Alice’s arms tightened around him right away.
He didn’t need to see her expression to know she was gritting her teeth.
It was her raw emotion.
She was hurt because of him. And it was going to affect her relationship with Catherine.
Isaac felt it hit him in the chest.
This is my fault.
I messed everything up.
Celia spoke quietly from the side.
"She was taken away—"
"Celia," Alice said, her voice sharp but tired.
It was a warning.
Her way of saying don’t say her name right now .
She clearly didn’t want Catherine anywhere near him at this moment.
Isaac understood.
She wasn’t blaming Catherine.
She was protecting him, and protecting whatever they had between them.
But he knew the truth.
Catherine wasn’t at fault.
He was.
And he intended to fix the problems himself.
He took a steady breath and opened Catherine’s status panel.
The numbers, skills, and titles spread across his vision like a clean board of data.
’What is this status...?’
It stunned him for a second, enough to make his thoughts freeze.
But this wasn’t the time to get distracted.
He forced himself to move.
System, share her clone skill!
Share her perception-blocking and hiding skill!
A confirmation ping echoed in his mind.
Killing Mirage Projection (SSS rank, Level 10) gained.
Perception Lock Disrupt (SSS rank, Level 10) gained.
Eclipse Presence Erasure (SSS+ rank, Level 10) gained.
He ignored the rest for now.
He wanted to copy all of her abilities, but he was tight on time. And if he copied her skills carelessly, he might also take the ones that make her unable to kiss or be intimate with her partner.
This wasn’t the moment to get greedy. He could copy all of her skills after he was done with his discussion with Emily, Celia, and Alice.
With a flick of his finger, he summoned a clone.
A second body snapped into existence beside him, mostly transparent and already hidden.
Isaac’s vision instantly split.
The main view remained with him.
It was large, clear, and stable.
The second view was smaller and off to the side.
It belonged to the clone.
He tried moving it.
Both bodies wobbled slightly at the same time.
’This... is harder than I thought.’
Controlling two bodies at once felt like learning to walk with four legs.
He kept both steady until they balanced.
The girls didn’t notice the clone.
He had hidden it with the skills the instant it appeared.
He checked something quickly.
The clone could use all his skills.
The cooldowns were shared.
The mana cost was shared.
He could turn off its five senses, including the sense of pain, anytime he wanted.
That part felt reassuring.
’I can protect the Soulbind Pendant with the clone.’
’My main body can move to the Cradle with everyone right now.’
He looked at his three wives.
"Come with me for a second," Isaac said.
He didn’t wait for a response.
He activated the Soulbind Pendant, pulling all of them into it in one motion.
In the real world, his hidden clone stayed behind, guarding the pendant.
Inside the pendant, the space stretched into a peaceful room.
It had soft light, and warm air.
The place was comfortable and safe enough to sit and talk, even with tense hearts. Here, he wouldn’t have to worry about being eavesdropped at.
Emily, Celia, and Alice all loosened their grips around him as the spatial shift settled.
Isaac turned toward Priscilla, who was already standing behind him.
The maid always appeared instantly as soon as she sensed his arrival.
Her eyes brightened the moment she saw him.
She bowed with her usual calm.
"Go make a herbal tea for everyone. Use the mix with calming effects. And make sure no one disturbs us," Isaac said.
"Understood, Master," Priscilla replied.
She left quietly.
Outside the door, he sensed the other maids shifting positions.
They must have received Priscilla’s order because they left.
When everything settled, Isaac faced Alice, Celia, and Emily.
The tension in the room felt sharp, like stretched strings.
"It’s not Catherine’s fault," Isaac said.
The name came out strange to him.
He usually called her "Sis" Or "Professor Catherine."
But using her actual name felt necessary right now, like he needed to draw a line properly.
"Isaac, stop defending—" Alice started.
"I was the one who kissed her," Isaac said, cutting her off. "And I did it because of this."
He snapped his fingers.
A second clone appeared beside him.
