AN: This chapter was a unique challenge to write. The end of Light, Darkness and Paradox was also a challenge but in completely different ways (except for length). Still, it's here at last.

For those interested in the timeline, this chapter takes place eight days after the previous one, meaning it's fifteen days after the official arrival of monsters at the capital and over a month since the story's beginning.


Elt sat in one of the most comfortable chairs he'd ever used in his life. Yet even that comfort wasn't enough to take away his nervousness. Nothing in the world could have done that.

"Tha…" Elt began. He swallowed. "Thanks for coming here, everyone."

There were five women also in the room, seated on similar chairs and with a table between them all. On top of the table was an assortment of snacks and drinks that would have been considered luxurious for most of Elt's life until now.

"Well, it is where some of us live," Primera said.

They were currently inside the Fullmoon Church. The orphans who'd previously lived here were all gone. Some had been adopted—a common practice among monsters, especially powerful monsters, due to their difficulty of having biological children. The rest were still in Sasha's once-secret orphanage in the woods, currently being overseen by some harpy Sasha trusted. Furthermore, the former slum-dwellers no longer needed to come here for healing. All this made the church easy to reserve for a private discussion.

"That does make me wonder what purpose this church will have in future…" Sasha said. "It was originally built for the purposes of helping the poor and promoting worship of the Chief God. The former is now unnecessary, the latter… even if worship of Her isn't strictly forbidden, few people now care for it…"

That was another one of the recent changes to Lescatie. Perhaps Sasha could convert her church into one dedicated to Eros, but that was still something she was uncertain on. And the God of Love wasn't pressing her on this matter.

"There's no need for me to look after the troops anymore," Mersé said. She no longer had an eyepatch over her right eye, having undergone healing last week. "There's no need for them to even fight anymore. So I've got lots of free time now."

Mersé met Elt's gaze. She blushed and so did he. They were both thinking about one of the most popular ways for former soldiers to spend their free time: romance. Just yesterday alone, Elt had met three of his former colleagues who now had lovers.

"…I thought I'd be busy," Wilmarina said. "But after the first week or so, many others started taking over my workload. They said—" she blushed as well. "They said I had other things I should be doing with my time."

Francisca beamed and grasped Wilmarina's hand. "I'm certainly glad for that!"

Seeing the new Francisca had been… quite a surprise for Elt. He'd already been expecting some of Lescatie's citizens to choose monsterisation. However, the weak and fragile girl from his memories was a stark contrast with the energetic and cheerful woman before him now.

…He also didn't remember Francisca being this affectionate to him or to Wilmarina. When Elt had first reunited with the fourth princess, she'd immediately hugged him, letting him quite vividly feel how much she'd grown. And she hadn't stopped holding hands with Wilmarina.

The other three women looked slightly uncomfortable at that display of intimacy. To their credit, they hadn't said anything so far.

"Anyway, it's good that everyone's here," Elt said. "We've got something… important… to talk about."

Even as Elt cursed his lack of speaking skills, the others in the room tensed.

"We've been putting it on hold, because of everything else," Elt said. "Now, though, it's time to settle all this." He took a deep breath. "Um, so… the five of you are all… interested in me…"

Elt should have added the word "romantically" as well, but he became tongue-tied at the very end. That said, it didn't matter since everyone here knew what he meant.

"Just… Just one question before we proceed," Wilmarina said, raising one hand. "Is there anyone else who should also be here?"

"Not that I know of," Primera said, a little irritably. "But to be more certain… Elt, is there any other woman you've interacted with lately? Any at all?"

"Um… well…" Elt thought for a moment. "There's some of our neighbours, and some of the merchants I often buy things from…"

"None of them have feelings for you," Sasha said. She averted her eyes. "I've… checked that myself."

"Then… there were some of the mercenaries who were women…" Elt recalled. "I only really interacted with one of them… but that was more than two weeks ago! I haven't even seen her since!"

"The Zipangan, right?" Mersé said. "From some of the stories I heard, she hasn't been seen in the capital since the monsters arrived—officially, I mean. Sounds like she's gone somewhere else."

"So… it looks like it's just the five of you, then," Elt said. He paused, trying to remember what he'd been planning to say.

Fortunately, Sasha came to his rescue. "Elt, how do you feel about all of us? Your feelings are important as well, please don't forget that. You aren't obligated to accept any of us."

That would have sounded ridiculous to most people. The five women in this room were all undeniably beautiful, and they all were heroes or had noble blood or both. As a commoner with nothing notable to his name, Elt should have been grateful that they even paid him any attention. The idea that he could reject any of their advances just because of his own feelings…

And yet the others were nodding along with Sasha's words. They clearly didn't want to be rejected by him, but they would accept his decision.

Elt fidgeted in embarrassment, now under the combined gazes of five women who loved him. But he had to give an answer.

"I… so, I've been thinking about it for a while," Elt said. In truth, he'd had little else to think of, having little to contribute to Lescatie's peace with monsters. "And, what I feel is…"

Elt stood up straight and looked around the room.

