Chapter 46 – Future pns.

  After Sister Eloise saw us out, we began our walk to the noble district, which was not far from the church. The church itself y halfway between the common and affluent areas, serving as a boundary to the wealthier district. As we progressed, the crowds thinned dramatically, disappearing almost entirely once we moved past the upscale shops lining the far end of Main Street.

  Just as I was starting to rex, able to swing my arms freely without worry of smacking some girl and look around without falling into a daze, a pink petal fluttered in front of me. Instinctively, I extended my arm and a girl cd in pink appeared, materializing into my embrace.

  "Oh hubby," she excimed, her tone one of surprise before her expression shifted, her eyes enrging into perfect orbs of pleading innocence. "Your little wifey is being bullied."

  Before I could comprehend the situation or the sudden appearance of this girl, Yuno materialized beside us, gripping another girl by the neck like a mother cat with a kitten. It took me a moment, but recognition dawned; she was the girl from the children's competition at the tournament, the one who could swap pces with her knives.

  "Hey, let me go!" she excimed, struggling in vain as Yuno's grip remained unyielding despite her filing.

  "Stalking my brother is bad," Yuno stated, her expression bnk. "Apologize."

  "I was just—" she began, trying to defend herself but was swiftly interrupted.

  "Lying is bad," Yuno countered, clearly not buying her excuses.

  “How did she even spot us?” I ask, we had not been bothered by a random girl on the street all day and that was no accident. I used to run into one or two who recognized me before I left and it appears I became even more popur while I was gone.

  "I gave all your connections the okay to the guards, brother," Angelica expined. She's too trusting of my system and the affection points, believing that just because they have a positive connection to me, they wouldn't try to harm me.

  "It's okay, Yuno, she didn’t do any harm," I said, not wanting to argue, looking over to the girl who had ceased her struggling.

  At my words, Yuno released her. The girl paused, giving me a brief look before quickly seizing her newfound freedom and fleeing. 'What a strange girl.'

  Looking down, I asked the giggling girl in my arms, "What were you saying?"

  "Just how much I missed you, hubby," she said, sidestepping my question, but I let it slide.

  "So why are you here?" I asked, assuming she had been moving from pce to pce outside.

  "Hm, I decided to stay for a while, and the first wife allowed me to stay with her," she expined. It was somewhat irritating that everyone kept referring to her as my wife, especially since I had only met the woman once.

  "We were just headed there," Sakura chimed in, prompting the pink-haired girl to hop down from my arm. I hadn't realized how comforting it was to hold her until she left. It also struck me, recalling the tournament, that if I were still as I was before puberty, I might have simply dropped her.

  "I'll lead the way," she offered, with a smile and a light-hearted hum that Alice joined in not long afterward. It took me a moment to recognize it, it was the theme song from the anime-style opening I experienced when I first arrived here. I should never have told Angelica about it.

  We passed into the noble area without issue. It was different from the pces I'd visited before, with shops catering solely to nobles. This area was filled with houses—or rather, mansions—rge enough to accommodate thousands of people.

  Each building was constructed with grand architecture and adorned with animated images or statues that seemed to bring them to life, all painted in colors more vivid than reality.

  We walked until we reached the residence where Seraphina was staying, its sign transting roughly to "a pce to bring people together." It served as lodgings for dignitaries from other cities, which expined its vast size; this city used to host many.

  As we approached the gate, it swung open, and a girl stepped out. She was cd in full white armor, with a giant bow—twice my size and three times hers—resting by her side. The girl had an unusual set of six ears: four white tiger-like ears atop her head and two human ears at the sides.

  "Thank you as always, Sable," Angelica greeted, while Sakura and Alice waved, earning a nod from the girl.

  "And you, thank you for ensuring we weren't bothered," Angelica added, addressing a woman who had materialized behind us, now stepping aside with the guard.

  "No problem," the woman replied casually. I was thankful too—no dealing with fangirls today. I certainly hadn't missed them.

  We entered the mansion, which could rival the church in its grandeur, guided by a trail of moving images through the halls reminiscent of a romance movie. With more time, I might have recognized some of the depicted stories, from tales my mother had shared with us over the years.

  Angelica led us to Seraphina's office, where she stood behind a couch set, the center table den with snacks that an eager Alice dove into, closely followed by a pink blur—Era. The rest of her office was lined with bookshelves that trailed around the room, and her desk, positioned further back, was cluttered with an assortment of peculiar looking objects.

  "Greetings, my husband," the teal-haired woman said, adorned in a low-cut dress that mirrored the color of her hair, elegantly secured with a flowing ribbon a shade darker.

  [Name: ??? Level: ??? Affection: 0 House: ??????]

  'My Observe is still acting weird,’ I noted silently, observing the glitchy results. “We still have a long time until the marriage,” I responded.

  "I am diligently working to shorten that time," she stated, though her Affection score remained at zero and I had no intention of changing that. "Please, have a seat."

  I moved towards the couch set with Angelica, who took a seat at one far end. I had expected Sakura to hurry over to sit, but instead, she chose to stand behind the couch, alongside Yuno.

