Chapter 3: The Power of the Wriggle-and-Babble Combo Was Considerable
Milk was startled and flustered inside at the mention that a mother-child relationship could turn into affection. In the world he came from, that would be the kind of thing to get you stoned to death.
But Ru, immediately sensing what he was worried about, spoke to him kindly and reassured him.
[I know exactly what you're worried about. But there's no need to worry at all. This place has nothing to do with your past, and in fact, because males are rare in this species, it's an important act for the survival of the race. So there's no need to worry about what others think. If you were born human, it would certainly be problematic, but right now, Milk, you are a Holstaurus. You probably still feel uncomfortable because of your memories from when you were human, but that will resolve itself with time. Don't think too negatively just remember that everything is for the sake of the species, and for now, focus on living your life as a baby.]
It was not something he could accept right away, but eventually, Milk would lose his discomfort. Time would solve everything.
'Alright. Let's set that aside for now can you keep explaining?'
[I will do that.]
Just as Ru was about to continue, Milk was passed from Buren to Millie, who laid him comfortably on the soft straw bed.
Lying on his back and staring at the ceiling, Ru's voice echoed again, continuing the explanation about the screen floating before his eyes.
[Milk, you're still too young to have any duties. Once you turn seventeen, you'll become an adult and take on responsibilities for the species. Until then, your goal is to freely find things you can do, gain experience, and live energetically. The indicators of how hard and actively you live are your achievements and quests. Achievements are basically quests. They arise from conversations with others or certain actions, and completing them increases your achievement score or gives you direct rewards. Your achievement score will rise or fall depending on your actions, and when you reach certain thresholds, you'll receive bigger rewards. Most actions that go against the ideals of the species will lower your score, while other actions will raise it or keep it stable.]
'Hmm... I see.'
He wasn't the smartest, but people often said he was pretty sharp. Now that he was in a child's body, it took him a while to process her words.
Still, it wasn't so hard he couldn't understand. Ru also noticed this and slowed the pace of the conversation.
[Sorry, Milk. I didn't consider your current physical state. I'll slow down a bit.]
'Thanks.'
One thing was clear: Ru was not just an ordinary guide, but an entity with a mental structure no different from a living person.
But since she hinted she was like an AI, she wasn't a full-fledged living being, but something implanted in Milk by someone else.
That someone was likely the being called "God," the one who clicked his tongue when Milk died on Earth and met him in the void.
Up to this point, Milk had reasoned things out himself.
His vision started to blur. Maybe it was because his brain had taken in too much at once, or maybe it was the effect of eating a full meal.
Milk yawned widely. As the tiny, adorable baby opened his mouth and squinted his eyes in a yawn, the two mothers nearby clutched their hearts and gasped as if overwhelmed.
The sight was so comical that Milk smiled quietly as his eyes closed, and he soon fell asleep.
A baby's body used up energy too quickly. He had just woken up, eaten, and thought for a bit, but he was already drained.
[Go to sleep, Milk. You're still young, so your waking hours are very limited. I'll handle your health checks and nutrient distribution for your growth, so just focus on resting.]
'Thanks for everything, Ru.'
[It's nothing. That's the reason for my existence. I hope you have pleasant dreams.]
With Ru's soothing voice, Milk drifted off. As he breathed evenly in sleep, his fingers twitched.
Buren brought her index finger to Milk's wriggling hand. Even asleep, Milk unconsciously grasped it tightly.
"(Kyaa!)"
She tried to scream as quietly as possible so as not to wake Milk. Millie, seeing this, looked like she didn't know what to do with herself from the cuteness.
A child to carry on the next generation of the tribe there was nothing more precious or adorable.
Such reactions from Holstaurus mothers might seem odd, but from their perspective, it was only natural.
Girls were cute, but the cuteness of a male Holstaurus, born so rarely, outshone even ten girls.
Milk was asleep, but the being sharing his mind did not sleep. That was his guide, Ru.
[Buren and Millie: their favorability continues to rise. Compatibility with Milk is outstanding; future conception probability is extremely high estimated over 90%. Designated as essential for Milk's survival in this world, marked as priority 1 and 2. Bookmarking and saving this information. Names: Millie and Buren. Keywords: mother. Location info: always displayed on minimap, notification set when within a certain distance.]
Ru's voice busily configuring things, but only she could hear it her voice was not audible to Milk.
That night, with Millie and his "little mom" Buren watching over him, Milk was able to spend a warm night.
Time passed quickly. Milk was now two years old; his babbling was over, and he could speak a little, though his pronunciation was odd.
