“Oh, you mean like if we fed five giant essences to it or to each other first and then to it? That’s a really good question! I will work on it when I have a chance. I should be able to come up with something.”

  Mulan says “Great! That's exactly it! If all we can do is feed essences to the dragon’s essence, I want to know the most efficient way.”

  “I agree. I’m just not entirely sure how to make something that will accurately measure the essence’s energy.”

  Mulan says “Just make it. You always say that magic works based on your intentions, so just let the magic do it. You can always go back and improve it once you have a working model.”

  “You’re right. I will give it a try.”

  Mulan smiles like she just won something and happily goes back to playing with Asuna and Kirito. I keep cuddling with Sero and Kreno as the caravan crosses the border into the final country. We stop for the night in a small city, but it doesn’t have enough space for everyone.

  The rulers are staying in a small inn while the guards are going to camp outside the city. To keep things simple, I set up the cabin by where the guards will be camping. That will make it easier for both the rulers and the staff of the inn, besides my cabin is more comfortable.

  As much as I want to work on my core, I am starting to feel the effects of not sleeping. I am planning to force myself to take a night off from my core and get some sleep. Of course, it also has to do with this being Sero and Kreno’s last night with me.

  We have dinner with the kids as usual and as soon as they are off to bed we start the fun. As has become the norm, I do my best to make my last night with them memorable. I make sure to completely and thoroughly wear the both of them out and then open the soulscapes.

  After the soulscapes, I curl up on my nice shiny pile of gold and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. I get woken up by a bucket of ice-cold water getting dumped on my head. As I am spluttering and shaking my head, I hear three sets of laughter, so I growl.

  When I open my eyes, I find Sero, Kreno, and Asuna, which explains why the water was so cold. It isn’t exactly a pleasant way to wake up, but I can certainly think of worse ways. Probably the worst part is that Sero and Kreno are dressed, meaning I overslept.

  That turns out to be the case, they tell me that the caravan is already preparing to leave. They have already eaten breakfast without me and they are ready to go, just waiting on me. I follow them outside, put the cabin away, and then give Sero and Kreno some serious kisses.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  After I am done kissing them, I give Mulan a long hug, and then I open a gate to the peninsula. Sero and Kreno have already used the network to contact my other wives and get things arranged. The three of them head through the gate and right after two people come back through.

  One of them is Myria, who instantly plasters herself to my side like she never plans to leave. The other is Grimgar, who I had forgotten was still on the peninsula dealing with the tribes. The fact that he is here probably means that the problem with the cat tribes is taken care of.

  Since the caravan is about ready to leave, I invite him to join us in the carriage. He waits until we are moving and then reports that the four cat tribes have submitted to him. With that, he is now in control of all the cat tribes on the peninsula and his own clan.

  “That’s great news! Now, I have one less thing to worry about when I return to the peninsula. Thank you!”

  Grimgar says “I am glad to be able to help you. Although, I am going to mention something that probably won’t make you happy.”

  “Oh? What is it?”

  Grimgar says “It is about the woman the tribes chose to become your wife.”

  “What about her? You had better not be about to suggest that I marry her!”

  Grimgar says “No, I would never suggest that! I do think that you should meet her, she is rather unique.”

  “Unique in what way? Why should I meet her?”

  Grimgar says “Well, first of all she is something of a mutant according to the tribes. She has a lot less animalistic features than normal, she is a lot like Myria, her body is mostly human with just a few tells. She does have the ears and a tail, but I think you would find her beautiful.”

  “I already have plenty of beautiful wives, you better have more than just looks to tell me about. Besides, I am not very human anymore.”

  Myria says “Physically you might not be, but you still tend to think like a human a lot of the time. Not that I am trying to discourage you, just making a point.”

  “What are you doing here anyway?”

  Myria says “Don’t worry, I am just here for a day, I will leave first thing tomorrow morning. I just wanted to steal a little extra time with you.”

  “Alright. We will reach the Magic Kingdom in the afternoon tomorrow. As long as you leave before then, it should be fine. Although, I suppose it is possible that the Magic Kingdom could send an attack before we arrive.”

  Myria says “Even if they did that, they would be mages. I am fully capable of fighting against mages. I am at least as strong as Asuna!”

  “You are trained to fight mages by interrupting their spellcasting and using the gaps between spells. I took the same training. Also, have you sparred with Asuna? I think you might be surprised. All the kids use magic the same way I do, there is no spellcasting to interrupt. They can even do physical attacks while using magic.”

  Myria says “No, I haven’t sparred with the kids, but now I think I will need to.”

  Grimgar says “I, for one, would not care to fight Asuna. She feels dangerous to me, all your kids do. Even the puppy is starting to feel dangerous. I can’t imagine what he is going to be like when he grows up.”

  I don’t really think anything about what Grimgar just said, until I notice Kirito looking at him. He has this wolfish smile on his face and it means that Kirito just understood what Grimgar said. That level of understanding tells me that he is intelligent enough that he should understand if I explain the soulscape.

  Grimgar says “Anyway, getting back to what I was saying. The cat tribes hosted a tournament for all the women in the tribes. She won against tribes that were supposed to be stronger.”

  “Oh? What tribe is she?”