The Weight of Being a Family Man

The message window before my eyes — I hurried off to find Regina.

"Regina!"

"Yes, dear husband?"

Her voice came from right beside me. When I turned my head, there she was.

"Huh…."

Regina, cradling a newborn baby in her arms, breastfeeding it….

"R-Regina…."

"Yes, dear husband."

"Th-that's… gah…."

"That's right. Our baby has hatched. Perfectly healthy, too."

"Ah…."

I crawled over on my knees and gently wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

"Our baby is really cute, isn't she, dear husband?"

"…Yeah."

The baby resembled Regina more than she resembled me. A pair of antennae, identical to her mother's, poked up from between a head of black hair.

Every time those tiny fern-like hands kneaded at her breast and the little mouth smacked and suckled, the antennae gave a little twitch too.

So she looks like a human baby….

I let out a sigh of relief.

Truthfully, deep down I'd been harboring a small fear.

A fear that the baby born of me and Regina would come out looking like an actual ant.

That would've been kind of a hard sell….

Of course, being my child, I would have tried my best to love her even if she'd been born as an ant, but honestly, it's a bit different from having a human-looking baby….

I'm a human, but Regina is of the King Ant species, so I'd been a little anxious.

Anyway, what a relief. The scenario where my love would be put to the test never came to pass.

See, this really IS an eroge world! None of that unpleasant stuff exists here!

By the way, Regina's lactating, huh?

Heh heh heh. Maybe I'll wait my turn?

"Save some for Daddy~"

I carefully stroked the baby's head.

"This one is number four. Hehe. Her suckling power is remarkable — I believe she'll grow into a wonderful worker someday."

"Huh?"

"Numbers one, two, and three have already eaten their fill and are sleeping, dear husband."

Following Regina's gaze, sure enough, I could see adorable babies sleeping on the bed, bundled up under a blanket.

They were sleeping with their cheeks puffed out round and full, faint smiles on their faces.

But wait, their names are what…? Excellent workers…?

"…Are those our babies' names? 1, 2, 3, 4? No way, right?"

"They are names. I numbered them in the order they hatched from their eggs."

…This is a bit hard to swallow.

So this is where the species gap really shows itself.

I suppose it's because of her ant settings….

To Regina, who has the setting of an ant, it's probably perfectly natural — but to me, a human, this naming scheme was impossible to accept.

What kind of parent names their kids 1, 2, 3, 4? As a Korean, I absolutely cannot accept this.

They don't even do that in Japan! Even they put something after the number — they don't just leave it as a bare digit!

"Don't you think naming them with numbers is kind of… lacking something?"

"I'm sorry? Lacking? Whatever do you mean, dear husband? Babies are naturally assigned numbers in the order they hatch, in order to distinguish individuals, are they not?"

"What I mean is, it's fine to name them with numbers — just not numbers ALONE. Like, 1 could be Il-sung. 2 could be I-do. Something like that…."

"A baby's name must be a number, and only a number. That way we can identify them quickly and accurately."

She said it with absolute finality. I've never seen her like this… a brand-new side of my wife.

TV shows used to air stuff like this all the time. Couples fighting viciously over their child's name, fighting with the in-laws over it, that sort of thing.

I'd watch and think, who fights over something like that? — and now here I am, facing the exact same situation. This is extremely awkward. I should've watched those shows properly instead of changing the channel!

Is this our first married-couple fight?

Not allowed! They say a fight between husband and wife is like cutting water with a knife — it should never cut deep! We just got married yesterday, we can't be fighting already!

I racked my brain hard and came up with a naming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scheme that would satisfy both of us.

Think, Geum Taeyang! There has to be a way out of this!! Look back over your 24 years of life experience!

Ohh!

It came to me.

"Numbers are good, Regina. But numbers aren't only 1, 2, 3, 4, you know."

My wife tilted her head, puzzled.

"Let's use German numbers. 1 is Eins. 2 is Zwei. 3 is Drei. 4 is Vier. What do you think?"

"Ger…man? What's that?"

"It's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a thing that exists, Regina. Anyway, they're numbers — names made entirely of numbers. See? Isn't that nice?"

"Hmm…."

Regina didn't look particularly thrilled about it, but under the pressure of my burning gaze, she eventually nodded.

"Thank you, Regina!"

Mwah mwah♥

A grateful peck on the cheek.

The reason I insisted on German numbers was very simple.

I've seen the names Eins and Zwei in manga plenty of times.

Which meant that I, Geum Taeyang, the father, could personally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠accept them as names for my babies.

And so the crisis of our first married-couple fight passed safely, thanks to mutual concession.

Now then, shall we get back to the quest? I clicked the message window in front of me.

First, let's claim the childcare kit.

….

How is this a childcare kit…? What, am I supposed to hold a baby's first-birthday grab ceremony with these? Raise them to be industrial laborers?

I'll keep them for now.

Next, I clicked the next tutorial quest: Nursery Construction.

"Ah."

Unlike when the Queen's Chamber was built, no construction resources popped out of the box this time. Instead, tools came out. In other words….

You want me to go mine them myself…?

Did not see that coming.

I've done my fair share of loading and hauling, but I've never once done mining, logging, or grass-cutting.

Gah, if only I were an orphan, I'd have gone to my parents' grave and cut the grass at least once!

On top of that, because I'm an orphan, I even got a military exemption. Mowing grass simply did not exist in my life story!

BuUUURP—.

A thunderous belch rang out.

"It seems Vier is full now."

Swoosh.

Regina carefully set Vier down beside her siblings, tucked under the blanket.

I love how she immediately switched to the new name. Now THAT is a wife who properly respects her husband.

