Act 1 - Last Wishes
The war with the demons had officially came to an end with an uncalled resolution. However, the effects of the war caused the western archipelago's complete destruction. There were casualties on both sides as the demons got wiped out by the intervening party, while two heroes died from the hands of the said meddler. Among the victims was Ren's wife, Karis, however, thanks to the surviving demon lord, she was successfully revived shortly after dying. The revival though, costed the demon lord so much that he was left in such a terrible state.
"...Ren?" Karis whispered as she opened her eyes from her eternal slumber. Above her, she saw the face of her dear master, and husband as his tears of joy dripped down onto her.
Karis weakly sat up from her position as her body still felt heavy for her. She turned around, and met Ren's gaze.
"Ren? What's going o--"
"Karis!" Ren exclaimed as he went and hugged his wife that he thought he had lost forever. He hugged her so tightly that even Karis was surprised. Ren's tears gushed down violently on Karis' back as he couldn't hold back his relieved voice from leaking out.
Karis then gently returned the hug, wrapping her arms around Ren's back. She shifted her eyes a bit on the left and saw Kurumi who also had tears running down her face.
"Welcome back, head wife," Kurumi greeted. She then joined the two as she pressed the two's head on her chest, and wrapped her arms around them.
"What a relief!"
"I have no idea what's happening, but it's good to see you too," Karis replied in a confused tone.
"Huh? Didn't you know that you died?" Kurumi asked.
"I... did? I see... so that wasn't a dream."
Kurumi then pulled back away and let the two have their moment. Ren was still hugging tightly onto Karis, he was showing no signs of letting go of her at the time being. Karis, however, wasn't bothered about it one bit, in fact she kinda liked the feeling of Ren finally showing how deep his affection was.
"Hehe, he's not letting go one bit. It's kinda cute," Karis remarked. Just then, her eyes wandered downwards where he saw his brother struggling to even sit in his position. He was like a dried tree, and his body was as thin as a branch. Kurumi noticed her gaze and answered the question she was expecting to ask.
"Yes, that's right. Your brother gave up all of his essence to revive you."
Karis' eyes went wide in surprise, she promptly pushed Ren away for a bit. Ren noticed her gesture and briefly freed her from his tight embrace.
"Onii-sama..." Karis called out as she approached her dying brother.
"Heh, good to see you back you good-for-nothing sister. *cough* *cough*" Damian's voice was so dry, and raspy and he even coughed out some blood after speaking a few words.
"Why? Why did you gave up your essence for me?!" Karis asked in a scolding tone.
"Gave up my--? Heh, I was just giving back what was rightfully yours. Also, I no longer have a purpose in this world. My army has fallen, and my ambition was crushed. As a proud warrior, it is time I resign while I still have my honor."
Karis went and knelt beside her brother. Tears ran down her cheeks as she went and grabbed his face. Ren also knelt beside her, and placed his hands over her shoulders.
"Just to be clear, I wasn't force by anyone to go through with this. In fact, I encouraged them not to meddle. This is my own choice. *cough*" Damian let out one violent cough which made him sprung his body by a bit. Blood escaped from his mouth as he covered it with his hand.
"I see. Thank you for giving me a second chance in life. I promise I won't waste it," Karis replied, recognizing the efforts done by her brother.
"Good... good... I'm relieved. Now that I'm gone, our race have nothing left to lead them but you. So please, take care of them. Lead them to the prosperous future that you so envisioned. Save the rest of our people that are still waiting for our success in our realm. I believe in you... to both of you..." Damian's voice was now getting softer, and weaker.
"Hero..." he called out.
Ren looked at his way and listened attentively to what he was about to speak of.
"In exchange for reviving Karis, might I trouble you for one last favor?" Damian asked.
"Favor?"
"Yes. After I die, I want you to burn my body and coat my sword with my ashes. After that, I want my sword embedded into the grave that my father, and mother are entombed in at the demon realm. I... I wanted my remains to die along with our realm. Karis... should... be able... to lead... the way..." Damian said as his breathing started to slow down significantly. His eyes were also starting to slowly close down on their own. Ren wiped away his tear, and embraced Karis tightly as he gave his response.
"Leave it to me. I owe you one after all."
