Ch.256Epilogue – My Son Feels Like XX

How much time has passed since I heard the news that Flan was carrying my child?

Finally, as the day of Flan’s delivery approached, I felt considerable tension and recalled the conversation we had back then.

‘I’ll take responsibility.’

‘…No, what do you mean by responsibility?’

‘I-I pushed you into this, so I’ll take responsibility somehow! I’ll make sure you don’t suffer any harm, Master, in whatever way possible!!’

At that time, Flan was completely overwhelmed with confusion.

Despite the certainty that dolls couldn’t conceive life, she ended up carrying my child thanks to Tashian’s unintended favor.

Naturally, when Irie heard the news, she was thrown into confusion, while Merilyn expressed joy, saying something about having a rival.

Though I managed to somehow defuse the chaos, Flan continued to have fits for a while afterward, unable to accept the situation.

‘Flan, calm down. I won’t leave the responsibility for the child to you alone.’

And the only one who could calm Flan was me alone.

After returning from work, I would often visit her when she was feeling dejected, checking on her condition and offering words of comfort and encouragement.

‘N-no, that can’t be. I caused this, so I should take responsibility somehow…’

‘No, this is something I need to take responsibility for too. Despite the mistake, we’ve become a family as a result.’

‘…Family?’

‘Yes, it might be an unfamiliar concept to you… but at the very least, we shouldn’t blame the child born to us.’

What did it matter if the child was conceived by mistake? We loved each other and were both prepared to take responsibility.

Above all, if she considered herself guilty in this situation, that burden would extend to the child she was carrying.

I didn’t want the child born from my love to live a gloomy life, doubting its own existence.

‘Of course, since both you and I have our missions, we can’t have a normal marital relationship… but at the very least, I want our child to grow up receiving love from both mom and dad without worrying about such relationships.’

‘…Master.’

‘So Flan, I earnestly ask you. Could you possibly love our child as deeply as you are loyal to me?’

Love for the child even more than loyalty to me…

It might have been an unreasonable request for someone who had lived her entire life as a servant, but after hearing those words, Flan seemed to have a lot to think about, and her episodes of confusion decreased significantly.

I would often catch her placing her hand on her belly with an affectionate expression when I returned from work.

And so, after about half a year had passed, Flan finally succeeded in giving birth and handed me a bundle containing the fruit of our union.

“Awu, ah, dawua~!”

“…I’m glad it seems to have been born well.”

After a burst of crying came a period of calm.

The blue eyes revealed through half-opened, puffy eyelids perfectly reflected the images of Flan and me.

Was the baby recognizing its mother and father? Flan, looking down at it, began to caress the baby’s face with a loving smile.

“It feels strange.”

Though she lacked confidence since this was her first time, her voice carried emotions that weren’t entirely negative.

“I’ve had plenty of experience caring for children, but I never thought I would become a mother. Let alone that it would be the fruit of a union with the one I serve…”

“Awu, ah, wu…!”

The baby responded to her caress by tightly gripping Flan’s finger with its tiny hand.

As Flan’s eyes sparkled at the sensation, a small chuckle escaped from my lips.

I had worried that she might go into shock upon seeing the baby, but judging by her current reaction, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“How is it? Do you think you can love this child?”

To confirm this, I asked, and Flan answered with a small “Yes” and a slight smile.

“I can feel it right now, holding this child… that I can love this child as much as my loyalty to you.”

“…That’s a relief.”

Yes, truly.

It’s a relief that Flan can have genuine love for her child.

Thinking this, I gazed at the baby with affectionate eyes, when Flan began to extend her arms holding the baby toward me.

“Would you like to hold the baby too, Master?”

“Ah, yes. This way…”

Yes, I’m this child’s father too, so I certainly have the right to hold it.

With that thought, just as I was about to take the baby in my arms, it began to wave its hands in the air and babble.

“Awu, nya…”

With eyes gradually opening more clearly and turning toward me, the baby clenched its small, delicate fist.

“Ppajiya!!”

With that resounding cry, there was a “paang!” sound as the hand detached… Wait, why is that flying at me?

-THWACK!!

But by the time I realized it, the launched fist had struck me right between the nose and upper lip.

Feeling my eyes roll back from the not-so-light impact, I finally collapsed to the floor, unable to straighten my weakened knees.

“M-Master! Master, are you alright!?”

“Kyawua, nyaaa~!!”

Flan panicked, while the baby happily waved the arm from which the hand had detached.

Looking at the detached hand that had fallen to the ground, I thought:

Tashian. Just how did you modify Flan that a child born from her can use a rocket punch?

****

Anyway, now that Flan’s delivery was safely over, I decided to take some rare free time to play with my child.

That is, with “Demian Sutherland,” the son born between Merilyn and me.

“Come on, Demian. Let’s play with daddy.”

Demian’s birth, as well as his growth, was very fast compared to humans.

Normally, babies can barely walk until they’re about a year old, but Demian was already running around and even had enough strength to grip and swing objects.

Moreover, with the infinite energy typical of babies, even Merilyn appeared quite exhausted from childcare.

So today, taking a break, I decided to spend time playing directly with Demian.

Yes, that was certainly the plan, but…

“Ppashaa!!”

“Yes, Demian. Let’s have a sword fight with daddy…”

“Kiyooo!!! Kyaoaaa!”

“Ow, ow. Demian. Wait, that hurts, that hurts!”

“Kwaaaaa~ Kyaoaaa!!”

Demian was thoroughly beating me up with a doll in his right hand and a toy sword in his left.

