Standing near the door to my room, I took a glance towards Orphne lying in her little impromptu nest she built high up in the corner of the room.

"Big baby...big baby...bwaaa..."

I had no idea what sort of dream she was having, but she was grinning widely through it. And drooling.

I unwrapped the end of the blanket I was using to cover myself while I held Alicia and Fate against my chest with both arms and wiped the drool off with the corner of it.

Satisfied with my work, I wrapped myself up again using telekinesis before exiting the room with Claret in tow.

Following the sound of people talking down the short hallway, I arrived in the main central room of the healing house. There were several people there having a small meal while talking. Principally Elli, the head midwife, as well as a younger midwife and the head apothecary of this healing house.

As I showed myself, Elli, the first to see me, spat out her porridge. For some reason it was always porridge for her. She really enjoyed eating it for breakfast despite how bland it seemed. Or rather, she didn't seem to actually enjoy it, but had it for breakfast every day despite that.

"S, Scarlet!"

Everyone turned their heads towards me as one and time froze for a moment. The only movement was my two babies as they looked towards the sound of Elli's voice in curiosity.

After a few moments, as if time had suddenly started to move again, both Elli and the head midwife fell over themselves as they rushed over to me.

"W, w, w, w, what are you doing Scarlet?!"

"How could you be standing Elder Scarlet?!"

"Umm...with my legs?"

Despite being fully aware how stupid my answer was, I didn't know what else to say.

""Uuu...uuu...waaaah!""

On the other hand, Alicia and Fate burst out crying from the suddenly loud voices.

"Ahh, it's okay. It's okay. Don't cry."

I hugged the two of them against my chest while gently bouncing them up and down like I saw in various shows. Whether it was helping or not, I couldn't tell in the slightest. My twins weren't showing any signs of calming down.

"Uuu...am I do thing this wrong? What am I doing wrong?"

Tears started to gather in the corner of my eyes as frustration and helplessness built up.

"Scarlet dear, you are doing everything right. Babies need time to calm down."

"That's right, Elder Scarlet. Just continue what you are doing."

I glanced at each of their faces, but they were both oozing with confidence, so I tried to keep it up.

"It's okay. It's okay. There's nothing to be scared of."

Continuing to bounce the two of them, I did my best to comfort them while cooing.

And just as the two of them said, Alicia and Fate calmed down after a little while. Though their faces were covered in tears, which I quickly wiped away using a clean part of the blanket I was wearing.

Once all traces of the crying, even the sniffling that came after, were going, was I able to let out a sigh of relief. Thanks to the advice of the two supporting me, I had successfully overcome this hurdle of mother-ship.

"Now come. Let us sit you down."

While I didn't want to go back and rest right after getting up, I did as Elli said and let myself be brought back to the room I had given birth in a few hours before.

"Now, lie down so you can be properly examined."

"Yes granny."

Sitting down on the bed, I moved to lay back down while careful with Alicia and Fate.

But the look Elli was giving me made me pause.

(Shit. Did she not like that joke?)

Considering her age, Elli shouldn't be the sort to take such a thing badly, but at the same time, people could be sensitive regarding the most absurd things.

Her face still stern. She put her hand around my head as I froze. Her grip wasn't hard, but I still couldn't move due to it.

"Did you just call me granny?"

"Umm...maybe?"

I tried to look away, but the way Elli stared into me made even my feeble attempt at escape fruitless.

"Call me granny again."

"Huh?"

"Say it."

"Umm...granny?"

Suddenly, that firm mask of Elli's shattered like glass and a bright smile erupted in its place.

"Yes! That is right! Granny! Ah, how wonderful! Not only I got such a wonderful granddaughter this day, but it is also the day she gave birth to my great granddaughters!"

"Wha, wha, wha, wha, wha?!"

My voice caught in my throat as I became so completely confused that I wasn't even sure what I was trying to say. Elli had moved in from holding my head to a full blown hug ass he bounced up and down like some little girl.

"Elder Elli, maybe it's better if you calm down a little first? You're confusing Elder Scarlet."

"Oh, I suppose that might be true."

Finally, Elli let me go. But that bright sparkle in her expression didn't fade in the slightest.

"Umm Elli..."

"Granny."

While she was smiling, there was some sort of invisible pressure exuding out from her, making me flinch.

"Granny..."

That pressure instantly disappeared as if it hadn't existed in the first place.

