Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 184

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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 184

—Eek-eek-eek! Contractor, we’re going to hit someone! Hit and run, we’re going to be hit-and-run offenders! (●o○;)ノ
‘No, no—that’s not how you use that word. Calm down. We haven’t hit anyone yet! Raymond wouldn’t be weak enough to get run down by me!’
—Ahhhhhhh! Divine Beast, I’m sorry! ( ͒ ́ඉ .̫ ඉ ̀ ͒) I thought Contractor would safely rescue Divine Beast’s baby, but instead I’m making her the star of another tragic accident! I’m sorry! ( Ĭ ^ Ĭ )
‘It hasn’t been crushed yet, so can you please stop killing Divine Beast’s baby before it’s even born?!’
I tried to make sense of the situation before the heavily modified Snow Sledge turned me into someone who whipped people like a bouncy ball.
When I rode it before, I’d simply reduced my strength and speed and came to a stop just fine. So why isn’t it listening to me now? Ah—the slope on this side must be quite steep, which means gravity’s pulling us into an acceleration!
I secured two trembling Priest mages who were clinging to each other like lifelines, a sword in my head that kept squawking “Sorry! Sorry!” like a parrot, and the Divine Beast egg—now vibrating like a phone on silent, its shell rattling away—swaddled carefully like a bundle. Then I looked at Raymond, whose eyes had gone wide and rigid, and waved at him.
If you’ve got the gist of what’s happening, wouldn’t you dodge it gracefully?
Rasper, who had been gaping with his mouth open, let out a cry in a face gone pale. Beside him, Pan had squeezed his eyes shut and was offering what could barely be called a prayer to some imaginary god within himself.
“P-please, step aside! I’m not trying to attack you, it’s just—I’ve never dreamed of such a thing, but—dodge, it’s better if you—!”
“…and if you could just help me safely escape this ordeal, I promise to visit the temple regularly…though that’s probably not going to happen. As for offerings…I doubt I’ll manage that either, but in any case, if you could just save me, it would be a fine opportunity to recruit a useless talent like myself, who possesses not even an ant’s worth of faith…”
But Raymond just stared at us with a stunned expression, as if frozen by buffering. Well. He’s not dodging. Maybe this level of danger is nothing to him? Though honestly, a crude vehicle like this should fall apart if he so much as flicked a finger.
Right, pedestrian priority. This isn’t a road and what I’m riding isn’t a car, but I threw all my strength into wrenching the sledge sideways. I couldn’t stop it, but I could do that much.
The Snow Sledge barely swerved past Raymond and crashed headlong into a towering snowbank and a tree, letting out a loud crunch as it tipped sideways.
Bang!
Snow poured into the sledge like a landslide.
Rumble-rumble-rumble! Thud! Screech! Crack. Skreeeee….
The sledge, miraculously not capsizing, slewed around and lurched forward before finally coming to a stop. The two people behind me, who’d been trembling like aspen leaves, also fell silent.
Rasper’s face was pale enough to terrify someone who’d just woken up to find a ghost grinning right in their face, and tears had started to form.
“P-please, I—you—I…”
Finally, Pan opened his eyes from whatever semi-religious incantation he’d been muttering and grabbed Rasper by the shoulder.
“C-calm yourself, Rasper. Your Highness didn’t actually hit him…though, Your Highness, the egg’s practically dying here—do you really think that kind of reckless driving is appropriate?!”
Pan shouted at me while hastily checking on the egg’s condition. This was the same man who, just moments ago, had been too frightened to even open his eyes.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap! The egg, its shell now cracked nearly all over, gave loud protests as if insisting it had a point. Apparently, Divine Beasts made their opinions known before they were even born.
—You’re the one who dragged an unborn, practically premature egg through all this, and you’re going to tell me off for it?! (☍д⁰)
‘Wow, we finally made it! Now let’s find the mother.’
—Don’t dodge the issue! σ(ｏдｏlll)
‘Wild fawns stand up within three hours of being born—Divine Beasts probably need to learn that survival’s rough sometime too.’
—Divine Beast hasn’t even been born yet?!
I untied the rope binding me to the sledge and brushed the snow off myself. Then I patted the shoulders of the two men, who still seemed half-checked out of reality.
And I carefully extracted the Divine Beast egg from its temporary cradle—now protesting by tapping away with a sound that had evolved from tok-tok to crack-crack-crack against its increasingly fractured shell.
I hopped off the sledge and trudged toward Raymond, who was still watching this whole situation with barely concealed doubt. I smiled awkwardly and raised my free hand to wave.
