Chapter 107
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Gren's nighttime trip to the brothel to test out his condoms didn't go as planned. He didn't even get to test them all out properly and he ended up bringing one of the women home with him. It was a really stupid idea but Gren didn't think about the consequences before running his mouth off. There was no way to hide his actions now.
Jade seemed excited when she saw Gren opening the gate to the guild. "Stop moving, you're going to make me drop you. What has you so riled up?"
"Sorry. I just can't help myself. It doesn't feel real but I'm actually going to become your wife. I've dreamed of this moment for months now." Months?
"What do you mean? You've been wanting to get married for months?" The other alternative was one that Gren didn't want to think about.
"Yeah. Ever since I first saw you, I was interested. Watching you run around and lift things every morning became a daily ritual for me." It was the second possibility, after all. Gren picked up a stalker! "The days where you were out on a request were difficult for me and that's how I realized that I fell in love with you. I didn't know how to approach you but you came for me instead."
Stalkers were dangerous and Gren always heard horror stories about them in Hollywood but Jade didn't seem bad. She was just an innocent girl that had a crush on him. "Well, you don't have to hide and watch me from the shadows anymore. Once my friend checks you out then you'll be free to stay by my side for the rest of your life."
Gren let her down inside and helped her sit down in the kitchen. "Wait here while I go get my friend. After that, I'm going to get some sleep, but you can join me." Jade held on to his arm when he tried to walk away. "I'll be quick. Don't worry." Only after Gren kissed her did she let go.
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Mimi was awake and in the main hall so it was easy to find her downstairs. Gren didn't think about it until now but he never did see her sleep. It wasn't that she was a night owl since she was even awake in the middle of the day. "Hey, Mimi, you got a moment? I've got somebody I want you to look into real quick."
"Ooo, who are we going to be digging secrets out of today?" Mimi hopped off from the statue; splatting against the ground before scurrying towards Gren and latching on to him. "Ehhh, you do know that they're going to kill you once they wake up, right?"
"I'm still trying to figure out how to tell them so that I don't get killed today." Gren was used to Mimi looking through his memories already. "Do you think that they will accept the truth if I tell them it? About my second past, I mean."
"I was about to say that the truth about your trip to the brothel would still get you killed." Mimi was on top of Gren's head now so he started walking upstairs. "I really wish that I could show them it from your perspective. That Latoya woman's butt stretched so wide that I thought that it would tear her in two."
"Please don't tell them about things like that. I'm trying to keep things more plain with them so that they don't get freaked out." Gren would hate it if his sexual desires made his wives avoid him.
"They're the ones missing out. Your movements during sex are simple and unskilled, if I'm going to be honest, but it's much more interesting than what most people do in bed." Mimi had been stealthily going through the memories of anybody that entered the store so she could be considered an expert on just about anything. "Just using Rodge as an example, he moves slowly on top of Rumi and then, after he gets off once, it's over. He's above average down there but he hasn't been able to give Rumi an orgasm even once."
"Is that why she isn't happy with him?" The two weren't exactly fighting but there was no real spark between them.
"No, that's because the only thing they have in common is that they like alcohol. With Rumi being unable to drink alcohol, she doesn't have anything to talk to him about." Rumi slapped Gren on the cheek. "I almost forgot. If you want my help this time then you have to give me something. I'm not going to ask for the harvester yet but I want something that I can drive."
"Yet... so you will ask for it one day. It'd have to be something small since you've never earned any points." It's not like she wasn't helping out; on the contrary, her ability to read memories and thoughts was important to the guild now. "If you ever change your mind and want a gun then I'll take you on missions. It might be fun to go on one with just the two of us."
"I won't change my mind and you need to stop thinking that I'm a child already." It was hard for Gren to see her as an adult due to her child-like voice and small body. "I'm not offended about it but it feels weird since my descendants were all older than you."
"You have descendants?" Gren wanted to learn more about Mimi since she was still a mystery to him.
"I used to. They're either dead or missing now thanks to terrible people in the past. That's why I follow you around. You're different from everybody else." Mimi wrapped her tentacles around his head. "You're weird but you treat us all like people and I really appreciate that."
The conversation took a strange turn when Mimi suddenly changed the topic. "Don't take this the wrong way but if the two of us are still alive when the world is like you want it to be then I'd like to give birth to your child." Did she have feelings for him? Gren was wondering that before getting whacked on the head. "I said not to take it the wrong way, you idiot. I just think that you would still be able to love a child that looked like me. I want to have children again since those were the best days of my life but I can't bring them into a world that will kill them because they're different."
"If you change your mind and want to have a child then I'll do everything in my power to protect them." Mimi was the easiest to please woman he knew of and her shape-shifting ability meant that she could make herself beautiful for him so taking her as a wife would be fine.
"In just what way am I easy to please? I killed my last husband, you know." That was news to him. "Then again, I only married him to get close enough to kill him in the first place. You can still read about it in historical documents."
"If you thought that he deserved it then he probably did. There's nothing that can escape your sight, after all." Gren trusted her judgement because the memories wouldn't lie.
"We're almost there. We can talk about this later and I'll properly think about your offer to give me a child." He'd accept her decision regardless of what it was. "It might take a while to come up with an answer."