"I like you for spending time with me, even when I didn't deserve it."

Five mouths opened, but before any could make a retort, Elt kept going. This was one of the very rare times in his life that he was willing to interrupt others.

"I like you for helping me grow up, even after… even after my parents died. Not just that, but helping all those other kids who had no other home. And then, when I was grown-up, you helped me get a decent job."

That made a couple of the women glow with delight. Elt quickly moved on before the rest could feel left out.

"I like you for helping me and the friends I made in the army: Frank, Erik, everyone else. You taught us how to fight even when the higher-ups didn't care what happened to us. Some of 'em are planning to name their first daughters after you, did you know?"

"I like you for teaching me more words—more vocabulary, and proper manners, more than I would've learned otherwise. Even if it was a long time ago, without you, I wouldn't be able to talk like this now. I'm… I'm not sure if I'd even be confident enough to try. And lately, you started doing something nobody else was brave enough to do, actually cleaning up Lescatie. And it wasn't just a failure, it did work out in the end."

"You taught me that not everyone got a good deal in life. It wasn't because they sinned, or their parents sinned, but these things could just happen. But you showed me that people can still keep going after something like that, can still find reasons to smile. And then, two weeks ago, you helped find who tried to kill the king—your father—then helped convince everyone that we should let the monsters in."

"And, come to think of it—I like all of you for helping in that. For helping Lescatie make peace with monsters, making it so we don't have to keep fighting. It's not over yet, I know… but things are a lot better already—" Elt gestured at the food and drink on the table. "Lescatie wouldn't have gotten this far without you all. So… um… thanks."

After that, Elt had run out of words to say. He wouldn't have even been able to get this far without spending two weeks planning. And now that he'd said them out loud, they sounded unimaginably childish and stupid to him.

"S-Sorry!" Elt added instinctively. "I meant… I…"

"That's not something you have to apologise for… idiot," Primera said. Her eyes were moist with what she'd certainly never admit were tears.

Elt blinked. None of the five women looked disappointed by his words, quite the opposite.

"Thank you for saying all of that, Elt," Sasha said, wiping away her own tears. "But I… I must point out that you found your job by yourself. At most, Primera and I lent you a little support."

"Maybe," Elt conceded. "But I've never been all that brave. Without that 'little support', I could never have kept being a soldier."

"Elt… that's… all the training I gave you is useless now," Mersé said. "And even back then, you and the boys were never in that much danger, since monsters don't usually kill."

"We still thought we could seriously get killed by monsters," Elt said. "It still mattered to us. Some of us would've deserted if it hadn't been for you. Or stayed, but gotten killed by sickness or bad storms or something else."

Then Wilmarina spoke up. "Elt, thank you for those words, but… I wasn't the only one who had a desire to rebel. There were so many others… without them, even this eventual success wouldn't have been possible. But…" she smiled softly, "again, thank you."

After that, Wilmarina looked away shyly. Elt found it hard to believe that she—and most of the others present, for that matter—was so affected by his words. They must have heard plenty of praise like this already, from speakers far more eloquent than him.

"I'm the one who feels most awkward at hearing that, Elt," Francisca said. Her voice took on a sadder tone. "In our childhood years, all I did was follow you and Mary around, and go along with what you suggested… I might have found reasons to smile, but that was only because of you two. And even now, I've spent less time with you than anyone else here."

"It's not a matter of time," Elt said gently. "I'm not judging people based on… on the number of years, or anything like that…"

During his self-reflection, Elt had considered such ideas. If he thought in terms of the time spent with someone, then Sasha would be in first place, with Primera not far behind. If he thought in terms of how much time he spent with someone as an adult, then Mersé would be narrowly in the lead, due to the long hours he used to have as a soldier. If he thought in terms of when he'd first met someone, it would be Wilmarina followed by Francisca.

But he could never rank people like that. He simply couldn't do that… though it did make his current decision harder.

"Thank you," Francisca said. She made a smile that would have had most men kneeling at her feet. "Listening to you is stirring up my new instincts—ahem! So, have you made a choice?"

Elt swallowed again. "I… have. My choice… well, to have it make sense, I also need to say something else first."

This was when Elt hesitated. What he was about to say would prick an old wound for him and some of the others here. However, he was able to remain silent for three seconds without anyone looking impatient. That gave him the courage to continue.

"When my parents were still alive…"

Wilmarina's smile vanished in an instant. The others had similar but lessened reactions.

"When my parents were still alive…" Elt persisted, "they told me one important lesson. They told me that, when I grew up and found people I really cared for… that I should do my best to make them happy."

"I can easily imagine them saying it," Wilmarina said, slightly wistful. "But—and this is just a statement, Elt—I'm sure that when it came to matters of romance… they only meant for you to find one wife."

Elt nodded. He also began to wonder what his parents would have done if Warran Noscrim hadn't thrown them all out first. Would they have forced Elt to stay away from Wilmarina eventually, out of entirely justified fears? There was no way to know for certain now.

