As if expecting someone else in his mind to respond Hiro waited. Jade who felt Hiro's internal turmoil kept silent, his embrace started to grow too tight and began to hurt her. But the small mummy knew this was important so she endured. Physical wounds she didn't even notice, but the newfound pain in her heart made her feel like dying.
After a few moments, obviously, no one responded, Hiro then noticed he almost crushed Jade in his embrace, the transmigrator quickly let go and apologized.
"Jade! I am so sorry, I didn't mean it. I uhm.. I think I know what you said about wanting to die, but I never said them. It wasn't me. I know that doesn't make any sense but it's true."
The mummified mage then looked at Hiro in silence as she tried to understand his words. After a while, she then nodded in silence. Jade then got off him and spoke a few words while twirling in place.
"Let's go home. Lene and Nessa worried. Happy we are friends again."
Hiro then stood up and quickly kissed her cheek and embraced her from behind.
"We are more than friends Jei, we are husband and wife. No matter what happens I belong to you and you belong to me. We will argue but I'm certain we will always make up too. I adore you Jei, please stay with me till the day I die."
Overwhelmed by emotion and frightened by the voice in his mind, Hiro declared his affection to one of his women. If it was even remotely possible for him to forget, he needed to tell them all how much he loved them. Jade who was drowned by the emotions radiating from her would-be husband held the arms in front of her.
Then a voice that was so weak and lifeless originated from her throat. It sounded hoarse and was unpleasant to hear, like scraping cutlery or nails on a chalkboard.
"I vow to remain by your side… in this life and the next Hiroyuki Mitsurugi. You gave color to my life… and gave me a family… to call my own. I will be the one to protect you… when you are weak and fight your fears … when you are afraid. I will never leave you. This I swear… I love you my dearest husband.."
She then raised her bandaged face to touch Hiro's mouth, of course, she was wrapped in cloth so it wasn't technically a kiss. However, after she felt the anxiety mixed in Hiro's voice Jade knew better. This man had a strong exterior but was emotionally vulnerable.
Like her and her sisters. He also felt extreme loneliness. Thus she forced herself to be brave and answered his request in the only way she knew how. By giving him warmth as he did for her. Affection is shared by both the grand gestures and the little things.
Each time Hiro patted her head, each time he hugged her, kissed her, complimented her, listened to her words, spent time with her, asked her what she wanted, protected her, worried about her, and asked about her day. Such gestures appeared meaningless, yet they gave the mage only one impression. This man loved her.
So knowing the same man now needed her, there was no way she would not answer his call. When Jade was burned alive her vocal cords were also roasted. It was so bad speaking felt like pulling knives up her throat. As a mage, she started using short incantations to speak for her.
The incantations were like the text-to-speech on earth. They lacked emotion and sounded horrible. However, due to her appearance, no one took the time to talk to her this went on for years. When she became part of the Mitsurugi family, she lamented not being able to speak more. Magic became the bottleneck, so she shorted words to get more across.
Hiro knew how much effort it took for the mage to speak using her own voice, thus despite the irate sounds coming from his woman, love overflowed from his chest. Declaring her love while being in pain with the longest sentence he ever heard from her, was worth more to him than any empty promise.
Hiro and Jade kissed in their own way, and the loli mage who was already old enough to be called a woman found herself short of breath, despite basically just nuzzling her face to Hiro's. The transmigrator similarly felt his body heat up from love, objectively he wasn't lusting after her body but was enamored by her devotion.
- Alert: Beauty's Bane [D] Lvl 1 has suppressed the erection response of the host's autonomic nervous system! INT increased by 6 points for 24 hours -
'… I am not a loli-con okay. I don't even see anything as she is in bandages. … I'm not…'
Jade then turned away from her lover yet placed her hands on Hiro's face caressing it affectionately, It was something she always saw Vanessa do to him while he slept. And the young woman who finally experienced spring for the first time felt seductive and sultry like a goddess.
"Husband. Let's return. Stealing a march. bad."
As Hiro started to question his tastes the couple held hands as they walked back to their home. They were greeted by two women at the door.
"Okaerina…. Something feels off… don't you think so Lene?"
"Indeed… Jei's eyes look like she is guilty about something. And her bandages around her lips are damp."
The maid then quickly approached while she had a broom in her hands as she circled the returning couple.
"And I smell Jade on Hiro-sama, more than just normal skin ship, I can't put my finger on it."
Hiro who started sweating inwardly kept silent.
'Nessa, what are you a dog? How the hell can you determine what I smell like? I'm getting red flags everywhere. Lene is a Tsundere, Jei a Kuudere, don't tell me she is like the pink-haired girl from that one anime.'
However, the one to spill the beans was the mage herself. Jade made a victory pose and smugly declared.
"I stole march. Took husband's 1st kiss. I win. Exchanged vows. I am first wife. Bow to me."
Vanessa and Raylene who heard her dropped what they were holding in shock. While it was a known fact all of them were his, the girls silently all wanted to be number one. The competition was like a game of cloak and dagger. Hidden from sight but known to all. Although sometimes the straightforward approach still worked best.
Almost instantaneously. Both women were figuratively suddenly wrapped in surreal forces. Hiro rubbed his eyes as he saw them. Raylene was on fire with a lion in flames suddenly appearing behind her. Not to be outdone an emerald phoenix wrapped in gales manifested behind Vanessa. It created tornadoes with every flap of its wings.
"Darling… / Hiro-sama…."
"We need to talk…." X2
Seemingly joining the anime-like development, an eastern water dragon rose behind Jade as it created tidal waves that splash around. The mage then confronted both women and answered in the same smug voice.
"Protect Husband. Job of first wife. Fulfill my vow. Come at me bishes."
"Jei, please stop trying to make things worse." Lamented the transmigrato
