"Push!"
"Aaaah!"
Alise's grip then tightens onto my hand as I start chanting Aqua Corona.
Not for her, Maryuu and Ryuu have that covered, no, it's for me.
Because holy shit, a high level 5's grip strength is not something to be underestimated.
Soon enough, a second cry resounds through the room, making me stare in wonder at the new life held gently in the midwife's arms.
Turning to me, she holds out the- no, my baby toward me.
"Congratulations, it's a girl. Now please take her before the second child comes out."
Taking the infant, covered in blood and wrapped in a small blanket, I release Alise's hand from my own as I cradle my new child.
Her cries calming down in my hold, an indescribable feeling of warmth and comfort spreads throughout my body.
This must be parental love.
A small tuft of red hair, eyes firmly shut as her wrinkly hands slowly clasp and unclasp onto nothing.
"One more push Alise!"
Another chorus of cries as the midwife soon rises to her feet, holding another bundle of life in her arms.
"Well done Alise. Are you fine to hold your two daughters? It is often that newborns need feeding soon after birth."
Seeing Alise squint in pain, I cast Aqua Corona on her and my two new daughters, wrapping the waters around their bodies to clean off any blood and heal any of Alise's lingering pain.
Alise gives me a smile of relief before holding out her hands, Ryuu and Mother Astraea giving her hugs from each side.
Passing off both newborns to their mother, I turn to the midwife who is cleaning off her dirtied hands.
"Thank you, ma'am. I hope I can ask for your aid once again with Ryuu."
"Of course. Seeing the happiness when bringing a new life into this world is all the thanks I need."
Looking toward the bed, I see Alise with the gentlest smile I had ever seen on her face, gazing down with love at each of our daughters that are attached to each breast.
I guess they were hungry.
Ryuu sitting next to her, looking at the two with love and excitement, with Mother Astraea, Kaguya, and Lyra on Alise's other side, watching on in wonder.
Truly a beautiful scene.
"Yeah, I can see why."
"Mhm. And have you gotten that breast pump I mentioned?"
"Naturally. I wouldn't want them to have to get up every single time the babies need fee-"
A splash of water hitting the hardwood floor interrupts my words.
Looking at the direction of the sound, I see Ryuu standing next to Alise while holding onto her stomach.
"W-Wha- guh!"
Leaning onto the bed in pain, Ryuu's breath becomes laboured as her hands begin to grip tightly onto the sheets.
"Haa, well, it seems like everyone wants to come out. Bring back that healer, and we might need your magic for this Sirius, her pelvis is much smaller than Alise's."
Giving her a nod, I pick up Ryuu and gently lay her on the bed next to Alise.
Glancing at my two daughters sleeping soundly in their mother's arms, I plant a kiss on Ryuu's forehead before looking at Alise.
"Hey, how about we move you three to the nursery? Don't want them to wake up after all."
Nodding at my words, she gives Ryuu a soft kiss before slowly making her way out of the room with the help of Kaguya.
Maryuu now entering the room, the midwife sets herself at the foot of the bed.
"We've done this once already, just push out when I say and do not stop, alright."
Sweat beading on her face, Ryuu gives her a nod.
Welp, time for round two.
----- 4 Hours Later -----
"Well, I hope you three have a happy family. And remember to let them sleep face up, alright?"
"Yes, thanks for everything."
With the midwife leaving the room, I look down at Ryuu who was held in my arms.
The second time around was a little harder, but no complications appeared and I was blessed with another beautiful pair of twins.
A girl and a boy.
Sorry, little man, you're gonna be outnumbered in this house.
The boy had golden hair just like his mother and slightly longer ears typical of a Half-Elf while the girl had the same ears but her hair was a mix of gold and silver.
...Not sure if that's how genetics works, but whatever.
With the two newborns now soundly asleep, I move a pillow under Ryuu's head while I leave the bed.
"I'm gonna go get Alise. We never did talk about names, did we?"
"Mmm."
Heading into the nursery, I see Alise holding my still-sleeping daughters, their breaths softly ringing at a constant pace.
"Hey, Sirius. Is Ryuu done?"
Nodding, she repositions herself.
"You mind taking them? I want to make sure she's ok and check out the new members."
"I was just about to bring you in, we need to decide on baby names."
Taking the two in my arms, I follow her out of the room, her steps steady as if she hadn't just popped out two humans.
Yeah... built different.
Alise gets into the bed while snuggling into Ryuu's side, staring lovingly at the two children while I nestle myself next to Alise.
I feel movement in my arms and see my red-haired daughter snuggle closer to me.
Cute.
