"Pfft~!"
Artoria, who had been sleeping in a daze, walked into the living room and took a glass of water to drink. But the moment she saw an object, Artoria sprayed the water out of her mouth. Artoria rubbed her eyes, unable to believe it. Finally, she confirmed that she was not under an illusion and not in a dream, but she did not exclude the possibility that someone was playing a prank on her. Artoria walked forward cautiously and slowly, looking at the baby wrapped in a blanket on the sofa, falling into deep thought. Whose child is this? How did it get here? According to the personalities of these women, it is impossible for them to pick up a child and bring it home. Sending it directly to an orphanage would already be considered good. But now, she actually saw a baby in her own home, which made Artoria unable to calm down.
"What's wrong? Artoria."
The sound Artoria made just now seemed a bit loud. Galacta rubbed her eyes and walked out of the room. She curiously asked Artoria, but Artoria did not seem to answer her question. This made Galacta widen her eyes in confusion, watching Artoria stare in one direction. Galacta followed Artoria's gaze. What exactly was that lump? Driven by curiosity, Galacta walked over slowly.
"What a cute little thing, is this a human cub? So cute."
After walking up, Galacta's big purple eyes instantly turned into heart shapes. She reached out and hugged the little thing on the sofa, saying how cute it was. This made Artoria roll her eyes. Don't you know, girl, that a sleeping baby is called an Angel, but an awake baby is basically linked to a devil! They will cry and make a fuss, making people feel restless, and even cause mental breakdown. And you don't even know when they will wake up. Your suicidal behavior is completely trying to wake up the Little Demon.
"Waa Waa! Waa~!"
As Artoria expected, after being picked up by Galacta, the Little guy woke up instantly. Looking at the strange face in front of her, which was not her mother's face, plus the scent of the Planet Devourer on Galacta, the Little guy started crying instantly. This change made Galacta, who had never been in contact with children, panic instantly. What is going on? Why is this Little guy crying? What should she do? Galacta, whose head was spinning from the baby's crying, could only turn her gaze to Artoria, hoping she could save the situation. Seeing Galacta holding the Little guy pitifully, with the Little guy constantly slapping Galacta's face with its cute little hands, Artoria smiled inwardly, letting you do this to yourself.
"Give it to me for a hug first! Be good."
Having seen enough of the show, Artoria did not make things difficult for Galacta. She reached out and supported the baby's elbows, 'rescuing' the baby from Galacta's hands. Seeming to realize that she had been 'rescued', the baby opened its big watery eyes and looked at Artoria. Two pairs of holy green eyes met instantly. Only then did Artoria realize that this Little guy looked too much like her. While Artoria was puzzled, the Little guy stopped crying, looked at Artoria, and stretched out its hands, with the holy green eyes showing a desire to be held.
"You still have a way, Artoria."
Seeing the surprisingly good effect of Artoria 'treating' the baby's crying, Galacta couldn't help but step forward and praise Artoria, but she was very depressed by the disgusted look from the baby in Artoria's arms. Why can't she hold such a cute Little guy? It really made Galacta very sad.
"I don't know whose child it is, but it's quite cute."
Although full of doubts, Artoria would not argue with a child. She hugged the Little guy directly. The Little guy's upper body was lying on Artoria's huge breasts, feeling like holding two pillows. The Little guy held in Artoria's arms showed a happy smile, which made Galacta itch with desire. She wanted to lean in, but was defeated by the Little guy's very firm resistance, so she looked at Artoria with resentment.
"Is this Little guy hungry? But I don't provide milk here~!"
Galacta's gaze did not make Artoria feel sympathetic; instead, she proudly mocked Galacta. But the next moment, Artoria felt a pair of soft little hands pulling at her collar. Artoria looked down at the Little guy's hands frantically pulling at her clothes, and even opened its toothless mouth to bite. It seems to be hungry. Seeing this scene, Artoria complained helplessly. Originally, she intended to say the next sentence, even if she had it, she wouldn't breastfeed. But after looking at Galacta, Artoria swallowed the words back. Such a topic is a bit inappropriate.
"Milk? Does the Little guy drink milk? Does she drink cow's milk? I'll go get some for her."
Hearing what Artoria asked for, Galacta vanished from the room in an instant. Her speed was so fast that Artoria didn't even have time to react. Less than two seconds later, Galacta reappeared in the same spot, and behind her was a cow that had been chewing on grass. Artoria was very thankful that her house was big enough; otherwise, the appearance of this creature would have definitely broken quite a few things.
"Are you planning on letting the Little guy hug a cow and gnaw on it? Go get a cup and milk it."
Artoria hadn't expected Galacta to bring the actual cow over. Helplessly holding the Little guy in one arm, Artoria rubbed her forehead with the other. She was truly infuriated by this person; there was so much ready-to-drink milk available, yet she had brought the cow itself. This way of thinking was truly bizarre. But since she had already brought it over, Artoria could only apologize to some farmer and say that they would use it for a moment and return it shortly.
