The main Luca didn’t reply.

Instead, it was the projection right by Esme’s side who crouched down and suddenly hugged Lisa to her surprise.

"Of course, Lisa." He said softly, his voice filled with warmth. "Not only will I always be by your mother’s side right now, making sure that she never feels a hint of loneliness ever again..."

Esme’s eyes filled with tears at his words.

Luca pulled back slightly, looking into Lisa’s eyes.

"I’ll also always be with you." He promised. "We can do so many things together as father and daughter."

Lisa’s entire face lit up like a sunrise.

"Really, Daddy?! Truly?! We can play tag? And you’ll help me climb the big trees?"

"Can we play house, too? I get to be the princess, and you have to be the grand holy knight who protects the castle!"

Luca’s heart swelled with genuine emotion. He pulled her back in, hugging her tightly.

"Whatever you want, my princess. Your daddy is right here, and I’m not going anywhere for the rest of your life."

Lisa squeezed his neck with all her might.

"Thank you, Daddy! Thank you! You’re the best Daddy in the whole wide world!"

Watching the scene unfold, Esme completely broke down, tears streaming freely down her face.

This was the exact, impossible dream she had prayed for her entire life. She had wanted a real, loving family where her daughter could know what it felt like to have a devoted father.

She had thought that dream died with Rufus. And even after Luca arrived, she had quietly resigned herself to the fact that with so many wives, his time would always be split thin.

But looking at the Luca right in front of her, the crushing weight of her loneliness evaporated.

Her daughter was finally getting the beautiful childhood she deserved!

And it wasn’t just Esme.

All around the square, mothers watched in awe as the various Lucas instantly shifted their attention to the children—pulling playful faces, patting their heads, and showering the little ones with the fierce, undivided attention of a proud father.

The younger elves, who didn’t have children yet but had spent days dreaming of simple romance, were also overwhelmed with happiness.

The crushing anxiety of competing for Luca’s time was gone.

Every single wish, every date, every quiet moment they had craved was within reach.

Many of them openly wept, entirely overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the blessing.

Even the village elders, who didn’t receive a projection since they didn’t bear the sacred mark, were visibly wiping away tears.

Watching the younger generation laugh, cry, and embrace a future free of isolation brought a profound sense of relief.

The generational curse of loneliness that had plagued the elven race for centuries was officially broken.

It ended tonight, with them, ensuring their daughters would only know love.

—

Luca watched everyone, a deep satisfaction settling in his chest.

He really had been fretting over what to do, as he didn’t want to have the sin of being a neglectful husband and leave all these poor women alone.

But with this gift, he wouldn’t have to worry about any of that.

Whether it was giving them affection or taking care of them during the pregnancy like a husband should, everything would be solved right now.

But then he thought of something.

A slightly embarrassed and awkward look appeared on his face, like he didn’t know how to approach this topic.

But he still knew that he had to talk about it.

He cleared his throat loudly, and the sound cut through the happy chatter.

Everyone’s attention snapped back to him.

He offered a sheepish, apologetic grin, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hey, uh, just one last quick detail. I need to mention this so there are no surprises later."

The crowd quieted down, leaning in curiously.

"Aside from the fact that they have normal human strength."

Luca continued, his voice dropping into a decidedly awkward register.

"There is one major boundary. These projections, they..."

"...they can’t actually be intimate with you."

A heavy, blink-and-you-miss-it silence fell over the courtyard.

Then, one of the elves blinked, tilting her head.

"Wait, what exactly do you mean by ’intimate,’ Luca?"

Luca’s face flushed slightly, and he let out a nervous laugh.

"You know...intimate. The bedroom stuff. Making love. Making more babies. Doing the deed."

"That’s a no-go for them."

Luca quickly held up his hands, sensing the potential for misunderstanding.

"Of course, it’s not that they can’t do anything at all. They haven’t...you know...lost their equipment or anything."

He chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck like a teenage boy caught in an embarrassing situation.

"It’s just that—"

He paused, his ears heating slightly until finally saying,

"I don’t feel comfortable with a bunch of projections being intimate with all of you."

The elves blinked at him in surprise, their expressions shifting from curiosity to confusion.

Luca pressed on, his voice growing more earnest.

"Even though all those projections are me. And it’s not like I can just put them on autopilot and let them do whatever. I just..."

He clenched his fist, a look of genuine discomfort crossing his face.

"I just don’t feel right with letting my own women be intimate with other projections. Even if those projections are technically me."

He looked at them, his gaze heavy with sincerity.

"All of you are very precious to me. Every single one of you, I consider my beloved wives."

He paused, a wry smile tugging at his lips. "I mean, it would be weird if I didn’t, after putting a baby inside of you."

A few of the elves giggled at that, but Luca’s expression quickly turned serious again.

"That’s why I have this...possessive urge. It’s strong, maybe too strong, and it extends even to my own projections in the sense that I...."

He took a shuddering breath.

"...I don’t want any sort of intimacy happening unless it’s with the real me."

He gave a small, helpless shrug.

