Collide Gamer

They remained outside in the public for about twenty minutes, posing for pictures and explaining to interviewers what had happened. Gaia’s involvement was kept a secret, but he at least needed to explain to the curious onlookers why he had left with more wives than planned.

“Being surprised by an extra wife at one’s own wedding is probably a very exclusive club,” John joked as they walked away from the microphones. His voice reverberated with pride and joy. Emotions he further expressed by pressing another pair of kisses on their cheeks. “Thank you for letting me be in it.”

“Our pleasure, Master,” Aclysia purred. She attempted to nuzzle up even closer. Since that was impossible, she only rubbed up against him, which was its own pleasant sensation. Though nude cuddling would have been preferable, the layers of expensive silk, satin and lace were scarcely noticed.

“Just for the look on your face,” Jane added, chin on his shoulder.

The three of them walked together, virtually inseparable. Behind them, the belltower of the cathedral went for a second wave of ringing. The structure said goodbye to the first… well, throuple to have been wed in its walls.

John liked the public, but he liked stability on his wedding day even more. They moved from Lorelei’s Guild Hall, where the larger festival reached its zenith, over to the Palace. There, in Nightingale’s gala complex, they gathered up with the category 1 and category 2 guests that had been invited.

That crowd, almost 200 people, stood at the bottom of a flowing staircase of blue-veined, black marble. Despite being inside the large star fort, the room was brightly lit by a multitude of crystals, emulating the light of stars. The closest star, in this case. Though Nightingale preferred moonlight, Jane was given the golden glow that spoke to her nature.

The three of them were on top of the stairs, looking at the crowd. Closest to them, right at the foot of the staircase, was the rest of the harem, eagerly awaiting the moment they could do more than just follow them around and actually embrace the newlyweds.

“Alrighty!” The pink-haired bride stepped forward just a bit. She refused to be out of the reach of John’s arm. “John got the opening speech, Aclysia doesn’t care to hold a speech, so I’ll blab about for the two of us.”

The opening joke got a chuckle out of the crowd.

“That ceremony was… everything I could have dreamed about! My deepest thanks to every last one of ya that attended. I now got a ring on my finger and… the next chapter of our lives begins! I know that not all of ya are friendly with each other. I even know that not all of ya are entirely happy with us.”

She left the words hanging for a moment, her eyes poignantly wandering to Krieg and his group of peacekeepers.

“But! Today, I hope we can all just be happy together and celebrate. Not celebrate us three… well not just us three, but everything that makes life worth living. Pretty women, strong men, good company and a bright future!”

Servants understood the cue and rolled in serving tables loaded with food and drink. Glasses of everything from champagne to fruit juice were distributed among the crowd. Atop the stairs, Aclysia pulled three glasses out for her husband and her fellow wife.

“To us and the world!” Jane shouted and raised her glass.

“To you and the world!” the crowd echoed.

They all took a sip as one. The whiskey burned nicely in John’s mouth. He downed it in one go, refusing to hold a glass when he needed two arms for his two wives.

After the toast, there was but one thing left to do. “Time to toss some flowers!” Jane declared, produced two bouquets from her husband’s inventory, access granted to her by the Regal Mark, handed one to Aclysia and then spun around.

It was the first time since they had embraced at the altar that his two wives detached from his sides. He immediately felt colder for their absence, but took a step back with a smile all the same. Rites like this were important.

The men vacated the space at the foot of the staircase. Women from all works of life, sans the married ones, formed a cluster in the vacuum. Expressions on display were quite amusing, ranging from annoyed all the way to sharp focus. A stark difference between participants and women eager to get married.

“Three… two… one…!” Jane counted down, then tossed her bouquet, Aclysia’s immediately following.

The crowd of women coiled up like a den of agitated snakes. Not a flattering comparison, but when the shoe fit, there was no point in looking for something else.