As the two reached the kitchen, Jade looked at Gren's head with a surprised look on her face. "It's a slime."
"A slime!? You're the slime!" This was the first time that Gren saw Mimi react like this but he couldn't stop her from grabbing Jade and shaking her. "Your whole family is sliiiiime!"
"Mimi, stop!" Gren could only grab her core since the rest of her body was able to escape from his arms. "I don't think that she meant anything bad by it."
"I know she doesn't but I'm not a slime! Slimes don't even have proper thoughts! They just think about eating all day long!" She was still being loud and Gren could hear something from upstairs. "Ah. I've done it." Mimi struggled to get free from Gren. "Quick, let go before she gets here."
"It's too late." Gren could see the source of the noise that was coming from upstairs. On the staircase was a tired-looking Jessica holding two crying toddlers. "Hello, honey, I'm home."
"You've got five minutes to quiet them down and explain what's going on." Gren wasn't a religious person but right now he felt like praying to his mother for help. Mimi picked up the two toddlers and started rocking them while making soothing sounds. It was surprisingly successful since the babies stopped crying in a short amount of time. "You still haven't told me what's going on."
"It's like this..."
"Gren wanted me to check this woman before he takes her as his wife. He brought her back from the brothel after having sex with a few women there to test out his condoms." Gren looked at Mimi with a look of disbelief on his face. "The woman is truly in love with him but she's a creepy stalker that has been watching him for months. She even sneaked into the house once to cut off some of his hair but couldn't bring herself to harm it and settled for stealing his used clothes."
"Ehhh!? How did you know? Nobody saw me!" Jade was surprised that she was found out while Gren was just surprised. Just what kind of person was Jade? When were his clothes stolen? "You're not going to abandon me because of that, are you?"
"As long as you don't pose a risk to this family then he'll take you as his wife." Jessica gave her an answer. "Gren already promised you, right? Even if he was against it, he needs to keep his promises."
"I'm not against it, I'm just wondering if that kind of behavior will continue. I don't mind letting Jade have some of my used clothes but I don't want her cutting off my hair." The sneaking in part didn't matter since she'd be able to enter openly as his wife. "You only did those things because you love me so I'm not going to hold that against you. Just ask if you want something next time."
"She's your responsibility from now so make sure to treat her right. Just don't abandon Estella or Jasmine for her since they are both still in love with you at the moment." Gren really hoped that Jessica was right. "Now, make sure to explain everything to Estella before you go to bed. She doesn't deserve to be left in the dark." Jessica was looking up towards the top of the stairs.
Gren walked towards the stairs but remembered Jade behind him. It would probably be best if he explained everything to his wives that were currently present. "Mimi, can you please bring the babies to Estella's room and watch over them?" After Mimi gave Gren a salute with a newly formed tentacle, they all went upstairs where Estella was waiting.
Gren noticed that Estella didn't seem happy but he pulled her into Jessica's room anyways. Gren needed to tell them the truth about everything. He had a new addition to the family so it would be best to start at the beginning and end with everything that Jessica already knew but there was something that had to be said first.
"This is Jade. Although she's going to be my fourth wife, I don't want you to think that I'm trying to replace you. I would never abandon you, especially over a silly argument that's my fault anyways." Gren hugged Estella even though she didn't seem comfortable with it. "I don't know how you'll take what I'm going to say but it's becoming clear to me that I'll lose you if I keep hiding things. I want you to know the truth."
It was a difficult thing to say but Gren needed to say it. Gren took the time to tell them about how he was a different soul inhabiting Gren's body. After explaining that he was someone else and telling them about what he used to do, Gren told them about his original world. Although they didn't seem to understand it from his words, Gren got the idea to use the system to create a painting of what a city from his original world looked like.
"It's so huge. Were there really buildings that size? I would love to see them." Jessica was touching the painting of New York City but that comment reminded Gren of something.
"This is based on their old look. Those buildings were destroyed when I was a child so I never saw them in person either." He got to see the new one that they built but it wasn't the same. "Those were the tallest buildings in the world at the time. Hold on, I remember seeing pictures of the largest one before I died. This is from a different city."
The women looking at the paintings ended up sidetracking the discussion but Gren was happy to see that they were interested in his past life instead of disliking him over it. "If you want to see more then let me know. These are pretty cheap to make." Each one was less than one hundred points to make.
"When did you take over Gren's body?" Estella had been quiet until now. She must have been fighting with herself trying to decide whether or not to ask him about it since that topic had passed a while ago.
"During the attack on Newton. Just before I met you." Her worried look went away.
"Then aren't you the same person we've always known? I never met the old Gren. You're the one that I fell for." Gren couldn't help but smile when he heard that. "Wait, when you said that I was your first, was it only in this life?"
"No, I never had sex in my past life. I didn't really have sexual desires in that old body of mine and, even if I did, I didn't have anybody that I liked." Gren thought back to that awkward first encounter with Estella. "You're the first woman I had ever tried flirting with in both of my lives."
