Of course, even with the city rebuilt, it wasn't quite livable yet. Namely, none of the buildings had furniture. Nor was there any food in the city. Those weren't really my problem, but… Sprite being the little completionist and overachiever she was, promised to have it taken care of by morning. So, for tonight, we spent the night on the Roxy.
Almost immediately however, I saw a problem. If I wanted to use Roa as a future air travel hub, I needed to build facilities. So, Sprite and I went back out and took care of that. We put in three new airports, creating a series of three smaller, walled areas outside of Roa itself. One, a civilian airport for unloading just passengers, where they would then go through customs if they were traveling here from somewhere outside of the country. The second, a cargo port, for loading and unloading large shipments. The last, a private airfield for my family's personal use.
The last field was where we set the Roxy down onto solid ground for the night. Everyone took some time to stretch their legs and enjoy the evening air, before we eventually ate supper and hit the sack.
The next morning, I woke up and took care of the usual morning routine, before heading out to the top deck. Or at least, that's where I intended to go.
"Are you hungry, master Rudy?"
I sighed, turning a mild glare on Lilia. "Just Rudy, Lilia." The redhead smiled and after a moment, I smirked. "Sure, why not?"
Following Lilia into the mess, I found breakfast already waiting. My eyes focused on the curvy redhead as she bent over the table, filling a plate for me. "Looks delicious."
"Thank you," she murmured, smiling happily.
I slipped up behind her, laying my hands on her hips and gripping her tightly. "The food, too."
"Master… the others could be here any moment," Lilia breathed.
"Let them," I shrugged. Grabbing my plate with telekinesis, I guided Lilia away from the main table and into a corner. Putting the plate on the table, I pushed Lilia firmly over the table and flipped the black skirt of her maid uniform up, before reaching up and jerking the top down, freeing her pale, soft titties. Unzipping my pants, I fished my cock out and slid into her from behind, drawing a moan from the redhead that she quickly stifled by covering her mouth. Then, I grabbed her hips and fucked her into the table as I used telekinesis to eat my breakfast at the same time.
I finished my breakfast and left Lilia with a womb full of cream. Slapping her pale ass, I helped her up and pulled her into a kiss, before heading back towards the deck—leaving behind a satisfied, out of breath, mess of a woman. I did make sure to clean the table with magic though—I wasn't a filthy heathen. Fucking in a kitchen or dining room is fun, but I knew better than to leave a mess behind.
Walking with a spring in my step, I stepped off the deck and dropped to the ground below. The grass was still the green of late summer/early fall and was wet with morning dew. I moved away from the docked Roxy and created a stone chair and table from the ground, before dropping my coat on the table. Then, I settled into my usual morning practice routine.
It was as I was going through aerial maneuvers that I was joined by Aisha—Roxy, Norn, and Zenith not far behind with Ruijerd and Elinalise bringing up the rear. Aisha slipped seamlessly into my practice, moving in to strike at me as I parried the blow. "Did you have to? Really Rudy?"
"What?" I asked, attacking her right back as she bounced around the strike and moved to attack from a different angle.
"You know what you did!" Aisha growled, blasting at me with a Water Ball.
"Why don't you tell me what you think I did this time?" I countered with a Wind Ball of my own, blasting the water apart into droplets.
Aisha conjured a sword of ice and moved in to slash my chest, and I matched her with my own ice blade, the two locking up and leaving us facing each other. The little redhead glared at me, green eyes narrowing at my own. "You and mom had sex in the dining room," she hissed.
"No we didn't," I countered, shoving her off with a grin and a laugh. "The Roxy doesn't have a dining room. Ships have a mess and a galley, not a dining room and kitchen."
"Same thing!" Aisha sent a fireball at me.
I countered with water, before blasting at her with wind, sending her tumbling before she quickly righted herself. I had just a moment to hear the crackle and see the blue flash and responded instinctively, conjuring my own lighting. The two bolts danced between us for just a moment before zapping down into the ground. "You really going to begrudge your mom enjoying herself?"
Aisha pouted as she paused across from me. After a moment, she whined, "No. It's just… I don't want my brother to be my dad!"
