Lucian tried to move and pull his arm free, but Xuanyuan unconsciously burrowed deeper into his chest, Kyuusyou's leg pressed firmly over his leg, and Wendy's head lightly rubbed against his shoulder.
"..."
Lucian blinked in silence, then sighed helplessly.
'Forget it.'
In the end, Lucian closed his eyes and, within the gentle embrace of thirteen women, welcomed the dawn that followed this absurd situation.
However, a few minutes later, Lucian opened his eyes with an unusually serious expression as he discovered a severe problem.
He had already taken Acheron, as well as the sisters who were as close to her as flesh and blood, yet the script was still not complete.
'Seriously, I've already come this far... What more do I need to do? Do I need to hold a wedding? Don't tell me... Must I have a child or something? No way, right?'
Lucian rubbed his chin and began to seriously consider things he had never thought about before.
Once the thought occurred to him, however, he ultimately decided to act on it, because for now, he no longer had any leads on how to complete the script, other than marrying the thirteen women or having children with them.
Of course, he planned to start with a wedding first, since having a child would take ten months, while a wedding would only take a few days.
===
In the afternoon, the sunlight was warm and gentle as it poured through the living room window and fell upon the reclining sofa chair where Lucian sat.
Lucian, having just taken a short nap, felt a bit thirsty, so he turned his head slightly to the side and called out almost instinctively.
"Mei."
As Lucian called out, Mei, without needing to be told, almost immediately walked over carrying a cup of freshly brewed hot tea at just the right temperature, then gently set the teacup on the small table beside the chair.
In that instant, Mei's familiar, faint fragrance drifted through the air and entered Lucian's nose.
"Here's the tea. I just brewed it."
Mei's voice was very soft as she spoke, and when her violet eyes fell on Lucian, they flashed with a hint of concern before she casually picked up the thin blanket draped over the back of the chair, gave it a light shake, and carefully covered his legs with it.
"Be careful not to catch a cold."
Seeing what Mei did, Lucian smiled slightly, then lifted the teacup and took a sip before letting out a comfortable sigh.
In a slight daze, Lucian watched as Mei naturally picked up the coat he had casually tossed aside on the sofa, carefully smoothing out its wrinkles before hanging it on the rack—her movements practiced, calm, and reassuring.
Unlike her usual kimono, Mei was now wearing a white sweater with a black apron draped neatly over it, along with a long black skirt featuring a cutout on the left side that openly revealed her beautiful, stocking-wrapped leg.
With her long hair now tied up in a ponytail as well, the housewife impression Mei gave off was unmistakable, as she clearly and genuinely radiated a strong housewife aura to anyone who happened to see her.
And Mei truly was one, carefully and diligently taking meticulous care of Lucian every single day without exception.
"Mei..."
Lucian set the teacup down and called her again.
"Hmm?"
Mei finished hanging the coat, then turned around and walked back to Lucian's side.
"What's wrong? Is the tea not to your liking?"
Seeing Mei's gentle expression as she spoke, Lucian did not answer, but simply reached out and gently held her hand that hung at her side, instantly feeling its soft touch along with the faint coolness lingering on her fair skin.
Mei smiled slightly and sat down beside him.
"Do you think… our wedding should be done one by one, or all together?" Lucian suddenly asked a surprising question out of nowhere. "I can't decide this by myself—I wanna hear your opinions on it."
"Wa-Wait, we-wedding?" Mei asked, stuttering, her eyes filled with surprise along with a flutter of excitement. "You mean... you want to announce it to the whole world?"
"Why not? You're all my wives. Everyone should know that."
Seeing Mei's shy expression, Lucian found her especially adorable and could not help but tease her.
"Unless you don't want that... then forget what I said—"
"I want it! I do!"
Mei hurriedly interrupted Lucian, her heart racing with embarrassment and her cheeks burning. As she looked into his eyes, which were filled with teasing, her embarrassed heart was slowly filled with a trembling excitement, and a smile unconsciously formed on her face.
Seeing Mei's smile, the teasing in Lucian's eyes deepened before he tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her closer.
"Kya!"
Mei let out a soft cry as she fell onto his lap.
"Haha, you're so cute, Mei," Lucian said with a soft chuckle, wrapping an arm around Mei's waist while lifting her chin with his other hand. "I'll put you in the most beautiful wedding dress and let the whole world know that you are my Mei."
"Mhm..."
Mei responded softly, her long eyelashes trembling intensely as she closed her eyes, her cheeks flushed an alluring red, as if imagining herself in a wedding dress.
"Well then… go discuss it with the others."
Lucian leaned close to Mei's ear and whispered, his warm breath brushing against her ear and causing her face to grow even redder.
"Whether it's one by one or all at once, I'll agree to everything. I'll wait."
