On the continent of Albion, in the kingdom of Roxburghshire, a large number of troops could be found near the base of the mountain. It was the morning of the second day after the conflict that had decided the Fate of the entire continent. The Black Dragon Nidhogg had been slain; its armies of dark troops were defeated and dispersed. Unlike what happened in times past, this time Nidhogg’s death and defeat were permanent. Now no great evil threatened the land, except for the folly of man.

Besides the minor celebrations, the last two days were mainly spent cleaning up the battlefield and preparing for departure as the heroes of the war had yet to make an appearance.

The heroes were a total of eleven people; ten outstandingly beautiful women and one outrageously lucky man. It wasn’t known that they had managed to defeat Nidhogg until the previous day. In the early morning, Cali had teleported herself, the other nine girls, and the passed out Marty directly into a pre-designated tent. Only then did the others learn of the outcome that had occurred on top of Mt. Etna. Relieved that their guess had been confirmed, the armies quickly celebrated. However, the main hero had yet to wake up.

There were two reasons for Marty’s prolonged sleep. The first was minor transformations within his body. The second was the release of the stress and lack of sleep from his expected death. He had put all of his energy into making sure he would kill Nidhogg and prepare enough for the girls after he was gone. In such a situation, a lack of sleep was normal, much less for him, who often went without sleep.

The girls, who didn’t want to show themselves to the public and wanted to wait for Marty to wake up, had decided to chat amongst themselves within the massive tent provided for them.

Finally, the next morning, Marty woke up. He didn’t stir it all. Instead, he listened to the delightful chatter of the girls. Afraid he was still dreaming, and not wanting the dream to end, he didn’t move. However, he knew he had to wake up eventually, so he pinched himself subtly. When he felt the pain, a wave of relief came over him. He had won. Not only had he won, but he lived; everyone lived. Soon he began to think about the fight. It was incredibly thrilling, fighting a Dragon. The result was too perfect, better than he could have ever hoped. However, when he realized the means of which he had won, he started to feel depressed. He slowly sat up, curled himself in an upright fetal position, and traced his finger in circles on the ground. The girls, who had noticed his movement, perplexedly and silently looked at the sulking Marty.

“Anata, what’s wrong?” Miyuki, a beautiful woman of Asian descent, asked to break the silence.

“Nothing,” Marty replied.

“Something’s wrong with you.” Lucibelle, a red-tinge skinned, horned, and tailed woman, replied.

Marty sighed. “I just realized how we won the fight.”

The girls looked at each other, confused as to why he was depressed because of how they won the fight.

“Together?” Shiro asked cutely as her white cat-like ears and tail flickered.

“Love! Love! The reason we defeated Nidhogg was because of love! How cliché is that!” Marty replied.

The girls looked at each other astonished for a split second before the burst into a fit of laughter. It was clear that Marty was putting up a show, and they laughed at his overacting.

Marty sat up to scratch the back of his head with a pale smile. He got the reaction he was hoping for. “What are you girls talking about?”

“Mostly it’s been me getting to know everyone.” Freyja, a gorgeous golden-haired woman, replied.

As payment for slaying Nidhogg, Yggdrasil, the local deity, had snatched Freyja from the past just before the point of her death. As such, she was a stranger to about half of the girls as they had appeared after.

Marty slightly flinched at her words. Before her death, Freyja had been his love and fiancé. Because they had yet to have a proper conversation after she had been rescued, he felt worried and guilty. After all, it had been less than a year since she had died, and five new women had shown up. From an objective point of view, it seemed he had very easily moved on from her death.

However, Marty slightly relaxed when he looked at Freyja. There was no anger, resentment, or grief in her eyes. Instead, there was gentleness, caring, selflessness, and love. A few seconds went by without a word spoken as he and Freyja flirted with their eyes.

Miyuki cleared her throat to ease up the awkward atmosphere. “Now that you’re awake, we can finally talk about something vital.”

“What’s that?” Marty asked back.

“Who’s going to be the principal wife?”

Marty’s mouth dropped open in shock. Growing up in a monogamous society, Marty had always intended only to have one wife. From an emotional standpoint, he did slightly differ from the norm. He couldn’t quite put his head around only loving one woman, a fact that had been proven. However, he did understand and intended to be true to one. This was his intent with Freyja, but he soon found himself in an incredible situation.

