#620 Baby Boom

It feels like it’s been a long time...

But yes, it’s me again!

Congratulations to my wife, Platy, for safely giving birth to our second childddddd!

Oryaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Whoooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! 

I’m on cloud nine!

Even Junior is overjoyed at the birth of his baby brother!

“Jump for joiii.”

See? Just like so!

We now have a second son!

You did a fantastic job, Platy!

You’re like the wife of all wives!

Wahoooooooooo!

Holy and brightttttttttttttttt!!!

...Ahem.

Enough of the excitement.

Before and after the delivery, I was too anxious to leave Platy’s side.

This was around the same time Pink Tonton and Letasreit were preparing for the wrestling show. Naturally, I would’ve wanted to be part of such an interesting event, but I decided to let it pass and stay by my wife’s side.

Veil stayed with us to look after Junior, which was reassuring.

Batemy, Belena, and even Sensei the Lifeless King went in my stead, so I’m sure things went all right. 

Letasreit would’ve worried me if she were the same person when she came to the farm, but nowadays, I feel relatively secure.

If anything, this extreme relief is starting to bother me. 

Anyway, thanks to the support of many friends on the farm, I was able to concentrate on supporting my wife during her delivery.

She gave birth safely.

Yay!

The first thing we have to do after the baby is born is to think of a name.

It’s a baby boy, just like Junior.

We decided to name him Norito, a parody of my real name. 

Our first son, Saint Kidan Jr., and our second son, Norito.

May these brothers get along and live happily together for the rest of their lives.

But! This joy isn’t limited to us.

Queen Astres gave birth to her second child in the Demon King’s family.

In fact, this was quite a while ago; When Platy’s pregnancy was confirmed, Mrs. Astres’ was already showing, so she didn’t attend any public events.

She had a safe delivery at the beginning of winter.

Mrs. Astres’ second child was a girl.

The baby girl, named Belzebia, officially the second demon princess, received many blessings, foreshadowing a brighter future in the Demon Kingdom.

Norito’s birth occurred after this good omen.

But the festivities don’t stop here.

Coincidentally, other families celebrated the birth of a new life, such as the Mermaid King and Queen— Arowana and Puffer.

Their family discovered that Puffer was pregnant at about the same time as Platy, and their estimated day of delivery was also almost the same.

However, the impact this had on their nation, the Mermaid Kingdom, was incomparable. After all, this was the first child born to the newly enthroned king and queen.

In other words, an heir.

I heard Puffer gave birth to a healthy baby boy—a merprince.

The fact that she could give birth to a boy eligible to succeed was a glorious achievement.

It was a form of having successfully fulfilled her responsibility as a queen.

Well, a baby’s gender is secondary as long as it’s born safely, but every family has its circumstances.

If the family could clear these conditions just fine, all is well.

The child born to Puffer and Arowana was officially recognized as a merprince and named Moby Dick.

With the successful birth of the heir, the Mermaid Kingdom under Arowana’s reign becomes even stabler.

And since the remaining parties of the old regime have been eliminated, the nation is moving in an increasingly positive direction.

To add to all these joyous occasions, Hendra and Lampeye also had their first child!

Hendra is an aristocrat in the Mermaid Kingdom and a close friend of the Mermaid King, Arowana—a relationship that crosses hierarchical differences. 

Because of their mutual trust, he entered the Mermaid Kingdom under Arowana’s reign and has been working as his personal advisor.

Lampeye, Hendra’s wife, is one of the Six Witches, just like Platy and Puffer.

Both Lampeye and Puffer have lived with us in the past, and three of the Six Witches gave birth around the same time. It’s as if everyone’s linked by fate, huh?

Lampeye returned to the Mermaid Kingdom after her marriage and was reinstated as an Imperial guard, supporting her husband in private and public life.

Just a few days ago, she beat up a dozen or so rebels, despite being pregnant and showing.