"Well, you sucked at it." Gren was well aware of that fact. "If you ever want to attract a woman, don't tell her that you'll only help her if she'll sleep with you. You were better than the goblin men I was familiar with but you really need to learn how to flirt from Shenzi." The way that Estella said that made Gren wonder if Shenzi was really that good at flirting.
"It would be best if he didn't do that. No woman would be safe from him if he knew how to seduce them." Right now he was only successful with women because of his good looks and confident behavior. "Just look at Jade and Tahloh; he didn't flirt with them but they both fell for him."
"Talking about Tahloh, when is he going to marry her? The two have gone all the way already, haven't they?" Why was Estella talking to Jessica like Gren wasn't there.
"We haven't gone all the way and I don't even know if I'm going to take her as a wife. I like her as a person but I don't have that attraction towards her like I do with you three and Jasmine." Gren was just telling the truth but it wasn't popular with the women around him.
"You're just going to hurt that poor woman if you keep playing with her. You don't need to be attracted to her in order to get married to her." Jessica disliked seeing Gren's shallow behavior. "Even if it's just a token gesture of good will, marry her."
"I'll talk to her about it." Gren caved in since he was already on the fence about it. The only problem was her nose but, after a little bit of thought, he figured out that he could easily fix that problem with a face-mask. "I don't know about having kids with anybody except Jasmine right now but I have condoms now so that shouldn't be a problem."
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Gren continued to tell them about his past and the circumstances that he had found himself in. The discussion revealed things that Gren wasn't aware of; Estella knew about his mother already and they had all known about his abilities thanks to him using them regularly. There were some things that he didn't tell them like how he had a voice in his head and that Mimi saw a strange thing when he activated it but neither of those things changed much. It was only when the discussion turned to the Duke that things took an odd turn.
"It's possible that the Duke is targeting our family so I want you to be careful." Both Jessica and Jade had odd reactions to Gren's comment.
"I don't think that you have anything to worry about with the current Duke. He's a nice guy that cares a lot about his children even if they're not from his wife." Gren was wondering how she knew that when Jade said something shocking. "He visits the Scarlett Mansion every few months to give me things. I should let him know that I've moved so that he doesn't get surprised when he goes to visit me again."
"He's... your father?" She didn't have any children so that was the only possibility that Gren could think of.
"I thought that was the case when I saw her. She has the golden hair that's almost unique to the Adier bloodline." Jessica revealed a fact that Gren wasn't aware of. "The previous Duke is my father so that would make you my niece. If Estella had Adier blood then that'd be all of his wives before he marries Tahloh."
"My mother is--or was--an elf with green hair. I don't think that I'm related to the Duke." There was some good news for Gren. For a moment he thought that all of his wives would reveal themselves to be Adiers. "With so many wives from the same bloodline; I don't think that the Duke will go after you, Gren. Why don't we talk about this with him?"
"I'll send a letter to him. I've never met him face to face but I'm his little sister so that should mean something. If I add Jade's name then it'll have more of an impact." Everything was being planned without Gren's input. "Do you want to tell him something, Jade?"
"Just let him know to bring some treats. I always love the little cakes and cookies that he brings." It seemed to be set in stone so Gren wasn't able to voice his disapproval. "Oh, and tell him that I got married."
Their discussion continued without him so Gren focused on playing with Clarissa. She was just happy to be by him which helped to heal his heart. His little baby wouldn't ignore him and talk to other people without him. She couldn't even talk so that wasn't possible yet. He would probably face the problem of her ignoring him in another twelve to fifteen years like most parents faced but for now she was just a well-behaved baby. He didn't need to think much about it since the problems in the future would be handled by future Gren.
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Gren's nighttime trip to the brothel to test out his condoms didn't go as planned. He didn't even get to test them all out properly and he ended up bringing one of the women home with him. It was a really stupid idea but Gren didn't think about the consequences before running his mouth off. There was no way to hide his actions now.
Jade seemed excited when she saw Gren opening the gate to the guild. "Stop moving, you're going to make me drop you. What has you so riled up?"
"Sorry. I just can't help myself. It doesn't feel real but I'm actually going to become your wife. I've dreamed of this moment for months now." Months?
"What do you mean? You've been wanting to get married for months?" The other alternative was one that Gren didn't want to think about.
"Yeah. Ever since I first saw you, I was interested. Watching you run around and lift things every morning became a daily ritual for me." It was the second possibility, after all. Gren picked up a stalker! "The days where you were out on a request were difficult for me and that's how I realized that I fell in love with you. I didn't know how to approach you but you came for me instead."
Stalkers were dangerous and Gren always heard horror stories about them in Hollywood but Jade didn't seem bad. She was just an innocent girl that had a crush on him. "Well, you don't have to hide and watch me from the shadows anymore. Once my friend checks you out then you'll be free to stay by my side for the rest of your life."
Gren let her down inside and helped her sit down in the kitchen. "Wait here while I go get my friend. After that, I'm going to get some sleep, but you can join me." Jade held on to his arm when he tried to walk away. "I'll be quick. Don't worry." Only after Gren kissed her did she let go.
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Mimi was awake and in the main hall so it was easy to find her downstairs. Gren didn't think about it until now but he never did see her sleep. It wasn't that she was a night owl since she was even awake in the middle of the day. "Hey, Mimi, you got a moment? I've got somebody I want you to look into real quick."