Freyja died, and he became responsible for Caelia, a Crimson haired Half Dark Elf. She supported him when he needed her, and there was an unspoken understanding that he would care for her for the rest of his life. After this, he ended up becoming nominally-married to Shalgana, a beautiful young woman of Mongolian appearance. Though it hadn’t been his original intention, he ended up going through with marrying her to help a new friend as well as prevent Shalgana from marrying a degenerate. To make matters even more complicated, his soul had fused with the soul of Shiba, a future amnestic version of himself that had traveled back in time, and he met Miyuki, his reincarnated wife from that life. As a result, he found himself in an incredible dilemma.

He only intended to have one wife but found himself with a nominal fiancé, a nominal-wife, and the wife from a previous life, much less the other girls. Naturally, this did not include the two little girls who would innocently ask to have his child.

On top of all that, Freyja, his official fiancé, was now back in the picture. However, he had previously thrown any internal contradiction out the window. After all, he was supposed to die. Why would he have the energy to think about this mess? But now, he was confronted with this very problem.

At this point, he wasn’t against polygamy. Who could blame him? He was confident that just about any other man in his position would jump at the opportunity to be with any of them, much less all. Miyuki had already talked him into it, but it didn’t keep him from having cold feet.

It was easily understood by everyone that if Marty did have multiple wives, they would all have similar standing with one exception. Having a complete lack of hierarchy could cause problems, so it was essential to least have someone who could justifiably mediate any problems that could arise in the future or speak for them as a whole. Naturally, this job fell upon the first wife he married, the principal wife.

Marty, who was caught off guard by the question, froze while the other adult girls all focused their eyes on him. Marty could almost swear he saw flames in them.

Even though they all had a fair idea who would become the principal wife, it didn’t stop the girls from wanting the position. Though the majority of them came from cultures where polygamy was normal, that didn’t make them immune to it. To say that there would be no jealousy between them was impossible, it was just extremely minuscule to the point where they wouldn’t show it or truly affect their way of thinking.

However, none of them were immune to the temptation of becoming the principal wife. After all, the implications were very appealing. Besides the slight power gain, it meant that they stood out from the rest. That, in Marty’s heart, something stood out to him more than the others.

At this point, Marty felt a chill roll down his spine. He felt like a looking into the face of a lion. Caught off guard and nervous, Marty did what was instinctual. With a sudden burst of speed, he shot out of the tent like a bullet.

The girls were all shocked by his reaction. They glanced at each other before the tent filled with their laughter. None of them had expected it. Marty didn’t flinch and faced a Dragon twice, yet he faltered in front of a bunch of women. The primary reason why Marty had run was that he subconsciously understood a profound truth. Whether or not he wants to admit it, there’s nothing a man fears more than his wife. In his case, multiply that by 10.

“So, now what?” Lucibelle asked.

Shiro, who hadn’t particularly been paying attention, suddenly jumped up. “Why did he run? Are we playing hide and seek again? I’m going to go get him!” She exclaimed before she bolted off after him.

The girls all chuckled again.

“You know, I think she has the right idea,” Caelia said.

“So, we should also chase?” Lucibelle asked.

“Naturally.” Morgan, Freyja’s younger, and slightly tomboyish sister, replied with clenched teeth. “That bastard just decided to leave us. We should give him a beating.” She said indignantly.

“Good idea,” Miyuki replied.

“You seem angry he didn’t immediately pick you, Morgan,” Shalgana teased.

Morgan’s face became flushed. “Humph, it’s not like I like him.”

A couple of the girls rolled their eyes. Morgan’s consistent denials were becoming less and less believable.

“Good, let’s go beat him up!” Miyuki said, quite happily. If Marty were here, be quite worried about her tone and expression as it showed some tendencies he wouldn’t be too keen on. “Yutsuki, let’s go.” She said to the young lady to her side, also of Asian descent. However, while Miyuki’s appearance seemed slightly seductive, Yutsuki’s appearance was extremely pure.

“Why... Why would I?” She asked back with a blush.

Yutsuki had known Marty back on Earth when they were both young. She had also fallen for him but had slightly given up as she was also having a hard time wrapping her brain around polygamy.

Miyuki gave a knowing smile. “Don’t you want to marry your Onii-sama?”

“I... I...” Yutsuki stuttered with her eyes swimming, giving away her embarrassment and desire.

“Will go get him!” Miyuki said with a laugh as she quickly pushed Yutsuki out of the tent and followed her.

