Ch.205Polygamy (10)

There are two things you should never do in a hospital and a funeral home.

First is a dead person breaking out of their coffin at a funeral, and second is a patient in the ICU getting up perfectly fine.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine? Except for some stiffness in my joints.”

“That’s because you haven’t moved for a long time. It’ll get better with time.”

After two weeks of not eating anything and only receiving IV fluids, my stomach felt empty. I figured I should focus on waking up my digestive system with light food and recovering.

“Ugh.”

On top of that, I had muscle loss. My spine tingled when I stepped on the floor.

“Be careful coming down, student.”

“Take my hand.”

The ones supporting me weren’t the attending physician or nurse, but professors. Even though they knew I was fine, they guided me outside slowly, treating me like a precious treasure.

“……”

My eyes met with Ireh’s. I could see her bewildered expression behind her mask. Why, what? Do you find this situation funny?

“Professors, I’m fine. I think I can walk now.”

“We’ll still support you until we get outside.”

I’m deeply moved.

I’m such a happy graduate student…

That thought was quickly overlaid with a different reality.

When we got outside, Rustila and Zernya were staring at me like they wanted to eat me alive.

***

“Ugh.”

Zernya and Rustila woke up almost simultaneously. It was because of the bustling noise coming from beyond the waiting room.

“What’s that sound?”

“Did something happen?”

“…Eidel?”

The two girls got up as if having a seizure.

What if, just in case.

What if something happened to Eidel?

That thought made them snap to attention.

There was a crowd of people in front of the ICU. Rustila and Zernya joined the throng. As the two women lingered, they momentarily came to the same thought.

Please, let Eidel be safe.

And shortly after.

Quiet footsteps, followed by dozens of pairs of footsteps slowly following behind, reverberated. Rustila, with her sensitive hearing, perked up her ears first, and Zernya soon recognized the same sound.

The owner of those footsteps was none other than.

“Eidel…?”

Eidel.

The boyfriend of both women.

Eidel walked out of the ICU perfectly fine. He looked gaunt but not like someone dying. Rustila and Zernya were shocked just by that.

But what was even more surprising was that this Eidel was being supported by more than a dozen physics professors.

“Ah, hello?”

He waved his hand with an awkward smile.

“Eidel…”

“…Honey.”

The same thought swirled in both women’s minds.

The emotions they felt were joy, relief, delight.

At the same time, there was untimely displeasure and anger.

During this time, the two women had visited twice daily to hold Eidel’s hand. They touched his face, shed tears. They had suffered emotionally. They had fought with each other a lot.

Each had fulfilled what they considered their duty as fiancées. And yet, this man…

“……”

“……”

The two women silently twisted the corners of their mouths.

It was a hollow smile.

Am I actually feeling jealous of the professors right now?

That doesn’t make sense.

“You really……”

In fact, the anger they were feeling now was entirely Eidel’s fault.

Because he had caused them so much emotional distress.

And yet the first thing he says when he sees them is “hello” of all things.

Rustila and Zernya glanced at each other. Under Ireh’s mediation, the two had developed a grudging affection for each other. Honestly, they were getting tired of bickering.

Anyway, they knew the reason they disliked each other was because they both wanted Eidel to themselves.

If it weren’t for Eidel, Zernya would have been constantly apologizing to Rustila for the past, and Rustila would have reluctantly accepted those apologies or simply ignored them.

So.

There was someone else they should be angry at right now.

The two women’s eyes burned like fire. For the first time, their grumpy affection for Eidel was about to overcome their jealousy and envy of each other.

“Girls. It’s all over now. Let’s go back.”

Ireh explained the general situation. Meanwhile, the professors pushed Eidel’s back. They chuckled.

“Eidel, do you have two… no, three girlfriends?”

“What a playboy.”

“You’ll be quartered soon.”

The professors’ words were steeped in experience. Many of them had quite colorful histories with women. After all, heroes typically have multiple wives, and many geniuses are known to be Casanovas…

“Student, let me give you one piece of advice.”

A middle-aged professor who had been remarried three times whispered in Eidel’s ear.

