160. Tails….

160. Tails….

“Gasp.”

“Sister?”

I sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for breath.

Cold sweat trickled down my face, and my heart pounded. My ears twitched.

Freya, who had been touching my body, seemed startled by my sudden movement and widened her eyes. I looked around, realizing I was in my usual room, and calmed my racing heart.

“What’s wrong?”

“No… I had a strange dream.”

I brushed aside the hair clinging to my forehead, damp with sweat. Looking out the window, I saw it was still dark outside. I must have woken up too early.

“It was a dream where Skol and Hati suddenly overpowered me and tried to impregnate me. I woke up just before that…”

I glanced at my belly. The tattoo on my fair skin was, thankfully, still just an empty heart shape, unchanged from before. This meant I wasn’t pregnant.

It really seemed to have been just a dream. I let out a sigh of relief.

“It was a silly dream. It’s impossible for me to be overpowered by them.”

“Right…?”

But I can’t be completely reassured, as Skol and Hati’s strength has been growing steadily lately. If the two of them combine their strength, I might be outmatched in terms of sheer power.

What the children lack now is experience. Moreover, unlike me, they are also skilled in magic, so once they learn to harmonize sword and magic, they might easily defeat me.

As a parent, I should be happy if my children succeed, but why do I keep getting chills?

I shook my head. Dreams are just dreams. My kind and cute daughters would never suddenly try to violate and impregnate me. It’s not like a mother impregnating her children is common sense… right?

Thinking that, my pounding heart finally began to calm down a little. I was wiping away the sweat with a towel when I suddenly realized something odd.

“Freya? Why are you in my room? I thought you slept alone last night.”

“I just wanted to see you. Is that not allowed?”

“No, it’s not that it’s not allowed…”

Freya pulled me into a hug, a smile playing on her lips. Seeing my cute sister’s twitching ears and alluring smile, I couldn’t help but smile back.

I gently kissed Freya’s forehead. But Freya didn’t seem satisfied with that, she grabbed my face and pulled me down, shoving her tongue into my mouth.

“Mmm…”

Freya’s hand slid down my body, caressing me. A soft, pleasant scent wafted from her. It felt like my mind was being completely stolen away.

“But where did my clothes go… Mmph.”

When I questioned why I was naked from the moment I opened my eyes, Freya kissed me again, cutting off my words.

Well, whatever.

I must have taken off my clothes in my sleep.

I thought to myself as I was pinned beneath Freya.

——

“…I’m tired.”

As a result of our early morning encounter, I ended up oversleeping.

When I opened my eyes, the sun was already high in the sky. Freya had woken up and left long ago, so I belatedly entered the bath and lay down.

The hot water warmed my entire body, and the fatigue from the night seemed to melt away a little. I stared at the steam-filled ceiling, letting time pass idly.

“I feel strange.”

Perhaps it’s because I’ve spent so much time surrounded by friends. Being alone now, various thoughts vaguely surface in the back of my mind.

Being born as Skadi, taking care of my younger sibling, while simultaneously training with sweat and tears, then going to the academy and making new friends…

Then, I returned home and had wedding ceremonies with my friends. I even had children.

It feels like just yesterday, but the fact that over 10 years have passed since then, when I’m alone like this, truly hits me.

So, I idly splash the water, trying to erase these ambiguous and strange feelings. The white tail fur that rises from the water, bit by bit, fills the empty spaces in my heart just a little.

… The reason time feels like it’s passed so quickly is because of the hellish childcare, but well, that’s how children grow up. I must have been like that too.

“Hmm.”

While feeling a sense of regret for the fleeting time, I also feel anticipation for what’s to come.

What awaits me, what experiences I’ll have, what my end will be, and… what will happen after that.

I looked at the rippling water surface that followed my movements. There, the white-haired wolf beastkin Skadi was reflected, and behind her, my former self, before I became Skadi, flickered faintly.

Perhaps behind that, there might be my even earlier self. My very, very old selves that I don’t remember.

Through countless times, I have arrived at this place… and at the same time, I am moving forward through this moment.

I don’t know if there’s an end to it… but I know for sure that I can’t stop. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to see all the things that are yet to come.

Even if I fear the fading of happy memories, and even if I don’t want this happy moment to pass, we must move forward.

And then, very occasionally, I sit alone like this, looking at my past self, and say.

So much has happened.

So, I should stop complaining and get up now.

I stood up. The water rippled, and the overflowing water disappeared as it was sucked down the drain.

