“Huh? Oh, right, that.” I had forgotten about that, since it was only a bit of curiosity at the time. “There’s subspace inside of groves. However, the space ratio is the same, so anything that goes into subspace in a grove that is too small is pretty much crushed under the weight of the universe.”
That sounded… Yeah, I’ll just avoid doing that until after my grove evolves to the final form. At that point, I shouldn’t have to worry about size limits or anything like that. And I’m distracting myself again, aren’t I? “Yes, yes you are. They’re waiting for you at the teleport bay.”
I nodded my head, turning and leaving the bridge after giving one last order. “Put us in orbit. Until we leave, have the Ariadne assist with planetary defense in case of emergencies.”
My first stop along the way to meet up with the girls was the medbay. After Tokemi’s party, I doubted anyone wanted to risk going down to a planet without clone bodies until this war was over. As if to confirm my suspicions, I already saw my dad, Sharon, Yin, Yang, Tokemi, as well as Tessa and her mom all hooked up to clone controllers. My mom’s body was also in a sort of standby state in the corner, so I figured she was borrowing one of Celeste’s spares.
Once in my own clone, I went to meet everyone at the teleport bay(after making a quick stop to change clothes). When I got there I found everyone waiting for me, with Sharon, Yin, Yang, and Yo all being in dresses. Each dress was of a similar design, but colored different. For Yo, it was a black dress that ran down to her ankles, and had only a single shoulder strap. For Sharon, she was wearing a green dress of a similar pattern, while Yin wore a white one. Finally, Yang wore a brown dress.
Looking among the others, I was confused for a moment. None of the rest were wearing such fancy clothes. Although my dad had put on a suit, it was not a tuxedo, and the rest of them only wore clothes as if going to a business meeting. “Did I miss something about the dress code?”
I looked down to my own outfit. I was wearing a full, black tuxedo, much like the one my father had worn for his own marriage. Sharon grinned playfully, rolling her eyes. “It’s okay, John, you look fine. But Yang and Yo needed to dress up for this, too. According to Talia, a bride typically has someone giving her away, normally a family member or close friend. For us, Yang and Yo are the best we got.”
“Ah… the groom doesn’t need anything like that?” I asked, and she shook her head. I had done a brief review of elven marriage traditions before, just to make sure it wasn’t something like a hunting competition or the like. I hadn’t read too deeply into it once I saw that the process was fairly similar to Earth’s own marriage system. Well, in theory at least.
“Jeez, John, and here I thought we had dropped the ball for not asking about this stuff until just recently.” Sharon teased, holding an arm out to invite me onto the teleport platform.
As I stepped on the platform, my waist was captured at both sides by Sharon and Yin, who leaned happily against me. Taking one last look around, I noticed a certain absence. “Where is Celeste?”
Before Sharon had the chance to speak up, Yin instead spoke. “She already went down. Helping prepare.” I nodded my head at that, and signaled for the operator to send us all down.
“Mary, looks like our boy is finally getting married.” My parents grinned at each other before the light of teleportation covered us all. I had expected us to appear in Talia’s forest, but we ended up going somewhere else. Surrounding us was the polished marble flooring of a large throne room, painted glass windows aligned to shower the ground in colorful light. Standing in front of her throne, Maeve grinned down to us all.
“Hey, heroes. Been awhile, hasn’t it?” She waved with one hand to us, wearing a red silk dress. There was a white carpet spread out leading between her throne and the door of the room, with rows of chairs on either side. In one of the chairs near the front, I saw Celeste smiling at us. “Give it a few more minutes for the rest to get set up, and we’ll get started.”
Soon, other people began pouring into the room. First was Ackbar, together with Aelsgwynn, Priscilla, Kismet, Talia, and about three dozen of my current and former crew members. Maeve smiled, nodding when she saw the seats getting filled up. “This is an important wedding, both for you three as well as the people of this system. As such, we have chosen to host it here, and broadcast the ceremony across the Gerin system.”
Well, that succeeded in making me anxious. I just learned that my wedding was going to be shown live to billions of people… Talk about stage fright. Just as the anxiety was starting to settle in, a gentle hand was placed on my own. Looking up, I saw Yin smiling warmly at me. “It will be okay.”
I could only nod my head in response to that, turning to face Maeve. Celeste was currently streaming the wedding traditions into my mind so that I would know what to do and say, so that I would not make a fool of myself. “I’m ready.”
