~ Chapter 127: Departure ~

[Illsyore’s point of view]

Two days went by since the duel with Dankyun, and I did my best to spend this time together with my wives whenever I wasn’t busy with the Academy. The training area had been repaired, leaving no sign of the devastating attack Ayuseya used. If I left it like that, it would have ended up causing a bit of radiation poisoning in the area, and that was something I wanted to avoid.

Preparing for the journey ahead was probably most taxing on Tamara.

When I happened to stop by the kitchen to grab some juice for myself, I saw what could only be described as a chef’s battlefield. There were ingredients all over the place, stacks upon stacks of neatly packed warm food, a bunch of pots boiling over the stove and even an actual campfire in the corner of the room. Every single piece of silverware was used for something, and the water was constantly running in the sink. Meanwhile, my cat-eared wife was running through the kitchen at super speed. I honestly didn’t know when she made the juice I came here for or HOW she knew I came here for it, but before I realize it, I was holding it in my hand.

Ever since the departure of my wives was announced, Tamara worked in the kitchen almost every hour of the day. There was a lot of food she had to prepare, the total amount for three people for almost three months to come. While there was not a lack of ingredients to use, she often went to fish for monsters in the middle of the ocean or asked Snuggles to fetch her some giant fishes.

It was not like they couldn’t get anything to eat over there, but Tamara’s cooking was probably far better, especially since she teamed up with Yung Mai and improved her skills by watching her. Although, unlike the other two, Ayuseya had a real reason for needing this much food. The chances of her being poisoned or cursed through it by those draconians were actually quite high. For most problems, her absurd Magic Armor would do the trick, but when it came to food, she couldn’t really do anything about it.

With the appearance of those Supreme Ranked draconians on my island, I was beginning to understand just how much the Council of Elders and the King of the Teslov Kingdom was willing to risk getting their hands on my wife.

This very fact made me highly doubt if it was really alright for her to go all the way over there alone. If she went there with Zoreya or Tamara, I probably would not have been so stressed out about it. But then again, the same thing applied for Nanya and Shanteya, all three of them wanted to go straight into the lion’s den and punch that metaphorical beast right in the snout. I admired their courage, I really did, but their recklessness was giving me white hair.

Unfortunately for me, I was an understanding husband who fully believed in the decisions and power of his wives. If they said they were going to go erase a kingdom from history, I would have just asked them if they planned on being late for dinner and that was it.

Either way, no matter how much I had faith in them, it was still impossible for me not to worry about their well-being. When the day of departure came, I was one big bundle of nerves.

The first who was to leave was Nanya.

At 7:00 AM in the morning, she got up from my bed and took a quick shower. After she got changed, she checked her luggage and then headed towards Kormian’s room. The little Dungeon also happened to be awake at this early hour.

“How are my little princes doing?” Nanya called out to the two with a motherly voice.

“Good morning, mother, father.” he replied in a shy tone of voice.

While Anette was a rather energetic little Dungeon at times, Kormian came more as the shy type who was wary of his surroundings and never spoke that much. He certainly cared for his twin brother and his other siblings too.

This blue Dungeon Core was not very big in size, a bit smaller than Anette, but this was also due to them being quite a lot of levels apart one from another. Their rooms were identical though, and you could also see here Natrasku’s room, where his crib was at.

As if called, the little baby called out to his mother.

“Aguwaaa!”

“I’m here, little one. Mommy’s here.” Nanya said as she walked up to his crib and picked him up.

His cries stopped as soon as he nestled in her arms. From a physical point of view, he was humanoid in appearance, but he had a tail that looked similar to that of a lizard’s and a pair of bumps on his back from yet to be formed spikes. The color of his scales was a dark velvet green. On his head, he had a pair of little red horns, and his eyes were just like his mother’s, black as the abyss. There were a few scales forming on his forearms. If you looked at his fingers, you could see the tips of his little retractable claws. From what I understood though, these features of his were going to change throughout his life until he reached maturity.

Looking at Nanya while cradling our son, I was awestruck by the gentle motherly expression she wore on her face. The love and care she had for Natrasku could be seen in her every movement and the tone of her voice. She did not even look capable of harming a fly let alone crushing an enemy army and ripping apart their vessels with her bare hands.

“Don’t worry, little ones, mommy won’t be gone for long, you’ll see.” she showed them a gentle smile.

“I don’t want you to go...” Kormian voiced his opinion.

“I know, but mommy has to go and meet your grandmother. Her home is a bit far from here, but don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it!” she reassured him.

“OK...”

