#1047 A Series of Celebratory News

Later on...

Word of successful births kept pouring in from places far beyond the farm.

First off, the Mermaid Kingdom.

The entire kingdom went wild with the news that the Mermaid King and Queen had welcomed their second child. 

The whole sea, perhaps? 

Does it even matter...? Anyway!

A newborn directly in line for the throne is a huge deal. No doubt about that.

Queen Puffer gave birth to a girl.

A brand-new merprincess.

With their first child being a prince, this new addition balanced things out quite nicely.

The second child was named Guppy and was officially recognized as the first-ranked merprincess.

Even the former merfolk queen, Mahi, gave birth to a son first and then a daughter, both of whom grew up to become smart and strong, helping the Mermaid Kingdom flourish. So naturally, everyone figured this generation’s prince and princess would follow suit. The whole kingdom is abuzz with excitement.

Sure, it’s probably just a coincidence, but if everyone’s happy, why not roll with it?

When Platy, who caught wind of the news, heard it, she chimed in with, “Well, if the kid takes after me, she’ll be brilliant!” She wasn’t exactly wrong.

Why, you ask? Because Platy was the previous generation’s first merprincess!

Though, the mother in question, Puffer, isn’t thrilled at the idea of her daughter turning out like Platy.

She’s probably hoping for the opposite.

But there’s more. Another little one arrived in the Mermaid Kingdom, born to Hendra and Lampeye.

They had a son, and they named him Marble.

Hendra’s family, the Betta clan, is one of the most prestigious houses in the kingdom.

They’d produced a ton of high-ranking officers, and even though Hendra had a bit of a rough start, he’s now the trusted right-hand of King Arowana himself.

With Zoth Syra on maternity leave, Hendra’s been filling in as the acting prime minister, and his reputation at the royal palace is soaring higher than a flying fish.

The Betta family is in full celebration mode for Marble’s birth—the first boy of this generation.

Hendra’s father, the current head of the family, was running around screaming, “An heir is bornnnnnnnn! The family’s future is secureeeeee!!!” Naturally, this caused some confusion among the family.

You see, Hendra is the second son. The family estate is supposed to go to his older brother, Wild, not him. If the second son’s child is suddenly the heir, that’s a bit of a sticky situation.

The family’s trying to calm the old man down, telling him not to jump the gun, but he’s already practically ready to hand over the reins to Hendra.

Some people think it’s time for the old head to step down anyway, but even if he does retire, the question remains: who’s going to take over?

The obvious choice is the eldest son, Wild, but there’s one big problem—he’s still single. Without a wife, there’s no way he can take over as head of the family.

On the other hand, Hendra, now the king’s most trusted vassal, has a wife and a son, so it’s understandable why some want to make him the next head of the family. But, given that he once ran away from home, it’s likely he’s not eager to take on the role.

Everything would be fine if Wild just got married already.

Seriously, Wild, hurry up and tie the knot!

To top it off, the Mermaid Kingdom was rocked when the former king, Nagus, and his queen, Mahi, had just welcomed a new baby... again.

These two are already known for their big family, and don’t you already have grandchildren?!

When we heard about Lady Mahi’s pregnancy, we were all like, “Really? They’re still at it?”

And the baby turned out to be a boy.

Talk about an awkward spot. A son born to the previous king after the throne has already been passed down...!

King Arowana and Platy are both scratching their heads, wondering how to deal with a brother who’s so much younger than them.

Platy, in particular...

— “Noooooooooo! I don’t want Junior and Norito to have an uncle who’s younger than themmmmmm!” she wailed in despair.

As for Nagus and Mahi...

— “Well, now we can raise our child without all the pressures of being king and queen. It’s kind of refreshing,” they said, genuinely enjoying the experience.

What kind of ripple will this new child send through the royal family’s power dynamics?

We have no way of knowing just yet...!

That’s all for the Mermaid Kingdom’s latest baby boom.

