Chapter 540: The Unwanted Entourage
Ethan stopped in his tracks, stunned to see them standing in the hall. He had slipped away without waking anyone, hoping to spare them the heaviness of farewells. Too many goodbyes only weighed a man down. Yet there they were, rubbing sleep from their eyes and chasing after him.
"Nora... Dot... Clara... I thought we agreed—no goodbyes. What’s this about?"
At his words, Nora and Clara flushed scarlet. Nora bit her lip, then blurted out, "We want to go with you!"
"What?" Ethan blinked, taken aback.
"What, you don’t want us?" Clara’s voice trembled, sharp with hurt. Her eyes, red-rimmed and glistening, locked onto his face.
Ethan’s chest tightened. He knew that look all too well. A modern man, he’d dated before, and he recognized desire when he saw it. One glance at Nora confirmed it; her eyes burned with the same longing, though she tried to hide it.
Only Dot’s gaze was clean of such things, though even hers brimmed with reluctance to part.
A wave of mixed emotions hit him.
’Damn it... I didn’t lead them on. Not once. I never even flirted with them. If I bring them back, how the hell am I supposed to explain this to Lyla?’
He was about to harden his heart and refuse when Nora spoke again, her voice steady. "You know what the Sea of Death is like. What would happen to Dot if I left her here alone? It looks safe now, but if that barrier ever breaks, what then?"
Her words struck home. Ethan wanted to tell her the truth: that Earth was racing toward catastrophe too, that they might actually be safer staying here. But Earth only had four years left. Ordinary people like Nora and Clara would never believe him if he told them that.
Then he remembered what KH3106 had said about the Void Realm, and his mother’s warnings about the Divine Realm. Maybe they were the same world, the same force behind the disasters sweeping across the universes. If that was true, leaving them here could indeed mean leaving them in danger.
He clenched his teeth, then gave a small nod.
The three of them lit up instantly, joy bursting across their faces.
"Yay, yay, yay! I knew Brother Ethan wouldn’t refuse me!" Dot sang out, bouncing in circles. "When I grow up, I’m going to marry Brother Ethan! Then Sister Clara and I can be sisters—she can be the big sister, and I’ll be the little one!"
Ethan’s expression darkened on the spot.
’Great. Just great. If Lyla ever hears this, I’m finished.’
He wasn’t a pervert, but if word spread, he’d never clear his name. Clara had gone red from her ears down to her neck, sneaking a glance at Nora, who could only sigh and give him a helpless, almost self-conscious look.
"Boss, you’re incredible..." Blackie muttered with envy.
"Incredible, my ass," Ethan snapped, though bitterness burned only inside him. How the hell was he going to explain this mess to Lyla?
He sighed. "Let’s go."
"Wait—"
Ethan froze as more voices rang out. He groaned inwardly.
Four figures hurried from the hall, lugging bundles big and small. By the time they reached him, they were panting.
Ethan’s eyes widened. "What... what are you doing?"
"Young Master," one of them said breathlessly, "we’re your personal maids. Why didn’t you call for us?"
All four had identical faces—the quadruplet sisters—each in a different colored dress: pale yellow, light pink, watery green, and sky blue. Different hues, different charms, but the same unmistakable beauty.
Memories flooded Ethan. He recalled their introductions—
"I am Mia, eldest sister."
"I am Fern, eldest sister."
"I am Rose, eldest sister!"
"I’m Crystal. Don’t mind them, Young Master—they’re being ridiculous."
Only Crystal, in pale yellow, had refused to compete for "eldest." She had carried herself like the true older sister—calm, steady, dependable. And he remembered well how attentive all four had been... along with that mortifying incident.
When he’d been too weak to dress himself, they’d helped. Too intimately. The tugging and fumbling had gotten out of hand, and before he could stop it, they’d pushed him over the edge. His first release since his rebirth—shared equally among the four. He still remembered their flushed faces as they scrubbed themselves clean afterward.
Now, staring at them again, Ethan’s ears burned. He glanced at Nora and Clara, then at Dot, and finally clenched his jaw.
He sighed and raised his hand. "Can we go now?"
But just as he was about to breathe in relief, a voice rang out.
"Wait!"
His stomach dropped. He knew that voice too well. It was Bongo, Julian’s wife.
"You... you... what are you doing here?" Ethan stammered, stepping back.
Bongo descended from the sky, dragging a delicate girl with golden hair and a childlike face. A perfect doll, her beauty carried a disarming mix of innocence and allure. She was even cuter than Dot.
"Astrid?" Ethan blurted.
He couldn’t believe it. She’d escaped when he destroyed the Golden Falcon tribe, and later he’d glimpsed her falcon form deep within the Hidden Territory.
Bongo gave him a bright smile. "She’s been wandering all over the Southwest, her mind not quite right. She keeps muttering your name, so I brought her here. Since you know her, I’ll leave her with you."
Before he could protest, she pushed Astrid toward him.
Astrid’s empty eyes lifted slowly. Then, as if something clicked, a spark of life flashed within them. She frowned, slapped her own head twice, then fixed her gaze on Ethan. Her hands shot forward with falcon-like speed. Before Ethan could dodge, she latched onto his arm and pressed herself against him.
"You’re Ethan," she whispered. "I remember you." Her face nuzzled against his shoulder. Then, with a sigh, she fell asleep, still clinging to him.
Ethan stood frozen, chin tilted down to stare at her. His arm was wedged deep in her cleavage, a sensation that made his head spin. A childlike face paired with such a mature body—it was enough to drive any man mad.
Around him, the others stared. Dot clenched her fists in fury. Nora and Clara shot each other looks sharp enough to spark. The quadruplet sisters exchanged silent glances, then declared in unison, "Young Master, leave her to us."
The way they said it made his skin crawl, but Bongo only chuckled at the sight.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..." Micah muttered, counting on his fingers.
Ethan slapped a hand over his face. "Enough. Stop counting. It’s eight, and that’s final. No more!"
Even as he said it, the conviction wasn’t there. Seven burdens were bad enough, but now he had one more, a girl whose mind was broken.
Good God... how am I supposed to live like this? How do I explain all this when I get back to Earth?
Sighing, he cast a wary glance toward the main hall, then raised his hand, preparing to sweep them all into his Life Space.
That was when two more figures shot out from the hall.
Ethan’s heart skipped.
’No... not more...’