"That's true, Mary. But I think their lesson's still important. So… that brings me back to my choice." Elt clenched his hands into fists to prevent them from shaking too much. "Mary, Fran, Sasha, Primera, Mersé… I choose to accept all of you… if! If you'll have me!"

Elt cursed himself privately for again messing up his words. His only hope of bringing about a happy ending, or even something close, was to express himself properly.

They must all hate me now… I just sound like a horny idiot!

But yet again, he was surprised by the reactions he saw. None of the five women struck him in anger or stormed out of the room. Most showed only mild surprise intermixed with curiosity.

However, one stood up from her chair abruptly. She was the tallest and—even after Francisca had grown several new body parts—the heaviest person in the room.

"Elt," Mersé said. Both of her eyes bored into him. "Just what do you mean by accepting us all? Say it."

Elt had been intimidated by Mersé many times while serving under her in the army. He felt intimidated even now. But, just like those previous times, he did not falter.

"It's not just some wild idea I'm throwing out," Elt said. "I've been learning about the topic from… reading… and from talking to people the past few days. I've got a plan now… well, the start of a plan, at least. I mean…" he took another breath, "look, I'll just tell you what I have. First of all, I was thinking of a… a ring hand arrangement, more or less?"

The five women looked at Elt and at each other… in the latter case, especially at Wilmarina and Francisca.

This was one of the terms that Elt had learned from reading "An Idiot's Guide to Romance!". Due to their demographics, monsters had polygynous relationships so often that they'd come up with many classifications. A normal hand relationship involved one man in five separate relationships with five women, so named for the five fingers of a typical person's hand. A ring hand relationship, meanwhile…

"I suspect all of us here have heard that term by now," Sasha said, raising a hand. "But just to make sure we're on the same page…"

Elt nodded. "Basically… it's where one man is… together with five different women… and…" he glanced at Wilmarina and Francisca, "two of those women are also with each other…"

"I've heard of that, too," Mersé said, still sounding irritated. "What's the rest of your plan?"

"It's the details… what life would be like in this arrangement," Elt replied. "If everyone's okay with it, obviously! A lot of the details are up for—what's the word?—debate, so hopefully we can… can all agree on something."

"In that case… here's one of the most important details," Mersé said. "What'll other people think? Sure, this kind of… arrangement… is normal for monsters, but it's definitely not normal here! People in Lescatie are still just getting used to monsters!"

That was met with several nods. Elt had to have a good answer for this one.

"I think we could make it work," Elt said. "After all, Lescatians are getting used to monsters, even with all of their… quirks. A lot are even getting together with monsters now, and that's always been forbidden by the Order. We all got brought up thinking of monsters as evil predators! And in fact, even now… I'm seeing some Lescatians who look like they're… trying out these kinds of arrangements, of relationships."

In fact, one of those adventurous Lescatians was Elt's former colleague Paul. Last week, Elt had seen the man in a bar giggling together with two monsters.

"Fine, you've got a point there… what else?" Mersé asked. She might have known of Paul's case herself, being his former captain, but she still didn't look impressed.

"I thought about other things too!" Elt said. "One of them was how—really, where we'd all be living. I read about various ideas, and talked to people about them too…" Elt tried to recall what he'd heard from a friendly bicorn two days ago. "So there's two ways it can happen. One is where everyone lives together in the same place, which… I don't think would really work."

Not only did three of the women in this room already have homes elsewhere, but all five had very different personalities. They could, and had, work together professionally. But living together full-time was far more difficult. In one conversation from months ago, Mersé had told Elt that she had no idea how he put up with Primera at home. Even Sasha and Primera had had arguments in the past.

"The other way is for people to live in multiple places," Elt said. "I think that'd work better for us. As for the details of that—"

"Alright, maybe you thought that part out," Mersé said. "But that still leaves a whole lot of other things! What about what we think, and what about—" she blushed, but didn't stop, "—any kids we have!? What'd they think of us!?"

Wilmarina stood up. "There is no need to be that aggressive towards him!" she said icily. "You didn't even let him finish explaining!"

Sasha stood up as well. "We let you go this far since we had those questions as well," she said. "But you must calm down! Elt is only doing his best!"

Primera said nothing, but she was looking quite murderous right now. And Francisca… was looking quite nervous at the situation. That was only natural since she had far less experience dealing with arguments than everyone else here.

Mersé, despite being the target of so much hostility, still kept her attitude. This wasn't looking good…

"It's… It's fine, everyone," Elt said in the most conciliatory tone he could manage.

"Elt, there will be no chance of any group arrangement working," Wilmarina said, "if she treats you like this!"

Elt bit his lip. He hadn't wanted to bring it up so publicly, but he did have a good idea of why Mersé was acting this way.

"Mersé…" he said carefully, "I'm trying not be like her."

When Elt said this, Mersé lowered her gaze to the floor. Her brazen attitude was now replaced with shame.

"I know that, Elt. I know that… dammit, I even—I even knew it before coming here!"

Mersé balled one hand into a fist, then punched her own thigh. The loud thud caused everyone else to flinch. Most were accustomed to violence on the battlefield, but they weren't nearly as accustomed to something like this.

