Although Syr's appearance was a bit unexpected, it wasn't unwelcome.
Especially since Bella was thrilled that her mother was here, even if not in her true appearance.
...Though I could see Ryuu giving me a strangely pointed look.
Right. I could sort that out later. For now...
I cleared my throat and said, "Thanks for being here, everyone. Well, I mean you would all be here anyway since we all live here... but I'm grateful that we have the chance to gather like this."
It was a bit of an awkward start. But everyone politely waited for me to continue.
So I did. Looking around at everyone, I smiled and said, "It was definitely unexpected. At first, it was just me and Tia here. Then our little princess showed up out of the blue. And then Welf and Pyrrha joined us after some events... and then my little treasure Bella appeared in our small family."
Fina gave me a thumbs up.
Bella teared up a bit and gave a bright smile, snuggled against Syr's chest.
Syr... or rather, Freya, herself looked a bit teary-eyed.
Welf looked up at me with a grateful expression, one mirrored by Pyrrha.
I smiled and said, "But from that small start, we suddenly got a lot of people to join. Ryuu, who's been nothing but a good friend. Selene, who's been a good friend of Tia's but went through some unfortunate events... and now all of you girls." I looked to everyone else and said, "Despite how it happened, I just wanted to say. We're family now. It might not be by blood for most of us... but to me, it's all the same. From now on, at least, you can always rely on me. So... let's live well and prosper, alright?"
The moment I finished, Fina started clapping. And with that as the cue, the new girls started to cheer.
I laughed and waved my hand. "Alright, alright. Enough of that. I'm just me, you know? Now, come on and dig in. Most of us haven't eaten all day, so get your fill."
With that, the girls started lining up to get food. Of course, Fina immediately cut to the front of the line in a white blur.
I chuckled and then started walking to the back of the line.
As I did, Tia walked to my right side and leaned against me. "That was a good speech, Bell."
"Could've been better." I smiled and said, "But whatever you say, Tia."
Syr walked over to my other side and gently grabbed my hand. "No, I agree with Lady Hestia. It was a wonderful speech, Bell."
"See, now you're just flattering me, 'Syr.' But you know you don't need to, right?"
Syr giggled.
Tia huffed and then wrapped herself around my right arm.
Syr flinched and subconsciously loosened her grip on my hand.
I sighed and then pulled them both into a hug.
Tia's eyes widened and she stammered. "B-Bell?"
Syr fidgeted and said, "You don't have to-"
I lowered my voice so only they could hear me and said, "I love you both equally, but in different ways. So don't feel jealous. Neither of you could replace each other in my life. Okay?"
Tia paused and then let out a deep sigh, leaning against me. "I know, Bell. Sorry."
Syr shook her head and looked at Tia. "No, Tia. Don't apologize. If anyone should, it would be-"
"Hey now, this is a happy time." I patted both of them and then let go. "No frowning or apologizing, okay?"
Tia stared at me for a while and then let out a small smile. "Okay Bell."
Syr let out a faint smile as well and nodded. "As you say, Bell..."
"Good. Now." I looked at Syr and said, "You're pretty sly, slipping off like this. Aren't you worried what the others in your family will think?"
Syr smiled and said, "Don't worry. My dear friend 'Freya' is covering for me... And only two other people in my familia know that 'Syr' exists. Those two are dearly loyal to me as well, so it's fine."
"Mm... Two other people... Ottar and Mia, right?"
Syr's eyes widened a bit. Then she chuckled and said, "As sharp as ever, my dear hero."
I let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. Would hate to have to fight Ottar since I can't think of a way to beat him without razing half of Orario to the ground, and Mia seems only a little weaker than him... yeah. Good news."
Tia rolled her eyes and said, "You say that, Bell. But I already know you have like a bajillion contingency plans, you crazy man."
I walked up to table and grabbed a few plates, handing one to Tia and to Syr. "Even so, always best to not have to use them. Trump cards are used the most effectively when no one knows about them."
Syr held up her plate and giggled. "Do you need to be so concerned about a single trump card when it seems like you have a whole deck hidden away, my dear hero?"
I grabbed a plate for myself and said, "You can never be too careful. This is a world where anything can happen, you know?"
Tia hummed. "That's true... but my lovely husband will be able to handle it, won't he?"
"Of course I- Wait, husband?" I glanced at Tia. "Huh?"
Tia huffed and said, "Don't play dumb now, you." She playfully punched my arm, blushing. "Y-You even said, right? That you wanted to talk about 'us' later and to get things ready. S-So... I-I won't do that for anyone but my husband. S-So I prepared it. It's official! Got it! No takebacks!"
I paused, slowly parsing what Tia just said.
Then I realized it.
She had misunderstood.
I just meant I wanted to talk with her about Freya, but...
Oh.
In hindsight, the implication was kind of...
Well.
Syr giggled and then looked at me with her gray eyes, subconsciously licking her lips. "Is that so~? Then Mister Husband..." She sidled up to my left side and held my arm against her chest. "...Do you want seconds after tonight's lovely 'feast'...?"
I swallowed.
Yeah. This was happening. Definitely a thing.
Even so...
I put on a smile and said, "We'll talk about all of that after the kids have gone to bed."
Tia blushed a bit more and nodded. "W-We will! A-And... n-no takebacks! For real! Got it! I-If... If you do, I'll burn Orario down too!"
I poked her forehead and said, "Stop it. You'll set a bad example for Fina."
Tia huffed.