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Chapter 351 – Restless Time
“Temporary furnace, done! Chimney, done! Firewood stockpile, done! Food and drinks, ready! Clean cloths, ready! Life potions, ready! Everything’s in order, right….? Is it really okay…?”
“I can’t tell if you’re getting worked up or not.”
“Kosuke is nervous, too.”
Bella and Isla were saying something while licking one of the sweets I had prepared, a honey candy ball―a candy ball made from the nectar of the flowers used to make mead―and rolling it around in their mouths. No, Bella wasn’t rolling it around. She was crunching. Candy balls aren’t meant to be eaten like that.
Hot water was cooking in the furnace I had set up, and the women helping Ellen give birth were busily at work. Since men are not allowed in the birthing area, all I can do is pray for Ellen and the baby’s safety.
“I feel incredibly uncomfortable.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure there’s no problem with a priest who can use such a miracle of recovery. I can help with recovery magic if the need arises, and Lime and the others are here too.”
“Oh, that’s right. Why is it okay if Lime and the others are here?”
Lime also said something like Poizo is there, so it will be okay, but I can’t make the connection between the presence of Lime and the others and that being okay.
“Lime and the others can get into all kinds of gaps.”
“Yeah, they can.”
“In other words, they can easily get into the human body if they want to. Of course, they can get into the belly of a woman who’s about to have a baby.”
“…I see.”
Come to think of it, when I talked to Amalie-san a while ago, the existence of Lime and the others came to mind as a less gentle method. Oh well, of course, they can help with childbirth. And Poizo knows not only poison but also medicine. I see.
“So it’s a last resort?”
“Hmm. Eleonora is a believer of Adol, so that would probably be the case.”
“Because she’s an Adol believer?”
“Yes. It’s not really a doctrine, but there is a tendency among the Adol believers to give birth with the help of their own strength and the miracles of God.”
“Heh…”
“But if push comes to shove, Lime and the others are supposed to help with the birth. Ellen and the child’s life are the top priority. That’s why Lime and the others are standing by in that room.”
“I see. Then I can rest assured.”
If a large number of priests and Lime and the others were with them, there was no such thing as an emergency.
Then, we waited for 30 minutes and then an hour.
“Is it not over yet…?”
“Not yet. It usually takes more than half a day for the first delivery.”
“Half a day…?”
I knew it was going to be a long time, but half a day? Ellen’s private room, which has become the delivery room, is constantly filled with anguished voices that seem to belong to Ellen. I wonder if Ellen’s body will be alright… in this condition for half a day.
“…It seems you are used to it, Isla?”
“I’ve never given birth. But before the Liberation Army started to move in, a number of children were born in that settlement in the Black Forest. Most of them are the mementos of the men who were sacrificed when we fled to the Black Forest. I helped them many times.”
“I see.”
Isla is an excellent mage and alchemist. Healing with magic and alchemy must have been very dependable.
“They really put their lives on the line, didn’t they?”
“Yeah. But I still want to have children.”
Isla looked up at me with her big eye.
“I’m ready for that. Everyone is.”
“I’ve just realized how much it weighs on me. I have to take it very seriously.”
“Just take it in moderation. If Kosuke takes on everyone’s determination all by himself, you will be crushed. We are doing so with our own will. There is no need for Kosuke to take it all on himself. We can support each other together.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. That is why the child Eleonora will give birth to, and the child Amalie will give birth to are as good as all of our children. There is nothing to worry about. This is the consensus of all of us, not just me.”
“…I see.”
Good grief. I can’t get my head around Isla. She anticipates my concerns like this.
“It’s all good here. When the baby is about to be born, I’ll send one of Lime and the others out again so Kosuke is free to go.”
“You say that, but leaving Ellen in that condition and being free is quite impossible for me, mentally speaking.”
“I think you’d better get used to it because this will happen again and again in the future.”
“Again and again.”
“Again and again.”
“Again and again, huh?”
“Yeah, again and again.”
“Again and again, right?”
Not only Isla but also Shumel and the others who were standing by my side as my guards nodded their heads in agreement. Well, however many times I have to do it. Well, if each one of them has two or three of my children, that’s a lot of times. I don’t think it would be just two or three, though.
“Since it’s my first time to witness it, I’ll just stay here.”
“Hmm, okay. Then you should do something to distract yourself. If there’s any baby equipment from Kosuke’s world, you can try to remember it and make some.”
“I see. That’s a good idea.”
If I concentrate on something, it will distract me from this agitation. Baby equipment, huh? Hmm, disposable diapers, maybe they don’t fit in this world? How about going for the toy side of things? Oh, maybe a little chair for babies to use when feeding them baby food would be good. Maybe a baby carrier… or something from over here.
Yeah, I’m so agitated that I can’t really think of much. But this sounds like a good idea. I’ll try to cool my impatient head down a bit and make some things while listening to Isla, Shumel, and the others.