As Kurama sauntered towards me, her nine-tails swaying behind her with every step, she boldly sat on my desk and gently placed her foot on my chest, pushing me back into my chair. "How could my arrival ever be a terrible timing?" Faintly smirking, Kurama brushed aside her hair while biting her lip, causing me to sigh.
"Haa, it's fine. You can leave us." Flashing a forced smile at my maid, she nodded, glancing between Kurama and I with a knowing look before closing the door; her intuition wasn't wrong, but it hadn't reached that level yet.
With it just being us, I moved her foot off my chest, prompting her to press it against my crotch. "Okay, okay, relax, Kurama, what do you want?" Sighing in defeat, more so at the fact that I just didn't have it in me to fight against her right now. "Hmm, no reason; your mistress can't just visit?" "You're not my mistress." "I'm basically your mistress; your wives all like me." "You've never gotten their approval regarding that." "They'll give it."
As she harmlessly smiled, I softly grumbled at the back-and-forth, since she was probably correct: my wives weren't very possessive of me in that way. I'm sure if I begged, they'd let me visit brothels. "Okay. Disregarding that stuff, could I actually know why you've visited unannounced?" "I didn't realize I needed your permission to visit." "You don't, you're always welcome, but this is technically my estate."
"Kurama, can we stop this, please? I'm not in the mood. Could you please tell me why you're here?" It seemed the solemnity in my voice managed to get through Kurama's playfulness as her smile vanished. "I'd come here to possibly get a vial or two of you-know-what, but is everything okay with you, Alex? It's rare for you to be this stressed."
Removing herself from atop the desk, Kurama sat on my lap, her fluffy, nine-tails caressing my body; unlike before, while her actions were intimate, there wasn't the underlying perversion.
"Haa, your tails are really soft. What do you wash them with?" Subconsciously shivering at how comfortable Kurama's tails felt, she coughed before averting her gaze. "T-The vials. I'll dilute a drop into a bucket and wash my tail with it." I could only stare at her in silence at her words. "Is that why you came here? To restock your 'soap'?" Shamelessly smiling, Kurama leaned into my embrace, causing me to softly sigh and shake my head.
"So, the reason why you're stressed…" Glancing down at Kurama, I explained the reason for my stress, and by the end of it, she was rubbing my cheek.
"That. That is incredibly responsible and painful, Alex. I'm sorry about that." "No need to apologize. Besides, the ones who'll be most upset are my wives… Do you know of any potion or spell that could help?" Slicking my hair backwards, I looked at Kurama, who furrowed her brows before hesitantly shaking her head. "Definitely not a potion; as for a spell, that's a question for Lavender." "Well, that's helpful." I was both sarcastic and genuine.
As we descended into silence, the door opened suddenly, and only one of my wives could have done so, since only they would enter my office without asking me. "Ale-Ah, Kurama, I didn't know you were here." Michelle stepped into the office, only to briefly freeze when she noticed Kurama practically lying on me.
"Oh, little Michelle. Yes, I arrived unannounced; I had a few things to discuss with Alex. You don't mind me stealing your spot, do you?" Smiling, Kurama waved at Michelle, who wryly smiled while shaking her head. "Fufu, you've already earned a spot in my eyes, Kurama." At Michelle's words, Kurama flashed me a knowing smirk, causing my face to twitch.
"So, how can I serve you, Michelle?" "Yuki and I have been discussing which room we should use for the children. Yuki wanted the room near the Master Bedroom. I argued against her, and I wanted to know your input." The excitement and enthusiasm in her eyes really made it difficult for me to go through with tonight's discussion. "Um, h-how about we talk about this tonight at dinner. There was something I actually wanted to discuss regarding our children with all of you."
"Oh, okay?" Michelle, being none the wiser, agreed instantly with a faint smile before turning around. "Then excuse me, I'll allow you and Kurama to continue." Leaving my office, she closed the door while Kurama's hand dropped to my crotch. "You know, a good handy might relieve some stress." "Do you know how to perform a 'good handy'?" Raising an eyebrow, Kurama froze before huffing.
"Forget I said anything." "I already had."
We spent about an hour together, mainly in silence, but we did occasionally converse. Eventually, I had to start cooking dinner, as Kurama decided she'd stay behind for a few days, though I think that was purely because she hadn't received my blood.
'Let's cook something that's easy to clean up.' Having a strong feeling food would be thrown, I made meat with rice and a side of vegetables, a fundamental dish, but one of my go-to ones when I want to make a quick dinner. Not to mention, it was still delicious.
