Partners

Exactly like he had done back when Han Junqiao had joined the team, he brought Vigdis with him to their temporary home and introduced her to the others. To no one's surprise, Xie Mei eyed the new addition warily.

"Why is it that every time you leave, you come back with another woman?"

Clinging to him as if terrified of having him taken away from her, she shot Theodore an accusatory glare, pouting adorably. The appearance of this gorgeous, mysterious red-head was very much unexpected.

"I can't help it, Mei'er. You're not draining me thoroughly enough."

With an exaggerated sigh, he patted her head, indulging in teasing her to his heart's extent. Who asked her to be this cute?

"W-Wha-?! You! Just you wait, I'll have a word with you later!"

Stopping her tomato transformation with difficulty, with a deep blush on her cheeks, she chose to ignore him for now and instead focused her attention on the new arrival. Contrary to Han Junqiao back then, Vigdis' air was a dangerous one. When looking at her, it felt as if she was staring at a lesser version of Theodore–as if she was someone who had weathered more storms than she could imagine.

"Ahem! It's nice to meet you, Vigdis! I'm Xie Mei, but you can just call me 'Mei'er'. I'm this jerk's wife. At least while we're here."

Not daring to aggrandize herself too much in front of the newcomer, due to the clearly perceptible dread which crept up on her when she gazed at her, she introduced herself a bit more humbly this time. Still, she wouldn't give up her primarily self-proclaimed title just like that, even in the face of perils.

"It's nice to meet you, too. Don't worry, Mei'er, I'm not interested in him. You can have him all to yourself."

Amused by her behaviour, Vigdis couldn't help but smirk. As Theodore's fellow 'old monster', she held no interest in the matters of romance whatsoever. She had simply lived through far too many lives to place too much importance on it. That did not mean that she would be incapable of experiencing these kinds of feelings, but it would be countless times more difficult to allow anyone into her heart for real. Knowing that her new Leader was in the same position as her, she knew that Xie Mei would have to work almost impossibly hard to make her wish of truly marrying him a reality.

"G-Good! I'm glad! You hear that, husband? You better not lay your hands on her, she doesn't want you!"

Rolling his eyes at her in a mirthful manner, he gently flicked her forehead.

"What kind of deviant do you think I am?"

Both furrowing her brows at the slight ache above her eyebrows and blushing a little more deeply, she avoided his gaze, a mischievous grin on her lips.

"An incorrigible pervert trying to seduce us innocent maidens, of course!"

Falling silent, he eyed her for a while, the corners of his mouth rising bit by bit. Eventually, he wrapped his arms around her waist and carried her off to his room, ignoring the 'surprised' yelp which escaped her. Glancing at the other three, he shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"Excuse me for a bit, ladies. Someone is aching to be taught a lesson. I trust you can entertain yourselves during my absence."

With these words, he closed the door, which only barely reduced the volume of the sounds soon after resounding throughout their entire home.

'... I can see why he pampers that girl. Mei'er indeed feels like a breath of fresh air. But seriously, why is his room not soundproof? Is it because of her?'

Not bothered by what she was being exposed to in the slightest, as she was far from the sort of 'innocent maiden' that Xie Mei had described them all as, she turned to face the other ex-Heaven's Chosen in the room. The golden dragon-horned girl was every bit the self-proclaimed wife's equal in looks, but that wasn't what was extraordinary about her: It was that she was evidently from the Imperial Han Family. Never before had she met someone of that kind who could be reasoned with, so her existence was a pleasant surprise.

"My name is Han Junqiao, but they all call me Qiao'er. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Vigdis!"

Having noticed her staring at her, seemingly waiting for her to speak, Han Junqiao obliged, trying to appear as calm as possible. Yet she couldn't help but glance in the direction which Theodore and Xie Mei had disappeared in all the while, her cheeks clearly a bit flushed.

"The pleasure is all mine. But Qiao'er, are you sure you want to stay here with me?"

In response to her question, Han Junqiao tilted her head in confusion, not really understanding what she was trying to get at. Would she be in danger here?

"What do you mean?"

Feeling like she might as well help her new Leader out a little–and also in the mood to tease these adorable ladies herself–Vigdis shot her a knowing look.

"You clearly want to be in there with them. Am I right?"

Seen through so easily, panic bubbled up within Han Junqiao's heart, her eyes flickering from one place to the next, evading Vigdis' gaze like a thief who had been caught red-handed. Her cheeks heating up even more, she couldn't help but gulp, eventually responding with heavy hints of reluctance.

"... maybe. But what's it to you?"

Reclining back in her chair, Vigdis shrugged, staring directly into Han Junqiao's eyes.

"I have no horse in this race. But you do. The longer you wait, the longer you'll be left out. Don't think Mei'er hasn't noticed the way you look at him. Even I have, and I've just arrived here. Heck, even this lady here has probably picked up on it. Right? Oh, come to think of it: What's your name?"

