Nina didn't struggle as we boarded the Lilia and went inside. I felt her moving behind me, looking around with interest—not that she could see much around my body. The ship moved below our feet as it ascended and, as we entered the master bedroom, the walls projected an illusion of our surroundings as if we could see through the ship.
Quietly, the blue haired woman murmured, "We're so high up."
"Yup!" Eris chuckled, throwing her jacket off and working at undoing her belt as Ghislaine likewise began to undress. "You get used to it. With Rudy, things like this are just normal."
"It's true," Ghislaine confirmed, laying her own jacket out on the back of the desk chair in the corner of the room. "I've seen many things I thought were impossible, since meeting Rudeus."
Making my way over to the bed, I dropped Nina down on it with a pomf of air. The young woman looked up at me, then her blue eyes slid over to Eris and Ghislaine—my redheaded wife kicking off her boots before tossing her pants on the floor and crawling onto the bed behind Nina while Ghislaine was a bit more sedate in her own undressing, appearing in no rush.
"Wha-," Nina swallowed thickly, turning her blue eyed gaze back to me as I pulled off my jacket and set it on top of Ghislaine's, then began working on my boots. "What… are you going to do with me?"
I considered her and the question as I toed my boots off. She was jealous of Eris, that much was obvious. I had the feeling that had a lot to do with who her dad was and the expectations placed on her—typical noble girl stuff, really. Her dad was strong so not only was she expected to find a strong man to marry, but her father set the bar high for that and, in all likelihood, she wouldn't respect a husband who couldn't defeat her or who wasn't at least her equal, as that sort of thing tended to turn out.
Much like my Eris, really. She would have eaten anyone who approached her alive unless they proved their worth and the only way I saw my third wife getting married if she hadn't met me is if she came across someone she was willing to make an exception for herself and put in the work herself to make a relationship happen.
Nina didn't seem nearly quite so violent as my fighty wife, but that didn't mean that the drive to find someone strong wasn't there, for various reasons. And knowing Eris, she had rubbed the fact that she was married, and to one of the strongest men in the world, in this girl's face every opportunity she got—possibly even unintentionally, just because Eris liked to brag and show off her family. She did the same with Roxy and Sylphie, showing them off as her wives whenever the opportunity came up—though for some reason, she seemed reluctant to do so with Ariel. Probably because she was still not quite to the point where she could ignore that Ariel was her queen and her family's position.
Finally, I came to a decision. I'll play things up a bit and see how she reacts. Drag her in and 'take away her choice,' but leave her an out. If she actually protests, I'll take her back.
I met Nina's eyes and smirked, before pulling my shirt off over my head, watching as her eyes trailed down over my body and she blushed. "Whatever I want." She bit her lip, her hands at her sides clenching her clothes. "You challenged me. I won. There's nothing you can do to stop me from taking whatever I want. Isn't that right?"
Hesitantly, jerkily, Nina nodded her head. "Y-yes…"
"So, give me one good reason why I shouldn't just take you right here and now." My pants and boxers came off next and I took my time folding them, giving her a chance to take it all in.
Nina was silent for a moment, before murmuring, "You, you could…"
"Eris, get her undressed," I gave my wife the order she had been anxiously waiting for.
The redhead leered and practically jumped on Nina, grabbing the stone holding her arms to her side and ripping it apart as I pulled my mana out of it. Nina yelped as Eris began pulling at her clothes. "N-no! You can't~!"
And yet, for all her pleading… she didn't put up a fight. So, I stood and watched as my redheaded wife molested her friend/rival/sparring partner.
I was pulled from my thoughts as Ghislaine made her way over and pressed herself into my back, her big tits squishing between us as she rested her chin on top of my head, wrapped her arms around me, and squeezed me tightly—reminding me that the big bitch was still taller than me. I reached down and patted one of the hands around my waist as the taller woman buried her face in my hair and inhaled deeply.
Finally, Eris finished stripping the bluenette and rolled her over, pulling Nina across her lap and presenting her naked ass for me. "Rudeus! She's ready!"
"Go wait on the bed for me," I told Ghislaine, and she nodded, letting me go and striding over to the bed, where she sprawled out cat-like on her stomach to watch, her white tail swishing back and forth in the air above her as one visible golden eye watched Eris and Nina with interest.
