… she not like Ariel?
That would be a problem.
If it was before last night, I would absolutely not have pursued the princess any further, even if I cared about her in my own way even back then.
After all, I had an obligation to keep my wives happy first.
But after last night… I couldn't just leave her alone now.
She was mine, and I was hers.
I loved her, and I was in too deep to stop now.
"Is… something wrong, Roxy?" I asked.
"No… it's nothing, Leon," she said, shaking her head. "It's just… Eris is nearing the end of her pregnancy, and from the sound of things, Ariel will want a baby as well… so there isn't much time left, thus, I would like to do it now."
…Huh?
"Uhh… do what now?" I asked, confused.
She turned to me, her eyebrows curling down into a small frown before she shook off her difficult expression, looking at me with clear, determined eyes.
"I want to visit home," she said resolutely, before her cheeks gained a bit of a blush. "And… I want you to come with me… so we can spend some alone time together… with Aria too."
Ah… I see.
She had briefly brought up the idea of seeing her parents, but from the sounds of things, that brief thought had turned into an actual goal.
"Are you sure?" I asked. "It's a long journey… I would have to check the journal, but it will likely take a two months in total, from what I remember."
I knew that there were quite a few teleportation ruins in the Demon Continent, likely due to how vast and barren it was, so there should be one quite close to her home village.
And luckily, Orsted had given me a bit more ruin locations that Nanahoshi hadn't recorded, so my range of movement had now expanded to most of the world.
"Yes, and right now is the only window I can see where two months are available, considering that the issue of the Asura Kingdom will be happening after that," she said.
That… was true.
Roxy then turned to Ariel, bowing her head slightly. "I apologize. I know you two just cemented your relationship, so for me to take him for myself right afterwards…"
"Think nothing of it," Ariel said, waving off her concern. "Not only is this a way to pay you back for allowing me this happiness, but… well, let's just say that last night will keep me satisfied for a long while."
Roxy's cheeks tinted red. "Yes… those were some… impressive sounds, after all."
Ah… so I needed to set up a sound barrier next time… that was good to know.
I had a feeling that Ariel was quite vocal, but I had been… distracted, to say the least.
But with my own experience from childhood, I knew that I didn't want to subject Aria and Anna to such noises.
"Indeed. And besides, now that I am in a relationship with Leon, I am also in one with Sylphy as well by proxy, am I not?" Ariel said, turning to Sylphy with a smile. "We are family now, after all, so there is nothing wrong with keeping each other company when our man is away, no?"
Sylphy blushed a bit. "Please do not tease me like that, Ariel."
"Of course, my apologies," she said, laughing.
Well… while Ariel said that, I had a feeling she wasn't teasing in the slightest.
I didn't really mind if they did such things when I was away, as long as it was between them, but still… I just had to hope Ariel would know to keep her hands to herself if refused.
But then again, if she decided to try something with Eris, and she had to physically stop her… well, that might pleasure the princess in its own way.
As I had discovered last night, the princess had quite the masochistic side.
— Leon Greyrat —
"Dada… are we there yet?" Aria asked, looking back at me from the saddle.
"No, sweetie," I said, shaking my head. "Don't tell me you hate camping with Dada and Mama that much."
"Huh? No! I love it!" she quickly corrected before frowning. "It's just… hot. And I miss other Mamas."
Gently tussling her hair, I attempted to turn that frown upside down.
"I know… but we'll be back soon, don't worry," I said. "And speaking of that… we're here."
Well, not really, but I could finally see the village.
We had been venturing through the Demon Continent for a few weeks now, and honestly, it had been quite nice.
Between the transportation, my abilities, and Roxy's knowledge, things were much easier than my first time around, even with Aria being with us.
The walking?
Well, we had my beloved horse here to handle that.
The heat?
Well, some wind and ice magic could deal with that.
The food?
Luckily, we had packed enough.
And shelter?
Well, with my expanded knowledge after my time in Millishion, my Demon eye, and my new concealing spells, I was able to trust the barriers I put up much more and sleep through the night without a problem.
