The Baby Isn’t Yours

Simon had now returned to normal(?) from his previous state, but he wasn’t exactly the same as before. The old Simon had been more humane.

These days, he barely smiled, or rather, he seemed to lack any joy.

It might sound strange, but there were times when Derek felt like he could burst into tears from Simon’s chilly and emotionless demeanor.

If others had heard this, they would probably laugh.

Derek looked at Simon, who was climbing the stairs with a blank expression, and looked at the spirits attached to him.

Though they were small and cute fairies, it made Simon appear somewhat humane.

“Oh, but it looks like one of them is missing?”

They were elemental spirits, so why could he only see three?

“That one is a bit restless… It will probably go to the area where she’s missing. She will find her way back.”

Simon smiled and climbed onto the spot, contemplating the mole’s absence.

In an instant, their bodies were surrounded by light and disappeared.

* * *

‘Kyu?’

Kalia peered down at the mole that had popped up from the ground.

Two adorable black eyes looked at her innocently.

“Mole?”

A mole spirit? Intrigued, she gazed at the spirit, which raised her body to look at Kalia in return.

She felt the faint power of the fragile spirit in her body, which stood taller and looked at her curiously, gathering her short arms to gaze at her more closely.

“It doesn’t seem to be one of the forest spirits… you came out from outside. Right?”

At Kalia’s words, the mole nodded vigorously.

Behind the shaking head of the ground mole, a scene of a forest on fire unfolded.

News of the forest burning the previous night had reached them belatedly.

Kalia, who was worried, decided to take a brief look around the forest while Hemmie and Allen were absent.

Fortunately, the fire in the forest didn’t appear to have spread too far. It was near the village, so the villagers had quickly extinguished it. It seemed like they had managed to put it out.

Even so, seeing the once-beautiful fairy forest turned pitch black inside was heartbreaking.

‘Is she okay?’

She recalled Gaia with her bright smile. She also thought of the king, who had left that night, saying there were ‘intruders.’

‘…Could this be the work of those intruders?’

It was difficult for any natural disaster to strike a place so filled with the energy of nature. The fact that the fire had grown was likely due to artificial causes.

Kalia considered entering the forest to investigate further but refrained.

She didn’t want to create unnecessary concerns when Hemmie and Allen found out that she had quietly ventured into the fairy forest during their absence. She felt sorry for worrying the two people who genuinely cared about her.

In particular, the trembling of the burly man who had held her and Hemmie that night still lingered in her memory.

Despite that, the eyes he showed her, full of trust, were something she couldn’t easily forget.

-Kyu? Kyuu?-

Perhaps it was strange of her to stand in place, blankly staring out at the burnt forest, but the mole took that opportunity to climb up her body.

Plopping down on her shoulders, the small mole turned to look up at Kalia’s eyes with a tiny paw, the size of a fingernail, on her cheek. 

-Kyuu?-

The mole tilting her head at Kalia was so cute that she couldn’t help but reach up and stroke her small round head. 

“I’m just a little worried.”

-Kyuuu… Kyu!-

Whether she understood Kalia’s words or not, the mole suddenly dashed off toward the forest, disappearing into the earth.

Kalia stood quietly, watching the direction where the mole had vanished.

About 10 minutes had passed.

The forest suddenly became noisy.

Sounds as if leaves were rustling in the wind echoed, and soon, shining beings started gathering from within the forest.

…Are you curious about me?

-Hey, over there!-

-Is she okay?-

-Look at that, it’s an ancient spirit bracelet!-

-I know that human! She was with the king!-

-I saw her too! She was with her too!-

Numerous spirits gathered at the edge of the forest, murmuring among themselves and looking at Kalia.

Some of them waved at her, as if they remembered her.

In the meantime, the mole had returned. Climbing out of the hole in the ground, she ran up and looked up at Kalia, eyes sparkling. It was like she was saying, ‘I did a good job, right?’ 

‘Those gleaming eyes were too cute.’

Kalia thought as she bent down to pick up the mole. 

“Did you call them?”

-Kkyu!-

Placing the mole on her shoulder, Kalia patted her head before turning her attention to the nearby fairies.

Among them, ‘she’ was nowhere to be seen. Maybe something had happened to her?

Kalia was about to call her name but turned her head toward the fairies instead.

“Are you guys okay? I heard there was a fire.”

