Chapter 1363: Aether found another clue?

The ladies’ group wondered what Aether and his mother-in-law could possibly be talking about for this long.

"She’s definitely pissed off," Thalia muttered, her face twisted in a pained expression.

"What do you all think?" Thalia pressed, glancing at each of them in turn. "I honestly think she just wants him to give us some space—or maybe some time, at least."

Selene’s voice slipped in, "Maybe she was just shocked, you know? Seeing Aether shouting for the first time must’ve rattled her. I bet she wanted to tell him not to lose his temper in front of her or something." She reached up, fingers brushing her neck as if she could soothe away the ache.

Raven didn’t bother to shift. She added, voice flat and almost expressionless, "I think Mother was angry that he shouted at us?"

Nyx, holding the bridge of her nose with two delicate fingers, said, "I don’t know." Her voice trailed off, sounding a little distant.

Well, that was obvious—Nyx had barely spoken a word to Emberlyn before.

"Maybe they were fucking outside?"

Every woman turned as one and stared at Nightfire, their expressions perfectly deadpan.

Nightfire stared back, blinking at their silence, then shrugged.

"What? It’s not like it’s impossible, right? Think about it—he’s got Sandra, Aqualina’s mother, then Maelona, Aria’s mother, and—what, Xara, Selene’s mother...damn, he’s almost got every mother in this place." Her words spilt out, tumbling with an odd mixture of awe and exasperation as the realisation hit.

"Thank goodness my mother is a bitch," she finished, muttering as if the words themselves might bring her luck.

Everyone looked at her with an odd pause. That’s...one way to feel happy?

Raven and Thalia traded glances.... Aether really had almost every pair—almost. Sera and Helena, at least, didn’t have mothers, but sometimes Sera acted like a mother to Helena, so...maybe that still counted.

This was something serious. Was their own husband really trying to get close to their mothers, too?

Fishy?

’Indeed,’ both Raven and Thalia thought.

Just then, Aether stepped inside. Every woman looked at him. He paused,

"Well," he began, "I am very proud of all of you."

"That’s definitely a lecture," someone muttered, almost too low to catch.

"Tsk. Damn it!"

"I knew it!"

"Oh?"

"No fucking then? So disappointing,"

Aether blinked, taken aback by their obvious lack of enthusiasm. "What happened? Why do you all look so disappointed?" he asked, genuinely puzzled by their reactions.

Everyone shrugged, some more dramatically than others, as if none of them wanted to voice the truth behind their disappointment. Aether shook his head, letting out a short sigh before continuing.

"Anyway, I am sorry for yelling at you," he said, the apology clear and honest in his voice.

Everyone raised their eyebrows, suspicion flickering again, especially Nightfire, who fixed him with a sharp look.

"Are you...Aether?" she asked.

Aether nodded weakly and said, "Yes, I am, dear. I didn’t mean to lose my cool before, but... yeah, I did. I just kind of lost it, seeing you in pain and suffering." As he spoke, he walked toward them, drawing each woman into a gentle embrace and pressing a soft kiss onto their forehead, one after another.

"So, tell me..." he continued, settling himself at the centre of the group with a calm, interested expression.

Everyone blinked at his sudden closeness before their lips curled into soft smiles. Each leaned closer, eager to tell their story... how they fought and survived. Especially Nightfire, who jumped in to embellish the tale. After everyone described being knocked out, she made sure to add, "It was me who almost stopped that metallic figure in the end!" Her words came out with a boastful edge, as if she were single-handedly holding the line. She straightened her back, soaking in the flickers of awe from the others.

’Small girls, you should know when to use an opportunity~’ Nightfire thought smugly, eyeing the group’s reactions... even Aether’s expression carried genuine surprise. Smiling slyly, he leaned forward and gave Nightfire a kiss on the lips—a clear reward for her daring.

She deserved more, didn’t she?

As her hand began to slither down toward his pants, Selene’s voice cut through, sharp and dark, "Please don’t do that in front of me."

Nightfire gulped, her throat tight, caught by Selene’s gaze—dark eyes that looked ready to swallow her whole. Her wandering hand instantly snapped back, retreating to safety.

Selene had long since accepted everyone being with Aether, but that didn’t mean anyone could touch his most important places whenever they wanted, especially not right before her eyes!

Aether chuckled softly but chose not to interfere. Nightfire needed to learn a little restraint. If they ever had a big family or children running around, she couldn’t just grab him anytime she felt like it—she needed to learn to control herself.