Upon hearing this, Mei, embarrassed, buried her face in the crook of Lucian's neck and softly answered with "Mhm" once more.
And so, when night came, Mei discussed the wedding matter with the others, and in the end, the thirteen guardians, who were now as close as flesh and blood, decided to hold the wedding together.
===
One month later, the wedding day finally arrived.
At this moment, the news that Izumo's ruler, Lucian, was holding a wedding had already become a trending topic on the Interastral Network, drawing many travelers and merchants from foreign civilizations to come and join the excitement.
"I heard the ruler here is getting married, and he's marrying thirteen wives at once!"
"Holy crap… can I settle here too? I wanna be a citizen of Izumo as well! I wanna marry thirteen wives too!"
"Thirteen? Can he really handle that many? I mean, can he even keep up?"
"If he dares to marry them, he must have his own ways. Forget it, I'm gonna worship his statue and pray for the secret to satisfying thirteen women in one night."
During this month, conversations like these constantly unfolded in every corner of Izumo, day after day, without pause. And on this special day, the celebrations across the entirety of Izumo had finally reached their peak.
Festive red and gold decorations filled every corner, while the streets in Amatsukuni were packed with countless people, lively and bustling, causing foreign visitors to stretch their necks just to properly watch the grand spectacle unfolding before them.
"Whoa... Not gonna lie, this is huge..."
"Well, it's thirteen brides, after all. What kinda guy is this Lucian, anyway?"
"Look! Look! Up in the sky!"
As everyone chattered with excitement, one of the spectators suddenly shouted and pointed straight at the sky.
High above, a massive golden dragon emerged from the clouds, and atop its head lazily sat a handsome young man dressed in a perfectly tailored black formal suit, with a faint smile lingering at the corner of his lips.
Needless to say, the young man was none other than Lucian, the very center of this wedding event. As for the golden dragon, it was something he had created using the myriad transformations of Elation.
"My god! He came riding a vidyadhara?!"
"So coooool!"
"Even a vidyadhara is willing to be his mount?"
Upon seeing Lucian, the surrounding crowd erupted into thunderous cheers, and immediately afterward—
*Buzz!* *Buzz!* *Buzz!* *Buzz!*
Space in the sky was suddenly torn apart again and again until thirteen spatial rifts opened neatly in midair, surrounding the golden dragon and Lucian.
From within the rifts, thirteen brides dressed in pure white wedding gowns slowly stepped out one after another.
Mei, Kiana, Kyuusyou, Sirin, Bianka, Wendy, Ana, Theresa, Azta, Xuanyuan, Sakura, Senti, Himiko—not a single one was missing.
Each bride's makeup was unique, yet all of them were breathtakingly beautiful, especially their white wedding gowns, which had different styles to accentuate their distinct temperaments—gentle, lively, cold, mysterious, or adorably innocent.
At this moment, it was as if the entire sky had been illuminated by their beauty.
"Oh, the brides are here!"
"It's really thirteen!"
"Man, all of them are so beautiful..."
"Long live Izumo! Long live Lord Lucian!"
In an instant, the cheers from the crowd rose higher and higher, especially among Izumo's inhabitants—almost all of whom were cheering while shedding tears.
Standing at the edge of the spatial rifts, the thirteen brides were supported by invisible forces beneath their feet, looking like goddesses descending upon the world. All of their gazes, without exception, were fixed on the man riding atop the golden dragon.
Seeing that his brides had finally arrived, Lucian patted the dragon's head.
*ROOOAAAAAARRR!!!*
In response, the dragon let out a deep roar before slowly descending onto a massive wedding platform suspended in midair.
With the aid of Sirin's spatial power, the thirteen brides also landed lightly on the platform, standing around Lucian.
It could be said that while the wedding ceremony appeared grand, the process itself was actually quite simple. Unlike conventional weddings, there was no priest or the like in this wedding, only Lucian and his brides.
Lucian looked at the thirteen beautiful faces before him for a moment—some shy, some joyful, some excited, and some full of anticipation—then cleared his throat before speaking.
"Today, here, I, Lucian, take Raiden Bosenmori Mei, Kiana, Houraiji Kyuusyou, Sirin, Bianka Duran, Wendy Amor, Ana Mistilteinn, Theresa, Azta Ishat, Xuanyuan, Yae Sakura, Senti, and Akabane Himiko as my wives!"
"From this day forward, you are all my family, my treasures, my wings!"
"I will and swear to protect you, guard you, and ensure that you live forever in happiness!"
Lucian declared in a domineering and direct manner, delivering his words without the slightest hesitation. Even though his voice was not loud, it still carried clearly across the entire city, allowing everyone in Amatsukuni to hear it.
Hesitate?
Hesitation was not in his dictionary.
Even before transmigrating, when he was still an ordinary mortal, he was a man who always made good on what he said.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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