I laughed, moving over and pulling her into a hug. Aisha clung to me as she hugged back and I lowered us to the ground. "I'm still just Rudy, Aisha. Paul is…"
"A living failure," she muttered.
I sighed. "He's still your father. I'm not going to try to replace him."
Aisha nodded against my chest, before looking up at me, most of her face hidden by my shirt. Mischief danced in her eyes and I could hear the grin. "Good. That would just be weird. Unless you want me to call you daddy~."
I groaned and hugged her tighter, until she began to squirm and struggle. Reaching down, I gave her a quick spank, before turning her around and pointing her towards where Roxy was finishing her warm-up exercises. "Go play with Roxy. I'm sure she'd like to have a sparring partner."
"Gah, fine," Aisha grumbled. "Thought I was going to get big brother time."
Reaching down, I mussed her red hair. "I'll be happy to give you 'big brother time' whenever you want, but at the moment, Norn needs me more. And I promised to help her. Now, get."
"Yes sir~."
"Brat," I rolled my eyes, sending her on her way and heading over to Norn myself. I watched her stretch for a moment, checking her form. "Hey."
"Hey," she grunted, but didn't look up from what she was doing.
"You ready for magic training?"
She sighed. "I guess. Don't expect a miracle or anything."
I rolled my eyes and held out my hand. "Come on."
Norn took the offered hand and I pulled her up to her feet. I moved us well away from the others—still in sight, but far enough that they couldn't overhear. "Won't need the spear for this."
The blonde nodded and planted the weapon in the ground. We moved a little away from it and I stopped her. Moving in front of her, I reached out and took her hands. Norn raised an eyebrow, but I smiled down at her. "Can you cast Wind Gust?"
"Yeah," she nodded.
Moving around behind her, I lifted her hand and pointed it out at the empty grass field ahead of us. "Cast it for me."
"O-okay," Norm murmured, a bit of a hitch in her voice for just a moment. Clearing her throat, she focused and, a moment later I felt the blast of wind.
"Good job," I said, before taking her other hand. "Now this one."
When she repeated the feat with her left hand, I had her do it again with her right, then left again, alternating several more times as I got her into a rhythm. "Alright, now, we're going to try something new. I want you to cast it from both hands at the same time. You ready?"
Norn hesitantly nodded. "Mm."
I brought both her hands up, just under her breasts, facing each other. "Breathe in. Start channeling." I slowly pushed her hands out. "Breathe out, release."
A massive gust of wind blasted out, making our hair and clothes flutter as wind rushed in from behind us. "Good, good. Now. Right, left, middle. Quarter power. Go."
I let her fall into that rhythm for a while, working up a bit of a sweat as she did, before stopping her again. "Can you cast it from your feet?"
"Yeah. It's how I launch myself," Norn confirmed.
"Great." Letting go of her, I moved off to the side. "So, watch. This is what you're going to do."
Then, I demonstrated. Step forward, right kick, Wind Gust. Right foot down, right straight punch, Wind Gust. Repeat with the left side, followed by a two-handed Wind Gust. Turning back to her, I smiled. "Got it?"
Norn frowned, but nodded. "Sure."
"Alright. Now, make your way across the field like that."
The blonde didn't ask questions, she just began moving, casting as she went. "Let me know when you need a break," I called to her as she passed, but Norn just focused on what she was doing.
For all that she claimed she sucked at this, Norn had mana to burn. My guess was, whatever spells she had managed to learn, she had doubled down on casting to wear herself out to exhaustion, then followed something closer to my own original routine of casting, taking a break, eating something, then continuing to cast. Only she had done it a lot. So while she didn't have Aisha's sheer talent, Norn had way more mana than Eris or Roxy had even now. At a guess, I'd put her somewhere between Eris and Sylphie… but that was a huge gap to occupy, because Sylphie was just that strong last time I had seen her and had likely only gotten stronger.
Finally, Norn reached the wall and I stopped her. Growing a couple of chairs and a table out of the ground, I asked, "Sprite, can we get something to eat?"