"Well... I think we should give them names now. Thank god they all have different hair."
----- 1 Hour Later -----
With both of my wives sleeping against my sides, I look at the four babies swaddled up and sleeping soundly in the cradle.
My red-haired daughter Eleanor was named by Alise after her late mother, while her silver-haired twin was named Stella by both of my wives.
For the only boy, he was named Leo by yours truly while the girl was named Alea by Ryuu.
So Eleanor, Stella, Alea, and Leo.
My children.
...Yep, this will definitely take some time to get used to.
----- 5 Days Later -----
Taking out my two new short swords, I look over the pristine blades I had gotten yesterday.
The one in my left hand, held in a reverse grip, is a one-sided short sword made from a Green Dragon claw by the Goibniu Familia, extremely durable and also enhances the user's speed.
This katana-style beauty is called Zephyr Blade.
The one on my right is held in a normal grip, a two-sided short sword made from one of my Amphisbaena fangs, also extremely durable and enhances the user's magic.
This one is named Alf's Melodia and has the style of a bastard sword.
Positioning myself, I go through the movements at a slow, controlled pace, always keeping one sword ready to defend against the imaginary opponent while the other is on the attack.
Taking inspiration from Iris who I've watched use her short swords with ease as well as the various other adventurers that use dual wielding in their combat style, I slowly pick up the pace.
It's immediately obvious that my right hand is much more developed in terms of coordination and control.
While my great dexterity stat helps a lot, there is still a clear difference between the two.
Maybe I need some pure combat experience then?
Yeah, plus with both of these swords costing 30 million valis each, I need to recoup my lost expenses, especially with the babies now here.
...Yeah, maybe it wasn't the smartest decision to commission these right before the due date.
Sheathing the two swords across my back, where the custom sheath is placed, I bring out the reliable Infinite Eclipse.
With the past five days being filled with learning how to care for babies, doing everything I could for Alise and Ryuu as they healed from birth, and bonding with my children, it was rare for me to get some good training in.
Although taking care of my children was pretty easy, them only crying when they needed to be fed or had a full diaper.
...And they also had this weird air of confusion and wonder around them.
Seeing that Ryuu and Alise found nothing wrong with it, I guess it's common in this world.
Maybe being born to two high levelled falna-blessed humans?
Who knows.
Starting with a routine overhead swing, I set my posture to where my feet are positioned under my shoulders.
The blade held still in absolute control, I swing downwards with maximum speed, stellar magic circulating my body the whole time.
A crack sounds through the training ground as the dirt is blown outwards by the air pressure of the swing.
Getting into a combat stance, I go through numerous movements in various scenarios, simulating positions and situations from my experiences.
Blocking a strike with the sword and parrying it to the side with a spin, using the rotation to quickly close in on the enemy's neck, slicing my blade outwards in a perfect arc.
Facing an imaginary Violas, I close in on the plant monster while cutting through the various vines shot at me.
Eventually reaching its main body, I cut upwards, using the momentum to jump up before bringing my sword down with the added weight, the enhanced stab causing a light breeze to scatter the tossed-up dirt.
Taking a breath, I activate Celestial Ascent once more and begin doing various control exercises with stellar magic such as creating numerous balls and making them surround me and forming a sword.
Though the sword will need some work, and with the power and the magic reflect ability of Infinite Eclipse, I would rarely use it anyways.
But these are control exercises, plus it looks cool.
As I'm about to move on to the next activity, I sense two people- no, six people on the training ground.
Turning to greet them, I see Ryuu and Alise walking forward with their respective babies held in their arms.
Sheathing my sword, I run my hand through my hair and shake off the accumulated sweat before making my way toward them.
"Good morning you two. How were they?"
Looking down, I can see that Alea is looking at me in wonder while Stella is giving me a small smile.
Cute.
Eleanor and Leo on the other hand, have their eyes sharp as if they're evaluating me.
...Weird, but cute in their own way.
"They've been good as usual, although I'm having trouble feeding Leo, it seems that he prefers a bottle."
Giving the golden blonde boy a gentle pat, I chuckle lightly to Ryuu.
"Well, to each their own, I guess. You all came to watch?"
Alise then hands me Stella and Eleanor, who I take into my arms.
"Well, that's part of it. We also wanted to get back into the swing of things. The captain can't be resting forever, no matter how cute my babies are."
"Alright, and Ryuu?"
"I was hoping to do the same."
"Uhh, that's great and all, but I only have two arms."
"That's why we brought the baby carriage, well, after Mother brings it out."
As if listening in, Mother Astraea comes with the baby carriage I and Asta had made, made predominantly of wood.
