Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 183

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 183

Tap, tap.
Each time I whispered, the vibrations against the eggshell grew more intense.
Tap, tap. Tock.
No matter how much it looked like a chick was struggling to break free from its egg, I’d heard somewhere that you shouldn’t help from the side. That a creature needed to break out on its own strength in order to grow properly.
But since this was a Divine Beast, well, it should be fine. The sword—the same one that had scolded me before about not wasting blood, with wounds that were only shallow—seemed to know the egg’s condition was critical, because it said nothing as I applied drops of my blood to the shell.
—Divine Beasts cannot typically coexist with their young. The moment the offspring breaks free from the egg and is born, the parent Divine Beast’s breath fades away…….
‘If I’m lucky, maybe I can at least say goodbye, right?’
—…….
I could guess the words the sword left unspoken. After all, it had thrown itself at the Magic Beasts as bait, so there was no guarantee it would arrive intact even if it came right now…….
Ah. I blinked as I felt the vibrations from inside the egg, the creature pounding against the shell with all its might.
“…Normally, I’d have to leave it somewhere safe and wait for it to hatch properly.”
Come on, I squeezed my fingertip harder, forcing out more blood. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but as the drops fell, the eggshell vibrated as if startled. I pulled out scraps from the nest—a clump of down, balls of yarn, piles of feathers—and wrapped the egg in them.
“We don’t have time. Hold on in there, little one! We’ll finish hatching on the way and go see your mother!”
“……Um, Your Highness. Would you mind explaining what’s happening here?”
“This is a Divine Beast Egg. And if I’m guessing right, the parent Divine Beast tried desperately to wake it by positioning themselves to the northwest of the Territory to draw the Magic Beasts away as bait.”
I didn’t know the full details. It was only a guess. The mountain had been safe enough for Lisianthus to bring Bibi Lutein El Castrain here to play, and the fact that no wild animals had shown up was probably because even with the weakest strength, a Divine Beast is still a Divine Beast—the beasts wouldn’t dare approach.
It seems the mother Divine Beast had set up something like a Barrier, desperately trying to hide her power, so they’d been protected from Magic Beasts until now…….
In any case, after hearing my explanation, Bibi accepted it. Or rather, she spoke to me with a skeptical expression.
“So, Your Highness. What’s your conclusion?”
“We’re heading northwest.”
“That’s absolutely insane! You want to take an egg that can’t hatch on its own—an egg that’s dying—and go where? Where the Magic Beasts came from and the Castrain Family sent their forces? Do you have some hobby where you turn crazy if you don’t voluntarily walk into danger?”
“No, but wouldn’t the Castrain Family have already wiped out all the Magic Beasts by now?”
“And how exactly do you plan to get there?! On that insane thing? If you ride that, the Divine Beast will die! It’ll die! It won’t even be born before it dies! At that speed, the eggshell will shatter completely! Even if we let it hatch safely here, it’ll take three full days and nights…!”
I pressed the increasingly vibrating eggshell with my fingertip again.
“That’s true. How can a parent’s heart and a child’s heart ever be the same?”
The precious Divine Beast Egg absorbed my blood with all its might. I could feel it struggling.
Trying to live, trying to break free from the egg. It thrashed desperately, impatient. I could feel its will. If I held this egg carefully and returned to the Castrain Family, the job would be done.
Even if we stayed here to fight, we had two great Mages and I was here. The Castrain Family weren’t fools, and since they’d already gone on alert after hearing about the Magic Beasts, they’d respond quickly if new ones appeared.
But after all, how can someone always think rationally and logically?
It’s heartbreaking not to witness even the final moments of a parent who stakes their life to let their child be born. And if it’s because they themselves are weak, that’s even worse. If a parent’s breath fades the moment their offspring completely breaks free from the egg, then the opportunity was now and now alone.
“And there are two genius Mages here, and I’m a God’s Contractor. Well. Let’s at least try. If we can’t manage something as simple as reuniting parent and child, how could we possibly save the world?”
I smiled cheekily at Bibi, who exhaled a sigh with an exasperated expression, and carefully wrapped the egg.

