After spending some brief time with my daughters, Rose offered for us to get off the lawn and enter the mansion. It felt strange entering the place once again. It had been years since I last walked in, and the place no longer felt like my home. The fact that Rose had to invite me in said it as much as anything. The girls walked next to me while taking turns holding my hand. We ended up in a receiving room that I had often used to receive guests, but now I was the guest.

Rose made some tea, while I sat down across from Madison. Cornelia had entered the room too, but she remained standing with her arms crossed, passively observing my interactions with my daughters. They had chosen to take either side of me, forcing Aunt Rose to take a seat next to Madison after she got the tea. No one spoke until Rose started pouring the tea.

Madison had glanced over at Cornelia with a bit of a surprised expression on her face. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I work for the MPA.” She responded shortly.

“Oh, you two know each other?”

Madison shrugged. “We went to Amaryllis together.”

I supposed that made sense. She looked to be about Madison’s age, and what girl didn’t go to Amaryllis Academy? Since she lived in this country and was educated, that was about it as far as choices went. There was another school outside of the city in the country, but since she lived in Amaryllis, it made more sense that she had went to Amaryllis.

Silence had returned, and we all awkwardly drank tea until a maid I didn’t recognize came in with crumpets. Her presence immediately got me thinking about Mako.

“Where is… everyone?” I asked.

I was going to ask where Mako was, but the truth was that it’d be a very long night if I had to ask about every face I was interested in. I was just as curious about Hannah. I had expected to see her. I knew Mako and most of the others had left. However, I figured I could use an update now that I was free.

“Aiko left about a half year ago. She went back to Nippon with Kato.” She raised her hand as I went to say something. “It’s temporary. It’s a one-year visitation to show the baby to her family.”

“I see…”

“Mako works for the MPA. She’s not an educator. Rather, she just works as a nurse right now. Lyra is working under her mother. She had a daughter named Raven. Kemala’s still here. She works in the mansion now. She didn’t feel comfortable just living here, so she technically is working here under a work visa. She’s watching the other kids right now. Jordan and Drake are napping right now, so that’s why I didn’t bring them out to see you.

“Jordan is yours?” I asked, blushing slightly.

“She is…” She nodded proudly.

I had grown up without even meeting most of my own children. I was closing in on a dozen now, yet I was already losing track of them. I had two children overseas, three if I counted Kato, and I had no clue if I’d ever see those two again. Rather than easier, it was only getting more painful with time. I wished I had been less reckless in my youth. Coming as an originally sterile guy in my old life, I had let the power to have children get to my head a little. Then again, I didn’t have the knowledge that I had now. The me back then who thought I could just rotate women and keep them pregnant was forgotten.

“And Hannah?” I asked, noticing the distinct lack of that name.

Madison looked away while Rose bit her lip, her expression turning complicated.

“She left.” Rose responded.

I kept myself from having an outburst, but based on their behavior I felt a tugging on my heart and my hands shook slightly. “What does that mean? When?”  

“About three months ago…” Madison spoke gently. “We just came home to find her room cleared out. There wasn’t even a note left.”

“You should have told me.”

Madison winced like she had been slapped. “I was afraid how you’d react. I knew your time away hasn’t been easy on you, and I wanted to ease your burden.”

I stood up and walked over to her. She winced even more, but I only put my hand on her hand and gently stroked her hair.

“I love you, Madison.”

She opened her eyes and looked up at me. Her eyes had turned red and water was swelling within them. This had been something she had really worried about for some time. It was probably eating her up inside, not telling me. I leaned down, gently touching her chin and bringing her lips to mine. They opened expectantly as she let out a hot breath.

“Ah… stop!” An unwanted voice broke in.

The pair of us turned to see Cornelia standing nearby with her arms crossed. “As your agent, I do not permit sexual contact at this moment.”

“We were just kissing.” I responded bitterly. “Your rulebooks don’t say anything about kissing.”

We had been required to read them as part of our reeducation, so I was well aware of everything that was or was not allowed.

“The rules state that all sexual contact can be filtered through the agent at her own discretion with suitable reason, and I do. You are not in a proper mental state to accept such things from a former lover.”

“You… to hell with your discretion.” I snorted and turned back to Madison, grabbing her a bit harder and causing her to blush slightly at the attention.

“Your welcome to ignore my mandate, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

I stopped just before I touched Madison and sighed. “Okay, I’ll bite, why?”