"Oh~!"
Artoria's words made Galacta realize her foolish behavior. Embarrassed, Galacta found a cup on the table. Artoria squatted down with Galacta to milk the cow. Galacta's grip was a bit too strong, making the cow want to run away in pain, but Artoria knocked it unconscious on the ground. It was Galacta's first time milking a cow, and while she got covered in it, she managed to fill a cup for the Little guy. Seeing this, Artoria didn't say anything and simply sent Galacta off to take a shower and change clothes. Artoria then found a wooden spoon and began to feed the Little guy.
"It seems she wasn't full."
This cup wasn't exactly small! It held at least five hundred milliliters. Although Artoria had never fed a child before, she knew how large a normal baby bottle was. She was quite surprised by the Little guy's appetite. The more she looked, the more she felt this child resembled her. What on Earth was going on? She hadn't had any unspeakable encounters with that woman, nor did she have any intention of cloning. Usually, she didn't even let others get hold of her hair. Who knew if there was some lunatic in this world full of green-skinned scientists who wanted to conduct experiments!
"My baby."
Just as Artoria was surprised, Gaea appeared in the room carrying a large pile of items. She looked at the sofa and didn't see the baby, the joy on her face vanishing instantly as she became nervous. Then, seeing the child in Artoria's arms, she let out a deep sigh of relief. This left Artoria, who was watching from the side, very puzzled. She had heard what Gaea just said! Her baby? Was this a child Gaea had given birth to? This made Artoria start to gossip internally. Then who was the child's father? Artoria was very curious.
"Is this baby yours biologically, Gaea?"
Artoria couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, but she couldn't help but glance at the baby in her arms again. This Little guy really looked just like her. What was going on here?
"Yes, Artoria. I even gave her a beautiful name: Mordred."
"..."
Upon hearing this name, Artoria almost threw the Little guy in her arms away. Mordred? This Little guy was actually called Mordred? Wasn't this just a trap?
"And she is also your child."
When saying this, Gaea glanced at Artoria as if shy, but she didn't know what kind of impact her words had on Artoria. The feeling of suddenly becoming a parent wasn't very pleasant, and this name was practically setting her up for disaster!
"This is truly a strange twist of fate! Has the ill-fated connection between you and me become this deep? Even in another world, there can be a Mordred. As expected, the theory that all things are interconnected is correct."
Artoria sat on the sofa, staring at the child who was lying on her long legs, happily grabbing at the foxtail grass in Artoria's hand. As Artoria's hand flicked, the Little guy's head turned along with the fuzzy object. This scene was just like teasing a cat. It wasn't hard to see that Artoria was playing with the daughter named Mordred, but internally, she was constantly complaining. Although she knew the story of King Arthur, who could cruelly kill an innocent life? Artoria accepted this little life with complex emotions. This made Gaea very happy, but it made Artoria very unhappy. Isn't this woman setting me up? When did she have this child? How long had she been planning this? All of this made Artoria unable to give Gaea a good look. Gaea knew what she had done and didn't blame Artoria for giving her the cold shoulder.
"I really didn't expect that this child would be yours, Artoria."
Watching Artoria tease the child, Galacta lay to the side, staring fixedly at Mordred, speaking with a very envious tone. She really wanted to play with little Mordred! Unfortunately, the child didn't like her; otherwise, she would have already carried Mordred out to play. She would definitely take the Little guy out to have a good time, but since the Little guy didn't like her, Galacta was very sad.
"Mordred, huh! This child."
At this moment, compared to Artoria's complex mood, the expression in Morgan's eyes was even more complicated. It was one thing that the child looked like Artoria, but this name opened up her painful memories. The grassland filled with corpses, blood flowing like a river, the fall of the Holy Britain—it all seemed to be right before her eyes. Centuries of regret had left her heart exhausted. This time, seeing her sister and wanting to make amends for the mistakes she had made, Morgan discovered that this cursed fate seemed to have appeared before her once again.
"This child cannot stay."
Suddenly, a thought surged into Morgan's mind. Morgan's gaze toward the Little guy became increasingly unfriendly, and a trace of killing intent flashed unconsciously in her purple pupils. Just as Morgan's mind was in chaos, a warm hand suddenly rested on her shoulder. This brought Morgan back to her senses from the previous confusion. She looked at Artoria gratefully; she had seemingly fallen into a state of obsession, what is commonly referred to as a "heart demon." If she hadn't woken up, she might have gone crazy and done something irrational.
"Artoria, why don't we have a baby together too!"
