Raising A Few Wives in a Beast Apocalypse

Muku's mind went blank as he looked in front of him.

He felt the strength in his body leave him. He shakily held his hand out at the figure in front of him.

The figure was somewhat ethereal but he wasn't scared or even cared about that. What he cared about was that the figure was there.

Even if he was scared that his hand might go through the figure which would be the worst. He still decided to try to grab the face he missed a lot.

It looked a bit different from what he remembered. But he was sure it was the same face. After all, other than looking slightly more mature, everything else looked the same.

Soon his hand had reached the figure's cheek and caressed it gently.

"Hope..." Muku spoke the figure's name with a slightly choked and emotional voice.

"Hhm? Big Brother? Why do you look like that? And where are we? Aren't you usually ever smiling in an endless garden in my dreams? And wow! What great vividness, I even felt it when you touched my cheek. And I don't even remember when I slept. Despite everything, this might be the best dream ever" Hope chatted away while letting Muku caress her face and hair. She even walked a little closer to make it easier for him.

"Umm, Hope. I don't think this is a dream" A voice which sounded like it was holding a lot of emotions back was heard from behind Hope.

"Hhm? What do you mean? And how are you even here? It's usually just me and my brother in my dreams... Ow! Ms Audrey! Why would you pinch me like that? It hurt so m... It hurt?... That means... BIG BROTHER!" Hope who finally realised that she wasn't dreaming after getting pinched by Audrey cried as she threw herself into Muku's embrace.

She hugged him so tightly whilst crying her eyes out that you'd think she was trying to merge with him so they would never be apart again.

As for what was going on and how they got there. She didn't care. All she cared about was that she was in her brother's warm embrace again.

Unfortunately for her, she wasn't the only one who missed Muku so much...

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Without delay, four figures threw themselves at Muku without caring about Hope who was already hugging him.

Emily literally squashed her from behind as she hugged Muku with Hope in between. The other three hugged his sides and back.

Hope and Muku could barely breathe while being pancaked but they didn't care. They were still having the best day of their recent life. They had never been so happy since the day Muku was transported to the Beast World.

Audrey just looked on with a smile on her face and tears running down her cheeks. The was nothing in the world she wanted more than to hug him, but she decided to let the younger girls go first.

She could hold herself back a bit more and they couldn't. For the time being, just looking at him was enough. Knowing that he was not only alive but well, put all her worries to rest.

After all, she could only tell that he was alive from their blood link and soul metal necklace. But neither of those things could tell her if he was healthy or not. Which had been something she was constantly worrying about.

After all, there was a possibility that he was alive but barely clinging to life. Which would have broken her heart if it were true...

Beside her were Elsa and Freya who were also emotional from seeing their leader after such a long time.

Freya who was a little romantically moved by him felt those feelings fester in her heart uncontrollably. She had completely fallen for him in less than a minute.

It seems that it's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. She had been thinking about him so much in his absence that seeing him made her fall instantly.

However, she didn't make her feelings immediately known or lose herself like the others. She felt that unlike them, she didn't have the right to love him.

Anyway, while she was having her internal storm, the group hug with Muku at the centre continued for a few more minutes. Everyone remained silent in the wholesome moment as they let their emotions speak for them.

"Ahem! Are you going to introduce me to my daughters-in-law or what?" Mrs C's teasing voice suddenly rang out in the quiet room.

Hearing her words all the girls including Elsa and Hope who technically didn't have a reason to be scared felt their hearts skip a beat.

The five girls hugging Muku all jumped back and stared at Mrs C warily with rosy cheeks from embarrassment.

At first, they wanted to see who the lady pretending to be Muku's mother in the Beast World was. However, the thought that she wasn't was instantly destroyed in their minds the moment they looked at her.

They felt that if the lady wasn't Muku's mother then no one was. She literally looked like a female version of him. Sure, they might be seeing wrong due to the influence of the hair colour but still, they were certain. The lady was definitely Muku's mother.

While the five were stunned...

Whoosh!

Audrey who couldn't hold herself back anymore jumped into Muku's arms and quietly hugged him without caring about anything else going on around her.

Freya looked on enviously. She wished that she could be so blatant. But then again, Audrey has shared her most intimate moment with Muku and he was her first, so it made sense for her to be a little blatant.

If anyone in the group could be blatant in the group then it was the vice captain who was the only one whose romantic relationship with Muku was confirmed...

Anyway, the five from before barely noticed what was going on there. Their attention was still on Mrs C.

"Hello, little ones. Since your husband won't introduce me, I'll introduce myself. I'm your mother-in-law. And you're all free to call me mother. While you don't know me, I know all of you. Your husband never shuts up about you" Mrs C introduced herself after seeing that the girls didn't know where to start and Muku wasn't saying anything.

How unreliable of him, she thought. Should she give him an extra trial as punishment? Well, whatever, there were more important things to take care of..

"Cough, cough. It's nice to meet you mother-in-law" Audrey who had finally gotten her much-needed dose of Muku replied with an embarrassed expression as she stepped forward.

After all, she had ignored her mother-in-law for the sake of hugging her husband. Sure, it was understandable after the long separation, but still it was inexcusable.

What if Mrs C thought negatively of her because of it? It was never a good thing to be disliked by one's mother-in-law.

Such a thing has led to a lot of sons dumping their wives after all. And if Muku dumped her... That would kill her instantly.

"Fufu. There's no need to be embarrassed girl. I completely understand. Now come give mom a hug" Mrs C replied with an amused look on her face.

She invited Audrey for a hug. Audrey didn't rush into accepting it though. She first looked at Muku and only went for it after he nodded for her to go.

Mrs C hugged her gleefully. She was very happy. Not only did she have a son, but she also had many daughters-in-law! She couldn't wait for the many grandchildren to come into the picture.

"Hehe. This is great. The only thing which can make this better is if you all added a few grandkids to the mix soon" Mrs C spoke while letting go of Audrey.

Audrey and the others blushed uncontrollably.

"Um, m...mom. I'm actually not his wife, I'm his sister" Hope suddenly spoke from beside Muku with a red blush on her face.

Of course, she had long returned to her big brother. Honestly, if it wasn't because she had matured a lot in the time Muku was away. She might have still been hugging him not caring about anything else.

Now she just settled for sticking close to him while holding his hand which made Muku both happy and sad. He was happy that she had matured but he was sad since he kinda liked her excessive clinginess...

Actually, he didn't have to worry about that since she was still the same inside. She just behaved better when there were others around now. If it was just the two of them...

"Are you sure?" Mrs C replied with a teasing look on her face. There was something else hidden behind that look though.

"Y..yes" Hope felt her heart skip a beat again while being looked at by Mrs C.

She felt like the lady could look right through her. Like all her secrets were laid bare in front of her.

It felt so weird that she stuttered a bit in her response. In fact, she wasn't sure of the answer anymore for whatever reason. Well, whatever, it was probably just a passing feeling... Right?

"Is that so? Okay. If you say so. I guess I have a daughter too along with my son now. Welcome to the family child," Mrs C replied with a smile.

Before Hope realised it, she was away from Muku and in Mrs C's embrace. She wanted to struggle at first but the hug felt so warm and comfortable she couldn't.

"Ma'am, I'm also not his wife. My sister is. I'm just his teammate" Elsa who felt that she had to clear things up spoke from a distance.

Mrs C's gaze moved to the seventeen-year-old girl...