Cornelia nodded to herself and took another step forward. “If I provide order with cause, and you choose to disregard them, then I must report it to the MRA. It will go to a committee, and this may result in disciplinary action. However, you already know this. What you should know is that I am here to help you. If you don’t listen to my help, then there is no reason for me to be here, and thus no reason for me to be your agent.”

“You’re right about that…” I responded bitterly.

“I already said before, just show me the door and I will leave. However, you will have an agent or you will end up in the male section of town. Your next agent might be even more difficult than me. For example, they might not have allowed you to meet your children.”

Clenching my teeth, I finally took a step back.

“It’s fine… brother.” Madison reached out and touched the back of my hand. “It’s just nice to see you again.”

I nodded, straightening my coat. “The rest of my kids. I’d like to see them too.”

Aunt Rose stood up. “Follow me. They’re in the nursery with Kemala.”

She walked past us, giving Cornelia a snort. Cornelia didn’t respond, her cold expression remaining undisturbed by the glares she received. Madison remained where she was, trying to maintain a brave smile on her face as we left. Before I walked out the room, I leaned toward Cornelia. She leaned slightly away, but still allowed me to get close to her ear.

“Be careful how many mandates you chose to enforce. I will follow your rules by the letter, and I don’t plan to toss you away. However, don’t think that means I can’t make your life difficult as well. I don’t believe for a second that you don’t care about that perfect untarnished record of yours. You don’t want to fail either.”

“You’re right.” She responded back just as icely. “I don’t want to fail. That’s why you will do everything I ask, because deep down you know I’m right.”

I bit back the anger welling inside me. I already had gotten a sense of who this woman was. I always thought I was good at reading people. It came from being a businessman. When I was younger, hormones and the memories of that spoiled twelve-year-old kid had caused me to act a bit foolish, but as I grew up I was less influenced by those kinds of things. Even then, it was difficult to keep my cool talking to her.

Instead, I just followed my aunt. Watching her ass in front of me, I had a desire to reach out and grab it, but I wasn’t even confident that Aunt Rose and I had that kind of relationship anymore. She had endeared my fetishes when I was sixteen, but now that we were both older, those kinds of activities with my aunt were no longer appropriate, especially with Cornelia looking down my shoulder. I held back and just patiently followed Rose.

“Master?” A familiar voice came out as I was passing the kitchen.

That did cause my feet to stop as I looked into the kitchen. “Veris?”

It was Veris, the older maid I had once had. Being out of work for years had not done her any kindness. Her hair had greyed and she showed more than a couple wrinkles. It was seven years since I had last played with her, but she might have aged fifteen for the way she looked. Having a drug-addicted daughter she was trying to rehabilitate couldn’t have been easy.

“Ah, yes, she came back asking for a job a year ago. Madison said that you would be happy if we gave it to her.” Rose had walked back when she saw me step into the kitchen.

“Yeah…” I said in a daze and then blinked. “I mean, I am! Veris, are you doing alright?”

“It hasn’t been bad.” Veris gave a throaty chuckled. “But then, look at you. Our little Clyburn is all grown up. You’ve really become a man.”

“He looks a lot like Noah, doesn’t he?” Rose asked, squeezing my cheeks.

“I-I wouldn’t know…” Veris blushed, holding her hands primly at her side.

“Ah… what about Nada?” As I asked that, she gave a look not too dissimilar to how Madison had looked at me when talking about Hannah.

“She disappeared… around the time I returned here was the last time I saw her.”

“Was she…” I stopped, realizing that there wasn’t answer I could get that would leave either of us happier. “It’s good to see you.”

Veris nodded, putting a smile on her face even though I could see the sadness in her eyes. Maybe I could hire a private eye or something and have her searched for. If I found Lilith and Mia, it was possible Lilith could find her. Her family’s magic was at another level. Although we both had the Demon King’s inheritance, it manifested in different ways. She had more knowledge about demons and spells, and my focus on was runic engineering.

With the atmosphere slightly awkward, the pair of us left the kitchen area where she was preparing more of the scones I hadn’t touched previously, and then went the rest of the way in the nursery. As soon as I walked in, my eyes fell on a dark-skinned beauty. My mouth fell open slightly. The thirteen-year-old Kemala was now almost sixteen, and it showed. She filled out, much like her curvaceous mother, and was extremely beautiful.

“Master!” She leaning over a gated bed, trying to coerce a small child to take her midday map.