"I've been going around as well, listening to the word on the streets," Mersé said glumly. "At first, I was staying away from… anyone in a group relationship. But a couple of days ago, I finally made myself talk to a group like that." She brought her hands together nervously. "Actually, I… was too rough in talking to them, apologised for it later. But anyway, the important thing is, I heard that group was happy with what they had… I know, they aren't, anything like my…"

"Mersé, you don't have to say it if you don't want to," Elt said.

"I'LL SAY IT!" Mersé shouted. "I've been hiding it for long enough!" She looked around at the others in the room while pointing at her right eye. "Most of you know I was missing this before! But did you know why!? It's 'cause my bitch of my mother hit me for talking back once!"

That was met by shocked gasps. Even Elt, who'd known some of this already, felt a flash of fury when he heard it now.

"My father stood up to her for it—the first time he ever did," Mersé continued, both gratitude and bitterness in her tone. "And then she left us. Packed up her things, left us and got hitched with some rich merchant! Never saw her again!"

"…Recently, you spoke in a very publicised event…" Sasha said cautiously. "Did… Did that not draw the attention of your…?"

"Maybe it did, but she hasn't reached out to me!" Mersé growled. "Well, I don't care about her anymore! I'm through with letting her control me, in any way!"

Mersé dropped back on her chair with a loud thump that resounded through the church. She looked straight at Elt—and her eyes softened.

"I know… I know you'd never be like her, Elt," Mersé said. "And the whole situation's different in the first place… And it's obvious you… put a lot of thought into all this. So… I can… give you a chance…"

There was silence for a few seconds. The women other than Mersé now looked regretful.

"That's… well, it's a lot to deal with at once…" Primera said uncertainly.

"Still, thank you for confiding in us," Sasha said, placing a reassuring hand on Mersé's shoulder. "It could not have been easy."

"None of us ever had to deal with the same," Wilmarina said. "My parents… even they were at least faithful to each other…"

Francisca found the courage to speak again. "Elt said that one…" she held her hands to her cheeks while blushing, "one reason he likes me is for persisting despite the hardship I'd suffered. It's not the same thing, but I admire you—platonically, just to be clear!—for your persistence. It could not have been easy, working your way up from commoner with a broken family to elite hero."

Mersé laughed, sounding both embarrassed and pleased. "Thanks. And, Elt, sorry for being so rough with you before."

Elt smiled. "Like I said, it's fine. Anyway, getting back to what I was saying…"

-ooo-

Over the next hour, Elt revealed his plan with the five women. This included giving further detail to aspects he'd already mentioned. A considerable amount of the snacks and drinks set out on the table were consumed during the hour.

Throughout it all, he kept feeling unnerved by the whole situation. The dangers of the battlefield, which he'd been trained to face as a soldier, were nothing compared to this.

"S-So, that's the plan I came up with," Elt said. He glanced out the window and noticed that it was around noon, judging from the sun's position. "I know it's a lot to take in… I think we should all take some time to think about it. I'll… I'll be waiting here, if anyone has more questions…"

The five women all looked thoughtful. Some of them glanced at Wilmarina and Francisca again.

"You've certainly given us plenty to think about, Elt," Sasha said. "Then, please excuse us…"

The women left the current room: some doing so on their own, others leaving in a group.

Once he was alone, Elt slumped in his chair and sighed.

It's done, I said everything I prepared… All I can hope for now is that they aren't too angry at this…

For a few moments, Elt wondered what his parents would think. Not the bitter wrecks they'd become towards the ends of their lives, but the smiling guardians they'd been in his earlier years.

Trying to get together with five women, two of them now monsters… definitely not what my parents were hoping me to do. But that's the situation I'm in now… just have to hope I can make all five of them happy.

Elt was still plagued with doubts even now. He kept fearing that his decision was yet another case of lust triumphing over good sense, something that had happened many times in history… and had often caused major problems.

Even in Lescatie, Elt thought. Years ago, Fran told me and Mary about some of the history she'd read in books, about past kings who caused trouble by having mistresses, and illegitimate kids who made the succession tricky… That was a pretty heavy topic when we were kids ourselves. I think she was a bit desperate to have something to talk about.

Succession wasn't as much of a problem in Elt's case, since he—the one thing linking these five women—was a commoner with no authority or lands of his own. Only two out of the five had bloodlines for which succession was relevant. Granted, those bloodlines were very high indeed, so they still needed to be careful.

But both Mary and Fran made it clear that they wouldn't let that stop them. And, um, Mary already confessed her past relationship with me to her coworkers… so it'd be tricky for her to give up now…

Elt covered his face with his hands and writhed around in his chair. Just thinking about the situation too much filled him with renewed embarrassment.

Suddenly, Elt felt a vibration in his pocket. He reached in to find a small silver disc that Mimil had given him a few days ago, something she'd made using knowledge gained from monsters. He held the disc up to the left side of his face.

"Um, hello, Mimil?"

Elt speaking activated something in the enchantment on the disc. An instant later, he began hearing Mimil's voice.