"No, I mean, E...granny...I understand you want to adopt me, and it makes me happy..."

"Then let us announce it to everyone! You already live in my home. 'Tis but a formality now!"

(Was this what she was aiming for since the beginning?!)

If it was, it was incredibly sneaky and shrewd. As expected by the elder that got her way no matter what.

"No, but...wouldn't that be bad? Two elders from different factions being under one family?"

"Who cares about that. Nobody will complain."

Or rather, she would make sure nobody would complain?

It wasn't something I would put past Elli.

"But...I mean...isn't this too fast?"

"Nonsense. You already live with me, so things will hardly change."

And we came back to the trap!

"Umm...but...it's all just a lot to think about, you know."

"..."

"In that case, can I start the examination now?"

"!"

I immediately turned to the new voice. The head midwife was glaring at us, holding some sort of instrument that vaguely resembled a pair of scissors but with the blades which were all angled ninety degrees and a screw running down part of its length.

"She just gave birth, so she should be able to handle full extension..."

She mumbled those words as she worked the screw, spreading out two of the flat blades away from the third. After a moment, she passed her fist through the opening experimentally without even touching any of the blades before further enlarging the tool.

I couldn't help but feel a desperate urge to cover my lower body. I didn't even want to know that such a tool existed at all.

Silently and obediently, I shifted my body and lay back down on the bed.

Fortunately, the strange instrument disappeared from the head midwife's hands as she opened up the blanket I had wrapped around me and examined my lower body.

"How surprising. Is this the power of a vampire?"

"How is she?"

"Elder Scarlet is in very good condition. Despite such a difficult delivery, all traces of that burden from last night is already gone. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it has been over a week since she gave birth. What did you even do? Cast healing magic on yourself?"

"I just had a meal. Though for me, that's enough to refill my HP and MP."

"How envious."

The frustration on the midwife's face was palpable, but personally it was a hard thing to agree with entirely. Just the night before that same midwife had said that she hadn't seen such a difficult delivery in her life.

Not just the delivery, but the entire pregnancy was quite harsh. All the predictions about the various symptoms and how long they would last were off. Every single symptom I got was worse than normal, and lasted far longer than normal.

That last year was one I wouldn't want to relive ever again.

I almost considered the quick and easy recovery as a way to make up for it, but it was a lie. The strengths of a vampire was proportionate to the weaknesses of a vampire. Specifically the weakness to [light magic], which was everywhere.

Though I did manage to cheat those weaknesses, so the main ones weren't so bad anymore.

If only I had a way to deal with cold iron.

But as for that, I didn't even have a way to start coming up with any real counters, so aside from making an adamantium weapon to protect myself, it would have to be left aside until I could find some clues.

Pretty soon, the examination finished and I was allowed to cover myself up again.

Thankfully, that scary looking medical instrument didn't get involved.

"A week worth of recovery is it?"

"Yes, she has already reached that stage, Elder Elli."

"In that case..."

Elli put an arm around my shoulder and helped me sit up.

"How about we go outside then?"

That sounded good. If I didn't need to be cooped up, it would be nice to go out. I was also eager to see how Alicia and Fate would react to the outdoors.

"In that case, we should hurry and put these on."

"Oh yes, that is right. Here, Scarlet."

"Huh? What's that?"

I got up onto my feet, my eyes ran across the two pieces of cloth the head midwife was holding. My head tilted to the side a bit as I had trouble figuring out what the purpose of those things were.

(She's not thinking of wrapping my babies in that, is she? I still want to feel their bare skin against me.)

"They're diapers. If we don't hurry, your babies will make a mess."

"Dai...pers?"

I tried to think back. It was a familiar sounding term, but not one I could remember off the top of my head.

(...Oh yea, those things.)

"Why would we need those?"

"Huh? To keep things clean, of course. Hurry. It's been a few hours since your babies were born. They'll make a mess soon if we don't put them on quickly."

"...My babies are vampires, like myself. We don't expel waste. I mentioned that last night."

""Ah!""

It seemed like both Elli and the midwife forgot about that.

(It's such a fundamental thing for the other races, so I keep forgetting.)

"Ah!"

Despite having that cleared up, another problem reared its ugly head.

"What is the matter, my dear?"

"I left my robes back at the tailory."

I did have some spare inner dresses on me, but I only had that one robe. My old one had been thrown away long ago as it had become pretty uncomfortable after getting used to such a well woven robe.