“We know.” She said with a nod, and I could tell that even she was taking this seriously, as she had adopted her royal speech. Once the rest of the people that came with us found a seat, only myself, Yin, Yang, Yo, and Sharon were standing in front of her. Yin and Sharon stood on her right, while I stood to her left. Finally, Yang and Yo stood behind Yin and Sharon respectively.
Seeing that everyone was in place, she nodded her head, raising her arms. “We pay homage to those that have already departed to join the cycle as we gather here today. Under their gaze, we present John Hulett, who has rendered great service to our people. Without him, we may not have made it to this day.” She swept her arm over to indicate me.
“Under their gaze, we present Sharon Bradbury and Yin, who have rendered great service to our people. Without them, we may also not have made it to this day. These three people have come to us, seeking to be joined for the remainder of their years. And, by the cycle, We are honored to be the one to present them.”
Next, she turned her head to address me. “John, do you swear upon the cycle to always love and care for these two women? To stay with them through the ravages of time?”
I nodded, speaking the words that I knew from Celeste. “I swear upon the cycle.”
She nodded her head in satisfaction, before turning to the girls. “Sharon, Yin, do you both swear upon the cycle to always love and care for the one you have chosen? To stay with him through the ravages of time?”
The two girls looked at each other, and gave a soft smile, before speaking in unison. “We swear upon the cycle.”
Maeve’s smile grew slightly wider as she heard that, before addressing the crowd. “Then, under the watch of those who came before, and those who are still with us, I pray that you all live for many years to come. And, should you be separated early, that you will find each other in the next life, and once again fall in love. For, as of this moment, I declare the union between these three people, and let no power oppose it.”
You have been officially married to the Wood Elf Sharon Bradbury(Now Sharon Hulett) and the Stormbird Yin(Now Yin Hulett) under the laws of the Elven people.
Inventory space between spouses is shared. New Inventory space is 300x200.
You can see the status windows of your spouses.
I was surprised as I saw the information appear in front of me, and a glance at the girls told me they saw it too. Maeve, however, simply nodded her head again, speaking just loud enough for us to hear. “Don’t worry, everyone gets that nowadays.” She then raised her voice again for everyone.
“People of Gerin, both humans and elves. The New Human Empire sought to shake us with news of this man’s death. And yet, he now stands before us, not only alive, but now married to the women he loves. I know that not all humans are involved with the Empire, but we must remain vigilant. This is still a war, and one in which the enemy is far more ruthless than we could ever be. However, we have far more numbers, and if we band together, they will pose no threat to us.”
She totally just hijacked our wedding for a public speech. But, oh well. At least it’s finally official.
I stretched a hand out for the girls, and was surprised when Yo and Yang practically pushed them into my arms.
Chapter 11: The Honeymooners
After the wedding, the three of us retired to the ship for the night. What, you thought I was going to get straight back to work right after getting married? Hell no! Though, I wasn’t completely irresponsible. Since Ackbar said that he sensed a New Human Empire reading from the planet, I let him and the Nathan’s team fly around it in one of the shuttles to locate them. Meanwhile, my wives and I enjoyed our honeymoon, however brief it was.
In the morning, before the two of them woke up, I decided to take a look at their status windows. I had to say that I was impressed with what I saw. Although they were lower level than myself, that was completely expected. After all, they didn’t have the cheat items I had that slowly raised my power without me having to do anything.
Name
Yin Hulett
Race
Stormbird(Evolved)
Titles
Fully Evolved
Fame
10,000
Level 180
21%
Class
Mage
Advanced Class
Storm Queen
Deity
Thull
Health
1500/1500
Health Regen
2.5
Mana
4560/4560
Mana Regen
22.42
Strength
50
Wisdom
150
Agility
200
Intelligence
456
Dexterity
40
Charisma
34
Vitality
150
Luck
10
Points Remaining
0
Wind 60%
Water 50%
Lightning 65%
Name
Sharon Hulett
Race
Wood Elf
Titles
Animal Collector
Fame
20,500
Level 158
95%
Class
Druid
Advanced Class
Colony Druid
Deity
Krisa
Health
1600/1600
Health Regen
2.66
Mana
1000/1000
Mana Regen
9.22
Strength
350
Wisdom
110
Agility
150
Intelligence
100
Dexterity
60
Charisma
65
Vitality
160
Luck
10
Points Remaining
0
Earth 34%
Fire 43%
Wind 38%
Water 50%
Lightning 50%
Light 35%
Dark 38%
Animal 65%
Void 25%
Metal 25%
Fur 50%
Blood 30%
Muscle 32%
Plant 20%
Bone 48%
Plasma 20%
Is it weird for someone to have as many titles as I do? I questioned mentally.
