Inside a large research hanger in the Sylvering Empire’s capital, a dark-eyed Angelica sat down at a computer desk. At her side was the sniper rifle made of SRIN that Marty had left her. She casually glanced at the removed clip, which had a leftover bullet before going back to work.

A short distance behind her,  the Empress watched Angelica with a trace of sadness and nostalgia in her eyes. “It seems you have fallen hard to our races’ curse.” She said to herself before she walked up behind her daughter. “Angelica, you need to get some rest.”

“I’m not tired. I’m so close. I’ve almost locked on how to duplicate the energy spike within the margin of error. It’s the very last thing I have to calculate.” Angelica replied without showing a hint of stopping.

The Empress sighed and continued to watch over Angelica’s shoulder warily.

After a few seconds of working, Angelica finally slowed and looked down. “Mother, should I do this?”

“Do you want to see him?” The Empress said with a smile that insinuated she already knew the answer.

“… Yes.”

“Then, yes, you should do it. If you don’t, you’ll live your life in regret.” The Empress replied with palpable sadness in her eyes. “I want to meet him too, you know?”

“Okay,” Angelica replied she got back to work.

“I won’t let you have my regrets.” The Empress mumbled to herself.

...

In the early morning, Marty was making breakfast with the help of Anna, the android maid. When he fell asleep the previous morning, he had slept until night due to his piled fatigue. By that point, the girls had all gone to sleep. No longer tired, Marty had spent the evening checking and healing his wounds and tinkering with the SRIN. His goal was to make so that his supercomputer’s AI, as well as Anna, could control the SRIN. Given that he could easily usurp control of the SRIN from them, he wasn’t worried about a coup. Feeling energized, he decided to make everyone a scrumptious breakfast.

“My my, something smells good.”

“Smells yummy.”

“It’s always a pleasant surprise every time Honorable Husband makes us food.”

Miyuki, Shiro, and Shalgana said as they came down the stairs, followed by the other girls as they all habitually woke up at the same time.

Marty didn’t see Kuromi but realized it was because she had sneakily already gone to the table and was expectantly glancing at the food, which prompted a chuckle from Marty.

“My Hero’s personally made breakfast? I can’t wait.” Freyja said with a smile.

“You make it sound like you prefer my breakfast over Anna’s.”

“Your breakfast tastes better because it is packed full of love,” Miyuki said with a chuckle.

Marty rolled his eyes. 

“This one will attempt to make more delicious meals from now on,” Anna said.

“Your meals are always good, Anna. Don’t worry about it.” Freyja said as Marty and Anna began to serve food.

“By the way, Anata, there’s something we’ve all been wondering,” Miyuki began with a sly smile. “Where’s the new girl?”

The girls all turned to look at Marty, who had begun to cough from surprise. “There is no new girl.” He replied after he calmed down.

“Really? Are you not hiding her somewhere? I find that hard to believe since you spent so much time with an all-female alien race, especially with the Princess of said race.” Miyuki replied with a smile.

Marty glanced at Freyja, who was refusing to make eye contact and was whistling.

“Don’t blame me. They wanted to know what happened, given what you said when you came back.” Freyja replied after he sent her a second look.

Marty sighed. “Look, I don’t know why you all seem to be so certain I’ll get more girls. I don’t intend for any more. Plus, if I did, why would I pick someone I’d only known for several hours?”

“You may have only known her for several hours, but you got to know her more than someone you could spend years with. She was willing to die with you, and that says a lot about her character.”

“Still-” *crackle bang!*

Marty began to speak but was suddenly attracted by a tremendous sound that caused the ground to shake.

He was going to find out what was, but suddenly stopped when he heard a voice that only he recognized and could understand. <Hey you deserter, where are you?> The sound of a lamenting Angelica was suddenly projected loudly from the spaceship that suddenly appeared. 

Marty nearly slipped when he heard her voice. With a sigh, he let his mind wander, hijacked some signals, and sent coordinates near his house to the ship. After he did this, he looked around to see a bunch of sly smiles aimed at him.

“Anata, that sure sounds like an alien language coming from a heartbroken girl.” Miyuki teased even though she didn’t understand it.

“I did think she could come back, but not that she would do it after I left.”

“Don’t underestimate the power of a maiden in love!” Miyuki quipped back, speaking for all the despising glances coming his way.

“Hurry up and invite her over,” Freyja said with a smile.

“… I already did.”

“Then let’s go,” Freyja replied as she turned to leave grabbing Marty’s arm.

Marty begrudgingly made his way outside. The spaceship had already arrived and had begun to land on his property not far away. The other girls stayed in the house while Marty and Freyja waited. As the ramp descended, Marty thought it was a good idea to bring Freyja as it might help nip any romantic intentions Angelica had in the bud. As this thought passed through his mind, an adamantine sniper round passed over his shoulder.

A cold shiver went down Marty’s spine, not because of the threat of his own life, but because he felt his powerlessness. If the target had been Freyja, she would be dead right now. He figured that shot was out of spite and not meant to do any harm given that it was over his opposite shoulder, and she would not miss unless it was on purpose. As he was thinking this, a figure suddenly shot out of the ship. Marty slightly jumped back to catch Angelica gently.