* * *

Raymond had a strange presentiment.
Magic Beasts appearing in Castrain Territory was as natural as the sun setting and the moon rising.
Guard towers and sentries were posted at intervals, and multiple layers of Barriers were erected so that no Magic Beast could easily breach them. Yet even with the knowledge that Magic Beasts couldn’t readily infiltrate settlements or the fortress, one couldn’t simply ignore them. That’s why Raymond, even in the dead of night, rose without hesitation the moment he heard the warning of Magic Beasts and rushed out.
Under normal circumstances, Raymond might have simply heard the report and stayed vigilant without stepping out himself, in case of unforeseen circumstances.
But at present, the Castrain Family had a very precious guest. Thinking of that, Raymond wanted to uproot all the Magic Beasts entirely. That’s why, even hearing they weren’t particularly dangerous threats, he’d come out directly.
“It’s a bit different from usual. They’re not that strong, but I’m puzzled why such weak ones would swarm like this.”
In the Southern Region, those who had attacked them used Magic Beasts. They could command them like a commander directing troops. But not everyone would have such ability, and fundamentally, the behavior of low-intelligence Magic Beasts was instinctual.
The stronger ones valued hierarchy and didn’t travel in packs. Weaker ones only gathered around a common food source. The Castrain Family, who had been processing Magic Beasts more regularly than eating meals, couldn’t possibly have missed even minor irregularities.
That’s why Raymond rubbed his chin as he listened to the report.
It wasn’t a major incident. He’d already heard that Lisianthus had succeeded in hunting most of the Magic Beasts. Some stragglers had scattered, but they could chase them down and kill them before the night was over.
So even if something felt off, it shouldn’t be anything too significant…….
Something gnawed at him, faintly.
Raymond didn’t ignore his intuition. So he quickly patrolled the Territory’s key points, and he re-checked the northwest boundary line, which Lisianthus had already swept through. Given the late hour and the likelihood that weak Magic Beasts would flee easily, thanks to Lisianthus releasing even his personally trained hounds for the search, the area was quiet now. If not for the dark, splattering blood here and there or the crushed Magic Beast corpses, it would have gone unnoticed.
…….
Only because it was Raymond that he could find ‘that’.
In Castrain Territory, perpetually blanketed with snow, the least conspicuous colors were the pale grayish-white that mimicked snow, the desiccated brown of dried branches, and the pale grayish-blue unique to stone.
Among the snowdrifts where the Magic Beasts had caused the most havoc moments ago, a single bird lay collapsed like a dead mouse.
Too large for a dove, too white for anything else. And for any other bird—well, he couldn’t quite remember. Rather than beautiful or impressive, its form was optimized for survival. And it was dying.
The twisted wing joint trembled faintly, and the body, with feathers plucked away as if gnawed, was almost pitiful.
There was no sinister aura like a Magic Beast, but how to describe it. A faint presence that made his skin tingle barely perceptibly. Something very subtle…….
‘I do hope we can all spend time together next time, don’t you?’
It reminded him of someone he’d met just hours earlier. Like the faint warmth of spring sunlight felt each time she smiled.
Titania herself seemed to think her smiling face was sufficient for propriety’s sake. But Titania couldn’t quite perfectly mask even her eyes. Even when she tried hardest to be cold, she couldn’t quite manage to be completely cruel to others. Watching her face, with bits of barely hidden emotion rolling around, made the feeling of warmth gradually melting into his otherwise frozen fingertips.
That’s why Raymond, uncharacteristically, slowly brought his gloved hand closer to the dying bird.
Compassion doesn’t suit this cold, desolate place. Just as one would mercy-kill a horse with a broken leg, if something was already too injured to survive on its own, perhaps death would be kinder.
Because he was questioning himself, Raymond didn’t notice the noise growing closer from a distance.
He didn’t notice the existence of three people and one creature—or perhaps call it one egg, since it hadn’t been born yet—riding on what appeared to be a sled skimming over the snow, using the wind as its companion.
An excessively cheerful voice cut through the empty air.
“Oh, Raymond!”
Raymond, uncharacteristically, felt foolish and tilted his head in bewilderment.
His hand, about to touch the bird, froze in place. Had he overdone it? Why would he hear Titania’s voice here? He’d said goodbye before leaving.
Something that seemed too clear to be an auditory hallucination…….
“Wait, wait wait wait wait. Huh, why isn’t the brake working, oh, did I not make a brake?”
“O God, until now I have faithfully believed that the divine has offered humanity nothing in return, that with this overflowing magical power and my own abilities I would live well in this harsh world and impart the truths of life to others. But now I humbly acknowledge that there exists a world I cannot endure with my strength and ability alone…….”
“R-R-Raymond, if you keep going like this, you’ll crash!”
And Raymond witnessed three people hurtling toward him at mad speed, among them Titania with strands of her hair billowing like golden threads in the air, waving her hand with an expression that clearly said ‘Oh damn, this wasn’t the plan, excuse me.’ For just a moment, he had no words.
To put it more concisely: he was five seconds away from being hit by a sled in the middle of the night.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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