5-Childbirth in a horse-drawn carriage






Are you sure you're going to be okay?
"Oh, thank you for your concern.

 Thank you for your concern." In response to my panicked call, the woman politely lowered her face and replied in a carefree manner.
 At that moment, her hood slipped off, revealing her bare face.

 Breathtakingly bewitching.
 That's the adjective that immediately came to my mind.

 Her large, downcast eyes seemed to be slightly moistened as she looked at me.
 Her high nose is lifted up, and her lips are thick like ripe strawberries.
 Her straight red hair, which reaches to her waist, is neatly trimmed to reveal her wide forehead.
 And the elegant chocolate-colored skin that perfectly accentuates these parts.

 I finally realized that the woman in front of me was a demon race because of her skin color, which was rare in this area.
 The Demon Empire of Dunkelheit rules the Dragon Tail Highlands to the east of the Great Island of Dragon Wreckage.
 The inhabitants of the empire, the demons, are a race born with high magical power and a dark blessing.

 There are a lot of noisy words like "empire" and "dark blessing," but they are not people to be afraid of.
 They don't explicitly look down on other races or have an aggression policy, but rather they are tolerant of others and are willing to accept immigrants.
 Well, that's the story so far.

 The woman with the short, oval eyebrows raised slightly tilted her head slightly as she looked at me.
 That casual gesture was enough to make me gulp down my mouth.

I understand! I'll stop it right away. Be careful!

 Hans's impatient voice and the sudden stop of the truck immediately brought me back to my senses.
 Now is not the time to get lost in the scent.

I should boil the water, right? Both hot and cold water are in the recipe. For disinfecting, just use purification. All you need is a clean cloth and--
Excuse me?
You shouldn't move. Have you had your water broken or something?

 The woman tilted her head and continued to speak, using all the knowledge she could remember.

Can I ask you for a little help?
Of course. Anything you need.

 I hurriedly approached the woman, feeling uneasy about the somewhat off-tempo conversation.
 There was not a trace of sweat on her fair face, and her breathing seemed normal.
 If anything, her cheeks were slightly flushed.
 At any rate, there was no sign of the urgency of the time before the birth.

 Perhaps noticing my quizzical expression, the woman smiled, lifting both ends of her lips loosely.
 Then she suddenly pulls off the front of her robe.

Thank you very much. And now...



 Rich twin hills pushing up the thin fabric.
 The plump curves of her waist.
 Two slender legs that stretch out supplely.

 The proportions of her body were so wonderful that any man's eyes would be drawn to them.
 However, my eyes were focused on one thing.

 The woman's lower abdomen.
 There was no bulge, as a pregnant woman should have, but instead a large, shiny white roundness.
 I couldn't help but wonder at the familiar spherical shape.

"......, an egg?
"Oh, that's unusual! It's a demon egg. And I've never seen one that big before.

 You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few of them.
 What was strapped to the woman's abdomen was a huge egg that looked like it could hold a whole lot.

 In this world, a demon is a creature that has been transformed by the accumulation of a large amount of magical elements in its body.
 They are sturdier and more ferocious than normal creatures, and have the habit of wandering around in search of magical elements possessed by other creatures, attacking them without regard for their location.

 In games, they are called monsters, but in the real world, they do not appear so often.
 They basically only appear in the vicinity of dangerous places called "demon pools".
 Well, if vicious monsters sprouted one after another like in the game, humanity would not have prospered as much as it did.

 I regained my composure and looked again at the demon egg that the woman was holding.
 They are demons that attack people when they see them, but if they are hatched by pouring magic power into the eggs, they will become loyal servants of the people who love them.
 The people who control such demons are called demon hunters, and they are the perfect occupation for demons who are skilled in the dark arts.

So, you're a demon hunter, huh? So, what am I supposed to do?
"Would you please touch her and put your magic on her? I don't think mine will be enough.

 I did as I was told and touched the egg that was attached to the woman's stomach.
 The surface is smooth and slightly warm.

 As I recall, it was set up that if the inside of the shell was filled with human magic, the ferocity of the demon would disappear.
 But of course, if the shell cracks before that happens, the egg will fail.
 And the inside of the egg still seemed to be quite empty.

Okay, let's pour.
"Yes, please keep pouring.

 I haven't done any smelting today, so I have a lot of magic power left over.
 Besides, with my magic recovery skill, I can automatically recover almost half of my magic power in half a day.
 There's no harm in using it up here.
 I decided to pour the magic power into the egg without hesitation.

"Oh my, oh my?

 The look of surprise on the beautiful woman's face was quite wonderful.
 I got carried away and sent out more magic power one after another.
 In no time at all, the inside of the shell was filled with the magical energy I had released...



Uh, hold on a second.
"Yeah?