“Don’t be sad, Kormian, your father will be here to take care of you two and so will your other mommies.”

“Will father sleep here with us? He never does... What if brother gets scared and cries?” he asked.

“Don’t worry, either your father or one of your other mommies will sleep here with you and make sure the bad night doesn’t scare you.” she told him as she gently touched the floating crystal.

“B-But why do you have to go? Can’t father go?” he asked.

“Well... your father will be useless if I sent him, so it’s best if I go.” she showed him a wry smile.

“Useless... I’m not useless... I can do... stuff.” I mumbled in low volume.

“Come now, my sweet children! Mommy will be gone only for a month or so and then she’ll be back!” she said as she hugged them both.

“Awright...” Kormian replied.

Natrasku had nothing to say, he did not know how to speak yet.

After Nanya spent a few more minutes with them, she placed our baby boy back in the crib and carefully tucked him in. She gave him a kiss on the forehead and then went and hugged Kormian.

We left the room and carefully closed the door behind us, so we didn’t make too much noise.

Nanya let out a sigh and looked up at me with loving eyes “Take care of them now, you hear?”

“I will.” I replied and then we kissed.

On our way to meet the others, Nanya did a brief recap with me about how I was to take care of our children in her absence and what to be careful of. If anything happened that neither I nor any of my other wives knew how to handle it, we could always rely on the more experienced mothers in the city.

There were a lot of things I had to remember, such as the right temperature for the food, their favorite blanket, favorite bedtime story, and all sorts of other things I knew already. It wasn’t like I never dropped by to visit my own children from the time she gave birth to them. I spent a good share of time with them, and I knew how to take care of them, but I could not stop a mother from worrying about her children. It was impossible and even if told to, I would not do it. It was our right as parents to worry about our little ones.

By the time we met up with the others, I already went through seven different types of baby food recipes. At least she didn’t make me go through all 42 of them. I still couldn’t get some of them right.

From here, we went all the way to my research port where I had my yacht anchored. Nanya was going to use it to reach the Demon Continent, but she also had a small boat, an armored SUV, and a motorbike just in case. I also made sure she was going to pack her latest armor and weapon I designed for her. While for these continents they were a bit overpowered, I had no idea what she would find there. On that old map we found on Pirate Island, the average level was displayed as 2000, but who knew what sort of forces she could encounter out there.

“Do you have the emergency call signal?” I asked Nanya when we reached the port.

“Yes. I’ll make sure to use it if I need your help.” she replied with a smile and showed me the little necklace she was wearing.

It looked like a long diamond-shaped emerald with the top and bottom ends embedded in a silver case. If she poured Magic Energy in it, it was designed to send out a powerful call signal only I could detect. Both Ayuseya and Shanteya had one as well. If someone removed it by force, it sent out the signal immediately.

For me, this signal meant: Emergency! I need you like yesterday!

As we stood on the pier, looking at the yacht, I told Nanya “Be careful out there, and I hope you won’t need that thing.”

“Me too. If anything, I’ll probably just use it to have you pick me up.” she poked her tongue out.

“I wouldn’t mind.” I smiled and then hugged her.

“I’m going to miss you, Illsy.” she said.

“Me too, I’ll miss you. One month is a lot of time... Two will be a killer.”

“We’ll miss you too, Nanya, and don’t worry. I’ll watch over Natrasku and Kormian with all of my might!” declared Zoreya.

“How can I not miss my sister-wives! Come here!” Nanya urged them all into the hug.

“Nya~ I hope your meeting will go well! Illsy needs a mother-in-law, and the children need a grandma!” Tamara said.

“This journey will be a piece of cake!” said Nanya.

“May Melkuth watch over you, my sister!” said Zoreya.

“Two months is a long time, but let’s just think about this as just a very long vacation.” Ayuseya joked.

“Why do I feel like I would want to ask for a refund on this vacation?” I asked.

“We all feel that way but let us hope there won’t be anything for us to worry about while we travel out there.” Shanteya said.

“We all do.” I said.

The farewell was given without raising any flags, hopefully. Nanya boarded the yacht and started the engine. We waved at her and wished her luck on her journey. All of us tried to treat this departure like it was nothing, although ever since we first met back at Fellyore Academy, we never had been apart for such a long period of time.

One month at least... maybe two... I thought as I looked at my demoness wife slowly moving out of the port and then into the open sea.

Once she was far into the horizon, we walked out of my special port and went to the one used by the merchant ships. On the way there, I began to wonder if I maybe throughout all of these years I had become dependent of my wives’ constant presence around me, or maybe if I didn’t have as much faith in their power as I had initially thought I did.

