Ah, damn it.
Pain like being split apart with an axe surged up from below.
It was the second time experiencing it, but nothing had improved.
Whether all the stretched skin had returned to normal or not, the pain was even more severe than the first time.
What drove me further into the pit of despair was not knowing when that agony would end.
"Push!"
I gritted my teeth upon hearing those words, but the only thought swirling in my head was that there were still two more to go.
Yeah, where's the relief in having reduced it by just one?
Whenever I desperately tried to let a positive thought bloom, an axe came down chopping me as if to say, "What nonsense."
When people around me spoke, I just tensed and relaxed my body irritably; I couldn't even really hear what they were saying.
As I cried out in pain, the term "painless childbirth" surfaced from my memories of a past life, but that was it.
I was already a fish on a cutting board, stabbed by a knife.
Soon, even that thought crumbled like a sandcastle swept away by a wave and vanished without a trace from my memory.
Pain. Pain.
The only thing that offered me any comfort was the single hope that this would truly be the last time.
I don't even know about that.
Tears welled up.
I was clearly born a man, so why am I suffering this pain here?
I was angry.
No matter how gentle a person is, this is something that would make anyone furious.
"W-wait, Asha, th-this time it's not me!"
A familiar voice and a familiar sensation. I felt it instinctively. That if I pulled on this, I'd feel a little better.
"Kyaaak! A-Asha! D-dear!"
It was as tiny as an ant's eye booger, but I felt better. But that was brief; someone else chopped me down with an axe again.
The sky is yellow. No, red. No... I'm too tired to even talk.
At that moment.
A loud cry reached my ears.
Hearing that cry made my nose sting and tears well up.
While feeling my chest swell with emotion enough to momentarily forget the pain, another wave of pain began, accompanied by shouts of "It's a pretty girl!"
They said three.
"Shivaaaak!"
"O-ow, it hurts... I told you..."
Hearing the news that I had come out safely, I finally fainted. Last time I had the energy for that, but this time it seemed I didn't have any energy left.
Sinking into that darkness, I opened my eyes in an illusion of being enveloped by a warm light.
"Ah, you're awake."
I couldn't quite distinguish whose voice it was. My mind was still a bit fuzzy.
Blink, blink. After closing and opening my eyes a few times, the world finally came into view. And along with it, a flood of gazes.
The room wasn't narrow, but it wasn't very wide either, and with the group gathered there, I felt a bit stifled.
It was probably less due to a lack of physical space and more because of the pheromones emanating from their bodies.
'Can't breathe...'
It's not that the scent is bad. On the contrary, it's so intoxicating it's suffocating, that's the problem. But it's not just one; how many are there?
My physical condition left me with no energy for that, so the suppressed desires seemed to be slowly raising their heads.
...Considering what I've been through until now, I think it's remarkable I held back.
But they aren't people so dominated by their rods that they would demand such a thing from me right after childbirth.
'Besides, not many are even wearing one right now.'
However... it's not easy to forget something once experienced.
Right now, they're just focused on the newly born babies and haven't realized it yet.
...Otherwise, there's no explaining this suffocating pheromone.
Anyway.
Looking at them, I cautiously opened my mouth.
"Um, the children?"
Various thoughts swirled chaotically in my head, but ultimately, the first words out of my mouth were those.
As if they had rehearsed it, Ariel responded to my words.
"First, I want to say you worked hard."
"...I suppose I did."
At Ariel's words, I felt as if the subsided pain was returning. As I trembled, Ariel tightly grasped my hand.
Slender, long fingers slipped between mine, conveying a warm body temperature.
Then, the trembling subsided.
Ariel, looking at me with a benevolent smile, spoke.
"The children... can be said to be safe, in the end."
"What does that mean?"
It sounded a bit unsettling.
Ariel continued, reassuring me as I began to get agitated.
"Didn't the children come out a bit earlier than the due date we expected?"
"That's right...?"
"They came out safely and well, but since they came out a bit early... they're a little less mature than Ria and Rea."
That's what followed.