Nina's squirming stopped the moment I laid my hand on her firm, round little ass. Her complexion was pale but suited her well, I thought. Her body was all lean, tight muscle, with somewhat thick thighs, hips and waist that had a good womanly curve to them, and nice, medium-sized breasts—bigger than Roxy or Sylphie, but smaller than Eris or Ariel.
I gave her ass a squeeze and a quiet pant left her lips as she raised her hips, just a little—her body responding to the attention as she began to tremble and goosebumps broke out over her flesh. Running my hand up her back, I knelt beside her head. She turned to look at me, her face and neck red in an impressive blush.
My fingers found the back of her neck and I squeezed gently, massaging the muscles and digging my fingers in circles, causing her eyes to drift shut for just a moment. "Nina."
"Ah! Yes?" she squeaked, her eyes flying open again.
"You're jealous of my Eris."
"I-I'm not!" she denied, but with the tone of someone obviously caught and lying because they were embarrassed.
"You are." My own tone left no room for argument and, after a few moments of holding her gaze, she nodded once. I continued, lowering my voice and moving closer, more intimate—her body trembling under my fingers in response. "I don't believe you actually wanted to beat me and show her up. You wanted to see if it was true. Knowing my Eris, she's already bragged about Sylphie and Roxy, and she and Ghislaine aren't exactly discrete. You went into that fight wanting me to defeat you."
"Maybe?" she asked, voice a quiet whimper.
Bringing my hand up, I stroked it through her hair, Nina's eyes going closed under my hand. "It's hard, isn't it? Having to live up to all the expectations placed on you, because of who your father is."
Nina nodded at that. "It is. It's really hard," she murmured.
"And that's why you acted out. You wanted to find someone who could beat you, your father, and everyone else and just take the decision out of your hands." Nina looked away, refusing to meet my eyes, but not denying it either. "Even I have someone I answer to. Well, more of a mutual answering to. My wives also get a say. So, if you want what Eris has…" I paused for a moment and she nodded, "then you're going to need to convince them, and me. Convince us you're worth it. Why you would be a good choice to be one of my women. That's going to start with improving that attitude and actually being a friend to Eris. Understand?"
"I understand," Nina agreed quietly. She met my eyes again, blushing even as she took on a determined look, "What about…?" She hesitated, then quickly found a way to word what she wanted to say. "I was rude and you bested me in a fair challenge. I am yours to do with as you wish tonight. P-please, use," she swallowed thickly, "use my body however you like."
Considering for a moment, I eventually nodded. "You'll take your spanking," she winced, but nodded, "then you can watch the three of us. If one of us wants to do something with you, you will. Or you can leave. Door's open. If you jump off, you'll land safely. But if you back out now, it's admitting defeat and you'll never get a chance to convince the others. That's the only choice you have left: do or don't. Do you understand?"
Nina nodded and I turned a look on Eris and Ghislaine. "Eris."
"Yes Rudeus!" the girl perked up at having her name called.
"Why don't you get Ghislaine warmed up for me? She's going first. Ghislaine, you stay right where you are and I'll rub your booty in a minute."
The tanned woman grinned, shaking her ass enticingly. "I do like it when you press me into the bed," she admitted as Eris moved behind Ghislaine, laying herself practically on top of the beastkin woman as she spread Ghislaine's legs and began teasing the older woman's slit with the fingers of one hand, while she attacked Ghislaine's neck with her lips and tongue.
"And you," I shifted my attention back to Nina, who looked away from Ghislaine and Eris as I took a step closer and straightened up, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her firmly over beside my cock. "Use your mouth. Help get me ready for Ghislaine."
Nina looked up at me with wide eyes, clearly unsure what to do, and I thumped her cheek with my cock hard enough to smack audibly. Narrowing her eyes into a glare at the challenge, or perhaps the humiliation, she took me in hand and opened her mouth, her tongue running over the side of my cock. Quietly, I began instructing her on what to do and the girl eagerly followed my guidance, first licking, then kissing, then taking me into her mouth.