From the corner of where the girls are all sitting, was Kuromi. She was also Asian, though her appearance was more cold and aloof. Kuromi had a slightly complicated relationship with Marty as she was Marty’s subordinate in their past life. Miyuki would often joke that she was his concubine, more her desire than his. Kuromi stood up from the table before she suddenly fell into the shadow and disappeared. Soon, the only person who remained was Freyja.

Freyja smiled complacently, with no intention to follow. She had long ago come to terms with the fact that she would have to share Marty. To say she was without jealousy would be a lie; To say that she minded it was also one. She did not doubt there was a place in Marty’s heart for her, nor did she feel any desire to compete with others for him. In her near-death experience, she had come to understand what was truly important to her. It wasn’t her position as Princess of Camelot nor her own life. What she treasured most was her family; him. Naturally, she hadn’t quite come to terms with the fact that her parents were dead. However, besides Duran, the current King of Camelot, her only living family members were Morgan and Marty. She naturally wanted to be with them. So long as she could have that and his love, she was satisfied and content. At this moment, she was a wife waiting for her husband at home, not caring what affairs he may get into.

Marty was in a currently untrodden area of the camp hiding behind a large amount of supplies crates. He had a depressed look on his face because he felt terrible and guilty for having run. With a sigh, he stood up as he realized he was going to have to face them one way or another.

Suddenly, he broke out in goosebumps. He slowly swiveled his head behind and above only to see a pair of cat eyes looking back at him, which surprised him as Shiro was the last of the girls expected to chase after him. However, when he saw the playful smile on her face, he immediately realized the reason she had chased him was that he had run and not why.

“Found you,” Shiro said with a smile before she pounced towards him.

Marty brought a palm up to block her punch and was startled as she had sent him backward a couple of feet, and his hand felt a little numb. She had used her full strength, but it was stronger than what he remembered. Suddenly, he thought that it was possible for the white fire that engulfed all of them could have strengthened their bodies. Before he was able to think about this further, he immediately had to defend himself from the barrage of punches and kicks that Shiro sent his way. After a couple of exchanges, Shiro sent a flying kick past and struck a bunch of the crates. The crate stacked on top fell over onto Shiro. Marty wasn’t worried about her because he knew that the crate was empty and large enough for her to be completely unharmed. He didn’t let the opportunity go to waste and immediately Gale Stepped and left.

A couple of seconds later, the crates leaped with a bang and revealed a slightly distressed Shiro. She brought her finger to her chin as she looked around for Marty. She cutely sniffed the air before her eyes lit up before she began to run in a direction. The direction was the same as Marty had left, but not what he was as he was because he had destroyed his smell using magic to mislead her and took off in another direction.

Marty hid in the shade of a tent catching his breath. Because he knew how quickly Shiro would follow, he used Gale Step a bit excessively. Just as he caught his breath, his hair stood up on end, and he felt a chill from behind. Out of instinct, he brought out his Shield of Protection, one of his Soul Armaments, and put it behind him as he lunged forward. There was a clear sound of an impact as something struck his shield, compelling him further forward. He turned around just in time to see Kuromi, manifesting from the shadows with a dagger in her hand, who had previously attempted a kidney shot.

Marty’s eyebrow twitched. “Kuromi, are you trying to kill me?”

“Yes.” She replied stoically. “Payback for all of the ‘training’ you put me through.”

“That isn’t necessary, is it?”

“Yes, it is.” She replied as she began to merge back into the shadows. The ever so slight smile that appeared on her usually cold face as she said those words sent a shiver through Marty’s spine. He hoped she wasn’t too serious, but he immediately denied that thought because the first place she went for was the jugular. Every attack Kuromi sent was either lethal or crippling. Marty found himself in a cold sweat as a couple of her attacks almost got through his defense. He was surprised and gratified she was accurately controlling her Ki, which she had just learned to use. However, he didn’t have a long time to appreciate this as her attacks were relentless. It wasn’t that he couldn’t counter-attack, but the best counter he could use was destruction magic, and that could cause an extreme amount of damage to her in her shadow form. After a couple more close calls, Marty immediately became impatient, and a flash grenade appeared in his hand from his Storage Ring. It went off with a *bang*, immediately illuminated the shadows in the general area, and revealed Kuromi who had covered her face as she had recognized the flash grenade. She opened her eyes just in time to see a magic circle as it disappeared on the ground.