Honestly, the only issue so far had been boredom, but I had tried to keep Aria happy with some games and books I had taken, and as for the nights… well, Roxy and I were able to keep silent, so those were some fun times for us too.
I missed home, that was for sure, but it wasn't so bad as my little trip to Asura before, likely since I had Roxy and Aria with me.
Of course, with the Man-God as my enemy, as well as the threat of assassins towards Ariel, I was a bit worried, but I think I could leave the protection of my wives and Anna to Rudy and Orsted.
And while I wouldn't want her to strain herself now that she was nearing her third trimester, I could trust Eris to protect them as well.
As we continued trotting towards the village, I lightly shook Roxy awake from her nap, her body that was curled into my chest slowly stretching out.
"We're almost there," I said.
"Ngh… we are?" she murmured, wiping her eyes as she slowly came to consciousness. "Ah… yes… this scenery is familiar."
I noticed an odd tone in her voice.
A tone that had appeared more and more the closer we got to our destination.
"Are you afraid?" I asked.
"Well… a little," she said, frowning. "I have been thinking about them a lot… my parents, I mean… but I am worried that I am wrong. What if they love they felt for me wasn't as much as I remember? What if I had hurt them more than I assumed? What if… what if seeing me just makes things more painful?"
I gently patted her head, kneading her scalp as she leaned back into my chest.
"Don't worry about that," I said. "I can assure you that nothing bad will happen. They still love you, and they haven't been destroyed by your departure. If anything, they are worried about you, so now we just need to show them that you're safe and happy, right?"
"…Right," she said, nodding her head. "Thank you… for dealing with a difficult girl like me."
"You're not that difficult," I said.
"'Not that difficult'… so I am difficult?" she asked with a smirk.
"Of course. If you weren't, I wouldn't have any use as your husband," I said, kissing her forehead. "And considering everything… I think I am the much more difficult one in this relationship."
"Hehe. At least you know it," she said, kissing my cheek in response.
Aria, who had been squinting forward in an attempt to see where we were going, then pointed with a smile.
"Mama! Dada! Look!" she exclaimed.
"Yes," I said, patting her head. "That's where we're headed."
Coming closer to the village, just like last time, there was a guard standing at the ready, his eyes narrowing at our group.
"Who goes there?" he said in the Demon God tongue, causing Aria's eyes to knit in confusion.
Right… we should probably teach her more of her home language.
Roxy had been doing so with a few stories, but it definitely wasn't enough for her to become fluent.
"These are my guests," Roxy said, taking off her hat to reveal her hair. "Am I allowed entry into my homeland?"
"Oh… yes, of course," he said, stepping away from the entrance, his face showing an expression of confusion.
It seems that with Roxy here, entry would be quite a bit easier than before.
Getting off the horse, I let Aria ride my shoulders as I took the reins, following behind Roxy as she slowly made her way through the village.
With a few of the villagers going about their lives looking at us in confusion, their expressions became even more perplexed as they focused in on Roxy, while my wife hid her face by tipping her hat down as she continued walking.
I was confused at the interaction before finally remembering about the reason Roxy had such a difficult time with her home in the first place.
Telepathy.
The villagers must have been trying to talk to her, but to no avail, and were thus confused as to why one of their own wouldn't respond.
Stepping closer to her, I reached down to hold her hand, interlacing our fingers as I tried to give her a bit of comfort.
Luckily, my subtle action seemed to work as her head tilted up, giving me a grateful smile as she squeezed back.
Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to keep holding her hand, I had to let go a few moments later so that Aria wouldn't fall off my shoulders.
Eventually we reached the somewhat familiar hut, and tying the horse's reins around a pole I conjured from the ground, the three of us stood outside the hut, Roxy clenching her fist in silence as she psyched herself up for the long-awaited meeting.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, my beloved daughter quickly broke the tense silence.
"Turtle!" she exclaimed. "Big turtle!"
"Yes, sweetie… that's what they use for houses here," I said, letting her down to hold her in my arms.