"Oh, Regina, this is for you."

I pulled the Warm Blanket — the reward for completing the first egg-laying quest — out of my inventory. I'd been too busy pounding away to remember to give it to her.

"Oh my. Thank you, dear husband."

She wrapped the babies up in the Warm Blanket.

"By the way, who was the troublemaker again?"

Which one was the mini ostrich egg that put Regina through so much trouble yesterday? Was it Vier?

"That one hasn't hatched yet, dear husband. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It's a soldier ant, so it will take a little more time."

"A soldier ant?"

"Yes. Normally I wouldn't lay one until the nest grows much larger… but I pushed myself a bit this time and laid it. All thanks to you, dear husband."

"I see…."

No wonder the egg was so big. It was a soldier ant. Hmm, I have oddly mixed feelings about this. My kid's calling in life is soldier! Please don't look down on your dad just because he dodged the draft!

I looked at the mini ostrich egg sitting all alone in the shallow pit to the right.

It looks kind of cold over there.

"How about moving the egg onto the bed, Regina?"

"Shall we?"

The bed was big enough for a three-way romp, but with the four siblings and the mini ostrich egg all on it, it felt slightly cramped.

If anyone took a tumble off the edge, it would be a disaster.

I need to build that nursery, and fast. I'll head out and mine the resources myself. I rose from my seat at once.

"I'll be back in a bit, Regina."

"Ah, wait just a moment, dear husband."

Grrrooowl—

"Ah."

An embarrassing growl echoed through the chamber. The culprit: my own dear wife.

Clunk—!

I hurriedly pulled two Basic Rations out of my inventory and handed them to Regina, whose face had flushed scarlet.

"Sorry. You must be starving after feeding the babies."

"Y-yes…."

The Basic Rations turned out to be meatballs. Brown lumps the size of my fist, made of meat I couldn't begin to identify.

What does this even taste like?

The meatball had a flavor I'd never encountered in my life. I've eaten pretty much every kind of beast worth eating back on Earth, and nothing tasted quite like this.

It's the closest to shrimp, I guess.

I glanced over — Regina was eating away contentedly. Good to hear.

Watching her hold a face-sized meatball in both hands and nibble at it daintily was adorable.

Gah. I've got the rose-tinted glasses on bad.

Chomp chomp.

All that eating made me thirsty. There was no bottled water in my inventory, but no problem — water trickled merrily along the left side of the Queen's Chamber.

The moment I got up to go drink,

"Dear husband♥"

came a honeyed voice — that distinctly feminine tone a female uses when she wants something from her male.

It's the register that usually only comes out during stuff like "cum inside me, pleeease♥". What's going on? Don't tell me she's requesting morning sex?

"Hm? What is it?"

"Are you thirsty?"

Ah-ha. She was just going to ask me to fetch her some water.

"Oh. I'll go get some. You keep eating."

That's what I said — except we don't have a cup, do we?

Am I supposed to carry it back in my mouth?

My deliberation was short-lived. Because that coy, feminine voice rang out again.

"…It's not that, dear husband."

"Hm?"

"My water is stored right here, you see♥"

Slosh♥

Regina swayed her milk-swollen jugs at me, seducing me. Her pink nipples were already leaking white milk.

"You said you wanted a drink earlier, didn't you?"

"…GET OVER HERE!!"

Slurp♥ Shlurrrp♥

"Mmh♥"

Gulp♥ Gulp♥

Whoa — breast milk is so damn sweet♥ I can't stop sucking….

I devoured Regina's breast milk like a starving beast, licking circles around her areola with my tongue and gnawing softly at her nipples with my teeth.

Like a kitten kneading biscuits, I gently squeezed her supple milk jugs, milking them for every last drop of that precious baby food.

Sorry, my little ones. Your daddy might be disqualified as a father♥ — I'm stealing your meals while getting a hard-on….

Chuu—POP!

Sadly, the milk jugs ran dry all too soon. Frustrated, I popped her areola into my mouth one last time and let go, then started playing with her fun bags. Regina just giggled and softly stroked my head until I was satisfied.

"Uuu… I'm full… hah…."

Finished with my meal, I flopped down onto the bed. Lying down right after eating? What kind of ill-mannered habit is that?

Guilty as charged.

But just like the four siblings before me, a happy smile spread across my face after gulping down all that breast milk.

Deeply, decadently soothing. Sleepiness came creeping in….

"HYAAAHH!!"

With a battle cry, I drove off the sleep demon! I still have work to do!

With iron will, I hauled myself out of bed…!

"I'm off to make some money."

"Take care out there, dear husband…."

Leaving the nest, I pulled the tools from my inventory. A cool, firm grip closed around my palm.

"Ahh. Time for Shoveling Geum Taeyang to make his return…."

I'd never done mining, logging, or grass-cutting before — but I have shoveled an insane amount in my life. Think about it: they're all basically the same tool, aren't they? A stick with a head on top.

"Hee-yah! Hee-yah! Hee-yah!"

KA-CHUNK! KA-CHUNK! KA-CHUNK!

"Hup! Hup! Hup!"

Crrrack. Crrrack. Crrrack.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Chop! Chop! Chop!

True to form, my body blasted through high-intensity labor at astonishing speed. Its performance was already killer back on Earth, but coming to another world seems to have made it even better!

Is it because of my trait?

Powered by the badass trait known as David's Body, I gathered every resource I needed in no time — with surplus to spare.

And with my inventory, I didn't have to worry about the backbreaking work of hauling it all.

It was high noon, the sun hanging high in the sky. Finished with my labor, I hurried back to the love house.

"Do it."

Rmmmmble.