At that time, while Silvia and the others were meeting with King Pedro, Kousuke and his group were facing a rare situation.
“What are you thinking!?” Colette suddenly yelled.
Her words were so abrupt, and seeing Colette, who rarely yelled, like this, Kousuke was completely bewildered.
Not only Kousuke but even Colette, who had yelled, instinctively covered her mouth.
“Ah… Um, sorry.”
“No, it’s fine… Is something wrong? You’ve been acting strange lately.”
Seeing Colette with an expression that showed she didn’t understand herself, Kousuke tilted his head.
Lately, Colette seemed to be having trouble controlling her emotions. She would get irritated by small things and openly express her feelings. This was an incredible change from the Colette he knew.
The others watching them were also dumbfounded. Among them, only Floria had an expression that suggested she knew something.
“Hmm. Colette, I’m sorry, but could you come with me for a moment?”
“Eh!? Yes, of course.”
Colette, sharp as she was, couldn’t help but notice the situation around them. She readily accepted Floria’s suggestion.
“Are you two going to be alright?”
“Ah, don’t worry. If my guess is correct, it’s something to celebrate. But if it’s wrong, Kousuke will be troubled, so we’re just going to step away for a bit.”
“If that’s the case, then fine…”
As Kousuke tilted his head, Shurein patted him on the shoulder.
“What? If Floria has something in mind, you should leave it to her.”
“Well, that’s true. Then, please.”
With a nod, Floria took Colette and headed to another room.
Shurein, shrugging, said to Kousuke, who was watching them with a worried expression, “Don’t worry about it. Floria will handle it. If my guess is right, it’s not a bad thing, as she said.”
“What? Do you all already have a guess?”
“We all talked about it when she was acting strange before, and Floria told us.”
Kousuke wondered when this had happened, but Colette’s strangeness had been quite noticeable in the past few days. It was only natural that the other members would notice. Kousuke smiled slightly, seeing that the women had discussed it amongst themselves.
“I see.”
Shurein, noticing Kousuke’s subtle expression, smiled broadly.
“Don’t worry. Everyone has their own role. Besides, this time, it shouldn’t take too long.”
Kousuke nodded ambiguously at Shurein’s words, but his anxiety was soon swept away.
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A little time had passed since Floria and Colette went to another room. Kousuke was relaxing in the lounge space when Colette came running up to him with a beaming smile and hugged him.
“Colette? What’s wrong?”
If it were the usual Colette, she wouldn’t have hesitated to run over if she were this happy. But this time, she walked slowly, which confused Kousuke. By the way, almost everyone except Silvia and the others, who were outside, were gathered in the lounge space. They wouldn’t behave so openly. Furthermore, the other members were watching Colette’s actions with smiles.
Kousuke became even more bewildered by the situation around him, but he froze, not understanding Colette’s next words.
“Kousuke, I think I did it.”
“…Huh?”
Caught off guard, Kousuke tilted his head, still being hugged by Colette.
“Geez! I said, a child. A child. Our baby!”
“Eh? Yes!?”
Even though he had been through similar exchanges with Floria and Silvia, Kousuke blurted out in surprise. The report was that unexpected. Colette was an elf. He had heard from her many times that it was difficult for elves to conceive, so he had never expected it. He certainly hadn’t thought she would be the one to get pregnant before Shurein or Peach.
Looking at Colette’s face, Kousuke finally felt the reality sink in and grinned broadly.
“Really!?”
“Yes. Really. I confirmed it at the village.”
It had been quite some time since she went to talk with Floria, but it had taken time because she had undergone a proper examination. Kousuke released Colette, who was still holding onto him, and touched her stomach.
“I see. It’s really, truly happening.”
Colette smiled happily at Kousuke, who spoke with deep emotion. Even though he had experienced this five times with Floria and Silvia, it was still a joyous occasion. Perhaps sensing Kousuke’s feelings, Colette simply gazed at him silently. Her expression had already taken on that of a mother, but Kousuke, who was staring intently at Colette’s stomach, didn’t notice it.
Seeing Kousuke and Colette finally calm down, the members who had been watching came to offer their congratulations. At that moment, no one blamed the two for being lost in their sweet moment. Mia approached Kousuke, who had broken away from the circle of Shurein and Floria, who were congratulating Colette one after another.
“Colette, you’re going to have a child. It feels rather strange.”
“Mia, you have three younger siblings, don’t you?”
Kousuke, as if asking why she was saying that now, was met with Mia blinking and answering, “What are you saying? Riku, Kokoro, and Luka were all born when I was little. It feels completely different when they’re older like this.”
“Is it really that different?”
“That’s how it is.”
Mia nodded assertively at Kousuke, who tilted his head.
“I see. But I think this will happen again in the future, you know?”
At his blatant remark, Mia’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Kousuke. It was because they had never had such a direct conversation before.
“Is that so?”
“Ah. Mia, you might not know, but my wives have been working hard to have children. I want all of them to have children.”
Mia smiled and nodded at Kousuke’s statement.
“Yes. I think that would be for the best.”
“What? Kousuke, you were thinking about that?” Shurein joined their conversation.
“Of course, right? What, Shurein, don’t you want children?”
“Of course, I do. But I didn’t know you were thinking about it so seriously.”
“Huh? Didn’t I tell you?” Kousuke thought it was only natural, but realizing it hadn’t reached Shurein, he frowned. When it came to these matters, Kousuke seemed to be somewhat hesitant.
“You didn’t tell me. But for me, it’s even harder to have children than for Colette.”
“Huh? Is that so?”
Mia gave Kousuke a look of exasperation as he tilted his head again.
“Father…”
Shurein smiled at Mia. “Well, Mia, you shouldn’t blame Kousuke like that. Besides, I also deliberately didn’t bring it up.”
“Is that so?”
Shurein nodded at Mia, who tilted her head. “Ah. If you look at the Prost Clan, you’ll understand, but vampires are a race with a weak inclination to preserve their bloodline. They prioritize their own preservation instead.”
Mia’s eyes widened in surprise at this information, which she had never heard before.
“Of course, not all vampires are like that. But those with older bloodlines tend to have that tendency.”
“Oh. Is that so?”
“Um. Well, that doesn’t mean it’s completely impossible, so don’t worry… After all, I myself was born to parents.”
Shurein, unusually talking about his family, had a look as if searching through distant memories. Seeing that indescribable expression, Mia decided not to ask any further questions.
The reason for Colette’s emotional instability has been revealed. It was a situation where one of the remaining three would break through first, and it turned out to be Colette. And a little bit about Shurein as well. Peach is just laid-back about things, so she’ll probably just be happy for Colette!
