[Yasaka – Female, 29 years old, Villager, Owner: Kaga Michio]
[Kunou – Female, 15 years old, Villager, Owner: Kaga Michio]
"We will serve you diligently, Master," Yasaka said, bowing her head—which, incidentally, made her large breasts jiggle slightly. Kunou followed suit, bowing politely alongside her.
Both of their left hands were held out before me, showing me their intelligence cards as proof that I now officially owned this beautiful mother-daughter pair.
"I don't doubt it," I said with a smile, placing a hand on each of their shoulders and gently pulling them up. "But there's no need for such formal ceremonies in front of me."
They both nodded in quiet understanding.
When I presented my Intelligence Card to them, Yasaka looked a bit hesitant at first, while Kunou eagerly leaned in to examine it.
[Kaga Michio – Male, 17 years old, Adventurer, Free Man, Slaves: Roxanne, Sherry, Lillia, Anastasia, Miria, Vesta, Setsuna, Ram, Rem, Viviana, Shea, Jasmine, Remu, Shera, Nyx, Erina, Yasaka, Kunou]
"Mother, look! Miss's name is right here!" Kunou whispered, beaming with excitement.
"Yes, there it is," Yasaka replied with a small but warm smile.
As the two shared their moment, Sivor began listing off my duties. I was relieved to learn that foxkin didn't come with any unusual quirks or specific care requirements. That said, listening to tax explanations was still boring as hell—though thankfully, Sivor wasn't nearly as grating as that old geezer Ordan, who had nearly bored me to death going on about slave levies.
On the way back, I decided to ask Sivor a bit about his establishment and the town of Kararagi. The name had a distinct Japanese flavor to it—and I was pretty sure I had heard it mentioned in connection with Anastasia before.
"Kararagi is a well-known trade hub just east of the Imperial Capital," Sivor explained with a proud grin. "You're always welcome at my shop there, Michio-san. It would be my honor to host a buying customer like yourself."
Then, as expected, he launched right back into another tale about his uncanny talent for spotting paying customers at a glance.
I quickly exchanged farewells and slipped away, leaving him to continue his story in the middle of the noisy waiting room.
Now it was just me, with Yasaka and Kunou walking behind. I slowed my pace so I could position myself between them and hold both of their hands.
"Master," Yasaka suddenly called out.
My heart jumped as if I had just been caught trying to do something I shouldn't.
"Y-yes? What's wrong?" I asked, stopping and turning toward the blonde woman.
"I know that the young miss—I mean, Anastasia—must have paid an astronomical price to have Master purchase us," she said, looking at me with clear distress in her golden eyes.
"W-what? Is that true?!" Kunou gasped, her bright yellow eyes widening in panic as she clutched her chest and looked at me pleadingly.
I blinked, thoroughly confused.
"Whatever the amount is, I ask—no, I beg Master to let me shoulder it. I will do anything you ask. I will even enter the labyrinth to repay the full cost. Please, Master!" Yasaka said, bowing deeply.
"M-me too!" Kunou jumped in, nodding fervently. "I will help pay it off too. I can't be a burden to Mother and Miss. I qm still young—I can work twice as hard! I can even go to the labyrinths!"
"Kunou, no," Yasaka said firmly, gently pulling her daughter back. "Your mother is still alive and capable. It's my duty to shoulder this burden."
"I'm not a kid anymore!" Kunou shot back stubbornly.
I stood there, stunned, watching a full-on family drama unfold right in front of me.
"Alright, that's enough—both of you, stop and listen," I said in a firm, authoritative tone.
Immediately, they both fell silent and lowered their heads, hands falling to their sides like well-trained slaves reacting on instinct.
"Let me clear up this misunderstanding. First off, Anastasia didn't have to pay anything for me to purchase you two. Yes, she did ask me to consider it, and she even came here today to check if anyone she knew was up for auction."
I conveniently left out the part where she had told me not to bid on them, realizing I had too many other options. In her heart she had clearly meant the opposite anyway, so it didn't count.
"Young Miss…" Yasaka murmured softly, eyes downcast with a sigh. Kunou's eyes were already shimmering with unshed tears.
"Second—and most importantly—I want you both to know that I didn't buy you just because Anastasia asked me to," I said with a grin. "In fact, even if she hadn't been here, I still would have definitely placed a bid—and won you both—no matter how high the price."
"Really?" Kunou looked up at me, eyes wide in astonishment.
"Yes. I could never pass up on a beautiful pair of women like you two," I said sincerely, extending both hands and gently taking theirs into mine. "So please understand—there is no price you need to repay, no debt you owe. You are here just because I chose you."
I gave them a warm smile. "And on that note, I happily welcome both of you to my family."
"Thank you very much for accepting us, Master," Yasaka said, her face lighting up with a relieved, heartfelt smile.
Kunou, meanwhile, giggled bashfully as she looked up at me, her cheeks tinged pink.
Pleased that the drama had been resolved, I turned and began walking again, this time holding both their hands—Yasaka on my right and Kunou on my left.
Yasaka's hands were slightly larger and a bit rough, while Kunou's were soft and delicate. Both were noticeably shorter than me, even without counting their upright fox ears—which, frankly, were seriously tempting me to reach out and stroke them.
If someone saw us like this, they would probably assume we were a cute family of three, with Kunou as our daughter. The thought alone made things feel way too kinky for my perverted brain.
I wonder if I could convince both of them to call me Daddy instead of Master one day…
"Master, we're going to meet Miss—um, I mean, Anastasia—now, right?" Kunou asked excitedly, quickly correcting herself after her slip-up.
Her innocent golden eyes practically stabbed me, as if silently accusing me of all the rotten thoughts running through my head.