My daughter's exclamations seemingly heard by the inhabitants, the door flap then parted to reveal two familiar figures, their blue hair shining in the sunlight as they looked at the three of us with wide eyes.
As I thought… Roxy definitely got her beauty from her mother, and considering Rokari was over a hundred at this point, the future Leon was a very lucky man.
"R-Roxy?" Rowin sputtered out after a moment of shocked silence. "Roxy… is that you?"
Rokari, who was covering her mouth with her hands in shock, then ran forward.
"Oh, Roxy! We missed you so much!" she cried, wrapping Roxy in a big hug, who was standing still in shock.
"You've… come back! You've come back to us" Rowin said, slowly walking over to them with a voice brimming with emotion and slight disbelief. "You're safe!"
As the three of them shared a hug, I watched on with a smile as Roxy slowly wrapped her arms around the two as well, a few tears threatening to escape her eyes as I kept a tight hold of Aria.
I know she wanted to join the little group hug, but I think they should have this moment together first. Not to mention how shocked they would be of the little Roxy once they realized her presence.
After a few moments, the three separated, with Rowin and Rokari looking over Roxy one last time before turning their heads to me.
"You… Leon, right? It's been… a… while…" Rowin's voice trailed off as he noticed the girl in my arms. "…Who is that?"
"This is Aria," I answered. "Aria Greyrat, your cute and loveable granddaughter."
His jaw dropped, and Rokari's eyes glinted in happiness.
"I did say I would return as your son-in-law," I said, smirking a bit. "So pleased to meet you, Mother, Father."
Rokari's smile widened even further as her eyes darted between Roxy and me, her cheeks gaining a bit of a blush as she chuckled sweetly.
Rowin, on the other hand…
"G-G-Granddaughter? Y-Y-You… son? Wait… Roxy? You? Married? Family?" he stuttered.
Yeah… as I thought, it was a bit too much to handle at once.
Looking over at Roxy, who seemed a bit bashful, I gave her a small smile before turning back to the parents.
"Yes. There is definitely a lot to explain, but for now… I think I'll leave you three to talk in private," I said, readjusting my grip on Aria, who seemed to have understood that these two were related to her despite the lack of communication. "I'll go explore the village with Aria here in the meantime, so talk as long as you need to. I'm sure you can find us when we're done."
Looking back at Roxy, I gave her a small kiss of reassurance before walking away, leaving the three of them to do what should have been done long ago.
And as for me…
"Dada? Who were they? Where are we going? What's Mama doing?" she asked in rapid succession.
"I'll tell you later," I said, reaching into the pack over the horse to produce a ball. "For now, how about we find a place to play together?"
Her eyes lit up in happiness as I filled the ball with air using wind magic.
"Yay! Sacca!" she exclaimed.
Yes, the ever-famous game that Rudy had introduced to our family and the orphanage.
It was a good way to pass the time while Roxy reconciled with her parents.
— Roxy Greyrat —
"So… it seems that you've found yourself a man, Roxy," my mother said, smiling at me. "Does he treat you well?"
"Err… yes, he does," I said, fiddling with my cup of tea.
That was certainly a way to start things.
I had never realized how embarrassing it would feel to talk about such things with my mother… I would have to take this into account when Aria grew older.
"Hm? Is that so? Considering that girl… Aria, right? Well, it seems that you two are more than happy, if your daughter can smile so cutely," she said, smiling at me. "I'm glad, Roxy. I'm happy for you."
"Ah… thank you, Mother," I said, averting my eyes.
Her gaze… it was so warm.
"Tsk. Well, I still don't like him," my father said, sitting down beside Mother as he crossed his arms. "Plus, what about that other girl that was with him? I'll be damned if I let my daughter be with a two-timing bastard."
Er… well… how would I explain this?
After a moment of deliberation, I decided to let them remain ignorant of our family situation for now.
"Oh, don't be such an annoyance, Rowin," my mother said, lightly hitting his arm. "I know you're grateful to him. He's the one who brought our daughter back here, right?"
I slowly nodded my head, a small smile forming on my face.
