Surviving a Harsh Fantasy with Cheat Items (WN)

「What the…?」

I woke up, feeling like I’d had a great sleep, only to find myself surrounded by Sherry, Roll, Colette… and a bunch of slave girls. Even Rara-chan, the half-reptilian girl, was there.

「Ara, Takeru, you’re awake.」

「Good morning, Sarah-chan. Let’s keep it quiet so we don’t wake everyone else.」

As I got up quietly, Sarah-chan, who had somehow blended in with the slave girls, woke up too.

Last night, we had a barbecue outside since the town was destroyed and we didn’t have anywhere to sleep, so we set up a tent and slept with blankets. But at some point, everyone must have gathered around me.

And they were all practically naked.

The slave girls were young and had high body temperatures, so sleeping all together like this meant it wasn’t cold. Not that I was complaining.

When I stepped outside the tent, the sun was already high in the sky.

I must have had a bit too much to drink yesterday, because I couldn’t remember much after a certain point. It was already midday.

For some reason, Ria was there.

Not that it was strange for her to be here, but… did she need something from me?

「Takeru, you’re awake?」

「Yeah, slept like a rock.」

After everything that’s happened, I was exhausted, but thanks to that, I feel refreshed.

「Well, now that you’re feeling better, could you come with me to that tent over there?」

「What’s this about, all of a sudden?」

I had a bad feeling. Ria never spoke so politely unless something was up.

「Her Holiness Anastasia II has requested that I bring you once you’re awake.」

「Ugh…」

So that’s why she was hovering around my tent.

I really don’t want to face her after that whole… tentacle incident yesterday.

「There’s no avoiding it. Please, come with me immediately.」

「Fine, fine. You don’t have to pull my arm. I’m coming.」

Yesterday, Anastasia called me a pervert and all that. Maybe after Asama’s presence left, she returned to being the young pope again?

We were more focused on rescuing people who had fallen into the sea, so nothing else really happened. Asama didn’t exactly back me up either.

I guess I’ll have to apologize for seeing her naked, but I should explain that it wasn’t intentional.

Anastasia has the ability to read minds, so hopefully, she already knows I didn’t have any bad intentions.

I entered the radiant silver tent where Her Holiness awaited.

「Your Holiness Anastasia II, I’ve brought Takeru.」

「…Mm.」

She seemed incredibly downcast, staring at the ground.

Is everything okay?

「Your Holiness, are you feeling unwell?」

Ria asked, clearly unaware of what had happened yesterday.

Of course, she wasn’t feeling well. Anastasia, still looking down, got off her chair with a little hop and bowed deeply to me.

「I’m so sorry!」

「Wha—no, Your Holiness, you don’t need to apologize! Are you alright?」

Her apology confirmed that she remembered everything from yesterday, even with Asama’s presence. That’s… rough.

「Yesterday, out of overwhelming embarrassment, I lost myself and said such horrible things to the hero who saved the world… calling you a pervert and a… a lolicon.」

「No, really, it’s fine!」

Please, don’t bring this up in front of Ria.

Great, now she’s smirking!

Despite her blushing furiously, Anastasia continued to apologize.

「I didn’t think Asama would repeat my words exactly as they were!」

「Seriously, it’s fine!」

Please, stop. It’s embarrassing for me too.

Anastasia’s cheeks were burning red, almost like apples.

She can read my thoughts, so she’s probably seeing all of my memories from yesterday.

What should I do? This isn’t exactly material suited for children…

And yet, I can’t stop thinking about it.

「What exactly happened? Please, share the details with me.」

Ria chimed in, eager to stir things up.

「It’s a secret!」

Anastasia shouted.

「Oh my, is this the first time Her Holiness has kept a secret? I simply must know, now more than ever.」

Ria pressed, her curiosity unrelenting.

Anastasia was apparently not one for hiding things, and Ria’s eyes widened in surprise. Of course, it’s something she can’t reveal.

「Wahhhh!」

With Ria closing in on her, Anastasia’s face flushed bright red, and she burst into tears, running out of the tent. I quickly restrained Ria before she could chase after her.

「Hey! You’re being way too hard on your superior!」

Where’s your respect? And besides, don’t bully kids!

「Her Holiness has always said to never hold back. Information as vital as this must be shared without hesitation.」

「You seriously need to learn what ‘holding back’ means!」

「So this reaction means Her Holiness has undoubtedly taken a step into adulthood, hasn’t she?」

「No, she hasn’t! And stop prying any further!」

It was a struggle to keep Ria under control. Honestly, maybe if I tossed her into Mother of Chaos once, she’d finally understand what Anastasia’s going through.

