NOVEL WEB Chapter 30
Children grow day by day, they say.
I seem to understand what that means.
It’s no exaggeration.
Tia was truly growing tremendously each day.
“Mom! Poop!”
“Go and take care of it.”
“Help!”
“Ugh…”
I had already taken off her diaper.
Though she still needed my help to get on the toilet, accidents in her pants were rare.
As the daily routine of changing and washing diapers disappeared, I felt a bit unsettled, but it was nice to feel more comfortable.
“Tia, don’t you think you’ve doubled in size in the past two weeks…?”
“Double? No way. I think I’ve tripled in size!”
“Isn’t it usually the case that demons grow that quickly?”
“Seems like it. That’s why they’re so freakishly strong.”
Hearing conversations pass between customers while walking by the shop has often sent chills down my spine.
I couldn’t truly tell how demons look or if their growth rate is indeed that fast.
Fortunately, most customers seemed as ignorant as I was.
Thanks to that, I could simply brush it off most of the time.
“Hey. What do we do about this?”
“Hmm?”
Every time I looked at Tia, my worries only grew.
Petting her rough, horned surface was strangely addictive.
But that wasn’t the main issue.
The horns were curving gradually towards the back of her head.
If it were demon horns, I’d expect them to grow straight up.
But Tia’s horns were trying to curl like a ram’s, and I couldn’t help but worry.
At this rate, we might soon be found out that she’s the daughter of a dragon.
“Why is your hair growing so fast…?”
“Mom! It’s ticklish! Hehe.”
I sat Tia on my lap and gathered her hair.
My touch was perhaps too rough, as Tia occasionally burst into laughter.
I’ve never cared much about my own hair because it was good, but Tia’s hair seemed to require daily care.
It would certainly need it even more as it grew longer.
Of course, cutting it all off would be the easiest solution, but…
I felt a sense of refusal about that.
“Ow! Ow! That hurts!”
“Just bear with it.”
“I don’t want to! That hurts!”
“…”
But I was also inexperienced with tying hair, so I couldn’t possibly tie Tia’s hair successfully.
After comforting and coaxing the crying Tia, I finally managed to tie her hair properly once.
So this is how it’s done.
I can see it now.
When I tied her gathered hair with a ribbon, it turned into a strange ponytail, and I struggled to hold back my laughter.
I couldn’t let her go out looking like this.
“Why? Why?”
“No, you’re just too cute…”
Unable to help myself, I tightly embraced Tia in my chest.
At first, Tia was bewildered, feeling my chest, but soon she surrendered and hugged me back.
How could she be this lovable?
“Mom, what’s that smell…”
“…”
Tia was definitely born to be loved.
No matter how I thought about it, I reached that conclusion.
As I quietly stroked Tia’s hair, I pushed aside the annoying bangs.
Then I placed a hairpin, leaving her bangs neatly arranged; it was Tia looking even cuter.
“Eww!”
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing…”
It was a look that I wanted to announce to the whole neighborhood.
I desperately stifled a laugh while gently stroking Tia’s hair, which was still confused.
She was cute, but I felt that I needed to practice more on her bangs.
Or maybe I should learn from Irina.
“Mmm. Hmm…”
“…”
As I held Tia, I flinched and trembled from another ticklish sensation.
It was because Tia had started to play with my chest.
But the way she moved was so blatant that her intentions were obvious.
“Are you hungry?”
“Mmm.”
“You can’t drink milk anymore. Give it up.”
“Why? It still comes out.”
“Hey. How old are you still trying to drink milk…”
I felt my mouth close on its own as I thought about it.
Realizing that Tia was only two months old made it sink in.
She only looked like a five-year-old in size.
Moreover, my milk hadn’t dried up yet.
In that case, is it really correct to keep breast-feeding Tia for a while longer?
But holding such a big child and breastfeeding seemed quite strange.
I found myself in a dilemma.
“Don’t bare your teeth.”
“Mmm.”
“And don’t touch too much while drinking, okay?”
“Mmm!”
Tia nodded vigorously.
She was quick to answer at times like this.
I let out a deep sigh and picked Tia up with both hands.
Her limbs were sticking out, ready to burst from my embrace.
She was so heavy, truly.
I couldn’t help but doubt if it was really right to breastfeed a child like this, but the moment I saw the expectant look in Tia’s eyes, it was already too late.
I could no longer resist.
“Ugh. I told you not to bare your teeth… Ugh…”
“Mmm, omnomnom…”
I wished that my milk wouldn’t come out quickly.
I’ve never wished for that more desperately than at that moment.
After finishing breastfeeding, I was utterly exhausted, feeling completely drained.
Though I hadn’t really been that active, my body trembled with every brush of Tia’s teeth, making it mentally and physically painful.
“Shall we start heading out soon?”
Looking outside, it was early morning, just as the sun was rising.