"Thank you... really... at the end... you were still an honorable opponent... I respect you with all my pride. Thank you... tha... ou..."
Just then, Damian's body had ceased functioning. His breathing had stopped completely, and his body now sat motionless. His eyes though were still opened by a bit to which Karis then reached out her palm and closed them down on her own. Tears flooded down her face as her final immediate family member had passed on. Only she was now left that carried the blood, and essence of the demon lord.
Kurumi also knelt down beside them as she sent her respects to the deceased man. Ren went and invited her along in his embrace to which she obliged. Karis mourned the loss of his brother, as Ren, and Kurumi joined her and offered her comfort.
After the war that had been ongoing for multiple years in this world, the demon lord had finally fallen.
Ren, Karis, and Kurumi all head out of the mountain house with Ren carrying Damian's body. Arthur saw them heading out as well as the villagers. He hurriedly met them on their way as they walked down towards an open area.
"Huh? Karis-senpai?! You're alive?!" Arthur said in a surprised tone.
"Yes, I have my brother to thank for it," Karis replied.
"I see, so that's what happened. So he managed to redeem himself a bit before he died huh? Anyway, I'm glad for you. Senpai too..."
"Umm..." one of the villagers approached as the two were conversing.
"I don't know what's happening but... may I ask what's going on, and also... what's going to happen to us from here on out?"
"We'll discuss about it later. For now let us honor this man's dying wish," Ren replied as he continued his steps.
After reaching a wide enough area, Ren closed his eyes and casted a magic that dug a shallow hole into the ground. He also cleared the surrounding greenery around the hole to contain the spread of the flames that he was going to cast. He then placed Damian's body in it while retrieving his blade and giving it to Karis.
"Kurumi. Can you go grab a long cloth from the storage room?" Ren asked.
"Got it," Kurumi immediately replied as she headed back into the house.
The two waited for her to return, bringing a blanket that was big enough to wrap the sword with.
"You ready, Karis?" Ren asked.
"Yes. I'm already prepared," Karis answered in a determined voice, although she still stuck close to Ren for comfort as she hugged the blade that was once wielded by her brother.
Now that all the preparations were complete, Ren aimed his palm over to Damian's body. As he did, a blue flame began engulfing the demon lord's remains. His body burned down within the glow of the azure-colored flame. A color so noble that it matched his identity as a great demon lord, and a man of honor. It showed Ren's respect for him despite being an enemy of humanity.
Ren felt Karis' body trembled as she tried her best to hold back her tears. He then wrapped his arms around her, comforting, and showing his affection for her at the same time.
"I missed you," he whispered.
"Hehe, can't really say the same thing since it all felt so short to me but... I'm glad to have returned," Karis replied.
Soon, the flames of the demon lord began to weaken as his body was reduced into piles of bones, and ashes. The flame however, was strong enough to even burn down the bones so all of his remains were being cremated with no excess.
A few minutes had passed, and the flames had been extinguished completely. Karis then approached the hole where her brother's ashes were contained. She then stuck the tip of her brother's blade near the ashes and they all immediately gravitated towards it, covering the whole thing aside from the handle.
"Kurumi-san," Karis called out.
Kurumi then quickly began wrapping the blade with the blanket that she was holding. Karis helped along, and the two covered the entire thing so that the ashes wouldn't escape anywhere even though they were fastened tightly onto the blade.
After the wrapping, Karis held the sword firmly in her hands as she tried to hand them over to Ren.
"No, I believe it should be better for you to hold on to that," he said as he shove back the blade to Karis.
"No, my brother wished for you to be the one to do it instead," Karis rebutted as she pushed back.
Ren then didn't resist any further and claimed the blade for himself. He accepted it with a smile as he started walking back to his house to put the blade away.
"Goodbye, onii-sama," Karis said softly as the cremation process had finished.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Act 2 - A New Beginning
After the short ceremony, Ren quickly went back to his house and placed Damian's remains in a corner of his room. After which, he returned back outside to regroup with his wives, and Arthur who was still dealing with the villagers that they had rescued. Now that everything was settled with, he could finally talk to the people who were quite concerned on what's going to happen to them from here on out.
"Let me be frank to you. You no longer have a home to return to," Ren started off.
