The Baby Who Regressed Refuses Childcare - Chapter 229

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I ate the chocolate cookies Mother gave me with a bewildered expression, crunching away.

In my head, the conversation with Tian who had just left the room kept replaying on repeat.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I’ll stake my life on it. For you.”

“R-really? Do you even know what I’m going to ask?”

“Whatever you tell me to do, I just have to do it, right? You said you wanted to receive it instead of consolation money.”

“No, that’s true, but…”

“Tell me the details later. I have an afternoon schedule too, so I’ll listen next time.”

Tian left the room very nonchalantly.

He made an excuse about his schedule, but I knew he was actually being considerate of me.

He thought the time I spent with my family was important.

‘He always steps aside when I’m with my family.’

“But this is really strange. Why would Tian agree to grant your request?”

Then Mother spoke beside me in an odd tone.

I opened my eyes wide and stared at Mother.

Mother kept her gaze fixed on empty space in a corner of the ceiling and continued speaking in a monotone voice.

“It’s not even an ordinary request. To readily accept a request to stake his life, it’s really suspicious.”

“…Mother?”

“Perhaps to Tian, you might be more than just a fiancée.”

I finally frowned.

“Mother. What’s wrong with you?”

“Hm?”

“Of course I’m more than just a fiancée to Tian. We’ve been really close friends since we were little.”

“I-is that so? But your father says there’s no such thing as friendship between men and women.”

Father, who was beside us, nodded and made a “hmm” sound.

For some reason, he looked slightly displeased.

Mother continued speaking.

“Listen, Annellia. For men and women to be friends, you see, in most cases one side is secretly harboring unrequited love for the other.”

“Eh?!”

“It’s true! If both sides like each other, they quickly become lovers, so they can’t remain just friends! In the end, all opposite-sex friends are potential lovers.”

I gulped down the cookie and shook my head.

“Tian and I aren’t like that.”

“Oh come on, but a few months ago Tian was cry…”

At that moment, Father covered Mother’s mouth.

I looked back and forth between the two in surprise.

Mother, who had pulled her face free from Father’s hand, spoke with wavering eyes.

“Hahaha…! I-if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to hold back and would have sneezed!”

“That’s why I told you to be careful. You were the most worried that Annellia would be sick for a long time if she caught even a cold because of her weak constitution.”

“T-that’s right!”

I looked at the two bustling people with a suspicious expression.

“What? What are you two doing?”

“Hm? What do you mean? This mother really doesn’t know anything at all!”

“No way. You both seem to be hiding something from me?”

Father smiled gently.

“There’s nothing like that, Annellia. You know there are only two people in the world Father has no secrets from. You, whom I love, and your mother.”

Father very gently patted my head a couple of times and then left the room.

Only after the door closed did I quietly mutter.

“I’m certain.”

That unnecessarily sweet expression, that cheesy way of speaking.

These were all Father’s habits that showed when he was lying.

“What could make him act like that?”

It was the moment I muttered to myself.

[So with this, we’ve secured the Crown Prince?]

A figure appeared in the room.

I sat on the bed with my eyes wide open.

“Wow, Lasandra.”

[Amazing, isn’t it?]

I nodded at Lasandra’s figure floating in the air like a ghost.

“Yes! This is really nice. From now on, we can have conversations like this without me having to go to the Heavenly Realm.”

[That’s right. When the Crown Prince makes a contract with Ricaruss, his situation will become similar too.]

“And he’ll be able to use abilities like you told me before?”

[Of course. With this, the Crown Prince might become the third most powerful human to have existed on Earth.]

When I put down the juice glass I was holding, Lasandra came closer and continued.

[By the way, what you said about confirming it directly, you’re certain about that?]

I nodded.

“Yes.”

[Well done, that was the right judgment. The stronger the body, the more divine power it can contain.]

She glanced at me and playfully added.

[But kids these days are really fast? Young ones already…]

“I was the one who got taken advantage of!”

[Sure, I’ll give you that.]

Before I could retort, Lasandra’s figure disappeared with a whoosh.

I gulped down the remaining juice and organized the situation in my head.

The conversations in the Heavenly Realm before I regained consciousness were still vivid.

