1000x Random Returns: Investing in My Crippled Demon Wives!

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: I Accidentally Invented the Snack Cultivation Method?!

Sunlight crept across the massive bed, and Lucien surfaced slowly from sleep, warm, comfortable, and thoroughly pinned by something wrapped around his arm.

He looked down.

Evelisse, still fast asleep, hugging his forearm like a body pillow, her expression utterly peaceful.

”...chocolate,” she murmured.

He stared at her. ”...Seriously?”

Carmilla floated into view directly above his face, upside down. ”Good morning, Lucien.”

”Morning.”

She turned toward Evelisse, eyes lighting up. ”She’s adorable.”

Evelisse tightened her grip. ”...Five...”

”She looks like she’s having having nice dream,” Carmilla informed him, unnecessarily.

”I know.”

”So cute.”

He extracted his arm with the careful precision of a man defusing something explosive, and made it to the attached bathroom without waking her.

Carmilla followed, floating behind him.

”You don’t have to follow me you know,” he said.

”I know.” She said but kept following him.

”Then why are you?”

”Because I want to.”

He’d already learned, in the span of a single evening, that arguing with her about boundaries was a losing proposition. She perched on the counter, watching him shower with the casual interest of someone reviewing a report she’d already read twice.

”Your body’s really defined, some strong woman might even take you a boy toy just for them and if we include your package, them I’m sure some would take you, what do you say, does that make you excited?” She said jokingly while observing his body closely.

”No it doesn’t, I am a married man, and besides that’s definitely not a normal thing to say, I’m sure they have more things going on than finding a boy toy.”

”I’m a Goddess, normal doesn’t apply to me, and you’d be surprised how many of them do.”

”Normal not applying to you is not just because you’re a Goddess, it’s because you’re you.”

”How could you say that, I am the best Goddess and sugar mommy?” She said dramaticly with fake hurt, hiding a laugh.

Downstairs, Evelisse was already seated, freshly washed, eating with focused determination.

Carmilla stopped midair. ”Wasn’t she asleep five minutes ago?”

”She has terrifying food related motivation.”

”I heard that, husband.” Evelisse said, not looking up from her plate.

Aurelia joined shortly after, and Seraphina finished plating the last of breakfast, the whole scene settling into something comfortable and domestic.

”I’m going to be spending most of today sorting everything out,” Lucien announced to the girls.

”Everything?” Evelisse asked.

”Everything.” New bloodlines, unexamined traits, Carmilla’s resources, the piled-up bond rewards, the Foundation Severance Scripture, the elixir, the key a genuinely absurd backlog he’d been putting off since the dungeon.

’I’m finally home, but I can’t leave them all to rot in the inventory and storage ring, I’ve got to deal with all of it and put them to use.’

He pulled two Rare snack packs from his ring, and Evelisse’s entire posture straightened, seeing what he had.

”My precious.” She said making him really concerned she’d gotten addicted, but it wasn’t that serious.

”They’re snacks.”

”They’re motivation for all the struggle I went through.” She responded.

”It was just cultivation.” Aurelia said.

”Easy for you to say, Aura.”

He handed them over, then decided to give her more motivation, ”If you reach C Rank, I’ll give you two more.”

Her happiness froze mid-transition.

”...C-Rank,” she repeated, deadly serious.

”C-Rank.”

Her fists clenched. ”Fine, I’ll do it.”

”You were complaining yesterday,” Aurelia pointed out.

”That was before I had a mission.”

Carmilla patted her head approvingly. ”Excellent, go prove them wrong Evelisse, show them what you got.”

”Yes!”

’I might have accidentally invented a cultivation method powered entirely by snacks, at least only for Evelisse, though maybe it would work on Kael’ Lucien thought, mildly horrified at his own success.

Seraphina set down her utensils. ”I’ve decided that I’ll take the elixir today.”

Everyone turned toward her hearing what she said.

”The sooner you’re healed,” Aurelia said nodding, ”the sooner you can cultivate properly.”