"You could say that," I said. "I wouldn't have made the journey if it wasn't for him, as we live in the north of the Central Continent. But as for my desire to visit… I guess that has more to do with Aria."
Aria and Sylphy, to be more precise, but I would keep my co-wife a secret until later.
While Aria had allowed me to understand these two, it was Sylphy that gave me a sense of urgency.
After all, this meeting… she didn't have such a luxury.
It made me feel I should meet them in case anything happened, and it became too late, something that could easily happen with long living races such as mine.
My father looked at me, confused.
"Your daughter? What about her?" he asked.
I opened my mouth to respond, but found it quickly clasping shut as I tried to find the right words.
How… how would I explain these feelings?
I was sorry for putting them through such pain, but if I could do it again, I would in a heartbeat, so regret wasn't quite it.
Right… Leon said they must have been worried… so should I reassure them?
No, that could come later.
But for now… what did I want to say?
My eyes drifted towards the shelf, noticing a few relics of my childhood, seemingly untouched over the years.
As I saw those items, a few memories flashed through my mind.
My mother reading to me as a toddler, teaching me and herself how to speak… all for my sake.
As a child, I had always wondered why they went through so much trouble for an annoying girl like me, but after having Aria… I could understand.
For my daughter, I would do anything.
Then, when I had that meltdown after realizing that I would never fit in this village, how guilty they felt, hugging me close as they released their own tears of sorrow.
Back then, I didn't understand… I didn't understand at all.
I thought that my meltdown was the thing causing them pain. Making them regret their very lives, or at least the one after having me.
But that couldn't be further from the truth.
They loved me.
They truly, unconditionally loved me.
And that pain they had felt was not due to me, but rather their guilt.
I had felt the same, after all.
The instant I held Aria in my arms and noticed the colour of her hair, I had felt the same.
And then those thoughts… thoughts of Aria growing past her second birthday, only to leave the next day, departing on a journey because of something I had done… even though that hadn't happened, and Aria was a very happy child, the mere thought tore my heart to pieces, so much so that I cried into Leon's chest for much of that night.
To put my parents through that… without a word of reassurance after all these words… yes, there was certainly some guilt there too.
But past the guilt… past the understanding… past the reassurance I needed to give them about my current life… there was something more important.
"Mother… Father…" I said, my voice cracking as I felt the tears began to flow down my cheeks. "I'm… I love you!"
Rocketing into their arms, I felt them flinch in surprise before they returned the hug, my mother calmly patting my head, just like she had when I was a child, and my father awkwardly squeezing the two of us.
Yes… that was the most important thing.
I needed them to know… past that I understood them and that I was sorry… I needed them to know I loved them.
I needed them to understand that me leaving wasn't their fault.
And I needed them to know that I was happy… so happy that they were my parents.
"Roxy… welcome home, my daughter," my mother said, her voice also nasally from crying.
"You… you've always been welcome here," my father added.
"Yeah… I know… and I'm sorry," I said, leaning into my mother's chest as I felt myself relax.
Our tender moment continued for a few moments, and as we separated, I then planned to give them an explanation of my story since I departed home.
From meeting Bloody Kant and adventuring the continent, going to the University of Ranoa, meeting Leon as a child, becoming a prince's tutor, searching for Leon's family, and finally reuniting with Leon and becoming his lover… I wanted to tell them all of it.
But it seemed that fate had other plans, as Leon appeared through the flap in the next moment, his expression a mix of tense and confused as he held Aria close to his chest.
"Leon? You're back already?" I asked. "I'm not mad, but… didn't you say I would come to you afterwards?"
"Ah, yeah… I did, sorry about that," he said, shaking his head. "It's just… something came up."
Something came up?
Now I was really confused.
"Dada?" Aria said, pulling on her father's collar. "How those kids talk in head?"
Ah… so that was it.
It seemed that the trait of the Migurd had been passed onto my daughter.
"Haa… just one thing after another with this family," I muttered, shaking my head.
Leon, on the other hand, just looked apologetic.
Well… I suppose this wasn't a bad thing.