"Of course, master," Sprite answered.
I conjured a jug made of ice, along with a couple of stone cups, and filled the jug with water so cold it was almost slush. Sitting down, I gestured for Norn to join me. She sat and a moment later, Sprite Sent a plate of cold fruit, sliced meat, crackers, and cheese to the table. "Eat," I instructed, before pouring her a glass, creating a twisting breeze around us to cool her off.
Norn slowly ate and drank, relaxing into her seat as she did. "…Thanks."
"So," I began, "why do you think I'm having you do this exercise?"
"I don't know."
"Think about it, then answer," I said, making myself a little miniature sandwich with turkey and cheese. "Sprite, do we have any mustard?" A glass jar appeared on the table full of brown mustard, along with a knife. "Thank you much."
Finally, after Norn had eaten several mini-sandwiches and fruits of her own, and drank a good two glasses of water, she said, "It's so I get used to casting it frequently."
"Good answer," I nodded. "Air Running is just a modification of Wind Gust. You have to adjust how much force you're going to use with each step, and you have to do it as fast as you run. You're essentially creating a platform of compressed air and launching yourself with and from it at the same time. You've already got the timing down, you just need the rest of the stuff. So we'll work on that next."
"…Really?"
"Yeah?" I sent her a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'really?'"
Norn shook her head and looked away. "Nothing. Are, are you ready to start again?"
I considered her for a moment before leaning back in my chair. "Nah. I want to sit here a few more minutes."
"Mm." Norn nodded, picking up a grape and popping it in her mouth.
Seeing an opportunity, I modified the table a bit, lifting the plate, cups, and jug off onto elevated tables moved off from the center while turning the center into a dungeon maze. From the floor of the dungeon, a group of figurines rose up. Myself, Eris, and Ruijerd on one side, and groups of enemies hidden throughout the maze. "So, there we were, making our way through a dungeon on the Demon Continent…"
Norn perked up immediately. She had heard of this game from Eris but never actually played before.
I grinned as I advanced our figurines through the maze, before coming to the first group of enemies… And then dropped a secret door behind our party and revealed the horde of goblins coming at us from behind. "Oh no! Norn, you have to save us!"
Norn's eyes went wide as she leaned in.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Norn wobbled a bit as she blocked a slash from my stone sword with her bladed staff, but the smile on her face as she leapt away, ascending through the air before diving back at me couldn't have been pried off with a crowbar. Our weapons clashed again and I grabbed her staff, jerking it out of her hands and blasting her away with a Water Ball. She managed to recover before she hit the ground and instantly began bouncing through the air, throwing spells at me.
I countered what needed to be countered and launched a few attacks of my own, forcing her to evade. A glint in the sky on the horizon drew my attention and, in my moment of inattention, I found myself tackled and born to the ground. We tumbled in a tangle of limbs and Norn wound up on top of me, one of her hands holding both of mine above my head, the other clasped around my throat. The blonde panted where she sat in my lap, sucking down air. Her hair had come loose from the tail she'd put it in and strands stuck to her sweaty, red face while some dangled down and tickled my nose.
I smiled up at her. "Good job, Norn."
I casually broke her grip on my wrists and sat up. Norn nearly fell back before I caught her, hugging my sister against my chest and petting her back. Norn went stiff for a moment before she relaxed and rested her chin on my shoulder. Hesitantly, her arms wrapped around my middle and squeezed back—softly at first, then tightly, as though afraid I'd let go. "…Thanks, Rudy."
"You're welcome."
We sat like that for a while until eventually, a shadow fell over us. Looking up, we found the Eris descending beside the Roxy, the ground rising up below it to create a cradle for the airship. I started to get up, but Norn didn't let go. Rolling my eyes, I forced myself up with telekinesis, the blonde latching on like a limpet. "Come on, hop down so we can go see the others."
"Carry me."
"Sure. Piggyback?"
Norn nodded and hopped down, but only long enough to slip around behind me and hop up onto my back. "Giddyup."
