"I give up." Marie sighs. Now she's really admitting loss, finishing the game.
Lucien uses his will to remove water from the environment, causing that big rock to return to normal. Well, it's going to take a while to get back to how it was before due to the damage the girls have done with their spells.
Angela and Lena gather around Marie to praise her. "We wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for your strategy!" Lena is the first to say.
"Indeed..." Angela smiles and pats both her daughters' heads. "You did it great too, Lena. Our group's biggest weakness is our low physical strength, and you can overcome that for us."
"I think the same," Mira comments as she approaches the group along with her daughters. "Actually, Lena and Kamala can work together to defend us while Marie plans our moves."
"Mm." Angela, Marie, and Kamala quickly agree, as does Lena.
"I don't think I need to say anything..." Lucien comments.
"Hehehe..." Lust giggles. "The girls seem to be getting along well, and since they haven't broken your barrier, I think they can go on alone for now."
He makes a sorry expression. "I really think you girls deserve a big reward for working so well... Angela even awakened her soul weapon much sooner than I expected, but Lust is right; I must keep my word."
Lena and Kamala pout, but Marie smiles ecstatically. "Does that mean you'll please the other girls before you come back to us? Anyway, it's not going to change the fact that we're your priority right now, right?"
Lucien sighs as he looks at Marie. "Don't you think being so know-it-all can be inconvenient sometimes?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})She pretends to blush and regret it, but everyone can see that she likes to stand out for being rebellious and always speaking her mind. "Sorry, hubby."
He sighs again, but that can't be helped.
Then he looks at Angela and Mira. "I will not be able to interfere in the fight against the Mermaids, but I would like to know more about your catalysts. I am practically ignorant about magic, but the knowledge of Lust and the other Sins is extremely vast and can be of great use to you and Marie plan strategies."
"We're going to start working on it right now and report back to you everything we find out about our soul weapons." Angela quickly responds, and Mira continues. "For sure."
Then he looks at Kamala and Lena. "And about you... well, I'll talk to Jeanne and Down to train with you as soon as possible; you need to focus on improving your physical abilities to protect your moms and Marie."
They nod but quickly hug him together. So, he smiles. "For now, just try to get to know each other better and keep training."
With the girls paired up, Marie ends up lonely and looks at him with an imploring expression, clearly false. "And about me, hubby, what am I supposed to do?"
"You're the one who needs help the least..." He sighs.
She pouts, and he can't resist hugging and patting her hair. "You have the most important role. The best leader is not the one who is the strongest of the group, but the one who can competently motivate others, bringing out the best in them for the benefit of the whole group."
Those words get Marie very excited, as does the idea of being a great leader that makes Lucien proud. But she tries not to show that and even laughs. "I know you read that sentence in a book!"
He blushes because she's right. "But it doesn't make the sentence any less true... Come on, can you at least pretend you're motivated?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Hehehe..." She giggles and makes a naughty expression as she moves her hands toward his waist. "You know what motivates me the most..."
He smiles, letting her think something else is going to happen, but he holds her hand before she can slip her fingers inside his underwear. "You'll have to wait… and behave like a good girl."
"..." She pouts.
He kisses her lips before flapping his wings, flying backward. "In the meantime, you must observe the others, understand more about them in order to lead them better when the time comes..."
"I'll do my best." She speaks with determination.
"I know." He smiles at her once more before turning around. But before he goes, he says one more thing. "Also, keep your devilishly intelligent mind sharp."
"Hehe..." She giggles as Lucien creates a portal and disappears after entering it.
—------------------------------
The portal opens again in the main hall of Lucien's house, and he comes from it. He only sees Helena lying on the big sofa while Oya is on the rug, and little Ko sleeps in her arms.
The lovely scene between mother and daughter warms Lucien's heart, as it does to Helena, who has been watching the scene for a while.
"They look so calm now..." He comments as he sits on the sofa and puts Helena's legs on his lap.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})She smiles at him. "They don't even look like the fierce and deadly creatures they actually are."
"Indeed, haha..." He laughs, but then old memories come back to his mind, and his expression turns sorry. "But it wasn't always like that for them... When I met them, Oya was almost dying from so many injuries... she fought hard to protect her daughter."
"Isn't that a mother's duty?" Helena asks, clearly saddened due to regret for not being able to save her own daughter.
Lucien can't help but think about his mother and wonder if she did something like that for him or is just using him as his father did. He quickly tries to get those thoughts out of his mind and focuses on the tigresses again.
"But now they're fine..." He comments as he smiles at Oya and Ko. "I wish they could always keep like this, but... I know that more battles are in the future of our family, and they will have to fight."