Hendra, who was in the battle with her, said he was more worried for Lampeye than their battle and felt half-alive the entire time.

I’m glad their baby was born safely.

She gave birth to a baby girl whom they named Halfmoon.

Belzebia, the second demon princess.

Norito, our second son.

Moby Dick, the merprince.

And Halfmoon, the newborn baby of the Betta family.

Yet another grand baby boom this is. 

The birth of a new life is nothing but a joyous occasion.

With so many new lives coming into the world, this year is bound to be a good one.

Amidst all this, the royal mercouple, Arowana and his wife, or rather, the entire family...

...came to visit us.

* * *

“Ahh, teleportation magic is so convenient, especially when bringing children with us...!” 

Through teleportation magic, you can instantly move from one place to another, so you don’t have to worry about any hiccups during the trip.

Moby, the merprince who visited with his parents, is now meeting his cousins in the arms of their respective mothers.

“Look, Norito, this is your cousin, Moby. He’s my brother’s son.”

Platy holds Norito in her arms and Puffer with Moby on her lap.

“Honestly, I’m kind of worried about my son having a disorderly aunt. I hope you don’t teach him anything weird.”

“Say what now? An outlaw of the Six Witches has become a mother obsessed with her children’s education. Is that it, huh???”

“What? You wanna fight, sister-in-law?”

“And what about you? Are you trying to pick a fight with me, newlywed???”

The moms start to glare at each other.

And then, Junior interceded by saying, “Pwease, just talk it over...”

The two don’t seem to have changed in any way, even after becoming mothers.

Not to mention, Platy is now a mother of two, so I don’t expect any change to happen in her at this point.

“Thank you for taking the trouble to visit us. I’m sure you must be busy with political matters...”

In fact, Arowana has been visiting the farm since he was a prince.

The frequency of his visits has decreased drastically since his accession.

He probably has double the duties and responsibilities as the king.  

“Hahaha, standing in the same position as my father and Lord Zedan, I realize once again how great they both are...!”

Arowana’s strained laugh gives a somewhat sooty impression.

His kingly duties must be serious indeed. A commoner like me can only imagine what it must be like.

“Oh, no, no. Things have been steadily progressing since I became the king. My burden gets with each passing day. Besides, now that I’m a father, I need to be more responsible!”

Nevertheless, Arowana remains in high spirits.

He may have a lot on his plate, but he keeps his held high as he goes.

“Oh yeah, we had the Martial Swimming Competition a few days ago. Do you remember that event, Lord Saint?”

“Yes, of course!”

If I recall, the Martial Swimming Competition is a battle event held yearly in the Mermaid Kingdom, where the pride and determination of the mermen are put on the line.

“So, who won this year?”

“I did!”

I thought so.

I didn’t even need to ask. 

“By the way, the runner-up was Hendra! That’s two years in a row!”

“How many consecutive championships have you won so far?”

“Four now. But it’s nothing compared to my father’s 15 consecutive wins...”

Let me brief you on Arowana’s history regarding the Martial Swimming Competition.

He has been competing in this yearly competition for decades but only used to make it to the finals at most.

Then, one day, he won the championship.

From there, he went on a pilgrimage, got married, ascended to the throne, underwent various other evolutions, and won even more championships.

I competed once, but being a land-dweller, I couldn’t do anything underwater except almost suffocate to death.

I still managed to be the runner-up, though.

Since then, I have often received invitations to participate in other underwater activities, but I always refused with the excuse that it was a matter of life or death for me.

“I really would like to have you participate again, but forcing land people into the sea may put them at risk...”

“Yeah...”

“Don’t worry! We’ve prepared a new event where you can definitely partake this time!”

Wait, what?

“That’s the primary reason for our visit today! Lord Saint! Please join us in the Mermaid Kingdom’s first-ever sumo tournament!”

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i googled halfmoon betta out of curiosity and it was quite a colorful fish.