Chapter 459 Trust
459 Trust
Abaddon was currently watching a rather pointless competition take place.
This story should be prefaced by saying that Abaddon had not chosen a best man yet.
And with that in mind, a competition broke out among a few of those assembled to determine who alone was fit to fill the role.
Asmodeus, Kanami, Thea, and Apophis were all in the middle of a very heated drinking competition; determined to fulfill the role of Abaddon's best man.
The entire bar was gathered around their table, filling the air with cheers and jeers as they watched the most influential members of their society give themselves alcohol poisoning.
"Chug, chug, chug!"
"Go princess!"
"I've never seen lady Kanami drink so much!"
"No one will believe me when I tell this story later!"
The one who slammed down her overwhelmingly large cask first was none other than the first princess, who's soft caramel cheeks had begun to turn red with intoxication.
In quick succession, she was followed by Asmodeus, Kanami, and then Apophis.
"The princess has won!"
"She will be her father's best woman!"
Just before Thea could start celebrating, Asmodeus slammed his fist atop the table to draw the attention of everyone in the bar.
"I cccontest this decision!"
"As do I, father!" Kanami yelled with a face as red as her hair.
Abaddon found his younger sister to be extremely adorable at this moment and he only barely resisted the urge to pinch her puffy cheeks.
"I-I would also like to contest this decision!" Apophis slurred. "A-
And I want food too! Someone bring me some chili cheese fries and a bacon burger!"
Abaddon: "I thought Claire-Bear was trying to get you to eat better?"
"A-And add avocado and three slices of tomato!"
Abaddon: "That's not exactly what I meant, but okay."
Thea crinkled her nose up in disgust as she stared at her Aunt and Grandfather.
"L-Losers should just accept the results!"
Asmodeus: "W-Who are you calling a loser!? What happened to my sweet grand daughter?!"
Kanami: "Yea!"
Asmodeus : "I am the demon god of darkness! I will know no defeat!"
Kanami : "Yea!"
Asmodeus : "You are just too cowardly to grant us a rematch because you know it will end with your total loss!"
Kanami : "Yea!"
A drunken vein bulged in Thea's forehead as she held up her dainty fist proudly.
"Bring it on, cocksuckers! I'll beat you any day, any time, whenever you want! I'll work you bastards like Joe Jackson worked the Jackson 5! I ain't taking no shit! Step up, scrubs!"
Hajun / Kirina : 'Are we sure she's not our daughter's blood child..?'
""Bring out the next round!""
Surprisingly enough, Darius stood up to be the voice of reason.
"Easy now, lad and lassies. I think I know a fair way to end this battle once and for all. Barkeep! Bring out three of my special 'Kidney Killers!'"
Briefly, Abaddon began to get a bad feeling.
His fears were proved to be founded when the barkeep brought over three icy mugs filled with an alcoholic concoction.
"Darius... What exactly is in these drinks of yours?"
"Ah! Interested, are ya? These here are made from rum, whiskey, vodka, grain alcohol, hennessy, tequila, saké, and gin!"
This was the first time that Abaddon had ever been concerned about the drinking habits of someone around him so heavily.
"Y-You crazy old drunkard! Those things don't even go together!"
"Who said they had to?! Besides, fruit flavoring can be added to make it go down easier... if you're a wuss that is."
Asmodeus, Kanami, and Thea all felt their brow twitch involuntarily.
Sensing danger, Abaddon wanted to put a stop to this at once, but it was already too late.
"""We'll show you a fucking wuss!!"""
In unison, all three drunkards picked up their mugs filled to the brim with Sheolan alcohols, and started to chug them to the best of their ability.
Immediately, Abaddon could see the strong taste starting to get to them as their eyes nearly left their sockets.
Tears started to form in their vision as they forced themselves to gulp the unholy alcohol down, ultimately determined to finish first.
But eventually, it appeared as though they couldn't take it.
One by one, their eyes lost focus as they fell over on top of each other one by one on the floor.
Abaddon looked down at the three drunken idiots and smiled with helpless amusement.
Apophis was the only one left standing, but well... it'd be tough to really call it that.
He was lying with his head on the table, drunkenly shoveling forkfuls of greasy food in his mouth.
Abaddon could hardly call this a victory for any of them.
"…We'll put your little contest on hold for now then."
-
Upon returning the drunken miscreants to their homes and beds, Abaddon was just about ready to turn in for the night and was heading towards his bedroom.
However, he had one extra special passenger with him this time around.
Baby Straga was already fed, changed, and dressed for bed, but he wouldn't be going to his crib.
The best part of when your children are young was letting them fall asleep in your arms or chest at night while they were still small.
And since his wives had been the ones to ask first, he wasn't by any means going to object to any of this.
"You're getting big, little man.. I wonder if it'll be time to register you for school soon... your siblings didn't need it but you are a little different from them. Might do you some good to be around other kids your age."