  "Also, congratutions on your first eternal bond. This will make entry significantly easier, so your new home should be ready in five days, and we can move..." she began, her words causing me to pause mid-sit, disrupting my other thoughts. 'Eternal bond' transted to something very simir to marriage, with only a slight inflection in pronunciation distinguishing the two. I guess the distinction was that one involved an official ritual, while the other had not yet occurred.

  "What?" I interrupted, stopping her mid-sentence.

  Her confusion mirrored that of my two sisters, and even Era, who had settled into one of the side seats with snacks in hand, ready to eat, with Alice perched simirly on her head. Even Yuno looked confusion, bringing back unpleasant memories, highlighted by the unusual look in their eyes.

  "You said eternal bond," I continued, turning back to her as she sat across from us.

  “Yes, with Sister Miki,” she replied. Scanning the room, I watched as everyone’s expressions deepened with confusion.

  "You can tell?" I asked, realizing I hadn't given it much thought before, but others always seemed to know who was married, even my system provided information on it.

  "Tell what?" she asked, her bewilderment deepening, her expression showing she was straining to understand what I meant.

  "The eternal bond with Mother Miki," I pressed, using the same form of address as my sisters. Until this moment, I hadn't fully considered it, but it's supposed to be impossible to form an eternal bond with your mother. I could join one, but that would be... let's just say I'd rather not think about it, and that option is off the table now anyway.

  She looked even more bewildered and hastily pulled out a notebook from seemingly nowhere, it must have been a storage item, then she scribbled something down quickly.

  As I scanned the room agian, noting the bnk expressions, I could feel my anger rising. Even the normally cheerful Alice seemed off, which wasn't right. 'That fucking goddess,' I thought bitterly, convinced it had to be her doing.

  Forcing myself to calm down, I focused on the notebook that she seemed to lose interest in, giving it a puzzled look before putting it away.

  "Can I see that?" I asked, pointing to her now empty hands.

  "See what?" Her confusion persisted, looking at her own hand, clearly unaware she had just been writing something down.

  "The book," I repeated.

  "Book?" she responded, still clueless.

  "In your storage," I said, observing her confusion. She still looked perplexed but complied, taking out every book from her storage and pcing them on the table between us. The first one was exactly what I was looking for. She appeared as though she had never seen it before when I picked it up.

  Flipping through the book, it was filled with half-completed sentences of observation and half-forgotten thoughts.

  "What are you looking for, brother?" Angelica asked, peering up at me. I handed the book to her, with Sakura also leaning over the couch to take a look. "It's just gibberish."

  Yuno, although appearing strange, echoed my thoughts but with better reasoning.

  'It seems like she's briefly seeing past an illusion; she's blessed by independence, so it should be reted to love, maybe…' Yuno mused, her tone uncertain, which only fueled my anger towards the goddess, which fred again, my fists tightening around the book.

  I decided to give the book back, hoping that if she continued writing in it, I might be able to piece together what all was affected. From the ramblings in the writing, it seemed a lot of things were influenced. She put the book away, her expression still marked by confusion. I quickly continued the conversation; dwelling on this would only make me angrier, and I was powerless to act at the moment. But I was resolved not to let that stupid fucking goddess meddle with my family's minds.

  Once I dropped the matter, everyone resumed the conversation as if nothing had happened.

  “As I was saying, your new house will be ready in five days. All personnel are in pce, and your preparations for the three parties are complete. I will send out the updated invitations,” Seraphina continued.

  “Three parties?” I asked, relieved that everyone seemed normal again, yet I couldn't fully divert my mind from their earlier expressions.

  “Yes, the first party is for your homecoming, and we've invited all of your close friends and potential marital candidates. The second party is to establish noble connections. The third is a meet and greet with your fans,” she expined, handing me a list of the invitees.

  “Are the other two really necessary?” I inquired, scanning the list, finding both the second and third parties a pain in the ass.

  “I tried to cancel the noble gathering, but my sister objected,” she said, gncing at Angelica.

  “I also added the fan meetup,” Angelica chimed in, showing no remorse.

  “Why?” I asked, knowing her disdain for nobles was even greater than mine.

  “They remain the most powerful,” Angelica expined, presenting me with a list of Blessings. Some appeared incredibly useful, not to mention the expertise these individuals likely had in utilizing them.

  “There's also the upcoming negotiations with the dwarves,” Seraphina added, pcing another document in front of me.

  “Dwarves?” I asked, my interest piqued as I picked up the paper to skim through it.

  “We have received permission to travel to their territory to repair a device you might recall. The party assigned will have free rein in their mountains while the repairs are underway. The nobles pn to send delegates who can maximize this opportunity. Given your status as Love Blessed and your direct involvement in the reted incident, your participation is easily justified,” Seraphina expined, projecting an image of a rge device I recognized from my third year in the military. It seemed it had survived the hydra rampage. “The dwarves are renowned as the finest craftsmen, even among high-tier cities, any connections would be invaluable.”