Kuromi looked around the temporarily deserted area for Marty, who had just used space magic to teleport away. After she confirmed no one was around, her face broke into a rare complete smile. If Marty were here, he would’ve been slack-jawed dumbfounded. Her warm smile melted her ice-cold face revealing an even more beautiful woman, not inferior to the other girls in the slightest. “I wouldn’t mind this kind of training.” She said to herself softly before she merged and disappeared into the shadows.

Marty took a couple of deep breaths as he hunched over after teleporting. He knew just how difficult it was to deal with Kuromi’s assassination even when he knew it was coming. There was a reason why he no longer trained with her. It was terrifying to be on the receiving end.

He took a couple more deep breaths and looked up and was surprised as he saw Morgan and Lucibelle, who had comically frozen in a mid-run pose looking at him. They looked at each other and looked back at him before an evil smile appeared on both of the lips, and a magic circle appeared in their hands.

[Oh, sh*t.] Marty thought.

“Your Majesty, I have a report.” The soldier said to Duran.

“Has he woken up yet?” Duran asked as he recognized the soldier as the one he had sent to keep an eye on Marty.

“Yes, your Majesty. Also… Also…”

“Yes?”

The soldier continued with an awkward look on his face. “The hero left the tent in a full sprint and was followed soon after by nearly all of them. Afterward, they spread out and appeared to be looking for him.”

Duran raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Finally caught up to him, did it?” Duran’s wife, Queen Sarah, said with a slight chuckle.

“What did?”

“Naturally having so many women.” She replied.

“He seems to be doing fine in that area,” Duran said as he knitted his brows.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Monogamous marriages are inharmonious. What do you think happens when you throw even more women into the mix? Not that you’ll ever find out personally.” She replied, giving him a look.

“We shouldn’t jump to conclusions. I doubt-” Duran continued before a massive explosion interrupted him. He and Sarah looked just in time to see a black-clothed figure tumble in the air before he released two large red wings and flew through the camp. Duran’s face turned black as it was quite obvious that only Marty and company could create such a scene.

“Tich, that bastard got away,” Morgan said in an angry huff.

“He couldn’t have gone very far, let’s go,” Lucibelle replied with a smile before she and Morgan began to run off in the direction Marty disappeared.

“Why don’t you fly?” Morgan Asked.

“If I did that, I would have to separate from you, wouldn’t I.”

Morgan gave an embarrassed smile and Lucibelle’s response. The two of them and recently bonded quite a bit over their shared interest, magic.

Marty landed back to camp with a red-hot face. Luckily he ran into the two of them in the camp, which made them hold back else it might’ve been dangerous. As soon as he landed, he took off in a run, turned a corner around a tent, and ran into someone. They both fell to the ground, the other person on top of Marty. Marty, stunned from the surprise, only realized that there was something familiar, yet different in his hand. The small yet familiar-sounding moan revealed the other person’s identity. His eyes shot open, and he found Yutsuki, who was shyly looking at him red-faced and with metaphorical smoke coming out of her ears.

“Yutsuki, I’m so sorry.” He said as he quickly set them both up. She didn’t reply to him but looked slightly away, completely embarrassed as he had, albeit unintentionally, touched her chest. As he looked at her, his heart softened. He knew there had always been a special place in his heart for her. Even though he didn’t have any particular memories, the knowledge that they had become lovers in life as Shiba and seeing her die made him realize just how much he cared for her. He couldn’t help but sigh as he realized it would be different for her compared to the other girls.

Unlike the other girls, she had also come from Earth and a monogamist society. She would have qualms about polygamy, and he wasn’t sure whether or not she would be willing to go through with it. The thought itself nearly broke his heart, but he calmed himself. [Just let nature take its course.]

Marty figured the best thing to do would be to pretend that nothing had happened, so he walked up to the edge of the tent and peered around to see if he was followed. He looked around for a couple of seconds, but a familiar twang surprised him. He turned around to see that Yutsuki had fired a flaming arrow, obviously as a signal. Marty gawked at her, obviously in disbelief. He couldn’t imagine Yutsuki would ‘betray’ him.

Yutsuki, for her part, looked like she was going to cry. “Onii-sama, I… I.”

Marty gently caressed her head. Talk to you later.” He said with a smile before he darted off, obviously unphased by it as he attempted to console her before he dashed away.

Unfortunately, Marty didn’t get too far until he felt a cold chill down his spine. However, this was not from his nerves, but from the freezing sword slash that headed his way. Surprised, Marty quickly took Kuroka, his magically engraved katana. After he ignited the black flame, he launched a sword slash of his own. The black flame and white ice intertwined for a brief moment before exploding into a large mist.

