Chapter 347: Not Enough [2/2]
It seemed my girls knew more about me than I realized. It was strange now that I thought about it. It was like two opposing views fighting for control of my mind.
On the one hand, I believed that the Sirens were strong, more capable, and the best weapons I had at my disposal. So much so that I was discouraged because I felt inferior.
On the other hand, I valued them so much that I wanted to keep them in a metaphorical cage. The only enemies they would face would be the ones I allowed.
Tactically, it made no sense.
Aira said it several times when we were planning how to fight the Saviors. Of the scenarios in which we could destroy them, the Sirens were always part of the situation. But even though their involvement led to the best outcome, I denied it all.
"I\'m being stupid, aren\'t I?"
I prided myself on being logical, but my pride, ego, and emotions got the better of me. This was similar to men feeling emasculated by high earning women. Throughout history, men have used several means to control their wives.
The first was money, the literal "if you don\'t want to starve or freeze to death, listen to me" tactic. However, with girls earning more money through education, this power has largely disappeared in highly civilized countries.
The other factor that could enforce compliance was marital fidelity. But that has been pretty much destroyed by divorce and the "me too" movement. If it was once considered shameful to have multiple partners, it was now the norm. A disgusting norm, but a norm nonetheless.
If a woman didn\'t need a man\'s money and wasn\'t shamed for finding another, why on earth would she listen to one if she didn\'t want to?
Of course, there was a third option, and that was physical violence. It was also a fact that domestic violence was a reality in marriages before divorce was a thing. Nevertheless, these reasons generally became the factors for the next problem.
Highly intelligent and high earning women married to a man making less than six figures would never work. Any and all decisions made by the man would be overruled by the woman because she has the option to not listen.
My case was similar. I had seven highly capable women in front of me. They may have needed me in the beginning. But as they became stronger, that dependency would disappear.
I knew it was hard to get them to listen when they didn\'t want to. That was probably why I wanted to take away their ability to choose in the first place. Yet, in spite of all this, I also knew how much they respected me.
They showed me that today. That if they wanted to, they could exclude me from the operation and it would still go well. Of course, I didn\'t try to oppose them directly. But the proof was already there.
Right now, I wasn\'t sure what would happen if the Hellsend members were asked to choose between me and the Sirens. Who was loyal to whom? How many would side with me? How many wouldn\'t?
Even in monarchies this was a common problem, which was why the King\'s Guard was a thing. Maybe the 2nd Amendment would be the only ones loyal to me? I was sure that Vela\'s wolves would prefer their big sister to me.
Despite all these things, the Sirens were also telling me one thing in particular. Or rather a lesson.
In plain English, it was that I should use them as ruthlessly as the 2nd Amendment. And that despite their abilities, they were subservient to me not because they had to be, but because they wanted to be.
"I..."
Unable to answer, the girls surrounded me with a group hug. They said nothing, but I could feel their warmth from our pseudo-kindred link. Sometimes I wonder how much of my emotions were passed on to them through this thing.
After we parted, Jo pulled my hands toward the portals. It seemed that the battle was entering its final stages. On the one hand, all seven colored squads of the 2nd Amendment were blasting the shit out of the zombies.
With [Eagle eye], I noticed that there were no more zombies coming from the portals. As the number of enemies decreased, the barrage of bullets became even more concentrated.
"Darling! Take out your guns and dance with me!"
"What?"
Lilly raised her hands as she shouted in a clear voice with {Announce}.
"All squads cease fire! Ten graves to the field!"
As if a loud storm had finally subsided, the guns that had been firing all this time stopped. The quiet stillness was broken by hundreds of groaning corpses.
"BLOODY OATH! LET\'S DO THIS!"
"A good practice for tomorrow\'s battle! My blood is on fire! My love! Let us depart!"
"Please be careful, everyone. I will protect Shujin."
"As will I. Husband will be safe with me by his side."
"Oh please, Jasmine, Aki and I will protect Honey. Snipers shouldn\'t jump around."
"No! Aki come with us too! Bella, Liv and Henry will be with Darling! Also, Jas, we can still double team, so it\'s okay! Robyn, Aki and I will be the vanguard."
"Then Jasmine and I will guard our rear. Dear, make sure you stay close to Bella and Liv, okay?"
Hearing my girls plan our formation, I could only smile wryly. We had the entire Hellsend on standby, while there were still a considerable number of undead.
"Bella, how many are we looking at?"
"Not enough," she replied arrogantly.
"Not enough, huh?"
"POSSUM! LET\'S GO ALREADY! LILLY! DO YOUR THING!"
"My thing?" Lilly replied confused.
"I believe Robyn is asking for your declaration of hostilities, Lilly-sama."
"Oh? That\'s a thing? Amusing. Then okay! I will do my thing now!" she rambled on excitedly with a smile.
"Have some dignity, you pervert. You are an embarrassment to Husband."
"Now, now, everybody stop fighting. She\'s just excited, after all the princess hardly has any friends because she\'s a fucking pervert. Right, Honey?"
Hearing the banter of my harem, I couldn\'t help but feel overjoyed. This was what I was missing. Being with the women who made my light shine brighter.
I chuckled as I replied to Bella, "She\'s my pervert, Honey. So I don\'t mind. Dear, please do your thing. I really want to see your cool side."
"Hahaha! Darling didn\'t deny that you\'re a pervert! HAHAHA!"
"Oh shut up you nut job! It is just like dear said! I am his pervert!"
"Hahaha! So what? I am his nut job too! Right, darling?"
"Yes, darling, my very own crazy lunatic. One I cannot live without."
"Haha, Beloved has a way with words. Even insults feel affectionate."
"You are all incorrigible! Ehem. SEVEN SIRENS PLUS DEAREST! ANNIHILATE THE REMAINING ENEMY! OPEN COMBAT!"
At Lilly\'s words, the Sirens and I sprang into action. Like a well-oiled machine, it took us only twenty minutes to kill all the zombies. And unlike the previous battle, this one made me feel extremely good.
When the Jo shot the very last zombie through its mouth, the battle was finally over. With happiness and joy, I shouted to the sky in excitement.
"VICTORY!"
Hundreds more joined me in celebrating as Hellsend completed its first battle.