Birds chirped throughout the forest. The sun rose to greet their calls.
Within a clearing a few kilometers deep into the forest stood a simple cabin with a beautiful garden fenced off in the backyard.
Inside the cabin's bedroom, Adam remained beneath the comforter on their king-sized mattress. He lowered his gaze to Eve who curled up against his chest with her eyes closed. A peaceful and happy smile adorned her adorable sleeping face.
'I hadn't paid attention to it yesterday, but I'm definitely taller than her now. Interesting. Eve is still the same height, though, so it seems God adjusted my height? Unnecessary, but appreciated regardless.'
While he was admiring his wife, a sharp ring pierced the otherwise gentle morning ambience. Adam turned his head and looked at the two flip phones sitting on the nightstand next to the bed.
Also in response to the shrill sound, Eve's eyes shot open. Her lips pouted at the distraction from basking in her husband's warmth.
Already knowing whose voice he would hear when picking up the phone, Adam reached over to grab it, flipped it open, and greeted, "Hello."
"Hello, Adam. This is Rias Gremory. I hope I am not bothering you by calling this early in the morning."
Hearing a woman's voice on the other line, Eve stared at the phone with curious eyes. Then, she looked at her husband and whispered, "Is that one of those step-children you mentioned last night?"
In answer to his wife's question, Adam smiled and nodded while also responding to Rias.
"It is not a bother. I was not expecting you to call so soon, but what might be the purpose of your call?"
"I discussed with another friend who is helping me govern this area, and she wanted to meet you before agreeing to your request about becoming a teacher. Would that be alright? I hope it isn't too much of an inconvenience."
"No need to worry about that. I can be there in a couple hours."
"Wonderful. We will meet in my Occult Research Club room at Kuoh Academy if that is alright with you. Do you need directions to get here?"
"If you could have somebody meet me at the school gate, that would be most convenient. I know the way there, at least."
"Understood. I'll send one of my members to meet you there in two hours?"
"That is fine."
"Then I look forward to meeting with you then, mister Adam."
"Likewise, Rias Gremory."
"Oh, can I go?" Eve suddenly perked up and asked in an excited tone.
On the other side of the line, Rias, who had been confidently smiling and twirling a hair around her finger, froze. Although she barely heard it, that was definitely a woman's voice. Only when she heard Adam's voice did she refocus.
"Young Miss Gremory, my wife would like to know if she can come as well. She was particularly interested to meet you and your friend after I told her about what happened last night," Adam said while sliding his hand down Eve's back.
The other side of the phone line fell silent. A few seconds passed before Rias answered, "Is she also aware of our side of the world?"
Staring right into Eve's innocent eyes, Adam answered, "Yes."
"Very well," Rias responded. "Also, no need to call me Young Miss. It feels awkward for someone like you to call me that, so just call me Rias."
"I will do so. See you in a few hours, then, Rias."
"Likewise, Adam."
With that out of the way, Adam hung up the phone and set it back on the nightstand. Then, he met Eve's anticipatory gaze and said, "Let's get ready to go visit those children."
"Mhm!"
Before long, the husband and wife pair walked hand in hand into Kuoh town. Now dressed in khaki pants, a polo shirt, and a pair of white sketchers, Adam made the dad fit look like a model's outfit.
At his side, Eve locked her fingers between his and looked around at everything like a tourist. Wind formed small waves in the skirt of her white sundress with sunflower prints on it.
Together, they gave the impression of a foreign couple enjoying a vacation abroad.
During their walk, they encountered a child whose mother was teaching him how to ride a bike, but he sped too far away from her before losing control. Adam appeared just in time to stabilise the bike and send him back to his mother. The woman thanked Adam and Eve profusely before they left.
At another point during their walk, a girl wearing glasses and a school uniform sprinted around a corner and bumped into Eve's back. A piece of toast flew out of the girl's mouth as she careened backward, only to find gentle hands saving both her and her half-eaten toast from falling. From behind her glasses, the girl's brown eyes widened at the two beautiful people in front of her.