"Good morning everyone. How are the little ones liking the outside? I believe this is their first time."
Looking down at Stella and Eleanor in my arms, I grow a wide smile.
"Good. But I can't wait to show them the night sky."
"Is that so."
Ryuu then places Leo and Alea into the carriage before making her way into the center of the training ground with Alise.
"Uhh, are you sure you two are up for this?"
"Don't be silly. We've encountered worse injuries before, the only issue we have now is getting rid of this loose skin."
"Ok, I'll have Aqua Corona ready."
Chanting the magic, I let one stream wrap around my body while keeping two streams near my shoulder in a ball, waiting for a target.
As the two begin their exercises, I feel Stella begin to squirm.
Maybe she's hungry?
Or does she need a change?
Placing Eleanor next to her sister and brother, I pull back Stella's diaper only to see nothing.
Guess it was the former.
Reaching into the basket attached to the carriage, I pull out one of the numerous bottles before putting it to Stella's mouth, holding it up for her while I gently rock her side to side.
It's quite cute how she tries to grab the bottle with her uncoordinated hands while her eyes are narrowed in concentration.
*Crack!*
Looking up, I see that my two wives have started to spar with wooden swords, a cloud of dust following them both as the sun bears down on their battle.
I hope they don't forget that we're here, I'll have to put a stop to it if they start using their magic.
Or maybe just take the kids back inside.
Although seeing how all four of them are watching on with wide eyes, I think they like the show.
Repositioning Stella so she can watch easier, I keep feeding her the bottle until she slaps my hand.
What a silly kid.
"Gah!"
Looking to the side, I see the pair of heterochromatic eyes, blue on the right, and green on the left, staring at me with anticipation.
I guess Eleanor wants some milk too.
As for the rest of the kids' eyes, Leo and Alea both have sky-blue eyes while Stella has Alise's emerald-green orbs.
Switching Stella's and Eleanor's places, I soothingly rub her red hair back before placing the bottle in her mouth.
Hmm... you're supposed to talk to babies as much as you can, right?
Grows their language comprehension and stuff.
"Hey there, Eleanor. Uhh, did you know your moms are both level 5? They're among the strongest in the world, and close to getting to level 6. Wait, you don't know what that means yet, do you? Well, first-"
"Push!"
"Aaaah!"
Alise's grip then tightens onto my hand as I start chanting Aqua Corona.
Not for her, Maryuu and Ryuu have that covered, no, it's for me.
Because holy shit, a high level 5's grip strength is not something to be underestimated.
Soon enough, a second cry resounds through the room, making me stare in wonder at the new life held gently in the midwife's arms.
Turning to me, she holds out the- no, my baby toward me.
"Congratulations, it's a girl. Now please take her before the second child comes out."
Taking the infant, covered in blood and wrapped in a small blanket, I release Alise's hand from my own as I cradle my new child.
Her cries calming down in my hold, an indescribable feeling of warmth and comfort spreads throughout my body.
This must be parental love.
A small tuft of red hair, eyes firmly shut as her wrinkly hands slowly clasp and unclasp onto nothing.
"One more push Alise!"
Another chorus of cries as the midwife soon rises to her feet, holding another bundle of life in her arms.
"Well done Alise. Are you fine to hold your two daughters? It is often that newborns need feeding soon after birth."
Seeing Alise squint in pain, I cast Aqua Corona on her and my two new daughters, wrapping the waters around their bodies to clean off any blood and heal any of Alise's lingering pain.
Alise gives me a smile of relief before holding out her hands, Ryuu and Mother Astraea giving her hugs from each side.
Passing off both newborns to their mother, I turn to the midwife who is cleaning off her dirtied hands.
"Thank you, ma'am. I hope I can ask for your aid once again with Ryuu."
"Of course. Seeing the happiness when bringing a new life into this world is all the thanks I need."
Looking toward the bed, I see Alise with the gentlest smile I had ever seen on her face, gazing down with love at each of our daughters that are attached to each breast.
I guess they were hungry.
Ryuu sitting next to her, looking at the two with love and excitement, with Mother Astraea, Kaguya, and Lyra on Alise's other side, watching on in wonder.
Truly a beautiful scene.
"Yeah, I can see why."
"Mhm. And have you gotten that breast pump I mentioned?"
"Naturally. I wouldn't want them to have to get up every single time the babies need fee-"
A splash of water hitting the hardwood floor interrupts my words.
Looking at the direction of the sound, I see Ryuu standing next to Alise while holding onto her stomach.
"W-Wha- guh!"