Leaving the warm water, a chill enveloped me, but my body was already accustomed to the northern cold. I snorted, dried myself with a towel, put on my clothes, and left the bathroom.

“Mmm…”

“Slurp…”

As soon as I came out of the bath, I saw two servants passionately kissing each other.

“Hiyat?!”

“No, continue what you were doing… but you’ve already finished.”

One of them, noticing my arrival, quickly ran off and disappeared somewhere far down the hallway. I approached the remaining servant.

“No, Grand Duke, I, this, this is…”

I didn’t recognize her face, so she seemed to be a newly hired maid. The reddish-brown haired wolf beastkin maid stammered, as if she had committed a grave sin.

“What’s wrong? Kissing between women isn’t that strange.”

“T-That’s true, but…”

“Next time, you be the one to pounce.”

I slipped an extra pregnancy ring, one that Freya had given me, into the maid’s hand. The maid stammered even more, babbling incoherently as she looked at the ring.

What a cute child.

I patted the maid’s back to encourage her and headed towards the dining room.

“Huh?”

For some reason, all the lights in the dining room were off. Although I was late due to oversleeping, there was no reason for the lights to be off without cause.

I looked into the dim dining room and scanned my surroundings with my senses. Slowly, my energy extended, and the shapes of my surroundings began to become clear.

There’s something there.

Next to me.

“Kek?!”

As I tried to subdue the intruder by slamming it to the ground, a familiar voice echoed from beneath.

A cute and delicate voice, unchanged from long ago.

“U-Ur?”

“Mas-ter…”

“Why are you here? Hiding your presence…”

Ur and I can communicate through our minds. Naturally, we can sense each other’s locations even vaguely, but just now, I didn’t sense Ur’s presence here at all.

That means Ur intentionally hid her location from me, but I couldn’t understand why.

I pulled Ur out of the ground and asked. Ur shed a few tears and said.

“Because, because today is…”

“Today is?”

At that moment, all the lights in the dining room suddenly turned on, illuminating the space brightly. I squinted at the sudden flash, and familiar voices followed.

“Happy birthday, Sister!”

“Happy birthday, Skadi!”

“Happy birthday, Skadi.”

“Oh…?”

The dining room was decorated with various ornaments, unlike its usual state. It wasn’t overly ornate, just a bit more decorated with flowers and such, but the unfamiliar sight was a little overwhelming.

And in front of me, my friends stood side-by-side, congratulating me. Not only that, but the children were also standing behind them, supporting the celebration.

I said, a little bewildered.

“What, what is this, all of a sudden? It is my birthday, though…”

“You always celebrated our birthdays, but we never did for you…”

“We just suddenly thought, wouldn’t it be nice if we celebrated for you too!”

My friends replied. Following them, Freya spoke.

“But when the kids saw it, they suddenly insisted on joining in… it got bigger than expected, but anyway. Happy birthday, Sister.”

“Kids…”

I received a huge cake from the children. The cake was so large that it completely blocked my view. It was almost as tall as a person.

“We made this cake.”

“Actually, the chefs made it, and we just decorated it.”

“I see.”

The cake was topped with various kinds of toppings, as if different people had decorated it. It seemed like each person was assigned a section to decorate the cake, and it was fun to look at, as I could vaguely see the characteristics of my friends and children.

… But this cake. I can’t see where I’m going, so I can’t walk.

“This way!”

“Uh, yeah.”

Guided by my friends and children, I stumbled towards the table. With the combined effort of several people helping me, I finally managed to place the super-sized cake safely on the table.

I looked up at the cake.

It was a size that made me first consider how to eat it, rather than whether I could eat it all. It felt like it might collapse if I ate it incorrectly.

“Thank you so much, everyone.”

Although I’ve been through countless experiences, this cake made me realize that there are still more fun and enjoyable things to come.

Who knows, maybe in a few years, I’ll receive a cake twice this size. I’m looking forward to that day.

“Skadi Mom isn’t smiling…?”

“She is smiling. Sophia, you’re too young to know, but if you spend time with her, you’ll learn to read her expressions.”

“Pff.”

“See, she smiled again!”

Freya’s and her daughter’s conversation made me burst into laughter. I turned and looked around at my friends.

Priscilla, Claire, Freya, and Ur.

Beside them, Sophia, Chloe, Skol and Hati were chattering… and Levatein, in sword form, attached to Chloe’s waist.

So much has happened.

And… it will continue to happen.

“Skadi, you have cream on your tail, can I lick it?”

“Why would you ask something like that?”

I’ve said it countless times before.

“It’s common sense to touch tails, isn’t it?”