"Eung-ma-ang "
That was how he called for his mother. Even with his mouth wide open and trying his best, that was the most accurate pronunciation he could manage.
He still couldn't do anything by himself, and his only special skill was making his mother Millie happy.
"Our Milk, did you call for Mommy?"
With her gentle voice, Millie, who had been making something like a necklace string, paused her work and came over to Milk.
Seeing the luxurious-looking cloth pouch around his lower body bulging, she brought a new pouch to replace the old one. She untied it to change him, cleaned up his mess, applied high-quality herbal powder to his clean bottom, and put on a fresh cloth.
"Ah-eung-ma. Gau-hae-o." (Thank you, Mommy.)
He never forgot to thank her every time she took care of him. Of course, his pronunciation was so garbled it was meaningless.
"Oh, really? Does my boy feel better now?"
Millie interpreted Milk's words as best she could, but her love was undeniable. With Millie's love, Milk was growing up strong.
[Mother Millie's favorability has risen to 90.]
If there was any reward, it was that his mother's favorability was steadily rising. As a baby, the only people Milk saw were his mother Millie and the occasionally visiting Buren.
From their conversations, it was clear that other women in the tribe also wanted to see Milk, but they couldn't just visit the next-generation heir as they pleased.
All Holstaurus women were full of maternal love, so they raised the children together in groups, with women acting as nannies.
After all, they were all children of one man and members of the tribe, so it didn't matter who played the role of mother or who raised the children.
But that was only for girls. For boys, things were very different.
First, the biological mother was excluded from all tribal work. Millie did some handicrafts at home, but even that was only allowed by the chief's permission.
The biological mother's job was to raise the boy closely and help him grow up strong. All support for this came from the tribe.
Additionally, another woman was assigned to occasionally check on the situation and objectively assess the child's health for the chief. That was Buren's job.
In other words, Buren was responsible for checking if Millie was doing well and if the child was healthy. If the biological mother failed at childrearing, another Holstaurus woman would take over.
That almost never happened, but the shortage of male Holstaurus was so severe that they took every precaution.
Feeling grateful again for Millie's careful cleaning, Milk rolled over his signature move.
"Kyaa! My boy, you did it!"
[Roll-over successful. Mother Millie's favorability increases by 1. Favorability won't increase again for the same action within a week.]
'You don't have to tell me every time...'
"Ah! What? You rolled over again when I wasn't here? Milk, you're so mean! Show your little mom too "
Buren rushed in, her eyes brimming with tears as she pleaded with him.
With no choice, Milk unleashed his signature move in bulk today. He used all his strength to roll his body back over.
Swoosh!
Milk rolled from his stomach back onto his back, and with bright eyes, looked at Buren as if to say, "Are you satisfied?"
"Eek!!!"
Clutching her chest as if her heart had stopped, Buren toppled over sideways. In this way, Milk was gradually adapting to this world, continuing to put a strain on the hearts of the two women.
[Both are in perfect health. If they spend 20 more days with Milk, their lifespans will increase by about a year.]
'Is this what a zoo red panda feels like?'
[You are at least a hundred times cuter than a zoo red panda at least to the Holstaurus women here.]
'That's... not something to be happy about.'
[As you grow up, their reactions will get milder. But then, your other charms might cause new problems.]
'Other charms?'
[To put it numerically, your penis is now 7 cm. It's grown 2 cm in the past year.]
"Pfft!"
He was so surprised that he made the same noise in reality, and Buren and Millie froze at his reaction.
[You startled the two women. If you want to avoid trouble, I recommend using the babble-and-wriggle combo.]
"Oh, geez!"
If he showed any odd behavior, the two women would worry and react unpredictably, so he immediately did as Ru suggested.
Once, during a conversation with Ru, he'd let out a pained squeak from information overload and the whole tribe was thrown into chaos, so he was even more desperate now.
His gestures and movements had the power to cause a natural disaster-level commotion. Knowing this, he desperately wriggled his hands and feet and babbled.
"Ah-eung-ma-ang! Ah-eung-ma-ang!"
He called "Mommy" to Millie while wriggling his fingers and toes, then did the same toward Buren.
"Kyaa!"
"Oh my, how can my son be so cute !"
The two women, flustered, completely forgot what had just happened, and Milk sighed inwardly.
[Anxiety level resolved. Situation stabilized. Buren's favorability has risen to 81.]
'I'm so tired...'
Including his past life, he was over forty, so living as a baby was exhausting day after day.
It was like building a domino tower if he slipped even a little, everything would reset.
The only fortunate thing was that he had two mothers and his guide Ru to keep the dominoes from falling.
And so, he continued to grow, moving from infancy into boyhood.