While Emilia, Ondine, Tetra, Silvera, Sumara, Venezuela, and Cantia were outside dealing with the intruders, Priya and Indira went upstairs while taking the kids with them, accompanied by Sonia and Erza. The two of them were there to facilitate looking after the children since the twins are still immature and don't really know how to babysit.

As it was difficult to carry nine babies upstairs, Priya was using her newly learnt Levitation magic for this purpose. So, while floating through the air, the babies were crying on and off for unknown reasons. Some even seemed to like spinning around, but quickly cried when they soared upside down.

“Sorry…!” She muttered apologetically to the two mothers coming up behind her as she did her best to keep the children floating upright.

“It's okay. They seem to like it,” replied Sonia, eying her floating baby with a small smile.

“You know that we can handle the levitation,” suggested Erza hopefully.

“No!” Priya said vehemently. “I want to do it! I need practice to control my levitation magic and because they're my brother's children.”

“Which would make us their aunties!” Indira said cheerfully, causing both Sonia and Erza to chuckle.

“Yes. Aunties,” admitted Priya with a smile. Then, with an anxious look on her face, she asked, “Is it fine for you to come with us instead of being out there?”

Sonia shook her head and said, “They will be fine, or rather, I'd be less worried about them and more thrilled to see them win!”

“Yes. Let's be optimistic since there's nothing those seven can't handle on their own,” added Erza in support.

“Um… If you say so,” said Priya slowly, forming a small smile.

“Cheer up, Chelli!” Indira said happily, hugging her twin sister from the side. “We got the best Vondinalu one can hope to get, and they're super strong!”

This made Sonia laugh, and made Erza smile a little. Each and every one of them were King Ranked Magicians and were capable of taking care of themselves but they were greatly looked after by their overprotective husband and tasting battle only on rare occasions. As such, their actual battle experience was limited, but they were confident they can take care of each other at situations like the current one they faced.

Within a few minutes, they entered Tetra's and Silvera's shared room where all the toys were scattered around. As soon as the children saw their toys, they stopped crying and begged, they moved their small limbs as if they wanted to resume playing their little games.

“There! You can have as much fun as you want!” Priya said cheerfully, enjoying the sight of the children scattering and begin playing around.

“They're so cute~!” Indira commented, placing both of her hands against her cheek and blushing slightly.

Sonia and Erza did not say anything, but the soft expressions on their faces said it all. They were feeling both happy and relieved to watch their children crawling around with a motherly feeling. In addition to that, they were feeling happy for being blessed with a great husband and a lovely family to be together with.

“I wonder whether my mother had this feeling that I'm having right now when she used to play with me,” said Sonia slowly in wonder.

“Yeah… Makes me wonder that too,” said Erza slowly, with a sad smile on her face.

This surprised Sonia and causer to turn and ask, “What? Why did you say that, Erza?”

“Oh. Well, I lost my mother at a young age to a… an incurable disease,” explained Erza, sniffing slightly as the rush of feelings nearly made her cry. “I don't have any memory of her except the photos I have of her. That's why I wondered… was it this… this feeling she felt for me like I do for my own child.”

Sonia looked amazed and said, “I see. You, too, as well, huh.”

She shook her head in sadness while Erza turned hers to look at her in confusion. Seeing her expression, Sonia realised she did not understand and went on to explain.

“Well, Erza. I, too,, lost my mother at a young age, but she lived long enough for me to play with her and remember her clearly. Makes me feel sad… really sad when you… you told me about your loss.”

As she finished, her shoulders slumped in sadness as she did not know  in what manner she could express herself any further. Erza looked momentarily amazed before she smiled at her before patting her on the shoulder.

“It's okay. We may have lost our mothers but we got the chance to be in their shoes and… I don't want to leave mine young,” said Erza with a smile.

Sonia shook her head and said firmly, “No way am I going to die young and leave them motherless! I'm not going to make them endure the same sadness as me! It's my duty, no, it's our duty to learn from the past, care for the present and improve the future!”

This made Erza laugh heartily and say, “Yes! I also agree that's true! It's our duty, and I firmly believe we can do it! We are blessed with such a great family after all!”

“And I'm glad to have such wonderful Vondinalu,” said Priya from the side with tears in her eyes, as she had been listening silently their conversation and decided to join in as she felt very emotional.

“Same! I'm… really glad that… that I get to be with such w-wonderful… people…!” Indira said, tears streaming down her cheeks as she covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself from making any sounds.

“Oh…! You two…!” Sonia said, touched to see them feeling so deeply.

Erza beckoned them with her hand and said, “Come here, you two.” When they drew closer to the older women, Erza hugged both Indira and Priya much to their surprise and said, “There…! There…!”

As she patted them gently, Sonia came around and hugged Erza and the twins from behind as she was taller.

“I'm also glad to have such cute younger sisters!” Sonia said happily, slowly swaying them back and forth with her.