As I separated the food onto the plates, Talis and Vanimo arrived early, took their food back to their house, and I set the plates onto the table. 'Lastly, Yuki, the only dish that is in a pot.' Setting a nearly eight-pound pot down beside the head seat, I cleaned the kitchen a little while waiting for everyone to arrive, which didn't take long once the sun started setting.
"Mhm, smells delicious." "Thank you, Alex." "Meat, rice, and vegetables, were you exhausted, Alex?" "So good." "Haha, yes, my favorite!" "I shall enjoy this." Pouring towards the dining room, Chloe arrived first, followed by Michelle, Lazuli, Vanye, Yuki, and finally Jasmine.
"Heh, yeah, you can say that, Lazuli." Flashing her a faint smile, I sat at the head seat, savoring the taste of my dish. 'Hmm, it's just a tad too tough.' Frowning slightly, I glanced at Yuki, watching her tear through the meat with no problem. 'Maybe it's not.' "I could marry this pot of food." "Hey, your husband is right here." "Did I stutter?" "No."
Shaking my head at Yuki's nonsense, I silently ate. "Michelle, did Alex agree with me yet?" Swallowing without chewing, Yuki downed a bottle of water before glancing at Michelle, who furrowed her brows. "What makes you think Alex will agree with you?" "Because I'm the first wife." "You know he doesn't care which wife you are. Your choice is bad; it won't just be your children in that room, Yuki, all of ours will be in there too. Their room should be closer to our rooms."
Raising an eyebrow, Michelle shook her head before gesturing to everyone except Yuki and I with her fork. "But Alex and I are the strongest. If an enemy attacks, we'll be able to protect them better." Although Yuki was arguing with Michelle, her words roped Vanye and Lazuli into it.
"Who decided that, Yuki?" Frowning, Vanye shot Yuki a glare while Lazuli silently did the same, causing her to frown. "Tsk, don't pointlessly argue. Alex and I are the strongest duo here; besides, even if we weren't, I'm the strongest shield. I'm the BEST person to protect them." Vanye and Lazuli could only click their tongues in response.
"Even so, Yuki, someone attacking is an extreme situation; we need to consider their everyday need. The room beside the Master Bedroom is further away; it'll be more tedious to tend to them at night." Jasmine's words were clearly on Michelle's side, causing Yuki to scoff. "It's just some extra walking." "Then why don't you do it?" Yuki was silenced at Lazuli's remark.
The five of them continued to argue, leaving only Chloe and I out of the conversation as we quietly watched while occasionally exchanging glances. However, eventually, when the argument grew a little heated, I intervened.
"Alright, calm down, we'll discuss this more when everyone is pregnant." Standing up, I grabbed Yuki's shoulder, forcing her back into her seat while glancing at the others.
A few minutes of silence passed as everyone calmed down, prompting me to finally bring up the topic. "I'd like to talk about a problem of impregnating you guys." I probably should've worded my words better, since while I managed to gather everyone's attention, save for Lazuli, they were all intensely staring at me.
"Problem?" "What problem, Alex?" Internally wincing, I softly sighed before deciding to just lay it bare rather than beating around the bush.
"I can't get your guys pregnant." There was a moment of silence, followed by an overbearing level of hostility as Yuki, Vanye, Jasmine, Chloe, and even Michelle glared at me. "I love you, Alex, but if you do not explain yourself…" Yuki didn't need to finish her sentence; I could already foresee my near future.
"My blood. If our children inherit my blood, even if it's a watered-down version, you all should understand what would happen to them… I've been extremely lucky; to this day, I've only lost an arm because of my blood. But. But what if they're just lucky? What if they're unlucky?" By the end of it, I was tightly clenching my fists, imagining the stuff my children would go through if they inherited my blood; the torture, experiments, and cruelty.
I wasn't the only one who understood what I was getting at; the hostility radiating from my wives slowly subsided as faint traces of horror dawned in their expressions.
"Until I can find a way to ensure my blood isn't passed down to them, I can't get your guys pregnant." It was the harsh truth. There was a chance that my children would grow strong enough to protect themselves even with their blood, but the sheer risk was something I couldn't do. Not now. Not when there were still so many different beings stronger than me.
"I-I." Yuki opened her mouth, yet no words came out as she stood up and left, her heavy footsteps fading into the distance.