"Ooo, who are we going to be digging secrets out of today?" Mimi hopped off from the statue; splatting against the ground before scurrying towards Gren and latching on to him. "Ehhh, you do know that they're going to kill you once they wake up, right?"
"I'm still trying to figure out how to tell them so that I don't get killed today." Gren was used to Mimi looking through his memories already. "Do you think that they will accept the truth if I tell them it? About my second past, I mean."
"I was about to say that the truth about your trip to the brothel would still get you killed." Mimi was on top of Gren's head now so he started walking upstairs. "I really wish that I could show them it from your perspective. That Latoya woman's butt stretched so wide that I thought that it would tear her in two."
"Please don't tell them about things like that. I'm trying to keep things more plain with them so that they don't get freaked out." Gren would hate it if his sexual desires made his wives avoid him.
"They're the ones missing out. Your movements during sex are simple and unskilled, if I'm going to be honest, but it's much more interesting than what most people do in bed." Mimi had been stealthily going through the memories of anybody that entered the store so she could be considered an expert on just about anything. "Just using Rodge as an example, he moves slowly on top of Rumi and then, after he gets off once, it's over. He's above average down there but he hasn't been able to give Rumi an orgasm even once."
"Is that why she isn't happy with him?" The two weren't exactly fighting but there was no real spark between them.
"No, that's because the only thing they have in common is that they like alcohol. With Rumi being unable to drink alcohol, she doesn't have anything to talk to him about." Rumi slapped Gren on the cheek. "I almost forgot. If you want my help this time then you have to give me something. I'm not going to ask for the harvester yet but I want something that I can drive."
"Yet... so you will ask for it one day. It'd have to be something small since you've never earned any points." It's not like she wasn't helping out; on the contrary, her ability to read memories and thoughts was important to the guild now. "If you ever change your mind and want a gun then I'll take you on missions. It might be fun to go on one with just the two of us."
"I won't change my mind and you need to stop thinking that I'm a child already." It was hard for Gren to see her as an adult due to her child-like voice and small body. "I'm not offended about it but it feels weird since my descendants were all older than you."
"You have descendants?" Gren wanted to learn more about Mimi since she was still a mystery to him.
"I used to. They're either dead or missing now thanks to terrible people in the past. That's why I follow you around. You're different from everybody else." Mimi wrapped her tentacles around his head. "You're weird but you treat us all like people and I really appreciate that."
The conversation took a strange turn when Mimi suddenly changed the topic. "Don't take this the wrong way but if the two of us are still alive when the world is like you want it to be then I'd like to give birth to your child." Did she have feelings for him? Gren was wondering that before getting whacked on the head. "I said not to take it the wrong way, you idiot. I just think that you would still be able to love a child that looked like me. I want to have children again since those were the best days of my life but I can't bring them into a world that will kill them because they're different."
"If you change your mind and want to have a child then I'll do everything in my power to protect them." Mimi was the easiest to please woman he knew of and her shape-shifting ability meant that she could make herself beautiful for him so taking her as a wife would be fine.
"In just what way am I easy to please? I killed my last husband, you know." That was news to him. "Then again, I only married him to get close enough to kill him in the first place. You can still read about it in historical documents."
"If you thought that he deserved it then he probably did. There's nothing that can escape your sight, after all." Gren trusted her judgement because the memories wouldn't lie.
"We're almost there. We can talk about this later and I'll properly think about your offer to give me a child." He'd accept her decision regardless of what it was. "It might take a while to come up with an answer."
As the two reached the kitchen, Jade looked at Gren's head with a surprised look on her face. "It's a slime."
"A slime!? You're the slime!" This was the first time that Gren saw Mimi react like this but he couldn't stop her from grabbing Jade and shaking her. "Your whole family is sliiiiime!"
"Mimi, stop!" Gren could only grab her core since the rest of her body was able to escape from his arms. "I don't think that she meant anything bad by it."
"I know she doesn't but I'm not a slime! Slimes don't even have proper thoughts! They just think about eating all day long!" She was still being loud and Gren could hear something from upstairs. "Ah. I've done it." Mimi struggled to get free from Gren. "Quick, let go before she gets here."
"It's too late." Gren could see the source of the noise that was coming from upstairs. On the staircase was a tired-looking Jessica holding two crying toddlers. "Hello, honey, I'm home."
"You've got five minutes to quiet them down and explain what's going on." Gren wasn't a religious person but right now he felt like praying to his mother for help. Mimi picked up the two toddlers and started rocking them while making soothing sounds. It was surprisingly successful since the babies stopped crying in a short amount of time. "You still haven't told me what's going on."
"It's like this..."
"Gren wanted me to check this woman before he takes her as his wife. He brought her back from the brothel after having sex with a few women there to test out his condoms." Gren looked at Mimi with a look of disbelief on his face. "The woman is truly in love with him but she's a creepy stalker that has been watching him for months. She even sneaked into the house once to cut off some of his hair but couldn't bring herself to harm it and settled for stealing his used clothes."
