Chapter 41 - The Seraphim Twins P7
*****
We finally left Atlas and returned to Nippon Sekai. There was one more place Fia and I wanted to take the twins. The planet had two continents, and on the smaller continent in the south a handful of towns were holding festivals.
The type of festival where you wear a yukata.
Fia didn't have one yet, but Lily, Ally, and I did, and they were at my residence in the main palace. I stopped by to visit my father for a few minutes and told him I was taking the girls to a festival.
"We just need to get some Yukatas."
"Have fun, Kye."
"You're working late again. Try to get some rest, okay?"
He smiled lightly and tried to reassure me. "I'll finish up by the time you get back from the festival okay?"
"I'll drop in to make sure, alright? I'm holding you to it."
"Sure. I'll see you in a while."
I walked around his desk and hugged him. "I mean it. You'd better be done when I get back. I will tell Akane."
"Not your mother?"
I averted my eyes. Mom had a lot on her mind after today's storytelling session. "She's busy..."
"Tell me the truth, Kye."
"She learned something today at the storytelling session."
"About the Living World?"
"Yeah. Oh, she already talked to you about it?"
"Not quite. She mentioned it briefly, but didn't tell me any details. She said she wanted time to think about it before talking to anyone. I told her to go straight to Hannah if she needed somebody to talk to."
"Yeah, that's good. I can tell you about it myself later if you'd like, but not tonight. It's a long story."
"Okay. Go have fun, sweetheart." He pointed at the doorway where three pairs of eyes were peaking inside. "Your audience awaits."
"Pfft. See you in a while, Daddy."
We went to my room and went through our yukatas. We laid out several of mine and several of the twins for us all to choose from. The beautiful white-haired Lily chose a white moon-decorated dark blue yukata. Ally chose a black yukata also with white moons. I picked a purple one with stars, and Fia picked a black one with black light-pink roses.
*****
We had a lot of fun at the festival. Catching goldfish with paper scoopers, playing a bow and arrow game, playing a ring toss game, eating cotton candy and candied apples, and much more. It was so much fun.
"The fireworks are starting soon," Fia said. "Let's go find a good spot to watch."
"Yeah!" I said. "Somewhere up high and quiet."
"How about over there?" Lily asked, pointing at the walkway next to the festival. "It's high up and there's a lot of space to find a quiet spot."
"I think that will do fine," Ally said.
"Sounds good! Let's go!"
"You four sound like you're having fun," came a familiar voice from behind us.
We turned around and saw a blonde catgirl with silver eyes wearing a dark blue yukata with stars holding a candied apple.
What? Is that...?
"Yep! It's exactly who you think it is. Hiya, Eli! And everyone."
"Lariette?"
"Aww..." she pouted. "You always called me Larie!"
I smiled. "It's good to see you, but what are you doing here? The last time we saw you was on Gaia."
She shrugged. "I wanted to come see you. And maybe sit in on your storytelling tomorrow? Yes, by the way, I've been watching the entire time."
"The entire time?"
"Of course! But not the intimate parts. I tune out for that."
"So you just wanted to visit? We're going to a party tomorrow night with some friends, do you want to come?"
"The underground dance party with a goth-esque dress style? Sure! That sounds like a lot of fun!" She grinned and grabbed my hand. "Thank you, Eli!"
I could help but smile. "Of course. We used to do so much together before I left Eden."
"Which I'm still mad about, by the way. I want you to come home!" She glanced at Fia. "And bring your new sisters with you! Fia and May are great!"
"That's easier said than done," Fia said. "We can't simply do that..."
Larie shrugged. "I don't see why not, but we can chat about that sort of thing later. You're still on a date with the Seraphim twins! Hiya, Lily! Hiya, Ally! It's been a while. I'm glad you finally told them who you are!"
"Yes. Me, too," Lily said with a warm smile.