Leaning onto the bed in pain, Ryuu's breath becomes laboured as her hands begin to grip tightly onto the sheets.
"Haa, well, it seems like everyone wants to come out. Bring back that healer, and we might need your magic for this Sirius, her pelvis is much smaller than Alise's."
Giving her a nod, I pick up Ryuu and gently lay her on the bed next to Alise.
Glancing at my two daughters sleeping soundly in their mother's arms, I plant a kiss on Ryuu's forehead before looking at Alise.
"Hey, how about we move you three to the nursery? Don't want them to wake up after all."
Nodding at my words, she gives Ryuu a soft kiss before slowly making her way out of the room with the help of Kaguya.
Maryuu now entering the room, the midwife sets herself at the foot of the bed.
"We've done this once already, just push out when I say and do not stop, alright."
Sweat beading on her face, Ryuu gives her a nod.
Welp, time for round two.
----- 4 Hours Later -----
"Well, I hope you three have a happy family. And remember to let them sleep face up, alright?"
"Yes, thanks for everything."
With the midwife leaving the room, I look down at Ryuu who was held in my arms.
The second time around was a little harder, but no complications appeared and I was blessed with another beautiful pair of twins.
A girl and a boy.
Sorry, little man, you're gonna be outnumbered in this house.
The boy had golden hair just like his mother and slightly longer ears typical of a Half-Elf while the girl had the same ears but her hair was a mix of gold and silver.
...Not sure if that's how genetics works, but whatever.
With the two newborns now soundly asleep, I move a pillow under Ryuu's head while I leave the bed.
"I'm gonna go get Alise. We never did talk about names, did we?"
"Mmm."
Heading into the nursery, I see Alise holding my still-sleeping daughters, their breaths softly ringing at a constant pace.
"Hey, Sirius. Is Ryuu done?"
Nodding, she repositions herself.
"You mind taking them? I want to make sure she's ok and check out the new members."
"I was just about to bring you in, we need to decide on baby names."
Taking the two in my arms, I follow her out of the room, her steps steady as if she hadn't just popped out two humans.
Yeah... built different.
Alise gets into the bed while snuggling into Ryuu's side, staring lovingly at the two children while I nestle myself next to Alise.
I feel movement in my arms and see my red-haired daughter snuggle closer to me.
Cute.
"Well... I think we should give them names now. Thank god they all have different hair."
----- 1 Hour Later -----
With both of my wives sleeping against my sides, I look at the four babies swaddled up and sleeping soundly in the cradle.
My red-haired daughter Eleanor was named by Alise after her late mother, while her silver-haired twin was named Stella by both of my wives.
For the only boy, he was named Leo by yours truly while the girl was named Alea by Ryuu.
So Eleanor, Stella, Alea, and Leo.
My children.
...Yep, this will definitely take some time to get used to.
----- 5 Days Later -----
Taking out my two new short swords, I look over the pristine blades I had gotten yesterday.
The one in my left hand, held in a reverse grip, is a one-sided short sword made from a Green Dragon claw by the Goibniu Familia, extremely durable and also enhances the user's speed.
This katana-style beauty is called Zephyr Blade.
The one on my right is held in a normal grip, a two-sided short sword made from one of my Amphisbaena fangs, also extremely durable and enhances the user's magic.
This one is named Alf's Melodia and has the style of a bastard sword.
Positioning myself, I go through the movements at a slow, controlled pace, always keeping one sword ready to defend against the imaginary opponent while the other is on the attack.
Taking inspiration from Iris who I've watched use her short swords with ease as well as the various other adventurers that use dual wielding in their combat style, I slowly pick up the pace.
It's immediately obvious that my right hand is much more developed in terms of coordination and control.
While my great dexterity stat helps a lot, there is still a clear difference between the two.
Maybe I need some pure combat experience then?
Yeah, plus with both of these swords costing 30 million valis each, I need to recoup my lost expenses, especially with the babies now here.
...Yeah, maybe it wasn't the smartest decision to commission these right before the due date.
Sheathing the two swords across my back, where the custom sheath is placed, I bring out the reliable Infinite Eclipse.
With the past five days being filled with learning how to care for babies, doing everything I could for Alise and Ryuu as they healed from birth, and bonding with my children, it was rare for me to get some good training in.
Although taking care of my children was pretty easy, them only crying when they needed to be fed or had a full diaper.
...And they also had this weird air of confusion and wonder around them.
Seeing that Ryuu and Alise found nothing wrong with it, I guess it's common in this world.
Maybe being born to two high levelled falna-blessed humans?
Who knows.
