4 Finding a Wife

"Eh."

Max was shocked. He had no idea why this beauty was hugging him and calling him hubby.

He realized that he was standing in the village square, and several creatures were looking at him, but he had no idea what to do.

He gently placed a hand on her back and returned her hug with a half hug.

Max felt her shiver and melt into his embrace.

"Umm. I am not really sure what going on." He said when he noticed her grip relax. He used the opportunity to take a step back.

"Don't be silly Max. Why wouldn't I hug my husband."

"Oh, well. Just one moment. Menu."

When the prompt appeared, Max made sure to think his input so he would inadvertently offend this woman.

{DC, what is going on?}

[It appears you have summoned a wife.]

{How is that possible?}

[Anything is possible with a random summons.]

{Show me her stats.}

[Annastasia Clarkson]

[Wife of Max Clarkson]

[Class: Undecided]

[Loyalty: 100 (Permanent)]

[Soulbond]

He then saw her ability points were all at 100.

{What does soulbond mean?}

[Soulbound: Those who have a soulbond have found their perfect partner. It is said that fate has paired the two and they can find no better match in the entire universe]

Max checked his own stats and found he also had the soulbond tag now.

He then realized that his wife, how crazy is that, was standing there waiting for him to say something.

"Umm, hi. I am Maxwell Clarkson."

"I know silly. I am Annastasia Clarkson."

"Yes… well… this is all rather unexpected." When he saw her begin to pout, he quickly added. "I am not saying it is a bad thing. But when I preformed the random summons, I didn't think I would be summoning a wife."

She tilted her head for a moment. "That is understandable. I am pleased to meet you Max. I have been waiting for this day for a very long time."

"You have?"

Annastasia nodded.

"So… you knew that you would be summoned by your husband?"

"No, but in my past life I was a diviner. I knew that once I passed, I would be reborn before my soul mate and we would be married. I knew that my husband had been promised a wife by fate and that we would learn to love each other deeply, have a family and grow old together."

Max was a bit surprised. That sounded a lot like the reincarnation that the system had given him.

Then it clicked. Maybe the system didn't cheat him. In one way or another he had been given most of the things he had been promised. The rest would need time.

"Diviner? Was that your class before? I noticed you don't have one, is that something you would like to take up again."

Annastasia grimaced and shook her head. "No, I really wouldn't. While most would call it a gift, seeing what is to come but being unable to affect it is a curse. I think the only real reason I carried on is because I knew that I would find happiness in the end, otherwise…" At that she shuddered.

Max slowly reached out and gave her a comforting pat on the back. At his touch she leaned against his body.

"Let's not talk about that. It's too much death and destruction. Would you mind telling me where we are?" She asked while looking at the village around them.

"Sure Annastasia."

She turned and smiled. "You can call me Anna if you like."

Max nodded.

"Okay Anna. We are in a dungeon I built."

She turned to him surprised but he saw a bit of worry in her eyes.

"If my plan works out, nobody will be dying inside."

Anna was surprised at that.

Max nodded happily as he led her down the street as he began to explain what he was doing here.

They ended up circling the village twice.

"It is amazing what you have done here. I would never have believed that the sky and sun above us were fake. The illusions are impressive." Anna said.

"They are fake in a sense, but they are no illusions. My dungeon is in a sub plane of its own. Everything that is outdoors has its own day and night cycle along with a weather cycle."

He saw she was listening intently.

"This village that will someday become a town has a moderate weather cycle. It will be warm in the summer and chilly in the winter, but we won't have to deal with heavy snow or overbearing heat."

"That sounds like the perfect place for a home." Anna said.

"I thought so. I mean, the snow is nice. And the heat is great when you are at the beach and want to splash around in the water, but I wouldn't want to deal with the mess that comes with it."

"Well… Maybe… you could make some nice vacation places then." She said a bit timidly, unsure if he would get upset at her for making suggestions.

"That sounds like a brilliant idea."

On the outskirts of the village the pair sat at the edge of the lake on a large boulder.

"I realize this is sudden for you since you weren't expecting this like I was." Anna said. "How would you like to proceed from here?"

"I… I don't know if I am comfortable with jumping straight into being husband and wife if you know what I mean. Sharing a room and all that." Max said while looking at the lake but watching her out of the corner of his eye to gauge her reaction.

