Alexander POV
As I watched Katrina escape, I gritted my teeth, half a mind to chase after her, but the pragmatic side of me stopped myself; I was out of mana, and I'd just used [Rebirth], chasing after her through the forest would be suicide. So, with a terrible feeling in the depths of my heart, I knew that one day, when we inevitably encountered each other, it would be a far more brutal fight.
'I'm pissed.' Absorbing Trina and Zartha back into my body, I walked away, heading in the direction my party had gone; unfortunately for me, clothes and armor had been completely ruined thanks to that T-rex-like monster's stomach acid. Currently, I was just walking through the plains butt-naked, making me feel a bit like a pervert. 'Fuck, my space pouch was also destroyed.' That was the final nail in the coffin of my anger as I silently walked across the plains with simmering rage.
Hours bled into one another, and before I knew it, it was already late at night when I arrived at Cassandra's. During that time, I was forced to traverse through the forest, lest a passing carriage happen to spot me walking across the road; I didn't really feel like becoming a known pervert. Walking outside the city walls, I [Teleported] back to my house, where I overheard my wives and Talis arguing, prompting me to watch from the second story through the floorboards using [Heroes Gaze]
"The hell is wrong with you guys!? We should go check on him! It's night and he still hasn't returned!" Yuki, the most energetic among the six, was furiously glaring at the six others, seemingly on the verge of fighting, just barely holding herself. "Alex yelled at us to leave, Yuki. When has he ever yelled at us? It means whatever he had faced or is facing is incredibly powerful." Vanye, the more tame one amongst the six, was leaning against the wall, her arms tightly folded against her chest, while she constantly tapped her foot.
"Fucking exactly! We should go help him! It's been hours! W-What if he's been captured, o-or worse!" Snapping at Vanye, Yuki clenched her fists. "Lazuli, you keep a small piece of yourself on Alex, h-how is he?" Jasmine, surprisingly, the least emotional one among them, glanced at Lazuli, whose expression was one of deep concern as she clenched the sofa she was sitting on. "He died. I-I don't know."
Lazuli's words were like a bomb as Yuki immediately grabbed her two tower shields while Vanye unsheathed her sword, only for Talis to suddenly block their path to the door, stopping them. "Just because Alex died doesn't mean he's dead! He has [Rebirth]! He can come back to life! Just trust him." "Trust him!? You want me to trust him after learning he died!?" Swinging her arm, Yuki violently flung one of our sofas into the wall, while stepping forward, towering over Talis's small, weak frame.
"Move, Talis." "No. I don't know what Alex is experiencing, but letting you go could not only put you in danger, but also Alex… I will not move." Talis, fearlessly, spread her wings out, staring down Yuki while a sword was pointed at her chest. "I'll just cut you down then. I apologize in advance." "Vanye, stop!" Vanimo, who had been silently watching everything play out alongside a teary-eyed Michelle, and just as Vanye raised her leg, I heard a door open behind me.
"Urgh, what's up with all the noise? I've got school tomorrow… What are you doing, staring at the floor, Alex?" Raising my head, I glanced at Chloe, who was yawning while rubbing her eyes with a drowsy expression, clearly having just woken up. However, her voice, which wasn't loud, was still clearly heard by my wives as they all stopped what they were doing, and an eerie silence descended onto the house.
However, following that, there was a rush of thundering footsteps, prompting me to quickly stand up, only to see Vanye, Lazuli, Jasmine, Talis, Michelle, and Yuki rushing toward me in that order. 'Oh dear.' First to wrap their arms around me was Vanye, followed by Lazuli, then Jasmine, next was Talis, then Michelle, and lastly, Yuki, who hugged all of us while lifting us into the air.
No words were exchanged between us as we all hugged each other; the silence was charged with their heartfelt emotions, something I could clearly feel. "I'm confused, but whatever, as long as it's quiet." Muttering under her breath, Chloe turned around and headed back into her room while we continued to silently hug for a few more minutes before we finally released each other.
"Glad to see you're fine, Alex, but um, why are you naked?" Vanimo's cheerful voice softly resounded within the hallway, causing everyone, it seemed, to finally notice my lack of clothes. "Haa, it's a lot. I'll tell you guys, just let me put on some clothes." Deeply sighing, I rubbed my head and entered my room, where I put on some basic clothes before heading downstairs with everyone, where I was forced to pry the damaged sofa from the wall.
Sitting down on the damaged sofa alongside Vanye and Lazuli, I explained the events that happened after they left. Clearly, they were surprised to learn that the being that had been inadvertently terrorizing my heart was a young woman, though they all deeply frowned when I finished. "Escape or not, we're just glad you returned home safe and sound." Like an angel she was, Jasmine kneeled before me while clenching my hand, though I couldn't reciprocate the sentiment.
My heart has never steered me wrong, and the sheer danger I felt from her was in a league of its own; it even surpassed the danger I felt when Goddess Junsuina attacked Jasmine and I. "Yeah, I'm glad as well." Forcing a smile, I tenderly rubbed Jasmine's cheek before lifting her onto my lap while resting my chin atop her shoulder. "So, what happened to Clampa?" "When we arrived, I quickly took him to the Duke's Estate before returning." Lazuli said as she glanced my way, causing me to lightly nod as I patted her thigh.
"After today's events, I think we all deserve a long sleep." Yawning, I lifted Jasmine into a princess carry while heading to the basement. "Good night, everyone." "Yeah, Good night." "Good night, Alex." Walking down stairs, I entered Jasmine's room, where I gently tossed her onto the bed while I stripped down to my underwear with her doing the same.
Entering the bed, I pulled the covers over both of us and pulled Jasmine into my embrace; my lower half came to life a little, but neither of us was in the mood. "Love you, Alex." "Mhm, love you too." As I drifted to sleep several minutes later, I dreamed of Katrina and I fighting, though we looked slightly different, older, no, mature. Both of us looked far more mature, as if we'd experienced several lifetimes; of course, I saved such thoughts for when I woke up.
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Yawning, I opened my eyes and rolled onto my side, only to instantly shiver from the lack of a blanket. 'Haa, Jasmine's such a hog.' Glancing at Jasmine, who was rolled up like a baby in the blanket, I yawned once more while sitting upright, exiting the bed, I stretched a little and put on my clothes before leaving the room.
As I stepped out into the basement, I heard faint moans, grunts, and the slapping of flesh from Talis and Vanimo's room, though it was a common occurrence, so I just shrugged my shoulders as I headed upstairs, where I saw Chloe eating a morning breakfast before leaving for school. "Morning, Alex." "Good morning." Leaning down, I kissed Chloe's cheek before leaning against the kitchen counter.
"You going to deal with your morning wood?" Raising an eyebrow at Chloe, I glanced down at the obvious tent in my pants before shrugging my shoulders. "You want to deal with it?" "Can't, got school, and I don't want to be labelled as the local whore because I came to school smelling like semen." "Yeah, that's fair… Have a good day." Seeing Chloe take a final bite before standing up, I waved at her. "Bye!"
As Chloe exited the house, I scratched my head, glancing at the damaged wall we'd need a carpenter to repair, then the sofa, which we'd need to get rid of, before finally shifting my gaze to the table, where I'd need to place breakfast, that is, after I cook it. "Fuck me, I'm really just not in the mood to do anything." I didn't know if it was because I had a bad sleep or if I was still pissed for letting Katrina escape, but I just wanted to lie down.
'I should release a load, that might help.' Although that may have been my line of thinking, I wasn't really in the mood for that either. "Haa, am I depressed?"