“You jerk! You just left without saying a word! I had so much I wanted to… Talk to you… About.” Angelica began but slowly became quieter and fell asleep in his arms.

Marty was quite surprised and gave her a good look over. Given the bags in her eyes, she had collapsed due to exhaustion and overwork.

“Do you think she worked herself nonstop to see you again?” Freyja asked with a smile.

Marty could only reply with a bitter smile as he supported Angelica.

“Empress, you shouldn’t go without a guard.”

“No need. Stay in the ship, that’s an order.”

Marty looked up as the woman he recognized the Empress walked towards him.

“Sir Knight, I never got the chance to thank you for saving us before.” She said with a smile and a slight bow.

Freyja gave Marty a funny smile hearing the Empress address him as ‘Sir Knight.’

“Call me Marty please, Empress.”

“Then you should call me Moth- Sylvia, you should call me Sylvia.”

“I understand, Sylvia,” Marty replied, subconsciously ignoring the possibility of what Sylvia was going to say. Freyja tilted her head with a knowing smile.

“Oh, where are my manners. You are?” Sylvia asked.

“Greetings, Empress,” Freyja replied as she gave a curtsy. “I am Freyja, Princess of Camelot, and Marty’s principal wife.”

“No need to be so formal. Call me, Sylvia.”

“Very well. Sylvia, would you and your daughter like to come into our humble abode. My wonderful husband made myself and my sisters a delicious breakfast, and there’s more than enough to share.”

“Oh, that sounds excellent. Please lead the way. I have a lot to talk to you about and would love to get to know you better.” Sylvia said with a smile as she began to follow Freyja to the house.

Marty picked up Angelica in a princess carry and followed. The fact that the smiles on both Freyja and Sylvia’s faces seemed to show that they had shared more information than just verbal slightly bothered him.

“Marty, how are your connections to the leaders of this world?” Sylvia asked.

“I can personally get a hold of a few of the more prominent leaders in this country. However, I have to call some other people outside of that.”

“Well, we should have a nice long conversation. I’m interested in sharing technology as well as improving relations with such a… handsome race.” She said as she gave him a quick look over, sending shivers down his spine.

The Empress was introduced to everyone and joined breakfast while Marty took Angelica up to the guest room. After coming back down, he had an extremely long conversation with Sylvia about the current state of the world and any additional trades or deals she could propose. As they conversed, Sylvia was happy to find that Marty was brilliant as she had worried that Angelica’s intelligence could cause a divide between them. After all, compatibility was important.

The conversation lasted for several hours, and Angelica had awakened during this time. When she originally came from the guest room, she took a glance at Marty and her mother before she ran away from embarrassment. Marty occasionally checked on her and happily found that she was getting along well with the other girls. However, Marty and Sylvia’s conversation was suddenly cut by the bawling sound of Angelica’s crying. Slightly worried about the purely unrestrained weeping, both Marty and Sylvia went to see what happened. When they arrived, Marty was slightly confused, but Sylvia was shocked.

“Angelica, your wings.”

With Sylvia’s prompt, Marty took a look at her wings. He found that they were tiny on her back instead of their typically large size.

“My wings were very similar to hers, so I tried to see if she could shrink her wings with mana as she was bothered by them. Luckily, it helped.” Lucibelle said with a smile.

“Thank you very much for helping my daughter,” Sylvia said with the bow. She was fully aware of how much Angelica’s wings bothered her in their size and how they differentiated her from her race.

“Please do not bow. I am a former Empress myself, so there is no need for such formalities.”

Sylvia looked at Lucibelle with a surprise before she turned the other girls. “Are there other royalty among you?”

“Princess of Camelot.” 

“Technically Princess of Roxburghshire.”

“Though it is not called as such, I can be considered a Princess of Uul Kheer Tal.”

“Although it was not an official title, among the many I have, I was called the snow Princess or Queen of Kūhon.”

Morgan, Caelia, Shalgana, and Miyuki replied.

Sylvia looked over to Marty. “You have quite the collection of princesses.” She teased.

“It wasn’t unintentional,” Marty replied sheepishly.

“Don’t misunderstand. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Feel free to add a few more princesses.”

“Mother!” Angelica shouted, obviously embarrassed.

Marty was going to reply that he did not intend to increase his harem. However, he couldn’t voice it when he saw Angelica sneak an expectative glance at him. Neither of their glances escaped Freyja’s sight.

After talking some more with Sylvia, Marty left her with Freyja and contacted Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith slightly chastised Marty for not contacting him earlier. Because aliens had visited Marty’s home, it triggered the movement of nearly every major government as they were now more expecting and prepared for such a situation. When Marty told him that the Empress of the aliens wanted to discuss some things with the various countries, Mr. Smith sighed with relief. He was being hounded to facilitate a meeting due to his relationship with Marty. No one directly came because they did not want to offend said aliens leaving Mr. Smith in a bind. Marty was quite surprised to find out that the UN delegates of a large number of countries were immediately flying out to discuss with the Empress the next day.

