Samkelo said it as a joke, but it does explain why five Earths could be so different and so similar at the same time. If you think about the butterfly effect, any differences in our timelines early in Earth's history would snowball into massive changes later on, so why would alternate Earths have any resemblance to each other unless the timeline split happened relatively recently?

But what's the point of having so many similar Earths? Rupegia is a game-like paradise for people wanting to isekai themselves, but what about the Earth multiverse? They could barely qualify as sci-fi, they aren't gritty enough for a post-apocalypse isekai, and they still have all the stupid modern shit that makes living there boring and unexciting, yet they "seemingly" belong to the "Playground" Cycle. Unless you come from a war-torn or post-apocalyptic world yourself and you want some humble living, the Earth multiverse is nothing but a harvest ground for heroes to isekai onto less-developed worlds.

Maybe it's just that multi-Earths' current peace brought by nukes and Mutually Assured Destruction makes them more stable, so they need less effort put into maintaining them. I mean, if the Humanoid Gods take their eyes off Rupegia even for a decade or two, the apocalypse would happen.

Okay, that's enough fantasizing; the girls are getting a bit uncomfortable with my inner monologue.

 

After this topic dies down, The Four open up again to the wives, allowing me to fade into the background and enjoy my lukewarm plate. Curiously, it has a wide rim at the base that raises it off the table and an opening that allows me to put my hand under it and cast [Fireball] to warm it up.

And I quietly eat as I simply listen to the conversations. It's a hobby of mine to listen to the wives and concubines during our meals, and though the presence of stinky males sullies the sanctity of the meal, it doesn't make it unpleasurable to listen in.

 

For the afternoon, Yunia joins the exercise because at least one of us has to make an appearance.

"I'll require due compensation," our Queen commands, though she didn't need to ask.

Ciel gets Samkelo to start talking about nanomachines, so Lina, Gify, Urmeie, Lily, and Thant stay to listen; Chesa knows shit about anti-grav particles, and the mer girl isn't good with an audience, so Aoi makes quiet conversation with her and gets the girl to talk about her Gift; Kaatohe has another meeting with the rhinoceros Prince; Hana leaves to our room with Caterina to have some tea and to show her the orb, the Artifact we got during our time in the Great Labyrinth under the capital; and I go back to our room too, but it's because I want to flirt with Alissa and Roxanne.

"Finally, there are no males around," I huskily whisper with a sigh of satisfaction as I lay down on the bed, a beauty in each arm.

"So there is a limit to your scholarly curiosity," Roxanne playfully replies, her finger tracing circles on my chest and her dagger-tail doing the same with my black horn.

"If the gnome was a girl, the limit would be higher," I wryly reply, enjoying the tingles that her teasing touch gives me.

Alissa suddenly crawls up closer to me with a foxy look in her orange jewels and gives my cheek a loud peck. Then she quickly backs away and lays her head onto my chest while grinning cheekily. Such a display of cuteness awakens the dragon and gives me a boner, but I don't immediately begin Ravaging her because I want to savor this moment.

And now, with a wide smile, I calmly share, "Anyway, I can still listen to them or have Gify help me review the memories later, so I'm not missing much."

"We don't have that many opportunities to just laze around like this," my happy fox remarks as her fluffy tail slowly wags in a cute and distracting way.

Then Roxanne steals a saying from my and Ciel's mind, "No rest for the Wicked, which means that we can't rest either if we want to keep up."

"Exactly," I hum, then I surprise my pale succubus with a loud peck on the cheek, which makes her dagger-tail straighten up as a jolt of pleasure runs down her spine.

But this also makes Alissa pout, and this second attack of cuteness hardens my boner further, increasing the strain against my elastic elven pants.

There's no way Roxanne would miss this chance to be playful, so her long, slender fingers grab my chin, turn my head towards her and steal my lips, forcefully pushing her tongue inside my mouth. She's always been a wonderful kisser, and she promptly gives my tongue the equivalent of a blowjob, which strains my self-control, so she's really teasing both of us at the same time.