Calm despite being taken aback at having been dragged into this, Li Shuying showed a smile and bowed slightly, before shooting Han Junqiao a peculiar gaze.

"It's Li Shuying–or Ying'er–my Lady. And yes, it's been... painfully obvious for a few days now."

Almost doubling over in shock, Han Junqiao looked at her in an 'Et tu, Ying'er?' kind of way, before falling silent, her eyes darting between the two women whilst her expression flickered with a mix of fear, excitement and embarrassment.

"So, what do you think I should do? Mei'er will be very sad if I... y-you know."

Leaning forward and patting her shoulder, Vigdis tried to raise her morale.

"To be honest, Mei'er will have to grow used to it sooner rather than later. Do you know how many wives Theo's father has? Seven. And those are just the wives! Whether it be powerful men or women, on the level of a Named Family or above, it is rare for them to have few partners. My advice is that you should try to get in early. Just follow your heart. Throw caution to the wind–you will see that it's really not that scary."

Staring at the exotic beauty for a while, Han Junqiao ultimately stiffly nodded, then slapped her cheeks in an effort to psych herself up. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and looked at the other two, who shot her encouraging gazes full of support.

"W-Wish me luck."

Somewhat rigidly, she walked directly towards the door separating her from the scenes which her mind had to use its imagination to visualize until this point. Taking another deep breath, she grabbed the door handle and pushed it down, entering the nest of love beyond.

The sight which greeted her took her breath away for a while, resulting in the two interrupted lovebirds staring at the 'intruder' in silence, waiting for her to speak up. Meanwhile, Xie Mei sheepishly covered herself up with the blanket.

"... I can't hold back anymore."

Blushing to the extent of feeling slightly light-headed, she took off her clothes in an instant, revealing the divinely sculpted physique previously veiled underneath. Heating up even more, especially in response to Theodore's brazen gaze, she walked to the bed with somewhat unsteady, but resolute steps.

Not too long after, another voice joined the ensemble.

Smiling knowingly at each other, Vigdis and Li Shuying enjoyed some tea and snacks, alongside a bit of small talk. This was also when the new 'hire' learned of the backstories of her companions, as well as what their group had experienced up to this point.

Now aware of what this unremarkable servant in front of her had been through, she couldn't help but heave a helpless sigh, a fairly motherly look in her eyes. For the time which she would be spending with her, she would make sure to treat her well.

Just because Named Family members were raised to be emotionally mature and experienced to the point of being cold and distant– or even inhuman–this did not mean that they did not feel compassion and love. They simply rarely allowed themselves to form genuine connections with others, as doing so would merely result in pain and suffering on their end–or might put them in danger.

But those who they knew and would spend significant chunks of time with, 'old monsters' like them would usually treat well. Of course, there were outliers here–and not too few of them–but being kind to their own people was the norm. As a result, Li Shuying wormed her way into yet another Heaven's Chosen's heart.

After having been introduced to the entirety of her Leader's home and assigned a room, Vigdis made use of the currently unoccupied Energy Gathering Array. She cultivated throughout the night, only opening her eyes once more when the first rays of the sun warmed up her body.

'Finally, I'm at the Elevation Realm. I've been on the run for too long and barely had access to areas with sufficient Energy concentration. Breaking through from the Foundation Establishment Realm all the way to the latter half of the Core Formation Stage isn't bad for half a day's work.'

Rising to her feet, she comfortably stretched and heaved a sigh of easement. Compared to her prior living conditions, her Leader's home made her feel truly content. Fortunately, those like her had been trained to resist excessive indulgence, which is why even if she allowed herself to relax for a while, she wasn't in any danger of getting lost in this sensation.

'Come to think of it, it's silent. Seems like they finally finished. Such passion... but I can't blame them. It is public knowledge that the Hans in particular have an almost unquenchable libido. Qiao'er might have escaped the influence of her bloodline in other aspects–but I wonder if she differs in this one as well?'

Genuinely happy for the girl who she had only just met, she returned inside and made her way to the breakfast table, which Li Shuying had already begun to set. There, she ran into Theodore, who was patiently waiting for his food.

"Good morning, Theo."

"Good morning to you, too, Vigdis."

Staring at each other for a while as they bided their time, a small smile soon stole itself on their lips. Within less than a day of meeting, the two of them had built some rapport, an unspoken understanding forming between them.

To Theodore, she was exactly the kind of subordinate who he had been lacking–someone who he didn't need to babysit and teach, as she had a proper education in all necessary fields. Whereas to Vigdis, he was the pillar of support which she had been short of. Prior to their encounter, she had not taken any excessive risks and could not proceed at an appropriate pace. This would change from here on out.

In exchange, she would be his right-hand woman and wingwoman. Those were roles which countless others would envy her for in the eons hereafter–but first come, first served.