  “And the third party?” I inquired, seeing their points.

  Angelica didn’t bother with a response, and even Sakura gave me a ‘really?’ look.

  Right, the love points. I needed a lot of them for upgrading Love Land, my weapons, my shop—the list was endless. This meant such events would become a common occurrence. “God dammit,” I sighed.

  “I have also contacted the Intrepid Trailbzers of Distant—” Seraphina continued, realizing she didn’t need to expin further.

  “Please, just call them 'Trailbzers,'” I requested, not realizing how forceful I had been until Angelica gave me a few concerned pats on my thighs and Alice flew over to offer me a snack, her easygoing smile exactly as it should be.

  “Very well,” she acquiesced without a fight. Still, I took a few deep breaths; there was no reason to take my frustration out on her.

  “The Trailbzers have been hired to conduct an advanced training and evaluation course. Additionally, we've made substantial donations to this branch of the guild,” meaning I could bypass all the extra training and csses my sisters had endured. Essentially, this was a sponsorship into the guild. Even here, it's good to have money and connections. Thanks to Miki, I knew just about everything I needed anyway.

  "Lastly, Sk?gul and her Valkyries are finalizing everything and should arrive within five years. She will be the backbone of your army, but we also need a network manager," she expined, handing me a medallion. Angelica took it, infusing it with mana to reveal a scrolling list of—well, it was hard to describe, but I suppose you could call them expectations for their treatment while here. 'Demands' was too strong a word, while 'requests' was too weak.

  "Do I need an army?" I asked.

  "Yes," was the unanimous response; even Alice nodded as she flew back to Era, who was casually observing from the side, swinging her legs off the side of the couch.

  It was finally time to delve into more details, so I picked up the first paper again. We had much to discuss: the list of potential girls, not just in this city but as far as her network could reach.

  The best candidate for network manager was an elf of semi-noble status who had visited some years ago. I really should consider choosing someone else, or wait for a more suitable candidate, particurly considering the shadows and the individual who could control them but could I afford to?

  We talked te into the night, with Seraphina eborating on anything I asked and actively noting down anything I needed to know.

  [Recollection date end.]

  [Recollection failed, Affection points remain at zero.]

  I felt a twinge of guilt for having forgotten about her, but she did keep Alice company. However, this means that I must be the one interacting directly; I can't simply delegate to Alice. It's a useful insight, though it does eliminate one of my fallback strategies.

  "Let's talk in a secured area ter," I suggested as I got up to leave, still needing to discuss my abilities since I couldn’t bring her into Love Land.

  "Yes, husband," Seraphina replied. As we left, Alice flew back onto my head, waving goodbye to the two still in the room.

  I tried to conceal it, but the silence from everyone on the way back made it clear they could sense my lingering anger.

  We reached home quickly. The twins had already gone to sleep, so I briefly bid my sisters goodnight before heading to my room. I didn’t even let the door close fully behind me before I used my Goddess Call-In skill for the first time.

  "Hello? ... Oh, hey!" the goddess began.

  'What the actual fuc—' I started to yell in my mind, but was cut off.

  “Sorry, just a second, I’m having trouble hearing you.” she continued.

  "Don't you give me that shit!" I yelled, not having time for her antics.

  "Hello?" she said again, and this time I could make out what sounded like a rge group of people talking loudly in the background. "Sorry, I’m in a noisy pce right now. Can you speak up?"

  "You fucking bitch, don’t think you can just—" My anger was building.

  "Ah, just kidding—I can’t answer the phone right now, but I got you, didn’t I? Leave a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. With love from your benevolent Goddess!" she concluded, followed by silence.

  A beep sounded a few seconds ter, leaving me utterly stunned. “What the fuck!”

  I felt something sharp yet ticklish trace down my chest and across my dick, teasingly pying with the tip. Looking down, I noticed my clothes had been cleanly sliced off.

  "Well, don't you look ready to burst, sweetie," the source of my troubles remarked, eyeing me as if I were one of her favorite drinks. Her breath carried the sweet scent of alcohol, floating up to me, her smile mischievous, "and I know just where you can."

  Gazing at her, I swallowed hard before deciding, 'to hell with it,' and lifting her light frame to toss her onto the bed.

  ‘Hmm, what was that?’ I murmured, stirring from my pleasant nap, snugly wrapped in an impossibly soft bnket.

  "Is mommy's good little girl awake?" a sweet, motherly voice coaxed, nudging me further toward wakefulness.

  'I think I came to compin about something...' I thought, gazing up at the figure towering over my crib, her face adorned with a gentle smile.

  "Does my little girl need her nappy changed?" she asked, reaching down slowly toward me.

  "Yes, mommy," I replied, nodding while making a sad face. She skillfully changed my nappy, her face lit by a caring smile and humming a cheerful tune.

  "There, nice and clean. Now, does my good little girl want mommy to sing her a song?" she asked lovingly, lifting me up.

  It was so peaceful, being gently cuddled and rocked back and forth. It's nice to be loved. 'You're the best mommy.'