Watching Kousuke and Colette exchange gazes, Romana sighed deeply in her heart.
She was well aware of how she and the other villagers had treated Colette in the past.
What she had just said was purely for their own convenience.
Colette had no obligation to go along with it.
Romana’s original plan was to improve their relationship gradually over time.
As an elf with a long lifespan, she could afford to take her time when something like this happened.
She was confident that they could build a good relationship again by taking things slowly, rather than seeking rapid change.
The smooth exchange between the Tower’s Village and Seuri Forest further supported this confidence.
However, due to certain circumstances, the situation had changed dramatically in the past month.
In addition to that, the news of Colette’s pregnancy had reached Seuri Forest.
Romana decided that they couldn’t miss this opportunity.
Deciding that it was not a time to act secretively, Romana chose to explain the current situation of their village.
“Thanks to your help, our village and your village have connected and begun to exchange, leading to a rapid change.”
“A change?”
“Yes. Simply put, a child has been born in our village.”
“Huh?”
Romana nodded at Kousuke, who tilted his head, unable to understand why she was telling him this.
“Naturally, the village was excited about a child after more than ten years. However, at the time, no one thought it was thanks to the exchange with your village.”
Kousuke nodded at Romana’s words, agreeing.
It was unbelievable that simply connecting villages with a teleport gate would inexplicably increase the chances of pregnancy.
“However, less than a month after the first pregnancy was discovered, another pregnancy was discovered.”
“Wha—!? No way.”
Colette, who had been listening beside Kousuke, let out a short gasp of surprise.
Despite the troublesome past, Colette had been born and raised in that village.
She understood the abnormality of what Romana was saying for the Seuri Forest village.
After seeing Colette’s surprise, Romana nodded and continued her explanation to Kousuke.
“It may be difficult for outsiders to understand, but for our village, this is frankly an abnormal situation. Of course, in a good way.”
According to Romana’s explanation, in the Seuri Forest village, it had been a hundred years since more than two children were born in a single year.
Moreover, for pregnancies to occur so close together was an unprecedented event.
In essence, the same phenomenon that had occurred in the Tower’s Village had also happened in Seuri Forest.
“Naturally, the two couples who became pregnant underwent investigations, as much as possible without affecting the children in their wombs. As a result, it was discovered that both couples had visited this village.”
Of course, they thoroughly investigated for any other contributing factors, but nothing else was found.
In the end, the investigators, while feeling a bit dubious, concluded that there was no other explanation.
“We used the children as the primary reason for connecting the two villages with a teleport gate, but we never expected such a dramatic change.”
Romana said this, letting out a big sigh.
They had a fatal flaw as a species, being unable to have children, and had decided to install the teleport gate with a desperate hope. They never imagined that such a change would occur so easily.
Until the two pregnancies were discovered, the opposition had loudly advocated for the abolition of the teleport gate. But as soon as the news broke, their voices grew quieter.
While they hadn’t completely disappeared, their numbers had drastically decreased compared to before.
“Incidentally, there was a commonality among those who opposed it.”
Saying this, Romana glanced at Colette.
Sensing Romana’s unspoken meaning, Colette let out a sigh.
“It was the people who had been saying various things about me, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
Romana nodded without hiding anything at Colette’s words.
At this point, any attempt to conceal information would only complicate matters.
Romana had no other choice.
“Furthermore, along with the spread of information about the connection between this village and pregnancy, another rumor spread through the village at the same time.”
“Another one?”
“Ah… yes. I kind of get it.”
Colette, while tilting her head, placed her hand on her forehead.
She was getting a headache from figuring out what Romana was about to say.
Seeing Colette’s gesture, Kousuke gave her a confused look.
Seeing his reaction, Silvia, who had been listening quietly, said with a face that looked like she was holding back a laugh.
“Given the flow of the conversation so far, you can probably imagine it, right?”
“Huh? I don’t understand at all?”
“Honestly… This sort of imbalance is probably your charm, though.”
Silvia said this with a tone of exasperation, but Colette, who heard her murmur clearly, flashed a mischievous smile.
“Silvia, you don’t have to openly boast about your love life here, you know?”
“Eh? I, I didn’t mean it that way!”
Silvia hadn’t intended it that way, but anyone would have heard it as boasting.
Realizing the truth upon being pointed out by Colette, Silvia’s face turned bright red.
“Even with two children, you haven’t changed at all in that regard, Silvia.”
“M, more! Please stop!”
Watching Silvia’s flushed face, Colette laughed heartily.
Silvia, now blushing from Colette’s teasing, glared at Kousuke and said.
“W-well, anyway! There’s only one thing that connects the events in Seuri Forest with the rumor that was circulating here, isn’t there?”
Under Silvia’s gaze, Kousuke, while thinking it was unfair, finally understood what she was referring to and nodded.
“Ah. You mean the rumor about Colette’s deification that we were just talking about.”
“Yes. That’s right. Thanks to that rumor, the original rumor about Colette has been completely reversed.”
The reason Colette was ostracized in the village was because of a prophecy that she would “bring about great change.”
Due to that prophecy, even unrelated natural disasters and other influences were blamed on Colette. However, now the prophecy was working to her advantage.
“It’s like… it feels a bit late, though.”
Kousuke said this with a sense of weariness, and Colette replied with a wry smile.
“Well, fortune telling is like that, isn’t it? That’s probably why Peach doesn’t casually utter prophecies.”
“That’s true.”
Thanks to Kousuke’s blessing, Peach’s fortune-telling abilities had improved dramatically.
However, in proportion to that, Peach had become less likely to directly voice the results of her divinations.
As someone from a clan of succubi who had been in the fortune-telling business for many years, she understood the impact of prophecies.
“Besides, it’s precisely because I left the village that I was able to meet you, Kousuke.”
Colette said this with a smile, and Kousuke couldn’t help but feel flustered.
Although he had become somewhat accustomed to it recently, Colette was a beauty that would turn heads wherever she went.
Especially since her pregnancy, she seemed even more alluring.
When she said something so unexpectedly, Kousuke found it difficult to contain himself.
This was a sweet chapter.
I hadn’t intended to write this kind of story, but somehow Silvia went off on her own, and Colette egged her on.
I’ll finish my conversation with Romana next time.
