Once the babies were born, the sound of crying echoed in each room. Cinderielle and the others noticed something odd, though. After they stopped giving birth and began using their milky sap to feed the child, the doctor seemed to return to Verdantia's room with a frown.
Liu Shu was curious as well, so she focused on them.
"You still feel uncomfortable?"
Verdantia was breathing heavily, her face full of tiredness, and the contractions were not stopping. So, she could only nod as an answer. The doctor squinted and placed his hand on Verdantia's stomach. "You… have twins!"
With that, he quickly called the nurses over to help and to continue helping Verdantia.
"T-Twins?" Verdantia was stunned for a second before she refocused. "A-Alright… Let's continue."
Thankfully, the process for the second one was swift. Verdantia was internally dilated, and her womb had already detached all connections. Therefore, a few pushes later, she finally let the second one out.
After hearing the cry of the fifth one, everyone breathed out a sigh of relief they didn't know they were holding. Even Liu Shu felt her roots softening. 'Finally done…'
She had been on edge for the last week. When she looked over at Vorathen, she noticed that a large mountainous area was in ruins, her roots having destroyed everything as she tangled them as stress relief. 'Well… Nobody will know. So, it is the same as if it didn't happen.'
Instead of being preoccupied with that, Liu Shu split her consciousness into four and spoke with all the mothers at once.
Cinderielle held the baby in her arms, her face full of tenderness as she looked at it. A Sylvan baby was different from a human's. They were actually slightly developed, showing hair and pearly white skin after a while. This was because of the nourishment they got through nine years of pregnancy.
"You are so pretty~." Cinderielle smiled, her face marred with exhaustion. Even when she was over Level 100, giving birth pushed her body to the limits. It wasn't a matter of strength, but a matter of existence.
During the birth, the mother gave her all to make sure that the child was delivered safely, regardless of her individual strength.
"She is so pretty. Have you thought of a name, Cinder?"
Liu Shu questioned, her roots climbing up the bed and tenderly massaging her body. Cinderielle, glancing at the happily suckling baby, nodded. "I did. We've already had so many children, so it is hard to think of another one. However, I do think that Pyralis is really nice."
Amareal, Cinderielle's mother, chuckled at the side. "Honestly, that name sounds like the name of a precious gem instead of a Sylvan's name."
Cinderielle rolled her eyes a bit. "Mom, it's not that I don't know that. But you know that after more than 30 babies named, ingenuity can only get so far."
Amareal had nothing to say about that. Her daughter-in-law popped out children as if she were printing them with a machine, so they were all somewhat at a loss when naming them. They even had reunions every few months to brainstorm names with other family members.
Looking down, Amareal was honestly awed at the beauty of the little doll. While she was small, only slightly larger than a human child, her features were much more defined. Just a single glance told Amareal that this little one would grow to become extremely beautiful.
"Hm…? What is that?"
Cinderielle blinked and looked at where Amareal was pointing. Pyralis had gorgeous amethyst-colored eyes, inherited from Liu Shu, and her hair was a vibrant orange tone, looking smooth even with the wetness from having recently been born.
But in her hair, there were some locks that didn't follow the same orange color. Instead, these locks of hair were shining dimly with multicolored light, as if they were made of iridescent and ever-changing material. Cinderielle's mind became somewhat blank when looking at that, as if something was about to awaken deep inside.
Liu Shu's voice brought her back from that state, though. "Those locks are really beautiful. They are completely natural, right?"
Amareal glanced at the roots lovingly caressing Cinderielle's body and nodded. "That seems to be the case. I don't know if they will grow together with her, or if they will disappear. Speaking of which…" Amareal's eyes glanced down at the baby's waist, and her lips twitched. "It is following the Sylvan Mother's gender from the looks of it."
Cinderielle glanced down and blinked as well. Then, she smiled. "That's good. While it is a bit bothersome, her dating pool is basically 100% of people instead of 50%."
Everyone deadpanned at Cinderielle's comment. Amareal asked, curious. "Are all the babies like this, Liu Shu?"
"No. They aren't. There are some fully female ones without extra equipment. None without the female organs, though."
While Cinderielle was taking care of Pyralis, the rest were doing the same with their children.
In Tempestria's room, since she had no family members to accompany her, Veyra and Elyne were sitting by her side with Liu Shu. The grey-haired Sylvan's face was peaceful as she held her baby, the only other one born like Pyralis.
As the baby suckled, Tempestria traced her features. "You got my hair and your mom's eyes; aren't you the prettiest, love?"
Tempestria had always felt a bit guilty for her Sylphaith babies. They were not beautiful in the mainstream way. Their overly large eyes, lack of a mouth on their face, and belly mouth made many recoil at first sight. Not to mention, their skin was a strange purplish color, and their fingers were longer than those of a human. Among all the Alraune species, they were probably the most monstrous.
Therefore, Tempestria was slightly scared that her Sylvan child would also have strange characteristics. While, as her mother, she would love her all the same, she understood deeply that appearance was really important when dealing with others. Hence, if she could have beautiful babies, she would naturally choose that over an unattractive one.
"You are so pretty… I am glad."
