The World Is Mine For The Taking

Summer vacation was creeping closer with each passing day, and you could almost feel it in the air with the restless energy of the cadets and the way their voices carried further with it filled with anticipation. The whole place seemed brighter and livelier, as if the world itself was preparing for a break. And along with that came the unforgiving heat of the sun, pouring down relentlessly on us with its rays stinging the skin and making the stone walls and training fields radiate waves of warmth.

But for me, the arrival of summer wasn't just about the season itself. It meant that the time we'd been waiting for... I mean, the plan we had been preparing all this time, was drawing near. Soon, we would infiltrate the Empire of Rodonia. Soon, we would set out to free the elven slaves suffering there.

The thought of it alone carried weight. It was no small task at all because it is dangerous and demanding in every sense—but that was exactly why we'd prepared as much as we could. The plans were drawn with the groundwork already laid, and everything was in place. Now it was simply a matter of adapting when the time finally came.

Still, we weren't there yet. There was a whole month before we'd move. So, for now, I allowed myself to breathe and to just sink into this fleeting calm, letting the peace wash over me before the storm arrived.

***

The first thing I did with this spare time was visit the two women carrying my children.

They didn't show much on the outside yet and there was no obvious signs that anyone else would notice—but I could see it. I knew they were pregnant.

Rose had developed a noticeable appetite with her eating more than usual, while Irene carried herself differently with her body hinting at the new life inside her.

In fact, Rose already had a faint bump forming on her stomach. It wasn't sticking out much, but when I looked closely, I could see it. And I knew—it wasn't just fat.

That realization alone hit me with a strange feeling. On one hand, there was this overwhelming pride, this primal sense of conquest, as though I had achieved something deeply instinctual, almost intoxicating. I felt like I was being drowned in it, softly but steadily, losing myself in that victorious warmth.

And yet, alongside that came something even deeper and that was an immense tenderness. A warmth that wasn't about pride or conquest but about love. About being bound even closer to them.

"Leon, you're really such a doting one, huh?" Irene asked suddenly, her eyes narrowing with a teasing glint. "Is this really you, or are you just like this because you got me pregnant?"

I chuckled softly. "Well, I guess that's part of it," I admitted. "I never had much of a relationship with my parents, and… I want to give my kids more attention than they ever gave me."

The words came out heavier than I expected, carrying the weight of a past I rarely spoke of. In this world, I didn't have parents. But in my previous life, I did. They had died in a traffic accident, leaving behind more absence than presence.

I had loved them, or at least I thought I had. But the truth was, my bond with them had always felt distant and shallow. I cried at their funeral, yes, but once the tears were gone, so was the sadness. I loved them only because they raised me, not because I had truly been close to them. If not for Kana-nee, I probably would have crumbled. She had been my anchor and the one who filled the void they left behind.

"I see… that sucks," Irene said softly. "But we're kind of the same. And Rose too."

She wasn't wrong. Both she and Rose had their own scars with their own broken ties with their parents. Our circumstances had been different, but the end result… it was similar. We all carried that hole inside of us.

She smiled then, a gentle, radiant smile that softened her whole face.

"Well, I guess that just means we should do better than them," Irene said. "We should be great parents to our kids."

The sincerity in her smile, the warmth behind those words... it hit me harder than I expected. Before I even realized it, I leaned in and pulled her into a kiss, unable to stop myself.

"H-Hey, Leon, I have something to do later!" she protested, flustered, pushing lightly at my chest. "I can't exactly be doing this right now. And more than that—if we do, I'll smell like sex! P-Please, save it for later… L-Like tonight."

I pulled back with a small grin. Well, she had a point. I decided not to push things further. But the way she stumbled over her words with her embarrassed face... it just made me anticipate tonight even more.

***

The days weren't just filled with responsibilities—I was also enjoying the time I spent with my other girlfriends.

Johanne and Tris were two of them, and even now, people couldn't help but be surprised when they saw us together.

Johanne's case, especially, caught people off guard. After all, for the longest time, everyone had believed she was a man. And in truth, she had lived for twenty years as one before her gender was revealed. But now, she was embracing her femininity little by little with her leaning into it as best as she could, even if it wasn't natural for her.

She tried hard to be as feminine as possible, but the years she had lived as a man were still etched deeply into her habits.

At one point, she confessed to me with her cheeks flushed pink.

"I can't wear a skirt. It's too embarrassing…"

Her voice was shy and it was almost trembling, and the way she blushed as she said it... it made her look unbearably cute.