Once he confirmed this, Marty added some additional information. All technology on Earth was already in their possession, their technology would be shared globally and heavily controlled. This technology would only be slightly ahead of its current technology, with some research being provided so that Earth could further its technology to encourage uniqueness.

After he had done this, Marty returned to check on Angelica and the Empress. Angelica was happily talking to the other girls. He was slightly bothered by the fact that he seemed to be the primary topic of discussion. Freyja and the Empress were happily chatting, though Marty had no idea what the content was as Freyja quickly shooed him away. Slightly feeling ostracized in his own home, Marty went down to his underground facilities to work after instructing Anna to contact him if needed.

End of Day 2

 

The following morning, a large room in the University was occupied. The surrounding area was blockaded entirely by security as people inside were VIPs. Several Sivering bodyguards protected the Empress and Angelica as they met with the UN representatives. Marty was also there along with Freyja, Lucibelle, and Shalgana, whom the Empress had publicly asked to be present. Marty was slightly perplexed but acquiesced when Freyja immediately agreed. 

No one could notice the SRIN that had attached themselves to the UN delegates or the SRIN Marty had placed in key positions throughout the world the previous night. Although he was somewhat reluctant to establish such an information network due to privacy issues, the Earth had become increasingly dangerous. The information was being collected and managed by his computer’s AI that would control the output autonomously helped with the moral justification of his decision. The primary motivation for this decision was due to his run-in with Legion as he believed that Legion was initially someone from Earth. It seemed likely that Hydra’s main base was not on Earth, but thoroughly rooting out their presence here was extremely important to him. Hydra’s existence could become a significant threat to him and his girls.

The meeting began with civil pleasantries and introductions. Nearly everyone in the room was slightly taken aback when they found out that the Empress’s domain was an entire galaxy. The Sylvering’s were galactically acknowledged to be the dominant race due to their superior technology, retrieved from a precursor civilization that was wiped out by their invention, the SRIN. This discovery was also part of the reason why their civilization had glossed over the potential for technology involving combustion.

The Empress explained the basics of the technology that she would share to the world, which she declared as compensation for unilaterally taking all of Earth’s scientific discoveries. When she went over the specifics, there were some disappointed looks on the faces of the representatives. The Empress had taken to Marty’s decision to heavily restrict what was shared, only providing the next step scientifically from Earth’s current technology. This included things like faster computing power, more efficient batteries, and other overall improvements to technology that already existed. However, this decision did not cause any representatives to voice out complaints. They understood that this was a gift from someone who could very easily destroy their nations without the help of SUPERS.

Additionally, any country that attempted to obtain better technology from the Sylvering’s would be singled out by the others due to the threat of world balance. The conversation involving technology, the basics, and how it would be distributed was somewhat dull to Marty and the girls. However, all of them were mindful of their manners, so it did not show.

After the discussion of technology, next came the second deal which Marty had no idea about.

“My next proposal regards your civilian populace, which will be managed by your respective governments.” The Empress began. “You see, my race is all female. We can reproduce via parthenogenesis or sexually with another species with a similar type of DNA. This means that our race can reproduce with humans. Thus, I would like to propose marriages between our races be allowed and set up. Do you have any questions or concerns before we get to specifics of my proposal?”

“If you can reproduce parthenogenetically, why do you seek our species?” The Chinese delegate asked.

“Excessive parthenogenesis reproduction can result in genetic degradation. Our bodies use the DNA from our partners to help diversify the gene pool. Reproducing via parthenogenesis is usually only done by those who wish to have a child at the end of their childbearing years, but cannot find a suitable mate.”

“Is it somewhat difficult for Sylvering’s to find a mate? Is that the reason why you have proposed this?” The American representative asked.

“Far from it. 75% of the species within my domain are capable of producing children with our race. Males find it desirable as our race is the dominant one.”

“If this is the case, can you explain your motivation for such a proposition?”

“Primarily, it is for the emotional benefit of my people. Unfortunately for our Sylvering race, no other species have been discovered that fit our aesthetics for desirable male, until now. It’s simple to say that humans are pleasing to the eye and desirable for my races’ point of view.”

What the Empress’s remarks, most of the representatives had a gob-smacked expression.

“I…, I understand. However, what you’ve said also seems to insinuate that none of the children produce between a human and a Sylvering will be human. What is the benefit for our race?”

“Your inference is correct. With the only record exception being my daughter, there has not been the Sylvering born that has had any trait or genetic tie-in with the father. Although we cannot say with certainty as no children between humans and Sylvering’s have ever been created, they should all be born as Sylverings. As for the benefits of your races, there are a few. The first, of course, is continued political interactions. Our race only has a desire for peaceful interaction with yours. Should you not accept this proposition, we will leave with no intention of coming back. The second benefit would be that we will assist your worlds in technological development continuously. Although this will occur over many years, Earth’s technology will improve much faster than it would on its own. The third condition would be that your species males have access to Sylvering women. As our race appears to be considered beautiful by your world’s physical standards, I think many humans would find this appealing. I would add, though the process is not a sexual one, we can also procreate with females.”

