novelraw Chapter 447
Chapter 447
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 447
In the atmosphere that had turned quiet as if cold water had been poured over it, no one opened their mouth.
It was because no one could organize the situation in their heads.
Long, abundant gray hair reaching down to the calves—something one would never think belonged to a child.
Eyes that sparkled as if the Milky Way had been embedded within them.
I knew those two traits all too well.
No. Most of the people here did.
“Hic…… hk…… hic.”
The moment the child collided with me, she began to hiccup and cry.
Her hair, which had turned pure white, reverted in an instant.
Like a flash, I reached out and scooped the child into my arms.
“Waaaahhh!!!!”
But.
It was already too late.
The identity of the child who clung tightly around my neck and burst into loud sobs in my arms was none other than Elpiria.
For some reason.
I couldn’t say anything.
Just moments ago, Elpiria had been a tiny infant, lying sound asleep in a small baby crib, wearing small clothes and flailing her arms and legs.
She had been such a young baby that even her limbs were tightly wrapped in cloth so they wouldn’t come loose and startle her.
But now, Elpiria’s clothes were all torn, and she had grown enough to toddle around on her own.
If one were to judge by age, around two to three years old.
At a glance, she still looked very young, but considering that Elpiria had only just been born not long ago, it was absolutely impossible.
“Elpiria?”
Melissa dropped the fork she had been stabbing into meat with a clatter and spoke in a dazed voice.
Isna, equally bewildered, widened her eyes as she looked at the child.
“Y-Young master. Wasn’t Elpiria a newborn?”
Hwa Ryeong asked next, her face full of shock as her lips trembled.
I silently nodded and patted Elpiria’s back as she wailed.
“Radon. What happened?”
At my question, Radon shook his head frantically.
As if insisting it wasn’t his doing.
Then Luna and Lispa approached and began examining the child’s condition.
However, even the two former archangels seemed just as bewildered by this situation.
“Come to think of it, didn’t this child suddenly grow even while she was in the womb?”
“No way…….”
“Are you saying she undergoes sudden growth spurts like this periodically?”
“No. That shouldn’t be possible. This is ignoring the established rules far too much.”
Even as she said that, she couldn’t be certain herself, because Elpiria’s growth had already been abnormal from the time she was in Luna’s womb.
After crying for quite a while, Elpiria gradually stopped as I patted her back, then buried herself deeply into my chest and clung to me.
Worried she might catch a cold if her childlike warmth faded, I took out a warm blanket from my subspace and wrapped it around her.
“Kyaahaha!”
Perhaps she felt better, because she looked up at me with bright, sparkling eyes and gave an endlessly cheerful smile.
Not good for the heart.
“Cough…… This might not be so bad.”
That thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I quickly shook it off.
Then Elpiria spotted Luna, her eyes lighting up as she stretched out her small, chubby hands and wriggled.
When I handed her over to Luna, she giggled as she nestled into Luna’s arms.
“Baby……”
Luna’s expression didn’t look good, as if she was worried for no reason.
“Uriel said that once she was born, she would grow normally.”
There were already too many things that didn’t match what he had said.
There was no immediate answer.
If neither Isna, nor Luna, nor Lispa knew about this abnormal phenomenon, then the only likely source of information was Lucifer—but no matter how many times I called, Lucifer didn’t respond.
“Wait. I prepared clothes to put on her later when she grows, so let’s use those.”
For now, it was important to dress Elpiria, who was naked.
* * *
Dressed in a cute one-piece dress, Elpiria sat at the wooden table, giggling brightly as she monopolized everyone’s attention.
“Elpiria! Look at this!”
Grivy, who treated Elpiria like a younger sibling, climbed onto the head of the youngest spirit, Tiamet, and began dancing.
Elpiria waved both arms wildly and burst into giggles.
“So cute…… I want to have a child too……”
As Marian muttered while watching, a succubus quietly emerged from the darkness.
“Princess. Have you made your decision?”
“Oh my, you startled me! I didn’t mean it like that.”
“How unfortunate.”
With that, the succubus disappeared back into the darkness.
Watching that, I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for Marian, the succubus princess.
“Hang in there…….”
“Haha……. Th-thank you.”
Recently, among the succubi living in R’lyeh, many had begun having offspring.
Because of that, succubi had started to feel like common residents one could easily see in Cascadia.
“Um…… Lady Isna.”
“What.”
“The child is very cute. I’m sure your child would be very cute too.”
“I have no intention of getting married.”
She spoke indifferently while chewing her meat.
“Once everything’s over, I’m going to wear a doll suit and travel the continent.”
“Ah. Then I’ll come too.”
At Meryl and Rebecca’s agreement, Isna smirked and looked at Elpiria.
The emotion in her gaze was complicated.
“Hwa Ryeong. Aren’t you at the age to get married now?”
“Shouldn’t you go first, brother, so that I may go comfortably?”
“Cough…….”