The village elder whose wrist he broke earlier stepped up to act as the voice of his people. He was now fine though as his arm was healed thanks to the blood donation that Kurumi had given them earlier.
"Why? What happened back there?" he asked.
"Your island, no, the entire region got obliterated. Wherever your old land was, it's now nothing but a huge void in the middle of the ocean," Ren replied.
"Then, what'll happen to us from here on out?!"
Ren was about to give a hostile remark, but as his gaze met Karis' he stopped himself from speaking his thoughts. Her final words from before still resonated within his mind, and he was set on changing himself for the better as she asked. However, he was at a lost for thought as he also doesn't have any idea on how to handle them.
"Then, I have a suggestion," Kurumi said.
"Oh please not anything absurd again," Ren replied, worried at what she was going to say next. Although looking at her track record, Ren had a slight idea on what she was going to say.
"How about living in this land?"
"I knew it," Ren sighed.
"Live in this place?" the chief repeated.
"Yes, these trees are good material for building a small house, and they bear fruits as well. Not to mention, the soils deeper in the woods are quite good for vegetation."
Ren looked at Kurumi with a surprised expression. He never inspected the land himself as he had no interest on using it for agriculture, however he was surprised that Kurumi knew already so much of the land that she could give some convincing suggestions.
"How could you tell?" Ren asked.
"Intuition I guess? It's hard to explain but I just know," Kurumi replied.
"Really? You're willing to let us live in your land?"
"Hold on there, don't get too ahead of yourself," Ren suddenly cut in before the conversation could get out of his control.
"You don't assume I could just let you here that easily right? I still have my worries against you due to your history with Kurumi."
"The past is in the past Ren, let's move on and give them the chance to change their ways," Kurumi said.
"You're really letting them off so easily after what they've done to you."
"I know but, this just what I feel like is the right thing to do."
Kurumi lowered her head as she thought that maybe she was making another unreasonable demand for Ren. She knew that he's really concerned for her safety and her mental health, but her moral compass really dictates that she must help her transgressors.
Night time was about to come, so Ren had to made a decision quickly. In his mind, he thought about letting Ironblade's king to handle them, but Ren knew it wasn't going to be that simple, considering there were quite a lot of them. He turned his gaze over to Karis, who replied with a gentle smile. That smile was all it took for Ren to submit and finally gave his verdict.
"Fine, you can live here," he said.
The villagers, along with Karis, and Kurumi, all made a happy gasp as their wish had been fulfilled.
"However--" Ren cut in before they could celebrate any further.
"I expect you all to follow a certain set of rules as you live here in my land."
"Rules?" the chief asked.
"Yes, first of all, I want you to stop with these cult or whatever the thing you're doing with back on that island. I don't want to see any absurd rituals here in my territory. Live as normal people, like normal people, and we won't have any problems. Got it?"
"You mean we should turn our back to our gods! You dare to turn us away from the teachings of our ancestors?! You're the one being absurd here!" the chief strongly refuted.
"Oh? Did your teachings include locking up a girl, harvesting her blood, eating her flesh, and violating her body?"
"Those are... because she's the incarnation of our goddess of fertility! She was to be our source of essentials till the end of time."
"You guys are sick, and that's exactly why I'm hesitant in letting you in anywhere in my life. But with respect to my wife's determination to forgive you. I'm willing to give you a second chance. It's quite simple really. You don't like my rules? Then leave, I'm not going to stop you. Besides I'm not telling you to give up on your beliefs completely, you can still pray to these so called gods of yours if you want, but like I said, I don't want to see any of your insane ceremonies in my land," Ren explained.
"Second, don't look at me as if I am your king, because I am not. All of you are responsible for your own lives, I'm just providing you a place to stay. That's our relation. Besides, I'm not someone that can run a village."
"Oh, in that case, I'll do the managing of things here," Karis suggested as she raised her hand.
"What?"
"Don't worry, I know how to handle running a small community. I was a demon sovereign you know?" she said with a smile.
"Oh you want to rule them?"
"No, you're still the de facto leader of this small community, but I'll be the one who's going to be active in the governance."
"I don't know what to say about being classified as the leader of these zealots. But well, I guess I'm still the one who calls the shots."
