Luca basked in their anticipation for a moment longer before clearing his throat.

"I could tell you about it...but wouldn’t you rather see for yourselves?"

Eager nods all around.

"Then I need everyone to close their eyes."

The request was met with bewildered looks.

Why would they need to close their eyes to receive a gift?

"Trust me." Luca insisted, his tone brooking no argument. "Close them tight. No peeking, or there’ll be consequences."

"You want to be surprised, don’t you?"

One by one, the elves complied.

Leona was first, her natural trust in Luca overcoming any hesitation.

Others followed suit, hands rising to cover eyes for good measure.

The children, thrilled by what seemed like a game, squeezed their eyes shut with exaggerated determination.

Little Fefe, however, couldn’t resist. Her fingers parted just slightly, one eye cracking open to peer through...

"Fefe." Luca’s voice carried gentle warning. "Did I say you could peek?"

The child jumped, hands flying back to fully cover her face. "S-Sorry, Daddy! Fefe will be good!"

Immediately, she clamped her hands over her eyes so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

But she felt it wasn’t enough. She turned to her mother, her voice pleading.

"Mommy, help! Cover Fefe’s eyes so she can’t be naughty!"

Tessa mother just smiled. She reached down and covered her daughter’s eyes with her hands, making sure the little girl couldn’t peek.

Soon, every single elf in the village had their eyes covered.

The only sound was the crackling of the bonfire and the soft rustle of the night breeze through the trees.

They waited in pure anticipation, their hearts racing.

All they could see was blackness, and they wondered what exactly Luca was going to show them.

And then, finally, Luca’s voice came out, gentle and warm.

"You can open your eyes right now."

"Your surprise is right before you."

The moment they heard this, they couldn’t hold back anymore.

They all opened their eyes at the same time, expecting to see some magical relic from the Celestial Realm, or perhaps a Sacred Fruit with Heavenly Nectar, or maybe even a majestic crown or sword.

But to Leona’s utter dismay, the moment she opened her eyes, there was no fruit.

There was no relic, no crown, no majestic sword.

Instead, Luca was standing right before her, his face so close that their noses were almost touching.

He must have moved while she was closing her eyes, sneaking up on her like a playful predator.

Leona gasped, her heart leaping into her throat.

She had been expecting a surprise, but she had gotten a jump scare instead!

Similarly, Nyx was also confused.

She had expected some sort of torture device, something that had come from the depths of hell itself that Luca had brought just for her.

But instead, Luca was standing right in front of her, just looking at her with an expression of pure amusement.

Lulu and Luna felt the same way.

In front of them, Luca was also standing.

Luna blushed, as she always did when Luca got close, even though she was literally carrying his child.

Lulu, on the other hand, was a little disappointed to see just Luca.

Selma, Alia, Ivy, Tessa, even Esme who had managed to leave her sickbed for the feast, each found themselves faced with Luca’s intent stare.

Similarly, every single person in the village was seeing the same thing. They were all staring at a Luca who was standing directly in front of them.

But wait—

Something was wrong.

Each and every adult elf who had a child in their womb was staring at a Luca right in front of their face.

But how was that possible?!

There was literally only one single Luca!

Yet now, every single one of them had a Luca staring right at them!

Selma was the first to notice.

"Alia!" She shrieked, pointing with a trembling finger. "T-There’s another Luca!"

"There’s another Luca in front of you!"

Alia’s eyes went wide. "You also have a Luca in front of you as well?"

Ivy joined in, her voice rising with shock.

"Me too! Me too! I also have a Luca!"

And just like that, pandemonium broke out.

"By the spirits, look how many Lucas there are!"

"There are so many of them!"

"Is this some sort of spell? Magic? An illusion?"

Every word rang out as the elves were utterly bamboozled beyond belief.

They had thought they were the lucky ones to have Luca in front of them, but instead, every single one of them had their own individual Lucas staring at them right now.

There were more than fifty Lucas in the entire square, each one as real and solid as the original.

Nyx finally snapped out of her daze. She slowly reached out and gently caressed the cheek of the Luca standing before her.

"Is this really the Hero?" She murmured, her voice filled with wonder. "Is it not some illusion?"

To her surprise, she could actually feel Luca’s skin—the same warmth, the same texture. She started pulling on his cheek, testing to see if it was real.

"Ow! Ow! Nyx, be gentle!" The Luca in front of her protested, his voice exactly like the real Luca’s.

Nyx’s eyes went wide. Not only could she feel Luca, but Luca was also replying to her.

This was no illusion.

Meanwhile, Leona was running her hands all over her own Luca’s body, her expression one of pure amazement.

"Those exact same broad chest muscles." She muttered under her breath. "That massive, powerful back that feels as solid as a mountain range. And these exact abs underneath..."

She gently caressed his stomach, her fingers tracing the outlines of his muscles.

She jumped up in surprise.

"By the spirits, it’s not a hallucination! The real Luca is actually standing right here in front of me!"

Lulu, on the other hand, was more suspicious. She folded her arms, glaring at the Luca in front of her.

"Alright, mister clone, I’m going to give you a pop quiz to see if you’re actually the Luca I fell in love with, or just some magical fake." She declared.

She leaned in, her eyes narrowing. "Answer me this: what is my absolute, number-one favorite position when we’re in bed together?"

