Then again, she will give me a hard time anyway, just in a different way. That is something that I am worried about and looking forward to at the same time. However, that is something that I will just have to deal with when it happens.

For now, I focus on the bridge and try not to worry about things in the future. The hardest part of this last phase is bringing up the stone from the ground. I can't use the stone near the bridge because it would weaken the foundations.

Pulling stone from further away isn't hard, it just takes more mana to move it. Once again, I have to make multiple trips to draw mana from the crystals. When I return to the bridge after the seventh trip I find a huge surprise waiting for me.

There is a group of beastmen on the far shore where the bridge is going to connect. That isn't the surprising part, among them are three beings that I instantly recognize. Asuna, Haku, and Ekard are visible among the group, but I have no idea why they are here.

I quickly fly over to see them and they pounce on me as soon as I land. However, since I am in my normal form they are not able to knock me over. Instead, they just climb up my body until they can grab hold of my neck and hug me.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Asuna says "We wanted to see you!"

Haku says "Myria told us you were here, so we came to find you!"

Ekard says "We missed you, daddy!"

"Aw, I missed you guys too! It is good to see you for real! Who are the beastmen?"

Asuna says "They are the ones that are willing to live in the port or become part of the ship's crew."

"Oh. That was fast. I didn't expect Myria to find people so soon."

Haku says "From what they told us on the way here, they were mostly bored and looking for something to do. Others really like the ocean."

With the kids hanging on me, I talk to the beastmen and have them set up camp. They will camp here until the bridge is finished, which shouldn't be too long. Then I fly back to the ship while carrying the kids and take them into the castle.

Of course, things instantly get noisy and hectic once the seven kids see each other. It doesn't take long for the massive amount of noise to lure out Lin and Bella. They both come out of Bella's room, but I don't say a word about it.

The three of us all end up drawn into the kids' play and it lasts for several hours. It only stops because the kids are all hungry, so a break is called and I start taking out the pizzas. Asuna, Haku, and Ekard haven't had pizza before, so it is quite a surprise for them.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Luckily for us, the kids end up eating too much and are forced to take a nap. Once the seven of them are all piled up in the nest and napping, the three of us can finally relax. Trying to keep up with all seven of them is really exhausting.

Lin says "That was intense! Are they going to be like this all the time?"

"No. At least, I don't think so. They were just really excited. They should be calmer when they wake up, I hope."

Bella says "They may be intense, but they are also super cute! It is like watching a bunch of living plushies! I just want to hug them to death!"

"Well, don't go that far, but they all love being hugged. Although some of them are not as soft as they look."

Bella says "Is it really alright?"

"Yeah, just wait till they wake up. Don't end the peace and quiet just yet."

Bella says "Oh, I wasn't planning to!"

Lin says "What are your plans?"

"I will wait till they wake up and spend some more time with them. Then I will go finish the bridge."

Lin gives me a smile and then drags me upstairs for a round of fun before the kids wake up. She is very energetic, almost like she is trying to make up for something. I'm guessing that she still feels guilty because she has been spending time with Bella.

It would seem that no matter how many times I tell her it is fine, she still doesn't believe me. I guess that I will just have to wait until my actions prove my words. We end things after just one round because we hear the kids wake up and start moving.

While I would prefer to continue, it wouldn't be fair to leave Bella alone with the kids. So, I get up and head downstairs while Lin is still catching her breath. What I see when I get downstairs is Bella laughing amongst a pile of kids.

It looks like she is enjoying herself immensely and I am half tempted to turn around. However, the kids spot me before I can and I soon end up under a pile of kids as well. After a while Lin joins us, but the three of us are still outnumbered.

The play stops after a while, and Mulan starts feeding Ekard with the things they collected in the shadow realm. He was the same size as when I left, but he quickly starts growing with the new food. He is ecstatic to finally be growing and Mulan has to force him to eat slowly.

Mulan keeps feeding him until his size matches that of Mushu before she stops him. She doesn't want him to grow too much, too fast, because it may cause him harm. As soon as Ekard is done growing, he starts running all over the place yelling his head off.

It seems that not being able to grow was more of a burden on him than I thought. I really wish that I had thought of feeding him things from the shadow plane. I just hope that he can grow properly from now on and not develop any mental hang-ups about it.

At the moment, he seems like he is too happy about growing to care about anything else. I mainly just hope that he doesn't come to resent me for all the time he had to stay small. Although, if any of the kids end up resenting me, I can't really say I would blame them.

Mulan suddenly ends the play by suggesting that all the kids go into the training room. Since that means we will get a break, no one tries to stop them. Besides, they have fought each other plenty in the soulscape, training together will be good for them.

It also means that they will be busy for a while and that I can go try to finish the bridge. Lin and Bella will still be here, so even if they finish while I am gone, it should be alright. Although, with the time dilation on, several days will pass for them while I am working on the bridge.

With that in mind, I ask Lin whether or not she wants me to leave the time dilation on. To my surprise, she decides to leave it on, despite it meaning she needs to watch the kids longer. Bella also seems surprised, but she doesn't say anything, so I leave it be.