Alicia and Fate wouldn't be a problem as I carried my baby robes with me all the time, though it was a bit regretful. I wanted to keep holding them against my skin for a while longer.

Or rather, I didn't want to let go of them ever.

My eyes went to the Gothic style dress left folded on a seat in the corner of the room. While it was tailored for the pregnant me, it should still fit fine. It would just be loose around the waist.

But it was quite an embarrassing thing to wear in public.

It seemed like Elli noticed my hesitation as I looked at that dress.

"Well, we were interrupted yesterday, but I did have a specific outfit in mind for you to wear."

A shiver ran up my spine as Elli put the dress away to who knows where and she turned towards me. Alicia and Fate looked up at me and squirmed a bit before settling down as I held them a little tighter against my chest.

"Here. Try this one my dear!"

With a flick of her wrist, a black outfit appeared out of nowhere. Despite completely outleveling her, I still had no idea how she was doing this. There wasn't any indication of any tears in space or anything I could see where it could have come from. It just suddenly appeared like it was always there.

But despite my initial trepidation, a proper look revealed that she was holding a set of full length robes in her hands.

"As well as you look wearing these other outfits, even I admit that making you wear such things against your will is too much."

(So she really was aware of it huh? Then what was all that yesterday? Harassment?!)

I lifted the robes up with telekinesis and had a look.

Overall, it was quite similar to my usual robes. The length and cut was mostly the same, though the main difference in weave was that it was made to be double breasted, unlike my old robes which met at the middle. So the front flaps were twice as wide and buttoned close differently.

When it came to decorations, this one was also more elaborate than my previous robes.

It also had a starry theme going on with it, but rather than just little sparkling gems representing stars, there was also some sort of colourful dyes mixed in, appearing like swirling nebulae that sparkled with parts of the stars.

Most of this was concentrated on the lower half of the robes, but this design also covered the lower arms, peaking at the cuffs.

Finally, the shimmering star line ran along the hems of the robes, circling all the way up the front and around the hem of the hood, with the three buttons which closed the chest on the right side being especially large and made from a coloured gem reminiscent of the three moons. The remaining buttons were matte black to blend in with the rest of the material.

Frankly speaking, I couldn't help but wonder if it was really alright for me to receive something so nice.

It was obvious at a glance that all of the materials used to make this thing was first rate, and the craftsmanship was the best this country had to offer.

Somehow, despite how amazed I was with the robes I received before from the fairy Anthousai, this one was markedly more impressive.

"It is early for you to be impressed, my dear. For there are two more things which you will appreciate."

I didn't think such a thing was possible, but I greedily listened to Elli's words.

"The first, is the [light magic resistance] enchantment on it. It is far stronger than the ones you have previously experienced. It should entirely protect you from even weaker forms of [light magic] attacks, and help offset stronger attacks."

That was certainly a nice thing to have.

That assassin took advantage of my vulnerability to even weak [light magic] and used quick by weak spells to blind me. If such spells were entirely negated rather than merely weakened like the previous outfit Elli had given me, then I had much less to worry about the next time I had to fight against someone who wielded [light magic].

"The second, I believe you will especially like. Behold!"

Opening the front of the robes, I looked inside. The inner fold of the breast had a pocket that ran the entire length of the chest. It wasn't too deep, but it was clear it was made to be sturdy and could even stretch to accommodate its load.

What the load it was supposed to bear, only one thing came to mind. Or rather two.

"Is that...?!"

"It is, my dear! Wearing this robe, you can always carry your young ones wherever you go without the need of anything else!"

With those words alone, this suddenly became my new favourite attire.

I was in love all over again.

"I, I need to try it out!"

I practically squieled out. I've never squieled before, but I certainly did then.

To think I could be that excited over clothes.

With one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen on Elli, she opened up the robes and held it up so I could put it on easily.

Letting go of the telepathic hold I had on the blanket I was wearing, I shook the sheets off and got up. Elli held the robes to my shoulder as I carefully balanced my cute little twins in one arm as I slipped the sleeves on one at a time.

Once the sleeves were on properly, Elli guided me and showed how to put the rest on. It seemed that it wasn't as straight forward as I had first thought.

The baby pocket in particular had a pair of leather straps to help support it. Each one went around the shoulder and buckled in place. In addition, it was made to be adjustable, not for size since the entire robe was sized specifically for me, but for ride height. It seemed like there was a quick adjustment buckle to raise and lower my babies without having to even take them out.