Ren then turned his gaze back to the villagers.
"Well, there you have it. As you heard, this demon will be the one running things around here with my supervision."
"Us ruled by a demon? This is..."
"If you have any complaints, then leave," Ren repeated as the village chief tried to make another hostile remark.
"Gh!"
"That demon protected us from that demon army right? I don't see any issue with it."
"Yeah, she was looking out for us."
"I don't think she'll do anything that will harm us."
The villagers exchanged their opinions about the issue. Seemed like most were in favor of the idea while there were some that were a bit worried. However, only the chief seemed like the only one who was strongly against it.
"Fine, I shall relinquish my position as the head of this community. However, I hope you do not disappoint me," the chief said, finally surrendering to the pressure of his people.
"Great. Now as for the final rule, I want you to take care of this place. This is my home, my family's home. It was beautiful, and clean on our first day here, and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as I live."
"As you wish, chief!" one of the villagers exclaimed.
"Chief huh? I don't like the ring to that but whatever. Well, that about concludes our meeting here. For this night only, I'll allow you all to sleep in my house. We'll work out with your individual dwellings tomorrow, so take a rest already. I'll try to provide some food for you but for now I wanted all of you to rest up," Ren said as he clapped his hands twice, signaling the end of the meeting. The villagers then went on their way to the mountain house.
Their numbers had dwindled down after most of their people were killed during the invasion. There were more women than men amongst the people, and some children. Ren could already see that labor wasn't going to go well so he already thought about doing some of the housing stuff himself.
"Ah! You're only allowed downstairs got it!" Ren shouted at them as they were entering their home.
"Good grief, I'm suddenly running a small community."
"It's fine, we're here to help you."
A lot had happened in the span of a single day. With the war now finished, Ren was left to take care of the aftermath. However, with the burden being shared by his wives, he felt like he had nothing to worry about.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Act 3 - Just Like This
"Well, Senpai, ladies, it was nice fighting alongside you, but I have to return home now."
"Yeah, thanks for all your help until now. I'm grateful for it."
"IT'S AN HONOR! SENPAI!"
Arthur bowed his head deeply as he received praise from Ren for the first time. Now that everything had calmed down, Arthur can now peacefully head back to Sahnper where he lived. Ren and his wives walked him to the Nexus to send him off. However, a sudden look of sorrow dawned on his face as he remembered something.
"Those two heroes that protected me... it's a shame they died so soon. I wanted to get to know them more," he said.
"If you asked me, you're quite lucky with how things had turned out. Those two were killed by that angel that I was fighting. It's not like I don't like the fact that you're still alive, but having your life spared was a big question mark," Ren replied.
"By the way, what happened to that girl?"
"Dead. Or rather up until now she's still dying. Like Kurumi, she seemed to have some sort of unlimited regeneration ability. No matter how many times I've killed her, she still kept coming back up."
"I'm not sure I get what you're saying," Arthur said as he tilted his head.
"Basically I trapped her in a dimension that only I can tap into. And in that place, she's experiencing an infinite loop of dying, getting revived, and then dying again."
"That sounds kinda brutal... can she somehow escape from there?"
"I don't know. But if she did, that's when I'll do. Or who knows maybe some miracle will happen and she'll suddenly come to her senses. Regardless, that Kidul guy that she's talking about won't be able to do anything with her anymore."
As they finished their conversation, they were already on the transportation room of the gazebo. Ren began setting up everything for Arthur.
"Well, again, thank you for taking care of me," Arthur said, bowing his head to the girls.
"Yeah, take care of yourself now."
"Good luck! Knight-san."
As Karis, and Kurumi delivered their parting words, Arthur made his way to the monolith, going inside the created portal, and stepping into the backyards of the Sahnper palace. He waved his hands, and the two girls waved in response as the portal slowly closed down. Finally, the portal has vanished completely, leaving the three alone in the gazebo.
"It's finally finished huh?" Kurumi remarked.
"Yeah, that was a long day," Karis replied.
"Hey, Ren do you want to have something to ea-"
As Karis was speaking, Ren suddenly went and gave the two of them a hug. Their eyes went wide in surprised as their husband did something quite out of character.
"Ren?" Kurumi called out.
Ren remained silent.
