Chapter 22: A Friend’s Happy Occasion  

“Welcome. Thank you for your hard work.”

“…?”

Ivern glanced back and forth between the coffee Mona handed him, Mona herself, and me, tilting his head in confusion.

“What are you waiting for? It’s gonna get cold if you don’t drink it.”

“Oh, uh, thanks…” 

Ivern took a sip of the coffee. 

Then, he suddenly exclaimed.

“Wait! Who the heck are you!?”

After bringing supplies, being greeted by Mona, and guided to the living room, Ivern finally tasted the coffee and now this was his reaction.

“Geez, took you long enough.”

“It’s just—who is this stranger? You’ve got to understand my confusion here!”

“Well, then you should’ve just said so when you first saw her. But instead, all I heard was a confused ‘Uh?’ It was hard to keep myself from laughing!”

When she opened the door, Mona had greeted Ivar, and his first reaction had been a baffled “Uh?”

I nearly died holding back my laughter.

“Shut up!”

Embarrassed by the memory, Ivern’s face turned bright red.

“So? Who is this person?”

Ivern knows a lot about me and Meyleen. He understands the need to limit visitors to the house, so he asked who Mona was.

“This is Mona.”

“I’m Mona.” 

She said, bowing politely.

Currently, Mona is dressed in a classic apron dress. Although typically maids wear regular dresses, and apron dresses are worn for work that might get messy, Mona’s main role here is household chores, hence the apron dress—a classic maid outfit, you might say.

“Right, so it’s Mona ” 

He confirmed.

“Yes ” 

I nodded.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“So?”

“Huh?”

Ivern seemed to be waiting for more information. When I tilted my head, a vein pulsed on his forehead.

“I’m asking who this Mona is! You do understand how dangerous Meyleen’s situation is, don’t you!?”

Oh, right. I hadn’t told him about Mona’s background.

“Mona used to be Meyleen’s maid back when she was royalty. Apparently, it was Mona who helped Meyleen escape the royal palace when she was forced out of her queenly position.”

Hearing this, Ivern relaxed, his anger dissipating.

“I see. So, Mona’s someone who won’t betray or harm Meyleen.”

“You won’t, right?” 

I turned to Mona.

“Of course not. I am eternally loyal to Meyleen-sama. Even if my body were to waste away, I would protect her until the very end.”

Ivern finally exhaled, releasing the tension from his shoulders.

“Alright then. That’s good to hear.”

“What’s with you? You’re really protective of Meyleen’s safety.” 

Ivern’s gaze drifted up to the second floor, where Meyleen and Yulia were. Meyleen was experiencing a tough bout of morning sickness today, so she was resting in bed.

“Well, yeah. Meyleen’s one of the few true friends Yulia has. If anything were to happen to Meyleen, Yulia would undoubtedly be devastated.”

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that you really are devoted to Yulia, aren’t you?”

At my comment, Ivern’s face flushed, something rare for him.

“It’s… normal.”

“Is that so?”

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

Just then, we heard Meyleen’s voice calling from upstairs.

“Mona! Mona!! Come here, quickly!!”

“Meyleen-sama!?” 

Mona bolted toward the bedroom upstairs.

“She’s fast!”

Ivern looked stunned, but there was no time to waste. I followed Mona and rushed into the bedroom.

Inside, we found Yulia lying pale and unwell, with Meyleen frantically tending to her.

“What’s wrong, Yulia!?”

Ivern, who entered after me, noticed Yulia’s weakened state and hurried over to her side.

“Yulia-sama!? Meyleen-sama, what happened?”

“It’s… Yulia suddenly felt nauseous and started vomiting…”

“Yulia!? Yulia!”

With her hand covering her mouth, Yulia was still fighting the urge to be sick, and Ivern was trying to comfort her by rubbing her back.

The scene looked familiar somehow. As I watched, Mona approached me.

“Kenta?”

“What is it?”

“Could you bring in the midwife who’s been looking after Meyleen-sama?”

Hearing that, I was pretty sure of what was going on.

“Oh, so that’s what it is?”

“Most likely.”

Without delay, I used teleportation to go to Ivern’s town and brought back Bennett-san, the midwife.

Bennett seemed to have understood what had happened just by looking at Yulia, who was now lying in the guest room bed.

“Kenta?”

“Yes?”

“Could you use detection magic on Yulia for me?”

“Yes…yes.”

