The sweet honeymoon finally came to an end.

"How was it?"

"It was amazing."

"I can tell."

In just a week, Sonia and Ireh's faces had become radiant and glowing.

"Here, a souvenir from our trip."

"Wow. It's a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur accessory?"

Seti, who had come out with her new sisters-in-law, let out a hollow laugh. What a sight—her brother's wives returning from their honeymoon and giving wedding gifts to his other wives.

"Hmm? Where's Eidel?"

"He's organizing luggage at the dock."

"Can't he just have the androids do that?"

"He insisted on doing it himself."

Rustila and Zernya looked at each other and tilted their heads.

Just as the two wives were about to walk away...

"Wait a moment."

Sonia spoke up.

"It would be better if you didn't go."

"Why not?"

"The young master said he wants to be alone right now."

"Alone or not, he should at least show his face now that he's back."

"I tried to stop you. Oh, whatever."

Sonia shook her head. She didn't try to stop them any further.

"Let's go, Zernya."

"I wonder what our cute husband is so busy with that he doesn't want to see us, hmm?"

During the past year without Eidel, Rustila and Zernya had spent their days filled with unfulfilled desires.

Now that the second wedding was over, there was nothing left to wait for.

The two female leopards slinked their way to the dock.

Soon they spotted their prey and their eyes gleamed.

"There he is."

Contrary to Ireh's statement, Eidel wasn't organizing luggage. He was lying like a corpse in the back seat of the spaceship.

Zernya approached from behind Eidel. She thrust her head forward and widened her eyes.

"Boo! Honey!"

"Ahhh!"

"'Ahhh'?"

Zernya's eyes narrowed.

"Is that the first thing you say to your wife after a week apart?"

"No."

"When you come back, you should tell us you're back. What are you doing sprawled out sleeping here? You know how much we've missed you, right? Right?"

"Yes, I do."

Zernya smiled wickedly. When their eyes met, no words were needed between husband and wife.

"Come with me."

"I'm really exhausted, can't I rest a little?"

"No. Follow me to the bedroom."

"I don't want... to!"

"Rustila. Carry him."

"P-please spare me! Help! I'm going to die! I'll die at this rate! No! Stop! Help me!"

Rustila, who usually took Eidel's side without question, rebelled just for today. She slung Eidel over her shoulder like a sack and headed for the entrance.

"I'm being kidnapped! Help! Ireh, Sonia!"

Sonia and Ireh turned their heads away. Eidel's expression crumbled.

"Sister, how many times did he finish?"

"...Seven."

"Seven shots? My goodness."

Zernya marveled. Sister Ireh, who had once feared a man's body, had returned as a proper woman in such a short time.

"N-no, that's not it..."

However, Ireh corrected in a shrinking voice.

"B-between the two of us, it was... one hundred and thirty-seven..."

"What."

Zernya was speechless.

"...That crazy bastard. But why an odd number?"

In the Rheinland family's marital relationships, there existed a solemn rule. The wives would not fight among themselves, and in return for maintaining polygamy, the husband would always love his wives equally.

Love, in essence, meant bedroom activities. If he slept with two women, the number of encounters should be a multiple of two—an even number. Sonia explained this question in detail.

"Ireh and I each received sixty-eight shots, and for the last one, he sprayed both of us simultaneously while we were stacked. For fairness, you see."

"Oh, wow."

Sonia gave a thumbs up. Zernya was impressed for a different reason. Eidel, still struggling while being carried by Rustila, let out a cry.

"You traitors! How could you do this! We had a different agreement!"

"I'm sorry, young master. I simply couldn't lie to the two ladies who permitted your polygamy. Sob."

Rustila tilted her head.

"Oh my, were you trying to coordinate your stories?"

Rustila's eyes flickered. She used her Insight and Inner Vision in succession to detect the lie. The scene of the three people's intimate activities formed hazily in her pupils.

"137 times. That's correct."

Rustila slapped Eidel's bottom. He was horrified.

"You know I'm still a virgin, right?"

The Federation had nearly collapsed before barely reviving. The pillars that led this miraculous recovery included the 12 Palaces, with Rustila at the forefront. They reorganized the military and restored the rule of law, allowing public authority to be quickly restored and security maintained.

"It's been a year since then. It should be fine now."

"...Ah."

On the day they somehow created graviton bombs to defeat the foreign gods, Eidel had promised with his own mouth to become one with Rustila. How cruel.

"Still, 137 times is impressive."

"With Miss Ireh's spirit magic, it somehow worked. Honestly, I was quite surprised myself."

"You mean the Bullet of Vitality? Doesn't that consume a lot of coins?"

"That's why we used them all up."

It meant they had squeezed everything to the limit, even using constellations. Those coins weren't meant to be used for such purposes. I could almost hear Altair sighing from here.

An ordinary woman would have been shocked at this point.

Rustila and Zernya were not ordinary.

'For us too...'

'...That means he can finish that many times for us as well.'