"Big Brother, have you told them yet?"

"Y-Yes…" Elt admitted. "I told them, now they're thinking about it all themselves."

Mimil clicked her tongue. "I can't believe you're really going through with this… you do know that even if they all agree, it'll cause problems with the rest of society?"

"Y-Yes… we spent a while talking about that…"

Elt recalled something he'd heard from Primera yesterday: she was glad Mimil was still a child, otherwise—based on Elt's record—there would be a seventh person at the discussion today. He decided not to mention that to Mimil herself.

"But this is something I have to do—have to try, at least," Elt continued. "I'm not good at fighting, or researching magic, or politics, or anything like that. The only thing I'm any good at is getting along with people, helping cheer them up."

"I'm tempted to make a comment about what kind of people you get along with…" Mimil grumbled. In a softer voice, she added, "But that wouldn't be right. It's not like you're just a magnet for women. You're also trusted by your fellow soldiers, a great older brother to the brats in your orphanage… and to…"

Mimil trailed off into silence. Elt knew exactly what she'd been about to say next. Once again, he decided it would be wiser not to mention it.

"It might be reckless of me, but the other option… I can't go through with it," Elt said. "If I accepted one of them, and made the other four unhappy… I just can't do it."

"Maybe two of them would still be fine with each other," Mimil said, sounding confused even by her own words. "Another thing that'll cause problems, no matter how today turns out… though I guess if anyone can change societal attitudes, it'd be a top-ranking noble and a princess… hrm."

"Mimil, do you think this is silly of me?" Elt asked, struck by a new wave of doubts. "I mean, I said the four I didn't pick would be unhappy, but it's not like that'd last forever. People can move on, find new people to love. I knew that even before all this business with monsters started."

Elt recalled an overheard conversation from his days in the Noscrim Manor. The lord of the mansion— Wilmarina's father—had been talking to the head butler about the latter's late wife. Apparently, said wife hadn't been the first woman the head butler had ever loved, but said woman had eventually chosen someone else. Even so, the head butler still had fond memories of the woman he did marry.

"I guess that kind of thing happens… but hold it, why're you asking me for relationship advice!?" Mimil said. "Do you think a twelve-year-old is going to be useful for that!?"

"N-Not really…" Elt replied. "But you did reach out to me to know how I was doing. And I… can't really ask the other people I know. The other orphans, the neighbours, my fellow soldiers… asking them would be… a bit…"

"You're too embarrassed to talk about this with them," Mimil deduced with a sigh. "All this trouble you're going through… it's making me think I should stay far away from romance, when I get old enough…"

That reminded Elt of another way the world was changing. Rather than the sudden upheaval of making peace with monsters, it was the simple march of time. Everyone was growing older day by day, and consequently their roles and responsibilities were changing.

Elt was no exception. He was no longer a young soldier who didn't need to think about romance. And while his romantic situation was unusual, he still had to treat it seriously.

"Mimil, is it fine if I ask…" Elt said, "how things are going with your family?"

There was a moment of silence. Elt feared that he'd made the young mage angry.

"…Good," Mimil said quietly. "Well, maybe not good, but… better than expected. We're starting to eat meals together again."

Elt nodded. He'd spoken with Mimil a few days ago, when she'd given him this telepathy charm. At the time, she'd revealed how her parents had heard her emotional outburst on the north wall.

"We've got a specialist helping us, a hakutaku experienced at dealing with messed-up families…" Mimil said. "I do think it's getting better. It'll just… take time."

It would be a difficult road indeed. Still, Mimil was fortunate in one way. She still had the chance to reconcile with her family, something not true for Elt or most of his female acquaintances.

It's too much to be a coincidence… were we drawn to each other, because of our broken families…?

"I'm glad to hear that, Mimil," Elt said. "I hope it all ends well, you really deserve it."

"…Thanks, Big Brother. And I hope you get a happy ending too."

The telepathy ended there. Elt stood up from his chair, picked up a fresh apple from the table and took a bite.

Prior to the signing of the peace treaty, Elt had had few chances to eat fresh fruit, much of it foraged while out in the wilderness for training. And that tended to be either half-ripe or already damaged by animals, sometimes both. But in recent days, fresh foods of all kinds had started flooding into the capital. The farmers were raving about how productive demonic crops were.

The sheer amount of sweetness and juiciness had almost made him faint when he'd tried fresh fruit again. Right now, though, he barely cared about the taste.

We're all moving forward… and that means having to face things we're uncomfortable with. Mimil's trying to patch things up with her parents, who were just using her for years. So I should be able to at least have this conversation with everyone…

Elt thought about his plan again. If even one of those five still wanted to be with him after hearing it… he'd be in unexplored territory. He'd devoted all of his recent time and energy to researching the topic, but he'd never actually been in a romantic relationship before. Neither had they.

And if more than one still wanted him… he wasn't sure how well his plan would work in practice.

-ooo-

In another room of the Fullmoon Church, Wilmarina looked out a glass window. The scenery outside was bustling with healthy-looking humans and monsters. And the view itself was from the second storey—the ones who'd renovated this place had needed to add an additional storey to fit in all the new rooms.