The concussive blast slightly knocked Marty off balance, and it took him a second to reacquire it. However, this is all the time that Miyuki needed as a white katana exploded out from the mist, partly hidden within. Slightly creeped out at how effective the attack was, Marty, parried her blade away.

“Miyuki, are you trying to kill me?”

“Maybe,” Miyuki replied before she disappeared into the mist.

Marty’s face turned black at her response and was about to respond when he sensed movement behind him. He quickly turned around in time to see two short swords coming towards him. The short swords had rounded edges in shape, and they were split into black and white with a wavy pattern instead of straight down the middle. However, the person at the other end of the blade was not who Marty expected.

Out of the white mist, the black-haired white-banged Cali appeared. Marty was surprised because Cali made these two short swords. However, he had never seen her create something more than her mass. She would usually transform part of her body instead of creating something new.

Marty fended off the inexperienced Cali relatively easily, and this repeated for nearly a minute. He was on high alert as Miyuki could appear at any time, and Cali’s swordsmanship was improving at an astonishing rate. She had often watched Marty and Shalgana fight and was quickly learning how to presently use her knowledge to the point Marty was a little creeped out. After a few more exchanges with Cali, he realized that the mist was not only not persistent, but stronger. The reason why Miyuki had not appeared was that she was casting magic to obscure his vision further.

Cali, being a spirit, relied far less on sight than Marty did. Moreover, her small stature and near weightlessness made her extremely fast, and she fully utilized the mist to her advantage. After another minute, Marty was worried that if he delayed his withdrawal for too long, it would bring more of the girls around.

Cali was starting to get frustrated, which could barely be seen on her usually emotionless face. On her next attack, she included her hair, she had sharpened to a point, into her attack. The attack from several different angles left Marty with little room to block, so he let out a burst of Ki to force Cali back. By the time Cali steadied herself, Marty had already disappeared, a magic circle glowing where he once stood.

Marty took a few deep breaths after he had teleported to a deserted part of the camp. The constant fights and teleports were beginning to take its toll, and he was starting to feel a pang of drowsiness. However, he was not going to get any time to rest as he was pincered by a staff and a pair of scimitars. He had inadvertently ended up teleporting near Caelia and Shalgana, who showed him no mercy. A little caught off guard, Marty slyly deflected Caelia staff to intercept one of Shalgana sabers and used Kuroka to deflect the other. A close-quarters melee ensued. Caelia staff in Shalgana’s dual scimitars meant that Marty faced a barrage of quick successive attacks and soon found himself slightly overwhelmed by their teamwork.

At this point, Marty was beginning to become tired and frustrated. So far, the girls attacked him without saying a word, and they were going all out. All he wanted now was a little peace and time to think. With that in mind, he pushed the two of them away and Dimension Doored to the one place in the camp that they would be the least likely to look, the tent that he initially left.

After he appeared in the tent, he took a second to relax. Only then did he realize how stressed he was. The girls were all noticeably stronger. It wasn’t enough to say that the change was earth-shaking, but it did throw him off enough to be tiring. That, coupled with the fact that he didn’t want to harm them, made fighting all the more difficult. The moment he let his guard down was the perfect opportunity to be attacked. Two dainty arms quickly wrapped themselves around Marty from behind.

“Got you,” Freyja said happily.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about you.”

“Had so much fun playing with your little girlfriends that you forgot your wife at home, did you?” Freyja replied with a fake pout as she reached up and pinched his cheek.

Marty suddenly rolled his eyes as he knew she was teasing. “You better be careful. If you keep that up, I might pinch your cheek too.”

“Really?” She replied with a hint of a smile as she gave an extra squeeze. A moment later, she squealed because Marty had indeed pitched her cheek and not the one on her face.

What the mutual laugh, Marty scooped her up and set them both down on the adjacent bed. After a couple of seconds, their laughter subsided as they looked at each other. Since he had saved her, the two of them had not spent any time together alone. Marty, thinking he would soon be dead, pushed her away as he could not face her without feeling guilty.

As they looked into each other’s eyes, both seem to have mountains of words and oceans of feelings to say and express, but no words came out. They looked at each other as both of their eyes began to tear up slightly. In each other’s eyes, they both could see longing, love, joy, and bliss.

“Freyja,” Marty said, finally breaking the silence.

