Double Play
For Rebecca, who still couldn't quite settle down after the Angel and the Divine Beast made their appearance, Jun's family spent the rest of that day quietly together among themselves.
And so the day passed, and a new morning arrived.
"Shall we get going, then?"
"Yeah!"
"Yes."
"Alright."
Now a family of four, Jun and his wives headed for the guild together.
"Dohwa, little one. Once we get to the guild, what should we eat first?"
When the guild was nearly in sight, Fortuna — perched on Jun's shoulder and humming cheerfully — looked over at Rebecca walking beside him and at Dohwa sitting on her shoulder, and asked the question.
Dohwa considered it with the grave expression of someone facing a truly difficult problem.
"Hmm... this is a matter of grave importance. Please allow me a moment to deliberate."
Rebecca, for her part, glanced at Fortuna and trailed off.
"Uh... well, that is..."
Still a bit much for her, huh.
He'd spent time trying to help Rebecca mesh with his other wives, but unfortunately an Angel and a Divine Beast weren't the sort of beings you could casually accept after a single day.
Well, she's come a long way already, at least.
The first time she'd met the two of them, Rebecca had been so stunned she'd started hiccupping — and still tried to throw herself prostrate at their feet. For a dark elf, a mortal of this world and a so-called Guardian of the Sacred Tree, that was both proper etiquette and pure instinct.
Even when the two of them told her to get up and that they'd all get along just fine, she'd only lowered herself further, insisting she could never dare do such a thing. It wasn't until Fortuna snapped that she'd kick her out if she kept it up that Rebecca finally dropped the act and started trying to get closer to them.
The result of that effort was moments like this one — where, when asked for an opinion, she stammered but still managed to state her own clearly.
"We had a proper meal for breakfast, so for dessert I believe jeonbyeong with green tea would be suitable."
"Sounds good! What about you, little one?"
"I-I don't really like hard things."
She still watched the two of them carefully while she spoke, but time would take care of that on its own. Hoping the day when his three wives could laugh and chatter freely would come as soon as possible, Jun slipped an arm around Rebecca's waist.
Then, with a mischievous smile, he said,
"Our Rebecca doesn't like hard things, does she?"
"D-don't tease me. Even you, I'll get angry."
She leaned fully into him even as she pinched his side, thoroughly punishing him for the teasing — like an equal, like a friend.
Dohwa frowned at the sight as if she didn't care for it, but she didn't voice the complaint. Jun had made it absolutely clear that while he left the ranking among his wives entirely to them, none of them were ever to complain about whatever relationship he chose to have with each individual wife.
Dohwa wanted every wife except Fortuna to keep themselves thoroughly lowered, elevating Jun and Fortuna above all else — but neither Jun nor Fortuna wanted that kind of treatment. Both of them preferred, as much as possible, to give each wife the kind of relationship she actually wanted.
After all, the reasons for bringing them in — money, power, influence, pregnancy, housework, and other such personal desires and benefits — meant that much, at least, was owed as compensation.
Well, that only applied during the day.
At night, Fortuna intended to claim as much of Jun's seed as she could get, and Jun intended to thoroughly assert his dominance as head of the household and as a man, no matter what anyone said.
When it comes to married life, the one who wins at night holds the reins.
Repeating that to himself, Jun casually stroked the elastic rear of last night's loser — currently hidden under tight leather pants — just to tease the one who'd overreached and challenged him.
"H-hey, stop that!"
The loser, Rebecca, clenched her teeth in frustration but couldn't bring herself to shove his hand away. She only pulled her hood deeper over her flushed face and glanced around at the others.
Then she let out a soft ngh and squeezed her thighs together. Apparently the seed he'd thoroughly filled her with that morning as the price of defeat was trying to leak out.
Squish. Squish.
Jun grinned wickedly again and pressed his fingers into the faintly rounded swell of her lower belly.
"Nngh!"
Squeeze!
This time she couldn't take it — Rebecca's eyes flew wide and she grabbed his hand, but the grip was far too weak. Jun kept right on going.
"You — enough already! Do you truly wish to see me angry?"
"Sorry, sorry. Whatever leaked out, I'll top it up later with my mouth, so don't be too mad."
"That is not why I'm angry!"
Rebecca shrieked. Sensing that any more teasing would genuinely set her off, Jun apologized properly.
"Keep it moderate when other people can see. I-in private, I'll let you do whatever you want."
"Got it. But holding you like this is fine, right?"
