Interstellar Age

Just like that, Krista and her family had packed up their belongings, or what they could take with them, and left for the borders of their homeland. Naturally Erika followed with them, where she and her mother-in-law were able to speak in depth about their lives, and their troubles.

By the end of the months' long journey, Krista could consider Erika to be her new best friend, and the two got along swimmingly. Something which would shock Erich to the core of his being when he finally returned home from deployment. Which was drawing near with each passing day.

Since Alemannia was currently undergoing reconstruction, Krista and her children decided to live with Erika for the time being. The once lonely and desolate mansion had suddenly become so lively, to the point where the former pop star found that she had finally begun to enjoy her life.

Finally, the day came, where the 13th Fleet returned to the Empire's borders for repairs and resupply. They had been at war for nine months, and during this time, they had gained considerable ground. But against a tier II regional power with an overwhelming number of star systems and resources at their disposal, it would take far longer than a year for this war to be completed.

Thus, in its place, the 17th Fleet was dispatched to continue the war effort, while the soldiers of the 13th Fleet received some rest and respite. Erich was not particularly looking forward to returning home to his loveless marriage.

He would honestly rather continue his deployment, where he was surrounded by his new comrades, many of which he had become rather close to after fighting by their side repeatedly for nine months straight.

But Erich was not allowed to deny his mandatory leave of absence. After all, it was considered detrimental to a soldier's mental health to serve for so long without proper rest. Especially after the Dvrakian War, and the overwhelming amount of stress its soldiers faced during that time. Because of this, the new Supreme Leader had become far more strict about soldiers and their rest.

---

Erich opened the door to his home with a stoic expression on his handsome face. He was wearing his dress uniform, and all the medals he had been awarded over the years, including several new iron crosses which he had been awarded for his heroism within the Lutharian War.

By now Erich had all grades of the Iron Cross, except for the Grand Cross. Meaning he had one pinned above his breast pocket, one pinned to his breast pocket, and one dangling from his neck. All of varying sizes. This was in addition to his Merit Cross, and his Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Sun. All of which were displayed proudly on his uniform, and yet there seemed to be no hint of pride in Erich's silver eyes, as he boldly entered his mansion and declared his arrival to no one in particular.

"I'm home…."

Contrary to what was expecting, he heard the voice of a woman respond to him, one which he had not heard in many years.

"Oh well, my baby boy is back!"

At first Erich thought he was hearing things, but then he saw with his own eyes that his mother was standing in the doorway wearing an apron, with a wide smile on her face, and hands full of dough. Erich immediately found it difficult to stand as he fell to one knee and leaned against the wall.

He had never expected that he would ever see his mother again in his life. And here she was in his home. Because of this, Erich could not help but express his disbelief aloud, albeit stammering as he did so.

"H...Ho...How?"

Krista was immediately worried about her son, who had seemed to have lost his footing for no reason, and immediately ran up to the young man where she smothered him with her substantial bosom. Though the flour on her hands spread across the man's silver hair, as his mother stroked it, he did not seem to care. Instead, he let out the tears that he had kept welled up for years. All while crying out for his mother.

"Mom...."

Krista shooshed her eldest son, as she assured him everything would be alright. She could tell he had suffered immensely over the years, in more ways than she could possibly imagine. But none of that mattered, because she was now here for him.

"Oh, Erich... Let it all out. Mommy is here for you."

Normally, a man was supposed to be stoic in the face of adversity, but perhaps the only time he was permitted to cry was when he was alone with his mother. After all, only a mother would ever love a man unconditionally.

Luckily for him, Erika was out getting groceries, and because of this, she did not manage to witness her husband's pitiful state. It took some time for Erich to calm down, but eventually his mother wiped the tears from his eyes and explained everything to him.

"While you were deployed, your lovely young wife came to Alfheim and informed me that your siblings and I were not exiled, only your father was. After being lied to by that bastard for so long, we did not hesitate to pack everything that we could take with us and return to the Empire. We did not even leave that scoundrel a note explaining that we had left him.

Considering that your father is now guilty of high treason, I was granted an exception by the courts and given a divorce. So I no longer have to bear the burden of being that cowardly traitor's wife."

