"Ki-Kiana?!"
Welt's voice trembled uncontrollably as he called out to her, his face filled with disbelief and horror.
"Do-Does your father know? You're sharing one husband with more than a dozen women... and even with your own aunt..."
He felt as though his worldview was being run over repeatedly by a cosmic battleship, again and again, until it was shattered into countless tiny pieces.
At this moment, he finally realized that all of his old acquaintances had been completely led astray by Lucian.
If Siegfried ever found out about this, he would probably draw the Might of An-Utu on the spot and fight Lucian to the death.
Meanwhile, when Kiana heard Welt call her name and question her, she blinked her clear eyes and tilted her head slightly, causing her high ponytail to sway with the motion.
"Father?"
Kiana repeated the word, an innocent look of confusion appearing on her face.
In the end, after pondering for a brief moment, she then spoke in a very natural tone with her crisp voice, saying something that made Welt's vision go dark.
"What do you mean by father? I don't have a father."
As she spoke, she tightened her hold on Lucian's arm, her small face rubbing against it affectionately as though she were staking her claim on him.
"I only have my master~ My master is the one who gave birth to me~!"
Kiana continued in a tone sweet enough to make someone choke, her voice carrying an almost shameless sense of intimacy as she raised her face and flashed Lucian a dazzling smile bright enough to leave people momentarily stunned.
"Well, my master is my father, and also my husband, right, Master?"
Lucian: "..."
Even though what she said was technically correct, weren't those words a little too easy to misunderstand?
No, calling it a misunderstanding almost felt like an understatement.
Just look at the expressions on Himeko, March, and Welt's faces as they stared at him.
Kiana had just declared that she didn't have a father, yet in the very next breath, she claimed that her Master was both her father and her husband.
What kind of confusing nonsense was that supposed to be?
Anyone who heard those words without knowing the full story would inevitably jump to all kinds of strange conclusions.
'He gave birth to her... then groomed her into becoming both his servant and his wife? No, wait, he's a man, so it's not literally giving birth, right?'
As that thought crossed her mind, Himeko's expression became increasingly subtle.
Disturbed by the direction of her own bizarre thoughts, she quickly pushed the idea aside and immediately recalled the words Herta had once said to her.
—"Lucian? He's alright, I guess, just a total pervert who's into pretty women."
—"I'm telling you, Aha's his accomplice too, running around kidnapping pretty women for him everywhere, seriously awful."
—"Awful when it comes to relationships between men and women, but otherwise he's pretty decent."
Remembering what Herta had said about Lucian, and now seeing it with her own eyes, Himeko felt that he really was terrible—outrageous, even!
March likewise had not expected that a gentleman who looked this handsome and gentle could actually live this wildly.
As for Stelle, she was not particularly shocked like the others, mainly because her godfather was already like a god in her mind. From her perspective, it was perfectly normal for a god to have some unique and complex family relationships.
Instead of finding it strange, she only felt that the group of elder sisters by the doorway was very beautiful, making her feel that seeing them standing together with her godfather was truly a pleasing sight.
Welt, however, caught a particular detail.
'He gave birth to her...? Does that mean she was artificially created through some special method, just like Kallen Kaslana's clones in Schicksal? Is she Kiana's clone, or maybe... she's simply a variant, like Himeko? Either way, this Kiana is definitely not the Kiana I know.'
Welt's chaotic thoughts finally regained some order as he began connecting the details and piecing together the truth.
Meanwhile, seeing Welt looking as if he were about to suffer a heart attack and collapse on the spot, Lucian felt he could not keep stimulating this fellow otherworlder any further, so he cleared his throat and quickly spoke to explain.
If he didn't explain himself now, Welt might really suffer a stroke or even have a heart attack right on the spot.
"Welt Yang, you've probably already figured it out—they're not Earthlings."
Lucian gently patted Kiana on the head as he explained, signaling for her to loosen her grip a little. In response, she reluctantly loosened her arms slightly, though she still clung tightly to him, showing no intention of letting go completely.
He then looked toward Welt before gesturing toward the large group of beautiful women surrounding him, each possessing her own distinct charm and unique style.
"They're counterparts or variants from another world who just happen to look the same, including Kiana and Mei. Well, the details are a long story."
Only after Lucian finished explaining everything and introduced each of his wives did the stone weighing on Welt's heart finally fall away.
Even so, after meeting so many variants of his old acquaintances, a burning desire suddenly arose within him to get to know them.
He had been away from home for far too long, and the feeling of homesickness could only be eased by meeting people from the same homeland.
Variants from another world—he understood that concept.
For example, he knew that Himeko of the Astral Express and Himeko from Earth were variants of each other—they looked identical, yet came from different worlds and possessed completely different experiences and memories.
"Yes, variants... but encountering so many variants of familiar people all at once is something I truly can't believe. I'd rather believe you somehow sent me back to Earth."
Welt spoke with emotion, his gaze sweeping across those familiar yet unfamiliar faces once more. Especially Theresa and Kiana—he was relieved that these two were not actually aunt and niece serving the same husband.
He took a long breath and slowly let it out.
Now, the heavy stone blocking his chest finally seemed to have been lifted away, and even his blood pressure felt as though it had dropped somewhat.
Learning that these women, who shared the same husband, were not the old acquaintances he knew greatly reduced the overwhelming sense of guilt and absurdity that had been weighing on his heart.
