Chapter 469 – A Slow Dinner

Dinner is slow. Painfully slow. They brought the food out quickly. The appetizers were already set out on the table when we got here. And Kou has been standing right behind me, making sure I eat the food.

"I don't know how you can ignore food, My Empress," Kou says.

"Probably the ritual," I say.

"Well, it's starting to scare me, My Empress," Kou says. "Can you eat a bit of the cake? You're sitting with the kids, and you know they're all eating the cake right now. The temple of Love has been reserved until tomorrow night. You'll have plenty of time to spend with the kids. Enjoy the dinner."

"Ok, ok," I say.

"She isn't wrong," Mommy says. "It is important for my baby to eat."

"I just want to play," I say.

The dinner is quiet. My wives are talking, but the nobles seem too scared to speak. I got the kids to start talking, though, so the room is only silent between them and my wives. Elora is included in my wives' conversations this time around, so Hearth can be happy about the family if she ignores Azula. I need to find a way to get Lensa to leave me alone. When Azula gives me a kid, I can think about removing her collar. She's such an odd one out with her wives.

Whatever. I'll figure it out later. Lensa is losing more of her power over me every day at this point. I just have to promise to get more of Kiyomi's people pregnant or plan out a nice party, where I get a little tipsy and the kitsunes can try their luck, and then I'm sure Kiyomi will ban Lensa from her realm if she hasn't already. I should figure that out before I think up any plans.

And now I have to confirm the obvious reason why Kiyomi is here. The group with her is pretty, and I did promise. Such pretty brown tails. One even has green on the tips. I'm not sure if that's natural or just some dye.

"Feeling some responsibility?" Nanoka asks. "You didn't promise to help them all, did you?"

"I just said one," I say. "I think."

"One will be fine," Nanoka says. "I know the old generation of that family. I met their kids when they were mostly just a single tail. Kiyomi picked a good family. They'll be a good introduction to how the realm husband role works. You'll be different from the past ones, but they'll have a good plan. I know you want to play with your kids, but you have other bodies for that. Fulfill your duties. It scared us all when you were in that pile while so pregnant."

"I guess," I say.

"If you plan to spend a night in the future with one of the women, they'll be happy," Mommy says. "They can't honestly expect you to do it tonight. Just give them a firm date when you'll come over, and they'll be relieved. They probably want a bit to prepare for it anyway."

"Kiyomi will be happy if you approach instead of waiting for them to come to us," Nanoka says. "That will help space out the requests. And I think they'll be the best people to talk to here, besides your wives and kids."

"Alright, I'll go pick a woman," I say. I'm on the other side of the brothel now. It is better knowing that I will be getting them pregnant, and I'll get to see the kid plenty. Not knowing if I got the guest pregnant or if I would even get the chance to learn that I was going to have another kid was hard. Some of the kids are nine years old, so in my first year, I got some women pregnant, and I didn't even know about it.

Everyone stands up with me. Except for the kids, since I've got them a little distracted, or they're babies who can't stand anyway. I freeze, forgetting that this would happen. I see why everyone was trying to slow me down. They would all have to stop eating while still hungry if I finished too quickly. What a silly thing.

"Thank you all for coming," I say. "I know I've been at the heart of the last two wars. But with the power I control now, we should be good to rebuild for a while. To those who brought kids, thank you. I've missed them greatly, and it feels amazing to see their smiles and hear their laughter. It brings me a lot of joy. I hope to create a nation where all the kids can laugh, and their parents get to enjoy every moment of it."

The women give me a bow and start to move away from the table into little groups. The Kitsunes all huddle up around Kiyomi, who is staring right at me.

She must be mad that I haven't visited once despite saying that I'll live in her realm. Well, she can be happy that I'm sacrificing a bit of time with my kids to talk to them.

"Hello, Empress Alzi," Kiyomi says. "Thank you for coming to us."

"Yes, Kiyomi," I say. "I've been rather busy handling things with the Dragons, and then the Goddesses. Time sensitive, as you should know. Yzzorres doesn't like to wait for anybody or anything. And then, making sure the Dragons weren't about to do something else stupid was important. Lots going on and little time to get it all done. My bodies aren't made for desk work, so they can only do so much to lighten my burden."