I tried to resist by raising my own sword, but it wasn’t easy to handle Demian without using mana.

With incredible agility unthinkable for a one-year-old baby, he dodged all my sword swings and even landed effective hits… What is this? Could he be a sword genius?

“Ddusha! Ddaisiya!!”

“Argh, daddy’s dying.”

“Ddashiyaa! Ppashiyaaa!”

“Demian, stop! Daddy’s really going to die!!”

“Uddaddayaaa!!!”

After that, Demian continued to enthusiastically beat me with his sword as I reluctantly curled up my body.

In the end, I collapsed with my body in tatters like a martial artist who had suffered a self-destructive attack, and Demian raised the sword in his hand triumphantly and began to cheer.

“Addaddaiyaaa! Kiyooooo~!!!!”

Is beating daddy to death really that exciting?

Even after all that rampaging, he still seemed to have energy left, as Demian continued to swing his sword in the air and rummage around various parts of the playroom.

…Now I understand why Merilyn was half-dead before entrusting the child to me.

“Son~ Are you playing well with Demian?”

As I was trying to gather my exhausted body, a woman entered the playroom at just the right moment.

It was Tashian, known as “Godmother” among the survivor group, who entered holding hands with a red-haired girl.

“…As you can see, I got thoroughly beaten.”

“Hoho, our Demian seems to be full of energy.”

Tashian smiled contentedly as she watched the still-rampaging Demian.

I shifted my gaze from her to the daughter holding her hand.

“By the way… did you come to play with Iris?”

“Yes, since Irie needs to focus on taking care of Isri right now.”

Isri Haven. The second daughter conceived through my previous relationship with Irie.

Since she was not even half a year old yet, I understood that she needed her mother’s care the most at this time.

Setting aside the fact that she also said “Uhyo” as soon as she saw me.

“Iris~ It’s been a while. Do you remember daddy’s face?”

Anyway, since I was free for the day, I approached with the intention of playing with Iris too, and she began to stare at me intently.

As if trying to recall the face of a father she hadn’t seen for a long time…

“Uhyo!”

At that exclamation, I gave an awkward smile and patted Iris’s head.

“…Yes, that’s right. You remember well.”

Yes, I should be happy just that she remembers her father who goes out every day.

Still, I couldn’t help feeling disappointed deep inside.

When will I ever hear Iris call me daddy? I’d be happy if she could at least properly attach my surname.

“Demian, come over here. Iris is here.”

“Ah, wait. Tashian!?”

At that moment, watching Tashian call for Demian, I couldn’t help but feel considerably worried.

I was concerned that this hyperactive troublemaker might cause some harm to Iris.

“…Awu.”

But as soon as Demian recognized Iris, he put aside his previous rowdy demeanor.

Wondering about this, I watched closely as Demian even threw away the toy sword in his hand and began to approach Iris.

Fidgeting with his fingers in front of her, even blushing…

“Ah, uh, wu…”

…What on earth?

Is that child feeling shy in front of someone else? Am I seeing things?

“Demmina.”

Iris opened her mouth, speaking clumsily as she looked at Demian.

Showing that she had reached the stage of learning some words and names, Iris soon smiled at Demian, who was staring at her, and held out the teddy bear in her arms.

“Annya~”

A smile so bright it could blind the watching father.

Confronted with this, Demian stood frozen, flustered, and then began to groan while covering his reddened face with his hands.

“Wu, wuu.”

“Dengmin okay?”

“Awu, ah…”

Iris showing concern for Demian. Demian twisting his body, not knowing how to react to Iris’s kindness.

Watching them together, Tashian placed her hand on her cheek and began to smile contentedly.

“My goodness, young love already~”

“Ah, yes. The atmosphere is nice, but…”

From my perspective, having worried that the troublemaker might fight with Iris, the current situation was a relief.

The reason I couldn’t see it as entirely fine was because the two were half-siblings… that is, they were related by blood through me.

“…Is this okay as a father?”

“Hmm, I think it’s fine? Demons have high adaptability.”

Adaptability… I see, this refers to Demian’s characteristics as a member of the Demon Tribe.

Well, with the world having ended, there’s no need to be bound by civilized norms if there are no genetic issues.

That’s a relief. At least there won’t be any Habsburg dynasty-like problems if they happen to fall for each other.

“Hoho, they really look good together.”

As I watched the two playing house without worry, Tashian laughed again looking at them.

But I could gradually notice.

The maternal love in her eyes as she gazed at the two was slowly being swallowed by bitterness.

“…Tashian, what’s wrong?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“No, you seem a bit down… I was wondering if you had something on your mind.”

“Something on my mind…”

Tashian fell into deep thought at my question. Then, resting her chin on her hand, she casually shared her concern with me.

“It’s nothing much, just that watching those children makes me start to see my son as a man.”

“Ah, yes. That’s… What?”

“Oh right. The cookies I put in the oven should be done by now. Mom will go get some snacks for the kids, so please keep an eye on the two of them.”

“Wait, Tashian! Just a moment…”

Seeing him as a man? What does that even mean?

As I tried to stop Tashian who was about to leave in confusion, I felt something cover my mouth from behind, causing me to stop speaking, and Tashian vanished from the playroom.

What remained in this place were Iris and Demian posing in front of her. And my other self, my soul mate who could be called my partner.

“…Annabelle?”

-I have something to say, so stay put here.

Annabelle Britannia.

As she issued a warning to me, she began to glare with half-closed eyes in the direction Tashian had left.