"Ehhh!? How did you know? Nobody saw me!" Jade was surprised that she was found out while Gren was just surprised. Just what kind of person was Jade? When were his clothes stolen? "You're not going to abandon me because of that, are you?"
"As long as you don't pose a risk to this family then he'll take you as his wife." Jessica gave her an answer. "Gren already promised you, right? Even if he was against it, he needs to keep his promises."
"I'm not against it, I'm just wondering if that kind of behavior will continue. I don't mind letting Jade have some of my used clothes but I don't want her cutting off my hair." The sneaking in part didn't matter since she'd be able to enter openly as his wife. "You only did those things because you love me so I'm not going to hold that against you. Just ask if you want something next time."
"She's your responsibility from now so make sure to treat her right. Just don't abandon Estella or Jasmine for her since they are both still in love with you at the moment." Gren really hoped that Jessica was right. "Now, make sure to explain everything to Estella before you go to bed. She doesn't deserve to be left in the dark." Jessica was looking up towards the top of the stairs.
Gren walked towards the stairs but remembered Jade behind him. It would probably be best if he explained everything to his wives that were currently present. "Mimi, can you please bring the babies to Estella's room and watch over them?" After Mimi gave Gren a salute with a newly formed tentacle, they all went upstairs where Estella was waiting.
Gren noticed that Estella didn't seem happy but he pulled her into Jessica's room anyways. Gren needed to tell them the truth about everything. He had a new addition to the family so it would be best to start at the beginning and end with everything that Jessica already knew but there was something that had to be said first.
"This is Jade. Although she's going to be my fourth wife, I don't want you to think that I'm trying to replace you. I would never abandon you, especially over a silly argument that's my fault anyways." Gren hugged Estella even though she didn't seem comfortable with it. "I don't know how you'll take what I'm going to say but it's becoming clear to me that I'll lose you if I keep hiding things. I want you to know the truth."
It was a difficult thing to say but Gren needed to say it. Gren took the time to tell them about how he was a different soul inhabiting Gren's body. After explaining that he was someone else and telling them about what he used to do, Gren told them about his original world. Although they didn't seem to understand it from his words, Gren got the idea to use the system to create a painting of what a city from his original world looked like.
"It's so huge. Were there really buildings that size? I would love to see them." Jessica was touching the painting of New York City but that comment reminded Gren of something.
"This is based on their old look. Those buildings were destroyed when I was a child so I never saw them in person either." He got to see the new one that they built but it wasn't the same. "Those were the tallest buildings in the world at the time. Hold on, I remember seeing pictures of the largest one before I died. This is from a different city."
The women looking at the paintings ended up sidetracking the discussion but Gren was happy to see that they were interested in his past life instead of disliking him over it. "If you want to see more then let me know. These are pretty cheap to make." Each one was less than one hundred points to make.
"When did you take over Gren's body?" Estella had been quiet until now. She must have been fighting with herself trying to decide whether or not to ask him about it since that topic had passed a while ago.
"During the attack on Newton. Just before I met you." Her worried look went away.
"Then aren't you the same person we've always known? I never met the old Gren. You're the one that I fell for." Gren couldn't help but smile when he heard that. "Wait, when you said that I was your first, was it only in this life?"
"No, I never had sex in my past life. I didn't really have sexual desires in that old body of mine and, even if I did, I didn't have anybody that I liked." Gren thought back to that awkward first encounter with Estella. "You're the first woman I had ever tried flirting with in both of my lives."
"Well, you sucked at it." Gren was well aware of that fact. "If you ever want to attract a woman, don't tell her that you'll only help her if she'll sleep with you. You were better than the goblin men I was familiar with but you really need to learn how to flirt from Shenzi." The way that Estella said that made Gren wonder if Shenzi was really that good at flirting.
"It would be best if he didn't do that. No woman would be safe from him if he knew how to seduce them." Right now he was only successful with women because of his good looks and confident behavior. "Just look at Jade and Tahloh; he didn't flirt with them but they both fell for him."
"Talking about Tahloh, when is he going to marry her? The two have gone all the way already, haven't they?" Why was Estella talking to Jessica like Gren wasn't there.
"We haven't gone all the way and I don't even know if I'm going to take her as a wife. I like her as a person but I don't have that attraction towards her like I do with you three and Jasmine." Gren was just telling the truth but it wasn't popular with the women around him.
"You're just going to hurt that poor woman if you keep playing with her. You don't need to be attracted to her in order to get married to her." Jessica disliked seeing Gren's shallow behavior. "Even if it's just a token gesture of good will, marry her."
"I'll talk to her about it." Gren caved in since he was already on the fence about it. The only problem was her nose but, after a little bit of thought, he figured out that he could easily fix that problem with a face-mask. "I don't know about having kids with anybody except Jasmine right now but I have condoms now so that shouldn't be a problem."
———————————
Gren continued to tell them about his past and the circumstances that he had found himself in. The discussion revealed things that Gren wasn't aware of; Estella knew about his mother already and they had all known about his abilities thanks to him using them regularly. There were some things that he didn't tell them like how he had a voice in his head and that Mimi saw a strange thing when he activated it but neither of those things changed much. It was only when the discussion turned to the Duke that things took an odd turn.