He could see he relaxed a bit.

Anna nodded. "I understand that we are soulbonded and that makes us soul mates. But in my past life I was raised with the church and when my natural talent showed itself, they protected me and kept those who would use me away. This is probably the closest thing I have ever had to a date."

Max laughed, but quickly stopped when he noticed she looked worried. "I am not laughing at you. I think this is the closest thing I have had to a date as well. In my past life I was raised in an orphanage. They managed to scrap together enough money to send me to a good school. I couldn't let them down by getting distracted by girls. When I graduated something strange happened and I found out the date of my death. I was told that depending on how I lived the rest of my short life I would be rewarded in the this life."

Anna reached out and held his hand in hers as he kept talking.

"After that, it felt wrong to try and date. What would be the point? If I built a real connection with someone, I would be destined to leave them behind. And if I didn't build a connection, then I would just waste the little time I had left. With the knowledge that I had a chance at a better future in my next life, it was hard not do to everything I could to make it happen. So, I devoted myself to helping others and gave it my all. Now… I am here."

"I am glad you are here." She said with a smile.

"Me too." He whispered.

They stared at the lake, in the distance a fished jump and splashed back into the water.

"I don't know of how I can be of use, but I want to help you. I spent most of my life hiding in the church but now I am free. I don't want to be kept away in a house." She said while not daring to look at him.

Max could tell that this was very important to her. He didn't know much about this world, but he could see that it was possible for a woman to get married and then kept in the home.

"I don't know that I will leave the dungeon and venture into the wider world, but I plan to create something amazing here. I would enjoy having your help with that."

Anna looked at him and smiled.

Damn, that smile knocked the wind out of him. It was like a breath of fresh air passing through his soul.

"I think I would like that." She said.

"Let's find out together."

"Let's."

[Reminder]

[Dungeon Master assistant position is still available.]

Max mentally praised DC. That was a well-timed reminder. He didn't have to worry like other dungeon master who gave away that position. Annastasia had maximum loyalty and it was fixed. Sure she could still get mad at him and disapprove. Max loyalty didn't turn her into a blind yes-man. It just ensured that she wouldn't betray him. And he was pretty sure, that if they were really soulbonded, he wouldn't have the ability or desire to betray her.

"I can make you the Assistant Dungeon Master if you like?"

[Correction: Assistant TO the Dungeon Master]

Max ignored DC and waited for her answer.

Anna thought for a moment. "What would that entail?

"You would be able to control some of the dungeon currency. We would need to talk about big things but minor things you could deal with as you see fit."

"I don't know if I would be good at it." She said.

Max looked her over and saw that she wasn't just making an excuse because she didn't want to do it. He saw genuine uncertainty.

He then shrugged towards her. "I had never been a dungeon master until a few days ago. Heck, I am still just making stuff up as I go. I have a general plan but that's it. We can find out together."

"If you think I can, maybe I should give it a try." She said a bit hopeful.

Max nodded.

"I think you will be great. Besides, it comes with a fixed income. Then you won't have to ask me if you want to buy anything. Uh, not that you can't ask me. I have plenty of DP and will get what you like. I understand, like me, you showed up with only the clothes on your back. But I am guessing there are some things you would rather get yourself compared to telling me and having me spend DP to buy."

At that she blushed and nodded while looking away.

Max fought the urge to groan when he saw her blush. She looked so cute, and he suddenly had knowledge of how to make her blush even more. But he didn't think he was ready for that. He was having a hard enough time carrying on a conversation with her without getting distracted.

"I'll do it." She softly said.

"DC make it happen."

[Annastasia Clarkson has become the Dungeon Master's assistant.]

When he saw her eyes begin to shift left and right, he realized that DC had contacted her and she was reading the prompts.

"Wow!" She suddenly said. "You didn't lie, you certainly do have a large amount of DP. But I am only seeing it go out. You don't have any coming in yet. We need to get that to change."

[I like her.]

As the sun began to set, Max led her to his, or their, house. He set her up in the room next to his. Thankfully he had already done more work on the house. The room wasn't fully stocked but it had the necessities. She could decorate how she liked. Max also told her to do so. He was worried she wouldn't want to spend anything until she received her first paycheck.