-We’re fine! No one got hurt!-

-Yeah! Our king led us deep into the forest to shelter us!-

At the time of the fire, the king had led the forest fairies and spirits to the inner boundaries.

Kalia, smiling as if relieved, asked the fairies:

“By any chance, is she not here?”

-What are you talking about? She?-

-…She, maybe she’s talking about… The king’s daughter!-

-Oh, her!-

“Yes, that’s who I’m talking about.” 

-She didn’t come out with us! She’s still deep inside the forest. She’s naturally weak, and it’s hard for her to maintain her form for long.-

-She told we need to gather our strength. She might have entered a deep slumber now. She’ll come out if you call her!-

-She used to come out only on her birthday before. This time, it seems like she couldn’t enjoy her birthday due to the fire.-

Kalia felt reassured after hearing the fairies’ conversation. It seemed that nothing had happened to her.

Listening to their stories, Kalia realized that the day she met her was Gaia’s birthday. So, maybe that was why her father had come that day.

She wondered how a being could become a ‘Fairy King’ in such a small forest. A bit of her curiosity was satisfied.

-Do you want to see her? If you wait, she’ll come. This is where she was born!-

“Born here?”

-Yes, an ancient tree told us. This forest was her favorite place while she was alive. So, there are many traces of her in this forest. That’s why an ancient tree, with the oldest roots and the fairy water she had given it for the king who was grieving after learning of her death.-

“An ancient tree? So, it knows her well?”

-Yes, but the ancient tree has also fallen asleep. It might not wake up. It said it used too much energy to create her.-

“…I see. That’s too bad.”

Kalia was agitated by the news that she couldn’t learn more about Gaia, but she resigned quickly  after a bit of thought.

When she thought about it, it was a story that didn’t have much to do with her, so there was no need to dig any further.

But still…

‘I’m a bit concerned.’

-Human, in any case, we’re going back now! If we stay near the forest’s boundaries, we want to go outside all the time because the forest has weakened.-

-Thank you for worrying, human!-

-Goodbye!-

The spirits that had gathered in a rush returned to where they came from.

The noise of rustling leaves disappeared, and a quiet atmosphere returned to the area.

Now it was her time to leave as well.

Her brief walk had already gone well into the afternoon. Kalia took a deep breath and lowered the mole, which had climbed onto her shoulder.

“I should probably get going now. It’s time for my friends to return. How about you go back to your owner?”

-Kyu!-

The little creature that had slipped down her shoulder extended her short arms and tugged at Kalia’s cheek, as if beseeching her cutely.

Her short, round tail wagged vigorously.

“You’re quite the friendly one. But, do you think your owner would like it if you acted this affectionate with others?”

Whether she understood her words or not, the little mole seemed to be fine with it as it giggled with a cheerful -Kyu-.

‘Weird little thing.’

Kalia also smiled and petted her head while she watched the mole giggle.

As she lowered the mole, something happened.

Throb.

The area below her navel tightened and pressed on her.

“…Huh?”

It wasn’t exactly pain, but it was an uncomfortable feeling that was a bit sharper than her belly cramping.

The contraction and relaxation of the muscles in her abdomen were clearly felt.

It wasn’t what would be called pain, but it was somewhat uncomfortable.

“…My due date is still a bit away.”

‘Could this be… false labor pains?’

Kalia had heard about it from Allen.

They were early signs of labor that sent signals to the body before true labor began.

Some expectant mothers felt them several days in advance, while others experienced them just before labor started. Some didn’t experience them at all.

In any case, the signals meant that her body could go into labor at any time, so it was best to prepare for childbirth in a safe place without overexertion.

-Kyu? Kyu?-

The mole seemed to be worried as her raised its head, attached to Kalia’s abdomen, with tiny arms.

Kalia reassured it with a soft smile.

“I should probably get back soon. Let’s meet again next time. Hemmie will play with you really well. So, see you next time.”

Huu.

Kalia gave a gentle sigh, and luckily, the discomfort disappeared quickly.

The pain wasn’t strong enough to be called labor, and she was relieved.

With her attention on her body’s condition, Kalia made her way slowly back home. The walk she had taken had passed well into the afternoon.

As she made her way back, she was followed by the mole, which seemed to be unable to let go, with a worried expression.

– Kyu…-

But fortunately, she didn’t experience any more signs of labor until she reached home.

However, someone unexpected was waiting for her at home.