After lunch, everyone sprawled out on the deck chairs, lazily sunbathing.
A few people's bellies were noticeably round, almost like they were pregnant.
Shichen had still underestimated Lala and the others' appetites—three huge scampi (flower lobsters) somehow all went into their stomachs, plus several crabs.
Seafood really was delicious, especially when roasted with his holy flame: it not only drew out the full flavor of the ingredients, it also dispelled any chill.
Not that their constitutions were ever afraid of the cold anyway.
Shichen turned his head and looked over the row of pale bodies. One after another, soft white bellies rose in round little domes.
All his fault.
Yet, surprisingly, it didn't hurt their beauty at all. Their white-and-rosy skin, the youthful and healthy glow, remained just as captivating.
"Brother-in-law, I feel a bit stuffed… can you rub my tummy for me?"
Sitting beside him, Momo noticed him looking and whispered the request.
As she spoke, she shuffled her hips toward his side, sliding closer to the edge of the deck chair.
Shichen didn't answer—he simply stretched out his hand through the gap in the armrest and laid it on Momo's stomach.
Nicely round, much less soft than usual, but incredibly smooth and delicate, radiating warmth. It felt like stroking warm milk.
Feeling the texture, Shichen began gently kneading, helping her digest.
If he didn't help now, with her constitution she'd just digest it all on her own very quickly.
"Mmh~" Momo bit her fingers, trying not to make a sound.
Shichen's touch was incredibly gentle; his palm was warm, the heat seeping through her skin and tugging at her heartstrings, making her restless and flushed.
"Momo, what are you—"
Even though Momo's voice was tiny, Nana still heard it beside her.
Curious, Nana turned her head—only to see a scene that made her both jealous and annoyed. She bit down on her lower lip hard.
But she didn't shout. She turned her head back, pretending not to look, stealing glances from the corner of her eye instead.
Her heart was racing.
Momo was always this bold!
Why couldn't she be that bold herself?
"Mmh~"
Momo was completely lost in Shichen's digestion massage and didn't hear Nana.
Shichen, however, did hear.
His gaze slid over Momo's soft, rounded chest and landed on Nana's sidelong, envious glance directed at his hand.
He thought for a moment, then had a flash of inspiration. He opened a small spatial rift beside himself and slipped his other hand into it.
"Mm?"
From Nana's angle, she suddenly saw a small tear in space appear, and then a hand reach out of it.
She jumped, almost lashing out with a kick, when a familiar voice echoed in her mind:
"Don't be scared, it's me."
"You..." Nana blinked, then looked past Momo, meeting Shichen's eyes.
He gave her a small smile, and that hand climbed onto her belly.
"Mmmph..." Nana immediately covered her mouth and froze in place.
This guy actually…!
Inside, she was a bundle of nerves—part tense and excited, part secretly delighted.
Shichen said nothing, just gently massaged her stomach as well, helping her digest.
Nana hadn't eaten much; her belly wasn't as obviously round, just slightly more bulging than usual.
A girl's body was built such that a slight curve in the lower abdomen was normal—that was what a healthy figure looked like.
A perfectly flat stomach either meant an issue, or conscious sucking-in of the gut.
That soft, subtle curve actually had its own kind of beauty, perhaps also related to the healthy glow of a girl's skin.
Shichen particularly liked that sort of shape—he never got tired of looking.
Nana was on the slim side; her skin was smooth and refined, not very squishy. With one hand rubbing a firmer, round belly and the other a leaner one, he was thoroughly enjoying the contrast.
Half the afternoon slipped by. Everyone eventually drifted off to sleep. Shichen wasn't very sleepy. He rose quietly and slipped away.
He was going to scout for ingredients for dinner.
Since they were at the seaside, he might as well work his way through all the famous local seafood. On ordinary days, he didn't have this kind of opportunity.
Shichen had no special obsession with ingredients—if anything, his favorite dishes were the ones they made for him.
But now that he had the chance, he wasn't going to waste it.
Having power really was convenient.
He walked down to the shore, stepping into the cool surf, then dove in with a clean, textbook entry and swam toward deeper waters.
It was still early, so he planned to wander a bit first.