Eventually, the girl with messy brown hair gathered her bearings when Eve pulled her forward to stand up straight, gave back the toast, and patted the girl's shoulders to smooth out some wrinkles in her school uniform.
"Be more careful on your way to school, young lady," Eve chided in a gentle tone.
"Uh, okay mom. Wait…"
The girl fell silent with her mouth hanging open.
Panicked, the girl bowed ninety degrees and exclaimed, "I'm so sorry! I meant miss! Not mom!"
In response, Eve simply smiled, pulled the girl back up, and said, "It's okay. Run along now. Wouldn't want you to be late."
"Uh-huh…"
The girl looked back and forth between Adam and Eve's smiles for a few moments before apologizing once more and running off toward school, which just so happened to be in the same direction as Kuoh Academy.
Not even a minute later, Eve clung tightly to Adam's arm and mentioned, "I said I want more kids already, but they're just so cute~! Give me more, husband!"
"Haha. I'll do my best."
"Yay! We'll have one hundred more. No, one thousand! No, one million!"
"Haha. Alright, love. We've got all the time in the world. Don't forget about the little ones already running around, okay?"
"I would never!"
Laughing at their own banter, the two continued at a casual pace until eventually arriving at their destination, Kuoh Academy.
Brick walls topped with decorative metal fence spikes circled the school grounds. Standing as tall as two grown men, they added a layer of privacy. With how long the front walls were to either side of the front gate, the grounds themselves even felt nearly as large as some universities.
Many of the buildings stood at least three stories tall, if not four or five. Most were easily visible from outside the walls. Towering pines taller than the buildings themselves obscured more of the buildings, adding yet another layer of privacy, as well as a natural and lively atmosphere. Other breeds of trees like maples and oaks filled in the scenery.
After following the brick wall for a while, Adam and Eve stopped at the front gate, which was currently locked tight. Beyond it, they could see a water fountain straight ahead and a large building with an almost Victorian feel to its structure on the far side of it.
They also spotted a blonde youngster sitting on a bench not far from the front gate. Perhaps noticing their arrival out of the corner of his eye, he raised his blue eyes from a schoolbook in his lap to look in their direction. He smoothly closed his book and slid it into his school bag. Then, he stood up while slinging the bag over his shoulder and walked toward the gate while greeting Adam and Eve with a smile and a nod.
"You are Adam, I assume?" The blonde young man asked while approaching.
"I am."
Nodding toward the gate guard, the young blonde said, "You can open the gate for them."
While the gates creaked open, the young man stepped forward, bowed formally, and greeted, "My name is Yuuto Kiba. I am Rias' Knight."
"Nice to meet you, Yuuto-kun," Adam greeted in kind.
Then, Adam gestured toward Eve and said, "This is my wife, Eve."
Briefly, Yuuto's eyes widened upon hearing Eve's name.
Giving a small curtsy, Eve smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Yuuto-kun."
Gathering his bearings again after hearing the jovial greeting, Yuuto smiled and said, "Likewise, ma'am." Then, turning to Adam again, he said, "If you'll follow me, I'll bring you to our club room where my King is waiting."
"Very well. Lead the way, Yuuto-kun."
Heading back along a stone pathway toward the far end of the school grounds, Kiba led Adam and Eve to a noticeably older building than many of the modern ones at the front of the school grounds. Unlike the grandiose presentation of the main school area, the building they had reached looked like an older school building. Ivy creeped along many of the walls. The building had a quaint and natural atmosphere thanks to the surrounding trees and stone brick paths.
Unlocking the front door and holding it open for them, Kiba said, "This way, Mister Adam."
Nodding, Adam stepped into the building with Eve still clinging to his arm.
From there, Kiba led them to a meeting room containing two sofas with deep green cushions and a coffee table with a candelabra sitting on top of it between the two sofas. Trays of fruits and cookies were set out as well.
Gesturing toward the closest sofa, Kiba said, "Please feel free to take a seat on the couch there. In the meantime, I will go upstairs to let Rias know that you have arrived."