"Alzi, I mean nothing by it," Kiyomi says. "I'm happy the Dragons have a muzzle on themselves now. It saves us all a massive headache, and I know Yzzorres didn't just want to throw a phoenix at you. I heard about the Goddesses, and I'm happy Yuki was able to make it. The world is better off without those three. I am just happy to see that you walked over to us. The kids are practically calling your name. So we can move on from this silly game, though I suppose I started it. I should've been more direct about what I meant." Kiyomi isn't staring at me, but right over my shoulder.

'Space, is Nanoka staring at her daughter?'

'Yes, dear.'

'Thanks. I love you!'

'You're a silly girl. Come see me soon. I miss you.'

I do wonder how Nanoka is able to get Kiyomi to be nice. Isn't Kiyomi stronger? Wait, can Nanoka and her mother beat Kiyomi if they work together? Is that it? "It would be nice over the next few days to start moving into the new home," I say. "And I see four beautiful women here. It would be nice to have someone to show me more of your realm and my new home. I saw a rather small part of it the last time I went there. Maybe I can see what the inside of a house looks like? I should be good to do it in three days. I have some more marriages and other stuff to finish up here, like making sure Elora is all set up and prepared for everything."

"That would be wonderful," the kitsune with the green tips on her tails says. "I'm Yurimi, and we would love to show you around our realm. It should be better filled now that we don't have so many away fighting a war. And our house is always open to you. If you ever want to see any changes done to the interior, we would love to have you over. The changes don't have to be limited to the house, either. Dinner can reveal many things."

"That's quite bold," Esmeralda says. "I was worried about what to say, and then I walked in here and heard that. It makes things a lot easier. If you want some help with the move, I have some wives who would love to help as well. Hello, Queen Kiyomi."

"Hello, Countess," Kiyomi says.

"That all sounds lovely," I say. I'm never going to be able to be a hermit with my kids, but that's probably for the best. My kids should have friends outside the family. So why not spread them through the realm as well? "I'm sure my house would appreciate the help."

"Good, I'll make sure Lorelei shows up for some moral support. Sorry for butting in, but I do want to say that I loved the ceremony this time. So often, it drags on and on. The Queens are never as impressive when they first get the crown as they are a few years into their reign. You're a bit different, and I hope, for the world's sake, that your feats during your reign are small compared to what you've done to earn the crown. It'll be a lot more peaceful for everyone, and you have kids to look after. Have a nice night, everyone. Thank you, Queen Kiyomi and others, for your help in the war."

"Happy to help," Kiyomi says. "She is certainly right about kids. The manor is ready for you to move in, so I'll have a crew ready to help in three days. These four will be there, ready to assist you however they can. Have fun playing with them."

"We can't wait to help," Yurimi says.

"Thank you," I say. I hope Elora can handle the duties here. I'm sure I'm supposed to walk up to each group and talk to them individually, but the kids are getting restless.

It's totally just the kids getting restless. Not the grown, pregnant Empress.

*** Yumanea ***

The nobles seem to be happy with the ceremony. Having Alzi in the crowd probably helped. A Queen willing to sit with her kids, acting like she's just a noble. I was worried they would take that to mean that she's weak, but they must all know that she was part of the plan that killed three Goddesses. It would be pretty stupid to fight someone who helped kill Goddesses.

Elora's doing well. Alzi is the one who'll have the power, but Elora will be wielding it. She seems a lot happier now. She'll have her work cut out for her to keep the nobles from grabbing up all the wealth after this war. They're the best at taking wealth, not giving it away.

I do wonder if Alzi will put off the marriage part of this ceremony like she's been putting off Lensa. It would be so easy to slip away after playing with the kids. But I probably deserve that. I can just hide away, like they do in the Kitsune realm. Maybe I can divorce and just have my wives marry Alzi. I'm sure Rosemary would like to join her, and then Lotus, of course. Nesh probably doesn't care about it. I don't know what I did to convince her to stick around, away from the sea. Maybe she and Fluvis would get along well enough to marry as well?

At this point, whatever happens will happen. I'm not the Queen anymore. I can just relax and let it be, unless someone asks for my help.

*** Alzi ***

"Do the kids..."

"Yes, My Empress," Kou says. "The babies have been asleep, and the kids are getting cranky. They need sleep, just as much as you do."

"Love's temple, then?" I ask.

"If you want to do that now, My Empress," Kou says. "Or you can wait until the morning. The temple is ready for you whenever, or we could try to sneak away. You are the Queen now."

"I can do it," I say. "It'll give Elora some help, and they have some of my kids, so we'll make it official. I think Irlo is excited for the marriage."

"Then how about in the morning, My Empress?" Kou says.

"Sure."