Straga couldn't hear his father currently as he had already begun to doze off.
"I hope you do better than I did though... If your experience is anything like mine, I'll either have to keep you from killing other kids or yourself... Sorry, that was too dark of joke for a father to make."
Again, Straga couldn't hear his father, but he wouldn't have understood the weight behind his joke even if he could.
Finally reaching his bedroom, Abaddon pushed open the bedroom door and stepped inside.
"Alright loves. Look who I brought?"
Inside, all ten wives smiled and rushed to the door to meet their youngest child.
But before they could lay a finger on Straga's cheeks or baby legs, Abaddon stopped them dead in their tracks with a single question.
"What's wrong?"
Briefly, all of the girls flinched before looking at each other uncomfortably.
"W-What are you talking about, honey?" Lisa asked with a forced smile."Why would something be-"
"You're all tense, it's long past the time when Bekka and Audrina are usually underneath the covers, Lailah isn't reading a book or receiving a massage to wind her mind down, Seras hasn't bathed yet, Eris isn't in her nightgown, Tati's chewed off her fingernails, and I just heard Valerie's stomach rumble. Meaning she hasn't eaten yet, likely because you all have been too busy discussing whatever's making you so tense. So I'll ask you again, what is the matter my loves?"
"W-We're not bound to some routine, you know?" Lailah said defensively. "We can change up our schedules anytime we-"
"W-Will you grill me some fish please?" Valerie asked with big eyes.
"Sure." Abaddon took Valerie by the hand and led her back out of the bedroom towards the kitchen.
Along the way, the wives could not help but follow him wordlessly.
Erica : 'Hey... does he do that kind of thing often?'
Lillian : 'You mean read us like open books..? Yes. It's endearing sometimes but it makes planning surprises for him really hard.'
Erica : '...I'd smother him with a pillow if I didn't love him so much.'
All : 'Hear, hear.'
"I heard that."
All of Abaddon's wives turned their heads to the side and started looking at everywhere else but him.
Once the eleven of them were in the kitchen, Abaddon gently passed the sleeping Straga over to Audrina while he tied up his hair and started sifting through the fridge for cuts of fish.
"So? Who's going to tell me what's going on first?"
Like a curvy sous chef, Tatiana started to oil down a cast iron pan and placed it over an open flame on the stove.
"We... need to do something, but we aren't quite sure how to go about it."
"Oh? What might that be?" In a natural rhythm, he seasoned the fish with smoked paprika, celery salt, and a little bit of black pepper.
"...You cannot ask us why, or what, but... we have to take something from you." Lailah said uncomfortably.
"You already have my virginity though?" Abaddon joked, as he lay a cut of wild salmon into the hot pan.
Bekka's stomach started to rumble uncontrollably, and she opened her mouth to place her own order.
However, Abaddon already anticipated how the stomach of his second wife would operate, and he lay four more pieces on the grill in quick succession.
'I love him so much.' Bekka thought happily.
After hearing his bad joke, Lailah gave her husband a small elbow in the ribs.
"Be serious, you big oaf…" she said with an exhausted smile that she was trying hard to hide. "This is hard for us."
"Alright, now I'm REALLY curious."
Lailah contemplated stepping on her husband's tail to stop him from taking this matter so lightly.
"What we need to take from you…" Eris began. "It's a memory, darling."
Finally, Abaddon paused for a moment. "..Alright."
The silence that permeated the kitchen was only drowned out by the sound of fish cooking in a cast iron pan.
"I… don't know if you understand, honey." Erica gently placed her hand on Abaddon's back.
"We're telling you that we have to go into your mind and take a memory from you… we don't know when we'll be able to give it back."
"Yes, I get it. Are you hungry as well by chance?"
"I… no?"
"Liar."
Valerie, like the rest of the wives, rubbed her temples as Abaddon continued cooking without a care in the world.
"You're not bothered by this at all?"
"Not really. You clearly must have a reason that I'm not supposed to know about.
Besides, I trust you all enough that I don't need an explanation for every single thing you do anyway.
So if you're worried that I'll feel slighted in some way, then you all can rest easy. Do what you need to do."
An identical grin appeared on the faces of all ten women.
Speaking for all of them, Seras wrapped their tails together in a loving gesture.
"Thank you for trusting us. It honestly means more than you can know."
"This is what it means to be married, no?"
Moved, Seras gently grabbed Abaddon by the face and brought him towards her.
Pressing their foreheads together, she stepped into his mind easily, and took away the memory like she was picking out a cd.
Her husband didn't fight her, he didn't even try to spy and see what she took.
When she came back to, she took the liberty of pressing her lips against his, as gently as snow falling onto a blade of grass.
Romanticism aside, there were more important things to be worried about at the moment.
Bekka : "Hey, get off him so he doesn't burn my fish on accident damnit!"
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