[Character: Rudeus Greyrat] [Health: 500, Mana: 1000000, Strength: 200] Emotion Points: 1418400. Status: [God Rank blessing: God-Caressed Cheeks] -- Greatly enhanced natural looks and significantly increased the rate at which favorability was gained from the opposite sex. [God Rank blessing: God-Gushing Tear Glands] -- Increased mana recovery rate by 10000%.
Rudeus closed the system panel, leaned back in his chair, and sighed softly.
"Getting stronger slowly like this... isn't so bad, actually."
Over the past few months, Sylphie had come over to my house to play almost every day.
They called it "playing," but Rudeus spent most of that time teaching Sylphie about magic.
And not just magic. He hadn't neglected her physical training, either, and had taught her a few techniques for using magic in close combat...
Sometimes, though, they relaxed with a few little magic games I'd invented myself.
Today, he had just thought of a fascinating game: "Building a wall."
The rules were very simple:
"Both players take turns forming small blocks with mana and stacking them into one tower. Whoever makes the whole tower collapse loses."
It was a stroke of genius!
He immediately dragged Sylphie into his room, closed the door, and eagerly began teaching her how to play...
Meanwhile, outside the courtyard.
Paul, who had just settled a dispute between some villagers, pushed open the door to his home, looking exhausted.
He immediately spotted his wife, Zenith, still watering the plants in the courtyard with her visibly pregnant belly. He hurried over, his voice full of concern and helplessness:
"Dear, you shouldn't be working so hard at this stage. Let me do it."
"It's all right. I'm only watering the plants."
Zenith looked up and smiled gently, her face full of contentment.
Paul shook his head and went inside.
There, he saw Lilia, who was also heavily pregnant, standing on tiptoe and struggling to wipe down a high cabinet.
Startled, he rushed over in a few quick strides, snatched the rag from her, and scolded her:
"Lilia! You get some rest too! I'll do this."
"Sigh... Neither of the two women in this house makes things easy."
Paul sighed to himself as he wiped the cabinet, though he couldn't help the faint smile tugging at his lips.
When he was done, he dragged his tired body upstairs, intending to return to his room and rest for a while.
The days passed, and Zenith and Lilia's bellies grew more pronounced with each one, as though under a slow-growing spell.
They had once moved about freely, but now they had to lean back slightly as they walked, one hand resting gently on the lower back and the other instinctively guarding the belly.
Those rounded curves filled the whole house with an atmosphere of warmth and nervous anticipation.
Rudeus often sat nearby, using mana perception to examine the lives growing inside them.
The two tiny heartbeats were strong and steady, like two flickering flames, putting him at ease and filling him with a faint sense of anticipation.
Sylphie had become a regular visitor to the house.
She already lived nearby, and ever since learning that both mothers were pregnant, she had come over early every day to help.
Though she was young and not very strong, she learned quickly.
Before long, she had learned how to make nourishing herbal soups suitable for pregnant women and how to use gentle wind magic to ease their aching backs.
"Rudy, I tasted today's soup. It shouldn't be too bitter."
Sylphie carefully blew on the bowl she was carrying. As she handed it to Zenith, her ears turned slightly red.
Zenith took the bowl and smiled as she patted her head.
"Sylphie, you're getting more capable every day. With your help, things have been much easier for Lilia and me~"
Hearing that, Rudy couldn't help muttering to himself:
She certainly is capable now, but there are some things she still can't do...
Lilia nodded gracefully beside them, a faint smile on her lips.
"Yes, Miss Sylphie's skills are already as good as mine~"
Watching them get along so harmoniously, Rudy leaned against the doorframe and smiled in relief.
One clear afternoon, sunlight fell across the wooden table in the courtyard.
The four of them were shelling beans together to prepare dinner.
Zenith's belly had grown so large that even sitting was somewhat difficult, yet she maintained her elegant posture as she carefully shelled the beans one by one.
Suddenly, Zenith looked up at Sylphie, who was concentrating on her beans, and a mischievous smile flickered in her eyes.
"Sylphie, you and Rudy seem to have so much fun together every day. Will you be giving us a little baby of your own before long?"
"Pfft-"
Rudy choked on a mouthful of water and began coughing violently.
Sylphie froze on the spot, her little face flushing from her ears down to her neck. The beans in her hand clattered onto the table.
She waved her hands frantically, her voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
"M-Mrs. Zenith! Wh-what are you saying...? I'm still little... and Rudy is too..."
"Oh my, you're blushing~"
Zenith covered her mouth and chuckled, her gentle gaze shifting back and forth between Sylphie and Rudy.
"But girls all have to go through these things eventually."
"When the time comes, I can teach you how to take care of a baby. Rudy may be clever, but he can be careless in some ways."