“Martel.” She replied.

“Freyja.”

“Martel.”

Their voices, filled with emotion, were like a sledgehammer to the other’s heart-pounding the reality that they were both alive, both together. They simultaneously moved and passionately kissed as they pressed their bodies together as if they wanted to meld into one.

In sheer joy, their minds continued to shout out to the other, and soon their minds began to meld together, followed by their souls. The two sat together, still kissing, more lovingly than passionately. They had become one in a way far more intimate than what flesh would allow. They reached a strange state where they both saw each other’s lives, almost as if they had lived it themselves. There were almost no secrets between them anymore.

The process lasted a little more than an hour. Shortly after it had started, some slightly disappointed and envious pairs of eyes watched the two of them in their embrace.

“I don’t suppose we should be surprised,” Lucibelle said with a wry smile.

“At least he has a little conscious,” Morgan mumbled.

“I told you as soon as she came back that this was going to be the result. You’re going to have to accept it, or you are going to have to leave.” Miyuki said.

A few of the girls nodded, but nobody made any movement to leave.

Miyuki gave a nod of satisfaction. “Well, that’s good. We should leave the two of them to catch up.”

The girls nodded and left to a different tent a short ways away, with two notable exceptions. Both Shiro and Cali peered into the tents with a look of curiosity as they gazed at the embracing couple. Upon seeing this, a slightly wicked smile appeared on Miyuki’s face.

...

Freyja and Marty simultaneously came back to full consciousness. They looked into each other’s eyes and did not need to say a word. After what they had both just experienced, there is no question in their mind that no one understood them as much as the other, even possibly themselves.

Marty gently brought Freyja into his embrace. He hesitated slightly before speaking. “Freyja, if you want to be the only one, I-” *smack* Marty began only to be interrupted by Freyja, who silenced him with her palm to his cheek. Marty was utterly stunned by her action as well as the genuine look of anger on her face.

“Don’t say that. I didn’t fall with a man who reneges on his responsibilities or lies to himself.”

“I didn’t lie,” Marty replied, taken aback.

“Right? Much less the others, do you think you could shun Miyuki and Yutsuki?”

Marty slightly hesitated before he nodded. “So long as it’s what you want.”

Freyja pinched his arm in annoyance. “And that’s the worst part, leaving it to me. That means if you were to regret it in the future, it would be my fault. You and all your little sweethearts will blame me. Stop being such a coward and make a decision.”

Marty nodded and began to think.

“Do you want my opinion?” Freyja asked.

“Always.”

“Be greedy. You’re too afraid that if you’re too greedy, you’ll lose everything. I’m telling you that you won’t.”

“Are you really okay with it?”

Freyja rolled her eyes and poked his chest. “Dummy, you already have seen my innermost secrets.”

He looked at her, slightly trembling. “So long as I love you, is it really enough?”

Freyja nodded. “Yes, so you better love me until the day you die.” She replied with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen her give.

He bent over and kissed her gently. “Are you sure? No take-backs.”

“Do you want me to spell it out for you?”

“Please do.”

Freyja nodded before she gave a slight pause to gather her thoughts. “If I said I wasn’t jealous at all, I’d be lying. However, I can’t say I’m that jealous anymore after they so recklessly risked their lives to save you. After what we just experienced, I know that you genuinely love and care for them and not because of something superficial, like their appearance. I’m happy to know the man I love is so caring.”

“Are you so sure?”

“You doubt your feelings? You think that, because you have not spent much time with them, perhaps your love is mistaken physical attraction? I can tell you that this is not the case. This brings me to my other point. It is in your nature to love easily, especially when you are loved. I don’t want you to suppress who you are because of me. I fell in love with you, I want to be with you, and I accept you completely.”

Marty took a deep breath as he felt as though a huge weight lifted from his chest. “Freyja, thank you.” He said as he gently squeezed her hand.

Freyja gave him a sly smile. “I’m not done yet. Let’s talk about your sweethearts, the new ones anyway.”

Marty gave a wry smile, but let her continue.

“First is Shalgana. She’s a lovely girl who likes and respects you. She doesn’t like it if someone speaks ill of you, so she has chastised Morgan a couple of times. After we chatted for a while, she also said it was no wonder you couldn’t forget me.” Freyja said with a smile.

Marty took a small mental note that Freyja seemed to be influenced by flattery.

