Chapter 377: Akari: "The Battle for First Wife Has Always Been Thus!"
Platinum had answered with almost no hesitation.
A future daughter was still her daughter, and on top of that, it was Mr. Mammon's precious daughter too.
Deep down, Platinum felt no resistance at all, even though she wasn't the least bit prepared to be a mother.
None of that got in the way of how badly she wanted to meet Akari right now.
As for resenting this sudden daughter, the thought never entered her mind.
The only reason she'd been silent for so long was that she'd been too shocked, and she hadn't known what to say.
But now she'd given a clear answer.
"Okay."
Mammon gave Platinum a warm smile.
The young Berlitz heiress felt her face heat up again. Whenever she thought about the fact that she and Mr. Mammon would have a daughter someday...
She got so embarrassed.
"Little turtle, time to work. What are you doing? What's so tasty about that?"
Mammon poked Terapagos, which was chewing on something, and looked. The little turtle was eating grass?
Mammon's eyelid twitched.
"Heh heh~ Just seeing what it tastes like." Terapagos swallowed the grass and grinned goofily.
"Come on, we can afford real food at home. Don't do this." Mammon sighed.
"I was curious! It actually tastes kinda interesting."
Terapagos blinked, then remembered what it was supposed to be doing.
It stepped a little closer to Platinum, and its small body slowly floated up, glowing with dazzling light.
It kept its eyes fixed on Mammon and Platinum. It could see that the two of them shared many of the same "threads."
And one of those threads led into the past.
Having found the thread to Hisui, Terapagos activated its space-time travel ability and located the girl in Hisui.
The light grew brighter and brighter, and a figure appeared in front of Mammon and the three girls.
It was a pretty girl with dark navy hair, wearing a blue padded jacket, with a beautiful rainbow-colored feather pinned to her chest.
The light slowly faded, and Terapagos landed back in Mammon's arms.
Platinum, Caitlin, and Serena all looked at the girl who had suddenly appeared with very complicated expressions.
Especially Platinum.
The girl's face was nearly identical to her own, so much so that Platinum almost felt like she was looking at herself.
She really inherited that much from me?
"Huh? Did I time-travel again?"
Akari, having just landed, was still getting her bearings. She looked around, puzzled, especially at the modern house not far off, which left her a little lost.
"Welcome back to the present, Akari."
A clear, gentle voice reached her ears, and Akari's big eyes lit up instantly.
In a flash, Akari twisted around and launched herself straight into the arms of Mammon as he walked over.
"Daddy~!"
Her sweet, delighted voice rang out. Akari hugged Mammon tight, pressed her face into his chest, and took a deep breath, looking completely content.
"Daddy's smell~ And it's young Daddy's smell!"
Akari knew instantly.
"That nose of yours might be a little too sharp, huh." Mammon ruffled Akari's hair, amused.
"Heh heh~ Of course it is. I inherited your genes, after all." Akari looked up, her pretty face breaking into a crescent-moon smile.
"Is that so? Then take a look over there."
Mammon let Akari go and pointed behind him.
"Mommy!"
Akari blinked and poked half her head out from beside Mammon. When she saw Platinum, she lit up with joy.
In what was practically a blue blur, Akari dashed over to Platinum and threw her arms around her. Platinum had no idea what to do.
Being hugged by Akari, Platinum reacted exactly the way Mammon had the first time Akari hugged him, if not with even more panic.
Both her hands hovered in the air; she didn't know where to put them.
"Waaah~ Mommy, I missed you so much~"
Hearing the joy in Akari's voice and feeling how sincere it was, Platinum pressed her lips together, and slowly wrapped her arms around Akari.
"Huh? Mommy, how come you're shorter than me?"
But Akari soon sensed something was off. She let go of Platinum and held a hand level between the tops of their heads.
Platinum: "..."
Platinum's face went red with indignation. She understood perfectly well what that meant.
This daughter is way too rude!
"Heh heh~ I know, I know. It's because you're still a really young Mommy. Mommy's so cute~"
Akari noticed Platinum's expression and burst out laughing, grinning.
Platinum: "..."
This daughter isn't just rude, she's a brat. How did future me raise her?
Whatever happened to the reserve and grace every young lady is required to learn?
"Are you really my and... Mr. Mammon's daughter?"
She was already basically certain, but Platinum asked anyway.
Mr. Mammon was right. That kind of blood connection didn't lie.
Platinum felt a deep sense of closeness from Akari, the kind that only came from family, from blood.
But she still couldn't believe it.
Girls, who would believe this?
She herself was only sixteen, and she already had a sixteen-year-old daughter. And this daughter was even taller than her.
This was way too sci-fi!!
So sci-fi that Platinum half felt like she was dreaming.
"Of course! Oh, Mommy, come here."
Akari nodded as if it were obvious, glanced at Caitlin and Serena, and gave the two of them a sweet smile, but didn't rush to say hello.
She pulled Platinum by the hand over to one side, making sure Caitlin and Serena couldn't overhear them.
What she was about to discuss with her mom wasn't something those two should know.
"This is... unbelievable."
Looking at Platinum and Akari, who looked exactly like a pair of twin sisters, Serena bit her lip lightly. A powerful sense of absurdity washed over her.
After yesterday's terrifying battle between top-tier Legendaries, Serena had thought nothing could shock her anymore.
But today her brain was going numb from shock!
What the actual hell? A daughter from the future traveled to the past, and then got pulled into the present?
How is this even a thing that can happen??!
Serena genuinely wondered whether she was still asleep. This was more absurd than a dream.
"..." Caitlin watched the whispering mother and daughter, her delicate brows knitting slightly.