"I know how that sounds. I know it’s possessive, maybe even hypocritical"

"You’ve given me everything—your trust, your bodies, your futures and here I am, putting conditions on a gift from the gods themselves."

His gaze dropped again, shame coloring his cheeks.

"I feel...ashamed even admitting this like I’m exposing some ugly, possessive part of myself that I should keep hidden."

"But that’s just how I feel."

"So tell me." He squared his shoulders, bracing himself. "Tell me I’m being ridiculous. Tell me I need to get over myself. I can take it. I deserve it."

He bowed his head slightly, feeling ashamed of his own words.

Here were so many women giving their lives for him, bearing his children, raising them on their own.

And here he was, unable to accept something as simple as this.

He knew it was illogical—they were all him, after all.

But at the same time, something felt wrong. Since he wasn’t physically there in that instant, a part of his heart felt uncomfortable at the thought.

He felt deeply ashamed that he was pushing his own agenda onto them.

He felt like a weak-willed man, despite everything.

And now, he braced himself for the inevitable backlash.

The elves looking down upon him, laughing, scowling, scoffing, perhaps even scolding him on the spot for being so narrow-minded.

He was willing to take it all, because it was all true.

He waited for the flurry of comments to come his way.

But to his surprise...that didn’t happen at all.

Instead, the elves exchanged glances and then, as one, they let out a massive, collective sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank the spirits!" Selma breathed, pressing a hand to her chest. "I was thinking the exact same thing!"

"Me too." Alia admitted, her cheeks flushing. "I know it’s him, but it just...wouldn’t feel right, would it?"

Ivy nodded vigorously. "Exactly! Knowing my actual husband is somewhere else while I’m with a projection? It feels...wrong somehow."

The comments came in a wave, each elf voicing the same relief.

"It’s good that Luca brought it up on his own." One elf said. "It would have been really awkward on our part."

"That’s exactly what I was thinking." Another replied

"Even if he wasn’t willing to bring it up, I was going to say it on my own, no matter how strange it might seem."

"It’s good that Luca himself said it." Yet another added, nodding sagely. "Makes it much less awkward for everyone."

Hearing these words that actually agreed with him, Luca had an absolutely dumbfounded look on his face.

He couldn’t help but take a step back in confusion.

"Wait, hold on." He said, his voice filled with bewilderment. "You guys—" He gestured at all of them. "You’re completely okay with this? You actually don’t want such a thing as well?!"

"Of course we don’t!" Tessa exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"Luca, think about it! You’d be off saving some other village or negotiating with Queens or whatever Hero things you do, and we’d be here...being intimate with a copy of you."

"However real he is, however much he’s you...you wouldn’t be here and that’s just strange"

"Like, I get the concept." Another elf rubbed her head in frustration. "I know it’s you and it’s most definitely you."

"But still, it feels weird. Almost as if I’m doing something wrong."

"Exactly." A third elf agreed. "I just can’t comprehend it in my mind. It’s almost as if I have two husbands. And it’s really weird."

She shook her head emphatically.

"It feels like I’m being unfaithful, even though I’m not!"

"I’m glad you said it first, because I was dreading having to bring it up myself."

Luca could only stare, his surprise deepening.

He then forced a smile, though it looked more like a grimace and asked,

"Are you guys being serious right now or are you just saying this to spare my feelings? To keep things from getting awkward?"

Leona finally snapped. She planted her hands on her hips and fixed him with a stern glare.

"Stop overthinking it, Luca!"

Her voice carried the weight of authority she wielded as the village Matriarch.

"When a human like you, who has such a bad reputation around here himself doesn’t feel right about something like this—"

"—do you think us elves, in our proud and dignified manner, can just allow that as well?"

"It’s impossible!"

Luna stepped forward, taking her Luca projection’s hand.

"He’s wonderful for companionship." She said, smiling up at the projection. "For walks in the forest, for reading together by the fire, for teaching the children how to track animals or identify plants."

"But for intimacy..." She shook her head. "No. That belongs to the real you."

Lulu nodded vigorously, giving her projection a playful shove.

"He’s like a really advanced doll! Fun to play with, great for conversations, but not for...you know."

She winked. "The serious stuff."

Nyx, on the other hand, gave a dangerous smile while looking at her projection.

"I wasn’t even thinking about that in the first place." She said, her voice laced with mischief. "Rather, I was thinking of poking you with my dagger from time to time. Just to make you jump up here and there from somewhere far away."

Luca shivered at the thought.

But nonetheless, seeing their genuine agreement, Luca let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

The tension drained from his shoulders, and for the first time since he’d returned from the heavens, he felt truly at ease.

"Thank the gods." He breathed, running a hand over his face. "I thought I was the only one being primitive about this. Possessive in a way I shouldn’t be."

He smiled, a real, genuine smile that reached his eyes.

"But knowing you all feel the same way...it makes everything simpler. Less awkward."

But just then, a disappointed voice cut through the cheerful atmosphere.

"But at the same time." Selma said, her words hesitant. "It is sad that we won’t be able to experience what we did that night again."