Chapter 946 - Who Are The Last Two People You Plan To Marry? [Part 1]
"Well then, we'll be going now," James said as he patted William's shoulder. "I'm sure that you have a lot of questions, but we can talk about them when we're back in Hestia."
William nodded his head. He did indeed have many questions to ask his grandpa like "How did he manage to go to Earth?", and "How and Where did he meet Maple and Chiffon?". Even so, he agreed that now was not the best time to talk about it.
"Be careful, Gramps," William replied. "I'll see you in Hestia."
"Alright. Stay safe until then."
"You, too."
James then turned to look at his grand-daughter-in-law with a smile. He mostly talked about Belle's parents and tried to know more about her through them.
After knowing the bitter-sweet memory of how they fell in love and parted with each other, James felt that his secret gift to William would make the Half-Elf cry out and jump with joy. For now, he planned to keep the connection of the Bifrost Bridge a secret from his grandson because it wasn't stable yet.
Only when the connection had been fully formed would he tell him, so that he could travel back to Earth and spend some time with his star-crossed lover.
"Belle, I look forward to seeing you in Hestia," James said. "Our family will welcome you with open arms."
Belle nodded her head and smiled. "I also look forward to visiting your hometown, Grandfather. William told me that it is a wonderful palace."
"It is," James replied. "I will ensure that you and your family will enjoy your stay once you visit."
After making a few more small talk and bidding their final farewells, James left with Maple and Cinnamon. He still needed to hand the two little girls to their older sisters to ensure that they would stay out of trouble.
"Well then, we should go as well," William said with a mischievous smirk.
"Go where?" Belle blinked in confusion. The Half-Elf and her didn't talk about any plans for their last day together, but it seems that William had planned something special for her.
"You will know soon enough," William replied as he lifted his wife into a princess carry before flying towards the sky.
He had already informed Raymond where he planned to take Belle for their last day together, and the latter had already assigned several security personnel, who were handpicked by the President of Country-K, to watch over his daughter.
—---
Ten minutes later…
William landed in the archery range inside Belle's University.
It was the place where William would often sneak into in order to take a good look at the black-haired beauty while she participated in her daily club activities.
"You know, when I first saw you, I knew that you would fall in love with me at first sight," William said as he supported his wife back into a standing position. "It seems that I was right."
Belle rolled her eyes at the Half-Elf's shameless statement. Both of them knew who fell in love at first sight first, and it was none other than the red-headed teenager who was currently rummaging through the archery supplies for bows and arrows.
He handed one bow to Belle, and made a quiver of arrows float beside her.
"One of my wishes back then, was to stand beside you in this shooting range and practice archery with you." William explained.
"Is that really the case?" Belle replied. "Or are you just making things up?"
"Um, I can't really remember, but knowing myself, I think this thought would have surely crossed my mind."
"So, you're not sure?"
William coughed awkwardly. In truth, he had completely forgotten most of his past life. His only memories of Belle that remained were of his first visit when they met and enjoyed the festival together in the countryside.
Simply put, he asked Raymond a lot of questions about what he knew about him, and Belle's father gave him bits and pieces, which the Half-Elf merged together in order to have an understanding of what he was like in other people's eyes.
"Fine." Belle relented. "Since we are already here. How about we have a match? Ten arrows. The one that hits the bullseye the most wins."
William smirked. He knew that Belle was confident in her archery, but for her to challenge him to an archery competition in his current state was simply asking for a beatdown.
"Very well, but what are the stakes?" William asked. "If you win, what do you want?"
Belle lightly pulled the string of her bow to test it a bit before answering the Half-Elf's question.
"If I win, you will pass a message to Wendy for me," Belle answered.
William's first wife had issued a challenge to her, and it made her feel competitive. It was quite unfortunate that the Valkyrie Captain had disappeared before Belle could tell her what she wanted to say.
"That's it? You want me to pass a message to Wendy?"
"Yes."
The red-headed teenager found this quite amusing, so he decided to agree to Belle's request.
"How about you?" Belle asked. "What do you want as a prize if you win?"
William pondered for a bit and tried to think of a good prize if he won. However, no matter how much he thought, he couldn't think of an appropriate reward that Belle could give her. In the end, he settled for something that would put his mind at ease.
"If I win, you will not do anything reckless like looking for ways to come to Hestia," William stated. "Can you promise me that?"
Belle nodded. However, she voiced a condition. It was not in her nature to simply sit by and wait until a miracle happened.
"If you still haven't come to find me after two years, this agreement will become null and void."
"Wasn't that five years before?"
"Things changed," Belle said firmly. "I can't trust you to keep your pants on your body. I'm sure that the moment you return to Hestia, you will resume your skirt chasing activities."
For a brief moment, William thought that an arrow had pierced his chest after hearing Belle's words. The imaginary pain made him wince, and it made him feel bitter.
"Belle, I don't actively look for girls to marry, you know?" William replied with a hurt expression. "I'm already married to five women and–"
"And, you will be marrying a few more," Belle interjected, preventing William from finishing his sentence. "Did you forget? You still haven't married Lilith."
Another invisible arrow pierced William's chest because he couldn't refute Belle's words. After what had happened in the Deadlands, it was impossible for him to not marry the Amazon Princess.
"Then you have your First Master, Celine," Belle scoffed. "So that's two more wives on your list."
Several more arrows pierced William's chest, which made him feel helpless. It was as if he was a criminal being tried in the court and the jury was hurtling facts about his crime, which forced him to plead guilty.
"All in all, you already have seven wives," Belle continued her explanation. "Back then, I told you that you can marry nine. If you think about it, the order was messed up a bit when you married me. I was supposed to be your tenth wife."
Belle then knocked an arrow on her bow and aimed at the target that was several meters away from her. As someone that had practiced archery for most of her life, her aim was steadier than most, and had already reached the national level.
"I almost forgot, you still have Est waiting for you back in the Southern Continent," Belle added as she released the arrow, which flew straight and true hitting the bullseye. "I believe her name is Estelle, right? So, all in all you already have eight wives. This only leaves you two more before our agreement comes to fruition."
The black-haired beauty then turned to the side to look at the Half-Elf who was already sweating buckets, while looking at Belle's arrow that struck the target dead center.
He had a feeling that if he tried to bullsh*t his way out of this predicament, Belle might shoot an arrow at him, targeting his butt, which would make him feel pain he had never felt before.
"Tell me, Will," Belle said as she took another arrow from the quiver and knocked it on her bow. "Who are the last two people you plan to marry?"