The dungeon was a little quieter now that the girls weren’t at home during the day. The absence of their cheerful voices alone made things feel kinda lonely. When did I get so sentimental? Lately, the smallest things turned me into an emotional mess. Having said that, even with just the adults around, our home was still pretty noisy.
“Mr. Yuki! I’d like to host a forum here on why babies are so cute!”
Nell made that declaration out of the blue. She’d recently gone part-time with her hero duties, which let her spend more time at home.
“Sure, why not?”
“I, Nell, will serve as the chairperson of the ‘Babies Are Cute, Huzzah!’ Committee!”
“Understood, Chair of the ‘Babies Are Cute, Huzzah!’ Committee.”
“As my first order of business, I hereby appoint you as the vice chair of said committee. For my second order of business, I request that you offer your opinion.”
“Wait, I’m the vice chair?”
Lew, who was soothing a fussy Riu in her arms, smiled ruefully at our exchange.
“My lord, Nell’s in that mode again. Just roll with it, would you?”
“Oh, okay, so I wasn’t the only one thinking that. Whew. Good to know.”
Ladies and gents, I present to you the runaway train of our household, Ser Nell. Once she starts, she doesn’t stop. The second she flipped the switch and went full speed ahead, there was no stopping her from talking a mile a minute as she let her emotions run free. And who was the lucky one stuck dealing with her whenever she got like this? Why, me, of course. Well, I guess that’s part of my job description as her husband. Seriously, though, she was a hero, a wife, a bath maniac, a weapon fanatic, and a runaway train—was she trying to collect all the traits ever? But hey, she was cute, so it was okay.
“Hey, vice chair-cum-errand boy! I said, offer your opinion!”
“Respectfully, is there a reason you specifically added the ‘errand boy’ part? Ahem. Anyway. I believe logic has nothing to do with a baby’s cuteness. Babies are cute because they’re cute.”
“Superb! Sometimes, there are no reasons in this world! Only pure, unadulterated results!”
That was her wannabe profound response to my half-hearted opinion. I’m glad you’re having fun.
“Also, the fact that Riu is my and Lew’s kid is another reason why she in particular is so stupidly cute.”
“Yes, exactly! A child of my family! In other words, my child too! Wonderful... Cute, huzzah!”
“Hey, Lew, what should we do? She’s even more hyper than usual today.”
“Unfortunately, the rest of us can’t handle her when she’s like this. You’re our only hope, my lord. Good luck!”
“You’re just dumping it all on me ’cause you don’t wanna do it, aren’t you? As one of her fellow wives, shouldn’t you also share the burden of dealing with her?”
“No, because a wife’s job is to deal with her husband. And dealing with his wives is the husband’s job. So you’re howling up the wrong tree, my lord.”
“Well, well. Look who’s gotten good at comebacks.”
“All thanks to a certain someone’s training.”
Lew was surprisingly strong-willed now. Grr... I’d have to remember to tread carefully with her too.
Meanwhile, Nell completely ignored us and continued running wild.
“Lefi! Your child will be born soon! Can you believe it?! Because I can’t! Life is wonderful! Living is wonderful! Come, vice chair! Repeat after me!”
“Life is wonderful.”
“That’s right! Life is wonderful! I want to teach Riu all about this wonder!”
“Yeah, we’ve got a lot to teach her. Like the appeal of baths.”
Nell gasped when she heard that second part.
“Which reminds me! I’m going to raise her to be a freedom fighter who absolutely loves baths! We’ll search for the world’s secret hot springs together, only for her ultimate lesson to be that the best bath is the one we had at home all along! Thanks for giving me such a great idea, Mr. Yuki!”
“Nell, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but I won’t be raising her like that,” Lew chimed in. “It’s fine if she likes baths, though.”
“Hmm, hmm, hmm. A difference in educational philosophy! All right, Lew! I propose we discuss this further, because I really want Riu to know how amazing baths are!”
“My lord...this is your fault. Now Nell is even more riled up. Do something.”