We made our way over to the port side of the Eris, meeting up with the others as they gathered around. Norn dropped down to the ground as soon as we got close and made her way over to Zenith, who pulled her daughter into a hug. Leaning down, I heard Zenith speaking quietly into Norn's hair as she held the girl. "I saw what you and Rudy were doing. I'm so proud, Norn! Good work!"
"Th-thanks," Norn blushed, her gaze falling to the ground.
Roxy stepped up to my side, chuckling quietly. "Someone's in a good mood."
"She just needed a success under her belt," I answered quietly as the cargo bay door slid open in front of us. Before it was even halfway open, (a white-haired missile streaked towards my chest) there was a gust of wind and a white-haired missile streaked towards my chest. I opened my arms and caught her, spinning around to bleed off momentum.
The girl in my arms jumped, wrapping her arms and legs around me, squid-like. And then, I was being kissed, lips meeting my own as Sylphie wept and shook. I hugged and kissed her back as the others laughed and the group from the Eris made their way down the ramp.
Sylphie pulled back, breaking the kiss and resting her forehead against mine. Short, unruly white hair framed a pretty face and blood red eyes. Her ears twitched and she giggled as she reached up and wiped tears from her eyes. "Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to cry."
"Hey, it's okay," I assured her, reaching up and helping wipe away the tears.
"I, I can't help it. I'm so happy to be home!"
"Welcome home." Leaning in, I kissed her lips again, earning a quiet giggle. "Come on, let's go see everyone else."
"Un!" Sylphie nodded, before letting go and dropping onto her own feet. She stepped back and I took a good look at her. She wore a black and white suit, under a green and white cloak, with a set of cool looking sun glasses hung from a little loop sewn into her top for that purpose.
I pulled Sylphie back towards the group and smiled at what I saw. Hilda and Phillip were caught up in a hug, the man and his wife kissing as Sauros held them both tightly. Elinalise, Tallhand, and Zenith had pulled Ghislaine over to the side and were chatting. Roxy and Ariel were likewise caught up in their own conversation. I was mobbed a moment later by the blonde form of Sylvia as she caught myself and Sylphie up in a teary, wet hug.
And over the blonde's shoulder, standing there at the top of the deck, hands crossed over her breasts and looking particularly smug as she looked over it all was Eris. Our eyes met and she smiled—that soft smile she usually reserved for the bedroom. I sent her a nod and she moved down the ramp, making her way over to her mother, father, and grandfather. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Ruijerd leaning against the hull of the Roxy, watching as he spoke quietly with Kishirika. The curvy woman turned her head my way and smiled, while Ruijerd looked up and met my gaze for a moment before returning to his conversation.
"It's good to have you back, Sylvia," I said, giving the blonde in my arms a squeeze.
Sylvia snorted. "Please. Call me 'mom,' Rudy."
"Mm… nah," I teased, and the woman pulled away and pouted, before sticking her tongue out.
"Rudeus," Ruijerd spoke up from nearby as he approached. "May I speak with you a moment?"
"Sure."
"Eris as well."
I sighed. "About that time?" When he nodded, I gave Sylphie and Sylvia a squeeze. "I'll be back in a few," I told them, before pushing them gently in the direction of Aisha, Lilia, and Norn.
Catching Eris's eye, I jerked my head off to the side and she nodded. She excused herself and hurried over as we made our way away from the others. Finally, Ruijerd stopped and turned to face us. "So… this is it?" the redhead asked, arching an eyebrow.
Ruijerd nodded once. "For now."
"Where do you plan to go?" I asked, and the man shrugged.
"North, I think." Looking us over, he smiled. "You've grown. You are both warriors now. You don't need my protection."
Eris put on her frowny face, glaring at the taller man. "That doesn't mean you need to leave, idiot!"
"I do," he countered, before reaching out and laying his hand on top of her head, stroking her hair. A look passed over his face as he looked at us both, full of happiness and sadness both.
"What are your plans?"
"I think… I'm going to look for a place to resettle the remnants of the Superd, before I go back to the Demon Continent and make contact with them. I'll also search the Central Continent for any others that may be in hiding that Sprite hasn't found yet."