Everyone’s gaze remained fixed on Elpiria, who sat atop the table, humming an incomprehensible song as the center of attention.
“Here, Elpiria.”
When I held out well-cooked meat to her, she flashed her still-growing baby teeth brightly, giggled, and began munching.
“Elpiria. Chew well.”
“Waa!!”
As if she enjoyed the juicy flavor, she smiled brightly and demanded more.
Just an hour ago, she had only been drinking milk, but now she had become a literal meat grinder, swallowing whatever was put into her mouth.
Among everything, what Elpiria liked the most was the soft bread that tasted like strawberries.
Even so, it was rare to see even an ordinary child eat that well.
Of course, for the people here—who were practically novices at childcare—their knowledge was limited to what they had heard from servants who had children.
Holding a fork in each hand, snorting energetically, bouncing her body, and dancing, Elpiria soon began nodding her head as if she was getting sleepy.
As Luna picked her up to put her to sleep—
Fwaaaaaaah!!!!
With a sudden burst of light, Elpiria’s body glowed and returned to its original form.
Back to the extremely young infant who couldn’t even properly move her limbs or roll over.
A quiet silence wrapped around the surroundings.
“She’s back?”
“What is this?”
“This is strange.”
At that moment, the old butler carefully spoke.
“Ah! I apologize, Master!”
Seeing the butler bow his head with a pale face, Melissa stopped him.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s nothing, Master! I must have been out of my mind for a moment……”
“Raise your head. I’m not blaming you. If you know something, tell us.”
At those words, the butler lowered his gaze to the lower right, hesitated, then carefully spoke.
“I-I beg your pardon…… but Miss Elpiria’s behavior patterns seemed somewhat different from that of a two- to three-year-old child.”
“Different? How?”
“Well…….”
After a brief silence, the butler continued his explanation.
In conclusion, Elpiria’s behavior pattern felt like that of a newborn baby whose body had simply grown larger.
A very young child who couldn’t even stand.
At those words, Luna and I reached the same conclusion at the same time.
“Her mind is the same. Only her body grew…… right?”
“I’m sorry!”
“No. You don’t need to be sorry. Thanks to you, we learned something. Thank you.”
“I’m glad I could be of help, young master.”
“If there are any books that might help with childcare, please get some.”
“Ah, if it’s something like that, I already have some prepared. I’ll bring them right away.”
After laying the now-shrunken Elpiria back in the crib, as we lay on the bed, Grivy—who had been peeking from beyond the door—ran in and slipped between Luna and me.
“Grivy.”
“I’m sleeping with Mom and Dad today.”
“Let’s do that.”
“Yeah!”
In a good mood, Grivy tightly held both Luna’s and my hands and smiled brightly.
And so.
Darkness deepened. Soon, a quiet silence enveloped the mansion.
As long as I was beside Luna, insomnia was no longer an issue for me.
As I fell into such a deep sleep that I wouldn’t notice even if someone carried me away, resting peacefully—
I stirred at a heavy, unfamiliar sensation.
Luna did have somewhat bad sleeping habits.
Did she roll over onto me in her sleep?
Thinking that, I slowly opened my eyes.
And just as I was about to sit up to cover her with the blanket she must have kicked away—
Long strands of gray thread-like hair spilled down over my chest.
“Huh?”
My mind snapped awake instantly.
Startled, I jerked upright, and the person who had been sprawled over me rolled off and ended up crushing Grivy, who had been sleeping beside me.
“Uegh! Grivy’s getting squished!”
As Grivy flailed and shouted at the sudden misfortune, Luna also woke up and sat up.
“Leon? What’s going—”
Then she saw who had crushed Grivy between us, and her mouth fell open.
“Huh?”
The one with gray hair reaching down to her calves was a girl.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
She looked to be around fourteen to fifteen years old.
However.
The biggest problem was……
“Elpiria?”
She was wrapped in a blanket that didn’t even fully cover her body.
Looking to the side, I saw torn baby clothes lying in a corner.
Her body had grown so suddenly that her clothes had all ripped apart.
Without needing to say anything, Luna and I both rubbed our faces and let out deep sighs.
“Hey…… this is really serious, isn’t it?”
“Leon. My head hurts right now.”
Unaware of the situation, Grivy continued to struggle.
Meanwhile, Elpiria, fast asleep, curled up and tightly hugged Grivy—who had become much smaller than her.
“Is her body continuing to change in growth?”
It might sound simple, but it was anything but.
Just as we sank into silence—
Elpiria slowly opened her eyes.
Eyes like Luna’s, as if holding the Milky Way, reflected me.
She looked around, then trembled slightly and tapped her stomach.
And then.
“Waaaahhh!!!”
She burst into tears.
A child cries to signal hunger, pain, or desire.
For Elpiria—whose mind remained that of a baby—it was only natural to cry when hungry.
But unlike before, her body was now much larger.
As she flailed and cried loudly, Grivy, pinned beneath her, struggled and gagged.
