The morning was unusually quiet, without even birdsong to break the silence.It felt as if the whole world was holding its breath.Everyone at the Junk Mansion wore visibly tense expressions.Then around noon-
━Hieek-!━Hieek-!━Hieek-!
Three baby cries rang out simultaneously.Three children entered the world at the exact sa mont on the sa day.
“The baby Kores have been born! The Nymph sisters are presenting their prepared gifts to the newborn baby Kores!”
Sifnoi rushed to announce the births to those waiting in the mansion garden.People who had gathered from far and wide laid flowers, gold coins, and fragrant oils at the mansion entrance as gifts for the newborns.
“They’re all perfectly healthy!”
Saint Iris bead with joy as she held the babies. Though blind, she could sense their health and vitality.
Squirm— Squirm—Despite being just born, the babies were already moving their tiny limbs energetically, as if eager to grow up and explore the world.
“Oh my, how precious.”
Lady Leone, who assisted with the delivery, and her mother Baroness Regdoll smiled warmly at the infants. As Lady Leone noted, they were truly adorable.While newborns can sotis appear wrinkled, these babies had faces that blood like flowers, with bright, alert eyes.Their gazes darted around, taking in their surroundings.It was as though they wanted to absorb every detail of their new world.
“Let hold Cecily.”
Cariote rose from her seat.Though Leone thought she should rest more after giving birth, Cariote appeared remarkably well.The delivery hadn’t taken much out of her at all.
‘She’s in better shape than I expected. At this rate, she could probably go hunting tomorrow without issue. The birth went incredibly smoothly.’
Swish—At last, Cariote cradled little Cecily.Looking into those sparkling blue eyes, the reality of motherhood struck her heart with newfound clarity.Cariote knew in that mont she would do anything for this tiny child. Nothing seed impossible anymore.Salo felt the sa way as she held Hina.
“It’s amazing to think I’ve given birth to a child. Hina, I’m your mother. Can you recognize ?”
Swish— Swish—Salo waved her finger back and forth before Hina’s face. Hina’s eyes followed the movent while her tiny hands reached out trying to grab it.
“Such precious little Kores! There couldn’t be anything this adorable anywhere else in the world!”
Sifnoi exclaid in wonder at the heartwarming sight.Imp Horohoro also raised her hands excitedly upon seeing Hina.
“Hina! Horohoro didn’t have to wait long! Grow up quickly so you can play with Horohoro in the garden!”
Nymphs and Imps possessed a natural talent for caring for mothers and children. Their re presence created a mysterious energy that seed to soothe both babies and mothers.Whether that was true or not, Brigitte felt notably calr.Though Naru had arrived much later than expected, she appeared perfectly healthy.If anything, she seed especially robust.
“So Naru truly was my daughter.”
Brigitte placed her finger in Naru’s palm.Naru instinctively gripped it, with surprising strength.
“Did you three deliberately wait to be born together?”
For different children to share the sa birth date.To Brigitte, it felt like an incredible miracle.Yet sohow, she believed Naru and her sisters were capable of such coordination.After all, these children were remarkable enough to travel back six years to save the world.
“Oh, holy shh…”
Brigitte turned at the familiar voice.A man like a dark shadow stood there, looking sowhat stunned.
“It went from responsibility without pleasure to responsibility with pleasure.”
# # #
“Hi Naru!”
Elizabeth arrived to visit the mansion.When she saw tiny Naru lying in the cradle, Elizabeth found her absolutely precious.She wanted to gently poke Naru’s cheek but the baby looked so delicate, like a miniature snowman made of pristine snow, that Elizabeth hesitated to reach out.It felt as though one wrong touch might make her lt away like spring snow.So Elizabeth contented herself with careful observation.
“Naru, I’m Elizabeth! Your best friend! Rember how I brought you bread every day? Rember when we played together?”
“Agaga—.”
Naru wiggled her arms and legs in the cradle. Though Elizabeth couldn’t understand baby talk, her heart lted seeing those eyes sparkling like black pearls.
“So Naru does rember ! That groan must an ‘Nice to see you Elizabeth, you’re my best friend!’”
“Elizabeth, it’s the babies’ napti now so please leave.”
Swish—Tywin spoke coldly from the doorway. Elizabeth felt a twinge of envy toward Tywin, who had been adopted as the children’s older sister.
Whether Elizabeth envied her or not, Tywin entered Naru’s room. She lifted Naru and swayed gently while singing.
“Naru-naru~ happy-naru~.”
Elizabeth thought it was a delightful song.When she saw Naru stop squirming and drift off to sleep with a gentle swoosh—, she found it so fascinating she could barely contain herself.