"It's alright," Helena speaks with a confident tone. "They are Moon Tigers, and such creatures are naturally drawn to battle. I don't see them having an entirely calm life, you know. I think moments like these are rewards for hard work, but they would be meaningless without the effort and struggle."
Lucien smiles at Helena as he strokes her legs. "You are so wise, my dear."
"Hahaha..." He laughs. "My knowledge may seem vast for someone as young as you, but I'm sure it's an insignificant grain of sand compared to Lust's great sea of experience; she could certainly tell you so much more about the Moon Tigers."
[Yeah, I could.] Inside Lucien's soul, Lust thinks; however she keeps silent because she knows the right time to speak and the time to be quiet to let him enjoy time with his wives.
He continues caressing Helena's legs, making her feel really good. "You're right about Lust's knowledge is vast, but it doesn't make your knowledge worse. Also, I'm sure you know things she doesn't."
"Huh?" Helena likes the compliment, but she is confused about what things she might know that Lust doesn't. Then she quickly understands. "Do you mean things about being a mother and grandmother? What could those things be useful to you?"
"To help me to do what's best for our family, of course." He quickly responds. "I'm sure Lust would like to know what it's like to have lives that literally grew out of yourself."
"Hehehe..." She giggles. But then she looks at him with a curious expression. "Do you think about it a lot? I mean, about the lives that are growing in your wives' bellies because of you."
Lucien's expression goes neutral, in a way that doesn't appear in battles, as if he's going through a very tense moment, which scares Helena.
"Not a lot." He speaks in a shaken tone. "I mean, I try not to think about it too much because… because I'm scared."
[WHAT?!?!] Helena is shocked because that's the first time she's seen Lucien scared. Well, now that she thinks about that, she is sure he must get scared like anyone else, but he never shows that to his wives to protect them.
[...] Lust knows Lucien better than anyone and knows all the times he's been scared since they made the soul contract. Those were also the times she was most afraid, and it includes his concerns about his children.
Lucien notices how shaken Helena got, and even Oya opens her eyes and looks at him confusedly. So, he smiles to push that tense atmosphere away. "It's no big deal, I just..."
"It's normal to worry about your children's well-being; it will make you a good father." Helena tries to comfort him.
"I hope so," He comments. "But... what if I don't even get to be a father? I mean, my life is a mess... I don't even know if I'll be alive tomorrow, let alone take care of my kids as they deserve."
"Do not think like that." Helena quickly comments as she puts her hands on top of his. "You are working so hard; in fact, we all are, and we do it for the sake of our family's future, so these kids are going to have the best life possible, I'm sure."
Lucien sighs, looking more relieved. "Yeah, you're right... although I would be more relaxed if I had more time to prepare myself. Yet, Sophia's belly gets bigger every day, and I know that we will soon have a daughter... it scares me as hell."
"..." Helena understands how scary having children can be. She feels that she has failed her daughter and knows that pain will accompany her to the end of her life.
For a long time, she thought that she would never want to have children and raise a new family again. But Lucien aroused that desire in her again. With him, she feels that she can protect their family from any danger, and that's why she is a little jealous of Sophia.
"You don't have to be so scared." She tries to comfort him again. "You already spoil your girls so much; Little Ko can tell how good you are to her, so you'll just have to get used to being called dad too."
"Little Ko???" Lucien looks at the little tigress with a confused expression. He knows she sees him as a father figure, but their relationship is much more complex as she also sees him as an alpha male, her partner for life, as well as with Oya.
He even gives her special milk sometimes to grow stronger; he couldn't deny her the same power he gives all his other girls. But how could he do that with his daughters?? That thought sends Lucien into a panic. [What the hell am I supposed to do?!?!?]
Helena sees Lucien's face distort as he makes expressions of dread and doubt. "Hey, I didn't mean… ehhh… please don't be like this; I don't know what to do!"
But he can no longer hear anything but his troubled thoughts. [What if my daughters need it to get strong... no... I must protect them with my own strength... but what if... what if I'm not here to protect them anymore?]
Such thoughts begin to devour Lucien's mind. But then a familiar voice silences those other voices in his mind. 'Lucien!!!'
'Lust?!' He calms down by remembering that she will be by his side at all times, and together they can overcome any problem.
He shakes his head, pushing those thoughts away before standing up and smiling at Helena. "I'm fine; sorry for worrying you, my love."
"Are you really okay??" Helen asks again. Somehow she understands how difficult it must be for Lucien to be a father, especially when all the women around him inevitably get horny because of him.
"Yeah," he nods as he tries to look away from little Ko. "I... I have to go see the other girls..."
"Okay." Helen smiles.
"See you later." He comments before quickly flying out of the main hall.
Helena makes a confused expression and then looks at little Ko while thinking aloud. "But what the hell just happened???"