I had to admit, seeing the feisty young woman with her lips wrapped tightly around my cock, glaring up at me—actually glaring, not just Eris's usual beautiful resting bitch face—was sexy as well. Despite the glare and the blush, Nina was eager—enthusiastic, even—and applied her skills of observation as a prodigy swordswoman to her work, very quickly learning what I enjoyed and willing to try new things without prompting. If she put that kind of effort into pleasing Eris and Ghislaine, it would help in convincing the others as well. No one liked a lover who didn't even put in the bare minimum effort to make things work, while almost everyone loved an overachiever—with few exceptions, my poor Roxy being one of them due to her low endurance.
I'll talk to Roxy, Sylphie, and Ariel in the morning and leave the decision up to them. But I imagine, with the background and attitude so similar to Eris, they probably aren't going to turn her down. Just have to make sure it's never put in terms of her potentially being the successor to the Sword God. Don't want her to think we only agreed because of that.
"It's… it's big," Hilda murmured, looking up into the sky from where we all stood out on the lawn of my in-laws' home in Roa.
"It is~" Elinalise purred, the elf's blue eyes staring pointedly at my crotch as she licked her lips. Sylphie sighed, then smacked her grandmother on the back of the head. "Oh! Sylphie~! Don't abuse your grandmother!"
"You were being a pervert," Sylphie shook her head.
"Okay, but, it's huge!" Theresa gestured at the sky, and the floating island castle moving into position above the city. It was larger than the city, in fact—larger than Ars, actually. Beside Theresa, the blonde Maiden clinging to her hand nodded, eyes wide and mouth open as she stared in awe.
"How does he keep it up?" Zenith asked, before reaching up and covering her mouth as she blushed, giggling at what she'd said as she turned a mischievous look on me.
Rolling my eyes, I put my arm around the blonde's hips and pulled her into my side. I was glad that Zenith was starting to come out of her funk and wanted to spend time with everyone. It had been a bit iffy there for a bit, with her locking herself in her room and refusing to come out. We'd taken turns visiting and taking care of the essentials, including using magic to bathe her for a while. The whole thing with Paul had left her just… broken for a while, so it was good to see her moving past it.
"Yes, yes. That's quite enough of that. If we're done with the innuendo about my son-in-law," Phillip paused, looking around for a moment to check that yes, it seemed everyone was done making the joke. "Rudy, why don't you show us around?"
"Already on it," I nodded, gesturing behind us as the entire group lifted into the air and touched down on the deck of the Roxy.
The ship quickly ascended, circling Laputa as it approached. After a few minutes, we rose above the level of the exterior walls and the castle town's buildings. In the streets below, there was a festival going on—a wave of sound reaching us from the gathering of people who had volunteered to move to Laputa cheering.
"There are already people here?" Norn asked, looking down at the gathered crowd.
"Yes. They're all volunteers from the various races who migrated to the Asura kingdom, or people Rudy rescued from the Demon Continent. Farmers, craftsmen, young workers willing and eager to learn a new trade using magical machinery to produce goods. All people loyal to our family," Ariel explained.
"And the Migurd," Roxy sighed as we approached the castle at the top of a hill, partially obscured from view from below by trees.
The castle was huge—perhaps even bigger than the Silver Palace in Ars. The walls were a gleaming white, while the roofs were painted a variety of colors, much like those in the city below—red, green, blue, yellow gold, even a central tower spire capped in gray. All of it was covered in a transparent layer of what looked like crystal from where we stood, catching the light and seeming to glow as it threw off rainbows and beams of light that refracted off of the surface. A large, green lawn surrounded it, with a multitude of flower beds and trees planted strategically around—many of them bearing different kinds of fruit. A large pond was in the central garden, running off in canals to other ponds in the area and then into the forest separating us from the town below.
A private air field for our airships was built directly behind the castle, which we were quickly descending towards—and gathered in front of the berth where the ship would rest when it settled was a group of blue haired women, all dressed in outfits I'd never seen before. They looked like a combination of magic robes and armor—black robes with silver and blue accents, hats on their heads like Roxy's, and gleaming silver armor pieces, all of which radiated magic I could feel from here. I had a feeling Sprite had something to do with making them. All of them carried magic staves that felt similar to my own to my mana senses—heavily aligned with water, even if they weren't as powerful as Aqua Heartia—but I could also feel wands on each and every one of them as well.