Two bundles of flowers tumbled through the air. Honour kept the women on the floor, not utilizing the multitude of magics at their disposal. When it came down to it, it was a competition of lucky position and reaction speed.

Or, in the case of the first caught bouquet, of pure confidence.

One woman held her hand up and just waited. After leaving Jane’s hand, the flowers flew in a shallow arch, before dropping down the distance into the crowd. The green stems found their way right in that stern woman’s palm, who closed her fingers around it with self-assured inevitability. Lydia lowered the flowers to her nose and smiled a knowing smile.

Another woman stood, arm’s crossed, in the crowd, seemingly disinterested until the second bouquet was practically heading right for her. Suddenly and swiftly, she used her height and speed to swipe the flowers out of the air before any others could. Nathalia beheld them with a mixture of pleasure and surprise, as if she couldn’t believe she had just done that.

“Guess we’re keeping it in the harem!” Jane laughed and swiftly re-attached herself to John’s side.

“As is proper,” Aclysia cooed.

The newlyweds headed down the stairs and into the arms of their full harem. “Oh – my – Mother! You were so beautiful, like, so gorgeous! You are still gorgeous! You look sooooo goooood with straight hair, Jane! Not that you don’t look good with chaotic hair. You always look so good and I want to be a bride now too; that looked like so much fun and so cathartic!”

“It was!” Jane responded to the babbling air spirit, all of the grace she had displayed until that point suddenly melting away, replaced with a happy squee. “I’m a wife now! Aaaaaah, I feel so good!”

Jane took two steps forward to hold Sylph’s hands. The two bounced on the spot, doing as only overexcited people could do. Others joined in rapidly. Eliana, Gnome, Salamander, Momo, Nia, Metra, Lorelei, Lee, Delicia, Claire and finally Moira all clustered together into a big bouncy pile of exuberant joy.

Simultaneously, the other half of the harem approached Aclysia.

“Statement: a most graceful showing,” Beatrice told her faux-twin.

“Head maid and first wed maid, it is only proper,” Ehtra stated, blushingly tugging on her hair. “Though I cannot lie… I, too, wish to wear that dress.”

Aclysia did not hide the boisterous delight she took in being in the centre of this attention. “To lie about that would be deeply inappropriate. Wishing to wed our Master is only natural.”

Nathalia, Undine, Lydia, Siena, Scarlett, Nightingale, Hailey, Nahoa and Lyndell clustered around the second wife of the emperor of Fusion. Lu Zhi and Fianna also hung around, though they did so loosely, keeping their individual covers. Much as John had wished to see them all together, there were still days after this.

They did not stay split in two clusters for long, or at all really. The bifurcation was melding at the edges from the start and soon the brides were being chatted at from all sides by all haremettes in constant circulation.

John received his share of attention as well, of course, from the brides and his haremettes, but it was clear that his women were primarily wrapped up in the female side of the experience. Who was he to blame them for that? In fact, them congratulating those that were brides before them was just another showcase of how fantastically healthy the harem was.

“I’ll be over there,” John said to his brides and his harem and left them to do this internal swooning about the experience. He, in turn, had a few men to talk to.

Having had a week in anticipation of today had the added benefit that he wasn’t suddenly approached by the entirety of the guests when he emerged from the swarm of his beloveds. All congratulations and well-meaning words had been delivered before, so he just had to contend with a few toasts and respectful nods.

The ‘over there’ was the table where one man was digging into the plate of food he had loaded up from the expansive banquet. Jimmie did not have the table manners normal to high society and he clearly did not care to acquire them for what he was convinced would be a one-time event. Respect was all that John felt for that.

“I did not expect to see you here,” the Gamer said once he was close enough.

Jimmie raised a finger, then grabbed the glass of red wine he had paired with the expertly roasted cut of Turkheir. A gulp and a barely quieted burp later, he cleared his throat. “Didn’t expect to be here either, your majesty,” he responded with a sarcastic drawl, “but the little wonder insisted I’d be the one to walk her down the aisle… Can’t resist when someone like her asks someone like me for an honour like that, can I?”