Then a delicate hand pulls my boner out and starts stroking me, raising the stimulation past my limit, so I promptly stop them both because I really want to savor this moment. But the instant that my mouth is freed, Alissa steals my lips again, then gives my tongue another blowjob, and Roxanne shows a bit of kindness by letting her have her fill, though the succubus does grab my Cock because it's a Sin to leave my Sacred Boner unattended.

Still, I don't let my little fox enjoy my lips longer than Roxanne, for there must be a balance, so I soon break our kiss. Then she attempts to follow my mouth and tempt me to give in by unleashing a few last pecks upon me, but I stand fast and control myself. Then my Cock twitches in Roxanne's pale hand as what comes next tickles my fetishes.

Yes, I have Alissa and Roxanne kiss each other. While the latter is a thirsty lesbian, the former is less so, but my fox is still addicted to satisfying me, so she happily nibbles on her sister-wife's lips. And I feel a deep sense of satisfaction, for there's hardly anything more delightfully innocent and feminine than two young beauties playfully kissing each other and giggling like heavenly angels.

This is the experience that I wanted to revel in, something wholly impossible when they're moaning and writhing from the pain and pleasure of being Ravaged by my Sacred Cock. But it's also so stimulating that I'll inevitably succumb to my endless lust, so I have to enjoy it while my self-control lasts.

 

"So, what does this Artifact do?" Caterina calmly inquires as Hana shows her the large diamond orb, which is shiny and mesmerizing, like my glorious scales.

And the proud dragonkin calmly answers, "It stores all sorts of elemental mana and conjured matter into a… what was it called? Half-matter state? Something partially matter and partially mana." Then she shrugs and chuckles.

"Pseudo-elemental mana," Suzy helps her out through [Bind].

"Pseudo-elemental mana," Hana echoes, then grins at her mommy-like lover.

Who simply raises an eyebrow questioningly. "Isn't that similar to what an enchantment does?"

Lina helps out by feeding Hana a few bits of info, who very much isn't confident in not saying something dumb right now. "Enchantments only store raw mana. This one stores conjured matter ready to be used in battle, like if you had stored [Lava Jet] and could pull out the lava with just a thought." And she taps the pretty orb as she speaks.

"That sounds fairly useful," Caterina hums, giving the Artifact a second, more thorough look.

But it isn't, very much not so, and Hana promptly explains why, "You still need a lot of 'Willpower,' so only a few mages and most warriors would be able to use it effectively, and even then, just a slip of the mind and you might unleash everything you stored in it."

And the milfy elf chuckles softly. "Alright, that sounds less useful." Then she takes a sip of her tea and watches Hana intently, interested in hearing more.

This shows how much of a good storyteller Hana is, for she has aptly snared the Punisher's attention. She grins at my internal monologue as she continues, "And, the orb reacts to anything even slightly magical, so it has poor compatibility with armor and weapon enchantments and Wolfy's [Mana Body], though that allows the orb to absorb spells just like emellanat."

Now Caterina makes a thoughtful expression as she puts her cup back down on the table. "Yes, that's far less useful, except the emellanat part."

Hana hums as she nods, "Yep. Only someone who doesn't use the system, like Aoi, would have the necessary ability to use it in combat-…"

"Hey, I should use it in combat," Aoi hums through [Bind], realizing the potential of the Artifact.

"… and even then, it'd be… not efficient." Then Hana leans forward, an excited smile gracing her fearsome face as she finally reaches the real point of this topic. "But the interesting thing is that I found out that if you fill this Artifact with all sorts of mana and balance the amounts just right, it'll all mix into a special type of mana that feels divine, just like the mana that a dungeon core releases."

Now Caterina gives the orb a third look as she subtly leans forward, the most excitement she can show with her very reserved personality. "Hm… that is interesting. You say 'divine,' but how similar is it to Light mana?" And we notice that her expression has become stoic, likely because she's reflexively suppressing her emotions.