Celia jumped slightly.
"That...!"
Her eyes widened at the sight of it.
"It’s Catherine’s skill. I needed it to harvest the crops and deal with the Sinkhole Worms at the same time," Isaac said.
He paused, and added,
"I’m sorry. I should’ve talked to all of you first."
Emily and Celia froze.
Even Alice blinked.
"I didn’t explain anything about the resurrection because I thought you all would try to stop me," Isaac continued. "But... even if that was true, I still should have talked first. I shouldn’t have made decisions alone."
Emily’s lips trembled a little.
Celia opened her mouth but closed it again.
Alice looked away.
They understood how serious this was for him.
Isaac rarely admitted his true abilities out aloud.
But this time, he wasn’t hiding anything.
This is also the first time he revealed how he shared their abilities.
It was through a kiss.
The girls looked at him with mixed expressions of shock, confusion, and a little bit of disbelief.
He had kept that secret tightly guarded until now.
"I need a kiss to share skills. That’s the requirement," Isaac admitted.
He didn’t look away.
He didn’t hide the truth.
He simply said it.
Up until now, he had let everyone create their own theories about how his ability worked.
He never corrected them.
But revealing it now was his way of showing sincerity.
His way of saying, I’m taking responsibility. I’m not hiding anything from you.
Emily sniffed.
Celia looked down, holding her wrist.
Alice’s jaw clenched, but her gaze softened slightly.
Isaac stepped forward.
"Emily, Celia, Alice. I promise I won’t take reckless decisions alone anymore."
He looked at each of them carefully.
"So please... can you forgive me? And please don’t take it out on Catherine. I’m the one who made the mistake."
His voice wasn’t dramatic.
It wasn’t emotional on purpose.
He just meant it.
He was showing sincerity the only way he knew how: through actions and clear truth.
Emily exhaled shakily.
"Okay. I trust you, Isaac," she whispered.
Celia forced a smile, though her eyes were still glassy.
"I can’t stay mad at you anyway. And Professor Catherine helped me a lot. I can’t stay mad at her either," she said.
Alice didn’t respond right away.
Isaac waited.
He didn’t push her.
He didn’t call her name again.
He just let her think.
Finally, she looked toward him, even if only slightly.
Her voice was low.
"Alright," Alice said. "But this is the only time I’m forgiving you two."
Her words were blunt, but the meaning behind them was clear.
She wasn’t actually angry at Catherine.
She was hurt because she cared about Isaac.
"Thank you," Isaac said with a small smile.
He leaned in and kissed all three of them, a simple gesture meant to comfort and apologize at the same time.
Celia giggled, lightening the mood a little.
Emily’s expression softened, the tension around her shoulders easing for the first time since everything began.
Alice resisted for a moment, but eventually she caved in.
She grabbed him by the collar, and pushed him down with more force than necessary.
"Hey, not fair! I wanted to try that move too," Celia said, licking her lips playfully as she leaned closer.
Isaac opened his mouth, probably to say something responsible or logical, but he didn’t get the chance.
Both girls had already crowded him from opposite sides.
Emily scratched her cheek with an embarrassed smile.
"Um... We should stop here. We have a lot of work to do today," she said.
"Haah, haah." Alice pulled off just long enough to answer, breathless. "He has a clone skill. The clones can handle the work for now."
"But—"
"It’s fine. This will only take half an hour at most," Alice said.
Isaac tried again.
It came out as a strangled groan because Alice knew exactly where to press and Celia was not playing gentle either.
The devil’s tail curled around his thigh like she was claiming territory.
At the same time, she continued nibbling his ear.
Isaac looked like he wanted to protest.
He was trying to say that handling clones was hard was he was being kissed and given a head at the same time.
He glanced at Emily, silently asking for backup.
Emily understood the look immediately.
He was asking for help, or at least a distraction.
But when Alice casually burned away the top half of his shirt with a flicker of heat, exposing his torso, Emily froze.
Her resolve started slipping.