The group, thinking that a baby coming early isn't a good sign, had prepared for it while the baby was being born.
'...Well.'
Thinking about the people here, it didn't seem impossible.
Lacking money, lacking something. Now there's magic and spirits too.
"So the children are resting in a prepared space... and..."
Ariel trailed off mid-sentence. Wondering what was wrong, I blinked, and Ariel was wiping the corners of her eyes, laughing while crying.
As I stared dumbfounded, Claudia, who had been watching from behind, approached and said.
"Thanks to whoever helped, they were conceived with different seeds and were born well."
"...That's a relief."
Thinking I wouldn't have to endure that excruciating pain again made me feel good.
And of course, that the children were safe.
As relief washed over me, curiosity bloomed.
What are the odds of giving birth to triplets, each conceived from a different seed?
And what's the probability of getting pregnant with twins... no, triplets in the first place?
I vaguely thought I understood the nature of the warmth I felt before waking up.
It felt as if a message was coming from the heavens above: "We helped this time, so please forget about us taking the lead last time."
Whether it's true or just my delusion, or maybe everything just happened to turn out that way by coincidence.
But they helped.
Thinking that, I coolly decided to just forget about it.
What am I going to argue about with someone I can't even talk to anyway?
Just dealing with the group unconsciously emitting pheromones was overwhelming enough.
Realizing everything was normal, only one thought occupied my mind.
'...How long can I convalesce?'
From those beasts who don't even know they're angry.
But there's one problem among them...
I didn't find the fact that they would demand me all that unpleasant either.
'I might even feel disappointed if they didn't.'
I shook my head inwardly.
Disappointed, my foot. It's good if they don't.
If I just accept everything as it comes, my body will wear out first.
'...They even asked the pregnant person for it.'
How much more will they demand once I'm fully recovered?
It's best to conserve my stamina as much as possible.
To do that...
"Dia."
"Huh? What's up?"
Claudia, who had been unconsciously wagging her tail like an angry wolf, replied with a face like a gentle lamb.
That gentle voice gave me goosebumps on my arms.
Scratching my arm hidden under the blanket, I spoke.
"...I'm hungry, make me something to eat."
"Okay. You need to nourish your body. I happen to have something good, so wait a bit."
"Okay..."
First, I needed to eat something. I had screamed while gritting my teeth, so my stomach felt empty.
So Dia left to make food for me, and Ariel left, saying she'd go check on the children.
Cecil was playing with Ria and Rea, and Veronica sat next to me with a slightly disgusted face, asking if it was that painful.
I could only give an ambiguous smile.
Selina, with a pleased expression, said she'd be busy and returned to the villa.
...Finally.
Claire approached me with a somewhat sullen face.
Fidgeting with her brown hair.
It seemed she had something to say to me.
Claire suddenly bowed her head, showing me a patch on her head.
"Huh? What happened to this?"
As I asked in a bewildered voice, Veronica beside me burst out laughing.
Shrugging my shoulders with a clueless expression, Claire spoke.
"...It's the mark from you pulling on it when you became the mother of three children."
"Ah..."
Only then did I realize the mark on Claire's head was from something I had grabbed and felt good about.
"W-well, that can happen... yeah..."
Rolling my eyes and avoiding her gaze, Claire followed my line of sight.
"This time... it wasn't my child... but my hair..."
"S-sorry?"
Claire touched the spot where the patch remained and looked at me.
"...Hair doesn't grow back even with Sacred Power."
Her muttering stabbed my heart. Veronica beside me giggled as if enjoying the show.
Turning my face away from those brown eyes, I eventually let out a sigh and had no choice but to raise both hands in surrender.
"Alright. I'll grant you one request, right?"
"Hehe... That's not necessary."
As if you wouldn't have wanted that.
Not long after, Ariel returned with news that the children were healthy.
Claudia returned carrying a tray with an appetizing smell.
And Claire smiled with a triumphant face.
...Still, putting something in my mouth made me feel like I'd live.
Author's Note (Afterword)
Even Sacred Power can't fix baldness.