”Agreed,” Lucien said, not wanting to delay something that could finally fix what had held her back her entire life, and then all 3 of them could finally start growing together.

After breakfast finished they all headed upstairs together, towards Seraphina’s room as Carmilla said as she would need some comfortable to lay.

In her room, Seraphina pulled the vial from her ring and simply looked at it a moment, the weight of what it might mean sitting heavy in her expression.

”You don’t have to rush, if you don’t want to.” Lucien said gently holding her hand.

”I’ve waited long enough,” she said smiling at him. ”And I want to be able to protect this family with you guys too.”

Carmilla patted her head.

”Dont worry, big sis is one hundred percent sure you’ll be able to cultivate after this.”

”Thank you, Lady Carmilla.” Seraphina said sitting on the bed.

”Hey, I told you to call me big sis!” Carmilla said as Seraphina drank the elixir.

Nothing happened at first. Then her body went slack, eyes losing focus, and she collapsed gently onto the bed.

Lucien moved instantly, but Carmilla raised a hand.

”Relax, my sugar disciple, she’s fine.”

”You sure?”

”Obviously, I’m a Goddess after all.”

”Wait, what did you call me?” He said finally catching on to what she said.

”Sugar Disciple?”

”The hell does that mean, and how did you even think to come up with that, it sounds worse than before?”

”We’ll you’re my sugar baby and my disciple, so together you’re my sugar disciple.” She informed him of her genius, making Evelisse burst out laughing and even Aurelia couldn’t hold it in.

”Pft, hahaha, so sugar husband, what are you going to do now?” Aurelia asked teasing him,as Carmilla nodded proudly.

”Oh God, please not you too, Aura.” He said horrified that she would stick to calling him that.

”Oh nice one, Aura.” Evelisse gave her a thumbs up, already planning to use it herself.

Carmilla then explained to all of them that the elixir was already working, though there was no fixed timeline, it depended entirely on how deep the soul damage went, how much resistance existed between soul and bloodline, how much actually needed healing.

”Could be an hour,” she said. ”Could be days, but just in case I’ll stay here with little Sera.”

”You’ll stay with her?” Lucien asked.

”Of course.”

”Can you stay here while I go elsewhere?” He asked as even though he didn’t mind waiting, he preferred to use his time wisely.

”Yes but only up to a certain distance,” Carmilla said. ”Around a hundred meters, the contract keeps me tethered to you, go too far, and the fragment weakens until it snaps back, stretch it to far and it cause damage to this clone.”

”A hundred meters is enough,” Lucien said, relieved, as his room wasn’t even one tenth of that distance away.

”We’ll be nearby if you need anything.” Aurelia told Seraphina’s sleeping form and Carmilla.

”What’s the chance she awakens some terrifying bloodline, maybe even a Divine one, I mean we all have Divine talents, maybe she’ll have a Divine bloodline.” Evelisse added.

Everyone looked at her like she was crazy.

”What? I mean, would it even be surprising, considering all the crap sugar hubby experienced because of his absurd luck.”

”...Somehow that didn’t help,” Lucien said.

”But it would be amazing if she did, though as long as it’s good and she likes it.” Lucien added.

They left Carmilla watching over her and stepped into the hallway.

”Do you want the Foundation Severance Scripture?” Aurelia asked once the door closed.

Lucien paused, remembering. ”Actually, no.”

”Why not?”

”I have something better.”

Evelisse’s eyes narrowed instantly. ”How, through you’re just as absurd Comprehension, like with the cultivation technique?”

He didn’t answer, focusing inward instead, opening his System Inventory and selecting the reward that had been sitting untouched since dinner.

[Foundation Severance Technique (Mythical+ Rank) Learned.]

Understanding flooded in, not just theory, but structure, flaws in his current foundation, the correct sequence for reconstruction, mana circulation patterns, every risk laid bare.l, how this was better woth lesser chance for mishaps and how it laid a deeper and stronger foundation, even going as far as to let him keep some of his strength as a base when dropping his ranks, provided he did it properly.

