Chapter 122 - Their Smiles Are Worth Protecting

Akira welcomed the fresh air and sunshine with a deep sigh of relief, stretching his arms above his head.

"Geeeeez!" he loudly blurted, stretching his arms out. Then scratching his head, at first examining his new surroundings with an impatient squint while his eyes were taking a while to adjust to the light.

"This is it: the start of a new adventure!" He then yawned, before tiredly continuing, "oh boooy! Here we go," sounding far more interested in finding himself the nearest bed than with exploring: in what was doubtless just going to be another dumb video game world where dumb perverted stuff happens anyway. 

"Boy, I sure can't wait to see what wild and wacky experiences are in store for me"—his grumbling, sarcastic protests were cut off abruptly as, finally, he received his first proper look at Seaspan…

A regular "winter wonderland, it was:" Pillowy, cotton candy-like mounds of clean virgin snow coating the earth, to be trudged through; as well as lining the brittle branches of an endlessly sprawling forest of beautiful, serenely quiet, black-and-white death. The prevailing icy, arctic wind that he felt brushing against his skin—strangely soothing in its bitter cold—coaxing him further, and deeper, into the sagging large bosom that was "open world exploration."

"I can go...anywhere. And do anything..." he murmured to himself; seemingly brought to a trance, perhaps by the countless reflected rays of dazzling sunlight gracing his vision; and the fresh, piney scent of raw and unrefined nature.

Even for one so jaded as the CEO, it was truly a beautiful sight to behold.

'A shame I can't stop to smell the roses, though: Not while the girls are still trapped in this contraption. Lorica needs to be revived. And, I don't have my huge pair of breasts and juicy Squell fatness to keep me warm through the harsh winter…"

He shook his head. Eyes closed, smiling.

'Never a dull moment. Never a moment to stop and appreciate the simple things. No different from my first life, I suppose.' 

It was then Chunhua emerged from the tunnel, joining him at his side. Whom Akira only now noticed—from seeing her, for the first time, within full view in the clear sunlight—looked extraordinarily like a little princess: In her trailing, cute, carnation pink robes that once were worn over an imposing rose red suit of armor; now over only bare skin. And her hair, done up in tiny tails—as per request she had made of her doting master.

"You can do anything in this world, you say?" she mused, glaring up at him with her hands posted on her tiny hips. "Then why not start with me?"

At once, Akira grew flustered. "Right here? Right now? Well, uhh...you see..."—he cleared his throat, donning a serious face—"I wouldn't want my love to catch pneumonia out here in the wilderness, where there probably isn't a hospital for miles."

"Pneumonia? Hospitals?" She bristled. "My Lord, what are you prattling on about?"

Kanna was last to emerge from the tunnel, giving Akira a quick kiss on the lips while she stared down at Chunhua inquisitively. "So...my CEO husband is having relations with little girls now, I see." She gave a slight, nervous laugh. "If this was the first world, it'd be all over the tabloids."

"You seem awfully...casual, about this," Alira noted, with an eyebrow raised in suspicion. 

"I'm just kidding"—she punched him in the shoulder, causing him to winch—" relaaaax." She held a palm out flat, in front of her, at the top of Chunhua's forehead. "She's barely any shorter than Ai, and I could sure use a little 'fun' to relax."

Chunhua backed away, with an offended look. "What is it you are implying, scoundrel? she snapped. "That I would openly betray my husband to his face?!"

Snickering, Kanna glanced at Akira. "Seems someone needs a talk…'Master.'"

"Listen," Akira said, laying a hand on Chunhua's shoulder. "If you really intend on being my wife, you're going to need to learn how to share. But also..."

He lowered himself on one knee, so that they were roughly eye-level.

"Every wife of mine...is also to be married with my other wives. Which means I expect you to show her the same level of respect and devotion as you do to me."

Chunhua was incredulous. "What?!" As she then looked back and forth between the two: Akira, smiling lightly—innocently—with his eyes closed as he patted her softly on the head. Kanna, standing off to the side with her arms crossed, smiling amicably…

Or, perhaps—as Chunhua considered—a smug smile of superiority?!

Her face flushed bright red.

"Master...would actually like it if I were to share myself with others?" The very thought baffled her, in its seeming lack of logical sense that went against everything she knew. Because, in Cultivator society, marriages between high cultivation-ranked individuals were treated as highly sacred: not least of all due to the fact that said individuals could live for several hundreds of years.

