Alysa said, "So, what now?"
Liebe said, "For now, I'm starving. That one-week nap really did a number on my stomach."
Alysa said, "Same. How about I cook something?"
Liebe said, "Mey, how about you join us?"
Mey said, "Umm… thank you for having me."
Alysa said, "So, what do you guys want to eat?"
Liebe said, "Roasted chicken sounds good right now."
Mey said, "I also like chicken."
Then Gelda and Eldrie woke up, still hanging onto Liebe's leg.
Liebe said, "Good, you two are awake."
Gelda and Eldrie just cried and said, "Lord!"
Liebe said, "Stop crying like babies. What are you, three?"
Gelda said, "Lord, we thought you would never open your eyes again!"
Eldrie said, "If something happened to you… we couldn't take it!"
Liebe said, "I get it, I made you worried. I'm sorry for worrying you so much."
Alysa said, "You and your mom, honestly…"
Liebe said, "What happened? Alysa, tell me — is Mother okay? Did anything happen to the Faust estate?"
Alysa said, "Don't worry. Aunt Lilith is safe. Can't say the same for Valtia, though."
Liebe said, "Why? What happened?"
Eldrie said, "You should know this — after you went MIA, after a few hours of searching, the Valtian government declared you and Mey deceased."
Gelda said, "And at 3 PM Eldorian time, Lady Lilith released a statement to Aldo, the Chief Warrior of Valtia, saying that if you weren't found safe and sound, she would turn Valtia to ash and dust."
Liebe said quietly, "Mother did that for me… Who am I kidding? Of course Mother did."
Gelda said, "You may not be the heir anymore, but for us, you still are. And Lady Lilith loves you more than the current heir — that, I can say for sure. After you collapsed, we got so worried. When the doctors said half of your organs were damaged, we thought— What did you fight to get in such bad shape?"
Liebe said, "A Supreme Devil."
Alysa said, "Of course you did."
Gelda said, "And Lady Lilith called me every hour from when you went MIA to after you were treated — to check if you had awakened yet or not. Needless to say, she's banned from Valtia for good."
Liebe said, "I'm threatening a nation again, huh? Sounds like it."
Alysa said, "By the way, the Grandmaster has sent a letter for you. Also, based on your healing, Grandmaster Astraeus asked for a few tissue samples — a bit of your skin, some blood, and a bit from your heart. But not to do it here; it's best not to leave your samples in Valtia, as they might use it. He said to do it first thing after returning to Eldoria."
Liebe said, "Okay then. Also, Gelda and Eldrie, let go of my legs — I can't walk by dragging you two."
Eldrie said, "No."
Gelda said, "Never! We aren't letting go of you ever again!"
Liebe said, "Now I'm concerned if you two really are adults or not…"
Then there was a knock on their hotel room door. Liebe went and opened it — it was Vanessa.
Liebe said, "Lady Vanessa, what a pleasure."
Vanessa said, "I came to check in on you. Heard you had awakened."
Liebe said, "Yeah, but how did you know?"
Vanessa said, "Well, Werner was running around chasing Licht, screaming that the God of Darkness had awakened."
Liebe sighed and said, "Of course he did. I, for the life of me, can't understand that dude."
Vanessa said, "He seems fond of you — similar to these catlike adults clinging to your legs."
Liebe said, "I'm still debating if they're actually adults or not. And if they're not, should they be considered cats or kids?"
Vanessa said, "At least you got one of the cats off you."
Liebe said, "Yeah, Alysa is cooking — that's why she isn't clinging to me right now."
Vanessa said, "Is that what that amazing smell is?"
Liebe said, "Well, Alysa's cooking is amazing — the best I know. If you want, you can join us."
Vanessa said, "Then don't mind if I do."
As Vanessa entered, she saw Mey and Alysa sitting while Eldrie and Gelda were still hanging off Liebe's legs.
Vanessa said, "My, my… just sixteen and already has a harem of two future wives."
Liebe said, "Huh? What? Alysa and I are in a relationship, but we aren't too serious. And Mey and I are just friends."
Mey sheepishly said, "I would like to be more than friends… if that's okay. And since Alysa said it's fine, I'll be your second wife after her."
Liebe screamed, "Whatttttttt?!"
Alysa said, "Yeah, I thought about it, and well — of course I'll be your first wife in the future. She can be the second. Mostly because I like her boobs, so I get to play with them too."
Liebe's face turned bright red.
Vanessa said, "My, my — the wedding planning's already begun! I didn't know I should buy a new dress for the occasion. I'll have to tell the other Knights of the Round as well — Geno will be thrilled. And by the way, all the drinks for the event will be provided by the Grand Empire.