“Women who fight over a man tend to join forces when they’re properly upset. Once it gets to that point, all arrows will be pointed at you. A simple apology probably won’t be enough.”

“…Then, what should I do?”

“Don’t just use words, push forward with actions. Instead of saying sorry, embrace them; instead of saying I love you, kiss them.”

“I think I might get slapped if I do that.”

“You don’t know because you’re still a virgin. Women who are head over heels will let you get away with it even if they know what you’re doing. And you have the face for it.”

Eidel nodded, feeling dazed.

“Well, we’ll be going now.”

“Eidel, I hope you recover well.”

“Once you’re recovered, you’ll rewrite the paper right away. Understood?”

The professors left after saying things that would make others shudder. Of course, to Eidel, it was like being invited for drinks later—a reward.

“I’ll be going too. Rest a bit, and if you feel okay, either process your discharge or move to a general ward.”

After Arnold left too, the waiting room suddenly became quiet.

“Eidel.”

“Honey.”

The voices were cold, in stereo. Eidel turned his head stiffly like a machine.

Rustila, and Zernya. The two women’s eyes were moist as if oiled. They looked like they would burst into tears if touched.

“Do you know how worried I was?”

“Why did you suddenly collapse and make a scene?”

After briefly enjoying being in a professor harem, a relationship problem was now giving him a headache.

But since he had already started this, he had to deal with it somehow. For now, he would put his research on hold and focus on making these two get along as planned…

“Hey, Rustila.”

“I know.”

“Huh?”

A sensation of floating.

Rustila lifted Eidel up.

“Ru-Rustila?”

“Eidel, is it okay if I come to your house tonight?”

“Don’t ask the doctor, just get in the shuttle. I know the password. Hey, Hazlen? Sorry, but could you bring that tin can sprawled out over there and follow us?”

It happened in the blink of an eye. The two women barged into the Rheinland main line with Eidel. Ireh, who followed behind, timidly arranged the three people’s shoes at the entrance.

Eidel, who had just woken up and was still groggy, was thrown helplessly onto the bed. It was quite spacious because it was queen-sized.

No, more than that.

How did these two even know this bed was here?

“Um, girls…?”

“Shut up.”

Zernya covered Eidel’s lips.

A soft tongue intertwined.

“…!”

It was his first kiss.

When Rustila had stolen Eidel’s lips first, Zernya had felt a sense of powerlessness and inferiority. They had exchanged pecks on the cheek, but never mouth to mouth.

Of course, Zernya had been the first to provoke with an indirect kiss, but people tend to only remember what was done to them.

Anyway, she had become sulky because of that and now thrust her tongue in.

Rustila, who intuited this, felt uncomfortable in one part of her chest, but she had no choice but to turn a blind eye today.

Because right now, she was more angry at Eidel.

“Eidel, answer me.”

Rustila spoke with a trembling voice, as if sobbing.

“Did you think I would be happy if you overworked yourself because of me? Why did you only focus on research until you got to that state!”

“That… Rustila. It was for you.”

“If it was for me, you should have taken breaks!”

“……”

“I told you. Whether it’s 1 year, 5 years, 10 years! No, even a lifetime! I can wait…! I, I really thought you were going to die when you went into the ICU, hic…”

Rustila sobbed. Zernya, who had been glancing from the side, soon opened her mouth.

“Yes, just this once, I have the same thought as her. I didn’t know you would collapse for 2 weeks over sleep. And even go into the ICU, with an oxygen respirator…”

He could have died.

Thinking about it, a sense of creepiness and anger washed over her.

The two women, who had been worried sick, scolded Eidel with one mind.

“Get some damn sleep, you idiot.”

“…If you collapse again next time, I really won’t let it slide. Got it? Answer me!”

Eidel had no choice but to nod.

Soon, the two women’s voices became as cold as frost.

“Eidel.”

“This is punishment.”

And the next moment.

Slap!

Slaps came flying from both sides.

***

Professor Johnson was right. Even women who are rivals in love will join forces when they have complaints about the man.

It’s like nuclear fusion. Normally, nuclei repel each other, but if you forcibly bring them closer than a certain distance, a nuclear reaction occurs.

