“I mean, just look at who’s here,” Naden said, pointing to herself, me, Hal, and Ruby in order. “She specifically asked for Halbert and Ruby too, right? If both of the Kingdom’s dragon knights are here, then it’s probably something to do with the Star Dragon Mountain Range.”
“Huh? But I’m not a dragon knight.”
“If Souma’s staying, it’d be rude to send you home without him, Liscia.”
“Oh, fair enough.”
As Liscia and Naden chatted, I noticed Hal and Ruby having a separate conversation. Their tone was relaxed, but something about it felt...off.
“These cookies are tasty. I almost want to bring some back for Bill,” Hal said as he munched away.
“If I ask Pai, maybe he’ll wrap some up for us. I’ll give it a try,” Ruby replied.
“I bet Kaede and Velza would prefer the tea though...”
“No problem. I’ll ask for some of that too.”
It all sounded normal enough... And yet, something about their exchange struck me as strange.
As I was turning it over in my mind, Madam Sill returned.
“Hey guys, sorry for the wait.”
“““Huh?!”””
Everyone’s eyes widened when we saw how Madam Sill was dressed.
She was no longer wearing the suit of armor she’d had on at the summit—a fitting choice for the queen of a nation of knights. She’d changed into something more akin to chemise, the kind that could easily be mistaken for a nightgown.
That alone would have been surprising, but paired with Madam Sill’s boyish features, and the fact that we’d only ever seen her clad in armor, none of us had expected to see her in such a feminine outfit.
Madam Sill chuckled, clearly anticipating our reaction.
“Pardon the outfit. My usual clothes are getting a bit tight around the belly.”
“Belly?”
“Wait, does that mean...”
Liscia seemed to catch on first. Madam Sill nodded.
“Yes. I’m pregnant. The father is my partner, Pai.”
“L-Lady Sill...” The otokonoko-looking Pai blushed shyly.
Now that she mentions it, her belly is sticking out just a bit. Seriously...?
Until now, with Madam Sill in her knightly armor and Pai’s delicate appearance, they had looked like a gender-swapped version of a princess and her knight. But now, with Sill in a soft dress beside her bashful partner, the image was flipped. It felt more like an older man dating a younger man.
“You’re thinking something weird again, aren’t you?” Liscia said, giving me a cold look.
“Not at all,” I replied flatly, quickly turning away.
Madam Sill took a seat on the sofa across from us with Pai and smiled gently.
“I wanted to tell you about the pregnancy—that’s why I had Pai’s friends stay behind. He said he wanted to share the news personally with Madam Naden and Madam Ruby.”
“Oh, so that’s why we’re here.”
It wasn’t so much that the Kingdom’s dragon knights had been summoned...but that Naden and Ruby had.
Hal and I were just tagging along, and Liscia had known Pai since their meeting in the Star Dragon Mountain Range.
At that moment, Hal, who’d been listening with a blank expression, finally came to his senses.
“Um... They say that a child born to a dragon and a human can be a human, a dragonewt, or a dragon, right? But what happens when the birthing parent is human, like you, Madam Sill? I’ve heard that when the parent is a dragon, the baby’s born as an egg too.”
“That’s all correct,” Madam Sill replied, resting a hand on her belly. “As a human, I wouldn’t be able to give birth to a dragon egg. It would be far too large for me. So this child will almost certainly be born a human or a dragonewt. But really, as long as the baby is healthy, its race is but a minor detail.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Hal said with a nod.
Given that the House of Magna had nothing but nonhuman brides, he must have related to that sentiment quite well.
I did too, which was why I offered a suggestion.
“Congratulations. If you’d like, I can arrange for an obstetrician from the Kingdom to look after you.”
“Ohh, I’d really appreciate that,” Madam Sill said. “If a doctor from the Kingdom, especially one trained in its more advanced medical science, were willing to come here, I’d feel far more at ease about the delivery. Please do.”
“Consider it done.”
Although we’d reformed the Kingdom’s medical system under Hilde and Brad, there were still people who clung to tradition, insisting on midwives instead of obstetricians. Madam Sill, however, had no such hesitation.
For someone in the Dragon Knight Kingdom, a nation known for its adherence to tradition, she was remarkably progressive.
Well...she probably wouldn’t have okayed a name like Gorilla Airways so easily if she weren’t.
While we spoke, Naden, Ruby, and Pai were having a conversation of their own.
“To think you’re going to be a dad, Pai... I still can’t believe it,” said Naden.
“I feel the same,” Ruby said. “Awkward as it is to admit, you were always the most feminine of the three of us.”
“You two were always strong-willed and constantly at each other’s throats,” Pai said with a wry smile. “Try putting yourself in my shoes, always having to step in and break things up.”
“Uh, yeah... Sorry,” Naden said sheepishly.
“I-It wasn’t fair of us to do that to you,” Ruby added, looking a little guilty.
“You two have mellowed out a lot since getting married. Is that thanks to your husbands?” Pai teased.
“Listen to you talk...” Naden shot back. “You and Madam Sill must’ve been getting pretty intimate yourselves, huh?”
“Naden, isn’t that a bit crude?” Ruby chided her, frowning.
“Hmph. I want to say congratulations, but I’m kind of frustrated that you beat me to it. I want a baby with my husband too... I bet Ruby feels the same, right?”
Ruby suddenly fell quiet, her gaze shifting awkwardly away from the other two. The moment I saw that reaction, I realized what had been bothering me.
“Oh...the tea. Ruby didn’t drink it earlier, did she?”
Normally, Ruby would have sat and eaten with Hal, but this time she’d just been sitting there, not touching her tea or the cookies. That was the strange feeling I’d had while watching them.
Liscia brought a hand to her mouth, thinking for a moment.
“Now that you mention it... Dr. Hilde told me not to drink too much black tea when I was pregnant. Though she did say a little was okay.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Naden asked, eyes narrowing.
Liscia didn’t dance around it.
“Pregnancy.”
“Huh?!”
Naden whipped her head towards Ruby, who turned away shyly and scratched her cheek. She didn’t say anything, but there was a quiet confidence about her. Meanwhile, Naden looked like someone had just added a comic-book speech bubble with “Grrrgnash” over her head.
“You stole a march on me too?!”
“You make it sound like some kind of villainous scheme!” Ruby protested. “I was just doing my best... After seeing Kaede play with little Bill, it’s only natural I’d want a child of my own.”
“Well, I want one too!”
“Then you and your husband need to try harder!”
This was starting to get uncomfortable to listen to. I scratched my head, at a loss for how to respond, only to catch Liscia giving me a cold side-eye.
“You heard them, Souma.”
“Uh, yeah, but listen... You can say that all you want, there’s not much I can do on my own...”
“Then let’s talk to Tomoe about giving Naden and Aisha a few more turns. Aisha wants a baby too, remember? Souma...you’ll just have to do your best.”
“‘Do my best,’ she says...”
“Let’s send a messenger to House Panacotta and ask for their secret recipe. Serina and Komain managed Poncho’s diet and worked him hard every night, and it paid off.”
“Yeah, and Poncho ended up skin and bones for a while because of it, y’know!”
If it got to that point, it’d definitely interfere with my work. I could only hope they’d go easy on me... But when the queens all joined forces on something, I didn’t get a vote anymore.
Madam Sill chuckled as I held my head in both hands.
“What a delightful country you people have.”