“One can really not,” John agreed and stood behind a chair opposite of the engineer. “Thank you for that… are you staying the night?”

Jimmie shook his head. “I meant what I said – this is all way too big for me. I just decided to stay for a bit because I knew you’d be curious where the fuck I came from.” He passively tapped his breast pocket. “Then I saw the banquet and decided I got a few more minutes. I’ll be out of here as soon as I’m filled up.”

“As you wish,” John did not mask his disappointment. “All the same, I am happy to have seen you again.”

“You’re way more what I expected now.” The man gestured at John with the tip of his fork, before loading a bit of mashed potato onto it. “Got back into balance?”

“Definitely,” John agreed.

There was a short moment of silence between them. For all of the emotional attachment John had to the man before him, they didn’t actually have much to talk about.

“If you want to have a good smoke,” he said when Jimmie patted his breast pocket again, “there is a cigar room over there. You can just sample them.”

“…Maybe I’ll stay for a bit longer than the food,” Jimmis relented.

John laughed, then stepped away. He wouldn’t force company when he didn’t need to. After shaking some hands in passing and accepting some hugs, he fell into an armchair and relaxed. The echoes of his earlier joy remained, filling him with a deep warmth that he sampled alone for just a bit.

The sudden windows had John raise an eyebrow. ‘I suppose now would be the best time to deliver them,’ he thought as he read them. 1% Charisma wasn’t the most impactful boost, but he would definitely take it. Same went for 50 GP. The Breeder Class change was the highlight though.

It was a very simple change, but it certainly took his mind off things… It also incentivized him to have 10 children in the next 18 years, which was possible for any normal man and borderline laughable in its ‘difficulty’ for him. If he did not deliver on that front, something truly horrible must have happened.

He closed the windows, then stretched. He now had a whole lot of Class Levels available that he could spend… but that was for tomorrow (or the day after, depending on how exhausted he was at the end of this). The rest of today would be dedicated to his wives, his future wives, and all his guests.

When John fished another glass of whiskey from a table as he approached, Jane took it from him as soon as he arrived next to her. She leaned up to his ear and whispered, “Ya wanna stay sober for tonight, tiger.” Then tilted back and winked at him.

‘Well, who am I to disregard such a clear pointer?’ he thought and gestured a servant closer. “Bring me some orange juice, please,” he requested.

“At once,” the maid responded with a bow.

Jane put the whiskey away, then pulled her braid back over her shoulder. Seeing the gesture evoked a question. “How did you manage that miracle anyhow?” he asked. “I thought your hair couldn’t be braided. Kyonchi tried.”

“The answer is magic and a full two hours with a flattening iron,” Jane answered. “Worth it though.”

John definitely agreed, then his attention shifted to Lydia and Nathalia. The queen had taken one of the smaller flowers from the bouquet and placed it in the base of her braid. Mimicking that, the goddess had placed one behind her ear.

“Cute,” the Gamer said, putting all of his expansive feelings into one word.

“S-shut up!” The tall dragoness blushed, stammered, and shifted her weight to one leg, then the other and back again.

‘Even cuter,’ he thought. “I guess we know which two are next then?” he asked, jokingly. Funnily enough, they had a breeding order in place but when it came to marriage, the only agreement had been ‘Jane first’.

“Though I will not acquiesce to a simultaneous wedding,” Lydia was swift to add to her nod.

“I suppose I would not mind being the centre of this frivolous ceremony,” Nathalia stated in a rare bout of bashful deflection.

‘Beyond adorable,’ John noted. “And I still have that… other thing in store, right, Lydia?”

Lydia took a sip from the beer in her hand, a smouldering gaze lingering on the emperor the entire time. “Yes,” she answered in an intimate quiet. “I know you won’t abuse the privilege.”

One had to take the permission for ‘public breeding’ very seriously.