Right now, there are no longer any chains holding me back… Wilmarina thought. Lescatie isn't under threat from without or within, my father is gone…

A week ago, Warran had returned to Lescatie's capital with one of the nobles who'd tried to flee punishment. Then he'd immediately left along with his friend Joseph. He'd made no attempt to contact his daughter again, something both of them appreciated.

I'm no longer being pestered by requests for betrothals… Even my duties to the Holy Ice Flower have essentially disappeared, since our purpose has disappeared… So I no longer have any excuse.

Wilmarina rubbed her own arms nervously.

I don't have nearly as much experience in this field as I do in other things. The last time I tried being close with Elt, I foolishly got his entire family thrown out into the streets. And while that specific outcome won't happen again… I keep worrying about making another terrible mistake.

It would be complicated enough if it was merely Elt, Fran and I, or even just Elt and I. But with three others added into the mix…

Wilmarina thought about a recent conversation she'd had with Luciana. Her former deputy was now together with her blushing soon-to-be husband, and she wondered why Wilmarina wasn't pushing for the same.

"La… Wilmarina," Luciana said. She still looked embarrassed at omitting the title, despite Wilmarina having asking her to do so several times. "Are you really sure about this? I know that some monsters have… relationships like this… but it seems such a shame for you to settle for it…"

"I understand why you think that way," Wilmarina replied. "But from what I've learned from asking around… relationships of this kind… shouldn't be seen as something one 'settles for'."

Back to the present, Wilmarina laughed softly.

I said that to her, then resolved myself to come to this meeting… and now I'm having doubts again.

If I pushed, truly pushed, perhaps I could make Elt change his mind and only accept Fran and I. But when I think about how the other three would react… their feelings are not just superficial, I know that now. If they were rejected, they'd feel just dejected, just as crushed as I would.

Perhaps they could move on from that, given time… but I'm reluctant to even hurt them in the first place. After everything they've done to help Lescatie, especially in recent weeks, they deserve better than that.

Elt's plan is worth trying, at least. If it fails, if we prove to have irreconcilable differences… we can always try again later with other people.

That sort of thinking hadn't been non-existent in the previous Lescatie, but it had been quietly discouraged. According to many interpretations of the Chief God's will, humans were meant to settle down with the first partner they found, and not to seek love again unless their partner had died. But that was just one of the many things that was changing in Lescatie.

…Two days ago, I was able to speak to Sasha and Primera. And of course I've spoken to Fran many times recently. So that just leaves…

Wilmarina left the room and began walking down a corridor.

-ooo-

Sitting alone, Mersé felt the desire for a bottle of good booze. She'd even settle for not-so-good booze right now. But she suppressed that desire with more willpower than she'd ever used when fighting monsters.

Though even with a sober mind… it wasn't easy for her to come to a decision.

GAAAAH! WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW!?

I could just say no to Elt's plan, say I'll never share him with anyone else! Either he picks only me, or I walk away! That'd be the easy way out. But… when I think about that…

In the past, Mersé would go out and train whenever she felt unsettled. Working her body to the point of near-exhaustion was a good way to get her thoughts back in order. But it would be rude to leave the church right now.

When I think about that… it hurts… just the idea of turning him down hurts…

Mersé had interacted with countless men because of her job. She was on good terms with quite a few of them—as Elt had said earlier, some were planning to name their first daughters after her. However, Elt was the only one she'd stayed out late training with.

Was it just to nurture a promising recruit? No, Elt was good but not really unique. Even within the cohort assigned to her, there had been two or three of comparable skill.

Mersé thought back to the earliest days of her relationship with Elt. She remembered talking to him and other soldiers, light-heartedly exchanging jokes and stories about the past. The other soldiers had eventually drifted away for various reasons, leaving only the two of them together.

"Hm? You need something from me?"

"Y-Yes, Captain Mersé," Elt had said. "If it's alright with you, could you… could you train me more? I need…" His eyes hardened. "I need to rise up in the ranks, as fast as I can."

That had been a shock to her. Mersé's usual training regime pushed her recruits to their limits. None of them had ever asked her for more before. And even in that usual training, the recruits were always reluctant to spar against her. So she'd asked Elt just what he was thinking.

That's when I heard about the church, and the orphans, and him trying his hardest to support 'em…

Dad died too early for me to do the same… still, it's the kind of thing I'd be doing if he was still around, or if I had any younger siblings to feed…

Maybe that's why I listened to Elt.

That first session of extra training had left the young man battered and gasping for breath. Mersé had been sure he would quit. Yet on following days, he kept asking for the same thing. It had reminded Mersé of her past efforts to grow stronger, a combination of sweat and blood and tears that had let her rise to her current position.

We got to know each other, I told him about my background, something I never let anyone else now. I started getting him to come to bars with me too, and it just felt so… comfortable. Didn't really think about it back then, but to me, he was…

Then Mersé heard the knock on the door.

"Excuse me, may I speak with you?"

Mersé responded by going to the door and opening it herself.

