Months went by quickly, and my daughters had grown rapidly during that time. My wives were now closer than ever, sharing mutual respect among themselves just as I had hoped. Not once did they quarrel or argue. I treated each of them equally, and with that, I was certain they would remain the best of friends even in my absence.
At last, the day came when I had to leave the village. Though I had the ability to delay it, I didn't want to ruin my chances of joining the Night Raids. Yet, there was one big problem.
In the series, Sayo and Leyasu died, and their dreams of joining the army were crushed. But under my watch, that wouldn't happen, at least not by the aristocrat. Still, every solution brings another problem. If Sayo and Leyasu joined the army just like they originally wanted, things would get far more interesting, hehe. But then, would my beloved Sayo and my step-son Leyasu come for my head when they realized I had joined the Night Raids? This is going to be fun.
"Hey, darling, what's with that weird expression on your face? It's creeping me out," Neru said, hugging me from behind.
"I'm going to miss you. Yuuko and Inari are also crying since Leyasu and Tatsumi insisted on going too. It's like you all planned this," she whispered, her voice trembling. Not long after, I could hear her sobbing. My heart tightened, and I quickly turned around, staring into her tear-filled eyes.
I cupped her face in my palms. "Why are you crying?"
"I… I'm scared, Okun. I'm afraid. What if you don't come back? What about our children?" Neru sobbed. Seeing her like this, I couldn't blame her, after all, she had been betrayed before.
"Come on, you need to be strong. You don't want the others to see you crying, right?" I said, gently wiping her tears with my thumb.
"P-Promise me… promise me you'll return safe and sound. I know you, Okun. I know you're planning something reckless. Isn't that why you insisted on learning the ninth and tenth dances of the Sanguine Dance?" Neru pressed, clutching tightly at my shirt.
As expected, she had figured me out. Still, I just needed to give her my word.
"Y-You're right. But I don't intend to leave my children fatherless or my wives widows. I promise I'll come back and take all of you to the empire within a year. Just give me one year, I swear," I said, locking eyes with her as her cold, piercing gaze bore into mine.
Suddenly, she rose on her toes and pressed her lips to mine. I met her with equal passion, returning the kiss. For five long minutes, we remained locked together until we finally parted our lips.
"I'll be expecting you in a year. Maya will be almost two by then, and Roku and Bando will be over one year old. Don't make us wait until they start asking for their father," Neru said firmly, her strong resolve even surprising me. I nodded in response.
I walk out of the room, and upon reaching the living room, I saw Inari and Yuuko with teary eyes. The moment they spotted me, they rushed into my arms. I pulled them close and promised I would return in a year along with Sayo, Tatsumi, and Leyasu. Though, I'm not entirely sure about Tatsumi still being human by then, after all, he's our little hero.
I don't intend on being the hero. I have other plans. I'll just use Tatsumi as a tool to achieve my goals, keke.
As I drifted in thought, the door to the living room swung open and in walked the trio—Tatsumi, Leyasu, and Sayo. They explained they wanted to see their trainer, Mr. Greg, before leaving. He was once a soldier of the Empire, now retired. I'll admit, Greg is skilled and a good man when I met him and even sparred with him. But I realized one thing…
I was more skilled with the sword than he was. Apparently, my mother was a hidden jackpot. Her swordsmanship and techniques far surpass anything the Empire could ever teach their soldiers. Even when I forcefully tried using my Teigu to learn about her past, it didn't work. I came up with several theories, and the one that made the most sense was that someone had used a memory-blocking Teigu on her.
In the series, so much didn't add up—like the forty-eight Teigus they claimed existed, with half destroyed in the civil war. If that were true, then where did my Teigu come from? Perhaps there were undocumented ones, or those considered failures. Either way, these mysteries are mine to solve.
Yuuko had prepared a special makeup paste for me to hide the tattoos on my cheeks and body. It matched my skin tone perfectly and didn't come off easily. For some reason, my Teigu kept etching tattoos onto me as I used it. At first, it was just my cheeks, but now three had appeared across my body. Maybe that's why it was undocumented. Not that I care, I'll get what I want with it.
I kissed my wives once more, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and turned to the trio.
"Let's head out!" I said, and they nodded in unison. Outside, a carriage waited, hitched to two horses.
"Holy shit!" Leyasu exclaimed, staring at me wide-eyed.
"How did you afford such a luxurious carriage!" Sayo and Tatsumi chimed in.
"Thanks to Mr. Greg. He connected me with the driver. It wasn't too expensive. A comfortable and spacious ride won't hurt since it's a two-day trip," I explained, and they quickly agreed.
We began loading our belongings into the carriage, and I couldn't help but feel grateful. I was once a pathetic loser drowning in misery, but after being given a second chance, I could finally shape my destiny with my own two hands.
All thanks to Dark Schneider. Even though I doubted him at first, he truly is an awesome god. Now that I think about it, maybe I should start praying to him at the temple. I'll let the others pray to him too.