A large full moon floated in the night sky.
Despite being on the floors of the tower, the fact that the sun and moon were visible should have been strange, but for Floria and her children, it was a perfectly ordinary sight.
Rather, if asked, “Why is the moon floating inside the tower?”, they would likely retort, “Why wouldn’t it be?”
For those living within the tower, it was a recognized reality.
Floria and her group were currently on the veranda of a room in an inn run by foxes.
Kousuke was not present, but Floria, along with all three of her children, were gathered.
Alcohol had been prepared on a table set up on the veranda.
“Hmm. This wine is as delicious as ever.”
“Yes. It’s fruity and easy for me to drink as well.”
Mia agreed with Floria’s words and nodded.
The four of them were currently drinking wine produced by vampires.
“It seems the vampires have finally gotten their production system in order, as it’s finally become available to me as well.”
“Oh. That’s excellent. It would be great if it could become a specialty, but that’s probably asking too much.”
The wine made by vampires was produced more out of hobby than anything else.
This was likely the reason for its exquisite taste, but the quantity that could be produced was inevitably limited.
It was simply not enough to export abroad.
“Well, it’s probably impossible. Rather, we should be grateful that we can drink it at all.”
“That’s true.”
As Towa said this with an expression of enjoyment, Floria smiled and nodded.
Afterward, they were chatting about Towa and Riku’s recent lives and some minor gossip from the management layer, when Riku suddenly said something.
“Speaking of which, Mother, are you not going to have any more children?”
“Pfwoh…!”
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Floria had just taken a sip of the last of the wine in her glass.
She narrowly avoided spitting it out, but some of it went down her windpipe, which was almost unavoidable.
Floria coughed for a while, and once she had recovered, she glared at Riku.
“What was that all of a sudden?!”
“No… I’m sorry. I didn’t expect such a reaction.”
Riku was also surprised by Floria’s reaction and looked embarrassed.
He had only asked because he was curious, and he hadn’t expected the usually composed Floria to be so flustered by something like this.
Towa seemed to have had the same thought, and looked at Floria with a puzzled expression.
“Is it really that big of a deal? Weren’t you told that by many people before I was born?”
Towa, who was currently being pressured to marry and have children, could empathize with Floria’s situation to some extent.
However, Floria, contrary to expectations, blushed slightly and looked at her two sons.
“…That’s true, but… there’s something a bit ticklish about being asked by my two sons.”
Towa and Riku, who had rarely seen Floria embarrassed, blinked in surprise. Mia, on the other hand, reacted differently.
Having witnessed her similar displays of affection many times, she looked at them with a slightly exasperated expression.
Sensing that the conversation was going nowhere, Mia let out a sigh and looked at Floria.
“Mother. While I appreciate your affection, could you please answer the question so we can move on?”
At Mia’s words, Towa and Riku looked surprised.
They hadn’t realized that Floria’s expression was one of affection.
Floria, on the other hand, looked slightly annoyed.
“I wasn’t trying to show off…”
“I’m telling you that your expression is a sign of affection. So, do you intend to have more children? You can’t not have them, can you?”
Floria shot Mia a slight glare, but then sighed in resignation and replied.
“That’s true, but it’s quite difficult.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s also a matter of balancing with the others.”
Floria’s straightforward answer made her sons nod in understanding.
They all knew that Colette was pregnant again, but they also knew that Shurein and Peach did not yet have children.
Floria likely found it difficult to desire another child ahead of those two.
However, Mia tilted her head at this.
“Is that all?”
“What?”
“Isn’t there something more than just holding back out of consideration for Mother Shurein and Mother Peach?”
Mia, still tilting her head, looked at Floria.
“…Why do you think that?”
“No. I don’t have any particular basis for it, I just had a hunch.”
Mia couldn’t explain why, but she had a strong premonition.
Floria looked at Mia for a moment, then her expression softened with a faint smile.
“As expected, you’re Kousuke’s child. You’re surprisingly sharp in some regards.”
“…What do you mean?”
Towa tilted his head at Floria’s words.
He wondered if there was something he hadn’t noticed at all, listening to their conversation.
“It’s not that big of a deal. We’ve been intimate, but I simply haven’t conceived since giving birth to you all.”
“…Huh?!”
This answer was unexpected, as Mia’s expression became surprised. Towa and Riku looked equally stunned.
Floria said it casually, but her children could tell that this was a significant issue.
“I’m telling you it’s not that big of a deal. It’s not that I can’t have children anymore, so don’t worry.”
Even though Floria said this, the expressions of her three children didn’t change.
Seeing this, Floria shook her head with a “Well, well” demeanor.
Realizing she couldn’t hide it any longer after seeing her children’s reactions, Floria began, “This is something Silvia and I discussed and concluded,” as a preamble.
Simply put, Floria and Silvia, having become High Humans, had different physiques from ordinary Humans.
In other words, since they were already able to have children, it was possible that they were unconsciously holding back to avoid multiple births.
For Floria and Silvia, it was a convenient explanation, but since they were not actually conceiving, it was a natural conclusion.
Kousuke’s children, led by Towa, were recognized by the goddesses as a new species.
Although the exact nature of this species was still unknown, it was known that they had a longer lifespan than ordinary Humans.
Therefore, it was concluded that Floria and Silvia, unlike ordinary Humans, were not in a constant state of fertility.
“This is likely conjecture, but I believe Shurein and Peach are in a similar situation.”
Floria concluded her statement, and the three of them wore somber expressions.
“So, you’re saying that you’re regulating yourselves to prevent too many powerful beings from being born?”
“To be blunt, yes. It’s all conjecture, so I don’t know if it’s true.”
“I see…”
This conclusion was based on their current situations, so it was uncertain whether it was actually correct.
However, judging by Silvia’s reaction, Floria was confident that her conjecture was correct.
Silvia had not confirmed this with Elisamil (God).
Silvia was at a transcendent level as a shrine maiden.
She was confident that her conjecture would not be significantly wrong.
“Well, regardless, I don’t think it’s what you initially thought, so there’s no need to worry unnecessarily.”
Floria concluded his words, and her three children nodded.
This was about the constitutions of Floria and Silvia.
It also briefly touched upon Shurein and Peach.
This is a prime example of plot convenience! It felt that way, but considering the possibility for long-lived races, this was the conclusion reached.
