— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —
Taking a sip of the coffee Roxy had so lovingly brewed for me, I leaned back against the porch chair as I watched the distant lands covered in snow, a few carriages rolling through the road that led towards the northern part of the kingdom.
It was a calm, perfect morning, and with Arthur and Athena keeping me up all night with some annoyingly coordinated cries from waking up, I was content with spending a relaxed time at least until the afternoon, and perhaps even having a nap.
Yet… my children who were playing in the backyard seemed to have other ideas.
"Anna… I'm not letting you!" Aria shouted.
"That isn't your decision to make, sister," Anna responded calmly, yet with a hint of annoyance.
Haa… kids were indeed difficult.
"It is! I'm your big sister!"
"That doesn't matter. You can't control me."
"Grr! Stop doing that! You're annoying me!"
"Welcome to my world, now leave me alone."
"No! And that's mean!"
"But it's true."
Aria, hearing Anna's reply, scrunched her nose in frustration before pulling out her wand.
"That's it! I didn't want to do this, but if you won't listen to me, then I need to teach you!" she shouted.
"Oh? Fine. But I've been taking my training seriously. Maybe this will beat some sense into your stupid head and make you understand my decision," Anna replied steadily as she readied her wooden sword, her free hand forming a ball of fire.
Were they… fighting?
While they sometimes argued, it had rarely, if ever, led to fights, much less one this… heated.
And to think they would bring physicality into it as well…
Well, they needed to let out some steam, and with the strength they had at their age, they needed to experience using it to truly understand the responsibility… so for now, I would let them fight it out, as long as nothing dangerous happened.
"I'm gonna make you regret being mean!" Aria shouted as she swiped her wand to the side, forming a line of icicles that shot forth a moment later.
Of course, the ends were blunted.
Thankfully, she had the conscious to keep it non-lethal.
"And you're going to learn that being older doesn't mean being stronger," Anna replied as she flashed her sword, deflecting the two icicles that were about to hit her before she launched her ball of fire to melt the others.
They continued exchanging blows, with Aria sending off most of the attacks with Anna defending them, before Anna suddenly rushed forward, closing the distance in a moment as Aria was forced to evade.
It would almost look as if they were playing, if it wasn't for the many destructive spells that I had to stop from reaching the house, as well as the sound of Anna's wooden sword slicing through the air with each missed attack.
Of course, they were still going at it without the intent to seriously injure… but they were getting a bit too passionate.
Anna was even coating her sword in touki, although it was quite flimsy, and Aria was starting to use more spells closer to the Advanced rank as she got more frustrated… yeah, I think that was quite enough for now.
With Aria tumbling across the snow after she slipped during a dodge, and Anna getting soaked with a water ball that hit her face, I suddenly appeared between the two of them, one hand pinching the end of Aria's wand and disturbing the spell she was about to form, while the other held the tip of Anna's wooden blade, halting its momentum.
There we go, that was better.
"Right… now, do you want to tell me what this is all about?" I asked calmly.
The two glared at each other before eventually lowering their weapons.
Anna looked away with a huff as she crossed her arms, while Aria looked down at the ground, her lower lip trembling as tears began to pool in her eyes.
"Anna… she… she wants to leave home!" she cried, rubbing her eyes as she began to sob, inching closer to me as I took her into a one-armed hug.
Leave home?
Was that what Aria 'wasn't going to let' her do?
"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling Aria begin to wipe her snot off on my chest.
Thank you, sweetie. Thank you very much.
"S-She… she wants, hic-! She wants to go to the Sword Sanctum… and leave us all behind!" she continued, her hands clenching onto my shirt. "But… I don't want her to leave! She needs to stay home with us!"
I see… the Sword Sanctum, huh?
I turned my head to Anna, who was still pointedly turned away, but had snuck a glance back towards us, a small, pained frown growing on her face as she saw the crying Aria.
"Is that true, Anna?" I asked gently.
She scrunched her eyebrows, kicking the ground a few times before she looked back at me.
"Mother Eris… she told me about the Sword Sanctum. How she went there to get strong after you and Mother got together for the first time," she explained, her eyes narrowing as she looked into my eyes. "And I… I want to get better at it too! At swordsmanship… so I need to go there! To get strong!"
I see… so it was something like that.
I knew that Anna had truly taken to swordsmanship, igniting a competitive streak within her whenever I showed off a different technique, but to think it had grown to the extent that she would want to leave home so young…
"And when did you want to leave?" I asked.
My question caused her eyes to widen, as if surprised that I was taking her request seriously.
"I… soon, I think." She bit her lip. "Papa… you and Mother Eris are so amazing, and I… I…"
"And you, my little Anna, are still a kid," I said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Did your mother tell you what I was doing when I was your age?"