"I'll set aside some land, if you decide you want to settle here. I can put together something like the other villages for you."
"Thank you, Rudeus. For everything. You have done much for me, and I know you plan to do still more for my people. You have my deepest gratitude."
"Thank you, for watching over us," I told him, reaching out and clasping his arm.
Ruijerd's bike moved around from the side of the Roxy, settling onto the ground beside him. His pack sat strapped to the back and looked to be bulging with supplies. Ruijerd raised an eyebrow at that. "You're letting me keep it?"
Eris scoffed. "It's a gift." Eyeing him skeptically, she asked, "You've got your phone?" When he nodded, her expression softened. "If you don't call, I'll be mad."
Ruijerd chuckled at that and ruffled her hair again. "Very well."
With that, the man secured his spear and climbed onto his bike. It rose up off the ground and he turned one last look on us. "Let us meet again."
Eris leaned into my side as we watched Ruijerd ride away, heading for the exit gate. I put my arm around her and gave her a squeeze.
"I don't like it."
"I know." I sighed and pulled her back towards the others as Ruijerd disappeared through the gates.
When we got back to the group, I was met by a smiling blonde. She looked to Eris for a moment. "May I?"
Eris snorted. "Yeah, go ahead. Rudeus, we're going to take a couple of trucks up to the manor. Sprite says it's livable now."
"I'll meet you there," I nodded, and Eris left.
Ariel smiled as she stepped closer. "You're shorter than I thought you'd be."
"You're just tall," I countered, to an amused look from the blonde. "Look, I'm still going through my growth spurt, okay? I've got a couple of years to go. Then you'll be looking up to me, not the other way around."
"Yes, but in the meantime, the view looking down is nice…"
"The view looking up is pretty nice too. Could be better…"
She rolled her eyes, before pulling me into a hug. I hugged back, feeling her soft, delicious curves under her traveling dress. Ariel… grabbed my hand and moved it down to her ass. I raised an eyebrow and gave it a nice squeeze. At the same time, she grabbed my own ass and squeezed. I squawked quietly and she giggled. "It's nice to finally meet in person."
"Same," I agreed.
We both let go and she tucked herself against my left side. We didn't walk very far before my bike set down in front of us and the back seat popped up. I helped Ariel up onto the seat and took my own seat, before taking off slowly for the palace. "Surprised you didn't have Eris drop you off in Ars."
I heard Ariel scoff. "No. I'm not going to live there. I… I can't look at the place without seeing everything it was." Ariel sighed. "Eris tried to take me back, you know? She picked up me and Sylphie, then Sylvana. Then she flew back to Ars. It was as I was looking down at the palace from the deck that I realized… I don't want to be there anymore. I want to be here. With you, and the rest of my future family. I'll just have Sprite project holograms to Ars and never actually tell them I'm not there. Because as long as the nobles think I'm there, they aren't here."
"Surprised you left any alive."
"Mm. Me too," she murmured. "But no. I only punished the ones who had committed crimes and only within the bounds of the law. Only a few were actually executed for treason." She paused for a moment before saying, "Your uncle and cousin were executed."
"Never knew 'em."
"I did," she sighed. "Luke… I thought he was my friend. It turns out that no, he was just there to spy on me for his father, my brother, and that fat pig. I suppose… I always knew I couldn't really trust him. I always had to play the degenerate princess around him, competing to see who could out-do the other with their sexual conquests." I turned my head to look at her and Ariel shook her head. "Sorry."
"It's fine. If you want to talk, I'm here."
"I know." She took a deep breath and held it in for a moment, before letting it out in a gusty sigh. "Right! Today is supposed to be a happy day! Not a day to lament over wasted years and poor decisions. So, are you ready for the big day?"
"What big day?" I asked, turning us onto the main street leading up to the center of the city and opening the bike up a bit.
"Your wedding? Weddings, I should say. Roxy, Eris, and Sylphie. Then myself."
"…They're really going to do them that soon?"
Ariel laughed. "Rudy, yes! I only talked them out of doing it tonight and postponing things for tomorrow in order to properly prepare."
"Prepare? What is there to prepare? Last I knew, it was just going to be a small thing."