As expected of Eidel's wives. Their way of thinking was completely different.

It was miraculous logic. Having made their decision, Rustila's already magnificent chest became even more magnificent.

And so, the two women opened the bedroom door while kidnapping Eidel.

Unfortunately, there was already a visitor in the room.

Crunch, crunch.

A woman of mysterious beauty was eating potato chips on the bed. With dark blue hair and glowing blue eyes. Her name was Cartesia.

"Hmm? Little boy, you're back?"

"You... what are you doing on our bed?"

"What am I doing?"

Cartesia answered nonchalantly.

"I was comforting myself while waiting for my other half who's been away for a while."

"Comforting? You call that comforting?"

"Research is pleasure to me."

It wasn't just potato chips on the bed. Papers. Hundreds of academic papers were scattered messily.

And Cartesia was the God of Wisdom and Curiosity. For her, co-authoring papers was equivalent to sexual intercourse.

Here's a question. If co-authoring is like intercourse, then what is writing a paper alone?

Needless to say, it's self-pleasure.

"You're in the way, so go out. Leave the little boy here."

"You... you...!"

Rustila and Zernya weren't the only ones waiting for Eidel.

Without anyone knowing, Cartesia had been formulating a grand plan to make Eidel go crazy.

In fact, she was reading biology papers.

She had learned all the sensitive spots and weaknesses of human males. Whether top or bottom, she planned to develop everything and make him whimper like a little girl.

Anyway, for the sake of domestic harmony, Eidel needed to produce about 1.5 times 137, roughly 206 more shots. Preferably before the semester started.

With less than a month left.

"Ah."

Eidel let out a dull exclamation and dropped his head.

***

I never dreamed marriage would be this difficult. I'm happy, yet unhappy. Is bearing this contradiction the weight of being the head of a household?

"Son."

"Father."

"I clearly warned you. Not to practice polygamy."

I was in the hospital now. After being squeezed dry by Sonia and Ireh for a whole week, I had voluntarily admitted myself due to depleted energy.

After my father left, only three people remained in the room. Me, Cartesia, and Seti.

"Why are you here?"

"To talk business with my brother."

"What business?"

It was a bit random. Seti fidgeted with her fingers and chuckled.

"I've just established a broadcasting station. I'm going to dominate the southern media industry with it and restore the prestige of the Rheinland family."

"...You're saying this because it makes money, right?"

"Of course."

"Still, setting up a broadcasting station in your name is a bit..."

"Don't worry. I've laundered it properly. If things go wrong, I'll just blow it up."

Seti smiled sinisterly. It was the face of a privileged person forcing others to buy manipulated stocks.

I'm getting more and more afraid. I started a tech company ages ago, and now she's talking about a broadcasting station? Like Cartesia, I have no idea what she's thinking.

"Anyway, I needed your presence for that. The initial expenses were a bit steep, but somehow it's starting to make a profit. Quite dramatically."

"Wait, stop. What are you talking about?"

"Remember those people who barged into your lab saying they wanted to film a documentary?"

"Uh, yeah."

Were there?

Yes, there were.

A broadcasting company called 'Happy Day.' I thought it was a new company since I'd never heard of it, but I remember being surprised when they offered tens of billions as an appearance incentive. Why would a small broadcasting station have so much money...

Could it be.

"That was your company?"

"Bingo!"

Seti made a gun-shooting gesture and shrugged.

"While you were on your honeymoon, your documentary was broadcast throughout the southern region. It was a huge hit from day one. Especially this part."

Seti played a clip from a tape. The roughly 30-second video contained the highlight of my interview.

[Is it true about your romance with a graduate student, and there are rumors about polygamy, is that true...]

[Yes, we are in a relationship.]

[P-Professor?]

[You can call me brother now, sister.]

On screen, I was embracing Ireh. Her face had turned bright red. I could see the viewership ratings soaring in the sidebar.

"Did I really do that?"

"Yep. Thankfully, right after I offered an additional 2 billion."

Seti squealed and twisted her body.

"A CC relationship where one becomes a professor and the other becomes that professor's graduate student, engaging in pure academic love! It's a delicacy! You have no idea how much female viewers love this."

"S-shut up for a bit."

Because it's really embarrassing right now.

"Oh my, it's so delicious."

"What, my love story?"

"The money."

Seti showed me an app analyzing sales. Just three days since airing. She was raking in hundreds of millions every minute to recover her investment.

So, this crazy little sister is selling my face to rake in money... wait.

"Didn't I give you all the incentives?"

"Urk."

"Hey!"

"Hehe, tasty."

"You crazy girl, exploiting your brother for free—!!"

If my guess is correct, she won't stop here.

"Brother."

"What now?"

"Shall we start producing a sequel right away?"

See what I mean.

I sighed and rubbed my face. Then I shot a sharp glance at my money-crazed little sister.

I've unfairly donated money and wasted time. I won't be played by this cunning person anymore.

"Monthly research funding, 20 billion."

"...So, what do I need to do?"