The night continued with chatting between them and chatting with other guests. John was with his women, then he was in the cigar room, sitting between Jimmie and Magnus as they had a surprisingly animated talk about the difficulties of getting started with Fateweaving. He chatted with Maximillian, with Romulus, with the Horned Rat, and a manifold of other people. Each conversation was joyful and friendly. Each was another entry into the band of memory that marked the evening.

He danced. He danced plenty. With his wives, most of all, but plenty with his other women as well. At one point, Layla approached him, likely to ask for her own whirl. She stepped away before she asked the question, though it did not seem like it was for the usual reasons of losing self-control.

The party stretched on, then reached a zenith. The change was subtle, unnoticeable at first, but the waning energy manifested bit for bit. At first it was in the lowering of the voices, then in the leaving of the first people and eventually there was a constant trickle of participants. It was the slow and natural end of a gathering.

After eight hours, John himself had enough of the lights, the excitement, and the people. He had loved every day of his wedding week, but he was content with it being over. There had been enough planning, enough fires he needed to put out, enough diplomats and economists – he wanted to sleep in his bed again, wanted to spend his day with them again. Normality beckoned sweetly in the coming morning.

Some of the haremettes had already left the party on their own. The less social ones, like Lyndell and Eliana. When he made his announcement to the party that he would leave as well, that was met with a final cheer. His wives took to his sides. All of his other haremettes pulled along.

John was leading the way initially, but Aclysia and Jane soon began to tug on his sides. They were incredibly excited to show him one more thing.

They dragged him not to his apartment but to the Sex Dungeon.

Aclysia pushed down the handle. The easily adjusted room had been totally changed for the night. The air was thick with anticipation and the aroma of scented candles. The shelves of sex toys were all covered behind drapes of white cloth. Flower petals marked the floor, equally covered with cushions and blankets. Lanterns kept the flames safely contained.

At the heart of it all stood a bed. Though not as enormous as the one in his apartment, it was all the same worthy of a harem. Its blue and purple curtains hid what awaited him within.

His body primed itself for what he hoped would come next. Blood rushed to his manhood. He gulped, nervousness rising only to be buried under a tide of anticipation. They approached. John was made to stand in front of the foot of the bed, as Aclysia and Jane stepped to the side, pulling the cords that moved the drapes aside.

Revealing Eliana, kneeling before him, wearing her own wedding dress.

Hers was of a lower quality and clearly tailored for the privacy of this room. The lace was thin, the floral patterns on her breasts borderline translucent, and the strings of the corset criss-crossed above the naked skin of her midriff. The pure white of the skirt, even kneeling, barely covered her crotch.

“I don’t care about any ceremony,” Eliana mumbled, her chin lowered, her purple eyes fixated entirely on him. “I don’t need any of what just happened for myself… so… if it pleases you… just put a ring on me right now… and I’ll be the most submissive and breedable wife you can imagine.”

This was more than what John had anticipated.

“Jane… the ring, please?” he croaked. There was no doubt about what he would do. His first wife extended her hand, the one with the original engagement ring in all of its colour-shifting glory. John put two fingers against it, then waited for the little ‘pling’.

When he pulled his hand back, he did not pull the engagement ring from Jane’s finger, but instead an entirely new one. It was silver and simple on the outside. It was the inside that was ornate, beset with a fine web of smooth ruby that covered the surface like veins.

“It is… my deepest honour… to have your hand in marriage,” he whispered, voice breaking. He would have cried again, had he not spent his tears earlier that day.

Eliana said nothing until he had pushed the ring over the finger of her left hand. Then she let out a held breath and immediately inhaled again in a deeply relieved sound. “Your honour...” she snorted. “…Now you’re really stuck with my useless ass!”

“No one insults my wives, Eliana,” John warned her as he always did when she engaged in her self-deprecations. He was a little more serious than usual.

John blinked once at the reward.

Then, he threw himself at the bed.