Epic of Caterpillar

Chapter 774 - Belle\'s Truth?

After such a big revelation, many of my wives who met Belle and felt sad over her destiny seemed shocked that Belle was… well, Belle.

"Belle-chan, is it really you? I… I am so glad that you\'re with us now, guu!" said Rimuru, embracing Belle.

"Since I was born here that I\'ve been very happy, Rimuru-chan- No, auntie Rimuru!" said Belle.

"It was a rather bitter experience that your brother would… do such a thing to you… I am glad that destiny has given you a second chance at our side…" said Nesiphae.

"I understand how it must have felt… It was also quite bitter for me… I just hope that… Caspian, whenever he is… he can be happy," said Belle.

"Indeed, when everything happened… It felt so bitter and so… fast… One day you were at our side happy and innocently enjoying life… and then… you were gone… I am… am truly glad… I wonder if we have been good aunties?" asked Zehe.

"Is that so…? Indeed… It was all very sudden… but that is in the past already. And yes, you have been an excellent auntie, Zehe…" said Belle.

"I often wondered what had happened to your soul… At that time, Kireina did not have the power to reincarnate souls… So, for some time she was really sad… But I am glad that you have found a new life… well, at our side, Belle," said Brontes.

"Thanks, Brontes, I will make sure to treasure it…" said Belle.

Although Belle\'s revelation ended with a lot of hugs and kisses, the rest of my family kept hugging and kissing me, it was an overwhelming show of love.

"I know the drill… I know that… you did this to save us and all! But still, don\'t you know how… frustrating it was?! I… Well, it has already happened, right? Not like we can do anything… Other than to keep going ahead, to walk through this path we have chosen… I will keep growing stronger, and I will keep at your side, like always… So you better do the same, alright, Kireina?" said Lilith. She seems to be more mature than I… imagined. I guess she\'s right, what\'s done is done… I am glad to have someone like her at my side… And of course, Lilith, I will also do my best, for you.

"Well… I am… quite bad with these things… I am indeed quite upset about what just happened… I… Well… I do not want to lose you, Kireina… I… l-love you, alright? And… well, I want to keep investigating more with you, experimenting more and… discovering the wonders of this world… and perhaps that of yours as well… I am still eager for our child to be born, which might happen sooner than we may expect… So for now, let\'s keep together… And do not dare to do reckless things again, they are quite inefficient," said Charlotte, smiling warmly. She is indeed not fit for such talk, but she really did her best, and I appreciate it a lot, she really loves me too… Well, I know that but still, seeing her telling me that is really heartwarming. I embraced her tightly and petted her head, kissing her nose, and telling her that I would do whatever I could to make her wishes come true.

"It\'s really hard to find the words to describe what I feel sometimes… But… well, I wanted to be at your side at that moment. Although we managed to defeat mostly everything except Kinesis… It hurt me to see you separate yourself from us after all of that fighting… And I know, I know… It is because of our safety, right? The thing you are always so worried about… It is quite admirable. When I used to be a chief, I could not even compare to the level of cautiousness that you have now… And well, what happened in those times is a thing of the past, you have even gone as far as reviving all those people you took the lives from… I guess that\'s more than enough, especially because you shouldn\'t have done that, to begin with… But well, just like that is in the past, what happened there… is also in the past… Kireina, I love you. And… I want to stay at your side for the rest of my life… so… well… let\'s grow stronger together so I can finally be… more reliable, and you don\'t have to worry so much… at least a bit less… A-Alright? W-Why are you looking at me like that?" said Altani.

Altani was very sweet… I know how stoic and silent she is sometimes, it is simply part of her nature, of her personality, and her role when she used to be a chief. I know that I\'ve committed things against her people because of my own desire of growing stronger alongside my family.

But now that she is so precious to me, I began to regret those things, and made sure to revive her people one by one, giving each one a better life, and ensuring their safety and happiness… It was the least I could do for her… and it seems that there was not even a need for that, she had already forgiven me long ago…

But I guess I am really a flawed person because I sometimes do things I regret at the end… But isn\'t it part of life to learn things? Although… I still want to carry this guilt within me…

At the very least, I did not kill any citizen within Thanatos, and made sure to ensure their survival… So… I have improved a bit at the very least, right?

