A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Finally, the entire story was done, and Runa now knew everything Erik did. By the end, her expression had become a little strange.

"So, I spent time with our hosts in the past, huh?" she muttered, unsure how to feel about the fact she couldn't remember anything about it. "And this Ankhur has some kind of crush on me?"

"That's one way to put it," Erik chuckled and nodded.

"Hmpf, well, I'm not surprised," she scoffed proudly, before raising an eyebrow sceptically. "But he's gonna have to bring his A-game if he expects me to join a harem. To be honest, I doubt anyone's got that kind of juice. I mean, he clearly didn't convince me to do it before."

Erik nodded, but didn't say anything. He'd made an agreement with Ankhur that he wouldn't interfere in their possible relationship, and he planned to keep that promise.

Seeing that, Runa looked at him solemnly, "I appreciate you're keeping your promise to him, but I'm still going to need your opinion on this man, Silvy. Also, how much freedom can I exercise here? He is a third-ranker, after all, and we're in his home. Will it be a problem if I offend him?"

"Absolutely not," Erik immediately frowned with an intense gaze. "We have our ways, Mom. Even if it comes to a fight, we'll get out unscathed, I promise you, so don't feel pressured into anything."

He was being a little overconfident perhaps, but he refused to impede the freedom of his mother, especially when it came to romantic issues. Seeing her indulge Ankhur just because she feared for their safety if she didn't, would be like a knife in his heart.

"As for his character," he shrugged calmly. "I've seen and heard only good things so far, but I've really only met him once."

"I see," Runa frowned thoughtfully for a moment. But then she waved her hand dismissively, "Well, whatever. So long as I have my freedom, we'll see what comes of it."

Then she suddenly grinned a little mischievously, "Now, how about those wives of yours?"

"Right," Erik chuckled somewhat nervously.

Inside his dimension, the three women suddenly felt like they were called to appear for a jury of their peers, and quickly jumped up as they straightened their clothes. In terms of nervosity, you could see an upward curve, starting from the relatively calm Emma, to the slightly twitching Emily, with Astrid mostly feeling trepidation about seeing Runa again.

"Before that, though," he suddenly said thoughtfully. "You know how I told you about the emotional bond I share with my wives? I could share it with you, if you like. That way, you can feel what I feel, and perhaps learn to trust them a little faster."

This was something Elora once suggested for Alice, but Erik had refused on the basis it would feel too weird to share the same bond between his wives and daughter. Instead, Elora was working on a family version of it.

Of course, it felt weird to share it with his mother as well, but he could endure it for a moment if it would smooth their meeting over a little.

Runa raised an eyebrow and appeared interested. But then she shook her head, "No, not immediately, at least. If what you told me about Edda is true, then perhaps my character judgement isn't as compromised as I thought."

Erik nodded in understanding, but just as he decided to get it over with, Runa suddenly started getting out of bed. "H— Hold on! You're still recovering!" he exclaimed with a worried gaze. "I told you; they're in my dimension; I can just pull them out!"

But Runa scoffed, even as she struggled to her feet, "If you think I'm going to meet my daughters-in-law while lying in bed like some invalid, you've got another thing coming! My first meeting with Elora was bad enough!"

Erik could understand her sentiment, but he still stood up quickly to provide support, if necessary, his brows furrowed in concern. Yet, his mother did fine. She swayed a little, but it took her only a few seconds to stand on her own two feet, if a little unsteady.

Sighing, Erik saw she was ready and thus snapped his fingers, pulling the four women in his dimension outside. Meanwhile, Elora took her seat on his shoulder.

Despite knowing he could do this; it was still a shock for Runa to suddenly see three women and a girl appearing out of thin air.

"Damn, Son," an amused Runa chuckled. "You can actually summon your wives with a snap of your fingers? Must be nice."

Erik rolled his eyes, but then turned to his wives with a smile, "Girls, I'd like you to meet my mother. Mom, you already know Alice and Astrid," he indicated towards the vampire and wereverine, then towards his slave-wife, "this is Emily," and finally, his maid-wife, "And Emma."

Emma smiled calmly and nodded; Emily found her confidence and managed to stop twitching as she nodded; Astrid simply waved with a slightly nervous grin, and Alice looked at Runa curiously.

"Hello, girls," Runa pursed her lips curiously, then slowly walked forward. Everyone twitched a little, wanting to support her weak body, but Runa waved them all of.

First, she stopped by Alice and looked at her solemnly, "I'm sorry about your father, Alice. He was a good man, and deserved better than he got, as did you. If Silvy ever yells at you, just come to your grandma, and I'll beat him up for you, alright?"

Alice looked up at her as if judging her words. Then, she nodded slowly, "Thank you, Grandma." But then she started grinning, "Although I'd prefer to do my own beatings."

"Ha!" Runa barked and nodded. "Good girl!"

Then she turned to Astrid, "Astrid… Based on what SIlvy told me, you're still the little firebrand you were back then." Surprisingly, she stepped forward, and hugged the vampire. "It's good to see you again, and I'm glad you finally caught my son. I'm sorry the troubles between your mother and me didn't allow us to remain acquainted."

Astrid chuckled awkwardly as she hugged her back carefully, "Thank you, Ms. Ru— I mean, mother-in-law." When they separated, Astrid was grinning, "Hehe, there was a time I thought I'd never get to call you that."

"I'm glad you got your wish," Runa grinned. She truly did like Astrid.

Finally, she turned to the two women she'd never met before. Emma was still smiling calmly, and performed a small bow, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mother-in-Law."

"You're a polite one, huh?" Runa grinned, but then simply stepped forward and pulled Emma into a hug as well, causing the poor girl to yelp. "Take good care of my son, alright?"
Your journey continues with empire

Shyly, Emma nodded, even as she looked pleadingly at Erik, hoping he'd save her from being squished. Unfortunately, he simply grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

Finally, Runa stopped by Emily, who looked particularly nervous. Of course, Runa knew why, so she smirked playfully. Without saying anything, she suddenly extended her hand towards Emily's collar, as if intending to grab the ring that dangled from it.

Emily's eyes widened. She glanced at Erik, but he only looked at her curiously.

Slowly, Runa's hand inched closer to it as Emily's nervosity increased. But then, at the last moment, Emily made a decision, and grabbed the ring before Runa could get to it. "T— That's only for Master…!" she gulped slightly.

She couldn't believe how nervous she was for this, how much she wanted Erik's mother to like her, despite her past and current vices. Yet, she still couldn't let anyone else grab that ring, not even Runa.

For a moment, they looked at each other. Emily was afraid this would make things worse, but then Runa slowly began to smile. "Good girl," she nodded. "Be sure to remember that."