From there, just like with Riu’s birth, things suddenly got hectic. First, I rushed back home, carrying Lefi since she was in no state to move. After entrusting her to the rest of the adult gang, I headed to the demon world to bring Zena back.
With this being the second time, I was much calmer. Just kidding. I wasn’t calmer. Not even a little bit. It was pathetic how much I was panicking. After Zena joined the other women, I waited at the inn, just like last time. The only difference now was that I was holding Riu in my arms.
“Riu, you’re gonna have a little brother or sister soon. Well, I guess you already have Setsu...but now you’ll have a younger sibling actually related to you. Anyway, don’t worry about the semantics. Just get along with them, okay?”
“Da! Gah!”
She stretched out her little arms and legs as far as she could, trying to grab at my arms and face. I’d been a nervous wreck with her in the beginning, but I learned quickly, so now, I was used to taking care of her too, comforting her when she needed it. I felt like I had a pretty good handle on her. When she was happy, she twitched her ears and wagged her stubby tail back and forth. I could not get over how incredibly cute it was when she did that. Sometimes I wondered if she already recognized me as her dad.
While I cuddled Riu, Iluna and the other girls peeked at her from the side. They’d come back from school not too long ago and were waiting with me, just like last time.
“Hmm, hmm, hmm... I swear she gets cuter every time I see her, Yukiki!”
“Ya know... I don’t disagree.”
“Master, when Riu learn to talk?”
“Not for a while yet, so we can all look forward to the day we can have a real conversation with her.”
“Yup... I can’t wait to talk to the new baby too. I’ll tell them about all the interesting parts of my experiences.”
“Oh yeah, we’ll have lots of stories to share with them.”
I had a feeling this little chat was the girls’ way of distracting me. They’d probably picked up on my restlessness. It was a good idea, so I went along with it.
“By the way, how’s school going?”
“Great!”
Iluna kept going, like a dam bursting.
“I’m sooo thankful to Leila for teaching us so much already, but there’s so much more to learn in so many different fields, so I’m trying to figure out what I like right now!”
“I’m having kinda hard time! Not so good at studying, you know... If I doesn’t focus, I get confused.”
“The...pursuit of the unknown is fun. I finally understand how Leila feels.”
The wraith triplets followed up with their thoughts after En. “School is fun!” and “I’m learning a lot!” and “I love the ovine village!” Looks like they’re enjoying studying too. Well, except for Shii. Poor kiddo.
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
“Ahhh! No fair! I has it tough!”
“Ha ha! I get ya, Shii. I didn’t really like studying either. I only did it ’cause I had to, not ’cause I wanted to. But there has to be at least one subject you enjoy.”
“Hmm... Hmmmm... Oh, maybe magic class! Even I can understand!”
“Yeah? Then even if you don’t do well with the other stuff, you should try your best there.”
“Okay! I will!”
School would be a mind-numbing slog if everything was boring. But if she liked even one thing, I wanted to believe that it would eventually work out. Plus, I would’ve loved to take magic classes in my old life. That would’ve been hella fun.
“We have lots of new friends now too, Yukiki! Shii and the triplets are super popular with the ovine kids!”
“Oh yeah, almost forgot! Studying hard, but I made lots of friends!”
“They’re...always mobbing them, Master.”
“Yeaaah, I can picture that.”
Even though Leila was an extreme example, members of the ovine race all had more or less the same disposition, and I remembered Shii and the wraith sisters having been very popular during our previous trip.
“Man, that village really is a great place.”
“Right?! We have so much fun there!”
“Now I understand why Leila so cool!”
“Yup...I like it too.”
The desire for knowledge outweighed everything else there, including race. It didn’t matter that Iluna and En looked like “normal people” or that Shii and the wraith triplets, as unique races that you wouldn’t see anywhere else, didn’t. The unfortunate reality was that the number of places where they could simply be children, make friends, study, and just live their lives was very limited. That was why I wanted to maintain a friendly relationship with the ovine village well into the future.
And so, time passed. But the more it did, the more impatient and anxious I could feel myself getting. This birth was taking a lot longer than Riu’s. More than half a day had already passed. Had something gone wrong? Was labor not going well? My stock of elixirs meant it wouldn’t be life-threatening, but still, prolonged labor would no doubt put a huge strain on both Lefi and the baby. Maybe something unexpected had happened?
“Haah...” I exhaled deeply.
Calm down. It’s gonna be all right. This kid has the Supreme Dragon and a demon lord as parents. They’re bound to be healthy and strong. So they’ll both be all right. No problems at all. I tried desperately to reassure myself, trusting Lefi and the other adults, while I continued to wait...
“Everyone, the baby’s here!”
We heard the door open, and just like last time, Nell came through.
“They’re both okay, right?”
She smiled and nodded firmly.
“They are. It was touch and go for a bit there, but both mother and child are safe. Go see them, Mr. Yuki. I’ll look after Riu.”
She finished by patting my head.
Without me realizing it, my body had tensed up like crazy. I handed Riu over, took a deep breath to release that tension, then left the inn with the girl gang.
In the dungeon, everyone looked tired. No surprise, since Lefi’s labor had gone on much longer than Lew’s. But they were also smiling. I could hear the baby’s vigorous cries.
“It’s a boy,” Zena said.
I looked at him, all wrapped up, wailing his little heart out. Lefi’s and my child. Like me and Riu, he had black hair. Physically, he took after Lefi, just like Riu took after Lew, with tiny horns and a tiny tail. I didn’t see any wings on him, but maybe they were retractable like ours.
“Goddamn, woman. You took at least ten years of my life... Ha ha...”
“I suppose he takes after his father in that regard, eh?”
Lefi’s hair was damp with sweat, and her expression was weighed down by a fatigue I rarely saw. Yet her smile shone bright.
“Psh. More like his mama.”
“Oho, is that so? I do not have enough hands or feet to count all the times you have worried me with your reckless nature. But can you tell me when I have made you anxious before?”
“...No.”
“Then it is clear who he takes after.”
I smiled wryly, thoroughly defeated by Lefi and the sheer force of her existence. Her mischievous grin didn’t help either. You really are an amazing woman...
“Now, Yuki. Will you give this child a name?”
“Oh. Yeah. Right.” I laid a gentle hand on him. “Your name is...Sakuya.”
My son. For some reason, the emotions surging in me were a bit different from when Riu’d been born. The overwhelming joy that made me wanna cry was the same, but the affection I felt for him was similar to what I felt for Rir. I laughed in my head because it was just so funny and weird how emotions differed between a daughter and a son.
I stroked his head. Sup, Sakuya? Welcome to our family full of women. I’m surrounded by wives, and you’ll be surrounded by sisters, so we’ll both have our struggles. Still, let’s enjoy this world together.