20demayo Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Side Story: Sauradite
The moment I saw that child, my time stopped. That’s why I blurted out such strange things. My bad, my bad!
But I couldn’t help it! Because she was so adorable! You see, girls love cute things. It’s true regardless of race, I think. I’m sure there are exceptions... But I believe the majority would agree that “cuteness is justice.”
Our kind, and demi-humans in general, have extremely low birth rates compared to humans. This is simply because we’re long-lived beings.
If human blood is mixed in, the birth rate increases, but the lifespan shortens. To put it simply, long-lived and strong creatures rarely have children, while short-lived and weak creatures have many. It’s basically the law of nature.
And us halflings are categorized as a particularly long-lived race. Others include dwarves, elves, and some rare demi-humans. Gil’s Shadow Eagle kind is also long-lived.
My age? ...A lady never reveals her age. Let them make their own assumptions!
Ahem. Getting back on track, dwarves, elves, halflings, giants... These races are also known for their strong bloodlines. That’s why they have even fewer children than other rare demi-humans. What strong bloodlines mean is that when they interbreed with other races, the offspring will always inherit the dominant race. So if one parent is a dwarf, the child will definitely be a dwarf!
What about a dwarf and an elf, you ask? In that case, it’s probably a fifty-fifty chance? I’ve never heard of it happening, and the odds of those two races having a child are about as likely as threading a needle from the second floor through a pinhole on the first. I’d love to know myself!@@@@
Incidentally, other demi-humans, while rare, do have children, about five or six every ten years in a single country, but it’s generally impossible to predict what kind they’ll be. If there’s Shadow Eagle blood somewhere in their distant ancestry, there’s a chance they could have a Shadow Eagle child, even if both parents are different demi-humans. In fact, I heard Gil’s parents were a dragon and a mermaid.
So, you don’t even know what kind of child you’ll have until it’s born. It’s like a surprise box!
This is a bit of a tangent, but what I’m trying to say is...
Children, in themselves, are rare, and it’s been ages since I’ve last seen one!! There aren’t any humans living around here, so it makes sense, but still.
When was the last time I saw one... It must have been over fifty years ago... This town is full of rare demi-humans, so the birth rate is particularly low.
After all, this guild was said to be the safest place in the world. Well, I’m sure there are even safer places, to be precise.
Now that that was settled, I had to decide on a room for her, clothes for her to wear, and who would be by her side. It couldn’t be the same person all the time, so we’d have to rotate! ...Taking care of Meg-chan would be such a desirable job, I’m sure we’ll be flooded with applicants...
But first and foremost, clothes! It was such a waste for someone this adorable to be wearing such plain clothes! The cuter they are, the more you should dress them up! Ufufufu, I wonder what kind of clothes I should get her?
Ah. At the same time, I needed to send Gil back to the dungeon to investigate. It was a shame to send him back so soon, but the passage of time erased traces and crucial information. I should send him off as quickly as possible.
Just as I was about to tell Gil, those ridiculous words tumbled out of Juma’s mouth, and I had no choice but to address them.
“Well, the thing about babies is... they’re not actually brought by storks. It’s men and women, having fun in be—Mmmph!”
Good job, Schlie. You did well to stop him. That red-haired idiot never said anything sensible!
I was already irritated by the gravity of the situation, and I ended up taking it out on Juma.
And then, what was that? An old hag...?
He had the audacity to call me, this ultra-beauty, an old hag...? “Short” is fine. Being called small is a compliment for a halfling. But “old hag” is unforgivable! I’m still a youthful two-hundred-something...!
To release my pent-up frustration, I grabbed Juma by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out of the room. I hadn’t had the chance to test my new trap yet, it was ridiculously dangerous. But Juma was a Heaven Soaring Oni, known for his incredible durability, so he wouldn’t die, right?
With the perfect excuse to utilize my lab rat, and my annoyance at his rudeness subsiding, I headed for the training grounds in high spirits. Ufufufu, this will be fun!
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Kyatru → Refers to cats.