“Ah, good evening, Raymond.”
“…”
Raymond blinked, looked at me, then at the half-capsized, sail-less wreck of a sledge I’d been riding, then at Rasper climbing unsteadily out of it while Pan cursed loudly from inside, then back at me. His expression clearly called for an explanation.
I did my best to explain, looking somewhat embarrassed.
“Well, you’ve shown me such wonderful hospitality as a guest. I apologize for rushing off so suddenly. I didn’t want to drag even Lord Rasper along, but he insisted quite strongly on coming. No, that’s just an excuse. I’m sorry for worrying you. But there was a pressing reason I had to leave, and time was critical.”
It was then that a bird lying near Raymond’s feet, as if dead, fluttered its wingbone slightly.
A pigeon—or something close to one—with somewhat lighter-colored feathers. With what looked like all its remaining strength, it thrashed on the ground and opened its eyes.
Light slowly returned to the bird’s dim eyes. They were gold. The moment the bird—or rather, the moment its eyes confirmed the egg in my palm—widened in shock.
“Coo.”
—No, are you insane? You nearly killed my precious child before it was even born! You came here on THAT?! If our baby falls, you’re taking responsibility? Are you out of your mind?! Are you out of your mind?! …is what she says. She’s right, Contractor. What kind of madness is this?!
‘Oh please. I just drove a little fast—it’s not like I’m insane. Besides, how does that look like a Divine Beast giving everything it’s got? You’re lying. Leave it alone and it’ll live another hundred years.’
“Coo-coo-coooo!”
The bird staggered upright…and pecked at my feet. A furious parent’s attack! Titania, unable to evade!
“Ow!”
It didn’t hurt much, but surprise was the bigger emotion. Fine, fine. I was in the wrong. I caught the bird as it coo’d away its fury in rapid succession before exhausting itself and nearly collapsing.
It was incredibly light. I let out a small hum and, with just barely enough pressure from my nearly-healed fingertip wound, placed it between the bird’s beak.
The bird thrashed in protest, then quickly understood my intention and peacefully drank the drop of blood, recovering somewhat. Raymond, observing this inexplicable scene, frowned at my hand.
I set the egg right beside the bird. By now, anyone could tell the egg was on the verge of hatching.
The bird—the Divine Beast—that had been trembling with rage enough to devour me raw without hesitation, its underdeveloped wings quivering, soon grew calm and began gently bumping its head against the ever-vibrating eggshell.
Crack, crack, tap.
Finally the eggshell began to give way. The Divine Beast watched quietly as it happened. Once the shell was fully broken, a chick-Divine Beast emerged, still dripping wet, its feathers clinging damply—at first glance, it looked like any ordinary chick.
The Divine Beast cooed proudly, spreading its wings. The chick nestled into them without hesitation. Everyone watched in complete silence. The Divine Beast pulled its baby close and cried out.
“Coo.”
—…Thank you.
“Coo-coo-coooo.”
—Of course, protecting it safely somewhere would have been better than all this reckless driving and forcing your way here. But still, thank you. For sharing your strength and letting us meet—for the first time and the last.
“Coo.”
—Take good care of our baby from now on, she says, and as thanks she wants to give you a gift…wait, what?
The Divine Beast gestured as if calling me closer, then flapped its wings. I knelt and lowered my head to meet the bird’s gaze. The Divine Beast made a retching sound and coughed something up. It looked like a grayish-brown lump of earth and blood matted together.
—You want me to eat it now?
‘…Huh?’
—Eat it now, right away, immediately. Or it won’t work, she says.
Before I could even think, I swallowed the lump as instructed.
The taste was horrendous. Bitter and thick, I felt like I’d gag if I held it in my mouth any longer. As I forced it down, I felt something warm spread through my body.
I’ve served as a Contract Holder of the Light Deity long enough. I could guess what it was.
This is…divine power, isn’t it? Like when Poda gave me Barrier Fragments? There was no grand notification or anything, just a warm, gentle energy spreading from my head to my fingertips.
“…Thank you.”
The bird, eyes locked with her newly born chick, nodded slowly. Then her eyes grew heavy with sleep, blinking once, twice, before closing entirely. The chick, as if the world could end and it wouldn’t matter, rested its head endlessly in her embrace while powder-soft snow fell slowly down.

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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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