Yeah, I’ll have to try that sometime.

With that thought in mind, I left the young pope’s tent behind.

「Well, might as well grab some food.」

Even though I stuffed myself last night, it’s already past noon, and I’m starting to feel hungry again. The relief kitchen should still be running.

There’s still plenty of meat left from the massive carcass of the Great Demon God we cut up. I heard they’re grinding wheat today to make bread, so maybe I’ll be able to get a hamburger or something.

「Hm…?」

In the distance, I could hear the sound of a baby crying. A baby… on a battlefield? Having become a parent myself, I’ve grown sensitive to the sound of babies crying.

As I walked towards the noise, I spotted Oracle, looking exhausted with dark circles under her eyes, holding not one but two babies.

「What’s going on, Oracle?」

「What’s going on? Half of this is your fault, Takeru. Oh, hush now.」

She cooed, trying to soothe the crying infants.

「They’re incredibly cute.」

I don’t know why, but they seem familiar. These weren’t ordinary babies, though. I could see short, dark brown horns poking out of their blue hair.

They were… super cute, though. But I had a bad feeling.

「Yes, quite the charming children. I never imagined that the babies of dragon maidens could be this adorable.」

「So, these are…?」

From the tent, she emerged—the dragon maiden who had been with us during the battle.

「Oh, hero, you’ve come to see your daughter?」

I knew it. These were Are’s children. I hurriedly glanced at her belly, which had been slightly swollen before, but was now completely flat.

「Last night was quite the ordeal. We were all exhausted from the fighting, but the victory spirit kept us going, so we ate and drank until the early hours. Just when we were finally thinking of going to sleep, Are suddenly said she was about to give birth…」

「The war ended, so I thought it was a good time to have the babies. There was no need for Oracle’s help.」

「You fool! It’s not about you! What about the poor babies, being born in such conditions?」

Oracle and Are continued bickering. At least the birth had gone smoothly.

「Wait, that’s fine and all, but… these aren’t eggs, are they?」

The twins were undeniably adorable, especially since I suspected they were mine. But with the dragon maiden looking so calm and carefree, I couldn’t help but wonder if these were… egg-born.

「Nope, I gave birth normally. It wasn’t such a dire situation that we needed to resort to that.」

Even after that grueling battle with the Great Demon God, which destroyed the massive fleet at Lisbon Harbor and nearly wiped out the entire city, it still wasn’t considered a critical situation?

Just how powerful are these dragon maidens, really?

「Well, I’m just glad the babies were born safely. But twins, huh?」

「What are you talking about? I only gave birth to one.」

「Huh?」

「The other one is my child, you know.」

「Queen Dareda!」

Emerging from the tent was none other than Queen Dareda, the ruler of the dragon maidens, dressed in a loose fitting robe.

「Wait, Queen Dareda, you gave birth too?」

There had been no signs of this. She must have been hiding it under that loose-fitting robe.

「Oh my, how heartless of a father are you to say that?」

「Oh no…」

I had a vague suspicion. There had been a few occasions on Rango Land Island when the queen had snuck into my bed, pretending to be someone else.

「Heh, though it might cause some trouble in our customs here, we can just say that the father is… unknown, okay?」

「That would be… appreciated, but still…」

So, was this child really mine? If Queen Dareda’s daughter was my child, that could cause… significant complications.

Thankfully, the queen, despite her playful nature, understood the delicate political implications as the ruler of Rango Land Island. Her child, with little black horns sprouting from her head, was even cuter than a typical human baby. However, I couldn’t tell which baby belonged to whom.

「They look so alike, it’s hard to tell. I’m starting to think they might both be mine.」

「This one’s mine. See, the horns are darker and a bit bigger.」

「Oh, I see.」

Oracle handed me one of the babies as Dareda explained. Apparently, you could tell them apart by the size of their horns.

「She’s a strong one. It’s rare to see such well-formed horns right after birth. With a child this promising, I no longer have to worry about an heir, even if Are runs off.」

「Well, I’m glad that’s settled.」

If things stayed peaceful, I wouldn’t have to worry about what happens next.

「And I hope you’ll help me for another one.」

No, no. One heir is more than enough. As I sighed, relieved yet exasperated…

「Ow, ow, ow!」

A cry of pain came from inside the tent. We all rushed in to find Kaara clutching her large belly.

「Excuse me, Oracle-sama! Now that I’ve relaxed, I think my time has come too!」

「This can’t be happening! You’re in labor as well? It’s already too late—your water’s broken. Takeru, you take care of the babies! And someone get hot water, quickly!」

Poor Oracle. Will she ever get any sleep? It was my fault for pushing Kaara into battle right up until her due date, but I didn’t expect everything to hit all at once now that the war was over.

