Chapter 213 The Four F's Of A Fulfilled Life 5

After Hiro officially consummated his marriage with his harem, they began to understand why he grew desperate. After Hiroyuki left them, the man went through trial after trial without being able to rest. He met beings from another lifetime and found himself embroiled in a war between two powerful factions and a master plan than spanned millennia.

If that was not enough, he then felt the loss of his harem in the world which turned him insane. He became a being known as the [Herald of the Forsaken]. Finally, he dueled an alternate version of himself that came from another reality. Originally he just mentioned it in passing, but as Lene, Nessa, and Jei would now be fighting, he told them everything.

Marriage is like an anomaly. Throughout the ages and its long history, everyone gained an opinion on it. These opinions were shaped by their experiences as children or the situations around their peers which either reinforced or broke those said opinions.

There is no one foolproof way to handle marriage, everyone is different. And while there are nuggets of wisdom to be found, that wisdom can only be used as a guide, not an absolute law. One such topic for discussion revolved around the paradox of truth.

Do you or do you not tell your spouse everything there is to know about you? There are stories of devotion so amazing it supports telling the truth, on the other hand, betrayals and adultery are also commonplace. Depending on who you ask, their opinion about the truth may lie somewhere in this paradigm.

Thus it is better to tell everything to your spouse and risk getting hurt? Or keep secrets to spare you and your partner the misery of dealing with the said secrets. The answer is usually based on three points regarding the relationship.

1. Do you trust your partner enough to grant them access to this secret?

2. Do you have faith in your partner to not react in a manner that would endanger your marriage?

3. Do value the pain your spouse would feel after they find out more than you value your security?

Normally when one does not answer yes to all three, they would try to find some reason to justify lying. Hiding behind even more lies such as "I did it to protect her.", "It was either that or our marriage!" or even "He would kill me!"

It is said that no lie will remain unknown forever. And that the truth will set you free. This could be considered true in some sense, as the more lies you bind yourself the heavier the price of truth will be. Small lies add up till it becomes so big they could dictate one's entire life.

Hiro who knew of this told himself he would never fall into the same trap. Back on earth one of his pastime gigs was waiting tables at late-night bars. Due to his can-do attitude, he got promoted to being an assistant bartender when he got older.

Even though he was an assistant, he never actually made drinks. His responsibilities revolved around wiping the large number of glasses, mopping the floor when someone threw up, and delivering the drinks. Sometimes however he would hear the stories of those who drown their sorrows with the bottle.

A common theme to all of them was they started with a lie. A lie to get a sale, a lie to a business partner. A lie to their spouse. A lie to their boss. A lie to ensure they do not get punished. Wisdom can be derived from both the wise and the foolish. The wise will give you their wisdom through their words. The foolish will give you wisdom with their lives.

This was why despite barely being an adult, Hiro had a wealth of knowledge. And nothing came out of hiding the truth. It will always see the light of day. Thus the man spared no detail from his battle harem. Originally he told them just excerpts about needing power. Now he told them why. And their responses were vastly different from what he expected.

"I see, then we have a large fight on our hands." Said his blue-haired wife.

The blonde with heterochromia added. "We need allies, lots of them."

"Strong ones. Ones who will be able to withstand what is to come." Said the pink-haired woman.

Despair only existed where there is no hope. So long as there is hope even a tiny shred of it. Despair would never win. They neither cried, nor did they get frightened. Marriage meant one simple truth, a vow, I will not leave you no matter what.

Thus the option of abandoning him, or hiding never entered their minds. It did not matter if this fight was insane. The only thing they looked at is if Hiro would join it. If he did, then they would as well. There is no other alternative.

This war would be what would end their lives and the world. Even if it is hopeless, that only becomes a certainty if you give up. So long as you do not, that chance will never vanish.

Raylene looked at her sisters and nodded. Like a silent declaration, the other two also expressed their agreement. The woman then spoke for all of them.

"Darling, tomorrow, we want to train like Aurum and the others. Due to being empresses, we can already forgo sleep."

"No. That is too much, we need to start it slow, you only have recovered your bodies. Fighting is out of the question!"

"Hiro-sama, do you believe in us?"

"..."

"If you cannot believe in us, believe in our love for you. Hiding while you die is something I will never do."

"But Nessa..I.."

"Husband. Stop being stupid. Our levels reset to 1 and we lost all our skills. But you granted us 30% of your stats. We now have over 300 in all three just from being part of your harem. We are not flowers to be protected."

"BUT WHAT IF YOU GET HURT? WHAT IF YOU DIE? I CANNOT GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN JEI!" Getting angry Hiro pushed his wives away in frustration. If it was anyone else he would agree with his wife. But if they died because of training then it was pointless.

"We have a decade! You three will take it slow! THAT IS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN! END OF DISCUSSION!" His calibers created a pressure that forced his women to kneel. As he saw them get hurt, he immediately canceled it but his guilt prevented him from asking if they were alright.

This was normally what started marital issues. Differences in opinion. Marriages, even with just one partner were already painful to work through. Harems were even worse. While force may work it does nothing but strain relationships.

When the pressure ended, Lene forced herself to stand and wobbled towards Hiro. The guilt from seeing his woman drag her body due to his brief loss of control hurt Hiro more than getting stabbed. Raylene smiled as she wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Darling. I love you. And I know you love me. As your battle harem, we do not wish to be your weakness. We wish to be your strength. Coddling us will not help us survive the coming storm, getting as strong as possible will." The woman then stepped aside as her sisters also hugged their husband.

Hugging granted warmth but it had many scientific benefits. The brain releases Oxytocin, which plays an important role in social bonding. It slows down the heart rate and reduces stress and anxiety levels. While in his embrace his wives started to comfort him.