1298 More Than A Fairy Tale
panda (nov)el
Maple and Cinnamon were humming a song, while they sat on William’s and Chiffon’s lap.
The four of them were riding a literal, Banana Boat, that was floating on a flowing chocolate river.
This was the start of the second day since William had arrived in Gluttony’s Paradise, and he was spending some quality time with his wife, and the two adorable little girls, who wanted to do fun things together with them.
Chiffon didn’t ask William how long he was planning to stay at the Third Layer of the Underworld. No words were needed to be spoken between them, and she understood that he would be leaving when it came time to look for her sisters, who were scattered throughout the Underworld.
After having a long talk with Adephagia, William understood that he just couldn’t take Chiffon with him and drag her back to the Surface World.
The Fat Goddess playfully told William that he could try, but she understood that Thanatos would not sit idly and allow this thing to happen.
Even if Wiliam were to succeed in bringing them back to the Surface World, the God of Death would simply drag their souls back to the Underworld, and ban the Half-Elf from entering again.
Naturally, Adephagia had told this to the black-haired teenager to ensure that he was aware of the consequences that might happen if he were to wantonly take the souls of the dead back to the world of the living, without the God of Death’s permission.
Because of this, William decided to spend a few days with Chiffon in Gluttony’s Paradise, before going to the next layer to find his other wives.
After a few hours of riding the Banana Boat, the four of them returned back to the castle, to have lunch together.
However, since William couldn’t eat anything in the Underworld, he had asked Erinys to buy him blood packs, as well as set meals from Ama-Soon.
As William looked at the two adorable girls who were being hand fed by Chiffon with cookies, he realized something quite interesting.
Supposedly, if someone ate something in the Underworld, they would be bound by its laws and unable to leave it.
However, the two little gluttons kept on eating food from the Palace of Gluttony, and both of them were fine.
‘Maybe it is due to the power of Gluttony,’ William thought. ‘Even the laws of the Underworld are no match for it.’
When the Half-Elf had consulted Adephagia about this matter, the Fat Goddess confirmed his suspicions. She had already sensed that Maple and Chiffon contained the Divinity of Gluttony inside their bodies, making them immune to anything they ate in the Underworld.
It was similar to how light couldn’t escape a blackhole. Before the laws of the Underworld could even take effect and bind their bodies, it would have already been eaten by the blackhole that was found inside the two girls’ limitless stomachs.
After the five of them had lunch together, Maple and Cinnamon felt sleepy, so Adephagia took the two of them to her quarters to rest, leaving William and Chiffon behind.
The pink-haired girl looked at her Patron Goddess’ retreating back, while she sat beside William.
“Will, when we go back to the world of the living, let’s conceive them,” Chiffon said softly as she rested her head on William’s chest. “I don’t want to wait any longer.”
William wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her forehead.
“Are you sure about this?” William inquired.
He could tell that his pink-haired wife was serious, but he still needed to ask in order to fully confirm it.
Chiffon nodded. “Yes. I want to hold them. I want to kiss them. I want to love them.”
“Understood. I’ll have you conceive when we get back.”
“Un…”
——-
Somewhere in the Palace of Gluttony…
Erinys looked at William and Chiffon from afar using binoculars.
She had left William alone, so he could spend time with his wife, but that was not her only reason for doing so.
Erinys wanted to observe if the Half-Elf’s and his Half-Dwarf wife’s love life was similar to those that she had watched on Netflix. The Half-ling understood that there was a boundary between reality and entertainment.
She had been observing the two for the past day, and saw the tenderness, and affection in William’s eyes whenever he looked at his wife. Erinys also noticed a trace of happiness and love within their golden depths whenever he stared at the two little girls that accompanied him, and Chiffon, at all times.
William had never shown her this kind of gaze in the past, and for some reason it made her feel envious.
Although she would often sit on William’s lap, and cuddle with the Half-Elf before going to sleep, she could feel the care, tenderness, and even warmth in their daily interaction.
But, if you compare their relationship with the ones he had with his wife and the two little girls, she felt as if the difference was similar to Heaven and Earth.
They were simply several miles apart!
Naturally, Erinys also understood that it was only normal for William to shower his overflowing love to the person he married. But, she didn’t understand why he would do the same with the two little girls that always clung to him and acted like spoiled children.