Reading the room, the two girls then returned the hug, wrapping their arms around Ren's waist. The three then stayed like that for a few minutes, until Ren finally pulled away.
"Sorry. I'm just relieved... and tired... I needed that."
"Oh that's it? Our Ren just wanted to get spoiled. Why didn't you say so," Karis giggled.
"Take all the rest you want. You deserve it. Also... thank you for granting my unreasonable request," Kurumi followed.
"Thank you. Unfortunately there are still something I have to do," Ren said as he readjusted the Nexus. He placed the pin marker on the Warspite area, and once again, activated the portal.
"Look out for those guys while I'm gone. I'll be back shortly."
"Yeah, take care," Karis and Kurumi both waved off as Ren stepped into the portal. After seeing him off, the two girls then went back to the mountain house to handle their temporary inhabitants.
A few hours had passed, and Ren had came back through the Nexus. He was carrying quite a huge load on him, but with his strength, he effortlessly carried his baggage to his dwelling. As he entered through the front door, he was greeted by a lively sight as kids were running around in the hall. The adults were all cooped up in random positions in the large living room.
As he made his way inside, the villagers all stood up to greet him, bowing their heads as they did so.
"Welcome home chief," they said in almost perfect unison.
"Oh... uh... hi?" Ren greeted back.
Karis, and Kurumi came out of the library as they noticed the villagers all standing up. A bunch of children also came out with them as they made their way over to him.
"Welcome back, Ren," they both said.
"What were you doing?" he asked.
"Oh, we're teaching the kids how to read. They were quite curious with the books in the library so we decided to help them out."
"Mmm... so, anything else to report?"
"Not really, there hasn't been any incident so far."
"I see."
After giving both Karis, and Kurumi a quick peck on the cheek, Ren placed down the baggage that he was carrying and removed the cloth covering it. The villagers saw baskets of fruits under the cloth. They all looked in surprise as it was the first time they saw such fresh fruits in their lives.
"This is..."
"Make do with this, we don't have enough ingredients to cook for you all. There's enough for everyone with some excess so be orderly on getting your share," Ren announced as the villagers were practically drooling on the sight of the food.
"Also, here's some blankets for you all to sleep on. There should be enough room for you all to sleep in here, if not, make use of the left, and right wings over here," Ren added, motioning his head behind him to point the additional rooms.
"So, anything else?" Ren asked.
A few seconds of silence followed, and then the villagers all erupted in a cheer as they all crowded towards him with tears in their eyes.
"Oh thank you so much, our great chief!"
"Food! After all these years! We can finally eat some fresh food!"
"I will follow you forever!"
The people all sang their praises for their new leader, however Ren was taken aback as he wasn't quite used to this kind of feedback. He stepped back a bit but Karis, and Kurumi held onto each of his arm, preventing him from escaping.
"A-anyway, enough with the noises, eat your fill and hit the sack. I'm expecting you all to work hard for your own houses tomorrow," Ren said in a bashful tone as he began to walk towards the stairs along with the two girls holding his arm. As he went by, all the people he came across kept showering him with appreciation while also giving them some room to pass by.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached the stairs leading to his second floor. He quickly went up and walked to his room as fast as he could to escape the uncomfortable living room down below. He then quickly plopped himself on the bed, stretching his limbs while the two girls sat at the edge.
"That takes care of everything," Ren sighed as he finally finished all of his agenda for the day.
"Yeah, good job on that. You surprised me there Ren," Karis replied as she lied her head down on top of Ren's chest.
"That was quite out of character for you. What happened?" Kurumi asked.
"Well..." Ren trailed off as he took a quick glance at Karis. He then placed his hand over her hair and started caressing it.
"I made a promise," he said with a gentle smile.
"Hmm... I see."
"And he did well fulfilling that promise, so I suppose he deserves a little reward. Don't you think so Kurumi-san?" Karis said as she began undoing the buttons of her clothes.
"I know right? After all his hard work, he deserves a little something in exchange," Kurumi followed suit as she started removing her clothes as well.
Soon enough, the two girls were left in their underwear as they crawled their way onto Ren, sticking their body on to him.
"Heh, you girls have no mercy huh?"