Starting with a routine overhead swing, I set my posture to where my feet are positioned under my shoulders.
The blade held still in absolute control, I swing downwards with maximum speed, stellar magic circulating my body the whole time.
A crack sounds through the training ground as the dirt is blown outwards by the air pressure of the swing.
Getting into a combat stance, I go through numerous movements in various scenarios, simulating positions and situations from my experiences.
Blocking a strike with the sword and parrying it to the side with a spin, using the rotation to quickly close in on the enemy's neck, slicing my blade outwards in a perfect arc.
Facing an imaginary Violas, I close in on the plant monster while cutting through the various vines shot at me.
Eventually reaching its main body, I cut upwards, using the momentum to jump up before bringing my sword down with the added weight, the enhanced stab causing a light breeze to scatter the tossed-up dirt.
Taking a breath, I activate Celestial Ascent once more and begin doing various control exercises with stellar magic such as creating numerous balls and making them surround me and forming a sword.
Though the sword will need some work, and with the power and the magic reflect ability of Infinite Eclipse, I would rarely use it anyways.
But these are control exercises, plus it looks cool.
As I'm about to move on to the next activity, I sense two people- no, six people on the training ground.
Turning to greet them, I see Ryuu and Alise walking forward with their respective babies held in their arms.
Sheathing my sword, I run my hand through my hair and shake off the accumulated sweat before making my way toward them.
"Good morning you two. How were they?"
Looking down, I can see that Alea is looking at me in wonder while Stella is giving me a small smile.
Cute.
Eleanor and Leo on the other hand, have their eyes sharp as if they're evaluating me.
...Weird, but cute in their own way.
"They've been good as usual, although I'm having trouble feeding Leo, it seems that he prefers a bottle."
Giving the golden blonde boy a gentle pat, I chuckle lightly to Ryuu.
"Well, to each their own, I guess. You all came to watch?"
Alise then hands me Stella and Eleanor, who I take into my arms.
"Well, that's part of it. We also wanted to get back into the swing of things. The captain can't be resting forever, no matter how cute my babies are."
"Alright, and Ryuu?"
"I was hoping to do the same."
"Uhh, that's great and all, but I only have two arms."
"That's why we brought the baby carriage, well, after Mother brings it out."
As if listening in, Mother Astraea comes with the baby carriage I and Asta had made, made predominantly of wood.
"Good morning everyone. How are the little ones liking the outside? I believe this is their first time."
Looking down at Stella and Eleanor in my arms, I grow a wide smile.
"Good. But I can't wait to show them the night sky."
"Is that so."
Ryuu then places Leo and Alea into the carriage before making her way into the center of the training ground with Alise.
"Uhh, are you sure you two are up for this?"
"Don't be silly. We've encountered worse injuries before, the only issue we have now is getting rid of this loose skin."
"Ok, I'll have Aqua Corona ready."
Chanting the magic, I let one stream wrap around my body while keeping two streams near my shoulder in a ball, waiting for a target.
As the two begin their exercises, I feel Stella begin to squirm.
Maybe she's hungry?
Or does she need a change?
Placing Eleanor next to her sister and brother, I pull back Stella's diaper only to see nothing.
Guess it was the former.
Reaching into the basket attached to the carriage, I pull out one of the numerous bottles before putting it to Stella's mouth, holding it up for her while I gently rock her side to side.
It's quite cute how she tries to grab the bottle with her uncoordinated hands while her eyes are narrowed in concentration.
*Crack!*
Looking up, I see that my two wives have started to spar with wooden swords, a cloud of dust following them both as the sun bears down on their battle.
I hope they don't forget that we're here, I'll have to put a stop to it if they start using their magic.
Or maybe just take the kids back inside.
Although seeing how all four of them are watching on with wide eyes, I think they like the show.
Repositioning Stella so she can watch easier, I keep feeding her the bottle until she slaps my hand.
What a silly kid.
"Gah!"
Looking to the side, I see the pair of heterochromatic eyes, blue on the right, and green on the left, staring at me with anticipation.
I guess Eleanor wants some milk too.
As for the rest of the kids' eyes, Leo and Alea both have sky-blue eyes while Stella has Alise's emerald-green orbs.
Switching Stella's and Eleanor's places, I soothingly rub her red hair back before placing the bottle in her mouth.
Hmm... you're supposed to talk to babies as much as you can, right?
Grows their language comprehension and stuff.
"Hey there, Eleanor. Uhh, did you know your moms are both level 5? They're among the strongest in the world, and close to getting to level 6. Wait, you don't know what that means yet, do you? Well, first-"