There was still plenty of time before the store opened.
Normally, I would have been deeply asleep by now.
But today, I had different plans.
“Where are we going?”
“To church. Change your clothes and get ready.”
I intended to stop by the church for morning worship.
Irina had strongly recommended it.
Even with the bribe, I had to pretend to believe in a religion to get my citizenship…
So I had to at least get my face stamped by the priest.
I had made quite a flamboyant stamping on my first day in this town.
I was curious about what would happen if we ran into each other again.
And above all, I needed Tia to become familiar with the church.
After all, what helps in living in this world is usually the church, which dominates this world, rather than my stubborn, atheist mom, who often complains about society.
Having faith would likely be good for Tia as well.
“Can you get dressed by yourself?”
“Mmm!”
Watching Tia, who could now easily take off her clothes and put on her outside outfit, brought a smile to my face.
However, it seemed her clothes were already starting to get small.
When I bought them, they had fit her so well that the sleeves covered her hands, but now the sleeves were creeping up above her wrists.
It was settled; we needed to buy her some clothes today.
“What’s a church?”
“Hmm. It’s a place where people who believe in God gather to brag about how much they believe in Him.”
“Why do they do that?”
“Because it makes them feel at ease.”
“Huh…”
“Maybe?”
Since I was just as ignorant about religion as Tia, I decided to refrain from sharing my shallow views.
After all, experiencing it firsthand would be much quicker and better.
Having finished preparing, I pulled Tia’s hood over her head and left the house.
Though it wasn’t a long time since I last went out, Tia was bouncing around with excitement like a ball.
“Mom! Mom! What’s that?”
“That’s the city hall. It’s where important people work.”
“What about that?”
“That’s a luxury carriage. The moment it gets scratched, we’re both headed straight to slavery.”
“Yikes…”
It felt like I was walking with a leash attached to a bouncy ball.
I had to hold on tightly to keep her from wandering off to some strange place.
Hearing Tia’s humming as we walked, we soon arrived at the church.
As we entered the chapel, a familiar woman in the front row waved at us joyfully.
It was Irina.
“Aunt!”
“Shh. Be quiet here…”
I quickly covered Tia’s mouth, not wanting to get kicked out immediately upon entrance.
If that happened, it would only be a matter of time before I got labeled a heretic and lost my citizenship.
Tia pressed her lips tightly together, unable to open her mouth at all.
Holding Tia’s hand, I walked slowly towards the front row, trying to avoid disturbing any prayers.
As I pushed Tia inside the long bench, Irina welcomed us in silence, ruffling Tia’s hair like she had been waiting.
After a while of enjoying Tia’s hair, Irina whispered softly.
“You really came? I thought you wouldn’t wake up so early.”
“Wake up? Do you think I’m nocturnal? But are you a devout believer from the start…?”
“Hehe. Only on Sundays. Oh, the priest is coming.”
As Irina raised a finger to her lips to signal silence, Tia shut her mouth again.
I tensed as well, not as much as Tia, but still enough.
I squeezed Tia’s hand tightly.
Even though my hand was sweaty and probably uncomfortable for her, Tia willingly held my hand.
Soon the sound of clicking heels approached, revealing the priest wearing glasses and a nun following behind him.
Both faces were familiar.
Those were the two people I had seen when I first arrived in this city…
“Good morning, everyone. It’s truly a pleasure to start the early morning refreshingly, isn’t it?”
“…”
As the priest scanned the chapel, our eyes met.
I felt my breath hitch.
He was looking at me with the same gentle smile as before.
I feared that smile would twist and he’d look at me like I was an insect again.
Unconsciously, I had hidden Tia’s head in my embrace.
“Today, we see some new faces. That’s good. Since everyone is busy, shall we begin quickly?”
“Ah…”
The priest nonchalantly averted his gaze and resumed the worship.
I caught the nun’s gaze briefly as well; she didn’t seem to recognize me either.
Neither recognized Tia or me.
I could understand Tia not being recognized since she had grown so much from being a newborn, but I was a little surprised that I wasn’t recognized.
After all, it was quite a jump from wearing a bloodstained skirt and having messy hair to showing up properly dressed…
“Mmm, Mom. It’s stuffy…”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Still okay. I’m in mom’s arms; that’s nice.”
“…”
As I sighed at Tia, who seemed to want to nestle deeper into my arms, the heavy sound of heels began to echo from afar.
I felt a chill run through my body at that sound.
“God, thank you for letting me live this life once again with this breath. Please let me breathe comfortably and provide comfort to my body…”
“…”
As everyone clasped their hands tightly and worshipped, I was frozen in place.
In the dark shadow.
I locked eyes with the priest in black robes, standing with his hands behind his back.
He was definitely looking at me as if he recognized me.
He was another familiar face.
The ninja priest, that bastard…!