Of course, we intended the same for your parents' wedding, but they wanted a small ceremony, so we Knights of the Round had to watch from afar — like 300 km away — but it was emotional! I even cried a bit, and Geno was crying tears of joy."
Liebe said, "Umm… why was he so happy? Is he really that good of a friend with Mother?"
Vanessa said, "Of course not! Your mother traumatized the poor dude."
Liebe said, "How did Mother traumatize one of the strongest men in the world?"
Vanessa said, "You know between ages 15 and 33 how your mother challenged me over 300,000 times?"
Liebe said, "Yes, you told me that before."
Vanessa said, "It was the same for Geno — except… multiply that number by 3,000."
Liebe said, "More than 3 billion times?!"
Vanessa said, "You guessed it. She was quite persistent. Let's just say whenever someone puts the words Faust and training in one sentence, poor Geno just hides."
Liebe said, "Now I'm scared and confused."
Vanessa said, "Well, your parents' wedding definitely helped. After getting tired, we would just call Gela and Tenebris, and Tenebris had to drag your mother out and calm Geno down. They were such a cute couple. Lilith would literally be like, 'Please, Tenebris, a few thousand more times before we go!' and your dad had to explain that she was actually bothering us. He'd promise to let her come to the Empire again to challenge us."
Liebe said, "Yeah, Dad did seem like the mature type in the family. He was the one who'd say three liters of ice cream at 4 AM is probably not the best idea."
Vanessa said, "I'm quite invested in the ice cream story, if you don't mind."
Liebe said, "Well, it isn't much of a story — more like an old habit. Once or twice a week, Mother would come to my room at like 4 AM and be like, 'Liebe, Liebe, you awake?' And I'd say, 'Yes, Mommy, I am now.' Then she'd say, 'Quick, help me finish this three-liter tub of chocolate ice cream before your dad finds out, otherwise he'll scold us again.' So we'd finish the tub and play truth or dare, and then she'd use her magic to make sure the tub was dust and replace it in the morning before Dad woke up.
Well, it only worked three times, and two of those were just because he pretended not to notice."
Vanessa said, "We Knights of the Round knew about Tenebris, but none of us got the opportunity to see him personally. We even witnessed his funeral — though you don't know, because we were watching from a thousand kilometers away."
Liebe said, "Yeah…"
Vanessa said, "That day Geno was freaked out — really freaked out. He literally peed his pants. He was worried that now that Tenebris wasn't there, maybe your mother would turn into the battle freak again."
Liebe said, "Now I feel bad for the poor man."
Vanessa said, "Seeing Lilith made me realize it's probably for the best we aren't in his shoes."
Gelda said, "Yes — in her younger days, Lilith was quite the battle freak."
Vanessa said, "But after you were born, she went from thousands of battles a day to maybe once a year with us. For some reason, we knew it was for the best. Whenever she was around, she seemed happy — always saying, 'I miss Liebe.'"
Liebe said, "Sounds like Mother."
Vanessa said, "But now that Lilith has sadly matured, it's quite depressing. When we learned you two don't talk anymore, I was shocked. Even though I never met you, I knew Lilith loved you too much."
Liebe said, "Well, Mother did really try to become a Grand Knight, but for me, she was always a hero."
Vanessa said, "Good to know. I wish I could've seen that. Geno wouldn't have believed that someone who constantly wanted to fight him was also excited about changing diapers and talking to babies."
Alysa said, "Guys, food is ready."
They all sat down to eat.
Alysa said, "For Liebe, roasted chicken. For me, a chicken steak. For Gelda and Eldrie — some cat food. And Mey, since I didn't know what you liked, I made grilled chicken."
Mey said, "Thank you."
Alysa said, "Sure. Since in the future we'll be co-wives, you can think of me as a big sister."
Liebe said, "Alysa, please stop. I'm not getting married — not to you or Mey. I'll cross that bridge after 25."
Alysa said, "Yeah, so what? I don't mind waiting until you're 25. I've been waiting since you were 10 — six years done, nine to go. I don't mind waiting that long."
Mey also said, "I don't mind waiting another nine years for you."
Vanessa said, "My, my, what patient future wives you have."
Liebe said, "Guys, please stop."
Gelda said, "I'll inform Lady Lilith that you've already secured a second wife candidate — even though Alysa is her favorite."
Liebe said, "What?"
Gelda said, "You didn't know? Basically, Lady Lilith already gave her blessing to Alysa for being your first wife. She considers Alysa cute and great at cooking — which she is not — so if you marry Alysa soon, she gets to eat more of Alysa's cooking."
Alysa said, "I'll practice harder so you'll want to eat my food every day!"
Vanessa said, "If the food's this good, then don't mind if I drop in for a bite every day."
Liebe said, "Of course not — we don't mind."