This thought did not wonder much through my mind and quickly faded away when Ayuseya’s ship came into view.

“Are you really sure you want to go back with them? It sounds like a bad deal.” I asked.

“Don’t worry, my love, they have seen what I am capable of, and I highly doubt any of them is as foolish as Dankyun. Just for safe measure though, I won’t ever lower my Magic Armor.” Ayuseya replied.

We had a long talk yesterday about how she was going to travel to Teslov. Going with these three was going to give the impression that I willingly sent her off after these three rampaged around my island. Thinking like that was going to force the usually arrogant nobles to highly underestimate my wife and lower their guard around her. Even better, it was possible that some of them would have a slip of tongue and tell her some things they would otherwise take precautions against.

Going back with the ambassadors would have yielded a different reaction from the nobles. First of all, they would be wary of her power and possible hidden tricks. They wouldn’t take a high and mighty attitude with her unless they were certain she was indeed weaker than me or their guards.

There was also another reason why she wanted to go with the Supremes, it was to make sure none of them tried to use a Supreme Skill from the distance and take us by surprise. After all, if Zoreya wasn’t aware of the attack she couldn’t deploy her shield and the same went for me. That was why Snuggles was swimming at the maximum distance from which most magic attacks could be launched at my island.

I wasn’t an almighty being capable of blocking everything tossed out at me.

As we got close to her boat, I saw Red, Green, and Blue standing guard with their arms crossed and their heads covered by their hoods. I never bothered to ask them what their real names were, though. It seemed like an irrelevant matter to me every time it came up. I did ask them how to call them, and they were happy with those three silly nicknames. So why bother with such trivialities?

“Ah! Master Illsyore and his lovely wives, hello!” the fat merchant who owned the ship came over and bowed his head while rubbing his greasy palms together.

The fake smile he showed me made me reconsider for a moment if it was a good idea to let this go so easily. He did commit a crime by smuggling those four in here, it should have been a wonder if I left him walk off with his pants on, let alone his ship and merchant license intact.

“Spare us of your worthless flattery.” I told him with a growl.

“Ah! Of course! Of course!” he bowed while sweating bullets.

“Is the ship ready for departure?” I asked him.

“Yes, milord!”

“Good. If you complete this mission, I’ll be generous enough to forget about your wrong doings towards Illsyorea and allow you to continue trading with my island. Double-cross me, and I will make sure you won’t be able to step a foot here or on Paramanium ever again.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Y-YES!” he bowed at the waist trembling from all of his joints.

His job was easy enough: bring the draconians to one of Teslov Kingdom’s main ports. That was it. This new path pulled him far away from his usual trade route, but the loss of profit he would receive from this would be enough punishment. If he was a true merchant, then it wouldn’t have been impossible for him to make some big sales in Teslov.

Then I looked over at the three draconians. I nodded once towards them, and they nodded back.

Just like that, they boarded the ship and waited for Ayuseya there. Their mission was as simple as it could be: ensure Ayuseya reaches the capital safely. It was part of their initial mission anyway, so it was a double win for them. Of course, if they dared to attack or plot something against my wife, their lives were going to be forfeit. They understood quite well what this meant after they saw Dankyun’s execution.

Turning back to look at my wife, I showed her a gentle smile.

“I’m going to miss you.” I told her.

“I’m going to miss you too, Illsyore, everyone as well.” she said and then hugged me.

After a moment, she pulled back and kissed me on the lips.

She then went to each of my other wives and embraced them one after another.

“Take care of yourself.” said Zoreya.

“You too. Don’t let Illsy do something stupid now.” Ayuseya giggled.

“I won’t.”

“Nya~ I packed you all the food I could! I hope you’ll like it!” Tamara said.

“Was there ever a dish you made I never liked?” she asked.

“Fish innards paste.” Tamara replied with a face that said she wanted to eat it right there.

“Ugh... yeah, that.” Ayuseya nodded.

“What’s Illsy going to do without us by his side?” asked Shanteya as she hugged the draconian.

“He’ll panic.” she giggled in reply.

“Have a safe journey and may the gods watch over you.” I said.

“Thank you, and I hope our night together was one blessed with luck.” Ayuseya winked at me, and I blushed.

The others immediately understood what this small exchange between us was about and showed us a mischievous smile.

“We’ll pray for you to be blessed with fertility, nya~!” said Tamara.

“Hehe! Thank you and goodbye, everyone!” Ayuseya showed us one last smile and then boarded the ship.