As the girls' faces went closer onto him, Ren then went on the attack as well. He started kissing Karis as she was the one closest to him. Kurumi patiently waited for her turn, watching the two go at it while touching herself. Ren then made his way down, removing Karis' undergarments on the meantime while making his way towards her breast.
He then started sucking on the tips like a newborn child. Karis let out some stifled moans as her breast got stimulated.
"Yes, just like that~"
"Just like-- hmm?"
Karis' excitement came to a halt as she noticed something strange. Ren had suddenly stopped on his sucking which cut off Karis' streams of pleasure. Suddenly, she felt her chest grew heavy as Ren started to lean his body towards her.
"What's wrong?" Kurumi asked as she noticed that the arousing atmosphere had suddenly vanished.
What answered her question was Ren's loud snoring as she slept away while on Karis' chest. He slept peacefully while his mouth was still on Karis' breast.
"He fell asleep..." Karis said.
"In the middle of doing it?" Kurumi replied.
"Hehe, looks like he's reached his limit. What a shame," Karis giggled as she caressed her husband's hair with her hand.
"Aww, that's not fair. He hasn't even kissed me yet," Kurumi pouted although she didn't really sound that disappointed.
Karis then gently placed Ren's head down onto the pillow as he snored away. After a long day Ren finally had the chance to rest up. The two girls both give him some goodnight kisses on the forehead as they let him rest for the day.
"So... what now?" Kurumi asked.
"My excitement was finally built up... such a waste," Kurumi replied.
"Should we sleep?"
"I'm not feeling sleepy yet after all that."
"Then, what do you plan to do?"
A long silence followed, but then Karis suddenly looked at Kurumi as she thought of an idea.
"Why don't we do it? Just the two of us?"
"Ehh?!" Kurumi exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down a bit to not accidentally wake up Ren, although it seemed like nothing was gonna wake him up with how deep in sleep he looked.
"Let's learn some tricks on our own, come on," Karis suggested enthusiastically as she grabbed Kurumi's hand and started dragging her closer.
"Wait-- let me at least prepare myse~eee!"
As their husband slept peacefully, the two girls took it to themselves to entertain each other for the duration of the night.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Act End - A Sudden Visitor
"..."
"Mmm..."
"Haaaaawwh~~"
A new day had arrived once more in Ren's life in this world. After a long busy day yesterday, he was able to get one big sleep that swept away all of his exhaustions. He stretched his arm as he got up, and rubbed the sleep away from his eyes. As he opened his eyes and looked around him, he saw his two wives sleeping on either sides of him with their clothes off.
In his mind, Ren though that he had just finished one steamy night with them both, however something didn't add up. He still had his clothes on, and he doesn't feel the usual as when he woke up every time, with them doing it the night before.
"Huh?"
More questions arose as he placed his hands on the bed only to find it soaking wet. He placed his palm near his nose to check for the lingering odor of the bed.
"Hmm... it's not pee... did these two really did it by themselves last night?" he said as he made a look of disbelief at the two beside him who were sleeping peacefully.
"Well, I guess it was my fault as well for sleeping halfway through."
Just then he felt a movement on his right side. Karis was showing signs of waking up as she began tossing and turning. Not long after, Kurumi started moving on her own as well.
"Morning, Ren," Karis yawned as she sat up and leaned her body towards him.
The two then shared a short morning kiss as per usual to start their day. As they did, Kurumi began carrying herself to sit her body up. She stretched her arms with a long yawn as she savored the morning sunlight shining through their window.
"Morning, Ren," she said, giving Ren a morning kiss as well although just at the cheek.
"Morning to you two," Ren greeted back.
"Morning Kurumi-san," Karis greeted to her fellow wife.
"Yeah, good mo--eek!" Kurumi almost replied with a greeting, however, as she saw Karis' face, her body suddenly tensed up and held onto Ren for dear life as if she just saw something terrifying.
"Hey! What's with you!"
"What's wrong Kurumi-san?"
The two voiced out their concerns to Kurumi who suddenly got jumpy first thing in the morning. The two tried to calm her down, which seemed to work after a few light breathing exercise.
"Sorry."
"Seriously what's up with you?"
"It's just that... Karis-san is scary!" Kurumi replied with a shaky voice.