Rebecca hesitated, then gave a tiny nod. The sight was so adorable that Jun and his two other wives, who'd been watching quietly, all broke into smiles.
Embarrassed, perhaps, Rebecca hurriedly changed the subject.
"By the way — is it truly all right to keep holding it in like this?"
As she asked, she carefully stroked her own lower belly, still full of Jun's seed. Her touch carried both the worry that nothing would come of it and the hope that something would — two completely opposite wishes.
Matching her, Jun answered in a voice that was neither fully pleased nor fully reluctant.
"Yeah, it's fine. No matter how long you hold my seed, you won't get pregnant, Rebecca."
Unlike Fortuna and Dohwa, Rebecca was of a similar rank to Jun, so if the timing was right she could conceive at any moment. But knowing a great war might be coming in the not-too-distant future, Jun didn't want her pregnant — and so every time he finished inside her, he carefully combined Realize with bioelectricity to kill every last seed in his semen.
Even if heaven itself intervened, she would never conceive from his seed.
"...I see."
"Don't be disappointed, little one."
"If our lord truly wished it, you would find yourself with child whether you wanted it or not."
"I-I'm sorry, sisters. I shouldn't be showing this kind of face in front of you."
Rebecca, who'd been openly disappointed by Jun's answer, quickly composed her expression at Fortuna and Dohwa's comfort. Over the day they'd spent together, she'd already heard that the two of them wanted to get pregnant but couldn't for the time being.
"It's fine! If it's Jun, he'll definitely be able to get us pregnant!"
"This humble one shall make certain of it."
"I-I'll help as much as I can, too."
"Thank you! You're such a good girl, our little one!"
"As a reward, I shall pat your head."
Fortuna and Dohwa flew up beside Rebecca's head and stroked her hair the way one might praise a child. Passersby gave strange looks at the sight of a palm-sized fairy and spirit petting a full-grown woman's head, but Rebecca paid them no mind at all. If anything, she felt sorry for their ignorance — standing right in front of such great beings and not even knowing it.
A short while later, Jun and his wives arrived at the guild's front entrance.
A few adventurers about to pass through the doors recognized them and all came to a dazed halt.
Clatter!
Then one of them snapped out of it and bolted inside the guild — the very same adventurer who, back when Jun had arranged his meeting with Rebecca, had burst into the guild to announce her arrival.
A roar of jeers and outraged voices rose from inside, the kind of noise that usually followed a bad joke.
— No way!
— That bitch is way too full of herself for that!
— I'm telling you, it's true! She's sitting there all meek and cuddled up!
Jun glanced sideways at Rebecca. Catching the look, she shrugged as if to say it was nothing.
"I pay no mind to that level of gossip, so don't worry. If I were the sort of small-minded person who reacted to every bit of talk like that, I'd have been thrown out of the guild long ago."
"Yeah, ignore whatever those guys are spouting. But..."
Clink-clink-clink.
"What's that you're pulling out of your pocket?"
"Can't you tell? It's a bomb."
Rebecca answered with the calm face of someone being asked something perfectly obvious, then proceeded to take out a bomb, fiddle with it, put it back, and repeat. The way she stood at the door casually disarming safety pins one by one looked far too practiced.
After a brief moment of doubt, Jun asked his other two wives.
Girls, am I the weird one for asking?
Um... Fortuna isn't sure.
Sister, there is no need to take his side needlessly.
While Fortuna quietly averted her gaze, Dohwa made it clear that the one pulling out bombs was the strange party. Armed with that confirmation, Jun spoke with confidence.
"No bombs. That's way too much. If you really don't like it, use your words."
"Why not?! What better means of conversation is there than this?!"
Rebecca protested, but the argument was so absurd that Jun didn't even pretend to listen.
"Come on, let's go in."
He tucked the sulking, turned-away Rebecca under his arm and pushed open the guild's front door.
At once, the noise-filled interior fell silent.
And then—
"WAAAAAAAH!!!"
"It's true!"
"Holy shit! Holy shiiiiit!!!"
"The Bomb Demon found a man!!!"
An enormous cheer erupted through the hall.
"WAAAAAAAH!!!!"
"...Just how long do they intend to keep shouting?"
"Right?"
"Darling, forget all that and let me set off just one. I'll g-give you a kiss later."
"Tempting... no. No. Don't try to sweet-talk me into it."
"Tch!"
The Bomb Demon, her persuasion having failed, clicked her tongue in disappointment.