No, better not get too excited just yet.

Could Eliya’s words even be trusted?

Naya glanced down at the bulge on her stomach—Eliya had burrowed inside, stretching her dress upward like a pregnant human.

“How did you figure that out?”

Elise had mentioned it hadn’t even been a month since conception.

“By reading the energy signature,” Eliya replied. “It’s a life-perception ability the previous Dragon King taught me. Any being that qualifies as ‘alive’ can be sensed this way—distance, count, everything.”

I see. Though Naya didn’t understand a bit of it.

Better safe than sorry. She’d discuss it with Elise later. Surely Elise wouldn’t lack a skill Eliya possessed.

She’d see how Elise assessed it then.

“You said ‘more than one’—are there two? Or more?”

“Two.”

“Oh. Stop listening and come out.”

“Hehe… it’s so warm inside, Mama.”

“Eliya!”

Naya lifted her skirt and pulled Eliya’s head out.

“Right now—study! You’re driving me crazy.”

[System, find me the full text of the Tao Te Ching. I’m making Eliya copy it a hundred times.]

[Host, Eliya can’t even read the Tao Te Ching.]

[Then… the Three Character Classic. Wait—never mind. I know it by heart myself.]

“Mama, what’s wrong? Are you angry because there are two little sisters?”

Eliya looked up at Naya, utterly confused.

Gazing into those pure, innocent eyes, Naya realized she’d overthought everything.

What could Eliya possibly know? She was just a child.

To her, touching Mama’s belly was playful curiosity—or simple dependence.

Naya’s anger melted away instantly.

“No, Mama’s happy. Eliya, are you happy? In a few months, you’ll have two little sisters.”

“Happy! Wait—no! Will Mama only care about them after they’re born?”

Eliya’s eyes widened with sudden worry.

Three children… how could one Mama divide her love?

Would she lose bedtime stories? Be left playing with maids while Mama doted on the twins?

Seeing Eliya’s pout threatening tears, Naya smiled gently.

“Never. Whether it’s you or your unborn sisters—I’ll love you all equally. Not a single bit less.”

“But… there’s only one Mama.”

“Then you’ll help me care for them. We’ll hatch them together, teach them to take human form, have them call you ‘Big Sister’ first… and we’ll tell them stories together. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“Eh? Yay!”

Being a big sister… well… not entirely unthinkable.

Eliya wagged her tail, already dreaming of that future.

“But first—copy the Three Character Classic once.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ll recite; you write.”

“Okay~”

Perched on a chair, Eliya gripped the pen with solemn focus.

“At birth, human nature is inherently good…”

The words felt strangely awkward leaving Naya’s lips.

Teaching the Three Character Classic in another world? To a Dragonkin child, no less.

And Elise was so gentle—she couldn’t bear punishing *her* with copying drills.

Still… the stories inside could be shared with Eliya later.

————————

Afternoon nap time.

After tucking Eliya in, Naya sat beside her, watching her peaceful sleep.

Too fond to leave, too bored to just stare—she turned to the System.

[System, why couldn’t you detect the twins in my womb?]

[I couldn’t confirm twins.]

[What? You *can* gauge developmental stage!]

[Yes, but I’m not as skilled as Eliya. She reads life through energy patterns—I don’t grasp the mechanics.]

[Just check for two egg cells!]

[Dragonkin reproduction isn’t human. Beneath your chaotic energy, I can’t count lifeforms—only vaguely sense stage. And twins? Identical or fraternal? If identical… who knows how many splits occurred mid-development?]

[You’re really that incompetent? Eliya knows this at her age?]

[Eliya isn’t ordinary Dragonkin. Her magic runs denser. After that dream, she grew stronger—the Dragon King truly taught her, accelerating her growth.]

Having answered, the System fired back:

[And you? Look at you. Mock *me*? Without me, you’d spend life as Elise’s pampered little wife.]

*Pampered little wife…?* Naya’s heart skipped.

[Well… that’s… not entirely unacceptable…]

[…]

Hopeless.

The System wished a wild boar would charge and end its misery.

How had it gotten a Host so deeply devoted to Elise?

…Oh. *It* chose her. Never mind.

Even transcendent beings shouldn’t believe in free lunches. No other System connected to Naya for a reason:

She loved Elise too deeply.

How could anyone convince her to kill her wife and abandon her daughter?

[System… one question. The previous System… is it truly gone?]

Before the System replied, Naya added sharply:

[Don’t lie. Don’t weaponize its memory. Don’t use my guilt to turn me against Elise.]

[Yes. Utterly gone. Its death reached the realm of the Supreme Deity. The Supreme Deity Himself confirmed it. Unprecedented. Most failed Systems return to seek new Hosts.]

[Do Systems know each other?]

[No communication—not even in the Supreme Deity’s realm. To your three-dimensional understanding: we are isolated energy entities.]

[Then… why do you exist?]

*So chatty today. How much more does she want?* The System had already been generous.

[You have no right to know. If you truly thanked the previous System for saving you… what do you feel facing its killer—Elise? When you hold her close, doesn’t your conscience ache?]

Naya bit her lip, fingers digging into her thighs. The white hem of her dress pressed deep into her skin.

*This* was why she avoided this topic.

She was terrified.

Terrified she’d resent Elise.

Terrified the System would twist her guilt into slander.

Terrified emotion would blind her—and make her hate the one she loved most.