"Seriously, it was a long time coming. You were bottling up your emotions all that time. I told you to just talk to Eli, but you insisted you didn't have to." She stepped closer to Lily and Ally and held out both of her hands, then flicked their foreheads. "You deserve to be happy no less than anyone else!"
"Thanks, Larie," Ally said with a light smile while rubbing her forehead.
"Larie, are you really allowed to be here?" I asked.
"I don't see why not. It's Elysium! My roots literally reach down into upper Elysium from Eden, and I have to use my mana body to take human form in the first place, even in Eden!" She held her hands up trying to mimic tree branches. "Because I'm a tree!"
I planted my head firmly on her head and said, "And you're also very pattable."
"I could purr right now. Headpats feel nice!"
"I thought you're a tree, not a cat."
"I mean, my mana body is a cat person, so you know. I get all the sensations." She shrugged. "Anyway, I'm going to poof over to... where is Maya?" Her eyes glowed rainbow. "She's not in Elysium. Huh." She looked to her left. "Oh, she's on Gaia!"
"Yeah, she went to visit Mabel and the others."
"Oh nice, I'll get to see my adoptive mom. Cool. Oh, Eli, Fia, I want to talk to you about something later. Give me a prayer when you're free!"
"Oh, sure."
"Okay, enjoy your date and the fireworks! Ciao!" And she vanished.
The four of us stood there in silence for a solid thirty seconds before saying anything.
"Did Larie actually just appear here?" Fia asked. "I'm not imagining that, right?"
"Yep! I guess she's just going to do whatever she wants." I shrugged. "She always has."
*****
"The fireworks were so pretty!" I said as I plopped down on the couch face first.
I heard some giggling behind and rose up just enough to see who it was.
"What's up, Lily?"
She pointed at me, but lower. "I can see your panties."
I smirked. "Wanna see more?"
Her eyes widened.
"What? Getting bashful just because of that? You've seen me naked countless times."
"Well... not in this context..."
I giggled and laid my head back down. "If you want to in this context just tell me~."
"Don't you get tired of getting laid?" Fia asked. "We both snuck away multiple times today during the storytelling."
"Eh." If I wasn't lying down, I would've shrugged. "It's not the sex I enjoy, it's the partner. Sex is just a tool for that. If my partner wants that, I can do it as many times as they want. I don't get tired of taking care of them. Besides, you aren't tired of it either, right?"
"Ah... shut up."
Lily sat down next to me and ran her fingers through my hair. "I'm perfectly fine spending time with you however you like. I'll accept anything you want to give me, even if it's that."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ally nodding along.
"But Eli? You seem awfully tired."
"I am. Today was a long day."
"Okay, then I'm going to do this." Lily stood up, then picked me up as well."
"He-hey!"
I saw a smirk creep over her face. "I can't call you princess anymore, but I can still carry you like one, no?"
"Pfft."
"Shut up, Fia!" I spotted Ally staring at Fia with a finger held up to her mouth. "Ally, do it! Do it!"
"Do wha-AHH! Hey!"
Ally swept her off her feet and carried her the same way Lily was carrying me. "You're tired, too."
"B-but, you don't need to carry me!"
"It's okay, I can carry you. You're quite light."
"That's not what I meant!"
Lily carried me to her room. The twins have their own rooms in both my Arslade and New Tokyo residences. She sat me down on the bed and untied my yukata. Ally did the same with Fia, and soon all four of us were yukata-less.
In other words, we were in just our underwear. I couldn't help but eye both twins up and down. I glanced at Fia and saw her doing the same thing.
"You two enjoying turning us into eye candy?" Lily asked as she pulled back the sheets.
"Every second of it," I said with a grin.
Larie, looks like I'm going to bed sooner than later. We can talk in the morning, if that's okay.
"Of course. Rest well, my sweet Eli."
They giggled at me and started to climb into bed. Soon the four of us were fast asleep snuggled up together.
*****
Revision: 2025-7-29