It took him great effort to explain to his dense wives the meaning behind his words.
"…marrying you three made me stronger. I mean, mentally. I am not alone anymore." Judas wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead and glanced up to see the frozen gazes of his wives.
What now?
Alone? Husband is an orphan? He now considers me, a halfling, as family?
Affection: 26 -> 30
This stupid human is an orphan? Luna pursed her lips, looking at him pitifully.
Affection: -3 -> 0
An orphan living in the end times. And hoping to have a family. How naive. Ezra shook her head, but her eyes stared at him intently. And he considers a stranger who he met today as family. A smile graced her lips.
Affection: 8 -> 10
It seemed his wives were too emotional. Judas internally applauded himself.
* *
Judas leaned back in the old wooden chair, the last rays of sunlight slanting through the cracks in the roof.
His three wives sat quietly nearby. Nina was kneeling beside the hearth, trying to light a weak fire.
Luna stood near the window, her silver eyes following the fading glow over the hills.
Ezra sat on a stool, sharpening a knife with quiet precision.
The air felt heavy, the kind of silence that pressed down before someone said something important.
Judas cleared his throat. 'System, show me my status screen.'
The familiar pink shimmer appeared before his eyes.
[Status Screen]
Name: Judas Iscariot
Race: Human
Titles: None
Attributes unlocked:
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Skills: None
Inventory: Empty
Lucky Draws: 5
The attributes of this world and his previous world were different from the common LitRPG games. One having ten points in strength meant he could comprehend a skill which required ten points in strength to learn.
Not that all his hits had ten power.
The attribute points had their limits. Until thirty in attribute points, one was called an Initiate.
If they wanted to break through to thirty and become an apprentice, they had to learn at least a skill which required that attribute and push it to level 30.
Judas was currently a fake Initiate. His power was limited. He had to learn or comprehend a skill to fully utilize his attribute power.
He rubbed his chin.
Not all attributes could be unlocked by humans. Mostly they awakened a maximum of two attributes. By marrying wives, he had awakened three at a time.
This alone should have made him a prodigy in his previous life.
'I get the attributes of my wives. Nina has unlocked Intelligence. She has the talent of a mage. Luna has agility. She might be an assassin, an archer, or anything like that. Ezra has strength. That's a broad area,' he mused.
A question suddenly appeared in his mind. 'System, if I can get their attributes, can I share mine with them?'
[Yes. Only after their affection for you reaches 100.]
Not bad.
Behind him, Nina finally spoke in her soft voice. "Um, Husband…"
Judas turned. Her ears twitched, and her tail drooped slightly.
"There are no grains left in the storehouse," she said. "Not even one sack."
He blinked. "What?"
She nodded. "I checked when we came in. There is only an empty barrel and… a mouse living in it."
Luna sighed. "Wonderful. So not only is our roof half broken, but now we cannot even eat."
What will happen to him if he can't reach the monthly goals? Will he be forced to the borders?
"I am not complaining," Nina said quickly, her voice trembling. "I am only worried. If we can't pay the monthly grain quota, the soldiers will come and take you away to fight."
Husband is an ordinary person. How can he fight those abominations?
Ezra looked up from her knife. "There is one way we can avoid starving. I can go to the mountains tomorrow. I saw smoke there earlier. There must be animals."
He is an ordinary farmer. With his talent, if he is to be conscripted, he will become another cannon fodder.
Judas almost cried in happiness. His wives were worrying about him, in their own way! The expression on his face became serious.
The decree of the Apocalyptic Guild echoed in his mind. Every married man had to deliver a set amount of grains to the nearest outpost every month.
Fail to meet it, and you would be conscripted into the army.
For him, it was four hundred and fifty pounds of grain every month.
"Ezra, let me tell you something. I am your husband. I will be the one to take risks to feed you." He then turned to look at Luna and Nina.
"And I will go to the extent of the earth, for the happiness of my wives."
'Is it a bit cringe? I hope it works.' Judas bit back the urge to grimace.
Affection: 30 -> 35
Affection: 0 -> 5
Affection: 10 -> 8
"I, Ezra, am no coward. I don't want the protection of a man."
'Especially if he risks his life for me. I'd rather face the troubles together.'
Judas curved his brows with a smile.
'So Luna hates me for thinking she was jealous. Ezra doesn't wanna freeload. Then what about Nina?'
He looked at the wolf girl, who had tears of happiness in her puppy eyes.
'Is she happy for every simple thing? I wonder what made her so.'
"Our priority now is food to eat..." Judas tapped his fingers.
"That's why I said I can go hunt..."
"The mountains have monsters too." Judas glanced at her, "pack monsters."
Nina shivered and snuggled closer to him. Luna also shivered a bit. Ezra showed nonchalance outwardly, but her lips quivered a bit.
'So they are scared of monsters,''Judas noted.
"About the quota..." Judas rubbed his chin.
Silence followed. Nina looked down, her hands folded in her lap.
Luna sighed. "So this is how it ends. Starvation or conscription. Humans always build their own cages."
Ezra's eyes flicked toward the door. "Or we can run."
Luna turned sharply. "Run?"
"Yes," Ezra said. "We disappear into the wilds before the soldiers return next month. Live off the land."
"That's suicide," Luna said. "The forests are crawling with beasts and bandits. No one lasts a week there."
"Better than waiting here for chains," Ezra replied.
'For him.' She peeked at Judas.
[Host, are you perhaps forgetting about your lucky draws?]
A smile broke across his face. How could he forget that?
Judas smiled suddenly, breaking the tension. He puffed his chest proudly. "Wives, don't worry. I have a way."
All three turned to look at him.
"You?" Luna asked skeptically.
"Yes, me," Judas said, standing up. "I am a man of many talents. Watch closely."
He walked to the small kitchen, separated from the main room by a short wooden bar that barely reached his waist. The floor creaked under his steps.
After making sure he was hidden from the three, he whispered in the air.
"Let's open the lucky draws."
[Executing 5 Lucky Draws…]