Of course, I recognized them. Two hundred young Migurd women—looking so similar to my first wife that they could be mistaken for siblings or cousins. All single. All volunteers. And all women who my wives had agreed to let engage in Roxy's little repopulate the Migurd plan. Also, the core of our guard and magical force here on Laputa. All magically powerful and fanatically loyal because I'd saved them, and the girls were hoping that loyalty would only grow with time as I made each of those women a mother.
Behind them, closer to the castle, were a group of servants dressed the part as maids. Per Eris's preferences, the women were mostly beastkin, while there were no male staff—by Ariel's reasoning, to avoid the temptation. Most of the women, I recognized from Roa as having been volunteers who had hired on specifically because I would be there and, much like the Migurd ladies, were expecting me to actually take advantage of that 'free use for breeding' clause in their contract. More of that whole 'source our future knights, guards, and most trusted from our own family' tactic we were going to try.
The vast majority of them, I knew, were actually going to be trained by Eris, Ghislaine, and Lilia when they returned to turn them into a fighting force themselves. They were supposed to be able to detect and defeat assassins and spies, just in case someone ever actually managed to make it up to the castle.
The Roxy set down in her berth beside the Sylphie and Lilia with a click of support struts locking into place. A ramp extended from the dock and we debarked the ship onto Laputa. The Migurd women were all smiles as they greeted us with a collective bow and an enthusiastic, "Welcome home!"
They fell in around and behind us as we made our way up to the castle, where the maids had arranged themselves in two rows, forming a line down the path leading inside. They likewise bowed and called, "Welcome home, master, mistresses, and guests!"
I chuckled, looking to the girls. "Was this really necessary?"
"They wanted to be here," Roxy smiled.
Ariel, on the other hand, nodded as we headed inside—the doors held open by a pair of beaming beastkin maids. "A little ceremony is good for team building and establishing the proper decorum and attitude," she explained. "It's as important for us as it is for them. We should see and acknowledge them, and know who it is we're relying upon for our day to day needs. At the same time, they need to see and acknowledge us, to see for themselves who it is they'll be serving—who they're entrusting their lives and futures to. It is a master/servant relationship, yes, but there must be mutual trust and respect, and little things like this help build up that relationship. Memorizing names and faces, birthdays and other important dates, learning about their families, all of those things help to strengthen that relationship and ensure that everyone is happy."
The blonde queen moved up to latch onto my side as she continued, "Of course, we're going to be much closer with them than the royal family is with their servants, or even the Boreas and their beastkin servants. In time, they're going to be family."
Chuckling, I gave Ariel a squeeze. "Alright. Sprite, can you show us around?"
The spirit popped into being ahead of us while behind us, I heard the servants and guards all leaving, turning off onto side hallways and scattering—save for a pair of guards and a pair of maids following along with our group. "Mm! I'll show you the family wing first, then we can head to the guest wing!"
"There's a guest wing?" Roxy asked, and Sprite nodded, but it was Ariel who answered again.
"That was my idea. We are the ruling family of the Asura Kingdom—perhaps more than that soon. As much as I know how some of you loathe social gatherings and posturing," her gaze landed on me and I grinned, "it's a requirement of high society to both host and attend those kinds of things. And while I may be leaving the capital and day to day business of running the country in Ars, we'll be living here. That means having somewhere to show off, for those social gatherings. And since I know no one wants to allow strangers into our home and risk potential infiltrators, the best way to do that is to divide it between a living area, and the area we keep for social events and hosting guests.
"Also, we're going to be doing something a little different with the servants. There are no servant quarters. It would defeat the purpose of what we were trying to achieve here. Our head maid," she nodded to Lilia, "her successor, head guard, her successor, and those immediately under them will live on the same floor as the rest of us, while the rest will live on the floors below. All together. All as close-knit as we can make it."
"Alright then," I nodded, before looking to Sprite. "Where to first?"
"It's pretty," I mused, looking down at the city below us, and the palace sitting on the northwestern side of it.
Ariel hummed, nodding. "Not as nice as Ars, but you can tell they've got quite a lot of money coming into the country from the port. Of course," she murmured, shifting her gaze to the east, "it's marred by that army sitting practically on their front door."