The rest of us waited on the pier as the ship pulled away at a slow speed from the shore and then spread its sails to the winds. We watched the galleon until it reached far away in the open sea. Snuggles happened to swim past it and wished her luck as well by blowing a tall stream of water in the air.

With a sigh, I looked up at the sky. Just a couple of small white clouds were floating about. It wasn’t too windy either. It was just perfect for a swim on the beach.

“Are you alright, my dear?” Shanteya asked.

“Yes.” I replied and looked back at her.

“Is that so. Then let us head back. I want to say my farewells to my children and then board my ship.” she said.

“Nya~ Shanteya’s leaving as well... Who’s going to pet me now?” Tamara complained.

“I will.” I replied.

“Nya~ No, I go in heat when you pet me, nya...” she said shaking her head.

You go in heat? What sort of magical touch do I have?! I thought a bit in shock.

“If that’s the case, then I will be the one to pet you!” Zoreya offered.

“Nya... Better than nothing.” she said.

“For some reason, I feel hurt.” the armor-plated High Apostle said.

We all laughed at the silly exchange and then walked towards our home.

Just like Natrasku and Kormian, little Anette and Bachus they weren’t happy about their mother’s departure. Bachus cried a little and did not stop until he was cradled by Shanteya. Anette made a fuss as well, but she calmed down after she was embraced by her mother.

Before we left, they each asked for some souvenirs from her trip. Anette wanted a good story book, and Bachus asked for a sweet fruit he never ate before or some candy if she can’t find any. Shanteya wrote down their requests and then gave them one last goodbye hug.

After this sweet moment together, we returned to the pier where her boat was waiting. It was another galleon, but the flag it was waving was from one of the countries on Sorone, the Kingdom of Rezalis. It was docked here only for a quick resupply run.

For Shanteya, it did not matter which boat she boarded as long as it was heading towards Sorone. She had a higher chance of finding an assassin from the Phantom Rage Guild there than she did on Allasn or Thorya. She was also more familiar with this continent, having spent most her early life here.

“It goes without saying that I’m going to miss you.” I told her.

“I’ll miss you too, Illsy, but I’m more worried about Bachus and Anette. I never told them where I am going and why, but one day, they will ask. My past as a Phantom Rage member and also as the Broken Doll might be revealed to them... That day, I wonder what they will think of their mother.” she said this in a sad tone of voice.

“They won’t think of you as being any different than what they know already. You are their mother, and from the moment you met me, that part of your past has ceased to be something to identify you.” I lifted her chin up and then looked into her worried eyes.

“Illsy...” she leaned in and kissed me.

I embraced her and when we parted lips, I saw her tears flowing down her red cheeks.

“I’m going to go erase that nasty part of my past.” she told me as she wiped off her tears.

“I’ll be waiting. Don’t be late.” I showed her a smile.

“Nya~ I will miss you too~!” Tamara cried as she hugged Shanteya, sticking her head to her waist.

“Do not worry! None shall get past my shield! Your children are safe with me!” Zoreya declared.

“Thank you, everyone... and goodbye!” she said and then hugged us one more time.

We stood there on the pier as we watched her board the ship and then we waved at her until we couldn’t see it on the broad horizon anymore.

Looking up at the sky, I could tell it was getting late now. There were more clouds now than in the morning, and the sun was already going down.

I let out a sigh and then looked back at my remaining wives. Tamara was eating a fried fish and Zoreya was looking towards the horizon.

“Let’s go home.” I said.

“Nya~!” replied the nekatar.

“Yes!” Zoreya nodded.

We left the pier and walked back home.

On the way, my mind kept going back to Shanteya, Ayuseya, and Nanya. I kept wondering if I could have helped them with anything else for this long trip of theirs. They each had their power armors and weapons in their Storage Crystals, and they also packed an SUV, a motorbike, and a boat just in case.

Should I work on that plane? I wondered as I looked up at the sky again.

Considering how old this world was... it always made me wonder why no one had yet to discover steam technology. It wasn’t that hard and for the most part, it was instinctual, especially with the existence of Magic Energy that could seriously boost the development of any type of technology.

For me, this was a mystery, but then the bigger mystery was how I was going to survive these following months without hugging my favorite wives.

With a big sigh, I looked up at the sky and then focused for a bit.

“Colly Tos.” I said.

POOF! x5

Five pairs of panties appeared above me, and I began to cry. I caught ALL of them.

“Nya~ Illsy, you perv!”

[New title acquired: That pantie snatching perverted Dungeon Lord HUSBAND!]

Ah, I completely forgot about this system, wasn’t it set on ignore? I wondered and tilted my head to the right.