When she saw the pair of us walk in, she turned around and then gave a gasp. Her eyes landed on me and broke into a beautiful smile. She took a couple of steps forward and it was clear she wanted to throw her arms around me. However, I remembered Cornelia still trailing behind, and gave her a look that stopped her short. Feeling just a bit annoyed, I looked back and Cornelia.

“Permission to hug her?” I demanded scornfully.

She looked over my shoulder at Kemala. “She’s not a native. The government tends to ignore them. However, there is a push to include outside blood to improve genetic diversity. In that case, if she fills out an application with the MPA, I may be able to pull some strings and get in her in for impregnation.”

Kemala blushed at her assessment, but I only frowned. “I said I wanted a hug, not to fuck her.”

“Ah, I couldn’t guarantee she’d be impregnated by you. Any woman who signs up loses autonomy of who she gets. Isn’t that better? Men have more choice, not less…”

“That’s one way of putting it…” I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Take choice away from the women was a convenient illusion that made it look like they were giving more choices to men. The reality was that they were just taking even more control of how breeding was done. For example, they didn’t have to give citizenship to non-nationals. Women like Aiko would struggle to become a citizen under these rules. On top of that, women didn’t get to pursue certain men, but put their selves in a catalogue where seemingly any agent, and by extension the man she represents, could select her.

This naturally existed to prevent under-the-counter deals where men still gained money from a woman in exchange for him picking her. No woman in the seedlist could select the man she’d get seed from. The only way someone could select their male partner was through seed injections. It was like this was all carefully crafted to destroy any sense of interpersonal relationships between men and women. It literally separated them into two different worlds, where their only true interaction was breeding. It was no wonder that Cornelia didn’t want me kissing anyone. She didn’t want me to have an emotional attachment to women at all.

I was honestly surprised she let me even come this far to visit my family. I had admittedly made a deal with her, but that still seemed to go against her current agenda. I could only shake my head and lightly pat Kemala’s head in passing. She was taller now, so it didn’t seem as appropriate as it once was when I was her big brother, but that was all there was to it.

Here, I had two more children, although they were both barely over one. They were looking at me, but there wasn’t anything like excitement. It was only curiosity. One of them was Jordan, the baby I had with Madison. The other was Drake, my boy. In this world, the difference between the two was night and day. Drake was a priceless treasure, and Jordan was just another girl. However, they shared a nursery and were treated no different from each other as far as I could see. This was within my own desires and expectations. I reached out and grabbed the two children, one in each arm, and held them. They were heavy, but I had done weights. I figured since I was doing time, other than my art, I’d also work on my physique.

Well, I had always been somewhat muscular, a trait that was not necessarily masculine in this world. It was actually a trait of girls that took on the male roles in the relationships. Although that same masculine attitude wasn’t developed in most men, most women seemed to still crave it. Back in school with Rigor, he used to tease me about my slow speed to climax and my muscles. To a normal man, they lived delicate lives of luxury, and cumming fast was considered productive.

While girls may say they want that in a man, their taste in other women was reflective of their true desires. Many women liked a man who took charge and dominated them. They definitely liked a man who lasted longer. Over the last two years, Rigor had steadily come to realize just how effective my techniques were. He didn’t change himself. After all, when sex was guaranteed and even the slice was no longer a thing, why bother trying to please or impress women? He had asked me why I bothered a few times, and I always answered the same. I did it because I could.

“Do you have any news about home?” I asked as I juggled both kids on my knees, causing them to laugh when I shook my knee and bounced them up and down.

“Matahari?” Kemala asked, “Ah… a revolt occurred and the male control was overthrown. Mother is currently in control, and she’s preparing the throne for her granddaughter, your child. Neriah’s baby is female as well.”

“No males, huh?”

“You shouldn’t look so depressed. You’ve already had three male children. To any man, that’s an accomplishment that is worth a lifetime.” Aunt Rose tried to reassure me.

I had nine children so far. Five of them had turned out to be female, while three of them male. One, my children with Ashley, I did not know what the sex was. In this world, that was an amazing amount of men, but I should be someone who could have children of male and female variety equally.  

I suppose there were men who ended up having all daughters, so it wasn’t that weird to have only one-third male. In fact, it was probably for the best. Statistically, it was still possible I wasn’t abnormal. The thoughts of me being the chosen one had certainly diminished over the last two years where I haven’t produced offspring. Reproduction scientists went on virtual screen and declared that statistically, men have had three male children in short succession before, and they will again, and this is no indicator that anything has changed.