He absorbed all of it in seconds.

’This is genuinely better than Carmilla’s version, no offense to that one though, as for was also good.’ he realized. ’This is not more powerful, necessarily, but also built specifically to minimize damage while maximizing the foundation quality afterward.’

’Perfect for the three of them too, as it will let them climb higher in the future.’

”Don’t use Carmilla’s technique yet,” he told Aurelia.

”Why?”

”I have something better in mind, I just have to finish it.”

She studied him a moment, then simply nodded, entirely unsurprised at this point. ”I figured you would.”

”Then I’ll teach you the new one too.”

Evelisse pointed at herself. ”Me too?”

”You too.”

”Why?” She said mourning all her hard work as her face fell in slow motion.

”Your current foundation isn’t good enough.”

”I’m Mid D-Rank!”

”Exactly.”

”I worked hard for that!”

”And you’ll rebuild it properly.”

”That means starting over.”

”Essentially.”

”Back from F-Rank?”

”Basically.”

Her eyes went suspiciously watery. ”I hate cultivation.”

He nearly laughed. ”Three Rare snack packs.”

She froze mid-despair, calculating.

”...Fine,” she said, voice tight with reluctant acceptance.

Aurelia laughed outright at her nonsensical sense of value.

”This is emotional blackmail,” Evelisse said.

”You’re voluntarily agreeing.”

”It’s still blackmail.”

Aurelia decided to wait before dismantling her own foundation, wanting time to actually get used to having a functioning body first, as it’s been years since she did.

”I’ll wait for the new one then,” she said.

He kissed her forehead, then Evelisse’s. ”We’ll do this properly.”

”And the three snacks?” Evelisse asked immediately.

”After you finish.”

”...I hate you.”

”No, you don’t.”

Back in the master bedroom, he closed the door, sat cross-legged on the bed, and finally faced the enormous backlog waiting for him.

”Finally, I can go through all of it.” he murmured.

Before opening the system interface, his mind wandered to the training ground under the estate.

’The underground floor’s got a training ground already. But I need actual cultivation chamber’s too. Mana gathering arrays, purification, soundproofing, anti-scrying, concealment, stabilization, dedicated spaces for cultivation for all of us, not just sitting in our rooms.’

’All of us will be re cultivating, so having one would help the girls alot, since I can use the system’s cultivation progress.

’This estate needs to become an actual cultivation base, not just a fortified house.’

’But it’s a future project, for now time to check my loot.’ He filed it away and turned his attention properly to the system.

[Wife Investment System]

[Aurelia Astrax — Bond Level Reward]

[Bond: Partner → Lover]

[Choose 2 of 5]

[1. Wife Slot +1]

[2. Heavenly Yin-Yang Scripture — Volume I]

[3. Marriage Tattoo Upgrade]

[4. Cultivation Rank +2]

[5. Vampiric Bloodline Stabilization] — grayed out, already resolved.

He weighed them carefully.

’Cultivation Rank +2 feels wasteful now,’ he thought. ’I’ve got the Foundation Severance Scripture and a superior technique already. Bumping my rank before I dismantle and rebuild would just get thrown away in the process.’

’Wife Slot’s interesting long-term, but not urgent and I don’t even know if I want more wives, I mean I know polygamist a thing, I literally have 3 wives, but I’ll come back to it later if I ever need it, it should appear in the other two girls bond level rewards, hopefully.’

’The Yin-Yang Scripture, though, that’s a family-wide progression tool. Long-term, permanent and useful for all of them.’

’And the Marriage Tattoo Upgrade with it’s completely unknown effects, but tied directly to us, it should have significant impact.’

He made his decision, without overthinking it.

[Rewards Confirmed.]

[Heavenly Yin-Yang Scripture — Volume I.]

[Marriage Tattoo Upgrade.]

He stared at the confirmation for a moment, curiosity sparking.

”Let’s see what they actually do.”