“Then what are your conditions?” The Russian representative asked.

“The habitation of Sylvering’s within their country that marries humans or allows humans to voluntarily and permanently live in the Sylvering Empire. Should your country permit the habitation of Sylverings, then you must allow their offspring to decide whether to remain on Earth or go to their homeland. Sylverings must be treated impartially from a legal perspective, and fairness within society should be strived for.”

“Forgive my rudeness, but this somewhat sounds like it could be a scheme to take over our planet internally.” The US ambassador said.

“I can see where your concern lies, however, and forgive my rudeness, but we have no reason to desire your world. After all, we exist in a different reality than here. Besides Earth, we have found no other points of interest within this galaxy, while searching beyond that is beyond even our capabilities. I understand your concern and can take measures to prevent this from happening. Your countries may prohibit Sylverings from holding political power as an exception to the previous legal impartiality I mentioned.  You can also limit the number of Sylverings you allow within your countries.”

The US representative gave a slight smile and not. “I understand. Though I will need to discuss it with my higher-ups as well and hold discussions held between countries, I believe that America will give you a favorable response.”

“That is good to hear. However, I have one additional condition that must be fulfilled; otherwise, the secondary proposition can be considered void.” The Empress said with a smile as she gave a glance towards Marty.

Marty, who hadn’t said a word during the entire time, would have brushed it off as an occasional glance. However, the fact that the three girls around him couldn’t help but break out into bad smiles as the Empress continued gave him a foreboding feeling.

“As Empress, it is also one of my responsibilities to be a role model for my citizens. Because of this, the first marriage between our two species will be between my daughter and Marty Cross.” 

““What!”” Marty and Angelica both shouted.

As the surprise sunk in for the two of them, there was a lot of mumbling and expressed discontentment from the representatives.

The Empress looked at Angelica. “If you don’t want him, I’ll take him.”

“No!” Angelica shouted before she reeled in embarrassment and stole a glance at Marty. Her cheeks turned a darker shade of silver. 

The Empress turned her attention to Marty. “So Marty, would you do me the honor of accepting my daughter?”

There was some confusion and alertness when the Empress stated, ‘do me the honor.’

Marty was slightly slack-jawed in shock, so before he could answer, Freyja chimed in. “Of course, we accept.”

“Freyja! This… this isn’t appropriate.” He replied with a slight hesitation when he noticed Angelica’s heartbroken appearance at his apparent rejection.”

“Marty, my beloved husband, you should accept.” Freyja again stated.

“She’s a good girl, so you should accept her into your harem,” Lucibelle said with a smile.

“Honorable Husband, I believe she is worthy of you,” Shalgana added.

Marty was momentarily stunned by the girls’ blindside, but could only make a bitter smile when he realized why the Empress had wanted the three of them here. The three of them, amongst the other girls, were not only all right with his harem but actively pushed for its expansion. Additionally, their acknowledged presence by the Empress also showed to the representatives that she was aware that Marty was married.

“Well… I…” Marty began with a stutter before he was interrupted with a cough of the American representative.

“Empress, is it all right to marry off who I’ve come to understand is your only daughter?”

“Naturally.” The Empress replied, slightly annoyed at the apparent dissatisfaction with her proposal. “Although I may be called Empress, it is only a titular acknowledgment of our past form of government which was similar to your world’s monarchies. The Empress is an elected position for life, so my daughter has no claim on the throne. Given my daughter’s passion for science and her dissatisfaction with politics, she will not become Empress. Moreover, I am more than pleased with Marty as a son-in-law. He is very well-loved by all of his wives, which shows that he is an excellent caretaker, someone I can trust with my daughter’s life. Additionally, I have been worried about finding someone who could match her intellect. The technology used to come to this universe was one my daughter herself created amongst many of her scientific discoveries and creations. The result of her appearance was a complete accident. In her worry about coming to a strange planet with no means of communicating to our Empire, a single human made initial contact with her and quickly learned our language. This person not only consoled my daughter in her time of worry but assisted in her return, showing a level of intelligence hardly found anywhere. That person was Marty Cross, someone who I deem worthy of my daughter.”

Marty was surprised at the Empress’s words, given that they were technically correct. The insinuation that he maintained continuous communication with Angelica, which intentionally provided an alias during the time that he acted as the ‘Fake Hero.’

The American representative could help but groan as he had to bite the bullet. “Empress, although there is now a new exception about polygamy, we cannot recognize this polygamous marriage legally.”

“And that’s stupid.” Everyone, including Marty, turned in surprise as the person who had just spoken with Shalgana. However, because the Empress seemed on friendly terms with her, no one chastised her as she continued. “I may not be completely familiar with all of the societies of the country’s present, but I believe that most of them are very similar in one respect. When the man sleeps with many women, he is praised with terms like ‘stud’ and the like. However, when a man of high integrity, like my Honorable Husband, wishes to take responsibility for many willing women, society shuns him and refuses. It’s utter hypocrisy.”

