Chapter 264 [Vol 2 Epilogue]: Lives Intertwined 7
After about a couple of hours in the Apocalypse Zones, a group hunted monsters with extreme prejudice. Hiro and his party of four were destroying monsters left and right. Buffed by the butcher to the limit Alan and Xing fought their hardest.
Alan fought using his body like a brawler. He channeled Calibers into his fist and smacked monsters with it. One would wonder how a merchant would fight in such a manner. Xing on the other hand used a steel wipe with razor-sharp blades on its tip and parts of its body.
The areas without blades were the parts Xing would use as fulcrums to make the weapon bend to her will. Meanwhile, Ryuuka debuted with an armored battle dress Alan prepared for her since Anvil. After much discussion, she choose a naginata as her weapon of choice.
Naginata were polearms of Japanese origin. They were basically swords on a stick. The pole could be used to both defend and smash an opponent. Hiro fashioned one at the request of his daughter. Ryuuka's requirement was for the weapon to be long and heavy but fast.
To be long and heavy only halberd could be chosen, but not of them were fast thus only the Naginata became eligible after much discussion. Ryuuka slashed and crushed the monsters coming her way.
The beasts in the Apocalypse zones were ice themed. Due to the environment, they all used iced-based attacks. The monsters themselves were typical animals that survived in cold climates.
Hiro kept a watchful eye on his party as they traveled. Ryuuka served as a vanguard and leveled effortlessly. Xing and Alan got some hits on those the dragonkin did not finish in one blow. While he observed them, his private chat messages kept ringing nonstop.
[Raylene]: Darling… I managed to kill a tundra antelope! It was over 5 meters tall!
[Vanessa]: Hiro-sama are you cold? I know you have stats that already ignore weather conditions but please bundle up. It would be bad if you got a cold due to being lightly dressed.
[Jade]: Husband…Stop sulking and reply to me…I want to talk.
[Tsugumi:] Nii-sama, please pay attention to my Onee-samas they are getting anxious. I know they gave us a hard time but please forgive them…
His wives had already noticed that he gave them cold shoulder. Truthfully Hiro had a lot to say but right now he could not even allow himself to voice them. He needed time to compose himself. Tsugumi, his sister already tried to intervene as she feel that the three were pitiful.
To be ignored by the one you adore could be considered one of the worse things that could happen to you. At around noon, the groups reunited and prepared for dinner. Truthfully they could go on for days without eating. But for obvious reasons, Tsugumi wanted to eat with everyone.
The group ate in a large circle with the sword saint as the center. Alan and Xing took this time to rest their tired bodies from all the adrenaline. Hiro sat in the corner farthest from Tsugumi as he watched the bonfire in the middle.
A young child then plopped in the seat next to him. Behind her were three women who had restless expressions like lambs trying to approach a lion. Oblivious to the nuisances happening Ryuuka kept smiling as she reminisce of her exploits.
"Did you see me go, papa? I was amazing, wasn't I? None of the monsters there stood a chance against my naginata!"
"Yes, yes I saw Ryuuka. I am incredibly proud of you. Well done my daughter. You are so amazing!"
Expressing his sincere praise the butcher rubbed and embraced his adopted daughter in delight. Ryuuka who felt pleased with her father's attention added more details to her boast. Hiro somehow still managed to act surprised and praised the young dragonkin nonstop.
Running out of patience Jade stepped forward to join the father-daughter pair. "Husband, daughter can we sit around you as well?" Hiro said nothing and simply nodded. The young dragonkin then looked towards her would-be mothers and frowned.
"Daddy, should I go to Tsugumi-Nee-chan? I think they want to talk only to you?"
The four people who listened to her could only express their annoyance. 'As expected of a dragon. Headstrong with a no-nonsense attitude.' They all thought. Before Hiro could answer though Ryuuka stood up and walked towards the three empresses of Heavenly Sword.
"Remember that I am doing this not because I like you but because daddy is in pain. If you make him suffer anymore I will make you three regret it okay? Hmph!"
Amused that someone else would talk this way about Hiro, the wives naturally all thought Ryuuka was being exceptionally cute. After she left, Vanessa, Jade, and Raylene sat down around Hiro with plates of food. Now that they got this far no one had the courage to say anything though.
Minutes passed and Hiro and his three wives all silently ate their food. They all tried to make small talk but Hiro didn't appear chatty and shot down everything with his one-word replies. Hiro then created a sonic and mind screen crafted from Aura.
The man hoped that it would get easier for them with privacy. The girls who noticed his intention all started to talk one after another.
"Husband, about the Vaginarnis ritual. We are sorry please don't be angry."
"My love I am sorry, please berate and hit us until you are satisfied! Please don't ignore us like this."
"Daring, please understand that there was no other way to complete the ritual without placing ourselves in danger. You should know that nothing in this world is free."
Hiro then replied with a stoic voice. "Why did you all lie to me? I trusted you girls with everything I know. But you hid such an important detail from me. Probably because you thought I wouldn't agree? Or you believed I am stupid enough that I would not even try to listen."
"Hiro-sama it is not like that. We…"
"You all remember the second mandatory clause for binding ceremonies?"
"Until death does us part or our trust be broken" x3
"That one, this whole incident made me bitter you know? Just how much do you girls trust me? Could it be so little that you decided to pull that shit? I'm left in wonder."
"Husband, it's not like that. We wanted to tell you but we just couldn't"
"Then what did you think was going to happen Jade? That I would be grateful for you all to spare my feelings. You all lied to me. In your desperation for power, you decided to lie to me and placed yourselves in danger all to become these fucking Vaginarnis. I am beyond mortified."
"Darling, please understand as Savior royalties we have things we must uphold by."
"Raylene, is my sanity that low on your list of priorities? I didn't even need the whole picture. I just wanted to know if you girls were safe! You all just wanted to do what you wanted, don't try to say you did this shit for me."
Due to the nature of Hiro's replies his women all felt his rage and pain. Instead of lashing out at them, Hiro chose to calm himself and allowed them to do what they wished. Anyone who felt being taken for granted would naturally think the same thing.
To Hiro such a thing was unacceptable. "I thought I could trust you three. How many of the things you have told me are lies? You girls all had time to tell me but wouldn't. Then in the future how many times will I be at the mercy of your discretion? You girls would most likely do it again right?"
"Hiro-sama it is not like that. The circumstances are quite complicated and I fear…"
"Save it, Vanessa. I do not want to listen any longer. I need a breather, see you guys later. Please take care of Ryuuka for me. I don't want to see you, girls, right now."
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