Chapter 43:

　　Cute-sama's abode and job was at the shrine. There she answered people's prayers, took their confessions, guided them towards enlightenment, mediated disputes and did all manner of Godly things. She was the best thing that ever happened to the village. (Well, technically, she was already the best thing to ever happen because every single one of us was only alive due to her miraculous life granting powers in the first place.) While the rest of us had worked for decades to improve our lives, her many miracles fixing our remaining problems came at the blink of an eye. With the 101 new children's names to memorize, I was especially thankful for my now perfect memory. Goddesses generally eclipsed Mayors in authority and dignity, but Cute-sama deferred to my judgment so my rule continued with even more power to enforce than before.

　　It was clear to me that dissidents should not live in Paradise, not only because they could subtly undermine and eventually threaten to destroy what we, the vast majority had built together, but because they had no right to enjoy the fruits of a lifestyle they themselves were sabotaging. They were intellectual and moral parasites. Even if they had done nothing to further their own beliefs, (though how could they not subtly cast shade and spread poison through their speech or demeanor towards the things we valued when they did not?), the cognitive dissonance of people living in a world they hated was itself wrong.

　　There was such a thing as thoughtcrime. And now that I could discover it I had every right and reason to punish it. The sooner these criminals were isolated, the less impact they could have on my remaining wives and children, who were still on the right path. Giving them exactly what they wanted, a world according to their own rules, was the fairest punishment imaginable. They had no right to access spouses, children, or facilities that came about due to a philosophy and system directly contrary to their own design. Plus the excuse that they had no other choice could no longer fly, as with the combined technologies of cold sleep and space flight they now had a perfectly good alternative. Cute's Panopticon assured the peace for as long as we lived, which was now looking to be a lot longer than a Silver Millennium.

　　With a new crop of 101 kids I could afford to be choosy about who came and who went. Exiling eight children was just a drop in the bucket compared to those that were now coming online.

　　I asked Cute-sama if it would be alright for her to alert us to those with criminal intent and arrest them beforehand, but she said this and that were two different things. People in cold sleep who would eventually get to live out their entire lives as they chose wasn't impinging on free will, but not letting people go through with their own evil decisions was. Cute wanted people to express their souls to their fullest. To her, the afterlife could properly deal with any ramifications afterwards.

　　Oh well. It's not like crime was a big problem in Paradise anyway. In fact, I'm not sure there were any pressing problems to deal with as Mayor anymore. So long as the children kept imbibing the proper culture through my "Arts, Literature, Philosophy and Morality" class in school, everything could run on autopilot from here. Maybe it was time for a vacation?

* * *

Girls' Side:

　　"It's only been eighty years, so it may just be a coincidence, but doesn't it seem like we aren't getting as much attention as the other girls?" Chiwa complained to the conspiratorially assembled shadowy den.

　　"Sou da! Sou da!" The other malcontents chimed in. With the descent of Cute-sama from Heaven things had only gotten worse as his eyes were always reserved for her during dinner time.

　　"Christopher shares sex and children with us equally, but is that really enough?" Chiwa asked the crowd a rhetorical question.

　　"No! No!" The crowd responded.

　　"I want to go on romantic dates with Christopher too. I want him to be interested in my life, what I'm thinking about, what I'm doing, how I'm feeling -- and I want to know all those things about him too! Isn't it the same for all of you?" Chiwa raised her fist passionately.

　　"Sou da! Sou da!" The girls banged their fists on their classroom desks.

　　"For our first conspiratorial meeting, let's make it clear what we waifus expect from our lord and husband! And accept nothing short of Cute-sama's treatment!" Chiwa drew her bamboo kendo sword and held it straight up, piercing the heavens.

　　"Sou da! Sou da!" The crowd gave a fierce cheer.

　　Chiwa handed the floor over to their secretary who would write out their unanimous demands:

　　"Here assembled, in the 80th year E.T., Chiwa Harusaki, Nozomi Yumehara, Honoka Yukishiro, Mai Mishou, Rosa Joanna Farrell, Rinoa Heartilly, Yuna, MOMO Mizrahi, Nayuki Minase, Misuzu Kamio, Kotori Kanbe, Isara Aomi, Reina Ryuugu, Mylene Flare Jenius and Lyria, the waifus above demand romantic dates, thoughtful gifts, and more interesting unique conversations geared towards our own individual relationships and personalities. MOMO specifically demands a gift of Jelly Beans -- enough to fill an entire room -- in a glass jar so they don't rot before they can all be eaten." Isara diligently wrote everything she was prompted down.

