Chapter 1: The First Child

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I'm sure I will never forget that day.

It all started early in the morning.

As we were eating breakfast together, Maria suddenly went into labor.

"I'll get the midwife right away! Hang in there!"

My body trembling, I helped her back to the bedroom and then dashed out of the church in a panic.

On my way, I tripped three times and got covered in mud before finally bursting into the house of the woman who served as the town's midwife. Unable to form coherent words, I took a punch from her before she set off for the church with brisk steps, apparently ready to go.

As it turned out, I ended up getting carried back to the church by the midwife's husband.

By then, a horde of helpful aunties had gathered upon hearing the commotion, so there was nothing left for me to do.

In stories, they always say things like, "Go boil some water!" But even that task was taken care of by the ladies around me. Eventually, I wound up being shooed away as just plain useless and sent to wait outside in the hall, leaving only me and the midwife's husband praying before the statue of our goddess—a pathetic sight that still makes me cringe whenever I recall it.

"Father, you're not planning on meeting your baby covered in mud, are you?"

"W-w-w-wha—?"

"What about clothes?"

"Oh right! Change my clothes! Wait...?! Oh no, but my clean clothes are in Maria's room!! What should I dooooo?!"

"Calm down."

"You think going naked would be okay?!"

"The moms here will kick us both out if we try anything stupid, so let's not."

"Well, what am I supposed to do, then?!"

The midwife's husband was a muscular guy who worked at a farm dealing with cows and pigs every day.

He was over thirty years older than me, but despite my frantic attempts to grab him by the collar and shake some sense into him, his burly body didn't budge an inch.

"Hold on just a minute, I'll go ask her."

Pushing aside my half-hysterical self, he moved into their living quarters. Shortly after he returned, one of the aunties came back grinning broadly while carrying a change of clothes for me.

"Aha-ha! So even Father here is only human, just like my husband—what an embarrassing sight!"

"Ohhh... Thank you so much!"

"We came here to celebrate the baby, but this makes for such great gossip material! Now then, get changed quickly and calm down already!"

In my haste, I tripped trying to put on the new clothes.

The midwife's husband looked on in disbelief as I writhed around on the floor like a caterpillar before finally helping me up. Then he even assisted me with changing my clothes.

"Well, well. Men can be such fools sometimes, huh?"

"Ahh, Maria...! Oh, Maria...! Please, great goddess, hear my plea! Bless Maria and protect this child about to enter the world!"

As I fervently prayed toward the statue of the goddess, the man gently patted me on the back the whole time.

By the way...

I learned all these details later from other people. Honestly, I don't remember any of it myself. Needless to say, after a few days had passed, I embarked on a pilgrimage of apologies and expressions of gratitude to everyone involved. Naturally, I gave the midwife's husband a deep, heartfelt bow.

And although my actions during that time would become famous stories told for decades afterward, just thinking about them makes me want to die of embarrassment, so please let me leave it at that.

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"Waaaah! Waaaaah!"

Around noon.

An unfamiliar sound echoed throughout the church.

It was the cry announcing the blessing of new life. No matter how majestic its bell tower might be, nothing could move my heart like this.

"It's a girl."

"Mother and child are both healthy. Take it easy now—breathe deeply before you come in."

The midwife emerged to greet me first.

I took a deep breath as instructed, clenching my trembling hands tightly in embarrassment. My feet stopped at the door to the bedroom. The shaking wouldn't cease.

Calm down.

Even if that wasn't possible, I couldn't rush things.

Maria lay on the other side of the room, her body still recovering from childbirth. And there would be our newborn baby, too. Nothing good could come from barging in frantically; only bad things were bound to happen.

They said mother and child were both fine, didn't they? If the midwife told me so, those words were more trustworthy than anyone else's.

Through the door, I heard crying.

Crying. Alive. She made it.

Our child, Maria and me.

"I'm coming in."

I was a father now.

Maybe I wasn't dependable yet, but there was no way to stay unreliable forever.

Knocking,

the door...

"Ow!"

The door had to swing inward, so pushing on it wouldn't open it at all.

Laughter erupted from behind me, echoing within the bedroom... Damn.

This time, I managed to open the door.

"Maria..."

"Ain-sama..."

She lay prone on the bed.

Her eyes were vacant, yet she gazed steadily at me. Though exhausted, panting heavily with sweat, she still responded when I spoke.

"It took a little while for the birth, but you're fine now. Here's your baby."

The midwife handed me a cloth bundle.

For some time already, its vigorous wails had been piercing my ears, announcing its presence. Wrapped snugly in a white blanket, it was a wrinkled newborn infant.

"...Ngh..."

Light, yet heavy.

The baby's body weighed on my arms.

"It's a healthy little girl."

"...Ahh... Ahh!"

"You can tell your wife that yourself." With those words, the midwife left the room.

Maria, me, and our newborn infant were alone together.

"Th-thank you...so much!" I managed to stammer.

Just standing there, just holding the life in my arms, was all I could manage.

