Chapter 20
My heart was filled with joy to the point where I felt it was bursting!
I was just so happy!
Airi and I hadn't expected to get pregnant without fertility aids for another decade or so later, but we didn't regret our decisions leading up to this point, not one bit.
Airi was pregnant with my child, our child, and we were going to be parents. I had dreamed of this day ever since I laid my eyes and fell in love with my darling wife.
After hearing the full story from Airi, Alfia showed the young Magi ladies around the apartment, while Artemis, Airi, and I spent some time together and discussed our future plans. Artemis had left for the kitchen to cook everyone some lunch, leaving Airi and I to catch up and share in our mutual joy.
"She's being quiet."
"It's too early for the baby to be kicking around!" Airi gives my head a weak shove in an attempt to liberate her belly, "How do you know she's a girl anyway?"
I laughed and obliged her previous efforts, removing my head over her tummy and rested it on her lap instead, "I don't. I just hope I'll have a daughter. If my first child were a boy, then I would be shaking in my boots at the thought of him imitating daddy dearest."
Airi brushed her hand through my hair, smiling gently at me, "It's good that you're honest about how well you think you would do as a role model, though I think you're exaggerating a lot."
"I think not! Could you imagine him copying me and saying stuff like 'cut off your arms and I'll consider leaving your corpse intact'? He'll definitely end up as a young master character."
"Ahahaha! Dropping the cliched quotes was supposed to be a given so I felt no need to mention it! But seriously, I'll get mad if you say things like that around our children, so don't do it."
"I won't. That's a promise, Airi."
"Thank you."
"Should we start coming up with baby names?"
"Hmm, maybe later… hey, Dio?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you too. If you think I don't say it enough then I'll gladly make up for it."
"Hmm, how about you double that amount? Not for me, but for our baby, I'm sure they would be happy to know how much we love them."
Artemis called out to us a few minutes after we had spoken a bit more about the baby. Once lunch was over, I gathered up everyone to finalize our immediate plans.
"We'll be heading over to Artemis' homeworld, you know, the one that was heroically saved by Alfia-"
"-Please refrain from exaggerating my feats."
"Fine, fine. The one where Alfia and a lot of effective demigod adventurers successfully saved from three powerful monsters. There's still a monster-spawning dungeon down there that will eventually kick-start the apocalypse but that's just a minor detail."
"Minor details he says…"
I was probably the foremost expert at getting Alfia to roll her eyes at this point.
"Minor for me. Not so much for everyone there but I have faith that they will be prepared for it. I did my part in getting things on the right track, now, it's up to you lot."
Artemis nodded at that, "Though the gods may dwell among them, the lower world belongs to mortals, and thus, its fate belongs in mortal hands."
"You say that like Dio's a god… oh wait, close enough! Tee hee!" Airi looked a bit embarrassed at not considering it sooner. It was an unsurprising reaction, given that I was her husband and that 'godhood' was more of a racial thing in her world, so it would never really occur to locals that I was a god just because I had powers that dwarfed most.
"Yeah, apocalypse aside, that would only happen in around… 15-20 years after Bell's birth. Ah right, Bell is Alfia's adorable nephew. Who she should really have visited and attended several birthday parties for-"
"-Kuh! I still have yet to come up with decent gift ideas…"
"Don't worry Alfia, I got you covered. We'll pop over at around 4 years after we left so that you can actually speak with your nephew alright? That way, Airi and I can also get some parenting tips from Meteria and Jason!"
"So we will be heading to Orario?" Fiore asked after raising her hand.
I shook my head, "Nope. We're heading over to the Elven kingdom where most of our friends are staying. The queen knows me and I did matchmake her with Zeus, oh, I also got them together with Hera so technically it's a kingdom co-ruled and backed by the Zeus and Hera Familia."
"Oh right, you did mention Zeus back then…" "Zeus!" "Another divine spirit?!"
I had to reassure Fiore, Radia, and Nazica that they weren't going to be raped by Zeus anytime soon (Artemis still looked skeptical at my words).
For one thing, this version of Zeus is a lot nicer. He would only sexually harass and peek at them at worst, though he will certainly go out of his way to sleep with others when his wives aren't in sight. Secondly, Zeus was my sworn friend (and 2nd father, too), so he would respect my wishes and companions. Lastly, I would be protecting them, nothing else needed to be said.
Our arrival at the kingdom was at dusk, I specifically chose a place where Bell could be sighted. As I planned, Alfia spotted him at an instant, and when Bell turned around, she stood there in front of him, stunned.
Alfia hadn't even realized she had rushed towards him, for the first time in her life, her legs moved on their own. She asked for his name, then placed her hand on Bell's round cheek and quietly hugged him. It was the second time I saw her broke into tears.
The first and only time before today had been just after I healed her, and even then, she had quickly wiped them away lest anyone other than her sister could see them. At least, that was her intention, but everyone present at the time had witnessed her surge of emotion and kept silent for her sake.
The adorable white-haired boy returned the embrace and started crying at having sensed something familiar about the lady that hugged him.
"You look a lot like Meteria. Your white hair, your face, your smile, all are inherited from your mother."
