Chapter 776 - Lovely . . . "You really have no remedy, don't you, idiot? Since the moment you summoned me that you have been forcing me around to grow stronger, time and time again! And when I finally get to it, when I finally begin to see that I gotta get stronger and stuff, and when I finally manage to get such power… It is not enough… I… I am quite sad about that, you… know? Even after all of this time, all the days we had been together, the hate I felt for you for threatening me like that, and then slowly realizing that you were actually right… That I needed to grow stronger… I already liked you when you were still a Butterfly! And when you evolved more and more and gathered more people around you… I felt a bit left off… But even then, I kept growing stronger, gathering with my friends and… showing you that I really did intend to become your wife too! And well… I… become your wife… and… we do I every night and stuff and- T-That is not the point! Anyways… I… have grown pretty strong if I say so myself! But I guess against Gods, that is really not enough, huh? I will have to get stronger, as I always do, and show you again that I do intend to stay at your side, you want it or not! …A-Ah… Well… I… I love you. H-Happy now? That is what you wanted to hear, right? I can see right through you, Kireina!" said Nereid, pouting adorably. She flapped above me and sighed, as I extended my arms and told her to embrace me in the warm and comforting hugs that she often gives me, she did so rather shyly, as even after all this time her personality has not changed a single bit. She was my second summon, and I summoned her while I was still a butterfly as well, unlike Kjata, she began to talk straight away and was always around us the whole time, but I guess after some time, as we kept growing stronger, she slacked off so much that was left off. In the end, she decided to grow stronger to be able to stand at my side more often, and with the help of the other Spirits, she achieved such levels of strength after many arduous days of training. After fusing with me and fighting and killing Gods with me, her level must have increased rather insanely, but even then, she still sees herself as weak because of what I did… Even then, she knows why I did it, and her resolve has simply become even stronger than it already is. Nereid is truly someone to admire, her strength, resolve, and personality had never faltered, and whenever she seems to set something as a goal, she keeps pushing forward until finally attaining it… that is how I became her wife after all. I admire her, and I love her a lot too, even more as she has been with me ever since I was a measly bug. I kiss and hug her until she has no option than to smile back at me, she is so sweet, I feel like I want to embrace her on the bed too… well, all of my wives, but that will have to wait a bit more. For now, I shall promise her to stay at her side, and to help her grow stronger, it is the least I could do, really. "W-Well… I do remember some of my past, before being summoned… I used to live in a world different than this, perhaps even a different realm altogether… However, it seems that my life was taken by tragedy, and when I died, my soul submerged into endless darkness… F-For a long time… Miraculously, I was summoned by you with a new body and identity as a Spirit… A-And it has been very fun since then… I have forged bonds with you and… m-my new friends… And I am slowly… G-Getting through my stuttering a-and my… p-past traumas… I-I know I am a coward and too shy sometimes… B-But I really mean it when I say it! I-I love you, Kireina-sama…! I-I am just glad to have enjoyed so many days… and weeks… and m-months with you… you bring me s-so much happiness… I-It is almost unbelievable… S-So please, let me… grow stronger… s-so I can stay at your side and be even happier… and also… t-to bring happiness to you too! E-Even if I am… such a p-pathetic shy woman… I-I am… doing my best…" said Ocypete. Ocypete smiled gently at me as I grabbed her and hugged her tightly, kissing her lips and telling her that she did not need to meet any standards nor grow any stronger if she didn't need to, she was enough for me, and I would love her no matter how strong or weak she was. She seemed shy about my affection, but could not help but love it, embracing me back and kissing me almost hysterically, she was very shy and inexperienced in these things, but I've made sure to teach her slowly about expressing one's love and embraced her shy way of doing things, and her nervous personality as well. Ocypete is a very innocent woman, shy and nervous as well, and although she might have flaws, I embrace them and love her with both her flaws and pros, I accept her and it makes her even happier, I just want to protect that smile… However, she waves her head, and glanced at me with a determined look, she tells me that she will become strong, that she will even raise to a goddess if it is necessary… her conviction cannot be shattered, and I am okay with that, I will make sure to help her do so, so she can be happy at my side. "Hehe, look at you, all surrounded by so many sweet girls, are you okay with me at your side too? You are not with me just to make Ocypete and the others happy, right? …W-What? I-I was joking! You did not have to come and grab me like a princess or something! F-Fine, I know, I know… Hehe, you love me too, huh? Well, since you summoned me that I kind of admired you, you work pretty hard, just like I used to be in my past life to attend my people… you are truly a ruler to admire, Kireina. I am pretty amazed by how good you are at it, and well… I kind of fell in love with you almost at the same time that Ocypete did! Playing with me every day really did win my heart, and well, all those dates we did… I know that you are special and that can be in many places, even when battling against monsters to protect us, you were also at my side, accompanying me and loving me… And you just won my heart, the heart of a gnome empress like me, which is pretty big! W-Well, I am also pretty glad that even with my size you still accepted me. Every so often Gnomes are not really accepted by other races because we look like a child or something… even when I got these giant b.r.e.a.s.ts! Fufu, I know that is what you love too… So what about making some children tonight? I am expecting you to fill my w.o.m.b with your seed like every night, alright? A-Ah was that too