Chapter 194: Childbirth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 194: Childbirth
[ Blood Dagger is remembered for not having as many descendants as other chieftains. However, it can be said that most of those who could be called Blood Dagger's descendants had a great impact on Green Skin society... [omitted]... There is much to say about Blood Dagger's children, but one particularly interesting story is that the first child born to Blood Dagger's beloved High Fairy Queen Mev and the honorable and great Warcry Queen Kim Yoora, contrary to current records, had a very poor relationship. The records from that time are lost, so it's impossible to confirm exactly what happened, but these two, due to a certain incident... [omitted]... - Excerpt from a very old book, 'Footprints of Great Chieftains'. ]
“S-Savior. M-Mev...”
Her expression indicated something had happened. I immediately got up and started getting dressed. Jang Ye Ri, who was beside me, did the same. Baek Ahyeon, seeing us, spoke again in a hurried voice.
“The... the labor has begun.”
A somewhat startling announcement. I had somewhat expected it from the moment Baek Ahyeon rushed in, but it was happening much faster than I'd anticipated. I didn't know if fairies had shorter gestation periods, but my thoughts became a jumble. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say I was utterly confused.
After speaking to me, Baek Ahyeon immediately left the tent. Once Jang Ye Ri and I were ready, we stepped outside and could clearly feel the restless atmosphere of the settlement.
Everyone was excited about the Blood Dagger Clan's heir, but also tense. Of course, they weren't the only ones. Though I tried to act calm, I believed I was probably the most nervous of all.
“Are you alright?”
As we walked, Jang Ye Ri spoke to me, and I nodded. Jang Ye Ri didn't say anything else. She had noticed my growing urgency.
We soon arrived near Mev's tent, where numerous Green Skins surrounded it. I imagined Mev was inside, enduring labor with the mother goblins.
Since Baek Ahyeon wasn't visible, it seemed she was also with Mev.
Just like humans, it was common for Green Skin fathers to be inside the tent during childbirth, so I continued forward.
As I moved, they parted like the Red Sea, and the murmuring subsided. From inside the tent, naturally, extremely painful screams erupted.
“Aaaargh! It hurts! It hurts!”
“Kii-reek! Hang in there, Mev!”
I heard Mev's screams and the voices of the mother goblins. Of course it hurt. Though Mev's body had grown much larger than before, it was still small. It was bound to be difficult for her small body to give birth to a healthy child.
Stepping inside the tent, I saw Mev, the mother goblins, and Baek Ahyeon.
Lying in the center of the tent, Mev was struggling immensely, pushing with all her might. As I entered, Mev immediately came into view. She saw me and reached out her hand into the air.
“Chieftain.... Chieeeftain, uwaaaah...”
Seeing her sobbing and crying truly pained my heart. Labor had only just begun, but she was already in such agony that it made me anxious. I had never given birth, neither on Earth nor here. Naturally, I was ignorant of such matters.
If there had been a doctor, I could have asked many questions beforehand to alleviate some of my anxiety, but here, the only 'experts' were the mother goblins with extensive birthing experience.
It made me wonder if I should have captured a nurse or doctor from an obstetrics and gynecology department in a human city, had I known this would happen.
I tightly grasped Mev's hand.
Because I knew this was all I could do. Mev, too, clung to my arm, enduring as best she could. Her voice kept escaping her lips.
“Uwaaah... Chieftain. Chieftain... E-e-e-eh!”
Perhaps she found a little strength, as she pushed with all her might, tears streaming down her face, but it seemed this was only the beginning.
I heard the mother goblins continuously speaking to Mev. Among them was Nicole's mother, her face completely drenched in sweat, looking as if she was fully committed to her duty.
Mev was also sweating profusely. Seeing a damp cloth nearby, I began gently wiping Mev's forehead and dry lips.
“Breathe! Breathe!”
At the mother goblins' shouts, Mev gasped for breath.
“Hoo... hoo... hoo...”
Mev, breathing continuously with an anxious expression, seemed to be pushing little by little, periodically. Her eyes were still filled with tears.
“I see the head! Take a breath, then push again, again!”
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
In agony, Mev continued to scream. Now, even her crying had stopped. Instead, she was shouting strange things at me.
“Uwaaaah! You bad man! You bad Blood Dagger!!!”
“......................”
“Aaaaaargh! You bad man!”
Mev had clearly wanted this pregnancy, yet the fact that she kept shouting such things was proof of her immense pain.
“Uwaaaah!”