"Huh?" Ren replied as he looked at Kurumi with an inquisitive look.
"Last night... she was so aggressive. It's unreal. My body shudders everytime I remember what she did last night."
"Last night? Oh so that confirms it, you two did go off on your own after I fell asleep."
"Yes we did, that was rude you know, leaving me like that after exciting me so much," Karis pouted.
"Still what got Kurumi this agitated? What did you do?"
"Nothing, just the usual. A few kisses, and touching her sensitive parts. I mean we did the exact same thing so I don't know exactly what's going on with her. Did I tease her a bit too much?"
"What that's it? Well, I guess this is the first time you two were left on your own. Maybe it's just because it's the first time she's had a hundred percent of your attention," Ren speculated.
"Probably."
"Well, there you have it. Don't sweat it too much I had to deal with that thirst of hers since day one."
"No, really she was scary..." Kurumi persisted.
Ren and Karis exchanged confused glances while Kurumi kept pressing her stand but Ren decided to dismiss the topic quickly before it got out of hand.
"Right right. Don't worry, this'll be the last time you two will be left alone. I really was just tired yesterday so I couldn't join in. Anyway, it's time to get up. I have to set up the houses for those guys below."
"Okay..."
After the short morning fiasco, the three got up from their beds and fixed themselves up as they got ready to go on with their day. Ren went on ahead downstairs to meet with the villagers, leaving Karis, and Kurumi to take care of fixing the bed.
"..."
"???"
"..."
"What's wrong Kurumi-san? You seemed to be staring at me a bit too much," Karis said, noticing Kurumi giving her quick glances every few seconds.
"Oh, uhh, it's nothing..."
"Hmm?"
The awkward atmosphere stuck around for a bit but the two decided not to dwell on it any further.
"Ohh, it's the chief!"
"Great morning to you chief!"
"Good Morning, our lord!"
The villagers greeted Ren as he appeared at the top of the staircases. They all gathered around at the foot of the steps, ready to receive him as he went down slowly.
"No need for such formalities," Ren replied to them. However, it seemed his remark went on to deaf ears as they still addressed him with such names afterwards.
"Hmm... let's see now... one, two, three... seven... twelve... looks like we don't have much men to work with huh?" he said as he counted all the visible men he could see in his position. With the housing project about to go in action, Ren was planning to employ the men to go and help along, but it seemed that wasn't happening. Most of the remaining men were either too young, or too old, and a few ones that were fit enough for labor.
"Well, it would be faster if I did it anyway."
Ren then led all of the villagers outside of his house, into a nearby clearing that was a bit far away from the sandy shores.
"Milord, about the houses..." one of the men asked as they were walking down the woods.
"I know. Just follow me, I'll be working on it. I just want you to follow my instructions so that everything will proceed smoothly. Are we clear?"
"Yes! As you wish milord!"
Meanwhile, back on the mountain house, Karis, and Kurumi were cleaning up the mess left behind by the people they had taken in for the night. They properly threw their waste in a dedicated bag, but there were still leftovers on the floor. The two mopped the entire living room area, and began putting away all of the used blankets.
"Looks like this place is going to get a bit livelier huh?" Karis said, striking a conversation.
"Yeah, honestly, I wasn't expecting this kind of development. I thought that we'd be sending them back home after this is all over," Kurumi replied.
"Me too. But well, yeah, things happened."
"At least the end result was what's best for everyone... except your brother. Oh wait, I'm sorry was that insensitive of me?"
"No, it's fine. I'm over it now. He's lived his life the way he wants, and died the way he wants. Surely he doesn't have that much regrets. As long as I fulfill my end of the bargain, I'm sure he'll be able to rest in peace," Karis replied with a smile on her face.
"That's good. Well, I won't press about it any further. Also--"
Suddenly, as she was speaking, Kurumi felt a nauseating sensation as her body began to sway mildly back and forth. Her vision was also getting a bit blurry which prompted her to grab hold of her temples with her palms.
"What's wrong? You okay?" Karis voiced out her concern.
"Yes I'm... fine... just a little headache," Kurumi replied, her voice sounded like she was doing her best to hold in the pain.
"Don't push yourself. Come on let's get you to Ren. Maybe he'll figure something out."