"Well…" I coughed, clearing my mind, "let me tell you both about the big family you've just joined."
I kept glancing at both of them as I explained things. I had suspected it before, but even up close, Yasaka didn't look like the mother of a fifteen-year-old. Well, her breasts did give it away for sure, but still seriously—there was no makeup or anything like that—just a naturally beautiful face.
Then again, I had seen a thirty-seven-year-old elf earlier today who looked barely eighteen. I guess I should just accept that most non-human girls age differently—and stay looking young much longer.
Does that mean my strike zone has officially expanded?
It must have. Yasaka, at twenty-nine, was several years older than me—and the rest of the girls. Technically, she could be the mother of almost half of them.
Hmm… I should probably use Appraisal at some point to figure out exactly what my strike zone is across different species. Yeah, that's probably important research. For science. Such hard work…
We finally reached the Auction Hall, which was a lot noisier now. Most of the seats were filled, but our corner remained fairly empty. Even walking up the stairs flanked by a stunning mother-daughter pair, I didn't get any hateful glares or jealous stares.
So this must be what being super rich feels like—fear, respect, and a sort of invisible psychological pressure applied on everyone in your surrounding. It was a little addicting.
Or maybe I was just imagining things.
When we got to our seating area, I noticed Anastasia was already waiting for us outside the row.
"Miss!" Kunou gasped happily.
"Young Miss," Yasaka murmured softly, her voice heavy with emotion.
"Yasaka, Kunou," Anastasia greeted them with a wide smile. I could see the glimmer of moisture in her blue-green eyes.
"You both go sit with her," I said with a smile, since there wasn't any space left where the rest of the girls were seated anyway.
"Thank you, Master," Anastasia replied warmly, leading both of them in. But even so, she made sure to seat right beside me, slipping her hand into mine as she did.
I couldn't help but smile, knowing she wanted to stay close.
Anastasia then proceeded to report to me through the party link that there were still two exhibits left before the Wizard's, and that she had stopped bidding completely—just as I had asked her to. I thanked her and let out a sigh of relief. Finally, I didn't have to keep up the fake nonchalant act anymore.
As Anastasia began whispering softly to Yasaka and Kunou, my gaze shifted to the row in front of ours. It was hard not to stare—there was a dazzling array of girls seated there. Honestly, the real reason no one wanted to sit near us might have been this ridiculous lineup.
Even back on Earth, it was intimidating to approach a group of girls. There was that "cheerleader effect," where they all seemed more attractive as a group than they were individually. But that definitely wasn't the case here. Every single one of them was a full-fledged waifu with massive fanbases back home.
Starting from the right, there was Vesta—the tallest of them all with her short red hair. Honestly, I was glad she was seated on the opposite end, because if she were on my side, I wouldn't be able to see anything past her build.
Next to her was Setsuna, who practically looked like a small puppy with her blue wolf ears twitching besides Vesta. Then came the iconic pink and blue-haired twin maids—Ram and Rem. The two were looking up to Vesta, chatting animatedly with her.
Beside them sat a pair of tall antlers—Viviana—who looked peaceful, her long golden hair cascading like a waterfall.
The next girl had two long rabbit ears and striking blue hair, though it was a slightly different shade than Rem's or Setsuna's. She was chattering non-stop to the girl beside her—Jasmine, who had long, silky, dark hair and a calm air about her.
Then came another dark-haired girl, this one with cute cat ears perched on her head—Remu. I was surprised to see her quietly arguing in whispers with the blonde elf beside her—Shera. Eavesdropping a little, I realized it was something trivial… apparently about which wine tasted better. I decided to let them bicker it out.
Next to their lively debate sat Nyx, a small hooded girl who remained completely silent. From behind, I could only see her dark hood.
The height difference jumped drastically again with the tall Erina seated beside her. I could see the soft shimmer of her long, lustrous blonde hair from behind. She seemed to be listening in on the wine debate between Shera and Remu and throwing in the occasional comment. Well, of course she would have an opinion—being the God Tongue and all.
Phew… That was a row filled with eleven unique girls—the lineup is just insane. And I obviously couldn't forget the pair of foxkin mother and daughter now seated beside Anastasia. That makes it thirteen unique women I bought in this single auction.
At first while looking through the exhibits, I was panicking, overwhelmed by the sheer number of waifus showing up one after another, thinking there's no way I would be able to afford them all. But… I did. I actually did it. I bought all of them!
Right now, I honestly feel like the luckiest son of a bitch in the entire world. Seriously I have never even heard or read anything like this happening—not even in a fictional story back on Earth.
My Harem just shot up from five girls to eighteen. Eighteen!
It's like this whole auction was one giant paid gacha session, and I just kept shoving in coins and hitting jackpot after jackpot—five-star characters on every pull. But now that the madness and high of the gacha is over, reality's kicking in.
I've got too many characters … too many waifus.
It's such an outrageous number, even I have trouble believing it's real. But it is. Their names are all right there on my Intelligence Card, clear as day. I can close my eyes and picture each one of them perfectly. But the moment I think about how they all belong to me now... that I'm responsible for every single one of them…
It hits hard. It feels like a whole lot. Like—can one guy even handle a harem this massive? Sure, emperors had hundreds of wives, so it should be doable, technically, right?
Still, I wasn't just blindly jumping in. I had another reason I was confident things would work out.
Now that the auction is basically over for me, I should contact her.
'Roxanne, can you hear me?' I connected to her through the party link. She was still in my party, after all.
'Yes, Master I am here.'
Just hearing her sweet voice again made me smile. It felt like I hadn't heard it in months…