"It's possible that the Duke is targeting our family so I want you to be careful." Both Jessica and Jade had odd reactions to Gren's comment.
"I don't think that you have anything to worry about with the current Duke. He's a nice guy that cares a lot about his children even if they're not from his wife." Gren was wondering how she knew that when Jade said something shocking. "He visits the Scarlett Mansion every few months to give me things. I should let him know that I've moved so that he doesn't get surprised when he goes to visit me again."
"He's... your father?" She didn't have any children so that was the only possibility that Gren could think of.
"I thought that was the case when I saw her. She has the golden hair that's almost unique to the Adier bloodline." Jessica revealed a fact that Gren wasn't aware of. "The previous Duke is my father so that would make you my niece. If Estella had Adier blood then that'd be all of his wives before he marries Tahloh."
"My mother is--or was--an elf with green hair. I don't think that I'm related to the Duke." There was some good news for Gren. For a moment he thought that all of his wives would reveal themselves to be Adiers. "With so many wives from the same bloodline; I don't think that the Duke will go after you, Gren. Why don't we talk about this with him?"
"I'll send a letter to him. I've never met him face to face but I'm his little sister so that should mean something. If I add Jade's name then it'll have more of an impact." Everything was being planned without Gren's input. "Do you want to tell him something, Jade?"
"Just let him know to bring some treats. I always love the little cakes and cookies that he brings." It seemed to be set in stone so Gren wasn't able to voice his disapproval. "Oh, and tell him that I got married."
Their discussion continued without him so Gren focused on playing with Clarissa. She was just happy to be by him which helped to heal his heart. His little baby wouldn't ignore him and talk to other people without him. She couldn't even talk so that wasn't possible yet. He would probably face the problem of her ignoring him in another twelve to fifteen years like most parents faced but for now she was just a well-behaved baby. He didn't need to think much about it since the problems in the future would be handled by future Gren.
Gren's nighttime trip to the brothel to test out his condoms didn't go as planned. He didn't even get to test them all out properly and he ended up bringing one of the women home with him. It was a really stupid idea but Gren didn't think about the consequences before running his mouth off. There was no way to hide his actions now.Jade seemed excited when she saw Gren opening the gate to the guild. "Stop moving, you're going to make me drop you. What has you so riled up?""Sorry. I just can't help myself. It doesn't feel real but I'm actually going to become your wife. I've dreamed of this moment for months now." Months?"What do you mean? You've been wanting to get married for months?" The other alternative was one that Gren didn't want to think about."Yeah. Ever since I first saw you, I was interested. Watching you run around and lift things every morning became a daily ritual for me." It was the second possibility, after all. Gren picked up a stalker! "The days where you were out on a request were difficult for me and that's how I realized that I fell in love with you. I didn't know how to approach you but you came for me instead."Stalkers were dangerous and Gren always heard horror stories about them in Hollywood but Jade didn't seem bad. She was just an innocent girl that had a crush on him. "Well, you don't have to hide and watch me from the shadows anymore. Once my friend checks you out then you'll be free to stay by my side for the rest of your life."Gren let her down inside and helped her sit down in the kitchen. "Wait here while I go get my friend. After that, I'm going to get some sleep, but you can join me." Jade held on to his arm when he tried to walk away. "I'll be quick. Don't worry." Only after Gren kissed her did she let go.Mimi was awake and in the main hall so it was easy to find her downstairs. Gren didn't think about it until now but he never did see her sleep. It wasn't that she was a night owl since she was even awake in the middle of the day. "Hey, Mimi, you got a moment? I've got somebody I want you to look into real quick.""Ooo, who are we going to be digging secrets out of today?" Mimi hopped off from the statue; splatting against the ground before scurrying towards Gren and latching on to him. "Ehhh, you do know that they're going to kill you once they wake up, right?""I'm still trying to figure out how to tell them so that I don't get killed today." Gren was used to Mimi looking through his memories already. "Do you think that they will accept the truth if I tell them it? About my second past, I mean.""I was about to say that the truth about your trip to the brothel would still get you killed." Mimi was on top of Gren's head now so he started walking upstairs. "I really wish that I could show them it from your perspective. That Latoya woman's butt stretched so wide that I thought that it would tear her in two.""Please don't tell them about things like that. I'm trying to keep things more plain with them so that they don't get freaked out." Gren would hate it if his sexual desires made his wives avoid him."They're the ones missing out. Your movements during sex are simple and unskilled, if I'm going to be honest, but it's much more interesting than what most people do in bed." Mimi had been stealthily going through the memories of anybody that entered the store so she could be considered an expert on just about anything. "Just using Rodge as an example, he moves slowly on top of Rumi and then, after he gets off once, it's over. He's above average down there but he hasn't been able to give Rumi an orgasm even once.""Is that why she isn't happy with him?" The two weren't exactly fighting but there was no real spark between them."No, that's because the only thing they have in common is that they like alcohol. With Rumi being unable to drink alcohol, she doesn't have anything to talk to him about." Rumi slapped Gren on the cheek. "I almost forgot. If you want my help this time then you have to give me something. I'm not going to ask for the harvester yet but I want something that I can drive.""Yet... so you will ask for it one day. It'd have to be something small since you've never earned any points." It's not like she wasn't