第５６４堀：皆が幸せになる方法 (Part1)
Chapter 564: How Everyone Can Be Happy
Side: Milly
"Whoa—!!"
"Wahh!!"
*Thump!?*
"“Hau!?”"
The two of them shouted the moment they burst into the room, but they were silenced immediately by a swift knuckle to the head.
"Honestly. Keep it quiet in a hospital. I thought I taught you that, Kina."
"You too, Sherry. I don’t remember raising you to be so ignorant of common sense."
The one delivering the lecture was Rock-san, the Guild Master of the Weed Adventurer Guild. And, my father.
"Now, now, both of you. It can’t be helped. After all, Milly has safely given birth to a baby."
Finally, my mother walked into the room with a beaming smile.
"It must have been so hard, having to give birth while away on a business trip. But I’m just glad both you and the baby are safe, Milly. Say, would you mind letting me see the baby?"
"Yeah."
I showed my daughter to my mother. Yumi, the fruit of my love with Yuki-san.
"Whoa—!? She’s so tiny!!"
"She’s so cute, big sister!!"
The two who had finished their scolding a moment ago were now huddled together, making a fuss over Yumi in my arms...
"“That’s enough.”"
*Thump!!*
"“Au!?”"
They were knocked on the head again.
Yes, I had returned to Weed for the first time in about a month. The reason was simple: now that the child was born, I wanted to return to Weed, where the personnel and facilities were better equipped.
Because the effects of long-distance Gate teleportation on pregnant women were unknown, those of us who were pregnant—myself, Riel, Tori, and Kaya—hadn't returned to Weed from Baide until now. But once the birth was over and the baby was a separate individual, we were granted permission to teleport and return.
At first, I was worried that something might happen to the child during the Gate transfer, but it seemed they had already proven it was safe based on the track record of protecting abandoned infants in Baide and sending them to Weed. The fact that Yuki-san and the others had been steadily working on such research while we were relaxing deep in the Baide dungeon showed just how hard they were working.
To be honest, I felt a bit guilty about leaving my fellow expectant mothers—Riel, Tori, and Kaya—behind and returning to Weed first, but...
『Don't say such silly things. You need to get to the Weed hospital quickly and have your body checked out.』
『Yeah, that’s right. Like Riel said, go get checked at the Weed hospital. Lilishe-sama and the others are there, too.』
『...Besides, Milly’s family and friends are worried, and they’re looking forward to meeting Yumi. You don’t need to worry about us; we have everyone else here.』
『Anyway, it won't be long for us, either.』
『We’ll be following you to Weed soon.』
『...That’s the thing. It’ll be a relief to have Milly go first and confirm the safety of the Gate.』
『Kaya, that’s your true intention, isn't it?』
『...It’s all my true intention.』
『『『Ahahaha...』』』
Well, there was some joking around like that, but when we actually moved through the Gate, Yuki-san held Yumi and me tightly, while Ria, Deryu, Rurua, Aslin, Firia, Hiiro, and Vilia surrounded us in a tight formation, ready to respond to any emergency. As it turned out, we arrived safely, so I realize now that it was perhaps a bit excessive.
After returning to Weed, instead of going to the inn, I was immediately taken to the hospital for a check-up and observation. That said, I was quickly cleared by Lilishe-sama, Rurua, and—uh, Luna—who all gave me a clean bill of health.
As a bonus, Yumi received a divine protection from Lilishe-sama. Luna, meanwhile, decided that "a name like that implies she needs archery skills," and granted the baby maximum-level bow skills, for which she got scolded by Yuki-san.
...I mean, we have firearms now, so what’s the point of archery? If anything, it seems like Luna is trying to turn our children—Yuki-san’s children—into her believers by lavishing them with protection, but I don’t think that’s going to work, is it? I know she’s not a bad person—or a bad god—but she’s really just a cheerful older sister type. Still, she’s much better than the gods who try too hard and just stir up trouble.
With all that behind us, the check-ups finished without any issues, which is why my family and colleagues were able to come visit me like this.
"Whoa, look, Sherry. She’s gripping my finger. She’s so soft."
"Ah, Kina-san, that’s not fair. Yumi-chan is holding my finger..."
"…You two, if you get too excited and make Yumi-chan cry… you know what happens, right?"
"“Yes!!”"
...My mother really has an intimidating aura, doesn't she? My daughter Yumi had already been moved to the crib next to the bed, and I had been a little worried watching Kina and my younger sister Sherry poking at her, but seeing my mother’s intensity made me feel very relieved.
"…Hey, Gaden. Meen hasn't changed a bit. I didn't think she could still pull off that kind of pressure. How many years has it been since she retired from active duty?"
"It’s been over twenty years already. Well, even back then, she was a Rank 5 while still young. She even trained Mauve and the others, you know. Rock, you should know that, right?"
Gaden is my father’s name, and Meen is my mother’s. As Rock-san said, my mother was a legendary adventurer who even trained Mauve-san and his group when they were young, and that’s how we all became close.
"I suppose so. But I still find it strange. Why did a woman like Meen marry Gaden, who was just working the reception desk?"
"That’s thanks to my relentless pursuit."
"You were only, what, Rank 4 at best? People said Meen could have been Rank 6 or 7 if she’d had the chance. I don’t know what she saw in you."
Just like my father said, love conquers all. Like Yuki-san and me, if there’s love, it doesn't matter if there are walls between worlds or differences in birth. Adventurer rank doesn't matter, Rock-san. That’s exactly why you’re still single.