Helios Orb Chronicle – Chapter 446

Hours must have passed since Mana was taken to her private room by Meena and the others.

I haven’t moved from the living room as instructed by Mako.

To be honest, I want to rush to Mana’s room immediately, but who knows what they’ll do to me later if I do. They explicitly told me I’d only be a hindrance.

It’s true, and even now I don’t know what to do. If I were with Mana, I’d just be flustered and unable to do anything, possibly even making things worse.

“Yamato, calm down.”
“No, I know, but…”

But even so, telling me to calm down is impossible.

Not only for Mana, but this is my first child too, and the due date was still a few days away.

“All the healers have gone, and Prim and the others are helping, so all we can do is wait, right?”
“Sister Flam just brought a midwife with her, so shouldn’t we calm down and wait?”
“I know that, but…”

As Clara said, my wives, starting with Prim, have all gone to Mana’s room except for Rika, who is pregnant, to reassure Mana.

There isn’t much Prim and the others can do, but it seems to be common for multiple wives to be present during childbirth, and they also have a reason to gain experience for when they themselves give birth.

Furthermore, Flam has called a veteran midwife from Feel’s Healer’s Guild.

There are four healers in Wing Crest, but only Apricot has childbirth experience, and even Apricot only has experience with Prim’s birth, so the midwife was arranged early on.

“I guess there’s no choice. Yamato, let’s go to the Crafting Hall.”
“Huh? Why the Crafting Hall?”
“Doing something will take your mind off things, right? Only one delivery table has been made yet, so we need to make a few more.”

Ed suddenly invited me to work at the Crafting Hall, and indeed, it might be good to have two or three more delivery tables.

It’s unlikely that births will overlap, but it’s predicted that Rika and Fiana’s births will be less than a month apart, so we need to be prepared just in case.

We already have one made, so there are blueprints, and it’s not that difficult for me to make lapis lazurite bars, which is all I need to do.

“That’s right. I can’t calm down just staying here, and it will be helpful for everyone, so maybe making delivery tables is a good idea.”

Since everyone will use them eventually, it’s best to prepare them now.

Not only my wives, but also Ed’s wives, Lucas’s wives, and even Raus’s fiancées, who cannot marry until they graduate from the academy, will use them, so I need to make them carefully.

However, just as I was thinking that and about to move to the Crafting Hall, the living room door was violently opened.

“Yamato, she’s born! It’s a healthy baby girl!”

Lydia appeared, but that didn’t matter.

She’s born, really?!

“Seriously?”
“Yes! Mana-sama is a little tired, but mother and child are both healthy!”

Hearing that Mana and the baby were safe brought me immense relief.

I want to see her face soon, but it’s okay for me to go, right?

“Lydia, it’s okay for me to go, right?”
“Yes. I came to get you, Yamato… Ah!”

Before Lydia could finish speaking, I bolted out of the living room and rushed to Mana’s room.

“That was fast.”
“I can understand the feeling, but will we be like that too?”
“It’s hard to say if it’s a good reference or not.”

Ed and Lucas and Raus are saying something behind me, but I can’t hear it.

Right now, all that matters is wanting to see Mana and the child.

“Yamato-san! You’re too fast!”
“Ah, sorry. I was just so worried…”

Lydia caught up to me in front of Mana’s room and scolded me, but I was truly worried.

“I understand how you feel. Well then, let’s go in. Lydia, I’ve brought Yamato.”
“Yes, yes. I’ve been waiting, Yamato. Come on, in you go.”

When Lydia knocked on the door of Mana’s room, Ludia greeted me.

“Ah, ah, then I’ll be going in.”

I’m incredibly nervous now, but I steel myself and enter Mana’s room.

Upon entering, the delivery table had already been removed, Mana was lying in bed, and next to her, I could see a small, truly small baby wrapped in a white cloth.

Ah… I’m really a father now.

“Welcome, Yamato. It’s an elf girl.”
“An elf? No, I’m just glad she was born safely. Is Mana okay?”
“Yes, I’m a little tired, but I’m alright.”

My first child is an elf.

Well, since she was born safely, it doesn’t matter if she’s an elf or a human.

“But this child doesn’t seem to have an engraving.”
“Eh? Is that so?”

I was surprised by Mako’s words and glanced at the sleeping girl.

It’s common knowledge that the child of an Engraver becomes an Engraver, but this child, my child, has no engraving?

Is that possible?

“Perhaps it’s because the worlds are different. We use engraving magic normally, but it was originally a technique like magic from Earth, and you couldn’t use it without an engraving. While we have Engraving Tools now, Helios Orb doesn’t have them, and it’s not impossible to do the same with magic.”

Ah, so it means that it was judged that an engraving wasn’t necessary in the world of Helios Orb.

If it’s the world, then it means the gods. Perhaps Aria will receive a divine revelation. I’m also surprised, so I want them to explain it to me.

“Well, whether she has an engraving or not, either is fine.”
“It’s good that engravers will increase not only for the children yet to be born but also in Helios Orb. I think that’s better.”

Even if the number of engravers increases in Helios Orb, engraving magic is not much different from regular magic, so the difference in combat power won’t be that significant.

However, if the ability to create Engraving Tools emerges, that’s another story.