Veyra was by Tempestria's side, holding one of her hands gently. During the last decade, she had come to love these four Sylvans dearly. Of course, not romantically, but in a familiar way. Moreover, as she spent more time with them, Veyra understood something profound. 'They are too similar to say it's a coincidence.'
They had the same birthday, they had the same age, and they even had similar heights. Moreover, even as their bodies varied from one to the other, their facial features very faintly resembled each other. If one presented them without any context, some people would think that they are sisters from the same mother, when that couldn't be any less truthful.
Finally, what made her even more shocked was that all of them had the gender specialness of her own child. '...What connection do they share? If Obsidianis and Seraphina had not left the Covenant already, I would've sent someone to pick them and carry them over.'
Liu Shu asked softly, her roots adoringly massaging Tempestria. "What is her name, Tempestria?"
"I chose it a while ago, and I do think that Arlyn is good. Still…" Tempestria blinked as her fingers touched a very beautiful, multicolored lock of hair. "What is this? It feels really… familiar?"
Elyne muttered, her purple eyes gleaming with faint lights. "I do not know, but that lock of hair feels profound and mysterious, as if it carries an inherited, ancient power."
Veyra was surprised. "Really? I can't feel anything special from it."
Elyne was also confused as to why she could feel that. "Perhaps… Is it because I am connected to Liu Shu at a deep level? I just feel it in my bones, like an instinct."
Tempestria hummed, but she didn't care much. Instead, she smiled. "It looks really good together with her silvery grey hair."
Liu Shu and the other two smiled and agreed.
In the room next to her, Harmonixia was taking care of her own baby with many family members by her side. During the six days of labor, close family members got to know about it and quickly arrived. Now, there were almost 14 people inside Harmonixia's room. Of course, not to bother the mother and child, most of them were standing at a distance away.
Melody poked the baby's cheek as it suckled away and smiled. "My granddaughter is so pretty~. Deep and ocean-like blue eyes, and her hair is a gorgeous purple color. It seems that our blood has triumphed quite grandly this time around."
Liu Shu chuckled. "It does seem like so."
Harmonixia rolled her eyes gently. "Don't say that, Mother. Also, what is this? Multicolored hair?"
Melody and the others were also confused about it. "It's at the fringe, right? If she lets it grow in the future, it will surely look great."
Liu Shu commented. "Elyne seems to have sensed something special from that lock of hair, like a deep power. I can't say that I don't have a similar sensation. Regardless, I don't feel anything wrong with them. Once they unlock their System Pages, we'll have to see if there is a
Harmonixia blinked. "All of the babies have this multicolored fringe? That's… quite peculiar."
"Peculiar is indeed a word we can use, haha."
Liu Shu chuckled while the rest of the family spoke among themselves. Harmonixia glanced at her daughter's waist area and hummed. "It seems that you were the one who won in this regard. My baby didn't inherit our family's secret weapon!"
Liu Shu had the urge to tap Harmonixia's forehead and roll her eyes at her. "What secret weapon? Silly Harmonixia."
Harmonixia laughed and lowered her head to kiss her baby. "Well, Meldy is really cute, so it's nice."
Melody blinked. "You took my name and deleted one vowel?"
Harmonixia raised her eyebrow. "Are you not happy, Grandma? Moreover, while the action is subtle, the sound is really different. Pronounce it."
Melody did so and blinked. "That's… Wow, to think that a single vowel can make two names sound so different."
Liu Shu felt comfortable listening to the banter in this room. Since all of them came from a musical background, their voices didn't sound messy at all. It was like being in a complicated symphony as they all talked together. 'Speaking of which, Meldy's cry was melodic as well. It's a… strange feeling. Who knew that crying could sound so cute?'
Liu Shu feared that Meldy's future partner might bully her just to hear her cry. Of course, such worries were nonsense. After all, whoever dared bully her babies would be squeezed by Liu Shu and turned into fertilizer. She was gentle with the world, but touch Liu Shu's family, and you'll understand what "Embodiment Of Nature's Wrath" means.
Finally, inside Verdantia's room, Verena, Branthis, and a few other close Liferoot family members gathered around the mother who gave birth to twins. As she fed both children, Verdantia muttered happily. "I am one step ahead of the others with this, hehe."
Verena, at the side, rolled her eyes. "Must everything be a competition with the others, love? I know that your feelings for Liu Shu are quite dark and ominous, but you must control them a bit, alright?"
There was no one who didn't know that Verdantia was the one who loved Liu Shu the most obsessively. Even the others, who were quite extreme in their love, admitted that Verdantia was number one in this regard.
"Liu Shu doesn't mind, so why should I?" Verdantia humphed, and then, she looked down with a smile. "Thankfully, while both of them have green hair, one of them has purple eyes like Liu Shu. Green green and green purple~. We'll be able to distinguish them in the future."
Liu Shu asked, sweating a bit. "That's not their names, right?"
Verdantia chuckled. "Of course not. This multicolored fringe they have is quite pretty, and I am tempted to change the names I thought of previously to match it. But regardless, I think that naming them Faye and Faylin is good. They sound really nice."
Verena smiled. "They do indeed sound nice."
Branthis asked, his voice a touch curious. "Who will be who?"
Verdantia hummed. "Let's call the one with purple eyes Faye and the one with green eyes Faylin."
Liu Shu smiled, feeling that these names were quite good for the twins.