 The next moment, countless cracks suddenly appeared on the surface of the egg.
 After a moment's pause, fragments of the shell scattered loudly in the air.
 At the same time, two black lumps popped out from inside.

 They rolled over the floor of the truck with great force, and when they hit a small barrel that had been placed there, they bounced back and were now coming at me.
 Before I had time to avoid them, I was hit in the chest and stomach.
 I couldn't take it anymore, and I was pushed down to the floor.

What the hell?

 I hurriedly turned my eyes to meet the masses clinging to my chest and stomach.
 They were about the size of a three-year-old child.
 They look like humans, and have the same number of hands and feet.

 Its face is also that of an adorable child.
 However, its body was covered with black fur and feathers, except for its face.
 In other words, it was an infant in a costume.

 The fluffy fur-covered child's eyes lit up as it stared back at me.
 Then he shouted cheerfully.

"Aruji-dono!
"You spoke! Get away from me!

 The hairy child slithered forward on my chest and approached in a flash.
 As I reached out my hand, the fluffy feathered child came from the side and sucked on the sleeve of my dress.
 It begins to chew.  

"Yuck!
"Hey, don't eat it!

 The newborn demon children clung to me, but I managed to raise my upper body.
 Then, my eyes met with a beautiful woman who was staring at me.

 After a moment of silence, the woman puts one hand to her chin and mutters in surprise.

Oh, so you're twins, huh? I was wondering why you were so heavy.
"No, that's not what I'm worried about!

 No, that's not what I'm worried about!" The woman tilted her head curiously again when I made a comment.
 I was troubled and decided to ask the owner of the carriage, who seemed to know more than anyone else in the group, for help.

"Hey, Hans-san. Is this a demon?
"Hmm... Well, since it was born from an egg, it's certainly not a person.
"Do demons talk?

 In the game, I don't remember it even making a sound.
 In the real world, I've seen some demons being used in the royal capital, but they were just like cattle or horses.

I've heard that the angelic and demonic tribes can understand human language and communicate with each other. ......


"Angel? It's got wings, but it doesn't look like an angel. This one doesn't look like a demon either.

 The demon child biting its sleeve has long feathers on its hands, which look like wings.
 But if we were to call it an angel, it would be much closer to a winged race with wings on its back.
 The other child also has large beast ears on its head, making it look more like a beast than a demon.

The other one has large beast ears on its head. Hmm, I'm sorry I can't help you. I'm not familiar with such a rare demon.

 It seems that even Hans-san, with his deep knowledge, can't help you.
 It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

But that's not the point.
Yes?
It's quite adorable, isn't it? He seems to have grown quite attached to Nino-sama as well.

 I could not help but smile back at Hans-san, whose face was tearing up as he said this.
 The little beast has been nuzzling my neck and sniffing me intently since a while ago.
 Every time he did so, the large triangular ears of the beast twitched and tickled my chin.
 The birdie who had been sucking on my sleeve had fallen asleep and was letting out a small sigh of sleep, drooling from his mouth.

 Both of the birds were completely black, but if you looked closely, you could see purple hairs and feathers mixed in, forming beautiful stripes in places.
 Their faces were as well formed as dolls, and even their cheeks were plump and cute.

 I exhaled lightly and asked myself another question.

You're the one who hatched the eggs, so why are they coming to me? You're the one who hatched the eggs.

 The woman who had been watching me and the demon children tangle with a smile on her face answered with a graceful lift of her round eyebrows.

The woman who had been watching me and the demons tangle with a smile on her face lifted her round eyebrows and replied, "That's because your magic power exceeded what I put into it. I am truly impressed.
"...... I see. I don't think an apology is going to help, but I'm sorry.

 Even though I didn't know how to add or subtract, this is the result of me showing off the amount of magical power I have.
 I'm sorry, but I don't think you should be.

No, please don't worry about it. It's what I asked you to do.
That's nice of you to say. So what do you want me to do about these guys?
Yes, sir. I know they're incompetent, but I'm counting on you.
Yes?
You're going to the city of Licht, too?
No?

 Richt is the official name of the capital.


 As the conversation drifted off again, I rushed to correct the course.

"Wait, first of all, King's Landing is in the opposite direction.
"Oh, so you've already passed it. I thought we should go west.
And what do you mean you're a fool? You mean you're leaving these kids in my care?
"It feels like a very strong destiny that we met on the wrong road, doesn't it, my dear?

 At this point, a number of signs suddenly interlock in my mind.
 The way you call me "you-sama. She's naive and extremely directionless.
 And to top it all off, the event of hatching the demon egg hidden under her clothes.

 It's all a match.
 But his appearance was so far from what I remembered.
 A question leaked out of my mouth.

"Are you Paula?
"Well, how did you know my name?

 The beautiful woman in front of me smiled, her eyes shining like red roses.