“That’s amazing! Can I try next ti I visit? I want to put Naru down for a nap too! Tywin, it’s not fair that you’re monopolizing sothing this fun.”
Elizabeth had recently learned the word ‘monopolize’.She thought it perfectly described Tywin’s bad habits, so she’d been using it frequently.
“Hmph.”
Tywin gave a small snort before entering Hina and Cecily’s room. The two babies were squirming in their cradles but quickly fell asleep when she shook their rattles.
The babies slept a lot.They spent most of their days sleeping.There had been concerns about them crying needlessly, but these three sisters rarely cried and smiled often.
Anyway—.Days passed peacefully like this.The babies grew quickly and soon beca skilled at crawling everywhere.Everything seed to be going smoothly, but childcare proved more challenging than expected.
“Hey Brigitte. Hina won’t take my milk since this morning. Let’s switch.”
“Naru’s been restless lately too. I’ll take Hina, give Cecily to Salo. Cariote can hold Naru.”
Brigitte cradled Hina in her arms.Salo took Cecily while Cariote held Naru.That’s when Cariote had an interesting thought.
“…Do we taste different? Maybe the babies want variety. Well… I suppose having the sa thing every day could get boring.”
In the Iscariote Plains where Cariote lived, mothers would take turns nursing each other’s children.Even with another’s child, the act of nursing created a maternal bond that made them feel like your own.Indeed, Cariote felt that not just Cecily but also Hina and Naru were her daughters. Brigitte and Salo felt the sa way.
Brigitte said.
“Salo, if we had raised them separately like you suggested before, this would have been quite problematic. Since Hina got tired of your modest chest.”
“…They’re not that small anymore, you know?”
As she spoke, Salo glanced at Brigitte.After childbirth, Brigitte’s chest had grown considerably.
She’d heard this was common for mages.Sothing about storing magical power in the chest.So having a mage as a wet nurse was considered beneficial for raising magically gifted children.Of course, mage wet nurses were extrely expensive and rare to begin with, as few mages had children.
But Salo was fortunate to have Brigitte, allowing Hina early exposure to mana.
“Hmph, well, I’ll say thanks for that.”
# # #
“Hey Sifnoi. Did you break the pottery? The one I made for planting flowers. The one that was on top of the cabinet?”
“H-Hieek! This Sifnoi is being falsely accused….! This Sifnoi… never went near the pottery…! It must have been little Kore Miss Naru…!”
A few weeks after the babies started crawling.Items kept disappearing or breaking at the Junk Mansion.Sifnoi was usually the pri suspect.She had been caught before, selling garden stones from the mansion to other nymphs, so suspicion naturally fell on her.But Sifnoi adamantly maintained her innocence.Because this ti, she truly hadn’t broken the pottery.Sifnoi insisted Naru was responsible.But Judas remained skeptical.
“How could Naru reach pottery that’s 2 ters high?”
“They may seem well-behaved, but when adults aren’t looking, these Cores crawl all over the mansion…! They climb walls and hang from ceilings, going everywhere…!”
“Really?”
“Let’s hide and watch…!”
Following Sifnoi’s suggestion, they decided to observe secretly.They discovered the babies leaving their nursery to crawl across the ceiling and walls.Beyond just crawling, they knocked books from high shelves, perched on chandeliers, and broke vases.
Only then was Sifnoi’s na cleared.The babies continued their chaotic exploration of the mansion.Neither the mothers nor Sifnoi could contain their energy, and once they beca more active, the babies even ventured into the garden.
“What if they wander beyond the garden and get lost?”
Brigitte worried about their excessive energy.Then Cariote said seriously:
“Maybe we should use leashes…”
“No, they’re not animals.”
Salo imdiately rejected the idea with a shake of her head.As she turned away, she spotted Hina trying to escape through the garden window.Salo quickly scooped her up.
“Agaga—.”
Squirm— Squirm—Even in Salo’s arms, Hina wouldn’t stay still, twisting with unnatural strength for an infant, making her difficult for even Salo to handle.
“Should we reconsider the leashes? They haven’t been sleeping well at night either. They vanish the mont we look away.”
Salo frowned, rembering a recent incident.When Hina not only crawled on walls and ceilings but floated up like a balloon.She appeared to be using magic.
Swish—Just then, Tywin appeared and gathered the babies in her arms.
“It’s napti now.”
To the adults, it looked adorable, a small child carrying babies, but mysteriously, when Tywin held them, they would calm down and quickly fall asleep.Even Brigitte, who’d spent the day searching for the constantly disappearing Naru, nodded with relief.
“It’s truly wonderful having an older sister for the children.”
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