Even Lilia wore a rare mischievous expression as she chimed in:
"Madam is right. Miss Sylphie is kindhearted. She'll surely make a good mother someday."
"Please, both of you... don't tease me..."
Sylphie nearly buried her face in her chest, her green hair looking ready to give off steam.
All Rudy could do was laugh awkwardly and reach out to pat her gently on the back, though a strange warmth welled up inside him.
Time moved on. The last autumn leaves fell, and the winter winds began to rise.
At last, on a night of heavy snow, the due date arrived.
Outside, great flakes swirled through the air, and the howling wind battered the windows.
The whole of Buena Village lay buried beneath thick snow, and the world seemed reduced to black and white.
Inside, however, the house was brightly lit, the fireplace blazed, and the air was filled with the scent of hot water and herbs.
"Ugh... ahh-! Hah... ahh-!!"
Zenith's cries of pain came from the birthing room.
Rudy paced nervously outside the door, his palms slick with sweat.
Paul was even paler, constantly rubbing his hands as he paced the hallway like a caged beast.
Though Lilia was close to giving birth herself, she forced herself to sit in a chair, fine beads of sweat covering her forehead.
The midwife was an experienced dwarf woman. She rolled up her sleeves, her voice loud and steady.
"Don't panic! Take a deep breath! Push!"
Sylphie held my hand tightly. Her little fingertips were cold, but they gave Rudy immense comfort.
The two stood side by side at the door, silently praying for the people inside.
The minutes and seconds passed. Finally, a loud infant's cry rang out, and the midwife called excitedly:
"The baby's here! It's a healthy girl!"
Rudy rushed into the room, unable to wait. Zenith was covered in sweat, but she wore a tired, happy smile.
The midwife placed a tiny baby wrapped in clean cloth into Paul's arms.
That was his little sister, Norn Greyrat.
Her little face was wrinkled, and her eyes had yet to open fully, but she was already letting out soft, instinctive cries.
Paul held her carefully, feeling as though something soft had struck his heart.
"Father! I want to hold her too!"
Paul turned and gently held the baby out to Rudy.
Rudy slowly reached out, carefully took her into his arms, and studied her closely.
"Norn... my little sister..."
He murmured under his breath, his voice trembling slightly.
Her little hand unconsciously gripped his finger. Her grip was pitifully weak, yet it brought tears to my eyes in an instant.
Just then, Lilia's muffled cries of pain suddenly came from the next room.
"Oh! Miss Lilia is going into labor too!"
The midwife's expression changed slightly, and she rushed over at once.
Paul froze for a moment, then ran after her.
"Lilia!"
Rudy entrusted Norn to Sylphie and hurried after them.
Lilia's situation was more dangerous than Zenith's. She was giving birth prematurely, and the cold of the snowy night and the long wait had greatly drained her strength.
In the birthing room, the midwife kept shouting while Lilia gritted her teeth, veins standing out on her forehead.
"Hang in there! I can see the head! Push harder!"
"Ngh!... Ugh... aaah-!!!"
Lilia let out an almost hoarse scream.
Before long, another baby's cry rang out, weak but clear.
"Another girl! She's premature, but she's healthy!"
The midwife wiped away her sweat, her voice full of the joy of having come through an ordeal.
The child Lilia had given birth to was Rudy's second little sister, Aisha Greyrat.
Just like that, two tiny lives had come into the world on the same snowy night.
Aisha was a little smaller than Norn, and her skin was pinker, but her cries were especially strong, as though announcing her arrival to the world.
When Rudy stood beside Zenith and Lilia's beds with Aisha in his arms, the whole room seemed filled with a gentle warmth.
Paul, a man usually so rugged, now had red-rimmed eyes. He held Zenith's hand in one of his and gently stroked Lilia's hair with the other, too choked up to speak.
Sylphie carefully came over with Norn in her arms and stood beside Rudy.
The two gently placed the tiny babies side by side. The girls seemed to sense each other's presence, their cries gradually fading into faint little murmurs.
"Rudy... they're so small, so cute..." Sylphie's eyes sparkled, and her voice was soft.
Rudy looked at his two little sisters' rosy faces, their tiny noses, tightly closed eyes, and nearly transparent earlobes. A feeling of contentment and emotion unlike anything he had ever known welled up inside him.
"These are... gifts from heaven."
Outside the window, the snow continued to fall, but it could no longer pierce the warmth inside.
The flames danced in the fireplace, lighting everyone's faces: the tired but happy mothers, the father so excited he didn't know what to do, the shy but gentle Sylphie, and Rudy himself.
He lowered his head and gently kissed Norn and Aisha each on the forehead.
"Welcome to this world, Norn, Aisha. From now on, I'll always protect you."
The snowy night was long, but the brightest dawn had come to this home...