l.e.w.d?! Okay, sorry… But you know that you like it! Fufu…" laughed Smilkas, as I gave her a deep kiss, shutting her up for once and letting her just show my love to her. She wasn't annoyed at all by my kiss, and instead embraced me and even put some of her tongue in to the mix, which made it more enjoyable. I grabbed her like a tiny princess of the gnomes she is and told her that she was just as precious to me, and do not tease me around telling me that I just chose her to make the others happy, because I would never do such a thing! Honestly, this girl is so teasing sometimes… But that's what I love about her, her personality is very unique and endearing, she loves to joke around and lighten the mood, being always there for anyone that needs someone nice at their side, this is why also most girls love her as well, and well, her petite size makes her compact for head pats and bringing her around. I also love to embrace her and kiss her, she is such a sweetheart… A-Anyways, I will also make sure to make her happy, as much as I can, and by using everything I have… Although she looks pretty happy already! I mean, she just asked me to creampie her tonight… I mean, I always do! But yeah, what a pervert, honestly. But that's something I love about her too, so it's all good. Anyways, I kissed her and petted her around until she got bored out of it (she never actually does, she was just hungry) and went to drink some beer and eat some meat at my side of the table. We continued the feast until the claws of Kaggoth and her sister were boiled, and we had an even bigger feast, sharing such meat all around our new Empire underground. However, in the middle of the feast with my family, a little Arachne girl approached me. ----- Sakura couldn't get through it yet. She was truly in love with Kireina. And well, perhaps many were, many outside of her wives. So really, it did not make her feel any different… But she also remembers that Kireina was one of the people that named her, and also favored her over others… Most of her friends only admired Kireina as their leader and already had their husbands, but she has not given up on her yet… No matter how many wives she had gotten since then, all this time. Sakura had been glancing at Kireina growing stronger, gathering more wives, and having more and more children… She was rather envious of them, very envious. On various days she dreamed about being at Kireina's side not only as her maid but as something else… But she was weak, and could not even fathom being as strong as her wives and children, being at her side aside from serving her food and doing maid things was very limited… Sometimes she would rest on her spider web bed and cry sorrowfully, about her platonic love that was Kireina, and about the dreams she had of making a family with her… of having children with her. But she was always so far away from her, so high in the sky, it was very hard for her to even reach it. Even when she began to take some time off work to go train in the dungeons with others, even to the point of getting to know some of Kireina's children and asking them for some advice… She kept growing stronger and sharpening her cooking skills, knowing that she could not just give up yet, she had been waiting so long, she could not possibly give up yet! Even though… Kireina was so far from her, so, so far… But even then, she wanted to reach that height, she wanted to be… at her side. At some point, Sakura glanced as Kireina embraced the Spirit girls, who had been waiting their turn as well, and her heart was filled with a little bit more hope, thinking that, perhaps, she could reach that place as well… If she worked hard… However, she also felt more hopeless, her strength was not increasing even as she leveled up, her race was simply not made to fight that much… Perhaps…she was not good enough for Kireina. Although she knew that Kireina had shown some interest to her, she was too shy and thought too highly of Kireina to even fathom to think that she could have a chance if she did not try her hardest and even went further beyond that. However, as she began to slowly lose hope, she smiled bitterly. "Perhaps… I should just bet on it and ask her… If she rejects me… I will just… keep going forward don my life… there's no point in keeping this any longer… I am just… a lowly servant after all…" ----- Sakura approached me, and smiled at me rather shyly, she was trembling nervously, and her eyes seemed saddened and also incredibly nervous. "K-Kireina-sama…" she said. "Sakura… come to join us, you don't have to work so hard," I said. "A-Ah! N-no… It is the least I can do… It is the only thing I can do after all…" said Sakura rather sorrowful. "What's wrong? Tell me, I've known you for very long…" I said. "I… Kireina-sama… I… I…" muttered Sakura. "Hm?" I asked. "I… I love you! C-Can I… have a chance with you?" asked Sakura rather hysterically, as she covered herself on her various legs shyly. Oh… so that was it. Sakura… "Sakura, I've always known this… I was just waiting for a perfect opportunity, but I am always so busy…" I said. "I-Is that so? Oh, no… that's… perfectly understandable, Kireina-sama…" said Sakura, approaching me with an adorable smile. "I am… really sorry, of course, you can have all the chances you want with me, I am also quite in love with you, all this time…" "A-Ahh…! K-Kireina-sama… Are you in love with me?!" asked Sakura, as I approached her and c.a.r.e.s.sed her tender face, her eight beautiful pink eyes glanced at me while shining with hope… "I did not want to be so oppressive like I always am… I wanted this to be different… And not be so dominant… But I guess I ended ruining it…" I sighed. "E-Eh!? R-Really?!" asked Sakura, almost jumping in surprise. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚 "Yes… I apologize again… I've been really just an idiot…" I apologized, I truly felt quite bad about this, which I have been saving in my heart for some time. "No… You are not an idiot at all, Kireina-sama… You have an enormous family, and an even bigger Empire to take care of… It is completely normal to feel overwhelmed by so many things… I understand…" said Sakura. "Sakura…" I said, grabbing her hands. "K-Kireina-sama… Let's… have a date!" she asked. "Oh… A Date? Quite conventional… but alright. Let's have a date," I said, with a warm smile, this might be the beginning of yet another romantic relationship, but Sakura was simply… too adorable to reject. -----