When I casually agreed to Bennett’s request, Ivern, looking confused, asked.

“D-detection magic? What do you need that for?”

“Just stay quiet and watch.” 

Bennett scolded him sharply.

“…Yes,” 

Ivern mumbled, silencing his trivial question.

Ignoring their exchange, I focused on Yulia, mainly around her stomach, and cast the detection magic.

“…Ah, just as I thought.”

“Is that so?” 

Bennett smiled warmly when I shared the results.

“Congratulations, Yulia. Now I finally get to look after you.” 

Realizing what this meant, tears began streaming down Yulia’s face.

“Wait, what? What’s going on?” 

Ivern’s mind was clearly struggling to process the situation.

“Get a grip, ‘Dad,’” 

I said, giving him a light slap on the belly.

Ivern looked annoyed, but then, as the meaning of my words dawned on him, he gazed at Yulia in astonishment.

From beneath the sheets, Yulia peeked out shyly, meeting his eyes. 

“I… I’m pregnant.” 

She said with a little smile.

In his excitement, Ivern tried to leap onto the bed to hug her.

“Gah!” I grabbed his collar to stop him.

“You fool! What are you thinking, trying to pounce on a pregnant woman in her first trimester!?”

“You do know that early pregnancy is the most delicate time, right?”

“Oh dear, Ivern, you really shouldn’t.” 

The women all chimed in, scolding him in unison. Ivern looked crestfallen for a moment but then gently took Yulia’s hand.

“Yulia, I… I don’t even know what to say…” 

He was in tears, holding her hand tightly.

“Hehe. Ivern.” 

Yulia said softly.

“Yeah?”

“Let’s raise this little one with all the love we can give.”

“Yes. Yes! Absolutely!” 

He replied with heartfelt enthusiasm.

This was touching in its own way, and now Meyleen’s closest friend, Yulia, would be joining her as a fellow mother. It seemed they would continue to share a great bond after the birth.

“So, Kenta, sorry to ask so soon, but could you take Yulia back home?”

“Me?”

“Yes. As that maid pointed out earlier, the first trimester is delicate. The town’s a fair distance away, so there’s a chance something could go wrong. I’d like you to take her back safely with your magic.”

Ah, I understood her point, but…

“I’m sorry, Bennett-san, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Her face turned serious. 

“What do you mean? Don’t you care about your friend’s wife?”

“I’m saying this because I care.”

Now looking puzzled, she asked.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Teleportation magic, as the name implies, physically transports the body. There’s no documentation on how it might impact a fetus or if there would be any impact at all.”

“I see…”

“There’s no way I would use my friend’s wife as an experiment. So, I don’t recommend teleporting her.” 

“Hm…” 

Bennett nodded thoughtfully, taking my concerns seriously.

Satisfied with my explanation, Bennett took a moment to think.

“Alright, Kenta. I hate to ask, but could you look after Yulia here for a while?”

“What!?”

“Of course, no problem,”

I agreed readily.

“What!?” 

Ivern shouted, shocked.

“Wait, so I’ll live here too?” 

He asked, looking hopeful.

“No, you’re going home.” 

I told him flatly.

“What? Why?!”

With Ivern trying to invite himself over, I quickly shut it down.

“What do you mean, ‘why?’ Don’t you have your duties as an explorer to handle?”

“Well…”

“Plus, don’t you still have to deliver supplies to my place?”

“R-right…”

After some inner struggle, Ivar finally agreed to go home alone.

“Yulia, I’ll check in on you often!”

“No need to go out of your way… Oh, but…” 

She paused, looking serious.

“What is it?” 

He asked nervously.

“If you cheat on me, I’ll cut it off, okay?”

“!?”

Ivern nodded frantically, legs turning inward at her ominous warning.

“Haha! Don’t worry, Yulia. I’ll keep an eye on him for you.” 

Bennett laughed.

“Thank you, Bennett-san!” 

Yulia replied with a smile.

With that, Bennett and Ivern headed back to town.

“Mona, I’ll be relying on you for a while!” 

Yulia said gratefully.

“Of course. As Meyleen-sama’s dear friend, I’ll serve you with all my heart.” 

Mona responded warmly.

It looked like she and Mona would get along well.

Meyleen, watching with a happy smile, said.

“Things are going to get lively around here.”

But right after saying that, she was struck by another wave of nausea, and we found ourselves in another commotion.

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