Marty was surprised by Shalgana’s outburst, but not at its contents. Ever since he brought her to Earth, she had made a point about subtly hinting that he be all right with accepting his harem. It was only now that Marty realized it was likely due to the insecurity of her nominal marriage to Marty as they had never consummated their relationship. The fact that he had seemed to enforce, as well as live in a monogamous society, didn’t help her confidence.

The American representative made a bitter smile. “I don’t make the laws, miss.”

The Empress cast a smile toward Shalgana. “I am naturally aware of the law in question. However, I would like to remind the representative that polygamist marriages are recognized so long as they occur in a different reality, something very easy for me as I can freely travel between. So Marty, your answer?”

Marty, who had just stopped Freyja for answering for him again, looked towards representatives. “I would like to request a recess.”

At this point, the representatives wished to talk and discuss with their respective countries, so his request was accepted.

As Marty ushered the girls away to speak in private, the Empress called out to him. “Marty, before we rejoin, I would like to speak with you.”

Marty nodded as the Empress went to console the disappointed Angelica, who made a face that made Marty guilty. Once he reached a private room, he turned to the three girls. “... Why?”

Freyja retrieved and unfurled the stipulations of which he and the roasted signed. “According to Exception B, there is a good enough reason for you to marry her, so I accepted on your behalf,” Freyja said with a naughty smile.

Marty rubbed his eyes. “That is an incredibly loose interpretation of what is written, and this isn’t a situation where I want legality brought into it.” He admonished.

‘“Just accept her.”” Lucibelle and Shalgana simultaneously said.

Freyja held Marty’s hand and snuggled up next to him. “I know you like her. I know you want to make her yours, just do it.”

Marty, who was slightly distracted by the intimacy couldn’t help but mumble, “how do I hear the devil whispering on my shoulder and the angel is nowhere in sight.”

Freyja laughed. “Marty, there’s no reason for you to hold back. I know you want her.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Do you remember when I insinuated you should get to know the girl whose leg I healed? You immediately refused. However, when it comes to Angelica, you didn’t. You said it was not appropriate. The reason why you did not outright reject her is that you don’t want to reject her, you want her, and you don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

Marty couldn’t reply because Freyja was right. He had a compulsion to make Angelica his, and that scared him. He was scared because such a thought was something he did not feel as safe or normal. Such a mindset was not something he grew up with but only recently acquired. Somewhat dazed and confused, he pushed Freyja up against a wall aggressively.

Freyja, surprised by his action, suddenly became timid by his aggression, but also slightly excited. “Freyja, are you sure? You might be opening a Pandora’s box.”

Freyja nodded. “No matter who or what you want, you should go and attain it. I will always support you.”

Marty bent down and gently stole her lips, and she noticed his was slightly trembling.

“Have you decided?” She asked him.

“Not yet.”

Freyja looked a little disappointed at his continual lack of decisiveness. “You know, you can consider this a political marriage and work to grow your feelings once you get to know each other if that’s bothering you.”

Marty nodded but did not reply.

“Do you know why all representatives are so disapproving of your marriage to her?”

“I haven’t given it any thought.”

“It’s very simple. If you marry her, you will be the son-in-law of superior military civilization that can appear anywhere on Earth and destroy any country. Your position will be higher than any country’s leader on Earth. Excluding extremely powerful SUPERS, no one will even think about harming you. Instead, they will attempt to protect you to ensure that the wrath of the Sylvering’s will not fall upon them. I hate to break it to you, but if you don’t marry her, you may be targeted by countries who wish to find if you have any additional information or technologies you may have obtained during conversing with Angelica.”

Marty nodded in understanding. “I need some time alone to think.”

“I understand. We will go and tell the Empress to speak to you shortly.” Freyja replied as she walked out of the room.

Lucibelle walked up to Marty and hugged him. “Marty, no, husband. If you feel it is unfair to Angelica to take her as another wife when you’re already married, please stop. I will not speak for her, but in my case, if I could not call you, husband, have your love; I do not know if I could continue to live on. Having to share you is hardly a price to pay, especially considering I now have irreplaceable friends and family.”

Marty nodded, gave her a slight smile, and a light kiss on the lips before she too exited the room.

Shalgana could hardly make eye contact with him out of embarrassment from her actions and the intimacy of the other two, which she had yet to partake in. “Honorable Husband, if you wish to punish me for my impudence during the meeting, please do so.”

Marty gently smiled and took her into his arms. “While you should learn to control your temper, I am thankful you know. I am a polygamist, and you were defending my way of life. Thank you, Honorable Wife.”

Shalgana was relieved after hearing the first part but was surprised to tears at the second. She’d always called him Honorable Husband as a nickname in a joking manner. However, it also exposed her innermost thoughts of him. Even though it was only nominally, being able to call someone who she admired and respected so much as Honorable Husband brought her great joy and pride. However, she couldn’t repress the desire to become more than just a nominal wife. Her relationship with Marty was one of the shortest and most distant of all the girls, which was why she sympathized with Angelica. This also led to her insecurity around the other girls, but she could only swallow that silently. To this day, Marty had only nicknamed Freyja ‘My Goddess’ and Morgan’ Goldie.’ The fact that she was able to obtain a nickname, proof of their relationship, brought her so much happiness that she burst into tears.