I guess… I will never be truly a good person, but I am not really a bad person either.

I am just me… I guess.

And well… It makes me happy that she has accepted me like this… and that… she told me she loves me… It warms my heart… I love her so much… I want to… make her happy.

I kiss Altani as I caress her hair and shoulders, her scales around her body, the fluffy feathers growing over her body as well, and her long tail waving around happily, she\'s really cute.

I wonder how cute our child will be…

"Kireinaaaa! Don\'t do that again! Alright, chupiiiii? It was very scary! I was just giving you all of my power like crazy and then, boom! You throw us off! I-I mean… I… Sniffles… I know it is… for our good, but it still feels wrong to see you bear with such a fight by yourself… I am getting stronger as I train and stuff… I know I slacked off a lot… But I am going to get stronger! Promise! Until we can all stand together! We have to fight for a better future for our family and friends after all, right?" said Nephiana with a smile filled with warmth and brightness, her feathers shined brightly with many colors, she was so fluffy I quickly embraced her and hugged her, rubbing my face over the feathers growing over her body.

I know it very well… Nephiana… I know that feeling very well… And no, you were not slacking off, you were taking care of our children within their eggs, that\'s completely fine, to be honest.

I will make sure to help you hasten your growth as much as you can… Because I know that you don\'t like fighting… I know that you simply want to live in peace with our children… I know it very well.

But in this world, the only way to find peace is by forging it through a path of fight and slaughter… So we will get to it, and we will do it, together.

"Mommy… We\'ll make sure to get strong too!"

"Together we are strong yet… not enough!"

"Not enough, not enough, chirp!"

"So for now… wait for us to grow stronger!"

"We\'ll use all the powers we have… and breakthrough our limits!"

"That\'s our goal!"

"Indeed, so for now… Keep taking care of us… and loving us…"

The harpy children all speak as if their minds are connected, their existence is very unique and incredible, and they really seem like a unified being, separated into seven… However, I love each one of them, and I believe that each one of them is their own individual…

And how can they even say such a thing? I will always take care of them… and I will always love them, no matter how strong they are…

"I\'ve been at your side ever since the war of Athetosea, and a lot of things had gone by, perhaps too many to count them… yet I\'ve always liked to remain at your side and to help you however I could… After evolving this much, I often felt strong… But I guess I am- Well, we are quite far from that yet, right? I hope you can keep helping me grow stronger… Because I love you, and I want to stay at your side, Kireina…" said Nanako, embracing me with her arms, as I caressed her pink hair and told her how much I loved her… She\'s quite the sincere woman, it makes me glad that she is my wife… I will make sure to treasure her, and the moments when we are together.

"Why did you did that?! It really felt… quite bad… I wanted to be at your side… Since I came to your side that I have always been quite weak, time and time I\'ve trained and evolved, receiving help everywhere… I truly believed I had gotten stronger myself but- No… Sorry if I sounded rude, I am just… angry with myself, not with you… I know that you do this for our safety and… I love you for being like this, Kireina… Let me… grow a bit stronger! So I can stay at your side… way longer," said Ismena, with a sweet and sincere smile, she was so nice to me… Well, she had always been a nice and polite lady, it just makes me want to embrace her and kiss her even more, which I just did this very moment. I promised her that I would help her grow stronger, so she could remain more at my side.

"Hmm~ It is just as Ismena says! I really got quite frustrated there! But yeah, it\'s all on me, you\'re just lovely and nice with us… so much that it always makes us feel like we need to pay you back somehow… Well, I can make sure to do so at night, fufu~ …A-Anyways, maybe I should take things… a bit more serious… It has been really a long journey with you, Kireina… and my life has given me more than a 360° change… I suppose I once used to encapsulate my own feelings within religion and my strict family… Thinking that by obeying such rules I was making my life more fulfilling… But it was only in the time when I came to meet you that I finally understood what it was to be actually free… To be actually… myself. And I am… really grateful for that… Hence… I have fallen in love with you… well, long ago! But yeah… that\'s… it… It makes me frustrated because I enjoy being at your side, and at Ismene\'s side, and the side of our precious family… So I am getting strong, strong enough to be at your side! You want it or not! Ohohoho!" said Acelina.