"Well, maybe that will put a bit of pressure on them and convince them to go along with what we have in mind," I mused. "You ready?"
"Yes. Let's go."
I turned to send Lilia, Aisha, and Norn a smile. "We'll be back soon. Why don't you explore the city with Sprite while we're busy?"
"Sure. Sounds alright," Norn shrugged, in that trying to act like they don't care but they actually really do way of teenagers.
"It'll be fun!" Aisha cheered, grabbing her sister and mother's hands. "Let's go~!"
Lilia smiled at the girls before turning her lavender gaze on me. "Be safe, master Rudeus."
"You too, Lilia. Norn, Aisha, behave while you're out."
Aisha nodded but Norn glared. "You don't have to tell me that Rudy. You're not my dad," she grumbled.
"No. I'm your brother. And I'm here," I reminded, and Norn winced. I reached out and pulled her into a quick hug, then kissed her forehead. She blushed, but returned the hug and planted a shy kiss on my cheek. "Look after your sister and Lilia for me, okay?" I whispered into her ear, and she nodded. "Good girl."
I let the blonde young woman go and patted Aisha on the head, before grabbing Ariel and taking off for the palace, as Sprite lifted Lilia, Aisha, and Norn and lowered them into the city. We landed in front of the palace, to gawking looks from a small group of palace guards.
My fourth wife smiled and curtsied. "Queen Ariel Anemoi Asura and King Rudeus Boreas Greyrat, to see King Kingdragon."
With that, she looped her arms around mine and strolled straight into the palace. Two of the guards quickly ran ahead, while another followed along with us. Eventually, we were stopped by one of the guards who had gone ahead.
"The king is in his sitting room. Please, follow me," he said, and directed us to come with him.
As we followed along, Ariel hummed, looking over the interior decor. "Do you think we should put out carpet in the Laputa castle?" she asked, gesturing down to the very thick carpet we were walking on. "I do like the way my feet sink into it even in these shoes."
I shook my head. "It's a pain in the ass to manage and gets worn out too quickly to justify it. You mostly had hardwood in Japan, right?"
"Mm. And bare stone with the occasional rug in Ars. You have to admit, it does look nice though. And it's soft!"
"My family had nice, high pile carpet growing up. The amount of work that goes into keeping one of those clean pretty much turns vacuuming into a daily chore. You can't wear shoes on it, because mud cakes in and stains. And even if you could stay on top of that with magic, you're not going to fix the issue of it getting pressed flat from traffic. Also, remember, we're going to have a lot of rugrats running around soon," I reminded her, and Ariel nodded.
"Ah, right. Little mess makers," she smiled.
"Exactly. We can get some rugs if you want, but I'm not dealing with carpets and kids. Pick one, wife."
Ariel hummed, before finally sighing. "Yes, I suppose it would be unfair to expect the servants or Sprite to maintain that. Rugs it is, then. I do like what they've done with the chandeliers for lighting though. I know we have magic lighting, but a little decoration…"
I turned an amused look on her. "If you can convince Roxy and Eris, you have my permission to ask Sprite to change it," I handed that matter right back off to her, and Ariel pouted.
"But we should make a decision together! That's the whole point—oh, we're here," Ariel cut off as we arrived at a door that the guard held open.
We made our way inside, where we found a man sitting at a desk, looking over a rough sheet of paper. He looked up as we entered and frowned.
The man… I'll be honest. Something about him made me want to kill him on sight. I got the same feeling from him that I'd gotten from seeing Pax Shirone when Sprite had shown him to me, or from Darius Ganius.
He wasn't particularly ugly—if anything, he looked handsome, with a bit of a distinguished gentleman look given his age. At least, if one ignored the soulless look in his eyes, the twist of his lips into a sneer, and the way those glassy eyes roved over Ariel before he not so subtly licked his chops.
He looked like an evil bastard, and the way he looked at my wife made me want to end him then and there.
"It's not often we get distinguished visitors from another kingdom unannounced," he mused, placing the paper he had been reading down. "But a lovely sight it is, so I'll forgive the breach of etiquette, Queen Asura."