"Umm… beating grandpa?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Trying to beat him, yes," I replied. "I was nowhere near where I was right now. Far from it. And while my magic made me a bit stronger at your age than you are, in terms of pure swordsmanship… your fundamentals are at the level that I had when I was eight or nine… quite a few years older."
Her eyes widened once again, but still, she didn't seem convinced.
"Hey… Anna… didn't you say you wanted to learn Papa's sword style? The one that only me and you would share?" I asked, crouching down to her level.
She swallowed before nodding her head, a glint of excitement flashing across her eyes.
"Right… and while the Sword Sanctum is a great place to get better, it can't teach you the Elemental God style." I patted her head once again, wiping the water off of her face. "So, how about this? I'll start training with you a little more seriously, teaching you about the intricate details and everything you need to get better as fast as possible. Of course, I would rather you just have fun as a kid… but I'll make sure the basics of my style are ingrained into you in a few years."
A nearly imperceptible smile formed on her face, her tiny fists clenching in excitement.
Cute.
"And then… if you're still focused on this goal… as long as you're at the Advanced rank in my style, being able to actively use your touki and mana together and have the fundamentals understood… when you turn ten, I'll allow you to go to the Sword Sanctum instead of the university like your siblings will." I ignored how she bounced on her toes, gently rustling her hair. "But for now, you're still too young, so just focus on getting better and spending time with your family, okay? There's no need to be in such a rush with me as your teacher."
"Yes! Thank you, Papa!" she replied, finally granting me a hug as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
Getting her to the Advanced rank… I wasn't even sure how I would dictate what constituted as reaching that rank in my style, but I suppose that was an issue for the future.
But with Anna's side dealt with, now it was time to address the second half of this problem.
"Now, Aria… what's wrong? Anna's not leaving for a while, okay?" I said, watching as she continued to pout at the two of us.
"N-No!" She shook her head in defiance. "I… I don't want Anna to go when we're older either! We… we're family, right? I… I don't want her to go!"
Ah… so that was it.
She… didn't want to have her family change, even in the future, despite most other kids probably being excited about the freedom adulthood would bring.
And this was probably because of all the 'family values' I instilled into them, though not intentionally, causing her views to become a bit… twisted.
It also didn't help that she was still a kid, of course.
Haa… being a parent was hard.
But it was better to deal with this now than later.
"Aria… all of you guys. You, your sisters, and your brothers… you'll all grow older, and eventually, you'll leave home," I said, keeping Aria in my arm as I reached out to pull Anna closer to me, Aria's eyes getting even more watery as she seemed on the brink of tears once more. "I… love you kids, and because of that, I want you to experience the world. Find what you love to do, try new things… and just like me, eventually find a family of your own. That… that's every parents' dream."
But the thought of my sweet daughters getting a romantic partner… well, thankfully, I didn't have to worry about that right now.
"B-But… but I want to stay with Dada forever! With everyone else too!" Aria buried her head in my shoulder, releasing a few choked sobs as she tried to steady her breathing. "My Mamas and little siblings… I don't want to leave! Never!"
Ahh… while that went directly against what I was trying to teach her, that did feel quite nice to hear.
Maybe… she could just stay with me forever?
I mean, she loved magic, right? And I could always bring her to different places if she ever wanted to explore…
No. That was a dangerous line of thinking, Leon.
Aria deserved her independence, just as I had gained mine, which led me to having such a wonderful family.
"That's nice to hear, Aria… but you need to live your own life too. Seeing you grow and eventually leave home to walk your own path… while it will hurt a bit not to be with you, that's what we dreamed of when we had you," I said, lifting her head so she looked me in the eyes. "You'll always be my daughter… and the same goes for your siblings… so, even when you all eventually leave home, that won't change the fact that we're family… okay?"
She slowly nodded her head, only to sniffle a moment later as she began to rub the tears from her eyes.
"But hey… that isn't going to happen for a long time, and by the time it does, you won't even be the same person with how much you'll have grown," I said, wiping off the snot from her face. "Okay, Aria?"
She closed her eyes as she then wrapped her arms around my head, sticking her face right next to mine.
"O-Okay, Dada… I love you…" she said.
"I love you too… both of you." I gently squeezed my two daughters in my arms before then letting go. "But you two still need to make up, okay?"
Aria nodded before turning to her sister, who had also separated from me, but still remained pouting.
"Anna… I'm sorry…" she said, clutching the hem of her shirt in her hands. "I just… didn't want you to leave… but it was still bad to try to hurt you…"
"It's… fine. I… shouldn't have brought it up anyway… so I'm sorry too," Anna said before eventually opening her arms. "Hug?"
"Un!" Aria replied, a smile blossoming on her face as she jumped into Anna's arms, the slightly shorter girl receiving her with a small smile.
That was quick… but knowing how close they were, I had somewhat expected this.
Such a beautiful bond of siblings-
"Oh? Have you two made up now?"