　　"If anyone feels like you're talking to them in a way that would have happened with any generic waifu, and not taking their own identity into account, she can demand another romantic date until fully satisfied that her existence has been acknowledged."

　　"Failure to meet our demands will result in distinctly cold behavior until full restitution has been met." Isara trembled as she wrote that down, not knowing if her heart could take distancing herself yet further from her love than they already were.

　　"Undersigned -- " And then everyone signed their names to the document one by one in their own handwriting, so the sheer weight of their numbers could be made abundantly clear.

　　"Datou Cute-sama!" Chiwa cheered as she held up the finished document.

　　"Banzai! Banzai!" The patriotic crowd united as one.

* * *

　　"Lafiel, I need your help. There's been an insurrection!" I came with the treasonous document in hand to report to the police headquarters.

　　"Hmmm?" Lafiel languidly read the document, a hint of a grin eventually creeping up her face. "Taihen-so." She finished and looked at me expectantly for more.

　　"I don't understand. Okay, MOMO I understand. I barely ever drop by the research institute, she hasn't been behind any breakthroughs so she might be feeling a little down, especially with Cute-sama inventing cold storage and all the rest without her, and apparently she's just really hungry. But I don't understand these others -- Misuzu and Kotori -- what do they expect? They work out in the countryside so when would we even meet? On the other hand, Nayuki, Chiwa, Nozomi and Isara I see every day at school and we talk all the time, so what are they even mad about?" I complained.

　　"About work?" Lafiel interjected.

　　"Well of course, we're working at school together, so why wouldn't it be about work?" I asked.

　　". . ." Lafiel gave up.

　　"Isara works at the daycare center rather than the school proper, but the daycare center is an adjunct of the school building so it shouldn't make any difference. Honoka loves science, which I was never any good at, so there's nothing much I can talk about even when we're alone together, which is rare because I generally avoid the research institute anyway. I'm above the law since I am the law so I have no reason to interact with inspector Reina. Even if I go up in the glider Lyria is stationed on the ground at the winch so there's no time we could talk. And I've been in perfect health so it's not like I needed to see Rosa, Rinoa or Yuna at the hospital." I finished.

　　"You forgot Mai and Mylene." Lafiel helpfully pointed at their signatures on the document.

　　"Right, well, I assume they're hard at work drawing and composing for Eden's next anime, but I don't have any artistic skills so I don't visit the Studio very often either. . ." I sat down and rubbed my forehead. "Compared to you, I don't think any of these girls are being treated worse. But you get by fine without me." I appealed to my space elf queen.

　　"I have a long lifespan, and I've already been through several long distance relationships with you so I've learned patience. I've been grounded on this planet for 80 years even though my natural home is up in the stars, piloting a spaceship, but I figure there's important things to do here as well, like cultivating the planet to support an advanced civilization. Originally I was always supposed to terraform a barren planet into a proud member of the Abh empire, so now's as good a time to fulfill that duty as any." Lafiel explained her equanimity.

　　"How am I supposed to have romantic dates and treat them as unique individuals any more than I already do? Doesn't this automatically rule out anything we've done together before, meaning none of what I thought was fun was good enough?" I asked.

　　"This is police headquarters. I think you'd do better praying to God for answers like these." Lafiel pointed at the sign on her desk.

　　"That would only make them yet more jealous of Cute-sama monopolizing my time." I groaned.

　　"Okay, go through why you loved them in the first place. Surely it couldn't solely have been about their looks. There are plenty of good looking anime girls but you specifically chose these 15. If you connect with them on that basis, what made them special enough to you to stand out, wouldn't that qualify as treating them as the unique individuals they are?" Lafiel coached me.

　　"MOMO was cute and brave and determined and heroic and a wonderful helpmate across all three long RPG grind games of Xenosaga. I especially liked her voice and transformation scenes." I ticked off what I remembered on my fingers.

　　"So dive into a virtual reality remake of Xenosaga with her as Jr. and relive your glory days together. Save the universe all over again." Lafiel suggested.

　　"That might work!" I exclaimed, overjoyed. "Lafiel, you're a lifesaver. Okay, fourteen more."

　　"I guess for Chiwa it would be doing surgery on her hip, but I already arranged for that to be cured on day one. . ." I pouted.