Artoria had keenly sensed Morgan's condition just now. It wasn't just Artoria; even Mordred on her lap had felt the presence of a crisis. However, the Little guy's way of expressing it was quite obvious—she stopped playing with the foxtail grass and hugged Artoria's thigh tightly, trying her best to curl herself into a ball. Artoria knew Morgan's mood was no better than her own and reached out to comfort her. But she hadn't expected Galacta, who was watching the Little guy's series of reactions, to find it very cute and fun. She poked the Little guy's soft back with her finger, thinking it would be nice if she had one too. Galacta, lacking any knowledge in that area, said something very childish, but it exhausted Artoria and infuriated Morgan.
Morgan glared at Galacta. She had never seen such a shameless and thick-skinned woman. She was even plotting against her sister! No wonder Gaea told her to be careful of this person. She hadn't expected her to be so calculating. If Artoria knew what Morgan was thinking, she would definitely die of laughter. How could such a simple person be calculating? She just didn't understand some things and was mentally no more than a teenager. Otherwise, she wouldn't have just hugged Artoria and started gnawing on her; she was truly a little idiot.
"Galacta, what were you saying just now?"
Some things are just very coincidental. Just as Galacta said that, Gaea happened to return and heard it clearly. Once those words were spoken, the items in Gaea's hands fell to the floor. These were fruits rich in magical energy that Gaea had sought out in a secret realm, along with spring water from the elves and chunks of meat from rare magical beasts. These were the food Gaea had prepared for Mordred to ensure the baby could eat her fill. This was her maternal instinct. But when she returned, she discovered that this despicable Galacta was actually trying to abduct her Artoria. It was simply unforgivable.
"You already have a baby with Artoria, can't I have one too?"
Facing Gaea's questioning, Galacta didn't back down. She stood up and said to Gaea, not understanding why Gaea could do something while she, Galacta, could not. She also liked Artoria, and she liked babies. Why couldn't she have a baby with Artoria to play with? Clearly, she still didn't understand the significance of a baby and even thought babies were fun. In terms of momentum on this point, Galacta actually suppressed Gaea. Galacta's words made Gaea feel very guilty. When she wanted to give birth to Mordred, she had also pulled some strings to make it happen. Galacta bringing this up today left Gaea completely unsure of how to respond, so she looked at Artoria and then at Mordred lying on Artoria's lap. She was now speechless.
"Galacta, you've got quite a lot of spirit today!"
Artoria, who was dragged into this, was like a bystander eating melon, just sitting on the sofa quietly watching the two of them confront each other. It turns out that Galacta, who usually appeared innocent, romantic, and sweet, could be quite fierce when she got angry! She had actually suppressed the usually strong Gaea. This made Artoria feel quite incredible. It seems one really shouldn't provoke honest people; once you anger them, you have to face their powerful resistance. As the saying goes, everyone has a Buddha in their heart; once you push that Buddha over, you have to face the demon. That's getting off-topic, but the confrontation between the two women did make Artoria feel it was quite amusing.
"I agree with this plan."
There seemed to be a palace drama happening on Artoria's side, but Tony walked into Howard's residence looking unwilling. After spending half an hour explaining his thoughts, once it involved his precious daughter, this daughter-obsessed father expressed his full agreement. Very quickly, the father and son set a time and began simulating the blueprints for the space Base. This left Maria, who was preparing a meal on the side, speechless. Can't these two research maniacs just calm down? Bring Artoria to me! Tony, why did you come over yourself? Even if you didn't bring Artoria, you could have called Pepper over to keep me company! This unfilial son.
"Tony, where has this dead man run off to again?"
Tony, who was researching, seemed to have forgotten to tell Miss Pepper—that is, his beloved wife. At this moment, Pepper was sitting in the place where Tony usually rested. She had waited for almost a day without seeing Tony return. She was now very suspicious about whether Tony might be having an affair during their marriage. Judging by the performance of a certain model the day before Tony's wedding, this kind of thing was as easy as drinking water for him. Thinking of this, murderous intent appeared in Pepper's eyes. If this jerk really dared to do that, she would definitely knock him out and send him to Thailand for a sex-change operation. Since they couldn't be husband and wife, they could just be sisters. The child would have one more mother, how nice. Clearly, Pepper's prenatal depression had worsened, and she had started to let her imagination run wild.
"Hmm~!"
Tony, who was designing blueprints with Howard, suddenly felt a chill down his back, as if something important was about to happen, and it didn't seem like anything good. Because of this impression, the lines he had just drawn became messy, which made Howard very angry. However, seeing Tony breaking out in a cold sweat, as a father, he still had to show some concern.
"You brat, I told you to play less and take care of your health. You've got kidney deficiency, haven't you! Do you need some traditional Chinese medicine to nourish yourself? I was like this back in the day, but after taking it for a while, my body recovered quite a bit, and I even felt better than before."
"Forget it, Dad! Just because you had kidney deficiency doesn't mean I do. I'm perfectly fine!"
"Asshole, I'm doing this because I'm worried about you. Suit yourself if you don't want to take it."
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.