Once again, Hana steals words right from Ciel's and my minds, though the way she says it colors the expression with her own perspective, which turns it into a transformative use of copyrighted thoughts, saving her from being sued by us. "Like coffee and chocolate. You can sense that they go well together, and there are certain… 'tones' that are similar, like how both have that earthy taste that comes from roasting, but they're very different." Then she suddenly thinks of a more elven analogy, and it's also an original thought. "Like alcohol and Eia extract."

The Punisher's long and strong fingers tap on the table repeatedly, and her strong body tenses up, subtle signs of repressed excitement and curiosity, though she fails to stop herself from loudly humming, "Hmmm! How curious, but have you tried to do anything with that 'divine' mana?"

Now Hana lowers the diamond orb onto the table as she shrugs, and Caterina's eyes follow the Artifact intently. "Nope. It's too hard to recreate it, and the one time we did it was for a dungeon puzzle, though if we mix a few of those orbs we crush during mana training, it might be possible to create a little bit of that 'divine mana' that we can then pull out with [Godly Language]."

"Well, can you?" Caterina questions, staring intently at her puppy-like lover, almost challenging her.

Hana grins back fearsomely, delighted to see the reserved elf so eager. "Of course, though obviously not as good as Wolfy, but it should be enough. I just can't do anything about the feedback."

A bit of prudence comes back to the older woman as she cautiously questions, "But what if it fails? Didn't you say the orbs were very reactive? I know there's no use of [Godly Language] without consequences."

And Hana snorts amusedly. "You can't really fail at [Godly Language], and the orb doesn't react to the Language like that."

That's enough, for Caterina simply hums, more relaxed, "Fine, I'll trust you."

"Hehe…" the eager dragonkin chuckles softly. Then she turns to me, and I start pulling out the different crates of orbs that we have. We'll just mix fire, water, earth, wind, light, and dark orbs together, which should be enough to produce a grain of "divine power."

Fusing them isn't as easy as pressing them together, but it also takes little effort from us, who are already quite magically talented. And so, after a mere moment, the six orbs are fused into one larger orb, which glows with a rainbow light. It looks very similar to the Rupegian moon, and we all suddenly realize why the moon looks the way it does. The psychedelic sphere in the sky doesn't exude the (very faint) "divine allure" that this orb does, but maybe it's just because we're too far away.

Caterina gives us a confused glance as we all stop in surprise, but we have no time to gawk at it as Hana has Suzy snatch the orb with [Telekinesis], then throw it at her, and she grabs it without looking just so she can look cool in front of the milfy elf.

"Yeah, that was cool," Roxanne happily agrees through [Bind], as that's exactly the kind of thing she has the hots for.

And just to help her look even cooler, I shift her points around and put them in [Godly Language].

Then she brings the orb between them at eye level and huskily orders, "Show me your 'godly power.'"

The faint glow of the orb dims, and a minuscule grain of light flies upwards out of it. The two beauties that I have on each arm are too far to sense the "divine allure," but not me. I'm very sensitive to it, though this one is so faint it's like someone barely kissed the tip of my Cock, and I'm not talking about what Alissa is doing.

Then the feedback hits them, and they both hit their foreheads against the table, rattling their teacups. The little grain of "divine power" is unceremoniously snuffed out, which then makes the orb break into a cloud of sparkling dust that harmlessly dissipates into nothing.

"That was… INCREDIBLE!" Caterina drowsily shouts with an uncharacteristic level of excitement as she straightens up. But then she controls herself again and becomes stoic, though she still looks a bit dizzy.

"Yeah…!" Hana shouts as she also suddenly straightens up, but then she squints as she's seeing double. "How would you describe what it felt like? I'd say it's actually 'indescribable.'"