　　"You were childhood friends with her long before she was injured, and she loved you for caring enough to become a doctor for her, not for the utility you may have provided to her as a doctor. Your relationship has to be deeper than that." Lafiel reprimanded.

　　"But childhood friends mainly just meant her coming over and annoying me as I told her to leave me alone. . ." I sighed, thinking back. "I loved Chiwa for trying so hard to be cute enough to appeal to me and being devoted to me for so long even though I was constantly dating and flirting with other girls. The constancy and persistence of a true lover. It wasn't because we shared any hobbies or topics of discussion. It was just because she tried so hard and cared so much." I summarized.

　　"Then share an activity together that requires you both work very hard and care very much for it to be completed. You tried hard to become a doctor for her, so she was touched. She tried hard to be cute enough to appeal to you as a lover, so you were touched. Now you just need to try hard for one another again." Lafiel explained.

　　"In Eden nobody has to try hard. . ." My mind drew a complete blank.

　　"So make it a play. Romeo and Juliet try hard for each other's sake, right? Perform a play together as Romeo and Juliet. Rehearse the lines together, dance together, and look into her eyes as you confess your love over and over. There's lots of kissing scenes too, right? Even a part where you share a bed together. If you try hard to make the play a success, and she tries hard to be your heroine, wouldn't that be romantic?" Lafiel suggested.

　　"We'd have to hire extras for all the other roles. . ." I mused.

　　"Perform at the New Year's festival, make it an event, and plenty of auditioners who want to liven the holidays up will come forward." Lafiel dismissed the problem confidently.

　　"You're right. Chiwa would love this! Okay, on to Yuna. We fell in love on our journey to battle Sin, where I taught her how to enjoy her life rather than solely follow her painful duties. Of course, I loved Yuna for how far she'd go for others, even giving up her life without complaint, and her incredible beauty, power and grace. The variety of her outfits in X-2 also really stood out. The moment I fell for Yuna was when she performed out at sea setting free the spirits of the dead with her ritual dance. . .she was simply divinity manifested in that moment. . ." I explained.

　　"Ask Yuna out to a tropical island and then ask to see her do the dance again. Better yet, dive into the virtual reality remake of Final Fantasy X as Tidus and relive your glory days together." Lafiel closed the case quickly.

　　"Lyria's optimistic, altruistic, agreeable and beautiful. Plus the fact that we share a single intertwined life and can never separate again is so romantic. I'm super fond of girls who can't get away." I bragged about something stupid.

　　"I'm telling Orihime to reject that curse next time I see her." Lafiel laid waste to all my hopes and dreams.

　　"As for Rinoa, I fell for her in two parts. First when she took me out to the dance floor, the epitome of grace and good cheer. Second when she floated into my lap during reentry, the epitome of fawning dependency. She showed me so many faces, but most of all she put her faith in me from start to finish. I'd go to the ends of the Earth, in fact I went beyond the ends of the Earth, to answer those expectations." I explained.

　　"And Rosa?" Lafiel prompted.

　　"Rosa was my destined partner from the beginning. Blonde haired and blue-eyed, with a perfect figure, she's the physical ideal. Always supporting me like a proper wife and following my lead into exile from her homeland, kissing me any excuse she got, and ultimately marrying me before we even got here, she's the romantic ideal. Willful and courageous, stoically withstanding lethal diseases and frightful kidnappings, all while tenderly caring for those around her, she's the moral ideal. Defeating enemies left and right via her crafty selection of the perfect arrow for the job while also being the most skilled white mage in the world, she's the mental ideal. If Rosa doesn't qualify as a lover, who would?" I gushed.

　　"Luckily they're all from famous rpg's Aoba's already upgraded, so my advice is the same, dive into VR and relive your glory days together." Lafiel instructed.

　　"So that gets us down to 9." I ticked off my fingers excitedly.

　　"Are you really going to ask for my advice on all 15?" Lafiel sighed.

　　"What does it matter? There aren't any crimes to solve anyway." I brushed her annoyance aside.

　　"Honoka is the perfect woman, kind and conscientious, but fierce when it comes to protecting what's hers. She's the sort to never give up no matter how bad things get. Come to think of it, you're the same. . ." I looked into Lafiel's eyes, then blushed a bit. "You don't mind me praising other women in front of you, do you?"

　　"I think Cute-sama's brainwashing covers this as part of our acceptance of polygamy, so do go on." Lafiel gestured in surrender.