"A highly cultivated woman—such as myself—" Chunhua explained, "once wed, is to serve her husband for all eternity, henceforth: giving up all powers and authorities she had once held unto him, to dedicate the entire remainder of her existence to bearing and tending after their children."

She bowed her head, balling the hem of her dress tightly in her hand. "For me to not follow in this tradition...would be a tremendous dishonour."

Akira was leaning back, arms folded behind his head; unconcerned.

"Well...tough—we have our own traditions to follow," he said, as Kanna warmly rested her chin upon his shoulder. "And since you're a [Pocket Maid], now, isn't it fair to say those old traditions no longer apply to you?"

"Ah! That's..." Chunhua gasped. Then pausing, as the wheels in her head were visibly turning.

Akira stepped forward, maintaining his innocent close-eyed smile as drops of nervous sweat emerged on his brow. "Don't get me wrong: All that stuff about devoting the rest of your existence to bearing my children is totally A-OK in my book. It's just, I want all my wives to love each other too. So that way there's less bickering."

"I see," Chunhua said. "I think I understand, but it's still going to be awkward for me at first."

Akira nodded. 'In that case…'

Wordlessly, he took each girl by the arm and pulled them closer together. Then, beaming profusely, he carefully placed each one's hand in the other's.

"Ara ara," Kanna said, frowning. "Don't get me wrapped up in this girl's insecurities."

"From now on, until I've decided on a good spot for us to cultivate, you two are going to hold hands without letting go; without ever leaving one another's side—"he pointed at the unblinking, wide-eyed pair with a loud laugh—"like a couple of newlyweds!"

"Newlyweds..." Chunhua bit her lip. 'With a complete stranger?'

Chunhua was blatantly unimpressed: posing her other arm on her hip with a dissatisfied frown. "Indulging in your cuckold fetish again, are you?" She closed her eyes, smiling, drooping her head with an exasperated sigh. "This'll be fun."

Oh, but...my Lord," Chunhua said, her face lighting up suddenly. "Don't you have another [Pocket Maid] to introduce us to?"

"Ah!" Akira blinked. "You're right. And, since Kanna has two arms, I might as well nail two birds with one sto"—Akira abruptly gawked. "Kanna, your arms!" he exclaimed. "I just realized, they look—"

"Normal," she said, as she held her hand up in front of her. Slowly closed, and opened her fingers. "Yes. It's real."

Akira was excited. "That's great!"

He lunged, grabbing her by the shoulder. Running a hand along the whole length of her arm. Up to her exposed neck, tickling it until she laughed. "But how…?"

"I noticed, right after I woke up in this world."

"Is it permanent, though...?"

"No idea. But, I'll tell you thing I DO know—"

Chunhua who was standing there looking lost throughout the discussion, let out a panicked scream when, suddenly, Kanna scooped her up with one arm, to effortlessly plant her atop their shoulder.

"I'm gonna make the most of it, for however long it lasts!"

She started jogging toward the forest, carrying the protesting Chunhua with her as Akira, laughing, kept tripping in the snow running excitedly after.

Meanwhile, Chunhua was looking queasy, from being roughly jostled back and forth.

"I think...darling...I am going to be sick!"

"Darling?!" Kanna laughed. "Just call me Kanna." A mischievous glimmer briefly flashed in her pupils. "Or 'Master'...or 'my Lord,' if that's more comfortable to you."

"Not a'' —her cheeks became bloated, as she held her balled fist against her sealed lips with an anguished look—"chance!" she replied. "I only have one master, and it is Akira! No matter how long he forces us to be together."

Akira, being far less physically capable than Kanna, had to pause to catch his breath, before long, while the others kept trudging further on.

'Everyone's smiles...laughter…' the CEO mused. 'I want to protect them.'

It was the single most heroic thought he'd ever had before, and he wasn't even ashamed of it. On the contrary, he could feel more and more of his energy returning by the second. Just from sharing the company of a close friend, in Kanna—as schmaltzy and dumb as it sounded in his mind.

From there, his thoughts roamed to CITA: wondering what terrible threat in another world she might be facing, at this very moment.

'Wherever you are, don't worry about us...' he thought, with unbridled determination.

Akira Maximilian was back in business.