It’d likely be a lot more before they’d admit I was an outlier. It might only be a 1 in a billion chance that someone like me existed, but when considering the population of the world throughout history, those like me should pop up frequently enough. Someone was always going to win the male seed lottery, and as far as most people were concerned, that just happened to be me this generation.

It was probably best that they didn’t think I was some outlier. I could end up in a lab, or being pumped for seed without any pretense of male choice. If they wanted it badly enough, they would take it without considering my feelings a single bit. I definitely didn’t want that. Still, a small part of me wanted to reveal it. I wanted to see the look on their faces when they realized I was the cure to their calamity. Well, I wasn’t certain. It wasn’t until little Kato and little Drake here started impregnating women that we’d really know whether my seed was making a difference.

As far as me being at 50/50, even though I had grown to accept this, I supposed there wasn’t really any proof. I wouldn’t be able to hold back the truth much longer though, as I’d need to start giving away my seed in copious amounts. I had nine children right now, but it wouldn’t be too long before I had too many children to count. Then, I’d end up just another deadbeat seed producer like this country seemed to want every man to become.

“You… really care about them, don’t you?” My thoughts were broken up by this sudden question.

Kemala had left the room with Aunt Rose to give me some time alone. Time alone still involved me being on a short leash with my agent. Until I was in a position where she knew where I was at all times and I couldn’t slip away without her noticing, I could only expect Cornelia to continue to ride my ass. While watching me with my two younger kids while I was lost in thought, she had come out with such a basic question.

“I care about every one of them.” I responded candidly.

“Duty is heavier than a mountain.” She responded lightly.

“Yeah?” I snorted. “You get that from a fortune cookie? Tell me, where does my duty lie?”

I gestured to Drake on my knee.

“Your duty is to produce more children. Your duty is to the women who take care of you.”

“Did you ever consider that I didn’t need to be taken care of? I have already paid my civic dues to society. Now, I need to be the one to take care of my own family.”

“That’s not your responsibility.”

“And who decided that? You? The government? A bunch of women who had never known the joys of having a loving father?”

I had raised my voice just a bit, and it set off the kids, causing them to cry. I shushed them, carefully stroke them until they calmed down again. Cornelia didn’t say anything in response to my words. She just watched as I put the two children back to sleep.

“If you had been the father to my baby… I wonder…” She mumbled to herself.

I looked up, a slightly surprised expression on my face. She turned away, blushing shyly.

At that moment, the door opened and Aunt Rose walked in. Cornelia’s cute expression disappeared, and she was back to the cool-faced woman she always was. As for Aunt Rose, she didn’t notice anything strange, and instead walked straight up to me, an unsure expression on her face.

“What is it?”

“It’s a phone call for you…” She said, handing me a phone.

I was frowning, and so was Cornelia who was watching me. I just got out and had only been home less than four hours. It would have been impossible for anyone to know I was here. I mean, it wasn’t like they announced when men were released nor where they were going to be. That was dangerous. This visit had even been spontaneous, as I had begged Cornelia to let me come here. So, really, anyone calling expecting to find me here would have normally been let down.

I didn’t bother to ask for Cornelia’s permission with this one, instead just lifting the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Clyburn, my sources are right. You have been released.” A woman’s voice came over the line.

“Who is this?”

“Come to the corner of Rex and Harlott by any means necessary. You can bring your agent along. That’s not important.”

“Huh? Rex and Harlott?”

“We’ll talk later.” Click.

I pulled the phone away from my ear, looking just as confused as Aunt Rose had been. Someone wanted me to drive to a random intersection in the middle of downtown Amaryllis. The last time I did anything so cryptic, I was kidnapped by Primrose.

“What about that intersection?” Cornelia demanded with a frown.

“I need to go there.”

“Why?”

“Duty,” I responded, although the true answer was that I had no clue. “How about add another two? Four women in all pregnant.”

“Y-you…” Her mouth twisted, “I won’t let you do anything that risks your life.”

“Bring the security along. If they can’t protect me, then no one could.”

She bit her lip, crossing her arms irritably, but finally ended with a nod. “Fine, but I’m holding you to four.”

I let out a sigh. My debt with her was only growing. I wondered if their backroom deals were something she could report to get me in trouble. Well, even if they weren’t, the problem with them is that they were only good until you broke them the first time. As long as I did her favors, I could keep earning favors. The second I stopped, I wouldn’t be able to regain that trust no matter what I did.

I bid fairwell to Madison and Rose, promising I’d return frequently, and then I was back in the car beside Cornelia. I didn’t know where I was going or what to expect, but I had always lived my life that way.