She had a bad feeling about this, but couldn't tell what it was.
"The world's a strange place like that, so you always have to stay humble about it," Mammon said helplessly as he walked over.
"Mr. Mammon." Serena looked thoughtful, then called out to him.
"What's up?"
"Can I ask what you think about Akari?" Serena couldn't help asking.
At that, Caitlin's gaze turned to Serena.
"She's my daughter. A daughter who is definitely going to be born." Mammon understood what Serena was getting at and answered accordingly.
"But..."
"You want to know how I'm going to handle things with Dawn from here, right?"
"..."
Serena fell silent. That really was what she was thinking. Mammon had a girlfriend.
And now Akari had popped up, Mammon and Dawn's future daughter, which meant there were only two possibilities.
One: in the future, Platinum "beat" Mammon's girlfriend and took her place.
Two: Mammon and Platinum had an affair, and Akari was the result.
In fact, there was a third possibility. It just hadn't occurred to Serena right away out of habit.
"I really like my girlfriend, so there's no way I'd give her up. So as long as Dawn's willing, I'll marry them both."
Mammon answered bluntly.
Huh???
Serena was stunned. Marry them both??
Wait, is that allowed?
She was about to say something when she suddenly went quiet. Thinking back, it actually seemed like it really was allowed.
This...
Serena fell into a mental storm, and the way she looked at Mammon began to shift slightly.
"Dawn... isn't a particularly big threat, then."
Caitlin, for her part, wasn't surprised at all. She considered it while watching Platinum and Akari.
After all, Caitlin knew Dawn's strength very well. Dawn was certainly no match for her.
Mammon's answer was exactly what she'd expected. For someone as capable and as much of a charmer as Mammon, taking several wives was perfectly normal.
But it was like sworn brotherhood: among brothers, there always had to be an order of seniority.
Mammon wasn't a king, but he was the head of the household. As his wives, they'd have to establish some kind of ranking among themselves, wouldn't they?
The battle for First Wife has always been thus!
Mammon seemed to like his girlfriend very much, but that was no great problem. Only the capable could command everyone's respect.
And I, Caitlin, have talent! I have beauty!
My bond with Mammon runs deeper than anyone's. Why shouldn't I compete for First Wife?
That girlfriend of Mammon's, whoever she is, what's she got?
Even if she has something, it can't possibly match me!
The corners of Caitlin's lips curved slightly upward. Now that Mammon had confirmed with his own mouth that he intended to take several wives in the future, she was secretly delighted.
That's more like it!
Meanwhile, with Platinum.
"Mommy, how are things going between you and Daddy?"
Akari glanced cautiously at Caitlin and asked Platinum quietly.
"Huh?"
Platinum's face flushed. She quickly realized what Akari was asking, and that was exactly why she was embarrassed.
"Okay. From that face, I think I get the picture."
Akari clicked her tongue.
Platinum pressed her lips together. Hold on, kiddo. The way you click your tongue is way too much like Mr. Mammon.
Oh. Right. She is his daughter. Never mind.
"What about those two big sisters? What's their relationship with Daddy right now?"
Akari quietly asked the question she most wanted answered.
"You mean Miss Caitlin and Serena?" Platinum was taken aback.
"Yep."
"Akari." To Akari's surprise, Platinum's brows drew together and her face turned serious. "You should call them 'Auntie.' You're the younger generation, you know."
Akari: "..."
No, actually, I should call them "Mom" too.
Akari grumbled inwardly, but, oh, she'd really missed this.
Yep, that's her. That's exactly the face Mommy makes when she's lecturing me.
Akari hugged the young version of her mom, beaming, completely happy and content.
"Okay, okay, whatever you say, Mommy. I'll call them Auntie." Akari didn't argue.
"So what's the relationship between those two aunties and Daddy right now?"
"Friends... I think?"
Platinum hesitated.
"So they're not together yet? Mommy, you'd better get a move on, then!"
Akari's eyes lit up. This is perfect!
"Wh-what are you saying?" Platinum was mortified, her ears turning red. "Mr. Mammon and I haven't even... we haven't..."
Get a move on? The point is, Mr. Mammon and I haven't even made anything official!
"You're always like this, Mommy. Forget it."
Akari couldn't help rolling her eyes adorably. No one knew a mother like her daughter did, and she'd seen her mom this bashful about love more times than she could count.
She's so crazy about Daddy, and she keeps missing her chances just because she's shy.
I wonder how Mommy ever ended up with Daddy in the first place.
Thinking of that, she looked at the red-faced Platinum, and an idea took shape.
Who came first didn't actually matter all that much. According to Second Mom, right when the World Tournament began,
all the moms had held a meeting together and agreed to decide the household pecking order at the World Tournament.
That was what mattered.
"Mommy, you should really be grateful you gave birth to a daughter like me."
With her plan settled, Akari couldn't help sighing.
"?" Platinum blinked.
"Leave it to your daughter to win you your place in the family!"
Akari wasn't paying attention to Platinum; she was looking at Serena and Caitlin not far away.
In the original World Tournament, there was no way Mommy could have beaten Second Mom. From everything Akari knew,
apart from Daddy, Second Mom was truly unbeatable in her time!
And there were several other strong competitors too.
But that's fine!
Even if Mommy loses, she can use my ranking!
Being a daughter who worries this much about her own mother is exhausting!
What's that? A mother and daughter, two people, two accounts, sharing one ranking isn't fair?
How is it not fair? Where exactly is it not fair? Mother and daughter are of one heart. Two accounts or not, how is that against the rules?
If you think you can do better, get your daughter to help you rank up!
The battle for First Wife has always been thus.
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