She thought for sure that the Luca in front of her was going to mess up.

Her answer was unconventional, not something a fake could possibly know.

But her Luca leaned in, lips brushing her ear as he whispered.

Whatever he said had Lulu’s face cycling through several shades of red before settling on crimson.

"I-It really is Luca." She whispered in a shy voice. "He’s not a fake. He knows all my secrets."

Luna was doing her own tests. She looked up at her Luca with vulnerable eyes and said,

"Hug me, Luca! Give me a tight hug!"

Luca immediately went forward with a gentle smile and gave her a deep, warm embrace. His arms wrapped around her, strong and protective, and he whispered softly,

"Is that alright, Luna?"

The familiar scent of him, the steady beat of his heart against her ear—it was unmistakable.

It really was Luca.

Similar situations played out all around as everyone was confused and checking their own Lucas.

They asked him questions, felt him up, opened his mouth to see if there was someone else inside, and even tried to pull off his skin to check for any dummies underneath.

Each test only confirmed the impossible: these were all Luca, somehow.

But not everyone was happy.

Immediately, the little kids started pouting and crying.

"Mommy! Mommy! Why didn’t I get my own Papa?"

"I want my own too! I want my own Daddy! Why do you only get a Daddy, Mommy?"

The little ones, unlike the adults, did not have their own Luca.

They were looking at their mothers, who were all wrapped up in their individual Lucas, and they felt left out.

And it wasn’t just them.

The elders didn’t have any Lucas around them either, which made them quite disappointed.

Everyone else got their own Luca, but they didn’t get one.

All eyes turned to the original Luca or at least, the one who’d emerged from the portal.

His grin had reached face-splitting proportions.

He was clearly enjoying every single one of their reactions.

Leona finally stepped forward, her face a mask of confusion.

"Luca...what exactly is going on here?"

She turned around to look at her own Luca and said.

"Who exactly are all of these Lucas? And how exactly did they come here?"

That was the question on everyone’s mind. They all looked toward him for an answer.

Luca took a deep breath. He spread his arms out dramatically, gesturing to all the Lucas around them.

"These Lucas over here..." He announced proudly. "...are actually the gifts from the Goddess herself!"

Shocks and murmurs went around the crowd.

"Gifts from the Goddess?!"

"Each one of these Lucas is a gift?!"

"How is that even possible?!"

Luca took in all their whispers, letting the excitement build.

Then, his expression grew more serious, more heartfelt.

"For the past couple of days, I’ve been doing a lot of deep thinking about my life here, and my relationship with every single one of you."

"Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m the luckiest guy alive to have such an incredible position, surrounded by so many wonderful, beautiful, loving wives."

The elves smiled despite themselves, their hearts warming at his words.

"But..."

Luca continued, his expression turning more somber.

"You guys on the other hand only have a single Luca. And even though I’m definitely more than anyone bargains for—I’m pretty sure I’m not enough for dozens and dozens of elves."

"At best." Luca let out a deep sigh. "I could truly be a proper husband to perhaps a dozen of you."

"To give you the attention, the love, the partnership you deserve."

"But...there are over fifty of you carrying my children."

His dark eyes swept the crowd.

"Over fifty incredible women who’ve given me their hearts."

A wave of gloom settled over the assembled elves.

They had already known about this situation from the very beginning. They had already accepted it.

They were happy just to have Luca’s child, to be part of his family, to know that he cared for them.

But deep in their hearts, they were sad.

After all, they wouldn’t be able to get the same attention that certain people like Leona, Nyx, Lulu, and Luna would receive.

Even though they were fine with it and had made peace with it, there was still a certain disappointment.

A quiet longing to experience the same love and attention as well.

But just as the gloom was settling over the entire village, Luca suddenly showed the biggest grin on his face.

His eyes glowed like the sun, even though they were so dark. And then he announced—

"But from here onwards, you don’t have to worry about that at all!"

All the elves looked at him in surprise.

"After today..." Luca continued, his voice filled with warmth and conviction.

"You’ll be receiving all the love and affection that you never got from the male elves before!"

"You also won’t ever have to worry about running or getting hurt while carrying our children because—"

"—I’m literally going to be right there beside you, holding your hand and protecting you every single step of the way!"

He looked at the little ones, his gaze softening.

"And as for my adorable little babies that I’ve recently adopted, you don’t ever have to worry about growing up without a father figure in your life."

"I’ll be right there beside you for every milestone."

The elves eyes shone with hope.

Luca looked at all of them at once, his voice ringing out with conviction.

"From here onward, you won’t have to worry about any of those problems because I’m going to be by your side all the time!"

Absolute bafflement swept through the crowd.

"What do you mean, Luca?"

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"How can you possibly do that? You’re just one single—"

The elf who had been speaking stopped herself.

Her eyes slowly went to the Lucas surrounding her, then back to the original Luca.

Her jaw dropped open with dawning comprehension.

"You mean." She breathed. "You mean..."

Luca nodded enthusiastically.

"Exactly as you think right now! The gift that the Goddess has given are..."

"...all the Lucas around you!"

—

Author’s Note: Before anyone has any thought about the concept that has been introduced, please read the next two Chapters before you come up with your any opinions.