She swallowed when she noticed Celia leaning in closer, kissing him deeply, while Alice continued things below.
Everything that happened today had drained them emotionally.
The fear, the guilt, the sudden relief—
It all mixed together until the room felt too full.
Emily wanted comfort.
She wanted warmth.
The dragon was no different.
She wanted Isaac’s embrace even if that meant breaking her rule of not including another ’woman’ during their intimate moment.
Even if it went against her usual rule about not including others during intimate moments.
Seeing Emily hesitate—wanting to join but unsure—Celia broke her kiss for a brief second.
"Emily," she said softly. "This is his punishment. He needs to understand there are consequences when he keeps things from us."
"Punishment...?" Emily blinked.
She didn’t understand at first.
Then she looked at Isaac more closely and realized he seemed overwhelmed.
His breathing was uneven.
His thoughts were scattered.
He couldn’t even form proper sentences.
In his defence, he was being given head by the dragon who knew all his weak spots, and was being kissed fiercely by the devil who could spike his lust.
And after everything that happened yesterday—with Catherine teasing him all night and him being unable to do the deed—his restraint had already been stretched thin.
On top of all this, he had to divide his focus to maintain his clone.
"Alice... wait... a moment..." Isaac said, grabbing the dragon’s horns lightly, trying to steady himself.
But then his eyes widened in panic as he saw Emily finally move toward him.
"Wait— I can’t maintain my clone if my mind is—"
His warning was cut short as Alice’s tongue moved like a snake.
Mind numbing pleasure erupted inside his mind, and Emily sealed his lips.
...
Meanwhile, in the real world, Isaac’s clone was kneeling on the ground.
Its movements were shaky and unbalanced.
Isaac tried to steady it.
"I told you three... slow down... seriously..." he muttered through gritted teeth.
Whether it was the stress of almost losing him, or the relief of learning he trusted them enough to share his deepest secret, all three girls were acting more intense than usual.
Isaac forced himself to focus and created one more clone.
He didn’t have the luxury of taking things slow.
The Sinkhole Worms couldn’t wait.
And he couldn’t allow today’s emotional chaos to make him lose progress.
The situation was ridiculous enough to make him want to cry.
Was he supposed to fight monsters while receiving a head?
"Why is this my life this unfair..." he muttered, gritting his teeth while bent down.
Still, he didn’t have a choice.
The second clone went to handle the harvesting.
He created another clone and sent it to Fortified City 50. It would worth with Overlord Aurora and Althea to deal with Sinkhole Worms.
Both positions were important.
On top of that, there was the issue with Catherine.
He needed to speak to her.
He took out his device and dialled Catherine’s number.
She didn’t pick up.
That was expected.
After everything that happened, she would be avoiding him.
He dialled Sword Empress next.
The call connected almost instantly.
"Where... is Sis?" Isaac asked without hesitation.
"I sent her somewhere far away from you for now," Sword Empress said, blunt as always.
Isaac’s expression tightened.
"Tell me... where she.... is?" he asked, breathing unevenly.
"Isaac? Why are you breathing like that? Are you still injured?" Sword Empress asked, suspicious.
"I— Yes... I’m injured. Can you please.... just tell me where she is?"
There was a long silence.
Sword Empress had originally decided not to reveal anything.
Keeping them separate seemed like the safest choice.
But hearing Isaac pushing himself this hard—still trying to look for Catherine even while injured—made her reconsider.
She sighed.
"She’s going to Fortified City 22. Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything to her. She was feeling guilty enough on her own. And about meeting you... she doesn’t want to see you right now," Sword Empress said.
"Thank you for the info," Isaac said quickly, and he ended the call before she could say anything else.
He didn’t waste time.
His clone moved towards Fortified City 50 with the Soulbind Pendant.
Catherine should still be at the teleporter or on the way there. If Isaac moved fast, he could catch her before she left.
There’s no way I’m letting you leave, he thought.
Not when we finally found each other again after so many years.