"Mommy? You know mommy?"
"Yes. I'm your aunt Alfia, that is, I'm your mommy's sister."
Alfia then muttered something about his father's red eyes and wanting to hollow them out, but thankfully, the kid was too young to comprehend the rather terrifying words.
Meteria soon came by to bring Bell back home and caught sight of her sister, who she happily embraced and then scolded severely for leaving for years without a single message to them.
We all left Alfia to her fate as she was forced to sit in the Seiza position and accept her punishment. I encountered Zald on the way to meet Zeus and had a quick chat with him, (re)introducing the ladies, telling him the good news about my wife, setting up a time to catch up on stuff, and handed him an interspatial ring with some new ingredients to try out.
"My boy Dio! You finally came to visit!" Zeus was a lot more jolly, the Santa kind of jolly, nowadays. Guess that's what semi-retirement from Orario does to you.
"It's good to see you again. We're planning to stick around for a year so that Airi can give birth safely and without any being back in our homeworld noticing the birth, just in case of anything extraordinary."
Airi laughed and slapped my back playfully, "Hahaha, my husband here is expecting weather changes and a rainbow for when our child gets out."
"Hey, you'll never know what happens if the Heavens bless them. If they turn out to be a main character like myself, then there's sure to be some kind of sign! I just don't want anyone noticing too soon."
Especially from the higher beings.
The main reason I came back to Danmachi is that the gods here can't do a thing against my family even if we caught their attention and because the slightly higher concentration of laws might give our child a head start in Cultivation.
If I wanted optimal results I would have suggested the Anos' universe, but I didn't want a repeat of Misa's case, where her mother (Great Spirit Reno) was killed by a persistent god (in this case, the Heavenly Father God Nousgalia) and she had taken out of her mother's womb for the sake of furthering one of their many plots.
Even if I gained a few Cultivation realm increases, the gods in that universe were still tricky enough with their magic to possibly pull one over me, and I wasn't going to risk that just for the sake of giving my child more powerful traits at birth.
I would only consider doing so for Airi's next pregnancy. By then, I should be able to increase my Cultivation level and magical abilities to new heights.
I didn't want to jump several worlds and go on an extended training spree is because I didn't want to be separated from Airi for any long periods of time after my last adventure so I would just settle with what we have right now.
"He worries a lot. I'm worried too, but his kind of worries are a bit outlandish."
I dare her to say that to all the other Xianxia protagonists that get their babies stolen or entire family massacred.
Zeus nodded sagely, "Well, I kind of understand where the two of you are coming from. Gods and other sorts of beings get very interested in special births. You won't believe the kind of commotion that came up when we had to help Aria and Aiz settle down."
"Are they doing well?" Airi asked in my stead.
"They are! Aiz is a delightful child-"
After chatting for a long time, and then meeting up with Hera again, Zeus brought us to his hentai elf wife Cathia so that she could order some servants to prepare a few rooms for our stay.
Zeus technically had authority in this country, but apparently, he was now 'whipped' when it came to anything outside the bedroom after making some stupid decisions while drunk.
I gave the elf queen the courtesies required of me despite my status as a national hero for what I've done in their homeworld, and in this world, then took Zeus aside to tell him something about his wife.
"Cathia is pregnant."
"WHAT?! I swore I follow all the anti-NTR guidelines!"
"With your child. I know, I sensed your essence within her womb."
"Bwuh…!"
"Yes, yes, I know gods aren't supposed to be capable of having children, but it's a bit similar to Aria's case in that the chances are so low that no one had succeeded until now."
"Uuuuuuuhhhhh…."
Ignoring Zeus' repetitive dumb animal noises, I continued on with a question, "Have you been using the aphrodisiacs?"
"Uh huh."
"Hmm, my theory is that as the aphrodisiacs are capable of 'exciting' the targets at a deeper, spiritual level, it had allowed some of your divine essence to leak out of your mortal container. Coupled with the strong 'life' concept used in its creation, I suppose it increased the chances for that miracle to occur, leading to her pregnancy."
"I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER!?"
"I know right!? Isn't that great!"
"It is! This is wonderful! I have to tell everyone!"
"I think you should start with Hera with me there to explain things."
After all, we didn't want her to go hysterical and mad at some misunderstandings.
Zeus and I started talking about all the exciting father-child things we would be getting up to when the happy day finally arrives.
"Wait, before we head back to our wives…" I put my arm around Zeus' shoulder and whispered conspiratorially, "I just remembered that we have to take advantage of this rare opportunity given how hard natural conception can be in our situation."
He reciprocated my action and did the same, "Oh? Do tell more."
"Pregnant sex."
"Shut the door. Let's get planning."
AN: A bit short but I needed to start writing or else I would forever be side-tracked by other ideas in my head. Heading back to the Danmachi world where Meteria can smaxk some sense into her sister will also help with some character development. As pregnancy is going to be a rare occasion, it is only natural for Dio and Airi to enjoy various perverse sexual acts at different stages of her pregnancy. It's also as good a time as any for Dio to take some 'inspiration' from CoC Revamp to indulge in his Lactation fetish ensure his children are adequately fed.