Once the straps were secured, Elli helped me place Alicia and Fate into the chest high pouch. Despite there being two of them, there was plenty of space in the pouch. As long as they were in a sitting position. It wasn't possible for them to lay down together. Then again, despite being newly born, laying them down, each would stretch across my entire width already, so it was an unreasonable proposition in the first place.

With my twins secure, Elli helped button the robes up. All except for the top three jewelled buttons so that Alicia and Fate wouldn't get covered up by the robe's breast. As a consequence, the neckline was incredibly low, and I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable at the exposure, but as things stood, if I wanted to continue to feel as much of my babies against my skin as I could, this was a sacrifice I had no choice but to make.

With my arms freed now, I lowered the hood.

"Aaa...?"

"Oops! Sorry Fate!"

Pulling down my hood meant that my absurdly long hair would end up being forced to my front. But with my babies placed there, there wasn't any good places for my hair to hang.

(Is my only option to cut it?)

I had grown attached to my hair length, and it would take years before it would return to its current length if I were to cut it. But as things stood, it was in the way and would just bother my babies.

"Here, allow me."

Elli lowered my hood and took hold of my hair and started to work on it a bit.

"Umm, the ribbon..."

"Do not worry. It is important to you, correct?"

"It is."

"I will fix it once I am done. Rest assured."

"Thanks."

Elli lightly braided my hair then loosely wrapped it around my neck like a scarf before putting my hood back on. The end of my hair dangled in front of me, with the pastel pink bow tied so not only would it keep the braid from untangling, but also secured the end of my hair so it wouldn't flop to the side, and instead stayed secure over my sternum like a small tie.

Both Alicia and Fate clumsily slapped at the end of my hair, trying to pull at it towards themselves.

I wasn't quite sure what part it they were so curious about, but the sight of it still made my cheeks rise so high I was squinting.

But I was again impressed with Elli's skill. The braid was simple, but the looseness of it meant that it was broad and a bit flowing, rather than the rope-like tightness I was familiar with when it came to braids. It gave a much more gentle feeling, and meant that I didn't have to worry about my hair hurting my babies if it was swung around for any reason.

On top of that, wearing my hair like a scarf was quite novel and convenient. Maybe not something I'd do all the time, but at least while I was wearing a hood. Which basically meant any time I went outside while carrying Alicia and Fate.

Which was likely to be any time I went outside for the foreseeable future.

If I were forced to say any gripes I had regarding this arrangement, it was that it would be a pain to keep tying and untying my ribbon every time I was to change how I wore my hair. I needed to get a hair pin to hold my hair in place rather than using the ribbon to do so.

That said, for the time being, it was virtually perfect. I was quite tempted to at least adopt this braid style as a permanent feature. There didn't seem to be any real downsides, and it would likely make my hair flop around a bit less when I was moving about. Especially when I flew, it should be a bit more secure and hit my wings less.

"This is really nice. Thanks Elli!"

"You're welcome, dear."

It was quite difficult, but I managed to tear my eyes away from Alicia and Fate long enough to properly thank Elli.

"Alicia, Fate, say thank you to Elli you two."

I lightly took hold of Alicia and Fate's arms and waved them at the dokkalfar elder.

Unfortunately they didn't even look in the right direction, but it was still their first day. It wasn't anything unexpected.

"Ahaha. You are welcome Alicia and Fate."

And as expected, Elli didn't mind at all as she leaned in and gave each of my babies a quick rub on the cheek.

That finally got them to react. Both Alicia and Fate turned to look at the new interloper.

They raised their arms on their own, waving them at Elli.

"Yes, it is Elli! Your future great granny!"

(She's not going to let that one pass by, is she?)

I was going to have to be firm on that point. I didn't need a granny to take care of me. For the most part, I could take care of Alicia and Fate as well. At least as well as any single mom.

But somehow, Elli managed to get such a positive reaction out of the two of them so quickly.

It was annoying.

"Hmmm. It is not something to pout about, Scarlet my dear. As I have said, I am well experienced in these sorts of things."

Elli raised her head and poked me in the cheek the way she did to my babies. But unlike them, that made me notice that I was puffing my cheeks a bit then, forcing me to look away in embarrassment.

The dokkalfar elder giggled in response.