As I held the babies and stepped out of the tent, I thought to myself: this sure is a crazy time.

「So, what should I do next? It doesn’t feel right to go grab a meal while Oracle is working without a break. Maybe I should find someone to help her. I could also bring some food and water—it might be a long night.」

When I looked over, Queen Dareda and the other dragon maiden were already nursing their babies together. Honestly, it’d be nice if they did that in private…

Still, it’s kind of surreal—mother and daughter both giving birth at the same time. Watching them made me feel… complicated.

From inside the tent, Kaara’s strained voice reached my ears again. Unlike Oracle, who was a clone of the Immortal King, or the dragon maidens, Kaara was just a highly gifted but mortal demon mage. Her body wasn’t as resilient, which meant childbirth might be just as hard for her as it is for a human.

I managed to secure some food, but in moments like these, men can’t really do much. I ended up fumbling around helplessly, and even got scolded by the dragon maidens for it.

「Takeru, calm down and think of names for the babies.」

「Names, huh…」

That’s a tough one to decide.

「Then, I’ll name mine Arere!」

「And this little one is Ukkari-chan!」

You two asked me for help, and now you’ve already settled on names by yourselves.

「Yeah, that works. Those names follow the dragon maiden tradition, after all.」

They do sound familiar, but to me, the names of the dragon maidens always feel like they blend together, confusingly similar.

「Hey, what’s wrong, Your Holiness?」

I asked as I noticed Anastasia II, the child pope, walking toward us with tear-filled eyes.

Without warning, she threw herself into my arms.

「Waaah! If I did something naughty with Takeru, am I going to end up with a baby too?!」

I froze at her sudden outburst, not knowing how to react. This wasn’t a situation to be idle.

「No, no, that’s impossible! What are you even talking about?」

Anastasia was only eight years old. Even if she talked about doing something inappropriate, the most I’d ever done was give her a kiss, nothing more.

Not only is it impossible, but biologically, it’s just not feasible!

「What’s this, Takeru? Seems like you’ve got quite the broad range of interests.」

「Even going after little kids now, huh?」

「No, you’re both wrong! I haven’t done anything!」

What is this? Do I have some kind of curse that makes people suspect I’m a lolicon?

「But, but Ria said! She said that doing naughty things makes babies happen!」

「Ria again?!」

I had already told her not to scare the kids. It wasn’t enough for her to tease the royals; now she’s filling Anastasia’s head with strange ideas?

Wait, something didn’t add up. Anastasia could read minds, couldn’t she? How could she believe Ria’s lies?

「But I read Ria’s mind! In her memories, there was an example—if someone gets all wiggly with tentacles, even a child like me could end up having a baby! And it’s so painful, like your body’s going to split open when you give birth!」

「No, that’s fiction! Ria’s memories are probably from one of those forbidden books hidden in the church’s library! Everything in those stories is fake—don’t believe any of it!」

「Really?」

「Yes, really. You can read my mind too, right? I’m not lying.」

I see… So Ria genuinely believed that nonsense, which led to Anastasia’s misunderstanding. Ria wasn’t trying to deceive her, but either way, I’d have to give Ria a talking-to later.

「Sniff… I’m so glad…」

Anastasia whimpered as I gently comforted the sobbing child pope.

As I tried to calm her down, a loud, anguished cry came from the tent. There was a brief silence, followed by the healthy wail of a newborn.

Oracle soon emerged, cradling the baby.

「The birth was successful.」

The child had blonde hair and the grayish skin typical of a half-demon—strong and healthy.

「Kaara, you did great.」

I said softly, peeking into the tent. Though Kaara looked utterly exhausted, she smiled.

「Takeru, Kaara already chose a name for the baby.」

「What is it?」

「Kaara decided on ‘Kaaru’.」

「…I see. If that’s the name she chose, it’s perfect.」

When Oracle’s child was born, we took two letters from my name to call him Orakeru. Now, with Kaara’s child, out of respect for Orakeru, she decided to take just one letter from my name and call him Kaaru.

In the demon language, Kaaru meant ‘one who walks with joy’. Knowing that made it feel like a good, fitting name.

「Truly a joyous occasion. I shall bestow my blessings upon these children born in the land of victory!」

Finally calm, the child pope extended her blessings to the three newborns—Arere, Ukkari, and Kaaru.

Kaaru became the first half-demon child in the world to receive the blessing of the Asama Church’s clergy.