153. Marriage

153. Marriage

Quite some time has passed since everyone became pregnant.

Except for Freya, of course.

While everyone’s bellies slowly swelled, I felt a little lonely seeing Freya remain unchanged, so I subtly suggested we have a third child together, but Freya merely pushed me onto the bed and started thrusting into me.

Then, I had no choice but to beg for mercy, saying it was too early for a third child… Anyway. It’s been several months since I started living such a messy life.

Now, our bellies are quite full, and the babies’ weight feels heavy. Since I’m naturally strong, I have no problem moving around, but Priscilla and Claire visibly struggle.

“Claire, are you okay?”

“No… It’s hard.”

Among them, Claire was the one who groaned the most. Since the baby was in her naturally small body, she seemed to be having a harder time than Priscilla, who became pregnant on the same day.

I helped Claire, who was struggling. Claire, leaning on me, looked much better.

“If it’s too difficult, should I bring Mother? Or Freya? If not, maybe I can find some decent potions…”

“It’s fine. Mother is busy. And Freya, I don’t like her. I don’t want to use potions.”

“Okay…”

Since we, who had been dealing with the monsters in the North, were all incapacitated, these tasks have fallen back to my father. Although my healthy mother is sharing my father’s workload, it’s still a considerable amount. Both my mother and father seem quite overwhelmed with work.

In such a situation, asking for Mother to come for my recovery might be like sitting on thorns for Claire, who is living with us.

“Still, if it’s too hard, tell me. Don’t be so self-conscious.”

“I will…”

Claire, who had been quietly breathing softly while leaning on my shoulder, soon fell asleep, likely due to exhaustion. I gently covered Claire with a warm blanket so she could rest.

“Sleep well.”

“…”

Claire, who gave no answer.

As I slowly stroked her golden hair, soft strands flowed down her cheeks.

Come to think of it, Claire’s appearance when pregnant is, how should I put it… she looks like a child who is pregnant, which feels a bit awkward.

Just looking at these soft cheeks is enough.

Her elastic cheeks that pop back out when poked. Who would think this is the face of a 21-year-old? Not to mention the non-existent breast size and her short stature.

She would get angry if I pointed these things out. Though that side of her is also cute…

“Priscilla?”

“Skadi, I’m here!”

After spending some time next to Claire, the door opened with the sound of footsteps, and a person entered.

It was Priscilla, heavily pregnant, in her final trimester. Priscilla was wearing maternity clothes, just like Claire and I.

“How did it go?”

This morning, Priscilla was eagerly awaiting a letter from her sister, as it was the day the legalization of same-sex marriage was to be discussed.

Since the biggest hurdle for the bill was the pregnancy between women, I thought it would be an easy victory now that pregnancy magic had been invented… but for some reason, Priscilla’s expression wasn’t good. It seemed like something hadn’t gone as planned.

“It didn’t go well.”

“Why?”

“I don’t understand either. Even though we tried it ourselves, those stuffy old men didn’t acknowledge it at all!”

Priscilla stomped her feet.

Her emotions shouldn’t be so volatile, especially since she’s pregnant. To help her calm down, I covered her face with my tail, and Priscilla soon took a deep breath and fell into a dazed state.

“Hehe…”

“What do you mean they didn’t acknowledge it?”

“They said they couldn’t acknowledge it… unless they saw a pregnant person with their own eyes…”

“Hmm…”

Priscilla, who had been smiling vacantly, soon put my tail in her mouth and started to chew on it. It’s the same as usual, but it tickles a bit.

“Priscilla, I just had a great idea.”

“Yes…?”

“If they won’t believe it unless they see it, then we just have to show them, right?”

I began preparing to head to the Imperial Capital, where the conference hall was located.

——

“Do you really have to go, sister?”

“Priscilla and Claire have trouble moving. If I don’t go, who will? Don’t worry too much, Freya. Sister is strong.”

“I’m worried you’ll seduce someone inappropriate there again.”

“Hey, why would I do that?”

After all, I’m not very talented at seducing people.

Anyway, I did a final check of my supplies.

Although I called them supplies, there wasn’t much, really. If I were traveling by carriage, I would have had a lot of luggage, but we have a super-fast personal vehicle that can travel to the capital and back in less than an hour.

“Pipi, please take care of me.”

“Pii!”

Priscilla’s pet dragon, Pipi, grew rapidly in just a few months and has now grown into a dragon large enough to easily carry a person. Its speed has also increased, so there are no longer any problems even when traveling long distances.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Don’t do anything inappropriate, just do what you need to do and come back.”

“Okay.”

My sister is quite jealous.

With Pipi’s powerful wingbeats, I soared high into the sky.