On the other side was Wilmarina, the kind of woman Mersé had always envied: slender, elegant, skin not marred by scars, hair and clothes perfectly arranged. Not too long ago, it would have seemed absurd that Elt could consider any other woman when he already had her pining for him.

Granted, until not too long ago, Elt hadn't been aware she was pining for him.

"First of all, I should apologise for being rude to you earlier," Wilmarina said.

Mersé waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine, I was being too hard on Elt," she said. "More importantly, let's talk business. Might as well sit for it…"

The two of them sat down on chairs. Said chairs, much like the other furniture in the renovated Fullmoon Church, were really high in quality, with soft backs and seats. Mersé suspected the monsters who'd rebuilt this place had been eager to repay Sasha for all the help she'd provided in the past.

"I'll start," Mersé said. "Elt's suggesting a… ring hand arrangement, but can you and the princess really stick to that? That's something that has to be clear."

"We can," Wilmarina said firmly. "I've been talking to Francisca often these past two weeks. She has no more interest in other women than I do, and that interest is just as non-existent as your interest in men other than Elt."

In the past, Mersé might've interpreted this as some kind of veiled insult. Now, however, she realised it was actually an acknowledgement of her as a serious rival in love.

"Well… thanks for that, at least," Mersé said. She shifted her feet nervously. "But seriously… I can't believe we're in this situation…"

"Neither can I…" Wilmarina murmured. "I was wondering about making this suggestion myself, but I never thought Elt would be so bold…"

The two women both looked at a certain wall. Behind this and another wall were Elt's current location.

"To be honest with you… I used to feel so envious of how much you could be with Elt," Wilmarina said with a red face. "Once, when I saw you e-embracing Elt, I had some rather… violent thoughts…"

Once again, Mersé had lived her life until now feeling envious of women who fit the Lescatian ideal of femininity. Being the subject of envy by such a woman felt surreal to her.

"Huh… then I'm… glad you didn't act on those thoughts," Mersé said awkwardly. "But now I'm even more surprised at you being okay with this plan."

"I had my doubts at first," Wilmarina confessed. "Even if we wouldn't necessarily be living together, I was doubtful about sharing Elt with any other women, save Francisca. And I certainly wouldn't be 'okay' if it was merely any other women… but the three of you are different."

"…But we've got basically nothing in common, other than being heroes who are into Elt," Mersé pointed out.

Wilmarina shook her head. "We fought together against Druella. I've always heard tales of warriors becoming closer after fighting together, and on that day I learned there was truth to those tales. On that day, I saw that you were courageous and willing to defend Lescatie against overwhelming odds."

Mersé scratched her cheek in embarrassment at the praise. "If we're talking about that… then on that day, I saw you weren't just a pampered little girl, but someone who worked just as hard to get strong as I did, probably harder."

"And just today…" Wilmarina said. She hesitated for a few seconds. "I discovered another thing that we have in common."

Mersé gulped. She—and all of Lescatie by now—knew of Wilmarina's antipathy towards her father. But she knew nothing of Wilmarina's mother save that the latter had died in childbirth some years ago, which was why Wilmarina was an only child.

"My own mother was… I remember her once being someone I looked up to," Wilmarina said, now looking off into the distance. "She helped Father in his work, oversaw the running of the household, and still found the time to care for her daughter. I hoped I could one day become even half the woman she was."

"…Elt told me about his past," Mersé said carefully. "About rumours of his Dad sleeping with—"

"With my mother, yes," Wilmarina said. "An unforgivable offence for a servant, naturally. But it would also be a shame to the noblewoman in question. If my father had just arranged that himself, without cooperating with my mother, then their relationship would have been shattered… It was not."

"Damn…" Mersé said, shaking her head. "Did she… ever say anything to you afterwards?"

"Before that happened, she told me several times to remember my duty as one of blue blood," Wilmarina said. "And… afterwards, I was given even more lessons than before, some of them delivered by my mother personally. Leaving little time to think of other things…" She clenched her fists. "That was the intention, at least, but as you've seen, it did not work."

Mersé remembered her own childhood, the many moments when she'd wished for her mother to treat her nicely, despite numerous harsh comments and the occasional hit. That had lasted up until her mother had destroyed one of Mersé's eyes with a particularly strong slap.

Up 'til then, I kept wishing she'd treat me better, spend more time with me… but spending more time with a mother can hurt, too… Both of us have learned something new today…

"Now, in the present… I can't say I miss her," Wilmarina said. "So… Mersé… I'd say that we have more in common than you think," Wilmarina finished. "Enough to at least try out Elt's plan together."

Mersé shook her head again. "Guess we're going through with this after all… Fine." She held out one hand. "Just make sure you don't hurt Elt, or I'll make you pay."

"I could say the same to you."

The two heroes, despite their many differences, shook hands.

-ooo-

In a different room of the church, Primera was together with Sasha and Francisca.

Even at this point, being alone with two monsters makes me wish I had my bow… The past isn't an easy thing to overcome.