"Yes, words elude me… it's simply too 'overwhelming,'" she gently agrees with a nod and a kind smile. But then her gaze loses focus, and her expression becomes serious as she realizes something. "Do you know of the Tale of Creation?" she suddenly questions, her gaze now sharp as the dizziness quickly clears away.

"Yes. Wolfy's asked Ciel about it a few times," Hana immediately replies with a nod, now interested in hearing her mommy's take on it.

"How do you think the Old Gods fought? How did they wield the 'Life' to create our Cycles and Realms?" the Punisher calmly questions, her mommy aura suddenly doubling in intensity.

Ciel starts paying attention to their conversation because that's an area she didn't study too deeply.

Ciel's Reminder: Caterina means the Cycles of Life, the mana before it was mana, not the elven concept of "Life."

"With… their will?" Hana hesitatingly answers with a frown, as not even our priestess can answer this question with confidence.

Then Caterina eagerly lectures her scaly puppy, "A mage is unable to directly cast spells upon another's body unless the caster is significantly more powerful than their target, so mages choose to wield the elements like weapons, and the Old Gods did the same with Life as its limitations allowed them to express themselves through combat. But how would they wield something without corporeal bodies themselves?"

"Voice," Hana answers reflexively as it suddenly dawns upon all of us.

And Caterina responds with a wide smile. "The Language is 'how,' and the power is 'what.'"

Oh, shit!

 

Okay, surprise aside, this would be a rather inefficient use of mana and effort. We need to perfectly mix all ten types of mana, then somehow learn how to wield the resulting "divine power" by using [Godly Language], and there's also the question of "what" we'll use this power on.

Maybe an instant, unavoidable kill by speaking "die"…? Now that'd be OP…

But I already have too many things to research! And this is all assuming that Caterina's assumption is actually correct; she's just guessing, though it does make a lot of sense.

Still, a contingency weapon capable of (potentially) killing anything is very attractive to me, and not just because Empy had a hissy fit. I imagine that quasi-immortal undead heretics would be able to accrue enough power to become a threat to us, and since Light magic is already effective against them, one has to wonder if raw "divine power" would be even more lethal.

Just another entry on the list of things to research.

 

And so, this is how we lazily spend our afternoon. After a very amorous moment that grows into a passionate one and ends in an explosive Ravaging, we decide to return to the dining hall to socialize with The Four a bit more.

Hana manages to charm Caterina so deeply with her puppy-like excitement that the milfy elf seems quite comfortable with listening to the girls' moans. It also doesn't take long for her to feel like there's something missing when we leave, and then she requests to rejoin the rest of us.

It seems that the Travelers' presence is gradually becoming more tolerable, which is as expected after having shared both what we have in common and what makes each of us unique. If you aren't constantly having negative experiences with one another, people have a tendency to reach a workable relationship.

So I guess this will last as long as nobody mentions anything about my "unsavory behaviors"…

Though perhaps they, too, will be "corrupted" like me, with time.

 

For bath time, I give my attention to Hana, who got horny after smelling cum in the afternoon, and also to Aoi, who got hungry after smelling the cum in Hana. Caterina is content with watching, so I make sure to give Hana the biggest of orgasms as she stares at her mommy lover. Not even the least gay of the girls can deny that Hana's gorgeously lewd faces are entrancingly seductive, which should be like torture for Caterina to stare at while she suppresses her reactions.

Urmeie has drunk and partied a lot, which makes her quite laid-back in the bath, though she is slightly horny, so she talks dirty with the rest of the girls as she quietly masturbates. I cum for her inside Aoi, which feels rather cathartic.

The Four don't join us for dinner, which is just fine. The mood is also becoming milder as we're mentally preparing ourselves for the battle to come, so there's no need for excitement right now.

And for the afternoon, we turn our bedroom into a spa for Yunia. Of course, we also test the skincare properties of the Hallowed Seed, though it's clear that it's more effective on Kaatohe and Hukarere than anyone else.