“Whaaat? How can you blame me? Okay, okay, okay. Hey. Hey, Nell. You can teach her all about baths, but what Riu does after that is up to her, okay?”
“Omigosh, you’re right! Certainly, teaching her all sorts of things is a family’s duty, but the choice is ultimately hers! Riu. Listen well. Baths are wonderful. Marvelous. Sublime!”
“My dearest Nell, do you truly believe we can’t hear your nefarious whispers? Kindly stop brainwashing the baby.”
The end justified the means when it came to baths, huh? I knew that, though.
“Riu, mama says to make sure you don’t end up like her.”
“Riu, dad thinks living your life how you want is a great thing, but not to this extreme.”
“Riu, let’s conquer every bath in existence!”
Wow. Pretty lofty goal.
As for Riu, she simply twitched her little ears and stared at us with her big, round eyes. What a cutie.
✦ ✦ ✦
In the meadow area.
“Awww, she’s so cute! Just like our newest addition!”
I picked up the fluffy, silky creature that was the size of a small dog.
“Riu is as cute as a button, but this one’s as cute as a teddy bear!”
“Grr.”
“Grrrr.”
“Hey, I have an idea! Let’s raise them as sisters alongside all the girls.”
I was chatting with Rir and his wife, who were snuggling together lovingly. Yup, you guessed it. They’d had a kid recently too. A female pup. Her fur and facial features were so similar to theirs that you could tell right away they were her parents. And of course, she was super cute too.
Perhaps because her parents accepted me, she wasn’t particularly wary of me, even though we’d only just met. She observed me with her big, curious eyes. She even nibbled on my arm playfully, which made my heart melt. She was officially Riu’s younger sister and would be the older one of Lefi’s and my baby.
“Gah ha! Our family has grown again!”
Lefi sounded happy as she gently stroked the little fenrir’s head. She’d come with me on this visit. I knew part of her joy had to do with how close she was with Rir’s wife.
“Grr?”
“Indeed. I wager a few more days before this little one, too, makes his or her entrance into the world.”
“Grr, grar.”
“Gah ha! Yes, we shall raise them all together. Should you need anything, anything at all, do not hesitate to call on us. I would be more than glad to lend Yuki to you whensoever the need strikes.”
“And I wouldn’t even complain, ’cause I’d be happy to help.”
“That is a given, for you have been relying on Rir overmuch. Thus, you must repay the favor at a time like this.”
“You know what? You’re absolutely right. Rir, don’t hesitate to ask for anything.”
“Grr.” Rir bowed his head, saying, “I appreciate it.”
“Oh yeah, what’s her name? According to Analysis, she doesn’t have one yet, which can’t be right. Right?”
“Grr, grar,” my pet said in response to my question.
“Huh? You want me to name her?”
“Grr.”
“Grrrr.”
The couple nodded.
Well, hell. They were asking me to do the honors. Or more specifically, Rir was, since he was technically under my command. His wife didn’t seem to have any objections either. I was happy to be asked, but...it was a huge responsibility.
I looked down at the baby fenrir in my arms. Beautiful silver fur, very similar to her parents. I thought about names for a while, then decided.
“Setsu. That’s your name.”
“Grr... Grr.”
Translation: “Setsu... A good name. Thank you.”
Rir bowed his head again, and I gave him an affectionate pat.
“Later, we shall introduce you to Riu and Lew, Setsu. I can already envision Lew’s face glowing with joy at the sight of you.”
“Ha ha! For sure. Iluna and the others’ll be super happy too. We’ll introduce them to their newest sister when they get back from school.”
“Grar.”
“Grr.”
“Setsu, this forest is a tough place to live in, so listen to what your parents say and learn everything you can about the environment we live in. But there’s nothing more wonderful than this world either. So have fun with our kids and rejoice in this life together!”
Setsu cocked her little head curiously at me, then licked my face. After that, Lefi and I chatted with Rir and his wife for a little longer, when suddenly, Lefi’s face contorted in pain.
“B-Blast it all...”
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“The babe...is coming...”
“...The babe is what?!”
For just a moment, a feeling of déjà vu hit me.