Himeko also secretly let out a sigh of relief as she realized that it had all been a misunderstanding.
It turned out that Lucian's relationships were not nearly as chaotic as she had imagined. He simply had a few more wives than normal, which meant Herta had clearly exaggerated things.
As expected, it was always better to understand something personally rather than rely on what others said.
And so, with the misunderstanding resolved, Lucian introduced his new friends to his group of lively wives.
"Let me introduce them," Lucian said, pointing toward the Astral Express crew behind him. "They're my new friends from the Astral Express—Himeko, March 7th, and Welt Yang. Whatever they decide to do from here on out, Izumo's gonna support them."
After introducing Himeko and the others, it was finally Stelle's turn.
"And she is..."
Lucian paused, then nodded toward Stelle, signaling for her to introduce herself.
Stelle looked at the group of beautiful women standing before her. Her big golden eyes blinked for a moment before, as if she had suddenly come up with a brilliant idea, a sly yet obedient smile appeared on her small face.
Under everyone's confused gaze, she stepped forward, straightened her posture, cleared her throat, and then called out to Theresa, who was standing closest to her.
"Hello, Godmother Theresa! I'm Stelle. Nice to meet you!"
"..."
Hearing Stelle's sudden form of address, Theresa, who was holding a thick book, froze. Her pink little lips parted slightly, and her large eyes widened with surprise.
"G-Godmother?! Wait, you're my goddaughter?!"
Theresa looked at Stelle's gray hair and golden eyes, then at Lucian, who nodded with a smile in confirmation, before turning back to Stelle. Looking at her slightly wild yet adorable appearance, Theresa found herself liking her more and more the longer she looked.
"Oh my! You're so cute!"
Theresa immediately stuffed the book in her hands into Bianka's arms before skipping over to Stelle.
Standing on her tiptoes, she tried her hardest to pat Stelle's head.
"Good child. Nice to meet you... Ah, wait a moment!"
Under everyone's confused gazes, Theresa suddenly ran into the house and soon returned carrying an enormous plush toy that was almost half the size of her body.
"For you—the newest limited-edition HoMu King! It's super rare!"
Theresa looked extremely proud as she presented the plush toy to Stelle.
In response, Stelle stared at the gigantic plush toy that almost buried her, her eyes widening in amazement.
"Whoa! Thank you, Godmother!"
Stelle happily hugged the plush toy with a big smile, rubbing her face against it again and again.
Seeing the scene, March revealed an envious expression.
"Hello, Godmother—"
"Hello, Godmother—"
"Hello, Godmother—"
After finishing rubbing her face against the plush toy, Stelle immediately called out 'Godmother' to Lucian's other wives, unwilling to miss such a perfect opportunity.
Thankfully, her efforts apparently succeeded, as it seemed to trigger some sort of switch in them, causing all of them to smile and giggle.
"Hmph, interesting. Your mouth is pretty sweet."
Sirin crossed her arms aloofly and remarked with a hint of amusement flashing through her eyes, then casually waved her hand to create a tiny spatial rift before her, from which she pulled out a purple crystal pendant that shimmered with deep starlight.
"Here. Take it."
Even though her tone was casual, the item she gave Stelle was anything but ordinary.
"Thank you, Godmother Sirin!"
Stelle quickly accepted the pendant and stuffed it into her small satchel, as though she were afraid someone might snatch it away.
"Goddaughter, huh?"
Wendy, barefoot as always, floated over before extending her right hand with a gentle smile. In her palm, a wisp of wind that seemed almost tangible gathered together, then curled and condensed into a delicate little bell made entirely of wind elements.
"Well, this is called the Wind Whisper Bell—for you," Wendy said in a slightly listless voice before letting out a yawn. "If you're feeling down, just give it a shake, and it'll sing for you."
"Thank you, Godmother Wendy!"
Stelle carefully accepted the bell before gently giving it a shake.
*Ding-ling~*
Sure enough, it produced a pleasant, ethereal sound that brought peace to the heart.
Next came Bianka, Ana, Azta, Sakura, Acheron, and Kyuusyou.
One after another, each godmother gave Stelle her own meeting gift—some were delicate ornaments, some were practical tools, and there was even a huge bag of snacks in various flavors that Kiana enthusiastically stuffed into Stelle's hands.
Before long, a small 'mountain of gifts' had piled up in front of Stelle, whose smile had become so wide that her eyes were nearly invisible.
"Thank you, Godmother Bianka!"
"Thank you, Godmother Ana!"
"Thank you, Godmother—"
Stelle's cheerful voice rang out again and again, each sincere call filled with gratitude and excitement.
Even though it was nothing particularly special, to Theresa and the others, every heartfelt call of 'Godmother' sounded sweeter than the last, bringing warm smiles to their faces and making the moment feel all the more precious.
===
Somewhere far away, Kafka, who was in the middle of reading a book, suddenly flinched, as if some precious treasure of hers had just been divided among others.
===
A few minutes later, standing beside Stelle, March stared at the glittering 'mountain of gifts' with wide eyes before looking at the generous and beautiful godmothers.
Finally, her gaze slowly drifted toward Lucian, who was surrounded by those godmothers and looked completely satisfied.
At this moment, the little brain in her head began clattering loudly.
Having Lucian as her godfather...
Seemed...
Actually...
Very profitable?
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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