helping out; on the contrary, her ability to read memories and thoughts was important to the guild now. "If you ever change your mind and want a gun then I'll take you on missions. It might be fun to go on one with just the two of us.""I won't change my mind and you need to stop thinking that I'm a child already." It was hard for Gren to see her as an adult due to her child-like voice and small body. "I'm not offended about it but it feels weird since my descendants were all older than you.""You have descendants?" Gren wanted to learn more about Mimi since she was still a mystery to him."I used to. They're either dead or missing now thanks to terrible people in the past. That's why I follow you around. You're different from everybody else." Mimi wrapped her tentacles around his head. "You're weird but you treat us all like people and I really appreciate that."The conversation took a strange turn when Mimi suddenly changed the topic. "Don't take this the wrong way but if the two of us are still alive when the world is like you want it to be then I'd like to give birth to your child." Did she have feelings for him? Gren was wondering that before getting whacked on the head. "I said not to take it the wrong way, you idiot. I just think that you would still be able to love a child that looked like me. I want to have children again since those were the best days of my life but I can't bring them into a world that will kill them because they're different.""If you change your mind and want to have a child then I'll do everything in my power to protect them." Mimi was the easiest to please woman he knew of and her shape-shifting ability meant that she could make herself beautiful for him so taking her as a wife would be fine."In just what way am I easy to please? I killed my last husband, you know." That was news to him. "Then again, I only married him to get close enough to kill him in the first place. You can still read about it in historical documents.""If you thought that he deserved it then he probably did. There's nothing that can escape your sight, after all." Gren trusted her judgement because the memories wouldn't lie."We're almost there. We can talk about this later and I'll properly think about your offer to give me a child." He'd accept her decision regardless of what it was. "It might take a while to come up with an answer."As the two reached the kitchen, Jade looked at Gren's head with a surprised look on her face. "It's a slime.""A slime!? You're the slime!" This was the first time that Gren saw Mimi react like this but he couldn't stop her from grabbing Jade and shaking her. "Your whole family is sliiiiime!""Mimi, stop!" Gren could only grab her core since the rest of her body was able to escape from his arms. "I don't think that she meant anything bad by it.""I know she doesn't but I'm not a slime! Slimes don't even have proper thoughts! They just think about eating all day long!" She was still being loud and Gren could hear something from upstairs. "Ah. I've done it." Mimi struggled to get free from Gren. "Quick, let go before she gets here.""It's too late." Gren could see the source of the noise that was coming from upstairs. On the staircase was a tired-looking Jessica holding two crying toddlers. "Hello, honey, I'm home.""You've got five minutes to quiet them down and explain what's going on." Gren wasn't a religious person but right now he felt like praying to his mother for help. Mimi picked up the two toddlers and started rocking them while making soothing sounds. It was surprisingly successful since the babies stopped crying in a short amount of time. "You still haven't told me what's going on.""It's like this...""Gren wanted me to check this woman before he takes her as his wife. He brought her back from the brothel after having sex with a few women there to test out his condoms." Gren looked at Mimi with a look of disbelief on his face. "The woman is truly in love with him but she's a creepy stalker that has been watching him for months. She even sneaked into the house once to cut off some of his hair but couldn't bring herself to harm it and settled for stealing his used clothes.""Ehhh!? How did you know? Nobody saw me!" Jade was surprised that she was found out while Gren was just surprised. Just what kind of person was Jade? When were his clothes stolen? "You're not going to abandon me because of that, are you?""As long as you don't pose a risk to this family then he'll take you as his wife." Jessica gave her an answer. "Gren already promised you, right? Even if he was against it, he needs to keep his promises.""I'm not against it, I'm just wondering if that kind of behavior will continue. I don't mind letting Jade have some of my used clothes but I don't want her cutting off my hair." The sneaking in part didn't matter since she'd be able to enter openly as his wife. "You only did those things because you love me so I'm not going to hold that against you. Just ask if you want something next time.""She's your responsibility from now so make sure to treat her right. Just don't abandon Estella or Jasmine for her since they are both still in love with you at the moment." Gren really hoped that Jessica was right. "Now, make sure to explain everything to Estella before you go to bed. She doesn't deserve to be left in the dark." Jessica was looking up towards the top of the stairs.Gren walked towards the stairs but remembered Jade behind him. It would probably be best if he explained everything to his wives that were currently present. "Mimi, can you please bring the babies to Estella's room and watch over them?" After Mimi gave Gren a salute with a newly formed tentacle, they all went upstairs where Estella was waiting.Gren noticed that Estella didn't seem happy but he pulled her into Jessica's room anyways. Gren needed to tell them the truth about everything. He had a new addition to the family so it would be best to start at the beginning and end with everything that Jessica already knew but there was something that had to be said first."This is Jade. Although she's going to be my fourth wife, I don't want you to think that I'm trying to replace you. I would never abandon you, especially over a silly argument that's my fault anyways." Gren hugged Estella even though she didn't seem comfortable with it. "I don't know how you'll take what I'm going to say but it's becoming clear to me that I'll lose you if I keep hiding things. I want you to know the truth."It was a difficult thing to say but Gren needed to say it. Gren took the time