Chapter 366
At Michaelâs words, Irene was left speechless, her mouth wide open.
âUh⌠then what am I supposed to do?â
âIsnât giving birth to the child already doing all the hard work? So itâs only right that I handle the raising. All you need to do is love and dote on the baby whenever you have a chance.â
Irene burst out laughing again at Michaelâs answer.
It was truly a reassuring reply.
Just then, Ruby, who had been nestled in Ireneâs arms, began to fuss and opened her eyes.
âHu⌠uwaahâŚâ
Sheâs going to cry!
In that instant, Michael grabbed the toy and shook it with lightning speed. Irene also rocked Ruby in her arms, trying to lull her back to sleep.
But Rubyâs whimpering only grew, and just as she was about to burst into full-on wailingâ
[Whoosh-whoosh, peekaboo!]
Suddenly, a long tentacle shot out from behind the sofa, holding the toys Michael hadnât managed to grab, and moved them in a dazzling display.
Ruby, wide-eyed, stopped crying at the sight of the toys moving so fast they were almost a blur.
Entranced by the wildly moving toys, Ruby soon started to nod off, unable to resist the drowsiness, and closed her eyes.
Once Ruby had fallen asleep again, Chomp-chomp finally stopped moving and said,
[Huff, huff⌠finally got her to sleep.]
Watching Chomp-chomp, Irene and Michael spoke at the same time.
âDo you want an apple?â
âEat as many apples as you want.â
* * *
Reyna and Felix, who had said theyâd only sleep for an hour, didnât wake until much later.
âIâm so sorry! Oh my, I canât believe we lost track of time like thatâŚâ
Reyna, flustered, tried to take Ruby back into her arms, but Irene shook her head.
âItâs fine. You both looked so tired. Did you get a good rest?â
âAbsolutely. Thanks to you two, itâs been ages since weâve slept this longâŚâ
Reyna, looking truly moved, was on the verge of tears again.
She took Ruby from Ireneâs arms.
âI need to feed her and give her a bath. You two should go rest in the guest room. I canât believe I fell asleep and left my child with guestsâŚâ
âNo, it was good practice for putting a baby to sleep.â
âWhat? Practice? Wait, donât tell meâŚâ
Reynaâs eyes sparkled.
With her face slightly red, Irene replied,
âYeah, well⌠thatâs how it turned outâŚâ
âOh my! Oh my! Congratulations! Felix! Ireneâs going to have a baby!â
âWait, Reyna, Rubyââ
âWaaaaah!â
With Rubyâs cries ringing out again, the house was thrown back into chaos.
* * *
[The best. The best. Apples are the best.]
Chomp-chomp was singing a strange song as he happily ate apples from a sack behind Reynaâs house.
[The apples here are even tastier. Next time, Iâm going to ask them to buy these ones again. Hehe.]
Monster realm apples were great, but apples from the human realm were the best.
Chomp-chomp tossed an apple with one tentacle and swallowed it whole, then stretched out another tentacle and wiggled it with delight.
[I didnât know you two would be so happy with that.]
Moving the tentacles quickly was no big deal, but Irene and Michael had praised him so much.
Feeling prouder than ever, Chomp-chomp gulped down another apple.
[I wonder how Hand of Appraisal is doing?]
Suddenly thinking of the Hand left alone at home, Chomp-chomp stretched one tentacle through space.
A moment later, from behind the sofa at the seaside house, Chomp-chomp poked his tentacle out and looked around.
[Hey? Hand! Where are you?]
Is it done cleaning and just playing around?
Just as Chomp-chomp was worrying, Hand of Appraisal jumped up from outside the window and scurried over.
[What? Are you here to check up on me?]
[Yeah. But look at this! Their Majesties bought me a ton of apples for doing a good job! Want some?]
[No thanks. I prefer meat. Oh, by the way, when you guys went through the monster realm, I saw the Dragon of Oblivion passing by.]
[Huh? That one? Isnât that lazybones supposed to move only once every thousand years in human time?]
Hearing âDragon of Oblivionâ, Chomp-chomp sounded like anything could happen these days.
Crunch, crunch, he chewed another apple and said,
[Still, the name âDragon of Oblivionâ seems a bit much for it. Doesnât âDrunken Dragonâ fit it better, like the old days?]
Crunch, crunch.
Finishing off the apple, Chomp-chomp spoke indifferently.
[But so what? Whatâs going to happen just because it passes by?]
At that, Hand of Appraisal muttered,
[Isnât it always right after someone says that when something really happens?]