“Lucibelle is interesting. Even though she appears to be lazy, she’s more than capable of stepping up and is strong-willed. She is also very proud, and it’s a testament to her feelings for you that she was willing to give up her position of power and join your little harem.

“Yutsuki is a sweet girl. I can tell she adores you.

“Kuromi is very silent, and I couldn’t get her to open up, but she was continually stealing glances at you while you were unconscious so I could quickly tell how much you mean to her.

“Miyuki is… Miyuki is a pervert.”

Marty had to hold back a laugh.

“You shouldn’t laugh. From what I understand, it was mostly your fault.”

Heavy lines covered Marty’s face. “‘Mostly’ is it.” He said, thinking that someone was going to get a spanking later.

“That said, she’s devoted to you. She may try to hide it, but you mean the world to her.”

“So… Does that mean you approved of them?”

Freyja poked his chest. “It’s not my place to approve of your women.”

“Au contraire mi Amor. As the principal wife, you should have some say. I trust you to be objective. If you think some of them aren’t good, tell me.”

Freyja gave a slight smile and a nod. “You have no complaints from me. They’re all wonderful as I’m sure many others will be.”

“Others? I don’t plan for there to be others.”

“I know. You would’ve said the same thing when we were engaged.”

Marty looked a little embarrassed and could not retort. “So, I’m a little curious, the earliest I’m aware of was when I brought Caelia back, but how early on were you expecting me to have a harem?” He asked, trying to change the subject.

“Before we were officially engaged, I may have had one or two fleeting fantasies about it just being you and me.” She replied, slightly embarrassed. “However, that changed after our first kiss.”

“What changed?”

“Not what, who. After we kissed, I happened to notice an envious and heartbroken spectator.”

“Who?”

Freyja flicked his forehead. “Who else? The young lady you happily joked about marrying instead of me who, given her brokenhearted expression, probably heard everything.”

“What?” Marty asked with a surprised look on his face. “I never noticed her, nor did she ever act differently.”

“Of course not. She masks her sadness the same way she masks her embarrassment, through her feigned anger. When I thought back to your little joke, I realized that you obviously liked her, and I then knew she felt the same. I could never hurt her by keeping you all to myself. When the other girls started to appear, I naturally believed it would eventually happen.”

Marty nodded slowly. “I still can’t believe she spied on us then.”

“She was also spying at that time when I gave you dance lessons, and you insisted on resting your hand lower than it should’ve been; that time when you attached a flower to my dress to feel me up; and when we were kissing before you made your little trek to the forest, to name a few.”

“To name a few,” Marty repeated with a mutter as his face began to turn a little red from embarrassment. “I never noticed.”

“Probably because you’re focused on me,” Freyja replied with a shrug. “I’m still a little worried she’s becoming a voyeur.”

“So, what do you think the chances are for spying on us right now?” Marty asked jokingly. However, he heard the slight rustle of the tent and the sound of someone trying to get away sneakily.

“Did you not notice?” Freyja asked, deadpan.

“I didn’t,” Marty replied with a face full of black lines.

Freyja chuckled. “For someone as intelligent as you, you still have your dense moments.”

Marty rolled his eyes in an attempt to hide embarrassment. “Just to be clear, did we have our first real argument?”

“Yes.”

“About me having multiple women.”

“Yes.”

“And I was against, and you were for?”

Freyja nodded.

“Okay, not how I expected our first argument to go,” Marty mumbled.

The next moment, the tent entrance opened, and most of the other girls walked in. After a couple of seconds, Marty noticed a strange atmosphere as most of the girls were wearing evil smiles.

“Are you done?” Miyuki asked Freyja.

“Yep, he’s all yours,” Freyja replied as she stood up and began to leave the tent.

“What’s going on?” Marty asked a little worried as he could see an evil gleam in their eyes.

When she reached the tent flap, Freyja turned around. “Well, since this is what you want, you have to take responsibilities for it, including letting them vent with your body.” She said with a smile before she walked out of the tent.

When he heard the word vent, his mind initially had some happy thoughts. However, when he heard several knuckles crack, he realized what type of venting was going to happen. “Now girls, let’s talk with this like adults.”

“These girls happen to want to talk with their fists.” Miyuki quipped

“Fists can’t speak!”

“Don’t worry, we hit like girls,” Lucibelle replied with a giggle.

“You’re using Ki!”

“Shut up and take it like a man!” Morgan shouted.

Though none of them were angry or serious, Marty did receive a well-deserved beating.