Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3074: You Are The One For Me!

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Five Regions, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Tower, Penthouse Office

“Wyatt, quit stalling. Just make the announcement already,” Jill snapped again.

By this point, she had completely stopped caring about the merit-loan program. Her attention had long since shifted to Hive Spirit’s physical form and, more importantly, what exactly her fiancé intended to do with it.

I had already made it clear that I had no idea Hive Spirit could manifest a physical form and that this was the first time I had ever seen her do it myself. J

ill wasn’t convinced. Or perhaps she simply wasn’t willing to let the matter go that easily. Her eyes kept narrowing suspiciously whenever the subject came up, as if she were trying to determine whether I was hiding something from her. The merit-loan system could wait. Hive Spirit’s perfect physical body apparently couldn’t.

What pissed Jill off the most wasn’t even Hive Spirit’s appearance. It was the way I kept referring to her as her. Shouldn’t I be treating the Hive Spirit as an object rather than a person? Spirits were gender-neutral by nature, after all. Yet I had instinctively assigned her a gender without a second thought.

The more Jill thought about it, the shadier the entire arrangement began to look. Was this another one of my manipulation tricks? Perhaps I was deliberately getting them used to the idea of me traveling through the Myriad Realms surrounded by beautiful women from countless races.

And that wasn’t even the part that bothered her most. Why hadn’t I asked her to come with me? She knew I wasn’t going on some leisurely vacation. I was heading into the Dark Realm to confront a Cultist Ruler-class powerhouse. She understood why I couldn’t simply bring everyone along.

But I could have at least asked. That omission stung. She was already struggling to deal with Anna and Susan, each with their own relationship with me and their own insecurities. Now I was preparing to venture into the Myriad Realms, where countless races existed, many possessing appearances that could rival or even surpass the beauty of humans.

Usually, Jill could shove such thoughts into the back of her mind and bury herself in research. Work was her refuge. But after seeing Hive Spirit manifest in that impossibly perfect physical form, she couldn’t push the thoughts away.

For the first time, she found herself comparing herself to the Celestial Spirit. What do I even have to offer him? Hive Spirit was beautiful, intelligent, powerful, endlessly loyal, and apparently available to me whenever I needed her.

What could Jill offer that she couldn’t? The thought dug deeper than she wanted to admit. If he has a perfect woman on speed dial… why would he need me? Worse… Why would he even be attracted to me?

She knew those thoughts were irrational. She knew I loved her. Yet knowing something intellectually didn’t make the insecurity disappear. And no matter how hard Jill tried to push those thoughts aside, Hive Spirit’s beautiful, lifelike form had planted them firmly in her mind.

Though Anna and Susan didn’t show it, they were struggling with the same turmoil beneath the surface. Hive Spirit had awakened an insecurity none of them had expected.

It made all three women think back to the time when their fiancé had disappeared into the Way Beyond. In the fear that they might lose him forever, they had come together and, almost unilaterally, decided that they would claim him as their own.

Looking back, they couldn’t help but wonder if they had acted too impulsively. Had they actually given him a choice? He had never protested. He had simply gone along with everything they proposed, accepting the relationship without resistance.

But now a more uncomfortable question has surfaced. Did he genuinely want this? Or had he simply accepted it because he felt responsible for them?

His confession moments earlier had eased most of those doubts. Knowing that they were his primary priority, that the New Empire itself was ultimately being built as a sanctuary for the family they intended to create, had reassured them.

Yet every time they remembered Hive Spirit’s ethereal beauty and seemingly flawless existence, those reassurances began to feel fragile. It was an irrational little creature of doubt, crawling through their thoughts and hearts, nibbling away at their confidence whenever they weren’t looking.

They hated that they couldn’t simply crush it. After all, how were they supposed to compete with something that was seemingly perfect in every possible way?

I looked at Jill and pulled her into my embrace despite her half-hearted resistance. Then I glanced at the other two and sighed, “You three do realize that I think you’re the most beautiful women in the entire Myriad Realms, right?”

All three stared at me.

“Hive Spirit might have a seemingly perfect human form, but my Slime Fairy Cards can copy it. So, by that logic, would they suddenly become perfect too?” I paused, trying to find the right words. “What I’m trying to say is that when it comes to attraction, appearance is only the beginning. It’s the thing that catches your attention, but getting to know the person, the compatibility of your minds, hearts, and souls… that’s what actually matters. And I have that with you three. So, in my eyes, you’re the perfect woman for me.”

Jill’s resistance weakened slightly, though she still looked unconvinced.

“Stop comparing yourselves to Hive Spirit. She’s like my daughter, just like the other Card Spirits I’ve created. The thought of being with one of my own creations would make my skin crawl.” I gave them a helpless shrug. “You three are going to have to figure out how to deal with this insecurity, because your man happens to be one of the best Soul Crafters in the Myriad Realms.”

“I’m going to keep creating beautiful things. So you can either learn to appreciate my creations…” I paused deliberately as a grin slowly spread across my face. “Or spend the rest of your lives getting jealous and insecure over every beautiful thing I make.”

The trio stared at me for a few seconds. Then, in perfect unison, they rolled their eyes. Apparently, my narcissistic attempt at reassurance had landed somewhere between comforting and please shut up.