“It’s refreshing up here, isn’t it?”

“Piiiii!”

“It’s okay, you can fly at full speed.”

Pipi, as if responding to me, flapped its wings once and then began to charge forward at an incredible speed. Water droplets from the clouds brushed against my cheeks. It felt strange.

Dragon Rider Skadi… It might be a little cool.

“… Ah, no. It’s too cheesy.”

I suddenly remembered Claire teasing me so much a year ago. I shook off my distracting thoughts and focused on balancing on Pipi.

“Ah, we must have arrived.”

“Pii!”

“Where should I land?”

The navigation magic Freya cast before I left. Upon reaching the capital, a green light shimmered in the air, signaling the end of the guidance. I had arrived in the blink of an eye.

However, while arriving at the capital was good, there was no suitable place to land. As the capital of a vast empire, the buildings and people were densely packed.

“You said a large red roof… Ah, there it is. Pipi, let’s just land there.”

“Pii!”

After circling in the sky for several minutes to scout, I concluded that there was no place suitable for landing. However, there was a place that seemed like the best alternative, and that was the roof of the conference hall, our destination.

The conference hall looked like a stadium. Pipi approached the wide red roof covering it and slowly descended.

“Good. Pipi, we landed well…”

And then, the roof, unable to bear the weight, collapsed, and we plummeted straight to the ground.

“… Are you okay, Pipi?”

“Piiiiii…”

My body is naturally strong, so falling from this height wasn’t a big problem. The babies in my belly were also protected by Freya’s magic and were unaffected by even moderate impacts. Pipi seemed a little surprised, but thanks to a dragon’s durability, it didn’t seem to suffer any major damage.

“What? Why are you pointing a sword at me?”

Meanwhile, the place where we crashed seemed to be the exact center of the conference hall.

The large round table was crushed by Pipi, and guards stood surrounding us, pointing their swords. Beyond them, the people who seemed to be the organizers of the conference were hiding, sweating profusely.

“Grand… Grand Duchess?”

“You know who I am? Then put away your swords.”

“What is all this…”

Although it was a rather sudden appearance, I had arrived at the conference hall. Without hesitation, I stated my purpose.

“It’s about the legalization of same-sex marriage.”

“Ah… that, that matter?”

A bald man, presumably the representative, spoke up.

“Grand Duchess, I apologize, but that agenda has already been decided to be rejected-“

“Then why are you rejecting it? It doesn’t make sense. If women can get pregnant, what reason is there to not pass it?”

That’s what Freya told me to say. I recalled the script I had memorized.

“It’s impossible for women to get pregnant. Are you perhaps referring to the ring that was enclosed with that letter? Surely the Grand Duchess doesn’t believe in such nonsensical magic items…”

“It’s right here. Proof.”

I pointed to my bulging belly. In response, I felt a strong kick from inside, hitting my belly.

“My sister got me pregnant with this. Twins.”

“That’s…”

The bald man continued, seemingly unable to believe it.

“That’s impossible. You’re trying to trick us by claiming you got pregnant by another man-“

I swung my iron sword and left a scar on the floor in front of the bald man. As the hem of his clothes was cleanly cut, the bald man’s face turned pale, and he lost strength and collapsed.

“Listen carefully. It’s common sense for my sister to get me pregnant.”

I can forgive insults directed at me, but I cannot forgive the belittling of my sister’s efforts. The bald man, despite his fear, did not stop refuting.

“Besides, isn’t the content of the bill itself strange? A bill that allows same-sex marriage, incest, and polygamy! It’s a morally reprehensible bill!”

Oh, this wasn’t in the script.

I said, sweating profusely, improvising.

“… Still! You were opposing the bill because women can’t have children, weren’t you? But now they can. So there’s no reason to block the law!”

“Just because there’s no reason to block it doesn’t mean there’s a reason to pass it!”

The opponent’s logic is surprisingly strong. My mind can’t come up with any counterarguments. As we reached a stalemate, someone suddenly walked into the conference hall with steady footsteps.

“Grand Duchess.”

Red hair, distinctive drill-like pigtails. And sharp eyes.

It was Priscilla’s sister.

“Pri… What was her name again?”

“It’s Frisia.”

“Right, Frisia. Why are you here?”

“I work here.”

I see. I tilted my head and asked again.

“Then why?”

“From here on, please leave it to me.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes, arguing is my main job.”

That’s a relief. Actually, my head was starting to hurt from all the debating. If I can pass it on to someone else, there’s no reason not to.

“I’m really leaving now?”

“Yes, have a safe trip.”

Frisia turned and looked at the other nobles.

What a reliable sight.

The next day, a letter arrived via teleporter stating that the bill for same-sex marriage had been passed.