“What did you mean earlier? That even humans who contract with gods can’t freely control their power.”

[It means that if the human vessel itself is weak, our divine authority is weakened accordingly. The stronger the human, the more often and abundantly they can contain our power.]

“Then if we’re going to make a contract anyway, we should find a strong human. But how do we find one?”

[It’s difficult to know with ordinary human eyes. However, the Michaeliann have one method they’ve used since ancient times. Though it seems almost forgotten now.]

According to Ricaruss, until their extinction, the Michaeliann had been building their bloodline in a special way.

One of those ways was the method of choosing men for marriage.

Since the Michaeliann were a matrilineal clan, they needed men with strong bodies and power.

The men lived outside the bloodline, but when crises like hunting season or war approached, they had to come in and protect the Michaeliann.

[The Michaeliann tested men in their own way.]

“Their own way?”

[Yes, through kissing.]

“Eh?!”

The Michaeliann could tell how physically strong their partner was through kissing.

The moment they kissed, the Michaeliann’s magic would flow into the other person’s body and naturally explore their limits.

[Your mother or grandmother must never have told you. Though thinking back, there should have been instances.]

Perhaps that’s why, only after receiving that question did some things vaguely come to mind.

Conversations I had with Grandmother and Mother long ago by chance.

“Your first kiss with Lloyd? It was fascinating. The moment our lips touched, I could feel it—the extent of this man’s boundaries.”

“Wow, what does that mean?”

“Right before he got sick, Lloyd was practically the Empire’s greatest warrior. As the head of Muga, he handled his sword so skillfully it was spine-chilling.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yes. That’s probably why it just hit me. The realization that this man was strong, that he would be a source of strength by my side.”

Grandmother’s words about how she could instinctively know that Grandfather was incredibly strong.

“Honey, do you remember that time?”

“Hm? What?”

“When I was startled after our first kiss, remember?”

“Was I?”

“Yes! I was like, wow, what is this person? I felt something tremendous, I guess you could say.”

Even Mother’s words about feeling something unknowable from Father.

Thinking that far, I naturally remembered the day Tian kissed me.

The moment when Tian pulled my hand toward him and our lips briefly touched.

“…Ahem.”

It doesn’t quite make sense, but I did see something a bit strange in that moment.

A vast sky filled with twinkling stars.

Beyond that, an overwhelming sight of what seemed like the universe expanding.

The vision disappeared the moment our lips parted, but it didn’t easily leave my mind.

Hearing my words, Lasandra immediately showed interest.

[Oh, that’s it!]

“What?”

[Nature, I mean seeing the earth or sky—that alone is already a pass.]

“What does that mean?”

[I can’t explain it in words. But nine out of ten young men show at most things like pebbles, squirrels, or pigeons.]

I slowly realized.

So in a world where nine out of ten show squirrels or pebbles.

From Tian, I saw not just the sky, but the universe.

An endlessly expanding universe at that.

[Was it incredible? Overwhelmingly so?]

“Ah, no… well, I guess it was something like that.”

[Do you think there will be another man who could show you such a scene in the future?]

“I don’t think so.”

[Then there won’t be. Michaeliann’s intuition is generally accurate.]

Recalling Lasandra who had smiled as if pleased, I muttered in a flat voice.

“Right. There’s no one more suitable than Tian. Everything is for the best efficiency relative to investment.”

Among the gods existing in the Celestial Realm, only four were interested in the Human Realm and willing to help us.

Of those, the gods capable of causing disasters were three: Ricaruss, Ulgen, and Hegatan.

“The stronger the god, the more they need to be paired with a strong human for synergistic effects, so even though it’s nerve-wracking, I made a good choice.”

Of course, the partners for Ulgen and Hegatan were also somewhat decided.

[I want to do it with Euriko! If it’s not Euriko, I won’t do it with anyone!]

Ulgen voluntarily chose Euriko.

I also agreed with that decision.

Euriko was strong and had the Barkin Tribe as her background.

And Hegatan was…

[Hegatan will do the Crown Prince! Hegatan is the strongest! Hegatan will do the Crown Prince! Crown Priiince!]

Unexpectedly, that side was also coveting Tian, which was problematic.

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