I wanted to express gratitude, but the words wouldn't come out properly. I think I said "thank you," but I wasn't sure if it registered.

"M-Mari, th-thanks! Thank y-you, thank—" My voice cracked.

I'd resolved not to show any weakness, and barely a minute had passed already...

The waves of emotion wouldn't subside. Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face. The baby cried in my arms, and shamefully, so did I.

"...K-kodomo..."

"...Huh?"

"When you went to fetch the midwife... Lord Ain, you were acting differently than usual... You weren't using formal language..."

"Oh... Oh, uh... Yeah."

Was that true?

It might have been. I was so desperate at the time, I don't remember clearly, but now that she mentioned it, I think I do recall shouting. There certainly wasn't time for any honorifics.

"Heh-heh..."

"Maria?"

"Her name... What will her name be...?" Maria laughed softly—apparently amused and happy.

A name.

This child's name.

The baby of Maria and me. I had thought about this long and hard. Not knowing whether the child would be a boy or girl, I prepared two names just in case.

A healthy, spirited little girl.

She looks like a wrinkled monkey right now, but no doubt she'll grow up beautiful. After all, her mother is stunningly gorgeous.

"This child's name is—"

"Excuse me, sir—you must come at once! Maria's labor has begun!"

"Oh... How many times did she spin this time?"

"Four, but who cares about that?! Hurry up! Quickly!"

"It's only your sixth kid, right? You should be used to it by now!"

Whether it was her first or sixth—or even tenth—child, there was no way anyone could ever get accustomed to childbirth and its attendant dangers. No one can grow immune to the fear of losing their beloved partner due to some unforeseen complication.

"She packed clothes for you already, so we're good to go!"

"I suppose the kids helped her prepare, then... Honestly..."

Though she sounded exasperated, the midwife had been readying herself for this day all along.

Naturally, since my back wouldn't allow me to move swiftly on my own, part of those preparations included having my burly husband carry me wherever necessary.

"All right, all right, you're getting in my way now. The others will be here soon anyway. You kids get out of this room!"

With the midwife's arrival, the children who had been keeping Maria company emerged from the bedroom and gathered around me as I prayed to Nuagia's statue in the hall.

Though they didn't fully understand what childbirth entailed yet, seeing their mother in pain made them uneasy.

As their father, it wasn't enough for me just to cower in fear. These kids have only me to rely on now. As their dad, I need to pull myself together—what other choice do I have?

"It'll be fine."

The voice was like tumbling bells, soothing the anxious children.

Of course, it wasn't mine.

"There's nothing wrong with Mother. She'll be smiling happily at us with our new family member before we know it. There's no reason to worry."

The children emerged from their bedroom.

Amidst all the anxiety, one girl stood out—though whether she genuinely remained calm or was desperately pretending to be so wasn't clear...

"Now then, let's pray together with Father for our goddess. Do you think it'll be a little brother or sister?"

As her poised demeanor reassured the others, they began excitedly expressing their hopes: "A boy!" "No, I want a sister!"

Feeling somewhat inadequate as a father, I murmured, "I'm sorry..."

"There's no need for that," replied my second daughter, who carried our youngest on her back while trying to suppress her eldest brother's desire for another sibling.

In this moment, the first child Maria and I had welcomed—the eldest daughter—came close to me.

"It's alright, Dad. Mother will be fine."

"Yes... Yes..."

As her confidence grows with each passing day, I often feel a bit useless as a father, but when she still wants to cling to me like this—just a little, and only when no one else is watching—I'm secretly relieved. Of course, that's embarrassing enough that I keep it quiet.

"Waaaah!"

The midwife has been here for less than even thirty minutes, not an hour yet.

Hearing the newborn's first cry, our rowdy kids burst into the bedroom, jostling one another to get there first. Soon after, we hear the midwife scolding them from inside.

"Oh dear! Children, behave yourselves!"

All traces of her momentary vulnerability have vanished without a trace.

Our eldest daughter instantly returns to her usual responsible self and stands up.

"I'll go tell those rascals off so you can be with Mother, Father. Eep?!"

I picked her up.

Her body had grown several times heavier since the first time I held her that day long ago. She was becoming such a big girl. My beloved child, growing steadily before my eyes...

"Um... Uh-uh!"

Day by day, she looked more and more like her mother, but for now, her cuteness still outweighed her beauty. In just a few years, though, there was no doubt she'd be the prettiest girl in town. The second daughters would surely be among the most beautiful as well. So many of them! And without a doubt, my eldest son would grow up to be quite handsome, too—since he won't inherit any of my features, anyway.

"Lucia."

I called her name.

My darling, precious child, with whom I've been inseparable ever since that day.

"Shall we go together?"

"...Okay..."

The moment I spoke, my wriggling eldest daughter calmed down instantly, quiet as a rented cat.

She felt both heavy and light at once. Cradling her close, I headed toward our bedroom.

Since he'd only picked up his eldest, the other children demanded to be carried next,

And his beloved wife was terribly jealous,

So he made himself a rule: From now on, the only one he would hold immediately after birth is the newborn itself.