System's POV

Chapter 1388: Far From Home [Part 1]

A day passed in peace as Thirteen and Stella stayed in the underground tunnel, waiting for the Divine Key of Pride to recognize the teenage boy as its new Master.

With no other source of amusement, they either chatted or watched the Key of Lust and the Key of Pride. The two keys seemed to hit it off and were even doing a pair dance in the air as if they were in a ballroom.

Stella didn’t know what to think as she watched this scene. On the other hand, Thirteen looked quite amused by this development.

He knew the Divine Keys were Sentient, but he didn’t know how intelligent they were.

After observing them for nearly a day, he concluded that they had a six-year-old mind, putting entertainment and playing above everything else.

Suddenly, the two keys stopped dancing.

’Finally...’ Stella thought. ’We can finally get out of here.’

She watched as the Key of Pride gently landed on the palm of Zion’s hand and settled there quietly.

The Key of Lust also flew into Stella’s hand, signifying the end of their playtime.

She propped her hand on the ground, about to stand up, when a magic circle unexpectedly materialized beneath her and Zion. Caught by surprise, both froze for half a second. But Thirteen reflexively reached out to pull her into his arms, intending to ensure her safety.

Before Stella knew it, she was already in the teenage boy’s embrace, inadvertently reminding her of a scene she had seen in her dream.

That became her last thought before a flash of white light washed over them.

A moment later, the two of them disappeared from the underground tunnel, leaving nothing behind.

———

"Uh..."

Stella groaned as she slowly opened her eyes.

Her head spun as if she were fresh off a rollercoaster ride that traveled at the speed of sound and braked at its peak acceleration before she could even understand what was happening.

"Oh my~"

"You can say that again!"

"Ara Ara? What’s this? A son-in-law we have never met?"

Familiar voices reached the young lady’s ears, but she failed to register who owned them as she focused on steadying her blurry vision.

Not to mention, she could still feel Zion’s arms wrapped around her body, and she was reluctant to leave his warmth.

"Oh dear! Just look at her!"

"Is William around? If he is, someone go and distract him for a while."

"Leave him to me. But make sure to tell me everything later, okay?"

Stella had yet to fully regain her vision, but she finally recognized the owners of the voices chattering around her.

As if on cue, her vision finally returned, and she found herself surrounded by beautiful women, who were all looking at her with smiles and smirks on their faces.

There were also a few children, ranging from four to nine years old, looking at her and the teenage boy by her side with great interest.

Stella’s gaze landed on a beautiful woman with long black hair. Her mouth was lightly agape, mesmerized by her mother’s hazel eyes. How long had it been since she’d seen such a beautiful color?

"M-Mom?" Stella stuttered, a little starstruck.

For some reason, Thirteen had fallen unconscious, and he showed no signs of waking soon.

With a beet-red face, Stella reluctantly freed herself from the young man’s embrace and faced her mothers.

"Is he perhaps the ’Big Brother’ my daughters visit from time to time?" an adorable dwarf with long pink hair and pink eyes asked with a smile. "If I remember correctly... His name is Zion Leventis. Am I right?"

Stella nodded. "Yes, Mama Chiffon. He is Zion."

Since she was part of a big family, Stella and the rest of her siblings call all of their father’s wives their mothers as well.

The young lady couldn’t help but notice that her "mothers" were all grinning, looking at her with mischievous smiles on their faces.

She could tell what they were thinking.

"H-He’s not my boyfriend or anything like that," Stella tried to explain. "We’re just friends."

"Just friends?" A beautiful woman wearing a winged circlet giggled. "Sure. We’ll settle with that... for now."

"Mama Wendy, not you too!" Stella wanted to stomp her foot in frustration, but she refrained from doing so. As a grown-up lady, she must not let herself be teased helplessly by her mothers anymore.

The other women also giggled, enjoying this rare sight of Stella.

Some of Stella’s young siblings moved closer to the unconscious teenage boy and started to poke his cheek and body, as if to check whether he was still alive.

Perhaps due to their constant poking, Thirteen finally showed signs of waking up.

Stella hurriedly asked her siblings to back away, not wanting her companion to feel threatened. Knowing Thirteen, he would not hesitate to attack if he thought he was in danger, so it was better to play safe than sorry.

When he finally opened his eyes, the first face he saw was Stella’s.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Stella asked.

"No," Thirteen replied before slowly propping himself up in a seating position.

Scanning his surroundings, he assumed that he was in some spacious living room as he found himself surrounded by couches on all sides.

Right now, there were at least eight women and six little kids looking at him with curiosity.

"Where are we?" Thirteen asked.

"Um... I think we’re in my home?" Stella replied.

"Why do you sound uncertain?" Stella’s mother, Belle, asked in an amused tone. "Of course, this is your home."

She then stood up and walked toward Zion to offer her hand, intending ot pull him up and greet him at the same time.

"My name is Belle Von Ainsworth," Belle said. "I am also Stella’s mother. Is your name perhaps Zion Leventis? Maple and Cinnamon talk about you a lot."

"Yes, I am Zion Leventis," Thirteen replied as he reached out to accept Belle’s outstretched hand. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Ainsworth."

"Just call me mother-in-law, I mean... Belle." Belle giggled. "Just in case you don’t know. All women here are all Mrs. Ainsworth. So, if you call me that, we won’t know who you are talking to."

Thirteen glanced at Stella, and the latter nodded her head in confirmation.

Although the two of them had no idea how they ended up in the living room of Stella’s home, one thing was clear.

They were no longer in Solterra nor Pangea.

They were in a world where Stella’s family was hailed as the absolute monarchy, for this specific world hailed her father as the savior who prevented the destruction of their world.

—-----