Amidst my fear of becoming the father of a goblin, I frantically searched through the Glossary, hoping to find any information that could be useful to me. However, after gathering the essential details, my fear only grew.
I discovered that both male and female goblins can have offspring with nearly any other species. There are a few races with which goblins cannot reproduce, but unfortunately, humans are not among them.
In fact, the probability of offspring being produced is even higher when the other party is humanoid. As a human myself, I am obviously included in this category. Another thing I found out is that, except for extremely rare cases where variations in the offspring's race can occur, they will always be goblins.
Knowing that the chances of Rin getting pregnant were high, all I could do was pray that she hadn't conceived with just one shot.
Without any alternative to turn to, I clasped my hands together and sought help from the Goddess of Life, Zyris. Even though it seemed contradictory, I couldn't help it. I didn't really expect anything by doing so, it was just to calm my mind a little more.
I had spent quite some time searching for information, so breakfast ended up being delayed. Fortunately, I had already left the meat cooking overnight, so it wasn't a big problem. After serving everyone's food, including mine, I turned my attention to another issue, the exploration.
Although I was eager to explore and gain more XP, I was forced to put that on hold for two reasons. First, we had already reached the limit of what we could explore in a day by following the river's course, whether upstream or downstream. Going further the banks in other directions posed risks such as getting lost or having to sleep in the open.
Second, the fact that I might become a father in a month was deeply rooted in my mind. Consequently, it dampened my spirits and affected my willingness to explore.
However, doing nothing was also not a viable option, so I decided to head to the forest. Since I couldn't do anything about the second problem at the moment, I focused on resolving the first one.
It was something I had already considered in case we couldn't find another cave. If I couldn't find a new shelter, all I needed to do was build one.
Although I had failed in making a simple shelter when I first arrived here, this time would be different. With that in mind, I prepared to construct our new home.
With my One-Cut Sword in hand, I searched for trees with trunks thick enough to serve as material for my new project. However, I didn't want just any tree; my goal was to find ones with a red hue beneath the bark. There was no special reason for it, I simply found their color beautiful.
Throughout the morning, I felled them one by one and stored them intact in my inventory until I had enough to start working. Fortunately, there are no laws against deforestation around here; otherwise, I would have trouble with the area I cleared. With the material collected, I returned to the camp.
After lunch, I spent the rest of the day cutting the logs into rectangular blocks that were twice the size of an adult's torso. Each block had two protrusions on the top and two cavities in the same place on the bottom.
My idea was to fit the top part of one block into the bottom part of another, like a giant Lego house. That way, I would have a sturdy shelter that could be moved anywhere with my inventory. This would allow us to explore even farther.
Unfortunately, planning and executing are completely different things. This was not an easy task, and even after a full day of hard work, I was still nowhere near the required number of blocks.
Although I didn't go out to explore, my physical and mental exhaustion were extreme. Since I was pushing myself so hard, I couldn't let Rin, Kurama, and Usagi rest, so they spent the day training with each other.
I still don't know when the next Self-Evolution intervention will occur, but when it happens, they will likely receive even more benefits from this training.
As for me, all I did was work, and I did it so much that it was already night, and I had forgotten to make dinner. The cooked meat that I had in my inventory had already been consumed for breakfast and lunch, and all that was left now was raw meat, bread, and fruits.
"I guess I need to prepare a large stock next time," I murmured to myself.
Feeling the cold night breeze as I gazed at the stars, I sat on a wooden stump in front of the campfire to warm myself. As I was too lazy to cook, I took raw rabbit meat for Rin and Kurama, and bread and fruits for Usagi and myself.
"This is what we have for today," I placed it on a plate and handed it to them.
While Kurama obediently began eating the meat, Rin looked at me dissatisfied and pointed to the campfire.
"For someone who eats tree bark, you're quite demanding," I said, taking a wooden skewer out of the inventory and handing it to her. "If you want roasted meat, feel free to roast it yourself."
Doing as I usually do, she skewered the meat and took it to the fire.
Looking at Usagi beside me, who was waiting for her turn, I said, "All right, girl, here you go."
Placing a clay plate on the ground, I put a piece of bread and her favorite fruits, mini mangos, and purple fruits that resembled acerolas. With them served, I also prepared the same plate for myself and started eating.
Meanwhile, Rin, who was grilling the meat, quickly grew impatient and devoured everything the moment it emitted a pleasant aroma.
***
"Argh, my head is hurting again," I murmured, feeling the pain throbbing in my mind.
Quickly, I grabbed a healing potion vial that appeared in my hand, but as I tried to bring it to my mouth, I felt a weight on my arm. With a little effort, I managed to move my arm and take a sip of the potion, which brought me almost immediate relief.
In the instant my mind was freed from pain and I opened my eyes, I realized I was completely naked. Remembering the events of the previous morning, my heart raced with fear.
Looking around, I quickly confirmed my suspicions. It had happened again. And this time, I was spooning with Rin, my arms wrapped around her.
We were so close that I could see in detail some bite marks on her shoulder and neck, apparently painful. Shifting my gaze, I noticed that my groin was pressed against her buttocks, with dried white and sticky fluid around.
After a moment of disbelief, I finally reacted.
"Nooooo! Damn it, I did it again!" I exclaimed as I pulled my arm, which was under Rin's head, waking her up.
I rolled out of the leaf bed, desperate.
"Why is this happening to me?"
I wondered as I stretched on the cold cave floor and looked up at the stone ceiling with a dead fish expression on my face.
"I've barely started my new life here, and now I have to take care of a mini-me goblin version?!" I continued, frustration building up inside me.
Any small hope I had that Rin might not be pregnant from the last time was shattered.
"I can barely take care of myself, how can I take care of a child?" I groaned as I rubbed my temples.
"What should I do?"
***
After grumbling for a while about how unfair life can be, I finally came to the conclusion that the culprit was that purple fruit that resembled a acerola. After all, all of this started after I ate it, so it was the main culprit here.
Upon further reflection, I remember having an erection after eating it the first time I encountered it, just before we fought the bear. This fruit probably has some very strong aphrodisiac properties.
At that time, it was just two fruits, and I already had an erection, but when I ate several of them, the situation became quite different. The events of the previous day and today only happened after I ate many of them, and I completely lost memory of what happened.
It seems that even though I was affected by the fruit, it didn't do anything to Usagi, probably due to her passive skill to resist toxins. Although I say the blame lies with the purple fruits, I can only be sure after completely cutting them out of my diet.
"Guiii~"
At that moment, Rin came to me asking for food, and only then did I realize that Kurama and Usagi were also surrounding me.
Looking now, I'm also hungry.
I don't know how much time has passed, but the light coming through the cracks in the door showed that it had already been daytime for quite a while.
Really, what am I doing wasting time like this?
I stood up and dressed myself. There's not much to do besides accepting the situation because if I fight against it, I'll only worsen my situation instead of helping.
Hmm, I've never seen a goblin baby... They say that no matter how ugly a child is, parents will always love them, but what if it's really, really ugly?
Wait, what does a goblin baby eat?
No, no, I'm getting ahead of myself. First, I have to figure out how to take care of a pregnant goblin. I think I'll spend a good amount of time researching in the glossary.
Feeling a tug on my shirt sleeve, Rin's big yellow eyes stared at me as she conveyed her desire to eat.
"Alright, sorry for the delay," I said. "I'll prepare the food in a moment."
"Fuu~~" I sighed.
There's no point in putting the cart before the horse. I'll think about what to do when the time comes. For now, I'll focus on building the new shelter.