He'd only gone a short distance when he realized someone was tailing him—a familiar presence.
Shichen stopped and turned around. His pursuer didn't bother hiding, swimming toward him openly with a big grin, waving.
Her dark-red scorpion braid trailed behind her freely in the water.
Shichen waited until she caught up, then formed a small air bubble over her head so she could talk.
"Brother-in-law~"
As soon as Mea drew close, she happily wrapped an arm around his shoulder, soft curves pressing against his arm.
"Mea, what are you doing here?" Shichen asked.
"Heehee~ I just happened to see you dive in. I couldn't sleep, so I followed you. Brother-in-law, what are you up to?" Mea beamed.
"Just looking around, and maybe finding something for dinner."
"Ohh, then can I come with you?"
"Sure."
"Yay!"
Mea hugged him even tighter.
"Hold up a sec."
Shichen lifted his free hand. A crimson α-shaped sigil appeared on the back, and an abyssal pressure emerged out of nowhere.
"Brother-in-law?"
Mea instantly sensed the danger and clung to him tighter, shielding him and nervously scanning their surroundings.
"Relax, I'm the one doing this," Shichen said, patting her shoulder with a smile.
"What?"
Mea blinked, not really understanding, until he gestured for her to look down.
She lowered her head, and her eyes went wide.
Beneath them was a massive, blue whale-like shape. A heavy aura, a suffocating majesty, rolled off it like the sea itself.
Shichen guided her down onto Kyogre's head, then patted the giant creature's massive skull.
"Let's go."
"Roooar—"
Kyogre rumbled, beating its pectoral fins and gliding forward.
"Brother-in-law, what is it, exactly...?" Mea sat on Kyogre's head, staring at it in disbelief.
"You can think of it as my pet..."
"Roooar—"
Kyogre shook, issuing a dissatisfied growl.
"Alright, alright, partner, okay?" Shichen soothed, stroking its head.
Kyogre quieted and continued its smooth, powerful stroke.
"Partner... Brother-in-law, you called it Kyogre just now?"
"Yeah. Kyogre's the king of the seas—it can even create oceans."
"Create oceans... seriously?"
"Do I sound like I'm joking?" Shichen asked in return.
"It... doesn't feel like a joke..." Mea shook her head.
She could clearly sense the vast power slumbering within Kyogre, that abyssal aura like standing before the ocean itself.
Yet such an overwhelming being was her brother-in-law's "pet"?
She was sure she had no way to deal with something like Kyogre—it could probably erase her in an instant.
Her "master" probably wouldn't fare much better.
So what about their plan, then?
Never mind. This wasn't the time to worry about that. Opportunities like this didn't come often.
"Brother-in-law is amazing!" Mea said, sounding genuinely proud as she sprawled across his lap.
"This already counts as amazing? I've got nine more as strong as Kyogre," Shichen said, attacking her hair with a habitual head rub.
"Nine more? Doesn't that make you invincible?" Mea tilted her face up, gazing at him in awe.
"Invincible? Not even close," Shichen shook his head.
He wasn't arrogant—compared to some of the power systems he'd seen, he really wasn't all that yet.
Not unless his own strength advanced to an entirely different level.
"Brother-in-law's so modest~" Mea lay on his thighs again, her eyes drifting downward.
"Heh—hmm?"
Shichen suddenly felt something was off and looked down at her.
"What are you... doing?"
"Brother-in-law, what's this?" Mea asked in her sweetest innocent tone, brushing her hand over a certain very obvious bulge.
"Knock it off..." Shichen's mouth twitched.
"Heehee~ don't try to fool me, I know what it is," Mea said, still grinning, her hand not stopping.
"If you know, why ask?"
"I just wanted to tease you a bit~"
"Alright, enough fooling around."
"But brother-in-law, I feel... a little thirsty~" Mea said, licking her lips meaningfully.
"Thirsty? Then I'll send you back for juice."
"I don't want that, I want a drink now."
"I didn't bring any juice."
"Really?"
Mea suddenly tightened her grip.
"Brother-in-law, I'm digging in~" she said, lowering her head.
Shichen: "..."