Erich did not even hear this last part, because his mind was baffled by the idea of Erika going to fetch his mother. After all, she was the reason they were driven apart in the first place. And because he could not believe this, he was compelled to ask for clarification.

"My wife? You mean Erika? Erika went to Alfheim and brought you back? Why? She doesn't give a damn about me!"

Krista immediately smacked her eldest son on the top of his head and scolded him as she wore a pouting expression on her flawless face.

"Erich Jaeger! You are a complete fool! That girl is a sweetheart who is just really bad at dealing with the opposite sex! Not that I blame her, she was sheltered from the day she was born. In fact, the only man she ever interacted with was her own father, and he seemed compelled to keep any boy at arm's length from her!

And you! I thought I raised you better! To think that you would so callously dismiss your lawfully wedded wife. I've heard that you have not even consummated your marriage! Do you think the traditions of our people are a joke? You have been married for over three years, and yet you have not produced a single child! Shame on you!"

Erich could not believe he was being made out to be the bad guy. Consummate his marriage? With the woman who had ruined his life? What kind of sick joke was this? How could he ever forgive Erika for driving a wedge between him and the only person he had ever truly cared for in life? It was simply inexcusable, and he was quick to voice this thought.

"How can you take her side? She ruined my life! If not for her, I would have never lost you in the first place! The fact that I have not once vented my anger on her through violence is proof of my benevolence! If I were a lesser man, I would have struck that bitch a thousand times over for what she has done to me!"

Krista was extremely angry with her son now, he was close to thirty years old, and he was still blaming others for his problems, this was something which she could not tolerate, and quickly slapped Erich across the face, as she knew it was the only way she would be able to get through to him.

Erich was stunned into silence by his stinging cheek. Did his mother seriously just slap him? Before he could clarify this matter, Krista began to speak to her son with a stern tone in her voice.

"And whose fault do you think that is? Honestly, Erich, you are a man now, and yet you are blaming your wife for a problem that you caused. She did not force you to post such a suggestive photo of you with an alien woman onto social media.

Literally everyone could see that image! You are an aberrant, which our society despises, and yet you thought it was a good idea to take a photo which suggested that you were breaking the law in more ways than one? The fact that you haven't been executed already as a result of your little dalliance with that alien whore amazes me!"

Erich immediately became flustered when he heard his mother call Yumi a whore. Though his perception of the woman had shifted slightly since first speaking with Ryu. To the point where he now feared and respected the Oni beauty, rather than seeing her as a casual fling to vent his lust with. He still considered her to be one of the people that he was closest to in this life. Which said more about him than it did anything else. And because of this, he immediately began to defend Yumi from his mother's insults.

"Yumi is not a whore! She has lived for over 250 years. Of course, she would have had a lover or two in that time-span. I myself am not even thirty yet, and I have been with multiple women! She is actually nice to me, unlike that pink haired bimbo, and treats me with the respect I deserve! So I won't have you slandering her!"

To say that Krista was mad that her son had spoken back to her was an understatement. There was a hostile glint in the woman's dazzling blue eyes as she gazed at her son with murderous intent. It was extremely clear by the words he had spoken that he was still in contact with this Yumi woman, and had likely already cheated on Erika.

It was only now that it dawned on Krista's mind that her son had been deployed to fight alongside their Oni allies for the past nine months. Though the probability was slim, it was still entirely possible that he would come into contact with Yumi during this time.

But perhaps what was the most outlandish thing of all was that her son openly admitted to being a man whore, something Krista never thought she would hear in her life. And thus there was a chilling tone in her voice as she asked her son one simple question.

"What did you just say?"

It was only now that Erich realized he had fucked up. His mother was a fiercely traditional woman. He had openly admitted to sleeping around, which was a serious taboo within the Empire, and had inadvertently revealed that he was still in contact with Yumi. The gravity of his mistake was apparent on his mother's face, who was looking at him as if he were a pile of refuse.

But before he could answer his mother's question, the door swung open and revealed Erika's sublime figure. The pink-haired beauty had a pretty smile on her face as she announced her entrance. Not realizing what she had just walked into.

"Krista, I'm home!"

The mother and son stared awkwardly at the intruder, not wanting to discuss this delicate matter further while in her presence. Thus, Krista took one look at her son, and said a single phrase before helping Erika with the groceries.

"We will discuss this later..."