Together, the four of them remained in that position while the kids continued to play with the toys. A few seconds later, they broke away and each of them wiped the tears away from their eyes while making happy smiles on their faces.

“Damn, always crying when it gets emotional,” commented Sonia with a chuckle.

“I suppose it's one way we always can express ourselves, right?” Priya asked with a curious smile, to which the other three smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, Priya,” said Sonia, who decided to switch the topic over to reveal something about her Lakshman. “You said you're glad to have us as your Vondinalu, but I think you should be even more glad to have Lucky as your brother.”

Priya and Indira both blinked in surprise and said, “Eh?”

“It's the truth,” said Erza, nodding her head with a smile as she understood what Sonia was referring to. “He is a better older brother than either of my older brothers.”

As the two appeared to look completely lost, Sonia laughed and asked, “During the first few weeks of attending the Astral Academy, you both confessed to us that you were struggling to speak to others or making friends. Remember?”

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“Yes,” the twins replied simultaneously. “We told you and asked that you don't tell brother.”

“Wait…! Don't tell me…!” Priya said slowly, the first of the two to suddenly realise where this conversation was headed towards.

Sonia nodded in assent while Erza said, “I know we agreed but we weren't the type to not tell the goings on to our husband. Keeping our husband in the dark is a bad thing a wife could possibly do after all.”

“Yes, and so, we told him about your predicament, and he told us he'd do something about it,” said Sonia with a smile.

“And? W-What did he do?” Priya asked anxiously.

Her two Vondinalu giggled at the sight of her panicked expression and it was Erza who said, “The next day after you told us, he went directly to the academy and addressed everyone during the lunchtime while you were both having lunch at home.”

The twins looked amazed and asked, “What happened? D-Did he threaten them?”

Both Sonia and Erza looked at each other before turning to look back at them. Sonia looked a little uncertain while Erza smiled reassuringly.

“He… kind of did,” said Sonia a little apprehensively.

“Here's how it went and I know because I was there,” said Erza and retold the events of that day.

***

“Lucky, are you sure about this?” Erza asked her husband nervously as they stood a little off the stage while everyone was gathering at the assembly hall. “I've got to do this for their sake at least.”

“I know but… Priya and Indira might not be happy,” suggested Sonia nervously.

He appeared to ponder for a moment at her words, but he became resolute in his stance and said, “Then we'll make this has never happened.”

Just as he finished speaking, the principal of Astral Academy, Carmela Chaikin, came to them and said, “They're all gathered, Lakshman.”

He smiled at her and said appreciatively, “Good… and thank you, Miss Chaikin, for arranging this when I asked you this morning.”

She smiled softly and have a reply of, “It's fine. Besides, I'm no longer your principal so no need to be so formal. Call me Carmela.”

He hesitated at first but when she insisted, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Alright… Carmela.”

She smiled and nodded in satisfaction before stepping to the side. Nodding back at her, he moved forward and heard a loud chattering sound of all the students gathered there as they were busily immersed in their conversation. The moment he appeared on the stage, however, everyone took notice of him and many jumped in fright. Silence fell as if someone had cast a spell on them, and they quickly straightened up to face him in an orderly fashion.

Lakshman stood on the stage and stayed silent while observing them. He could sense the tension in the air and the nervousness that everyone was feeling upon seeing the Phoenix Titan there without any warning.

“Relax. I'm not going to bite,” he said and showed them a smile, but they were stiff like a safe board and did not loosen their tension.

He sighed and went straight to speaking about the main topic he was here for.

“I am here to speak about the treatment towards my sisters,” he said, and in an instant, chaos erupted in the hall.

“We didn't mean to bully them!”

“The seniors told us to do it!”

“They made us!”

“No we didn't!

“You're the ones that spread rumours about them!”

“We were told because we thought you'd hurt us if we got closer to them!”

“Some told us you'd take some people, that those that did speak to them didn't come for an entire week!”

The entire hall explode in a panic as everyone blatantly spoke the truth and confessed honestly to him because they knew they were no match for him, and also knew that he possessed the ability to know the truth.

Lakshman watched in amazement at the crowd of students shouting over each other in their attempt to plead with him. He sighed and turned sideways to speak to Erza and Sonia, who stood to his right.

“They're far more scared than I ever realised!” He commented drily.

Sonia shrugged her shoulders as she knew this might happen while Erza chuckled and said, “Well, clear out that misunderstanding. Isn't that the reason you're here in the first place?”

He nodded with a smile and turned to face the panicking crowd before amplifying his voice to a volume so high that it started everyone.

“Enough!”

Everyone jumped in fright and instantly fell silent as they sensed that they spoke a little too much. He glanced around and saw people shaking a little from fright and smiled wryly before addressing them again.