"Thank you, Yuuto-kun," Adam replied while taking a seat alongside Eve.
While Adam regarded the blonde young man walking up the stairs with a raised brow, Eve happily grabbed a strawberry from a bowl in front of her and popped it in her mouth. After chewing for a few seconds, Eve's brow furrowed.
"Adam, you said the Adam of this world died and the Eve of this world left our children behind, right?"
Turning his gaze back to his lovely wife, Adam nodded and said, "There is more to it, but that is the short version of the story that I am aware of."
Popping another berry into her mouth, Eve rolled it over with her tongue a few times before saying, "Hmm. I'll have to teach these kids how to garden better, then. They deserve yummier fruit."
"Do you want to become a teacher with me as well? You could start a gardening club if you wanted."
Eyes lighting up at the prospect of spending every day at school with her husband and little children, she replied, "Can I?! I don't know any school subjects, though..."
"They might have home economics? You could probably handle biology easily enough after studying it as well thanks to our experience in the Garden," Adam offhandedly suggested.
Pressing a finger against her chin and tilting her head, Eve thought really hard for a long time, a total of five whole seconds. Then, she reached out to eat some cookies.
"If I can spend more time with you, I'll do anything," Eve happily said.
In response, Adam simply smiled and traced his thumb on the back of her hand that was still holding his.
Shortly thereafter, a door opened upstairs. Adam raised his head to the balcony and spotted three figures. Only one of them was a new face. He immediately spotted the familiar faces of Rias standing in front and Kiba following behind her. Then, he quietly observed a short white-haired girl following behind them as well.
Rias descended the stairs with her two peerage members behind her.
Adam and Eve both stood up to greet her.
"Hello again, Adam," Rias greeted with a courteous smile. She then bowed slightly, just enough for her breasts to jiggle right in front of Adam's gaze as he rose from his seat. "Welcome to Kuoh Academy."
Just on the other side of Adam, Eve blinked and stared at the red-haired girl's purposeful movement. Then, she smirked and looked on with amusement. She placed a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from giggling at this immature step-child of hers.
Unperturbed by the young lady's posture, Adam simply smiled gently and replied, "Nice to see you again as well, Rias."
Ever so briefly, Rias paused while staring at the pure and unblemished smile of the man in front of her. For some reason she could explain, Adam's smile gave her a peaceful feeling that made her forget about all her problems. She even forgot to introduce her peerage members for a moment while lost in thought until Adam introduced his wife.
"Also, this is my wife, Eve."
Rias blinked a few times, wondering if she had misheard. Moving her gaze to the tall foreign beauty holding Adam's arm, Rias' eyebrows lowered, showing some confusion.
Behind her, the short white haired girl also tilted her head as though puzzled. On the other hand, Kiba remained with a passive smile since he had already learned Eve's name.
"Your name is Eve?" Rias cautiously probed while trying to ignore the teasing gaze in Eve's eyes that reminded Rias of her own mother's teasing gaze for some reason.
"Yep! I'm Eve, Adam's wife. Nice to meet you, Rias."
"...Likewise," Rias hesitantly replied before turning her eyes back to Adam with an inquiring gaze. Even so, she maintained her poise and gestured to her two Peerage members and introduced them by saying, "You have already met Kiba here, and this is my Rook, Koneko."
Kiba simply nodded in greeting again.
A beat late, Koneko quietly said, "Hello."
"Nice to meet you, Koneko," Adam said.
Next to him, Eve stared at Koneko with eager eyes and mumbled, "She's adorable. I just want to gobble her up."
Koneko's ear twitched, and she focused her gaze on the blonde woman. Then, she looked down at her own chest. Then, she looked back at the blonde woman.
"Tch."
Rias coughed to cover for the girl and said, "So, since my friend won't be here for a few minutes, would you both like to sit and talk over snacks until she arrives?"
"That is fine," Adam answered.
"Indeed. That would be lovely," Eve agreed.
"I'm sure you have some questions," Adam said, displaying a knowing smile in Rias' direction.
"If you don't mind answering... Then, yes, I do."