Karis then dropped the mop she was using on the floor, and went ahead to assist Kurumi in walking as they made their way to the door.
Back on the site of the housing project, the villagers were all huddled around as they admire the finished product of Ren's hard work. In front of their eyes, they saw a collection of wooden houses with well-designed exteriors, and some allowance of space per unit to allow each house for any possible renovation.
"Wow!"
"He finished all of that in mere minutes!"
The villagers all spoke out their praises at the feat that Ren had pulled off. They gathered all around him, showering him with praises, and gratitude.
"Make do with these dwellings. They may not be enough to house one family each, but those are all I can do with the materials I have. Go share the space with any close friends if possible," Ren explained as the villagers attentively listened.
"Those houses are already installed with some basic necessities like a steady stream of fresh water, and a toilet for the deed, and a few wood lumps for fuel. I'll be distributing these seed packets to you so grow them up and give me a good harvest," he added, raising the packets that he was talking about. He had an assorted selection of plants to raise for the villagers so that they could sustain themselves in one way or another.
Ren then started distributing the packets to each family heads, and individuals. As he did, he sensed two people coming towards the site from behind him.
"Oh, it's you two, hmm? What's wrong?" he said, seeing Karis lending Kurumi her shoulder to lean on as they walked up the path towards him.
"Kurumi-san seemed to have gotten dizzy. Maybe you should check up on her," Karis replied.
"Oh right. In a second. Ahem. All right that should do for now! I'll go send the extra fruits you have leftover later but go and be comfortable in you houses for now. To those who wanted to start farming, there are some tools that I'd left in that warehouse," Ren said pointing at one specific building that had a different design compared to the rest.
"Well, then, I'll be leaving you now. Come on, you two."
Ren then grabbed the two girls by the shoulder. Suddenly, the space around them began to distort. The same stretching and twisting was happening again, and in the blink of an eye, the three were gone. The villagers all exchanged confused glances but at this point, it's no longer a surprise.
The three then reappeared back at their room which was now properly fixed up and tidied. Ren then grabbed Kurumi from Karis' hands and sat her down on the bed.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I don't know, my vision suddenly got blurred and then I felt nauseous. I don't know what came over me," Kurumi replied.
"Are you still feeling it?"
"Yeah, I think it got worse..."
Ren then checked her temperature with his hand to see if she got a fever.
"Hmm, that feels just normal..."
"Could it be... are you pregnant?!" Karis exclaimed.
"Ehh! Is that right?!"
Ren began to panic a bit in his mind but calmly moved his hand towards Kurumi's belly to check for any signs of life.
"Hmm... I think that's not it. There's nothing here," he said.
"Oh..." Kurumi gave out a disappointed noise.
"Maybe you're just feeling sick that's all. We've been through a lot yesterday. I mean, I'm not saying I don't want you to have my child but don't jump to conclusions that quickly. You almost gave me a heart attack," Ren explained with a gentle smile on his face.
Just then, Kurumi leaned her head onto Ren.
"What? Did that upset you that much? Come on now don't sulk," he said, assuming that Kurumi was about to go into tears after the pregnancy possibility was debunked.
"Uh oh, you made her cry. Ren you naughty boy," Karis teased.
"It's my fault now?!"
"That's right boy."
Suddenly, Ren, and Karis heard an unexpected response from out of nowhere. The voice seemed to have came from Kurumi, however, it was nowhere near his meek, and gentle tone. Just then, Kurumi, raised her head, setting her gaze on to Ren. She then went and pushed her face closer, extending her lips as she gave Ren a surprise kiss.
However, Ren felt something strange upon contact. He instinctively pushed Kurumi's body away gently, grabbing her shoulder. What he saw wasn't the usual expression that Kurumi had, rather she looked a lot more mature, and seductive than before as she looked at Ren with her sharp eyes.
"Who are you?!" Ren said as he pulled himself away for a bit.
"Fufufu," Kurumi, or whoever was her at the moment, giggled as she stood from the bed. As she did, a golden-white aura had began to envelope her from the soles of her feet to the edges of her hair. She wore a bewitching smile as she focused her gaze more on to Ren.
"My name is Lacama, the goddess of fertility," she spoke.
"It is a pleasure to meet you."