Primera thought back to the incident that had brought her to Lescatie in the first place. She'd run into a trio of centaur bandits, who were disappointed by her not being a man they could violate, but did admire the well-crafted elven bow she had with her. Yet Primera had refused to give up that last memento of her mother, and her child self had lacked the physique to use the bow properly. If Sasha hadn't come to the rescue, the centaurs would have killed Primera for her bow without batting an eye.

Now's not the time to worry about that. Sasha obviously is nothing like those centaurs, with or without the new wings and tail. And this princess is… not quite sure about her yet, but she doesn't look like she could hurt a fly.

"…as long as you treat Elt well while you are with him, I have no objection to this plan," Sasha said. "Primera?"

"…I don't mind either," Primera said.

"Thank you," Francisca said, bowing her head. "I wasn't certain how you'd react to my… inclusion. But this is far better than I was hoping for."

Sasha and Primera exchanged glances.

"Well… to explain it, I should begin by explaining the context," Sasha said. "The two of us spent most of our lives in what was once Lescatie's slums. Here, morality has historically been… rather looser than in the rest of Lescatie."

"Before, people here had to be willing to do whatever it took to survive," Primera added. Her past self would have left the entire explanation to Sasha, but she too had changed recently. "But it wasn't just about being willing to kill and steal and all that. See, the Order, the churches, didn't care about what slum folk got up to."

"As a result, residents of the slums had relationships that… would not have been accepted in conventional Lescatian society," Sasha said delicately. "Granted, some of those were done to avoid pregnancy, since unwanted pregnancies were quite dangerous in the former slums. But I know that some of those relationships were driven by genuine preferences."

"So even before all this happened, we didn't see people like you in the same way as most Lescatians," Primera said. "Plus we've all been interacting with those newly arrived monsters, and listening to new ideas…"

Just the other day, Primera had encountered a pairing of two monsters—an alraune and a kobold. That had been a considerable shock to her, since monsters couldn't feed on each others' demonic energy. But as Primera learned from them, not all monsters considered this a requirement for of a relationship. There were even some monsters who never settled down with a partner at all.

"Just make sure not to try anything funny with us," Primera said. "If you do, even being a princess won't stop us from kicking you out."

"Oh, Mary—or Wilmarina as you know her, has already made that quite clear to me," Francisca replied. "I have no plans to break her, or Elt's heart by being unfaithful in any way."

"Though there is one other, related issue," Sasha said. "Have you told your family about your inclination yet?"

"Yes, I have," Francisca replied, smiling ruefully. "It led to quite a few arguments… initially, some of my family members feared that my transformation had altered my mind. The arguments occasionally grew quite…" she winced, "intense. But I managed to settle the issue eventually, after no small amount of talking and pleading…"

Primera privately hoped that the issue was actually settled. She didn't fancy the prospect of Lescatie being torn apart by civil war—and it would come to that, if members of the royal family disagreed strongly enough.

"I have one question for you two," Francisca said. Her antennae twitched. "There is much I'm ignorant about, after a lifetime cloistered away… so I would like to ask… what was Elt's life like, after I parted ways with him?" She looked down at the floor in shame, even though it was hardly her fault that she hadn't seen him for years. "Mar—Wilmarina has told me a little about him, but that's not nearly enough."

"And she, too, knows little about him in that part of his life," Sasha said. "Yes, that's something you deserve to know."

"To be honest, though, he hasn't changed that much since I first knew him," Primera said. "He's always been too stupidly nice for his own good… well, I only met him five years ago, so Sasha might have a different opinion."

Sasha shook her head. "I think he's always retained that aspect of himself. When I first met him, he was… withdrawn, and for good reason. But even then, I remember him sparing some of his time for the younger orphans."

"I'm the youngest in my family, so that's an experience I've never had myself…" Francisca said. "And of course, I was always the one being cared for… but that seems about to change. Just how did Elt interact with the younger orphans?"

As Primera listened to Sasha's explanation, she realised that Francisca was asking in order to learn how to care for children. That realisation caused the half-elf to heat up with embarrassment.

Th-This is it now… if we go through this, then it'll really mean… having… kids…

There was still time for Primera to turn Elt down. And it was also possible, if she did accept his plan, to decide that it didn't suit her after all and leave before the point of having children.

I always told myself it couldn't happen… Elt could be happy together with Sasha… and I should just keep my feelings to myself… but…

Primera imagined herself holding a baby swaddled in cloth. A hungry and smelly creature prone to breaking out in tears, as babies generally were. The ears of the baby were slightly pointed.

It was something she'd imagined several times before. Though this time, she didn't do her best to force it out of her mind.


AN: AN: Well, that's my first serious attempt at writing a polyamorous relationship (I briefly touched on the topic all the way back in The Tyrant and the Hero). I currently have no plans to do so for any of my other ongoing fics or my future fics.

The terms used to refer to poly relationship types are my invention. Since this is a fictional setting, I deliberately made up my own instead of trying to use anything from real life.

The next chapter is 99% complete, the only edits will be ones I make in response to feedback on this chapter. It'll be released in a couple of days.