Duh! Titles are only granted to people who make actual achievements. Though two of your own titles are questionable, most of them are a result of your own stupidity!
Well…. That’s a bit harsh.
Is it, Amateur Brain Surgeon?
Okay… I deserved that one. Anyways, why are you suddenly so talkative now? I thought my life had become too boring for you or something?
Well, you have two hot, naked women sleeping next to you. That’s pretty interesting. What’s that face for? You know you can’t actually hurt this window, right?
I really wish he was wrong… The thought of him peeping on my wives… I may have tried burning the message window he was using to talk to me. Unfortunately, it didn’t work…
Now, are you ready to get going, or not? There’s an empire out there to crush!
Yeah, yeah, I get it. So you just came back because you thought this war would be fun, basically. Well, can you make yourself useful before you run off and disappear again?
I’m not sure what you mean, Johnny boy. I’m always useful.
Whatever… Anyways- I didn’t manage to get half my thought out before the next blue screen appeared, followed by one immediately after it.
Can’t tell you what will happen when your grove evolves, no. Rules, you see. Don’t worry, nothing bad will happen to your wife.
Gah! Got the timing on that last post off by a few seconds, just ignore it until you finish your question. Go ahead, I’ll be right here.
...I honestly don’t know what to think about this. So, I decided to ignore it, and accept that nothing bad would happen to Sharon. Shaking my head, I waited for a few minutes before the girls began waking up. First was Yin, who slowly rolled over and gave me a very warm smile. “Morning.”
I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Morning. Ready to get back to work?”
Suddenly, there was a groggy voice from my other side. “Unless work is a new slang for sleep, can I take a raincheck?” Unlike Yin, Sharon had a serious case of pillow hair when she rolled over, but she still gave me a small smile. “Not working, is it?”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “Come on, sleepyhead. Time to get things done. Busy day and all that.”
She groaned, slowly sitting up. I admit, I admired the view when the blanket fell down. “Fine… But you better give us a proper honeymoon when this is all over, deal? I mean the whole nine yards. Romantic dinners, a nice hotel room, and the best scenery money can’t buy.”
I smiled slightly, nodding. “Alright, deal. Besides, we still have some downtime whenever we’re traveling.”
She slowly began to grin at that. “This is true. Now, let’s go see if they found anything, yeah?”
After we all got dressed and went out, I met up with Celeste to get a status report. She spoke in a happy tone when she replied, and I wasn’t entirely sure why. Maybe she was glad that I finally got married. “Ackbar and the B-Team gave the system a quick pass. The only Empire readings came from this planet, and there were only two of them, according to him. We managed to track one down, and found an elf woman hiding outside of the capital.”
“When we tried to interrogate her, she wouldn’t tell us anything, even though we did confirm that the signal Ackbar was receiving was coming from her. So, I decided to resort to drastic measures. When I tried to scan her soul, she used some strange technique, not really sure what it was. All I know is that her soul practically burst into black flames before exploding. Took out all of us that were there, and made a nice crater in the cave she was hiding in.”
Cold sweat began to form at my back as I heard that. Loyalty like that isn’t easy to come by, so the elf was most likely an NPC purchased from the market. As for that final technique, it vaguely reminded me of the Cerberus breath weapon from the demon dungeon, the black flames that drained experience. Except, in this case it was the person’s soul being converted into the flames.
Could they have known that we used this kind of technique to get information? Or were they already designed to self-detonate if they were captured? I wasn’t sure what to think. Either way, the New Human Empire was treating these NPCs as nothing more than disposable pawns. And in some ways, that made sense. The longer that one stuck around, the more they would cost. Why pay for a minion that is in the enemy’s custody?
Still, I couldn’t approve of these kinds of methods. “What about the other signal, did you find anything?”
There was a brief wait, before Celeste shook her head, frowning slightly. “Ackbar said it vanished about an hour after th
e first one detonated. We found the site that the person was most likely staying, but there wasn’t any trace of where they had gone. I have two theories. Either they used a long distance teleport ability, or they activated a cloaking ability that is able to hide from Ackbar’s scan. He hasn’t refined the spell to be exceptionally powerful yet, so it is possible that the person is just hidden from detection.”
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