‘I lived alone most of my life, so I think I hunger for something like this,’ Erinys thought as she continued to observe the two from afar. ‘Before we go to the next layer, I’ll ask William to be more considerate to me as well. He should spoil me a bit after all the help I’ve been giving him.’
Right beside Erinys, a rainbow-colored Anteater was also observing William from afar using binoculars.
“I’m glad,” Kasogonaga said softly. “It must have been hard for him ever since his wives died.”
“Lord Kazo, what kind of person is William?”
“Will? Um, he is someone who likes to drink milk directly from the source.”
“… Lord Kazo, please don’t tease me.”
The rainbow-colored Anteater chuckled as he picked up a chocolate milkshake from the table next to him.
“William is a very caring person,” Kasogonaga stated. “Even if his soul has been corrupted by darkness, the light inside his heart still shines, amidst the darkness. However, this doesn’t change the fact that he changed greatly after his wives, friends, and his familiars died at the hands of his enemy.
“Although he looks fine now. I can’t even imagine the things he’s had to do to get this far, and the prices he’ll need to pay to continue moving forward.”
Kasogonaga looked at the Half-Elf with a solemn gaze before drinking the rest of his chocolate milkshake.
“How about you, Erinys?” Kasogonaga asked. “What are you willing to pay in order to move forward?”
Erinys looked at the rainbow-colored Anteater in confusion.
“What do you mean, Lord Kazo?” Erinys asked back.
Kasogonaga smiled as it pointed at the badge hanging on Erinys’ robe.
“Are you willing to give up everything for your dream to become a reality?” Kasogonaga asked. “Even if it means that you will have to sacrifice everything you have in order to get what you want?”
Eriyns finally realized what Kasogonaga was hinting at. In truth, she had asked herself this question many times in the past.
The answer she gave each and every time was No.
The price was simply too steep for her to pay, and she was afraid of taking that step towards the wish she wanted to fulfill.
When Erinys first heard things about the Surface World from her father, and grandmother, her curiosity was piqued.
Because of this, she decided to read, and watch things that belonged to the world of the living.
One of the stories she had read was the Little Mermaid.
It was a bittersweet story because the mermaid didn’t get the ending that she strived for. Instead of becoming the prince’s wife, she became sea foam, never to be seen or heard from again.
After reading this story Erinys had been traumatized for several months, and didn’t read a single fairy tale. She simply immersed herself in watching telenovelas with happy endings, allowing her to recover.
However, every now and then, she would dream of the Little Mermaid’s fate, and wake up abruptly covered in sweat.
She still had this dream from time to time, but ever since William had started to live with her, these dreams no longer haunted her.
Erinys had already labeled William as a Prince Charming that had come to the Underworld to rescue the Princesses from the God of Death, who ruled the Underworld.
More than anything else, she wanted to take part in this grand adventure, and help the black-haired Prince have a happy ending.
This was her wish, and the main reason behind why she was doing her best to help him gather as many Hell Credits as possible, and even allowing him to pass through restricted areas in order to meet with his wives.
But, in reality, she too wanted to be the Princess.
She too wanted to have a Prince Charming.
“Lord Kazo, I don’t want to turn into sea foam,” Erinys replied. “I’m fine with being a spectator.”
Kasogonaga gazed at the Half-ling for a period of time before shifting his gaze back to the Half-Elf, who was now giving his wife a passionate kiss beside a chocolate fountain.
“Well, it is your life,” Kasogonaga replied. “But, I think you misunderstood the story of the Little Mermaid. For me, it is more than a love story, more than a tragedy, and more than a fairy tale.
“What the Little Mermaid wanted was an immortal soul, and when she became sea foam, she didn’t cease to exist, but became the daughter of the air. This was her reward because she strove to have an immortal soul, without taking the life of the person she loved.
“She was given a chance to earn her own soul by doing good deeds for mankind for three hundred years. But, in the end, it is up to the reader to interpret the meaning behind the story.”
Kasogonaga jumped off its chair and walked past Erinys who was still deep in thought.
However, before he left the Half-ling completely, he once again left some parting words, that made Erinys raise her head to look at the Half-Elf who held Chiffon in a loving embrace.
“Fairy tales may not always have a happy ending,” Kasogonaga said softly. “But, it will not always have a bad ending either.”
Having said that, the rainbow colored anteater curled into a ball and rolled away, leaving Erinys alone while she looked at the badge in her hand.