"'Small' is a relative term." She paused, before asking, "Rudy… you weren't thinking you were just going to marry all three of them in one ceremony, were you?"
"Yes?" I asked, figuring that was the simplest solution which would suffice.
"Anta baka!"
"Hey now, Eris is supposed to be the tsundere throwing around Asuka's lines."
"Does she really?"
"Oh yeah," I chuckled. "She used to a lot. And Rin's. A few others, too. It was kind of cute to see her confused face every time I called her by a new woman's name. But seriously, they each want their own ceremony?"
"Yes!" Ariel yelled from behind me. "You idiot!"
I sighed. "Fine."
"Oh, don't be a baby. They all have simple tastes—as you should know. Unfortunately… our wedding will need to be this week as well. Preferably within a day or two of theirs. And it will require a bit more pageantry."
I felt like I was repeating myself as I asked, "That soon?"
"We need to solidify this alliance now that you're back in the country and you and Eris have been sending flying ships all over, announcing your presence to anyone who happens to look up. Which means a very public marriage and producing an heir as soon as possible. It's bad enough that I won't be your first wife, but given that we have a monopoly on the spread of information outside of the Adventurer's Guild, I don't think anyone is going to realize the order of things."
"Sorry, but—"
"It's fine," Ariel brushed it off as we zipped through the last wall and onto the grounds. "I understand my place, Rudy. I understand what we are to each other."
We had outdone ourselves putting the place back together. It was almost exactly as I remembered it. I slowed us to a stop in front of the main entrance, lowering the bike to the ground. Getting off, I helped Ariel down, only to pull her to my chest. A bit of mana had the earth rising beneath my feet and bringing us even in height, drawing a smile from Ariel. "Ariel, just because we're only friends now doesn't mean we can't become more."
"I know," she murmured, resting her forehead against mine. "It's what I'm hoping for. I don't want a loveless marriage, where I have to seek out someone on the side to fill my needs. I want… I want what you already have. A family. A spouse. Cute sisters and lovers. People who I can trust. Who love me and whom I can love in return." She hesitated, then licked her lips. "You'll treat me kindly?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"…I, I have some ah," she hesitated. "Proclivities. From my time as a royal in Ars. You won't… look down on me if I indulge?"
Raising my eyebrow, I sent her an amused look. "That depends on what it is. If you're into animals, I'm going to have to give that a hard no."
"No, no," Ariel shook her head. "Uh, ryona. And uh, NTR. The kind where another woman takes my man! Or where I do it to her. Either/or. And a few other things… Sylphiette kind of, um, awakened that particular desire. Humiliation, too."
I shook my head. "It's fine. I'll play with you. As long as it's just play."
"Of course!" Ariel nodded.
Grinning at the blonde, I quietly added, "I really hope you're into handholding and lovey-dovey, baby-making sex in the missionary position for the express purpose of procreation while we stare deeply into each other's eyes and kiss. With the lights out. 'Cause it's happening."
Ariel's cheeks turned a cute pink. "I don't know if my heart can take that kind of thing…"
"Also shibari."
Ariel immediately rolled her eyes. "Just because I was Japanese in a previous life doesn't mean—"
"So, no shibari?"
She hesitated, then grumbled, "Yes, please."
"Thought so." I leaned in and pecked her lips, before stepping the two inches down off the mound of earth I'd made and taking her hand, pulling her towards the house. "Come on. Let's go… plan four weddings."
"Don't sound so thrilled," I could hear the eye roll.
The door opened as we approached and Lilia beamed a happy smile, holding it open for us. She went into a small bow as we approached. "Welcome home, master. Your highness."
""Just Rudy/Ariel.""
Ariel and I shared a look and a chuckle. Grabbing Lilia's hand, I pulled her along as well. Pulling her into my side, I grabbed a handful of her ass through her dress. "Come along, maid. We're not leaving you out either."
"As you wish, master."
"She's very cheeky, Rudy. You should discipline her more."
"I should discipline you," I muttered.
Ariel simply grinned. "Threaten me with a good time some more."