Marty looked at the beautiful girl in his arms as the tears ran down her face. It was only now that he realized how bad of an inferiority complex she had about their relationship, something he did not want to allow. So, he did the only thing he could think of to express his feelings of her that could leave no doubt. He bent down and stole her lips. The kiss was initially clumsy due to Shalgana’s surprise, but he quickly took control and made the experience something she would never forget for her entire life. Shalgana felt like she was flying, and she nearly stopped breathing even after Marty finally released her. 

Several minutes later, Marty sent out Shalgana, ignoring Lucibelle’s ‘what took you so long’ look. Shortly after, the Empress entered. “Marty, would you mind if we talked?”

“Of course not. What would you like to talk about.” Marty replied with a smile.

“You’re not angry, are you?” the Empress asked jokingly.

Marty shook his head and made a bitter smile. “Considering you went behind my back and conspired against me with my wives, I should be. However, the fact is that you did so to entrust me with that which you hold most dear, so I can’t bring myself to be angry.”

“That’s a relief. Then, your answer?”

“… I haven’t decided yet.”

The Empress nodded before she bowed at Marty.

“Empress, raise your head,” Marty said, flustered.

The Empress shook her head. “Right now, I am not an Empress but a mother.”

“Okay then, Sylvia, please raise your head. It makes me uncomfortable to talk to the top of your head. Why are you so fervent about this? I do not believe that Angelica has anything to do with your proposing our marriage.”

The Empress rose her head and smiled bitterly. “How could she? She doesn’t understand her feelings. Marty, I’m sorry, but I somewhat misinformed you before. I’m about to tell you a big secret about our race, and I request you to keep it to yourself. When I said that the Sylvering race does not take any father traits, that is technically not true. It is only the case for physical appearance. However, should the father be someone of superior strength or intellect, this is often passed down to the child. Perhaps because of this, should a Sylvering find a male she admires due to strength or intellect as you exposed before Angelica, it is very easy for that Sylvering to fall in love, and deeply so.”

“Really?” Marty replied, having a hard time believing it.

“It’s true. Not only is it well-documented, but I have also experienced it first hand.” The Empress said with a sigh. “I went through a very similar experience with Angelica’s father as the two of you went through, eerily so, in fact. Her father swept me off my feet, and I fell madly in love with him. Even though I only knew him for a very short time; Even though I last saw him the night Angelica was conceived, I still love him to this day even though I know he is not deserving.” She said as tears began to form in her eyes. “I envy my daughter because not only had she found someone to love, but someone truly worthy of her love. I beg you, please accept her.”

...

One hour later, the meeting was finally reconvened. Marty couldn’t help but notice that Angelica looked like an emotional wreck. He somewhat regretted not answering her immediately, but he truly needed some more time to think because accepting her was not simple. Not only would it be acceptance of her but an acceptance of his desire, which would change his thoughts and life. It was not a decision he felt he could make lightly.

“I believe everyone is ready to continue.” The US representative said.

When he did so, Marty suddenly stood up, garnering the attention of everyone present. Taking a deep breath, Marty looked towards Angelica. “Angelica, I’m sorry for not giving a clear answer before. I was caught off guard, and I haven’t heard your feelings on the matter.” Angelica was about to speak, but Marty silenced her with his hand. “Before you tell me what you want, let me speak first. Angelica, I like you. At this point, I do not believe it to be love, but I do believe it could become that. I’m not a ‘prince charming’, and I know that I have many faults. However, if it is your desire, then…” Marty took a deep breath. “Then I will marry you because it is my desire. Angelica, I want you.” Marty said strongly.

Angelica, who was embarrassed and had tears in her eyes, slightly looked down and quietly said: “please take care of me in the future.”

“Excellent!” The Empress said as she quickly drew Angelica over to Marty. “Our Sylvering culture does not have any unique ceremony regarding marriage, so you can be considered married from this point on. I expect you two to make me a granddaughter quickly.”

“Mother!” Angelica admonished as she looked embarrassed enough to faint.

The Empress bent down and whispered to Marty. “Even though she’s my daughter, I would be quite displeased if you consummated your relationship with her first. While I can admire a male practicing absence as a form of respect around so many beautiful, willing, and loyal females, waiting too long will only make them feel insecure.”

Marty, embarrassed, nodded as he knew what she said was the truth. “It won’t be too much longer.” He said sheepishly.

The Empress gave him a wink and returned to her seat, leaving Angelica with him. “The five of you can leave now as I believe are going to get into specifics about the deals which will get quite boring.”

Marty nodded and quickly left with the four girls as he genuinely did not enjoy politics.

...

When Marty and company arrived home, Freyja pulled away all the girls except for Angelica to have a discussion. She left Angelica in Marty’s care to introduce her to the house as the conversation she intended to have involved Angelica.

“The reason I have called you all here is that I want to know if any of you are dissatisfied with my decision to include Angelica into our ranks,” Freyja said between sips of tea.