Rustila and Zernya also felt through the incident of my collapse that their affection and anger towards me were deeper than the grudge between them. Honestly, this point was extremely touching.

Of course, as time passes, they’ll go back to bickering as before, but I felt good about the possibility of improving their relationship.

Slap! Slap!

My cheeks sting. Zernya hit the left side, Rustila the right. My body hurts, but my heart hurts more. To think I’d be slapped simultaneously by two people I love.

I recalled what the professor had said.

– Don’t just use words, push forward with actions.

It’s not manly to back out now.

After actually slapping my cheeks, the ones looking sheepish were Rustila and Zernya. Rustila rolled her eyes in embarrassment, and Zernya made a “hmph” sound while avoiding eye contact.

“Rusty, Zernya. Girls.”

When I carefully called their nicknames, their eyes turned towards me with a coy look.

I gently embraced them both.

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”

I apologized, but without backing down. Rather, I tried to use this opportunity to create a bond between the two.

“From now on, I’ll listen to you both well. I won’t overdo it. If I’m tired, I’ll take a break.”

As I said this, I slowly stroked their backs.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to die.”

“……”

“……”

Thud, thud.

Both sides leaned their heads on me. From one side, I could smell the scent of gardenia, and from the other, the scent of roses. I continued speaking.

“As I’ve said before, I want both of you to be happy. That’s why I chose this disagreeable path. Because I couldn’t abandon either of you.”

“…Stupid Eidel.”

“Take care of yourself, you idiot…”

“Yes, so from now on, I’ll take care of my health. I won’t overdo it. I won’t leave you first.”

The two women’s shoulders trembled. It was a strange experience. To think that I, who was just a third-rate scoundrel right after the possession, had come this far through academics alone, and was now holding both Rustila and Zernya in my arms.

I carefully lifted Rustila and Zernya’s heads. The two women were holding back their voices, only dropping tears drop by drop.

Just a week.

It was just a week, but I had been in a coma.

If it were me, I would cry like this too if someone I loved lost consciousness for a week and then woke up. Especially if they collapsed from overworking for my sake. Grateful, but also angry. And yet happy.

That’s why.

Smooch, smooch.

To imprint that this wasn’t a dream, I kissed both of their foreheads. Rustila smiled a bitter smile and drooped her eyes, while Zernya flinched like a rabbit and then narrowed her brow.

Actions speak louder than words.

That saying is true. One kiss is much more powerful than saying “I love you” once. The two women instantly became submissive and leaned their upper bodies against me.

“I’m tired.”

I leaned against the edge of the bed as if a wall was collapsing. The weight of Rustila and Zernya was added in succession. They silently lay down with me on the bed, embracing me.

“You’re still tired after sleeping so much?”

“Maybe it’s because I haven’t eaten. My energy is depleted.”

“I can make you food even now.”

“It’s okay. I received glucose IV. I’m not going to starve.”

Now is not the time to eat.

I covered us with a blanket and comforted the two with both arms.

I kissed both women’s cheeks again. I stroked their abundant blonde hair and antique silver hair, and embraced them to their chests to let them hear my heartbeat.

Actions speak louder than words.

The two must have clearly understood my gesture.

Rustila closed her eyes first. She placed her hand on my chest with a tearful smile. Her fidgeting and exhaling heated breaths was sensual.

Meanwhile, Zernya was restlessly tossing and turning. About 20 minutes passed? She kept changing her position due to fatigue and started sweating. Soon, she woke up with an “Ah!” sound.

“What’s wrong?”

“I forgot to take my sleepwalking medicine…”

Ah, sleepwalking. She’s still suffering from it.

I felt needlessly sorry for her.

I put a long cushion behind her and adjusted my arm pillow position. Then I adjusted the position to accommodate Zernya better in my arms.

“…Well, I won’t need it today.”

Zernya smiled fiercely and lay down as she was. She buried her face in my other shoulder, and soon fell into a deep sleep with a wheezing sound.

I stroked the heads of the two girls and closed my eyes as well.

When we wake up in the morning, these two will probably fight again.

But at least, for tonight.

Both of them were my wives.