"Thank you, King Kingdragon," Ariel curtsied again, before her hand went back to my arm. "This is my husband—"
"Yes, yes," the man waved dismissively, ignoring me entirely. I suppressed a frown as he continued, "What is it you've come to me today for?"
"Have you had a look outside recently?" Ariel asked, seemingly non-sequitur.
The man's expression darkened. "At the Milis army, you mean? Or did you mean the flying ship that showed up above my city this afternoon?"
"Both," my fourth wife smiled.
"Yes, I've seen them both. I take it the ship is yours?"
"My husband's, actually," Ariel patted my arm.
At that moment, the king turned and actually seemed to finally acknowledge my presence. "…Greyrat, was it?"
"My husband and king, Rudeus Boreas Greyrat," Ariel confirmed with a nod. Her smile was a bit sharp as she added, "Emperor-level Elemental Mage."
The king stilled at that and I met his eye. I shifted my gaze purposefully towards Ariel, then back to the king. He straightened up, going a bit pale as he did.
Message fucking received. You touch my wife, I'll end you.
"I see," the man murmured, nodding, before quickly continuing on as he hurried to change the subject. "I have been reading reports on the numbers and composition of that army," he tapped the paper he'd put down. "Admittedly, I can't say I enjoy the sight of a foreign army on my section of highway." His eyes cut back to me, "Or the thought of strategic assets just wandering into my city."
"No, I imagine not," Ariel shook her head, sounding sympathetic as she patted my arm. "In fact, when we came in, it looked as though they might be preparing to sack the city to raid it for supplies. As for my husband, I assure you, we're not in the business of starting trouble."
"Only ending it," I clarified.
The king's eye twitched. "Is that so," he rumbled.
"To that end!" Ariel clapped her hands together as her smile went just a bit wider. "We would like to propose a formal alliance, between the Dragon King Kingdom and the Asura Kingdom. We've established much the same with Shirone, Kikka, and Sanakia already, to handle the former Conflict Zone, now East Asura."
The king considered for a moment. "Apologies. It seems I've been rude," he murmured, before turning and calling out, "Bring some chairs for our guests. Tea and something to eat as well. And send for Benedicta."
"No need for chairs," I shook my head and gestured, raising a bench in front of the desk and summoning some cushions for us to sit on.
"…Silent casting," the king murmured, and I nodded.
"As my wife said, Emperor-level."
I didn't care for the title, but that didn't mean it wasn't useful. If Ariel wanted to conduct negotiations and use me as a great, big, magical beat stick she could use to get her way, then I was fine playing the part of the thuggish American mage for her.
His gaze shifted between me and Ariel for a moment and he started to speak, only to pause as someone entered the room. "Father?"
Ariel and I looked over, finding a young-looking woman with very light aqua blue eyes and hair standing in the doorway. She wore a light dress that nearly matched her milky skin tone with a bit of embroidery on it, and sensible flat shoes similar to the ones Ariel had worn for this meeting. Her eyes shifted over to the two of us, regarding us with… mild curiosity, but not much else. If anything, she seemed kind of subdued.
"My daughter, Benedicta Kingdragon, the 18th princess," the king introduced her. "These are Queen Ariel and King Rudeus, of the Asura kingdom."
"Ah, so cute~!" Ariel stood quickly, hurrying over and pulling the younger looking girl into a warm hug. "It's nice to meet you, Benedicta!"
"…It's nice to meet you too, queen—"
My blonde wife waved her off. "Please, just call me Ariel," she said, taking the smaller girl's hand and pulling her over. "Rudy, would you…?"
I extended the bench and summoned another cushion, and Ariel promptly put the oddly compliant girl down in the middle as she took a seat on the other side, effectively trapping her between us. Meeting Ariel's eyes, she grinned impishly and took Benedicta's hand in her own. Somehow, I had a feeling she was about to use me for the other thing my wives had a habit of doing lately—that is, throwing me at other women for various reasons.
Given that I still heard them complaining about building a bigger raid party, I had a good idea what that reason was. Still, I'd at least appreciate a heads up if they were going to whore me out!
"Now then," the king said, drawing our attention back to him. "What did you have in mind for this alliance?"
Ariel's smile became downright predatory. "Well, let's talk about that army about to start knocking down your doors. A mutual defense pact could go a long way towards dissuading such future attempts…"