Chapter 93: New Settlement
Maeve ended up having dinner with Axan. Since he couldn’t leave his work right away, she decided to feed him while he continued working.
"Are you the only one in this settlement who can repair the barrier?" Maeve asked as she took a bite of her grilled meat.
"There are two other people who can create barriers, but their barriers aren’t as strong as mine," Axan replied. Even though his words made it sound as if he was praising himself, his voice was calm and didn’t sound cocky at all. "They also can’t create a barrier large enough to cover the entire settlement."
"Thankfully, they’re still younger than me, so there’s a good chance their abilities will grow much stronger in the future, especially now that it looks like we’ve finally overcome the birth rate crisis," he added.
Maeve held another piece of grilled meat up to Axan’s mouth. He lowered his head without a word and took it from her fingers.
Once he finished chewing, Maeve asked, "When do you think the other women will be able to get pregnant?"
Axan was quiet for a moment before answering, "Once we’ve repaired the settlement and everyone can finally relax, I don’t think it’ll take long."
The other women probably wouldn’t be as fertile as Maeve, who had managed to conceive a child on her very first try. Still, most of the Azuryn women would likely be able to get pregnant after some time.
After a while, Maeve spoke again. "How about... we get married too after we’ve repaired the settlement?"
Axan suddenly stopped walking. He even stopped channeling his energy into the barrier.
If only Maeve hadn’t quickly called his name, he might have stayed frozen there long enough to ruin his concentration and would have had to start repairing the barrier all over again.
"I promised you and Cerus that I would marry both of you after I gave birth," Maeve said softly. "And now that I’m not pregnant anymore, I think we can finally have our weddings."
She was about to say more, but the words caught in her throat. She stayed quiet for a few seconds before gathering her courage.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she spoke again. "Maybe... I can marry you and Cerus on the same day. Ikarus can join us too if he wants or... if he doesn’t, he can stay home and take care of Lior."
Axan didn’t even need a second to think. "Let him take care of Lior."
Maeve blinked at him. "You answered that a little too fast."
"I did."
She stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. "You’re not even going to pretend to think about it?"
"There is nothing to think about." He cleared his throat before speaking again. "But... don’t you think it’ll be a little too much for you to handle Cerus and me together?"
Maeve bit her lower lip as she thought about it.
She had slept with Cerus before, but with Axan, they had only gone as far as foreplay. Even so, she already knew that being with both of them at the same time wouldn’t be easy.
Still, Pinky had told her that her stamina was now close to that of the Azuryn people. And with an Energy Potion, she was confident she could handle both of them.
Besides, she wouldn’t have to be with all three of them at once. It might be a little unfair to Ikarus, but for now, that seemed like the best choice.
"I’ll be fine," Maeve said with a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry about me."
Before the conversation could drift into an even more embarrassing direction instead of focusing on repairing the barrier, Maeve quickly picked up another piece of grilled meat and held it out to Axan.
"Here, eat some more," she said. "You’ll need all the energy you can get if you’re going to spend the whole night repairing the barrier."
Axan lowered his head and quietly took the meat from her hand, while Maeve let out a small sigh of relief. At least they were talking about something much safer now.
A few moments later, Pinky finally announced that the mission had been completed.
[Congratulations! You have completed the side mission: Feed the Hungry!]
[Conditions Completed:
• Spend some time eating together, just the two of you.
• Make sure he is truly satisfied!]
[Rewards: 20,000 Coins]
[Additional Reward: 800 Coins]
[Remaining Coins: 57,750]
Maeve couldn’t help but smile as she looked at her coin balance, which had grown even larger. Still, she quickly held back, afraid that if she smiled too much, Axan would think she had finally lost her mind.
[He’s thought that ever since you first set foot in this world, Host,] Pinky said cheerfully. [So you really don’t have to worry about that!]
Maeve’s smile instantly disappeared. ’Shut up.’
Pinky let out an innocent laugh. [I’m just telling the truth.]
"Why don’t you head back now?" Axan said gently. "The night has gotten colder, and it’s been a long day. You need to get some rest."
It really had been an exhausting day. Maeve could feel the ache in every part of her body.
"Are you sure it’s okay if I leave you here alone?" she asked. After all, Axan wasn’t going to sleep at all tonight.
Axan reached over with his free hand and gently patted her head.
"I’m used to it," he said. "Besides, I’m sure some of the warriors will start their night patrols once the celebration is over."
He gave her a small, reassuring look. "So go get some sleep. Lior might need you during the night too."
After a brief pause, Maeve finally nodded. "Alright. I’ll head back now."
She motioned for him to lower his head. Once he did, she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before giving him another gentle kiss on the lips.
"Good night, Axan," she said with a warm smile.
Axan held his breath for a moment, trying his best to stay calm despite the warmth lingering from her kiss. "Good night, Maeve."
He watched her walk away until she disappeared into the distance. Only then did he let out a slow breath, forcing himself to focus on the barrier once again instead of the lingering feeling on his lips.
===
Several days later, the settlement had become even better than before.
They used the apple trees to rebuild the huts that had been damaged. This time, however, the results were much better because Maeve had taught them how to measure.
Now, every hut was the same size, and the walls no longer looked uneven because each wooden plank had been carefully measured before being used.
Maeve had also provided another batch of wooden planks and let the Azuryn people sprinkle their golden blood onto them until they grew into apple trees.
"The Clouds are breeding faster," Ikarus said. "We might need another pen soon."
Maeve nodded. "Yes, and more grass."
Since they were no longer going to use the area surrounded by the apple trees as a pen, Maeve asked everyone to remove the Meadow Grass and move it to the new pen.
However, once the land had been completely filled with Aether Energy, she probably wouldn’t need to buy grass from the Black Market anymore.
"When are you going to officially hold your wedding with Cerus and Axan?" Ikarus asked, catching Maeve by surprise.
Maeve, who was sitting on top of the Clouds’ pen, nearly lost her balance and fell because of his sudden question.
"W-Why?" she asked hesitantly. "Maybe... a few days from now. I’ve already stopped bleeding down there."
That was also one of the strangest things about pregnancy in this world. The females only bled for two days after giving birth. However, their bodies couldn’t become pregnant again until a full month had passed.
In other words, Maeve could have sex with Cerus and Axan without worrying that she would get pregnant again right away.
Ikarus gave a small nod, as if that answer was exactly what he had expected. "I see."
Maeve looked at him suspiciously. "That’s it?" she asked. "I thought you’d say that marrying both of them on the same day would be a bad idea."
"No." Ikarus raised an eyebrow. "Why would it be a bad thing? It’s normal for someone to marry their mates at the same time if they’re twins or triplets. We only had our weddings separately because of our... unfortunate experience back in the cave."
To be honest, Maeve still wasn’t convinced that Ikarus actually saw that as an unfortunate experience.
"So... you really don’t mind taking care of Lior while I..." Maeve hesitated for a moment before forcing herself to finish the sentence. "...go to the mating cave with Cerus and Axan?"
"Not at all," Ikarus replied with his usual gentle smile.
But when Maeve glanced down, she noticed his hand gripping the wooden fence of the Clouds’ pen so tightly that it let out a faint creak. It looked as though he might crush the wood if he squeezed any harder.
"You can enjoy your time with just the two of them," he said in the same calm voice. "Meanwhile, I’ll be here all by myself."