Chapter 226: Twin Blessings
"No... normally it should be a bit smaller than that... maybe it’s because you’re human?"
"There’s no precedent, after all. We won’t know until the baby is born."
"Yeah."
No matter how much they worried, they wouldn’t know until the child was born.
Since Qiong Xing didn’t feel anything abnormal, he believed things would be fine, but seeing Joa’s worried expression, he smiled gently as he took his hand and placed it on his stomach.
"It’s alright. See? The baby’s kicking energetically."
As if responding, the child kicked firmly against his belly, making Qiong Xing laugh.
"They’re way too energetic. I bet it’s a boy."
"Maybe they’re saying ’let me out already.’ But I wouldn’t mind a little bear-eared girl either."
From the way his belly had grown, it was certain the child was beastkin, but since the gender was still unknown, Qiong Xing secretly hoped for a bear-eared girl.
"If it’s a girl, I’m not letting her get married."
Qiong Xing laughed at the doting-parent remark, though it made him happy to know Joa already loved the child that much.
"If it’s a boy, do you think he’ll grow as big as you, Joa? Though honestly, I don’t think I could even beat a beastkin woman."
Among humans, Qiong Xing was about average, but everyone around him was a well-built beastkin, full of muscle, and he was often treated like a child because of it.
He was an adult and a man, so he wanted them to stop, but the clear difference in strength and physique made it hard to argue.
"Who knows. If the kid takes after you, maybe not."
He truly hoped so.
Qiong Xing quietly wished for an ally.
In the end, it all happened surprisingly quickly.
Qiong Xing woke up in the middle of the night feeling something was off and before he knew it, the labor had begun.
By early morning, the child had already been born.
What they hadn’t expected, however, was that there wasn’t just one.
After safely delivering the first baby, Qiong Xing had relaxed for a second only for another wave of pain to hit him.
At first, he panicked, but the wife of a man with twins casually said, "Looks like there’s another one," leaving both Qiong Xing and Joa who had been holding his hand completely frozen.
Huh? ...Huh?
His mind went blank, but the pain demanding he push snapped him back to reality.
Following the instructions, he pushed and as if it had been waiting, the second child was born.
"...No wonder your belly was bigger than usual."
"They’re twins, after all. But they’re adorable."
"Yeah... I’m surprised. But they’re cute."
"..."
So much had happened in such a short time that both Qiong Xing and Joa were left speechless.
The babies cried loudly and when he saw them, both of them have adorable little bear ears.
As if they had somehow heard their wishes, one was a boy and the other a girl.
Their faces seemed to resemble Qiong Xing, though there were hints of Joa in their features as well and their hair was the same dark brown as his.
"But we got both, a boy and a girl, just like we hoped. And they even have cute ears. I’m completely satisfied."
"Yeah... but now I’ve got twice as much to worry about."
Twins meant double the joy, but also double the hardship.
Still, if they were his children, it was nothing that couldn’t be handled.
As he hold the two crying babies, Qiong Xing fed them as they sought him out.
...
"Grandpa? What are you doing here—"
"QIONG XING!!!"
"Gweh—!"
He was nearly crushed to death by Sarin’s overly enthusiastic hug.
Qiong Xing had stopped by the Adventurer’s Guild for the first time in a while just to say hello, but the moment he spoke to Sarin who had been oddly standing stiffly at the entrance this happened.
"I’d rather not die, so please let go."
"S-Sorry. I just got so happy..."
If he got killed over something like that, it wouldn’t be funny.
Still, since Qiong Xing hadn’t come by or contacted them in a long time, he decided to let it slide this time.
"Is Grandma here today?"
"She is! Come on, come on, let’s have some tea together!"
As if determined not to let him escape, Sarin grabbed his hand and led him straight to Katarina’s room.
Not that Qiong Xing had any intention of running, since he came to greet them anyway.
"Why are you yelling again—wha—!?"
"Ah, it’s been a while. Have you been well—gah!?"
The moment he greeted her upon entering the room, Katarina pulled him into a tight embrace.
"What do you mean ’it’s been a while’! You didn’t come for so long, do you know how worried we were? Oh, I’m just glad you’re safe."
As she repeatedly said "thank goodness" and stroked his head, Qiong Xing gave a wry smile.
"I thought I had Brat pass along the message... Did you not hear?"
"No, we did."
Then why were they this worried?
"Listen here, even if we heard about it, we can’t feel at ease until we see your face ourselves. And we only heard about it recently, you know. Of course we’d be worried."
Apparently, Brat had been busy at the castle lately.
Because of that, he hadn’t been coming to the guild much and it was only recently that they managed to catch him and get the story out of him.
Sorry, Brat. That must have been terrifying.
"I’m sorry. I kept meaning to check in, but before I knew it, my belly had grown this much."
"Well, it can’t be helped anyway. Oh right, we bought a magic tool too. So if you’re ever going to be gone that long again, make sure to contact us properly. And if anything happens... Anything at all you contact us immediately. Immediately, you hear?"
"Yes."
They must have bought it for his sake.
Qiong Xing felt a bit guilty for making them purchase something just for him, but their thoughtfulness made him truly happy.