　　"But when a woman is too perfect, it's hard to get a word in edgewise. I feel like she's fine the way she is, so there's nothing left to say. Plus she's always been shikkari and able to look after herself." I said, looking up hopefully at Lafiel for advice.

　　"Honoka enjoyed the time you went to the planetarium together, right?" Lafiel asked. "In that case, why not go straight into a tour of space together this time? That should appease her scientific curiosity while still suiting a neophyte like you who can just look at the pretty twinkling lights."

　　"So take one of our newly built spaceships for a joy ride?" I asked.

　　"Try taking an orbit across the solar system together, just the two of you. Round the sun and back, visit our outer planets and tell us what they look like, take pictures and notes, make it a real scientific survey. The ships have enough life support for a journey like that, and with antimatter drives you'd be surprised how quickly you can flit about." Lafiel got excited just thinking of flying again.

　　"It's perfect!" I grasped Lafiel's hands in gratitude. "I'm writing these down. Honoka -- space exploration together tour." Zero G sex GET!

　　"Okay, for Mai, she's a lot like Honoka, except she prefers art over science. Also she really hates the things she hates, it's stunningly unlike anyone else I've ever seen. Honoka's probably the more beautiful of the two, in face and voice, but I always preferred Mai's personality." I narrated.

　　"You met at a summer matsuri, right? With lots of spirits in lieu of fireflies. So go to a summer matsuri together and find a tree surrounded by fireflies to make love to her. By then she should be putty in your hands." Lafiel answered every challenge.

　　"So for New Year's it's Chiwa and midsummer it's Mai. Perfect!" I praised Lafiel again. "I thought this was impossible but you make it all sound so easy!"

　　"I was trained to run an empire so resolving interpersonal disputes is only natural." Lafiel smiled, finally being recognized by the boy who had ignored her since forever.

　　"I loved Isara because she didn't let other people get her down. She took care of her family even when she had to lose out in exchange, and she tried twice as hard as anyone else for the happiness the rest of us take for granted. And of course because she was incredibly beautiful, but like you said, that already applies to everyone." I said.

　　"A domestic type huh?" Lafiel tapped her lips, not really having anything in common with the servile class. "How about you let Isara and Myusel trade places for a week? Just let Isara service you the way Myusel has and see if she feels better afterwards."

　　"Does working as my personal maid really qualify as a romantic date?" I questioned.

　　"For girls like her, who are always thinking of others, serving you is probably when she feels most needed and appreciated. It's when she's proudest of herself. So I think her pupils will be hearts by the end of an entire week like that." Lafiel predicted.

　　"Isara takes Myusel place." I wrote down. "Okay, Mylene is impossible, she loves the me who was the best musician in the universe. It's fine for me to love her for her artistic sense, her puppy dog like devotion to a boy who continuously blew her off, and her obvious physical beauty, but what can I, as Chris, not Basara anymore, ever do for her?"

　　"You'll have to show that you share Basara's spirit even if you don't have his specs. Compose a song for her, practice it until you can play the guitar notes, and sing outside her window at night as a surprise live concert. Actually, you'd do better if you composed multiple ballads. Sing your heart out under her window -- you don't have to have a great voice, she knows you by now. And she knows how hard you must have tried to come even that far." Lafiel suggested.

　　"Learn the guitar and compose all new songs?" I swallowed.

　　"You love Mylene, don't you? So she's at least worth this much to you, isn't she?" Lafiel's cat eyes seemed to both narrow and widen simultaneously, producing a terrifying face.

　　"Learn the guitar and sing ballads for Mylene." I wrote down hastily.

　　"It doesn't have to be a love song. If you put your heart and soul into anything, you could praise fascism if you wanted. If you're true to your heart and put it all out there that's Basara." Lafiel encouraged me.

　　"I loved Nayuki because she was always there for me. We lived together as family and whenever there were happy times or sad times she was there to share half of them with me. It was like we were always on the same side. Then combine that with how long she loved me from childhood to her teenage years even while I was away and her beauty and I couldn't imagine anyone better." I said.

　　"Hmmm. . . Together through anything. . .this one's hard. . ." Lafiel closed her eyes and searched her ageless wisdom. "How about this, then? You and Nayuki should watch the results of Sakura Kinomoto's Record card together. Compile notes on how and why Earth ended over the last 100 years, and then publish the paper together for all the school children to read. Debate over what should have been done, or what could have happened differently, and tour all the historic places you used to live together at in the winter snow. Remember Earth together and then say goodbye to it together. Wouldn't that satisfy her unique individual requirements?"