“I, for one, would like to understand why you were so upfront in pursuing it,” Miyuki replied.

“All of you recall my explanation about Marty and I sharing memories, yes?” She asked, paying little heed to the subtle glasses of jealousy from her remark. “Well, I didn’t share everything with you. There are two reasons why I pushed for this. The first is because of Fate.”

“What do you mean by Fate?” Lucibelle asked.

“I found out that, within Martel’s soul, there dwell three other souls. One of which I didn’t get to know as she only asked me to take care of him. The other is the soul of my ancestor. The final, who goes by the name of Yami, I do not know. However, Yami is extremely knowledgeable about many things, and we had a discussion about Fate. Fate is something that is guaranteed to happen. Only something that exceeds the power of Fate can change it.”

“Do you have any examples?” Morgan asked.

“I do. That night when we were attacked in Camelot, it was Fate that I was to die with no hope of revival. No matter what was done differently, that was always the final result, and I did die. The reason why I am living before you is because of Dimension Door. When time is a variable, it can exceed the power of Fate and break it.”

“That is very interesting, but what does Fate have to do with Angelica?” Miyuki asked.

“Because I am alive, my Fate is broken, which means that I have a new Fate. However, the same can be said for all of you as you were all supposed to die during the fight at Mt. Etna. This was changed both with my presence and Martel fusing with his future soul because, when a person’s Fate is broken, it can more easily break others. It is not guaranteed, which is why I am going to take every opportunity to increase the likelihood of it happening because it is Martel’s Fate is to lose a battle in the future. I don’t understand the specifics, and I know that his death from the fight is not a matter of Fate, but I need to do everything possible to give him a path to victory as it is important.”

“Was it the fight that sent him to Kuhon? To me?” Miyuki asked.

Freyja nodded. “That seems to be the case. Whatever Marty did in your world triggered a change that caused Angelica to appear. This means that she, along with us, or other additional variables, add to the possibility of breaking Marty’s Fate.”

“Even though you say that you don’t seem very sure of yourself,” Lucibelle observed.

Freyja made a bitter smile. “If Fate could be so easily broken, it wouldn’t be called Fate.”

Morgan rubbed her forehead. “This seems somewhat complicated. What’s the second reason?”

Freyja sighed. “It’s because of my guilt. You see, Marty’s had a slight change in thought process from before he came to my world. After the accident with his family, he fell into a spiral of depression. When he eventually recovered, his broken heart was left empty, leaving him starved for love. This is the primary reason why he can’t bring himself to refuse sincere affection. Because of his intellect, he was often ostracized and even cost him the small circle of friends he finally managed to build to be destroyed. It was after this that he came to my world. 

“Having come to my world, Marty decided to play ‘hero.’ Although he intentionally got stronger and did everything a hero should do, it was more of a game to him. Since he found himself in that situation, he went along with the script, got stronger, and beat the final boss. He also decided to make a platonic harem. However, he never truly pursued it and decided against it once he realized that he had fallen in love with both myself and Morgan. He never pursued us because he couldn’t decide between us and was against marrying both of us. You could say he was able to keep his greed and lust entirely in check and be content with only one. However, this changed.

“Once he absorbed Fafnir, the Red Dragon, he took a part of that within himself. I do not know if it is because dragons tend to represent greed and lust, but from that point on, he slowly began to have a change in mindset. The two mindsets fused and became what he currently has. He doesn’t lust after a person because of their looks, but should a woman who is both objectively good and earnestly loves him, he will desire that woman. It is an impulse that he has difficulty controlling, and I do not intend to force him to try. This impulse is a direct result of him saving my world. It may be selfish of me to impose this on you, but trying to make him control that impulse would be selfish of me to him. Are any of you dissatisfied with my reasons?”

Freyja looked around the room and saw that there was some slight dissatisfaction, but no one raised any objections. She sighed lightly. “Marty may be strong, but he is still only one person. His strength is limited. The enemies he will face in the future will most likely be beyond our current comprehension. To help ensure not only his survival but our own, we need as many trustworthy and strong allies as possible. Unfortunately, people that we can truly trust are few and far between. Although it may not be perfect, our best bet is to focus on an elite number of selfless warriors with Marty at the center. I believe that the most efficient way to do this with significantly trustworthy people is to focus on those who love him.”

Miyuki lightly shook her head. “Freyja, I don’t think it will be that simple. Love is a double-edged sword.”

Freyja made a bitter smile. “I’m aware of that, but I believe in Marty’s discretion. The reason why I’m bringing this up is because I trust all of you. When new girls appear, and they will, I need all of you to strive as much as possible to get along with them and ensure that they get along with each other. Keep any cliques that form from becoming exclusive and ostracizing others or simply not getting along. Please,” Freyja said as she bowed.

“Freyja, you don’t need to do this,” Lucibelle said as she gently propped her back up. “I always believed that our husband was meant for great things. We need to support him.”

“I agree,” Shalgana replied.

“That lucky pervert,” Morgan mumbled on her breath, acquiescing.

