"—Wha?!"
On a certain day a few months after we had defeated that sour-faced Elysium.
When I got back from helping with the reconstruction work—as per usual—I got a shock.
"Fufufu~n♪ Fufufu~n♪"
Because Arcadia!
The Arcadia who, like me, had zero girl power and was a catastrophe when it came to housework!
That same Arcadia was holding a needle in each hand while humming, seemingly knitting!
Her stomach had grown a lot bigger recently, so she donned loose-fitting clothes and braided the long hair she was proud of like Terra-sama; the motherly aura she gave off was no joke, but still, why would she knit out of the blue?!
Huh? You weren't exactly the dexterous type, were you?
And what's up with that face overflowing with maternal love?!
She totally became a mother already?! I felt an overwhelming sense of defeat—having yet to be blessed with a new life because of all the reconstruction work—when Arcadia greeted me with a smile, "Oh, you're back. You must be tired. Why don't you take your time soaking in the hot spring?"
—Shiiin!
"—?!"
S-so dazzling?!
Don't look at me with such a loving face?!
It feels like I'm being cleansed by Exa's Phoenix Form?!
"Haa, haa…" I barely managed to hold out (mentally), but I had mixed feelings.
The reconstruction work had progressed considerably recently, and more and more girls began wanting to have babies, but I couldn't bring myself to take the first step.
There was but one reason.
Will I, who used to torment Exa, be able to raise a child properly? – That question kept gnawing in my mind.
That was why I had been dodging the matter using the reconstruction as an excuse, but how should I put it?
Seeing Arcadia's motherly smile made me feel kind of envious…
I wonder if I can be like her…
"…Hey, why did you decide to have a child? Didn't it make you feel anxious?"
I didn't mean to ask.
But before I knew it, I had asked Arcadia about it.
"Right," Arcadia smiled softly to my question and said "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't anxious. But my—I mean, our husband is the kind of man that will help us to overcome such anxiety and always stay by our side during hard times. That's why I entrusted my body to him and surprisingly managed to bear his child on the first try. That's simply it."
"Hmm… That reminds me, you didn't use "Perfect Conception"during your first time."
"Yeah. Exa acquired it the day after he embraced me for the first time. After that, he always used it as a contraceptive. It was a fortunate coincidence."
"I see. I'm glad for you. Thanks to that, you can maintain your dignity as the legal wife."
"Fuh, it's only natural." Arcadia puffed out her bountiful chest, pretending to be cool.
By the way, in response to her being the first to bear a child, some of the girls had protested "In that case, Arcadia-san is prohibited from flirting with Exa-sama for a while", "Yeah, in the meantime, we'll be fully enjoying ourselves with him", "Ou, you'd better not whine!" but Arcadia had replied with her motherly generosity in full display "Fufu, no problem. I have this child, after all (pat stomach)" causing the three to feel like dying because of their pettiness.
Well, now that had become a fond memory.
"By the way, don't you want to bear a child? You don't seem to be too enthusiastic about it…"
"I, well, not that I don't want to, but…" I awkwardly averted my eyes.
"…Fumu," Arcadia crossed her arms and said, "It'd be a shame if you don't, I think you're going to be a good mother."
"Eh…"
As I was dumbfounded, Arcadia said, "It's true what you did was unforgivable. But you've reflected on it, and Exa forgave you and took you as his wife. With such experience behind you, I believe you'll never hurt anyone again. Am I wrong?"
"That's…"
"Don't worry. Even if you make another mistake, we all will scold you together with Exa. I will even take responsibility and blow you away with"Grand Luna Force Meteorite"."
"I'm gonna die if you do that?!"
Can't you just slap me at least?!
Why would you go out of your way to bring out your strongest move?!
"Hahaha, don't mind the small details. The most important point is you have us. So be more honest with yourself. The world is finally at peace. It'll be your loss to not enjoy it."
"…Right. I feel a little better now. Thanks, Arcadia." I said as I softened my expression, to which Arcadia replied with a gentle smile, "No problem."
Seeing such a gentle smile on her face, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Geez, when did you become such a good girl? You even learned how to knit. You're totally a mother already."
But.
"Hm? How to knit? What are you talking about?"
"Huh? I mean, you're knitting, right? Aren't you making baby socks?" I said as I pointed to the things in her hands, blinking in wonder.
"Oh, these?" Arcadia said while pulling the two needles apart, "These are for training the pectoral muscles. I'm not getting enough exercise these days (pull, pull)."
"Ehh…"
Now that I take a closer look, there's a spring of sorts between them…
I mean, why is this person doing such a with such a loving face…
It's super confusing…
"Wanna try it? I heard it can prevent your breasts from sagging… actually, I think it'll be better if you don't."
"Let me try it?! Once I get pregnant, I'll grow 2 cups—no, 5 cups larger than I'm now?!"
I snatched the muscle training equipment from her and "Gnuu—?!" began to furiously pull away.