Of course, thanks to some meddling from the god Cronus, plenty of other merfolk couples were also blessed with children, but we’ll skip over those for now.

Next up, the demons.

First on the list: the royal household of the Demon Kingdom.

With the Demon King having two queens, the kingdom was in a bit of an uproar when both the first queen, Astres, and the second queen, Glasya, announced they were pregnant at the same time.

After all, two queens vying for power sounds like a recipe for trouble.

And with the addition of more candidates for the throne, tensions are bound to rise.

Well, only a handful of people are actually worried about what the future might hold, while the vast majority are just thrilled that the Demon King’s household is about to get even livelier.

But, as it turned out, all those worries were completely unnecessary, vanishing into thin air.

Why? Because both babies born were princesses.

Third Demon Princess, Gremo.

And Fourth Demon Princess, Paemo.

There was almost a bit of a squabble about which one should be the third and which the fourth since they were born at practically the same time. But everything was recorded, and Gremo, Mrs. Glasya’s second daughter, was officially declared third by a hair’s breadth.

As for Paemo, there were some concerns that she might feel a little bitter about missing out on being third. But, on the contrary:

First Demon Princess: Marine (Mrs. Glasya’s daughter).

Second Demon Princess: Belzebia (Mrs. Astres’ daughter).

Third Demon Princess: Gremo (Mrs. Glasya’s daughter).

Fourth Demon Princess: Paemo (Mrs. Astres’ daughter).

It made the whole order of things super easy to remember.

Wait, huh?

Apparently, the eldest daughter, Marine, made sure to keep everyone in line with her firm reminder: “Family has to get along, hon!”

With her holding the reins, the Demon King’s house would be just fine.

Most importantly, with another round of baby girls born, the status of Demon Prince Goetia as the heir remains rock solid.

But is that really the case?

Watching Marine grow stronger and more charismatic by the day made people take a second guess.

Meanwhile, on this fine day in the secure Demon King’s household, there was more happy news. One of the Heavenly Four, Mamoru, has also been blessed with children.

Twins, no less.

After many years of marriage without any kids, Mamoru and his wife, Arias, finally hit the jackpot, and now their house is suddenly full of life.

And since the twins are boys, the heir problem was solved without a hitch!

Everything was smooth sailing for Mamoru, who had finally been rewarded for all his hard work... or so it seemed. But it turned out the struggles weren’t quite over.

“Two heirs? Both born at almost the same time? This is definitely going to cause a fight! What am I supposed to do...?!”

He has a point.

Twins born practically at the same moment? Only one can be the heir, and depending on how they feel about it, things could get pretty heated.

Maybe even bloody.

But who knows how things will turn out until the kids grow up? No sense in Mamoru worrying about it now.

It seems like he’s the type to stress himself out by looking for things to worry about.

On another note, Batemy, our former farm seamstress, has safely given birth to a baby boy in her new household.

Heir problem? Check.

She even silenced all those nosy relatives in one fell swoop.

Batemy’s hoping to have a daughter next so she can inherit the family’s clothing business. But all I could say was, “Take your time and good luck.”

It seems the Demon Kingdom is bustling more than ever, and its prosperity is only growing.

...And then, there’s the Human Kingdom!!!

The biggest question: What kind of child would Silver Wolf and Black Cat’s baby be?!

With a wolf and cat therian as parents, would the baby be more wolf or more cat?

Or, better yet, would it be an adorable mix of both?!

After all the anticipation and wild speculations, what they got was... a totally normal human boy.

Wait, really? That’s how it goes?

Even among therianthropes, the fundamental human traits remain the same. A child born between a wolf therian and a cat therian can still end up looking like an ordinary human.

It all boils down to Mendel’s laws.

Oh, and Lord Dalkish and Varlina had a healthy baby girl.

They’ve got a growing family too, living their happily-ever-after life.

All in all, the world is at peace.