I had heard that dragons became ferocious during pregnancy, but that wasn't the case at all.
Perhaps it was because Bulga and Stifano worked so hard to keep her comfortable. The only real change was her sudden craving for massive amounts of dried persimmons, but I suppose that falls within the expected range of pregnancy whims.
I did my best to provide them. However, I still wanted her to eat a balanced diet. It isn't good for her to eat only one thing just because she's taken a liking to it.
Looking back, Rusty’s labor was remarkably swift. It was a girl. She was named Lananon.
Rusty chose the name herself. Apparently, it belonged to an ancestor on the side of Graffaloon, Rusty’s mother.
I’m not sure if they actually knew the original person, but this was the conversation between Dos and Giral when they heard the name:
"Of all people, why did she have to take a name from that wicked old hag?"
"No, if you change your perspective... couldn't we overwrite that abominable name with this sweet child?"
"Oh, now that you mention it... You're right. Umu, let’s raise her to be a grandpa’s girl—no, a great-grandpa’s girl."
"I ask that you also make sure she’s kind to me. Whenever I remember that hag, the back she burned starts to ache..."
"I understand. I understand completely."
I decided to stop listening for details. It sounded like it would be a very long story.
Draim and Graffaloon's joy was plain to see. Draim spent his time dancing in the garden with reckless abandon. He would dance until he was utterly spent, then take one look at Lananon’s face to recharge his energy before starting all over again.
Graffaloon held Lananon and refused to let go. She rejected every "let me hold her" request with a polite smile, but even though she remained in her human form, I could have sworn I saw the silhouette of a wrathful dragon manifesting behind her. At the very least, you should let Rusty hold her. And me, too.
Even after giving birth, Rusty stayed in her adult form for a while. She said it made it easier to cradle the baby. I see.
Lananon is a fine name, but it’s a bit of a mouthful. Should I call her Lana? Or would Lanaa be better? It was a trivial concern, yet I found myself agonizing over it.
Eventually, I noticed everyone else was already calling her Lana. Since it wouldn't be good to confuse the baby, I decided to go with Lana as well.
The banquet began immediately after the birth. However, since I had just dispatched Hakuren, Galf, and their team to support Village Five, it was a relatively small-scale affair. We would hold a larger celebration during the upcoming Martial Arts Tournament.
Alfred, Tiselle, Lilius, Rigul, Ratte, Torain, Hiichiro, Fracia, and Sette. "She is your younger sister. Please look after her."
I asked the same of Urza, Gral, and Hitoe. Watching the children gather around Lana, it truly hit me just how many children I now had.
Will the family keep growing? Are they going to keep increasing? Well, since I’m doing what needs to be done, they probably will.
I wondered if I should expand the fields even more. I had to make sure I could support all of them properly.
A few days after Lana was born, Hakuren returned along with Futa. "Good work." I apologized to them for holding the birth celebration while they were away.
Hakuren didn't seem to mind, but Futa didn't hesitate to demand alcohol as her reward. "There was sake at the banquet, wasn't there? Right? Right?"
With a wry smile, I organized a small drinking party for them. The participants included the entire Dwarf group. At that point, it had already ceased to be a "small" party.
Furthermore, the Dragon Family—Draim, Graffaloon, Dos, and Giral—joined in, along with various residents who had finished their work for the day. Ah, and it seemed Hakuren was joining as well. Since the other children followed her lead, it turned into a full-blown banquet after all.
"Don't give any sake to the children. No, you have to make do with juice."
The High Ogre maids were starting to feel the strain of being short-handed, so I stepped in to help with the cooking. Since this had started as a drinking party, I had mostly planned snacks and appetizers. For a proper banquet, we needed real food.
In that case... I decided to bake some prototype pizzas using the stone oven, the kind we planned to sell at Big Roof Shashato. Due to the ingredients on hand, they were mostly Vegetable Pizzas, but no one seemed to mind.
The only minor problem was Yoko. "I demand a version topped with meat!" she insisted noisily. Behind her, Kuro's children were watching me expectantly, though they were being much more polite about it.
"I get it. I'll bake some meat pizzas in a bit."
"Yoko, help carry the food to the tables. And you kids... if you aren't bored, you're welcome to wait by my side."
In the middle of the festivities, ten members of the Lamia Race arrived from the Southern Dungeon. I worried for a moment that something had happened, but they had simply come to bring me a gift. It was a joint present from the Lamia Race, the Giant Race, and the Wyvern Race Elder. It seemed the conversation I’d seen the Lamias having with the Elder earlier had been about this.
"We apologize for the intrusion while you are celebrating, but we have brought a Phoenix egg to commemorate the completion of the dungeon. Please accept it."
In the center of the banquet area, I received the large egg from the Lamias. It was big enough that I had to use both arms to cradle it, yet it felt surprisingly light. As for its appearance... it had a beautiful marble pattern of red, white, orange, and pink. It possessed a regal air, almost like a work of art.
I thanked the Lamias and the Giants who were present, then held the egg aloft like a trophy. A massive cheer went up, followed by a round of applause. It seemed my presentation was well-received, but...
What exactly was I supposed to do with it? Should I just display it? Or should I try to keep it warm and hatch it?
As I stood there feeling a bit conflicted, I didn't miss Giral muttering to himself from a nearby seat. "I hear those taste incredible."
I see. It is an egg, after all. Before I could say anything, Graffaloon, who was sitting next to him, delivered a sharp punch to his side. "Phoenix eggs are traditional good luck charms for infants. We will not be eating it."
So that was how it worked. In that case, I would put it on display. That was the right move, wasn't it?
I thanked the Lamias once more and carried the Phoenix egg over to the statues of the Creator God and the God of Agriculture. I placed it carefully before them. Wait, did this make it look like an official religious offering? Well, whatever. I’d build a proper shelf for it tomorrow. I’d need to make sure it wouldn't roll off.
The day after the banquet, I asked Futa about the situation in Village Five. Apparently, buildings were already being erected, and full-scale development was underway.
Wait... development? As in a town? Not a village? "It’s hard to call a place of that scale a mere 'village' without feeling a bit of cognitive dissonance," she explained.
Is that so? Galf and the others who went with her were reportedly handling the local monsters and magic beasts without any trouble, which was a relief.
The Teleportation Gate was installed in the basement of my Mansion Storehouse. Calling it a storehouse was a bit of an understatement, as it was roughly the size of a small gymnasium. We used it to disguise the sheer volume of goods being moved through the gate.
Neither the mansion nor the storehouse were finished yet, but the coordinate stones for the Teleportation Gate had been set without any issues. Now, the gate could be opened whenever we liked.
I should probably go take one more look before we actually put it into use. I wanted to be as cautious as humanly possible when it came to the Teleportation Gate.