A harsh voice rung throughout the air, causing both Anna and Aria to freeze as they slowly turned their heads back to the house.
I also followed their gaze, only to see Eris and Ariel standing at the door, both of their arms crossed with strained smiles stretched across their faces.
"My, there was an awful lot of noise out here just a few moments ago," Ariel continued, her eyes turning to crescents as she stared down at the two. "Aria… Anna… mind telling us what that was all about?"
The two girls recoiled in fear, both holding onto each other as their eyes began to tremble.
"H-Hey, Anna… your idea about running away from home… can we try it?" Aria asked.
"M-Maybe… but I think Mother Eris can catch us quite quickly… but I'll protect you," Anna replied.
"B-But… I don't think you can protect me from Mama Ariel…" Aria gulped.
"T-That's… true…"
Well… sorry, you two, but there was a reason I hadn't scolded you harshly despite the fight.
That was because these two would do more than enough to make up for me.
But, at least now… you could face the wrath of those two together.
— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —
Lying down on the bed, I held the frowning Sylphy in my arms, her body curled up against mine as I rested my hand on her belly, my enhanced senses focusing on the faint and rapid heartbeat beneath my palm.
Yes… the one rapid heartbeat.
With the surprise from Ariel out of the way, we decided to do a more thorough check-up on Sylphy's status so we didn't find ourselves scrambling for extra things, and luckily, I would only be getting one child this time around.
Still… I wonder if it will be a girl or a boy?
"Nghh…" Sylphy groaned, clutching my shirt tighter.
"Do you need any healing magic?" I asked, rubbing circles into her back.
"No… just… cramps," she said, face scrunching in discomfort. "I can get through it… it's just annoying."
"I see… do you want a massage then?" I asked.
I waited a few moments for an answer, and a few moments later, I heard a faint whisper.
"Eggs," she muttered.
…
"You want eggs?" I asked, my brows furrowed in confusion. "But… it's nighttime."
"Leon, go get me eggs. Now," she demanded, looking up at me with a frown. "Eggs. Now."
"Ah… I got it, Sylphy. Right away," I said, leaning down to kiss her forehead, which made the irritation on her face fade a little.
Sylphy was always the gentle, demure one of the house, and while she could become quite scary herself when angered, that basically never showed in our family, as those tasks were always delegated to Eris and Ariel.
And of course, she was always extremely compassionate and supportive towards me, which made something like this happening extremely rare.
Yes… this demanding side of her had only shown itself when she was pregnant, and not nearly as much when she had Anna, but suffice it to say, I absolutely loved seeing this new side of her.
In fact, I almost always liked seeing my wives acting or looking different from themselves, and the thing that always turned me on the most was whenever they changed their hairstyle or showed a personality in stark contrast to their usual ones in bed.
Eris being submissive… Ariel acting like an innocent maiden… Sylphy taking the lead and acting aggressive… Roxy showing some boldness… I was getting aroused just thinking about it.
And now, I had finally found the word for this little fixation of mine, one that Rudy had tried to explain during one of our drinking nights.
The legendary 'gap moe'.
Mmm… very nice indeed.
"Leon," Sylphy grumbled.
"Right. On it, sorry," I said, reaching down to lightly squeeze her bottom before I got off the bed, quickly making my way downstairs to prepare her request.
As I made my way towards the kitchen, however, I found myself stopping in the hallway, looking into the living room where Ariel sat by the fireplace, with each of the twins held in her arms.
"Ariel… did they wake you up?" I asked, confused.
"Hm? Ah, no. They just wanted a snack before bedtime, but when they fell fast asleep… well, I don't want to wake them now that they're like this," she said, looking down at the sleeping girl and boy.
Mmm… it was quite an ideal picture.
"Do you need some help getting them to bed?" I asked.
"Later, perhaps… but for now, I think I'm content just resting with them at the moment." She turned her head up to meet my gaze, a soft smile forming on her face. "Cute, aren't they?"
Cute… yes, with their matching tufts of golden hair, deep brown eyes, and pudgy faces, Athena and Arthur were indeed cute.
"Yeah… all three of you are," I said, sending a ball of flame towards the stove to get the oven heated, which would probably take a few minutes.
"My, what a charmer my Leon is… but what are you doing down here? I believe you were comforting Sylphy earlier, correct?" she asked.
"Yeah… but Sylphy wanted some eggs, so… I'm making her some," I said, shrugging as I leaned against the wall.
"Ah, cravings… that makes sense," Ariel responded in an understanding tone.
"Oh? Did you have cravings as well?" I asked, tilting my head. "It didn't really seem like you did… was there a food you liked more than usual that I forgot about?"
A light blush dashed Ariel's cheeks before she then narrowed her eyes, her gaze centering in just below my chest.