　　"Are you trying to break our hearts?" I objected.

　　"Compared to your lives together in Kanon the end of the world should still be a joy ride. Isn't this right up your alley?" Lafiel countered.

　　"Watch the end of the world with Nayuki." I wrote down resignedly.

　　"Misuzu was really cute, how she preserved her childish wonder and friendliness towards strangers even though no one would ever get close to her. And then I felt bad for her and wanted to help her, and of course her beauty." I reported.

　　"Take her fishing at the beach where the rivers run down into the sea until you've both caught a giant sturgeon and pose together holding it in all four of your arms." Lafiel closed the case.

　　"That does sound outdoorsey. . ." I admitted, writing it down and moving on.

　　"Nozomi's probably the worst. She doesn't have any hobby outside of teaching and I recently put her firstborn son into cold sleep." I grimaced. "As for why I fell in love, outside of looks, it was her determination and willingness to surge ahead and do things when everyone else was hesitating. Sort of like how I didn't hesitate to put Coco-tachi in cold sleep, I like people who just do what's right and damn the consequences. She's a natural born leader who will make the hard decisions and encourage others to keep up."

　　"Since you're mayor for life I wonder if she's feeling too constrained. You could be suffocating her own sense of justice every time you impose your own." Lafiel squeezed her lips together thoughtfully. "It's the same with Isara. You should let Nozomi be Mayor for a week and trade places with her as a teacher. The important thing is you can't overrule her once you take back power. Any reform she makes you have to honor. Can you do that? Can you respect her leadership?"

　　"I can." I nodded. "I don't think I've done anything wrong, so Nozomi wouldn't change anything I care about anyway. Besides, Cute-sama already did a radar ping for thought criminals and she wasn't among them."

　　"Let her stretch her wings a bit, and see if she can do better. Then talk about the various benefits and costs of policy changes with her in the evening after she's back from work. If you show her that you respect her opinions, I think that qualifies as a romantic event." Lafiel concluded.

　　"Hand over leadership to Cure Dream." I wrote down in my memo. "Okay, since I need to take some time off to compose ballads for Mylene anyway, this is perfect. Next is Kotori. She's the girl who sacrificed everything for me, for the world, for Kagari, for her sense of justice. She even raised a dog that bit her more often than not. She's that kind of girl. And at the end of all those bitter duties all she displayed in return was kindness and good cheer. And of course she's voiced by Chiwa Saito, so both her face and voice are impossibly exquisite."

　　"Journey to the power spot with her and make some golems together. Help her with the hiking trails and stay out in the wilderness camping for a week, just the two of you. Reconnect with Nature and you'll reconnect with your druid waifu." Lafiel recommended.

　　"I guess it's true, anyone can make familiars if they set their mind to it. . . and Cute-sama already guaranteed us infinite lifespan so just like a druid I can manipulate them for free. Okay, work with Kotori and become one with nature. Maybe that will help me compose ballads for Mylene."

　　"That leaves only Reina. Reina's a warrior. She'll fight for what's right, to protect what's hers, even if the whole world might be set against her for it. She's the sort of person who prioritizes justice over convenience, and pays whatever price to see her own personal justice through. But at the same time she's full of compassion for those who are suffering unjustly, so it's not like she goes out of her way to inflict pain on others. It's more like she simply feels everything more strongly than the rest of us. I respect that so much. People who care enough about life to not compromise on it -- that's just like me. We're kindred spirits."

　　"Reina wants to see justice done. In that case, go to Justice Shrine and ask Cute-sama to let Reina apprentice under her. If she becomes a judge for the punishments of Hell I think she'll thrive. Make it a week long change of pace like the others and then talk to her at night what decisions she made in each case, debate with her what you could do differently, and then start kissing somewhere in there. . ." Lafiel gestured with a roll of her hand that even I should be able to figure out the rest.

　　"Let Reina punish the wicked with hellfire." I wrote into my memo and slammed it shut. "Got it. Lafiel Abriel, is there anything you can't do?"

　　"You should know your place by now, Christopher. When have I ever let you down?" Lafiel smiled back at me.

　　15 romantic dates coming up! I wouldn't let any of my waifus feel lonely or left out. Whether it meant some got special treatment for a while, kankeinai. If someone was hurting they deserved special treatment. I meant it when I said I loved them all. I'd do anything to show it to them, any method it took. All 101 of us together, happy and harmonious. Forward the endless dream!