“I didn't come here as the Phoenix Titan, but as the brother of Indira and Priya. Yes. I'm here as their older brother to implore you that you please don't alienate them. They're not me, so don't be afraid in striking up a conversation with them. Who knows? They might even enjoy the company of being with their schoolmates!

The thing I want to stress is that you, along with them, have a limited time to spend at this academy. You all came from far and wide to be educated in this wonderful place, expecting an equally wonderful experience. Your parents back home would also be expecting that you'd be enjoying yourselves here while studying hard and doing your best!

Now, my sisters are the same. They're all that's left of my parents, who died during the Rodfox Kingdom's destruction incident. I… I wasn't there for them when… when they needed me the most…!”

At those words, he stopped speaking as his emotions were blocking him from speaking. Even the students were amazed at seeing the mighty Phoenix Titan, who was said to be able to defeat an entire army on his own, shaking because of being overcome with emotions.

Despite that, Lakshman strengthened his heart and reaffirmed his resolve before saying, “Anyway, after these two years you will all graduate and go your separate ways, but before that happens, I want them to also have a wonderful experience studying here just like you... just as I once did twelve-years-ago.”

Once again, the students were amazed as this small fact had remained hidden and unknown until he revealed it. Of course, he was not going to mention that he never completed his graduation as it was unnecessary and that it was more important to convince them that his sisters are the same as them.

“I, too, know what it feels like when you meet someone with a gifted background because this is where I met my wife and your queen, Venezuela!” He announced, causing a collective intake of breath to occur in shock. Smiling around at them, he nodded his head and said, “Yes. Although people would consider achieving the highest marks and graduating at the top of their class would be great, but my greatest achievement at Astral Academy is earning the love of my first wife!”

At his words, several of the boys whistled and clapped while cheers came from the girls. They thoroughly enjoyed the display he was putting out, which was exactly his intention to let them drop their guard and become accustomed to being in his presence as it would inadvertently help them interact with his sisters.

“Well, I doubt any of you would end up graduating with such an eventful thing happening in your lives,” he said with a smile that resulted in them laughing, “ but what I'm saying is that my sisters are just like you; students at this wonderful academy. You'll be studying and spending these two years together before graduation and going your separate ways, but before that, I want all of you to enjoy your time together and make wonderful memories before the separation. All it takes is a single step to make a difference, and I know you can do it because I was there before, done it, and I'm here now! I also believe you can do the same!”

There was a few seconds of pause in which the students looked up at him in silence. Then, one started to clap, then two, then three, then more and soon the entire assembled mass of students began clapping for him. He smiled around at them appreciatively at feeling triumph at being able to convince them and waved his hand at them in gratitude.

***

“Like that, he convinced them to put aside the differences and get along with the two you,” said Erza as she finished retelling the story.

For a few seconds, both Indira and Priya remained silent and still as they were too shocked to do or say anything. They could not believe their strong and mighty brother had taken time to visit their academy and conduct a convincing speech to their peers so that they could have an enjoyable education without their realisation. It even amazed them that it did not strike them as odd when the students started to try and get to know each other until everyone eventually became friends. It made them feel speechless at finally knowing the great love their brother had for them.

“Why… Why didn't you tell me till now?” Priya asked finally, looking indignantly at her Vondinalu. “T-This is very important!”

“Well…!” began Sonia, looking towards Erza for help.

Erza raised an eyebrow at her and said, “You're the one that told her, so you explain.”

Sonia sighed and said, “We didn't want to tell you but, well, it felt like the right time to speak about it.”

“Annayya…!” Indira said slowly in an emotional voice. “I cannot thank you enough.”

“Yes! I wish he gets back soon so that we thank him fully!” Priya added with a determined look on her face.

“Yes, he should get here quickly to save you all!” Said a sudden dark voice that cause them to widen their eyes in shock and then to face the entrance to the room.

Framed in the doorway was the man that had served seventeen years in prison, Jagav Mangrad. He was staring at them with a sinister smile on his face before bringing his hands together and clapping them together.

“Bravo! Very heart touching!” He said mockingly. “I never knew the Phoenix Titan had such a pitiful side to him!”

“How…? How did you get here?!” Sonia demanded, glaring menacingly at them with Erza standing behind her while using her hands to shield the twins and their children from this intruder.

“How?” He asked, looking dubiously at her. “It's very simple, young lady. I walked through the entrance, climbed up the stairs, and came to stand outside your room. That's how I'm here.”

Sonia narrowed her eyebrows sharply and said, “Don't play jokes with me!”

“Oh no! I'm not playing jokes!” He said and let out a cold lighter. “What I'm really playing is a game called Kill My Enemy!”

With that said, he formed a twisted smile on his face as he pointed his forefinger in their direction. In the next moment, a small energy gathered at its tip and expanded to a large size. Just as Sonia and Erza shouted and made moves to defend the rest of the people in the room, the energy ball erupted into a mighty explosion with such force that the back wall got blasted to pieces.