Even on Earth, there were terrorists who specifically targeted tool creation. Engraving Tools are a problem, but if Engraving Divine Artifacts were created, it would be unbearable.

It’s probably also because many of the weapons are based on Earth’s legends and myths that there are no engravings.

“It seems being an Engraver is tough. I don’t mind whether this child is an Engraver or not. More importantly, Yamato, you’ve thought of a name for this child, haven’t you?”
“Ah, of course.”

As Mana said, whether this child is an Engraver or not is irrelevant.

What’s more important is a name that will grace her life.

She will inherit the title of Lapislazurite Heavenly Noble after Mana, so that will be her family name, but she is still my precious daughter, so I have a name well thought out.

“Her name is Saki Mikami Lapislazurite.”

Helios Orb doesn’t have kanji, but even a single kanji character has meaning, so it’s difficult to explain it properly.

“Amagi is almost the same as Japanese cherry blossoms, and Mana is the younger sister of the Celestial Emperor who looks up to that Amagi, and a Noble connected to it. Also, the kanji for ‘sakura’ is used by my mother, so I definitely wanted to include it.”

Incidentally, if it had been a boy, I had prepared a name related to my father.

“I see. So, Saki-chan, meaning princess of the cherry blossoms.”
“You’re using Mother’s name too? And Amagi. It’s a lovely name.”

I thought it was a good name, but I’m glad everyone accepted it.

I don’t think there will be an opportunity to write her name in kanji, but since it’s her name, I want to teach Saki its origin.

“Saki, thank you for being born.”
“Your father and mothers also welcome you. Grow up healthy.”

The newborn Saki is sleeping by Mana’s pillow.

Perhaps because she’s just born, her face is red. I almost thought that’s why she’s called a baby.

The healers’ examination showed no abnormalities for either Mana or Saki; in fact, they are both in perfect health, so I am relieved.

“Now, I know you’re happy, but Mana-sama is tired, and Saki-chan is just born, so could you please go outside?”
“Huh?”

Just as I was experiencing the happiness of my life for the first time, Mako suddenly said that.

Well, I understand what she means, as Mana has just given birth and Saki is sleeping.

But I am Mana’s husband and Saki’s father, and yet she’s kicking me out?

“Yes, you’re being kicked out. Even though there are no abnormalities, childbirth uses more stamina than you think, Yamato. Meena is using Refreshing on Mana after childbirth, but even so, the lost stamina cannot be fully recovered.”

Really?

Knight Magic Refreshing, while it can’t fully restore stamina, should have restored at least half. Even with that Refreshing, only about 30% of the lost stamina can be recovered. Childbirth really uses an incredible amount of stamina.

“If even Ancient Class uses so much stamina, wouldn’t Normal Class be even harder?”
“It’s hard. In fact, it’s not uncommon for people to faint after childbirth.”

Seriously?

I often hear that childbirth is a life-or-death struggle, but this means it’s even more difficult than people say.

If I had known this, I would have prepared magic tools imbued with Regenerating.

“Magic tools with Regenerating are said to only be a comfort. It’s better than nothing, but pregnant women don’t have the luxury of using magic tools, and even if midwives use them, the degree of fatigue and timing vary from person to person, making it difficult to judge and miss the opportunity to use them.”

So that’s how it is.

To use magic tools, you need to flow magic power into them, but it’s quite difficult to make them effective on others, as it involves timing. If it were like a subjugation magic tool that works without question, it might be possible, but for childbirth assistance magic tools, as Mako said, it’s difficult to judge the timing of use.

I hear they are regularly stocked at the Healer’s Guild, but they are only used in truly emergency situations. Mako also seems to have prepared a magic tool imbued with Regenerating just in case, but for those reasons, it doesn’t seem to have been used effectively.

So, to let Mana rest after childbirth, everyone other than the healers must leave.

“I guess there’s no choice. I have to report to Ed and the others too, so let’s return to the living room.”
“That’s right. Given the time, a report to Amagi Castle around noon would be best.”

I was so elated that I completely forgot, but reporting to Amagi Castle was essential. Of course, I have to report directly, but the time is already past 3 o’clock. It’s tough for us to do it first thing in the morning, and I plan to get some sleep, so as Mina said, around noon is probably best. Ah, that means Saki’s birthday will be January 1st. Having a birthday on New Year’s Day is somehow auspicious.

“Understood. Then Mako, Yuri, Carol, and Apricot. Please take care of Mana and Saki.”
“Yes, leave it to us.”
“Ah, excuse me. I haven’t forgotten, but please have the midwives rest in the guest quarters. There’s also a hot spring, so please feel free to use it. Rera, please guide them.”

Crap, I completely forgot about the midwives. I remembered just before leaving Mana’s room, so I hastily asked Rera to guide them.

“Mana, get some good rest.”
“Thank you.”

After one last word to Mana, we left the room.

Seeing Mana and Saki, I realized I had become a father, but the feeling is still a little faint.

However, I’ll inevitably become more aware of it from now on, and it’s a fact that I’m a father, so from now on, I’ll think carefully not only about myself but also about my family.

This celebration at the beginning of the year is perfect for deciding my resolutions. This year will likely be more turbulent than last year or the year before that, but I’ll do my best.