She was really emotional over her true feelings, and it really made me realize how complex she really was… I am glad that I was able to help her find herself within her life, and to let her be \'free\' as she wanted to be… I really love her as well, her quirky personality, her laughter, everything about her makes me more and more enamored with her.

She always lightens the mood in serious conversations, and her personality is overall very joyous, it is clear that she is a person that enjoys life… And I am glad to bring such happiness to her.

So, I will make sure to bring even more happiness, and to help her grow stronger so she can stay at my side, because that is what she really wants to, and well, what I also want…

"W-Well… I often am too shy to talk too much, but I\'ve tried to become more active in conversations, and the girls are always so nice and understanding of me… It makes me happy to be with everyone… I just wanted to tell you that I really, really love you, Master- I mean, Kireina… And I… I felt quite bad when you separated from my side, I know that you… love me back and care for me… and it really warms my heart to know this… But I wish I could become stronger… T-That\'s why… I will… do so! I promise that I will become stronger… so we can fight for a future where we can live at peace, happy and carefreely… which is a dream worth fighting for…" said Kaguya, as she waved her cute silverly white squirrel tails and blushed intensively, she was such a sweet girl…

I remember how she used to be a squirrel and all, and how she was once part of an enemy\'s army, but well, this is the present now, what we are now is not exactly what we were yesterday, but we were made from such experiences… I am glad to have her at my side… and her fluffiness is very welcomed as well… I will make sure to bring such a world of peace and carefreeness that she so desires… because it is something that I also desire greatly.

I could not help but embrace the fluffy Kaguya, as she caressed me with her delicate hands, her chest is always warm, and her embrace is relaxing and can even make me sleepy just to be near her… I guess I do really love her a lot.

"I have to be like all the other girls… But yeah, it is quite infuriating to see that you threw us out like that…! However, I know that it was for our greater good. I know it very well, Kireina… This is why I love you, because of how careful you are, and because of how much you do for us… To go to such lengths to free me from my dungeon prison, to give them the power to fight back, to even help me regain my memories… All of that sums up more and more, and I can never get you out of my heart… And well, the s.e.x is a nice bonus~ But at the end of the day, I know what I need to do, and I know it sounds cliché… Grow stronger, yeah? So let\'s do it, let\'s keep going together, as we had been doing since you freed me from my prison… and showed me the beautiful world outside, the one I\'ve missed for so many years… And well, now that we have our first child together right here, let\'s make sure to show her what we are made of… Alright? Also, let\'s pick a name!" said Nixephine with a warm smile, as she embraced me with her various arms, her tender love was very intoxicating.

Nixephine\'s age is quite long, but she still has not remembered all of her memories, so we are still working hard on it… I know how she felt, although her response was more mature than the rest, I know that within her there was a lot of frustration… And I will make sure to lessen such frustration, and help her get through such difficulties, because that is what a wife should do, right?

"Mama… I was just born, but I\'ve known you all this time… Since I have been created within your belly… Since those dreams… I… I\'ve dreamed of helping you… Sorry for not… being able to completely do so… despite the powers you let me inherit…" said a beautiful girl, the child between me, Nixephine, and Nesiphae.

"Such a beautiful little girl, can I embrace her? Can I?" asked Nesiphae, grabbing our little beautiful girl as she glanced at Nesiphae with surprise.

"Mother… So I have three mothers! I can feel the connection… my creation was because of you three…?" she asked.

"Indeed… It was… well, an intense… procreation ceremony," said Nixephine.

"Let\'s not talk about such things in front of our child, alright?" asked Nesiphae, petting Nixephine\'s shoulders.

"S-Sorry!" said Nixephine.

"Indeed, my love, we are all our mother… You\'re an incredible and amazing creation, a beautiful fruit of our love and passion…" I said.

"I see… It makes me… so happy… to finally be born… sniffle…" she cried, as we embraced her in a hug.

"Let\'s name her… Scarlet, just like the beautiful armor she wears… and the glowing scarlet eyes she has…" I said.

"Sounds good to me…" said Amiphossia.

"I think the same…" said Nixephine.

"Scarlet… So that\'s my name…" said Scarlet, with a warm smile. She was born talented and incredibly intelligent, yet she still had a lot to discover.

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