Year 380 of the Touya Holy Calendar - Phoenix blacksmith

"WHAAA! WHAAAAAAA!!" Baby

This village's custom is that the house's husband must always receive the newborn.

And thanks to that, I have the privilege of hearing our firstborn's loud and energetic cry in my arms.

"Ikki... He got your lungs"

Emerald, my wife, spoke from her bed with what little energy she had left after giving birth.

"And your hair" Ikki

Different from my red hair, the baby already had some strings of the green hair of his mother.

"..." Ikki

"..." Emerald

We smile at each other, drunk on the happiness of the moment.

"WWWHHHAAAAAAAAAA!" Ikki

Till the baby interrupts it.

"Okay, okay, I already heard you the first time" Ikki

"I think he wants his name" Emerald

"..." Baby

The ugly miniature person in my arms makes silence as if waiting for me.

"Huhuhu" Ikki

I have been waiting for this moment.

"Rejoice little one! We came with a name that will brighten your path whenever you go!"

"Ohh, dramatic" Emerald

She already knows that I like acting like an idiot sometimes.

"The name of the legendary Crimson spirit king!" Ikki

A name outside the realm of the Holy Isekai Church, a name directly from the lost legends of our world Gaia.

I look at the closed eyes of the soon-to-be-named.

"Alastor! That will also be your name!" Ikki

......

...

I walk over to Alastor's wooden cradle.

"My son, even before being born your future is already decided..."

I look between his legs, at the price that was imposed on him.

"But please don't grow to hate me, this is a good path for you"

In the royal palace, your future will be a good one, a future filled with money and food.

...

No...

"I..." Ikki

--Year 379 of the Touya Holy Calendar--

"...? what is that?" Ikki

I stopped hitting the metal with my hammer and went out of my blacksmith workshop to find the source of the tumult outside.

"For decree of the Titan Castle of the Touya kingdom, any male children are to be elected as servants of the second queen" Priest

A Priest came to our village square with a sealed royal scroll in his right hand.

"This is bad" Ikki

There is only one pregnant woman in this small place, which means...

"I will personally seek out pregnant women to apply the honorable magic, so it will be better if everyone stays still until it's over" Priest

I don't like this, I don't like this at all.

Eunuch Royal Ritual.

To avoid unnecessary romances, all male servants are to be corrected while in the womb of their mothers. By doing so before birth, no healing skill or artifact will be able to do anything about it.

"..." Ikki

I can only do nothing.

A lot has changed since the Isekai Hero reached this world.

The demons are gone, the people have enough food, and there are numerous artifacts that simplify the hardest work...

But...

"...Damn it" Ikki

We are still at the mercy of the royalty.

I can't do anything about the ways of this world, I can only hope that... My baby isn't male...

--Year 380 of the Touya Holy Calendar--

"I... can't even believe my own words" Ikki

My baby was just born today and I am already lying to his face.

"..." Alastor

His brown eyes look in my direction.

"Haaaa"

I let a sigh slip out of my mouth.

"All I can promise you is that I and Emerald will protect you from this world as much as we can"

I get my left hand closer to the baby in the cradle.

"?" Ikki

And he grabs my index finger with his little right hand.

"Jijiji" Alastor

Ha.

"Even your laugh sounds like a goblin's" Ikki

Maybe I am overthinking this.

In front of me, there is a new life, a life with infinite possibilities ahead.

"Perhaps one day you will live to see a world other than this" Ikki

I like to believe in that.