Chapter 1728 - 240 - The Battle at the Black Pole (3)

I leaned back slightly in my chair while thinking about everything Bernadette had said, trying to figure out what our next move should be before the situation spiraled completely out of control.

If things were already heading toward a naval war, then waiting around and hoping the problem would somehow resolve itself wasn't exactly a sensible strategy.

Someone needed to intervene before the conflict reached the point where nobody could control it anymore.

Unfortunately, that someone was probably going to be me.

I sighed quietly before finally coming to a decision.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to go to the Mermaid Kingdom," I said.

***

Shredica and I were heading to the Mermaid Kingdom. I had already told her to stay put since she had only just come back, but for some reason, she seemed determined to come along with me anyway.

"Why?" I asked, looking at her with a little confusion because I genuinely couldn't figure out what had suddenly made her want to accompany me.

"I don't know. I just felt like it."

That was her answer, and honestly, I couldn't argue with it too much. It wasn't as though having a companion wasn't useful, especially since I was already planning to bring someone else with me. Having another person around could actually make things considerably easier, particularly if something unexpected happened during the journey.

The person I was planning to bring with me was... none other than the Princess of the Mermaid Kingdom herself.

So, Shredica and I went back to the main headquarters of the Leonamon Company. When I arrived, all of my girlfriends were already there, and Titania immediately smiled when she noticed me. Her expression became even brighter when she spotted Shredica walking beside me.

"Shreddy!" Titania happily trotted toward Shredica before throwing her arms around her and giving her a hug.

I would have expected Shredica to push her away, or at least step aside and dodge the incoming hug, but for some reason, she simply stood there and allowed Titania to embrace her. Considering Shredica's usual attitude toward unexpected affection, that alone was somewhat surprising.

"Can you please not call me that?" Shredica asked, sounding more bothered by the nickname than by the hug itself.

"Why? Shreddy seems like a good nickname, doesn't it?" Titania asked with a cheerful smile, apparently seeing absolutely nothing wrong with it.

"It sounds like I'm some sort of toy."

Well, she wasn't exactly wrong about that. You would think the nickname Shreddy belonged to some kind of stuffed toy, especially since it sounded suspiciously similar to Teddy. At this rate, Titania could probably find a teddy bear somewhere, put a tiny dress on it, and proudly announce that she had finally found Shredica's long-lost twin.

"By the way, where are you two going?" Titania asked after finally letting Shredica go. "You seem to have come back here for something, and you also look like you're going to leave just as quickly."

Titania didn't sound disappointed about me leaving at all. Instead, she sounded like she was simply asking out of curiosity, which made sense considering she already knew how busy I had been lately. I had barely had enough time to properly see some of my women, so she seemed to understand that there were things I needed to take care of before I could simply sit around and enjoy myself.

"Well, we've come back because we're going to get someone," I explained. "I'd be away for quite a while, you see."

"I see," Titania said, giving me another warm smile.

"I'm sorry for not being able to stay with you for quite a while now."

"It's okay. I understand," she replied. "You are our protector, after all. You're just doing your best to protect us, so I won't complain about that."

I looked toward my other girlfriends as well, including the other three women who had already given birth to my children. They all seemed to understand where I was coming from, and instead of adding even more weight to my already ridiculous list of responsibilities, they seemed willing to accept that I couldn't possibly divide my time perfectly between all of them.

Although I was a powerful person and could handle quite a lot, there was still a limit to how much I could actually juggle at once. Apparently, having enough power to fight monsters, command an organization, deal with a war, and protect the people around me didn't magically give me several extra bodies that could handle everything simultaneously.

So I appreciated their understanding.

"Thanks," I said. "I promise that once everything is done, I'm gonna have fun with all of you."

I was going to have a large orgy with all of them and fuck all of them at the same time. For now, though, I had to focus on the war because there were considerably more important matters that needed my attention before I could start thinking about having that kind of fun with everyone.

They seemed to understand exactly what I meant, because all of them immediately blushed and looked at me with awkward expressions. Some looked away while others simply stared at me, and judging from their reactions, I probably hadn't needed to spell out exactly what kind of fun I was talking about.

I smiled at them before finally turning around and continuing onward, with Shredica following behind me as we headed deeper into the company.

We eventually reached the underground level of the headquarters, and down there was a huge water facility that, at the moment, was being used by only one person. The facility had been prepared specifically to accommodate her, which made sense considering who she was and the fact that she obviously couldn't live comfortably in an ordinary room.

When I entered the facility, that person immediately noticed me and climbed out of the water before moving toward the surface. She looked at me for a moment, and her expression immediately brightened when she realized who had arrived.

She then waved her hand at me with an enormous smile.

"LEONNNN!! YOU ARE BACK!"

It was Serune, the Princess of the Mermaid Kingdom.

She swam toward me before lifting her head above the water, her cheerful expression making it obvious that she was genuinely happy to see me again.

"Yup. How have you been?" I asked.

"Heheheh, I'm good. Thanks to you."