“I suppose it is for the best. I wouldn’t want something bad to happen, lose him, and then blame myself for not doing or allowing enough,” Caelia replied.

Yutsuki made a reluctant nod while Kuromi nodded expressionlessly, both seemed a little reluctant. Shiro and Cali were eating snacks.

“Well, then, I am relieved.” Freyja replied, “Is there anything else anyone wishes to talk about?”

“Actually, I noticed something today.” Lucibelle began. “Marty did not appear anywhere near as bothered by the Empress’s marriage proposal as he was to your acceptance. If what you said about his mindset is true, then he should’ve had no problem, if not been happy with your help and acceptance, right?”

Several seconds passed by as the girls were lost in thought.

“You’re right, am I missing something?” Freyja wondered.

“Um, I might know.” Yutsuki timidly said.

“Go ahead, Yutsuki. Your opinion is precious.” Freyja said as she smiled gently.

“Well, how would you feel if Marty suddenly came to you and said, ‘it’s all right for you to marry this person too’?”

“I would think that he didn’t want or love... wait!” Freyja said before she and the other girls made a face of realization. “That makes perfect sense. He was uncomfortable because I was so willing to expand his harem that it seemed as if my love was superficial or my decision was too calculating. However, he didn’t bring this up because he knows my feelings for him very well. I didn’t think about that, what should we do?”

“It’s simple, voice jealousy,” Miyuki replied. “I’m fairly certain that none of us are without jealousy, but we bottle all inside, which is probably not a good idea. Thus, we should probably act out and our jealousy within reason.”

“I agree,” Shalgana replied. “The few times that Morgan and I have had disagreements, especially about him, he would always attempt to intervene and help us get along. Depending on exactly what we fought about, he would express how happy he was that we cared so much about him, so I think it’s a good idea.”

Freyja nodded. “Okay, then so long as we all promise not to do or say anything that can permanently harm our relationships, then I agree we should.”

“However, we should only do so authentically,” Miyuki added. “I’m fairly certain he would see through us if we try to act out of play.”

“Then it’s decided then,” Freyja said with a smile. “You know, I don’t know about all of you, but I’m happy to be his wife, and I’m happy to have such wonderful sisters.”

 

While the girls were busy with their tea party, Marty gave Angelica a full tour of the property. Angelica was most pleased when she found out about the secret base. She originally intended to keep her research ship on the property, but it was inefficient for some of the more extensive facilities. Marty naturally promised her as much space as she needed as he could easily expand the base quickly and safely with the SRIN. Eventually, Marty and Angelica made their way to her room, which Anna had finished preparing.

“Don’t forget, if there’s anything you need, just call for Anna in a normal speaking voice. She will hear you regardless of where you are in the house.” Marty said. 

Angelica nodded, but something seemed to be distracting her.

“Is something wrong?” Marty asked.

“What? Oh, no, sorry. It’s just; my mother told me I should tell you a secret of mine right away, but…”

“But you are afraid I won’t accept you after I hear it?”

“… Yes.”

“Well, it’s too late for me to back out now, so you should tell me. I promise I won’t shun you after I hear it.” Marty replied with a smile.

Angelica nodded and began to explain the whispers she heard. There was a moment of surprise on Marty’s face, but it didn’t last, and she soon became more comfortable explaining it.

“Well, it’s good you told me about it. Discovering about it at a later date would have been more suspicious. You should also tell the other girls as an expression of trust. Make sure to respect their privacy if you hear something you shouldn’t, but I trust you to share if it’s important, okay?”

“Okay,” Angelica said as tears began to form. She heard no whispers from him, which meant that everything he said was entirely true. He had accepted her completely.

“You know, I have a strong compulsion to kiss you right now.” He said as he looked at her. “However, I kind of want our first kiss to be more romantic.”

Angelica flinched before she started poking her pointer finger together. “Oh, well, don’t get mad, but… I may have kissed you to give you medicine.” Angelica said sheepishly.

Marty made a surprised face before he chuckled. “Well, giving up your first kiss to save a life is quite romantic.”

Angelica made a breath of relief that he didn’t mind, but what he said and did next shocked her.

“Of course, that also means I don’t have to be polite.” With enthusiasm, Marty pushed down the shocked Angelica and greedily stole her lips. She struggled for a moment due to surprise and panic, but gave up and quickly became intoxicated by their kiss.

After he pulled away, he gently stroked her hair. “Angelica, I love you.” He said gently.

Angelica was surprised but quickly burst into tears and happiness as she had not heard a whisper. “You… You said you only liked me earlier.”

“And now I love you,” Marty said the smile. “Perhaps I allowed myself to love you, or perhaps I now think of you as my wife. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Love can’t be considered to be a purely rational thing.”

Angelica was about to reply, but she suddenly froze. Following her line of sight, Marty saw that both of the double doors had a bunch of slightly jealous looking young ladies peering around them in such a way that Marty could not help but wonder: [how is that physically possible?]

“Quick girls, get him!” Miyuki shouted.

Marty had to deal out a bunch of kisses to appease them, but he couldn’t be any happier.

End of Day 3