"Well… it wasn't necessarily a food, but I suppose you could say that I found myself with a distinct need for more 'milk'," she said as she licked her lips.
…Oh.
Well, I guess Ariel had given me quite a bit more 'attention' during her pregnancy, but I didn't think that was much different from the usual extremely erotic and horny queen.
But I didn't really know how to respond to that… especially with the two kids in the room.
"Hmm. You're cute when you're flustered, as rare as that is these days, but moving on," Ariel said, thankfully advancing the conversation. "Sylphy… she's very close, is she not?"
"Yeah… very," I replied, nodding my head. "In fact… we should probably discuss it now."
But first, as my lovely wife that was currently resting in our bed had put it… eggs.
So, heading into the pantry, I quickly picked up a couple from the basket before bringing them over the hot pan, sending a wave of mana through the shell to split it in half as they dropped onto the metal with a sizzle.
Hmm… I'll probably add some spices, and put it on some toast when it was done.
"So… we have four average sized rooms, four big rooms, and two bigger rooms," I said as I headed back to talk to Ariel. "And currently… they are all being used."
That… was an issue.
For the current configuration, the average rooms were each taken up by the oldest four kids, those being Aria, Anna, Ars, and Emilia, while the big rooms were each taken by one of my wives.
And as for the bigger rooms, one was mine that was shared with all five of us adults, while the other was now being used by Roana and Alice, who had moved in together a week ago.
It was… fine, for the moment, although Alice usually snuck into mine or Eris' bed to sleep in the middle of the night. But considering that Roana's personality was on the quiet side, while Alice was… basically the complete opposite, there were definitely some complications that could arise.
But I guess, if there was a problem with those two in the future, we could rearrange everything at the same time as the twins get their own rooms.
Still… we should try to plan at least a bit.
"Well… I already said this when the twins were born, but I am more than fine without my room and sharing with Sylphy, since I have the entire palace at my disposal as well," Ariel said, tilting her head. "So once the twins grow older, they can take my room, but that doesn't exactly help us with Sylphy's upcoming child…"
No… it didn't.
With Arthur and Athena being a different gender, they would obviously have to stop sharing a room once they got older, but by the time that happened, Aria and Anna at least should have left to live at the university or the Sword Sanctum, so that wasn't an issue.
And as for getting an extra room…
"Well, I'm pretty sure Aria and Anna would be fine sharing a room," I said after a moment of deliberation. "They're practically glued at the hip, and they've shared a bed after a night of stories more than a few times."
Though Aria did sometimes sneak out to join me and her mother…
"That's right… but since those who are sharing should have a big room at the very least, one of Roxy or Eris will need to move to an average sized one…" Ariel said, furrowing her brows.
"I don't think that will be a problem," I said with a shrug. "Now that Roana and Alice have gotten older, they don't spend nearly as much time in there."
In fact, their rooms acted more like a personal hobby room now, with Roxy converting her space into a library filled with as many books as her salary could buy, while Eris had her wall lined in her sword collection, as well as a few monster materials that she described as 'cool'.
Although… Eris only used around half of her room with her things, so I was pretty sure she could move to a smaller one without an issue… I'll have to talk to her later about it.
"That is true… so I suppose Aria and Anna will take Roana and Alice's room, while they will move to Eris', while the youngest will take what was Aria or Anna's room?" Ariel asked.
"Basically. Though as for who between Roana, Alice, and the youngest gets the single room… I think we should wait until we know a bit more about them to ensure the best fit," I said.
If they were on the quieter side, they'll share with Roana, while if they're more excitable, they'll share with Alice.
Haa… room logistics were much too troublesome to do in the middle of the night.
"I see… I suppose that makes sense." Ariel nodded her head. "And speaking of the youngest, I believe that once Sylphy gives birth, I will be returning to my position. As nice as this break was, I would feel terrible in leaving everything to Aisha for any longer."
While it would be tough with the twins, that made sense.
And that reminded me…
"Yeah… I'll be doing something as well," I replied.
"Oh? Is this related to the Man-God, perhaps?" she asked, intrigued.
"Yeah… just collecting another treasure, this time in a labyrinth quite a bit away from us," I said, shrugging. "Orsted said it would be easy, so I'm not too worried."
"Is that so… but Leon?" she asked.
Huh? Was there something worrying about that?
I looked over to her in concern.
I mean, I might have been tempting fate, but that hadn't stopped me before-
"What… is that smell?" she asked, her nose scrunching in disgust.
…Oh.
My thoughts cut off as I smelled the distinct scent of burning, causing me to instantly bring my hand to my face.
Fuck… the eggs… I forgot about them.
"Fufufu! Well, I suppose that is a reason why the cooking is left to Roxy and Sylphy," Ariel said, a teasing smile on her face. "I suppose you'll need to start again."
"I… suppose so," I replied, heaving a sigh as I turned back towards the kitchen.