Her grip on my arm tightened considerably. Mev was clearly an agility-focused archer, yet she squeezed my arm so hard it tingled.
The head emerging was certainly cause for joy, but I knew the next part would be incredibly difficult.
“Yaaaaaaah!”
Now, I saw her punching me with her fist-sized hands. Thinking how much pain she must be in to act like this, I continued to wipe the sweat from Mev's face, watching her.
“Breathe! Breathe!”
“Hoo... hoo... hoo...”
“Push! Push!”
“E-e-e-e-eh! Aaaaaargh, uwaaaah, you bad man... you bad man...”
A monstrous cry, indistinguishable from a scream or a sob, began to erupt. Even amidst the pain, Mev continued to listen to the mother goblins, showing her strong will. Mev became a little wilder. She kept hitting me with her dainty arms and even scratched my arm.
I imagined she wouldn't even properly remember this once it was over. That's how much pain she seemed to be in. Baek Ahyeon also watched Mev with a nervous expression. Her holy power wasn't for healing, but purely to infuse Mev with vitality.
Time was flying by. Mev, who had only let out short cries even when struck by arrows or swords, was now expressing such intense pain, making me truly realize how agonizing this process was. About four more hours seemed to have passed, but none of them left their spots. The other Green Skins listening outside were probably the same.
Mev screamed, her cries mixed with sobs, cursed at me, gasped for breath, and continued to push.
Though I kept wiping Mev's face, it was smeared with tears, snot, and sweat. Her hair was also drenched in sweat and disheveled, but she seemed unaware of it.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
A loud scream erupted, and the mother goblins began murmuring again.
“Almost out. Breathe, Mev! Breathe!”
“Hoo... hoo... E-e-e-e-eh!”
Mev gritted her teeth and pushed again. At some point, I noticed the pain in Mev's expression had lessened slightly. As I stroked Mev's head and naturally looked towards the mother goblins, one of them was gently patting the bottom of a tiny High Fairy.
Soon, a cry erupted.
I felt as if time had slowed down a little. The mother goblins carefully wiped the small fairy's body and spoke.
“It's a girl!”
“Mev has given birth to the Blood Dagger Clan's heir! It's a girl!”
Cheers erupted from outside.
Looking at Mev's face again, she was so overcome with emotion that her eyes were brimming with tears.
“Uwaaaah.”
Seeing her cling to me and cry, as if from deep sorrow and sadness, a smile unconsciously formed on my lips. The baby was breathing, taking repeated shallow breaths. The mother goblins, wiping sweat from their smiling faces, handed the baby to me. It seemed they meant for me to cut the umbilical cord.
My hands trembled.
My child.
Of course, I couldn't help but be nervous. The little one, still with closed eyes, was flailing its arms, a truly adorable sight. As I gently cut the umbilical cord, it squirmed again. I wanted to hold it longer, but I wasn't the main character today.
I glanced at Mev, and she, too, was gazing at her newborn with sparkling eyes. Mev, who had been continuously looking at her child as if it were a treasure or a jewel, also received the baby with trembling hands. Her shaking hands held the infant, and tears began to fall from Mev's eyes once more.
“Uwaaaah. Chieftain... Chieftain...”
Mev, continuously gazing at her child and weeping, kept calling my name. Thanks to Baek Ahyeon's holy power, Mev seemed to have regained some vitality. The depth of her emotion was probably unimaginable. Even my own heart swelled like a balloon.
I reached out my hand towards Mev and the baby, who had both endured so much. Around this time, the mother goblins slowly began to open the tent flap. This was, of course, after Mev's appearance had been tidied up.
“The Blood Dagger Clan's heir has been born! It's Blood Dagger and Mev's child!”
The mother goblin shouted joyfully, and all the clan members cheered. While it was mainly the women, who had been stressed, who were cheering, I saw genuine joy on the faces of Gark, Hark, and Orbo of the Shield, without exception.
Mev, who had held the baby tightly for a long time, slowly began to hand the child to me.
I saw Nicole, her eyes sparkling. It was just like when Nicole was born. I smiled and gently lifted my child. The cute little one squirmed slightly, and then cheers erupted from the clan members.
“For the Blood Dagger Clan!”
“Blood Dagger's heir has been born!”
Voices so loud they could be heard all the way to the Goff Clan and Black Spear Clan's tents. I slowly opened my mouth towards them. This was the name this child would use throughout her life. I had thought about it in my head, but the words wouldn't quite come out.
It was probably because I was so deeply moved.
“The child's name shall be Laveua.”
And so, I had my first child.