Anyway, after listening to their stories all over again, Aether’s eyes shone with pride. He realised they had managed all of this without using any powers, which was more than impressive, especially since even the patrols hadn’t been able to touch those metal figures.

"I am confused... why didn’t you use healing potions? They could have healed you, right?" he asked, concern flickering across his face as his fingers softly grazed over Raven’s scorched skin. His hands trembled a bit, but he controlled himself, not wanting to lose his cool in front of his wives anymore.

Selene explained, "The wounds weren’t that deep, honestly. With a few more days of rest, we’ll be fine." Before Aether could speak, she added, "Yes, we know High Grade Healing Potions would have healed us instantly, but right now, it’s better for us." She glanced at her sisters, who nodded with serious, determined faces—except for Nightfire.

"C-Can I get—" Nightfire started, but Selene shut her down with a single sharp glance. Nightfire closed her mouth instantly, pouting like a scolded child as she rubbed her back and made a wounded face.

"And don’t worry, Raven’s skin will be fine," Thalia added with a gentle smile, glancing at her sister lying on the mat with an indifferent expression. "The medicine Mother used was a natural remedy, one they use on dragon skin. She’ll recover just fine."

Aether nodded, then leaned in and kissed Raven’s forehead, his hand softly tugging her hair. Raven managed a gentle smile. "I’m sorry... I’ll do my best next time."

Aether hummed in response, his voice warm with conviction. "I believe in you. You’re all stronger than I ever thought you’d be," he said, a small but proud smile tugging at his lips.

Everyone smiled softly, shaking their heads. Their husband really did seem kind of cool right now. If only they had more strength, any one of them might have leapt onto his chest, kissed him deeply, and even fought off the others just to claim a place in his lap.

"Here."

Suddenly, Nightfire placed something on the ground with a small grin. Aether turned to look, and the moment his eyes landed on the object, they widened in utter shock. His fingers reached out and picked it up. "A... gun?" he muttered, staring at the weapon that looked strangely similar to the one he’d gotten from Rosavere.

"Before leaving, it dropped this weird thing," Nightfire explained, glancing between the group and Aether. "More like it didn’t even care to take it back—just wanted to get out of here. That’s what I think, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Aether frowned, turning the gun over in his hand.

"Yeah, come to think of it," Nightfire continued, "we heard a voice. It wasn’t something normal people say. It was... different, as if it wasn’t alive at all. The words..." She hesitated, searching for the right memory.

"I’ve never heard anything like it before."

Nyx spoke up, her tone puzzled as her nose finally stopped bleeding. "It’s true, it sounded strange. The way it spoke—it wasn’t human."

Aether glanced at the bucket of blood at Nyx’s side. ’Damn, that’s a lot... Is she really all right?’ he wondered, but Nyx’s indifferent expression made it seem as if bleeding buckets was just another Tuesday for her.

"Words?" Aether pressed, his frown deepening.

"It’s from your previous world, Aether," Selene said, her tone serious, "You used to teach me your language, remember? I heard that language coming from those metallic figures."

Aether’s eyes widened further as the others frowned... None of them had known that Aether’s old world language was involved.

Aether’s breath grew ragged as he asked, "W-What did it say?"

Selene tilted her head, wincing as her neck protested. "Let me think—"

Before she could finish, Thalia interrupted, squinting as she tried to recall.

"Like... Aaa Mooo Gddd?"

Aether frowned, confusion etched deep. He couldn’t make sense of what she was trying to imitate, but he was sure that wasn’t his language.

"No, not that. Like this..." Nightfire insisted, "Aat Mot Egd!"

Nyx shook her head, "That’s wrong. It’s definitely Aut Mod Engd."

Raven nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, something like that—Autt Mode Engged."

Aether listened to their varied pronunciations, each one different in slang and tone. At first, he was certain it couldn’t be his language—but as the attempts piled up, something began to click in his mind.

"Oh! Right!" Selene suddenly exclaimed, eyes lighting up with realisation as the memory hit. She drew herself up, pride in her voice,

"Ooto Modd Ranged!"

Everyone’s head snapped up. "Yes, that’s it!" they agreed at once, eyebrows rising in recognition as they looked at Selene.

Selene smirked, her face alight with pride as the group’s attention shifted to Aether. He stared at the gun, repeating the words with a dazed, distant voice,

"Auto... Mode... Engaged."