to tell them about how he was a different soul inhabiting Gren's body. After explaining that he was someone else and telling them about what he used to do, Gren told them about his original world. Although they didn't seem to understand it from his words, Gren got the idea to use the system to create a painting of what a city from his original world looked like."It's so huge. Were there really buildings that size? I would love to see them." Jessica was touching the painting of New York City but that comment reminded Gren of something."This is based on their old look. Those buildings were destroyed when I was a child so I never saw them in person either." He got to see the new one that they built but it wasn't the same. "Those were the tallest buildings in the world at the time. Hold on, I remember seeing pictures of the largest one before I died. This is from a different city."The women looking at the paintings ended up sidetracking the discussion but Gren was happy to see that they were interested in his past life instead of disliking him over it. "If you want to see more then let me know. These are pretty cheap to make." Each one was less than one hundred points to make."When did you take over Gren's body?" Estella had been quiet until now. She must have been fighting with herself trying to decide whether or not to ask him about it since that topic had passed a while ago."During the attack on Newton. Just before I met you." Her worried look went away."Then aren't you the same person we've always known? I never met the old Gren. You're the one that I fell for." Gren couldn't help but smile when he heard that. "Wait, when you said that I was your first, was it only in this life?""No, I never had sex in my past life. I didn't really have sexual desires in that old body of mine and, even if I did, I didn't have anybody that I liked." Gren thought back to that awkward first encounter with Estella. "You're the first woman I had ever tried flirting with in both of my lives.""Well, you sucked at it." Gren was well aware of that fact. "If you ever want to attract a woman, don't tell her that you'll only help her if she'll sleep with you. You were better than the goblin men I was familiar with but you really need to learn how to flirt from Shenzi." The way that Estella said that made Gren wonder if Shenzi was really that good at flirting."It would be best if he didn't do that. No woman would be safe from him if he knew how to seduce them." Right now he was only successful with women because of his good looks and confident behavior. "Just look at Jade and Tahloh; he didn't flirt with them but they both fell for him.""Talking about Tahloh, when is he going to marry her? The two have gone all the way already, haven't they?" Why was Estella talking to Jessica like Gren wasn't there."We haven't gone all the way and I don't even know if I'm going to take her as a wife. I like her as a person but I don't have that attraction towards her like I do with you three and Jasmine." Gren was just telling the truth but it wasn't popular with the women around him."You're just going to hurt that poor woman if you keep playing with her. You don't need to be attracted to her in order to get married to her." Jessica disliked seeing Gren's shallow behavior. "Even if it's just a token gesture of good will, marry her.""I'll talk to her about it." Gren caved in since he was already on the fence about it. The only problem was her nose but, after a little bit of thought, he figured out that he could easily fix that problem with a face-mask. "I don't know about having kids with anybody except Jasmine right now but I have condoms now so that shouldn't be a problem." Gren continued to tell them about his past and the circumstances that he had found himself in. The discussion revealed things that Gren wasn't aware of; Estella knew about his mother already and they had all known about his abilities thanks to him using them regularly. There were some things that he didn't tell them like how he had a voice in his head and that Mimi saw a strange thing when he activated it but neither of those things changed much. It was only when the discussion turned to the Duke that things took an odd turn. "It's possible that the Duke is targeting our family so I want you to be careful." Both Jessica and Jade had odd reactions to Gren's comment. "I don't think that you have anything to worry about with the current Duke. He's a nice guy that cares a lot about his children even if they're not from his wife." Gren was wondering how she knew that when Jade said something shocking. "He visits the Scarlett Mansion every few months to give me things. I should let him know that I've moved so that he doesn't get surprised when he goes to visit me again." "He's... your father?" She didn't have any children so that was the only possibility that Gren could think of. "I thought that was the case when I saw her. She has the golden hair that's almost unique to the Adier bloodline." Jessica revealed a fact that Gren wasn't aware of. "The previous Duke is my father so that would make you my niece. If Estella had Adier blood then that'd be all of his wives before he marries Tahloh." "My mother is--or was--an elf with green hair. I don't think that I'm related to the Duke." There was some good news for Gren. For a moment he thought that all of his wives would reveal themselves to be Adiers. "With so many wives from the same bloodline; I don't think that the Duke will go after you, Gren. Why don't we talk about this with him?" "I'll send a letter to him. I've never met him face to face but I'm his little sister so that should mean something. If I add Jade's name then it'll have more of an impact." Everything was being planned without Gren's input. "Do you want to tell him something, Jade?" "Just let him know to bring some treats. I always love the little cakes and cookies that he brings." It seemed to be set in stone so Gren wasn't able to voice his disapproval. "Oh, and tell him that I got married." Their discussion continued without him so Gren focused on playing with Clarissa. She was just happy to be by him which helped to heal his heart. His little baby wouldn't ignore him and talk to other people without him. She couldn't even talk so that wasn't possible yet. He would probably face the problem of her ignoring him in another twelve to fifteen years like most parents faced but for now she was just a well-behaved baby. He didn't need to think much about it since the problems in the future would be handled by future Gren.