It was a problem that could be solved simply by feeding her.
Her sudden crying stirred the entire mansion into chaos.
As I moved to pick her up and soothe her—
“Waaaahhh!!!”
Wings made of light spread out behind Elpiria.
Fwaaaaaaah!!!
The overwhelming presence of those enormous wings resembled that of an archangel, not an ordinary angel.
Seeing that, Luna and I froze on the spot.
“Huh?”
Ziiiiiiiiing!!!!!
At the same time, a strangely shaped halo appeared above Elpiria’s head and began spinning at tremendous speed.
Paaaanng!!!!
In an instant, an immense light burst forth, enveloping the entire mansion.
And.
The power of Elpiria, filled with the primal instinct of hunger, produced an unimaginable result.
“Uh.”
“Bread?”
—Pfft…… Ahahahahahaha!!!
In the end, Lucifer burst into uncontrollable laughter.
What Elpiria, who had been crying from hunger, created was—
The bread she had been munching on with sparkling eyes the night before.
Creating bread itself—if categorized as a miracle—could be accepted, even if one stretched their tolerance a hundred times.
However.
“Aaaah!!!”
The bread filling the entire mansion poured down like a landslide, far exceeding anything Luna or I could have expected.
“Hic…… hic!”
For some reason, Elpiria looked deeply distressed as she sobbed, grabbing the scattered bread around her and stuffing it into her mouth, chewing frantically.
Seeing her eat so pitifully—even hiccuping—made me feel guilty for no reason.
“Luna, did we starve her?”
“That’s impossible.”
Luna puffed out her chest confidently, asserting her innocence.
Looking at Elpiria now, it was as if she had been starving for days.
Usually, Elpiria didn’t eat much and would stop quickly.
But now, she kept pulling piles of bread into her arms and continuously chewing without pause.
—Creation? No……. This is absurd.
I heard Lucifer’s bewildered voice, but I couldn’t fully focus on it.
Even while eating, Elpiria shoved a piece of bread into my hand.
Because she was hungry, she concluded that others must be hungry too—a purely childlike judgment.
A small laugh escaped me without realizing.
“Leon. Maybe this……”
“I’m thinking the same thing.”
Last night, she had the appearance of a two- to three-year-old, then returned to normal.
And now, Elpiria looked about fourteen to fifteen.
With high probability, she would return to her original form again after some time.
With crumbs all over her mouth, she grabbed fistfuls of bread from the mountain that filled the mansion and chewed—
“Ugh…….”
Suddenly, Elpiria clamped her mouth shut, threw the bread in her hands wildly, and began to cry again.
Though Luna and I were inexperienced parents, we instinctively understood her behavior.
“She’s choking!”
“Water! Water!!”
[Water Drop]
Clear droplets of water instantly formed and flew toward Elpiria.
They were drawn into her mouth, and only then did she pound her chest before letting out a deep breath, as if she could finally breathe again.
Then, looking around, she spotted a baby dragon toy, her eyes sparkling as she smiled brightly.
“Sigh, whose daughter is she? I can’t take my eyes off her already.”
Her mind was that of a newborn, but her body had grown, so the scale of her actions was completely different.
“But then, when will she revert this time?”
She would definitely return to her original state.
The changes in her body size were most likely temporary phenomena caused by her own power.
“She’s already stayed transformed much longer than yesterday.”
It wasn’t just Luna and me.
Others, having pushed through the piles of bread that had turned the place into a mess, entered and stared at the situation in shock.
“What happened here? Why is the mansion full of bread in the morning……?”
“Young master! The mansion is filled with bread!”
“Huh? Kyaahaha!”
At that moment, Elpiria looked around, spotted Melissa, and toddled over before leaping into her arms.
“E-Elpiria?! Leon, what’s going on?!”
“What do you mean what’s going on? Same as yesterday. She just grew bigger.”
“Is she gradually growing?”
“Maybe. It seems random.”
“Oh my…….”
As the cloth hastily covering her slipped down, revealing her pale body, Luna quickly wrapped her in a thin blanket.
“She’ll return to normal after some time, but this isn’t exactly a good state.”
Just then.
Elpiria, in Melissa’s arms, stared intently at a small toy in her hand and giggled.
At the same time, the toy began to glow—
—and then turned into an enormous rattle.
“Uh…… huh?! Aaah!”
Melissa couldn’t even react before being crushed beneath the toy.
“W-What is this! Leon!”
First she created enough bread to bury the mansion, and now she enlarged a small toy into something massive.
“Luna…… do archangels have powers like that?”
“That’s impossible. Even though Michael named her the Archangel of Immaculacy……”
As if she had been watching, Lispa’s voice rang out.
“An Archangel of Immaculacy does not possess such power. The structure to casually multiply, divide, create, and transform the rules that govern the world……”
She spoke.
“There is only one being in this world that possesses such authority.”
The being that created light from the void.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]