ALL NOVEL Chapter 153 - Peaceful daily life.
TN: Thank James Baily and Peanut for the chapter.
“… I’m bored.”
My empty voice echoed through the living room. Lyla, who was watching TV, casually responded.
“Why don’t you browse the internet?”
“It’s not fun.”
“…Hmm.”
Lyla began pondering something deeply.
She was probably trying to think of something I could enjoy.
Since I was pregnant, I hadn’t been going out much recently.
Before ending up in this world, I didn’t particularly like going out, but…
People’s preferences change.
Maybe it’s because I spent so little time at home in the past year. Staying home was just too boring.
“What about the book I gave you last time?”
“I finished it ages ago.”
“The game you bought a few days ago… but that’s out of the question.”
I nodded slightly.
When I first saw the games, I thought they were perfect. New stories, new series.
Suddenly, there were dozens of AAA games I had never heard of before.
Of course, I bought a few and played them while waiting for Siwoo, with nothing else to do.
…You can probably guess what happened since I’m complaining about boredom. They all became useless junk.
“I told you they’d be useless.”
“I didn’t think they’d be that easy…”
“Games aren’t made for people like us.”
Right.
I only realized then that games were incredibly boring for superhumans.
Despite their amazing abilities and good influence, games are still just games.
They aren’t something you buy repeatedly, so the main consumer base is, of course, ordinary people…
That made them too dull for superhumans.
No matter how high the difficulty, it didn’t matter.
It felt like playing a game meant for children.
The only enjoyable types were simple puzzle games. Anything that involved even a bit of physical activity made the game rapidly uninteresting.
“If you’re really bored, why not go for a walk outside?”
“That’s not an option.”
“… You’re overprotective.”
The doctor said it was still okay for me to live normally. But despite complaining about boredom, I chose to stay at home as much as possible.
If something happened and the baby was put at risk, it would be a big problem.
Unless it was really important, I wanted to stay inside.
Lyla sighed softly and gently stroked my now obviously pregnant belly.
“Your mom’s bored, Irene.”
“What are you doing?”
“Talking to your daughter.”
“…”
I didn’t mean it like that.
Lyla continued to rub my belly, seemingly oblivious to my exasperated gaze.
“Our niece needs to be born soon so her mom won’t be so bored, right?”
“… Who’s your niece?”
“Your daughter, of course. Don’t you think I could be her aunt?”
She was really shameless.
I had plenty of retorts ready, but I didn’t voice them.
Where had the fear she used to have of me gone?
Though I saw this as a positive change, it still felt strange, considering how I remembered her from before.
Whether she understood my awkwardness or not, Lyla suddenly started making a fuss while rubbing my belly.
“Hey, hey…! She kicked! She kicked!”
“What? What are you suddenly…”
“Irene kicked! Didn’t you feel it?!”
…She kicked?
I didn’t feel anything.
Though her frantic expression was amusing, I didn’t comment on it. I was too busy focusing on my belly, trying to feel what Lyla had described.
But even after waiting a while, I felt no movement.
“Lyla, maybe you just…”
“Just wait a bit longer. She’s probably just being careful not to hurt her mom.”
“No way an unborn baby would be that considerate…”
Thump.
A small vibration resonated from within my belly.
“You felt that, right?! You felt it this time?!”
“…Wow.”
“It’s amazing. Do you think she knows we’re talking about her?”
We both knew that was unlikely. Still, ignoring that detail, we happily chatted about the baby for a while, all thoughts of boredom forgotten.
After a while, as if suddenly remembering something, Lyla asked me a question.
“Hey, boss.”
“Yeah?”
“What kind of person do you want your daughter to grow up to be?”
“…All of a sudden?”
“I’m just curious.”
I had never really thought about it. I had only been focused on the idea that this was the product of my and Siwoo’s love.
“What kind of person…”
“Just say whatever comes to mind. Kids rarely grow up exactly how their parents want.”
I knew that better than anyone.
After all, who could witness Amelia and her father’s relationship and not think about such things?
Lionel probably never wanted Amelia to grow up to betray him…
Due to our connection from the frontlines and the fact that I was one of his daughter’s few friends, he always reached out to me just as I was about to forget about him.
…Most of it was just grumbling.
Amelia should probably respect her parents a bit more.
Seeing her act so casually with her close friends was a bit…
No matter what, her dad’s light novel preferences were just a bit too much…
“…Arte?”
“Oh, sorry.”
What were we talking about again?
Oh, about how I wanted my child to grow up.
“Free.”
“…Free?”
“Yes. A child who isn’t bound by anyone.”
Sometimes I think about it.
If I didn’t have Siwoo. If that had happened, wouldn’t I have spent my whole life as the Author’s puppet?
Whenever I think about that, I hope our child won’t end up like that.
“A child who isn’t someone’s puppet, but someone who can think and act for themselves.”
“…It seems simple, yet difficult to achieve.”
“Really?”
I smiled awkwardly at Lyla’s words and stroked my belly.
…It might be a bit difficult, but I hope our child can grow up like that.
Lyla and I chatted until Siwoo came back from the academy.
***
“Daughter, when will you give me grandchildren?”
“…Please, Dad, I’m still a student at the academy.”
“Just because you’re a student doesn’t mean you can’t get married. You’re an adult, so you can date and get married.”
I wanted to punch that smirking face, but I held back.
With my current skills, I couldn’t hit him anyway.
He would dodge it as if it were the most natural thing, then tease me about it again.
“Your friend already had an ‘accident.’ You should start dating and thinking about marriage too…”
“Ughhhhh!”
“Puahaha.”
I tried my best to ignore it, but I couldn’t stand it.
Using mental attacks like this.
“That’s because they’re weird! How could they not use contraception and get pregnant at that age…!”
“Daughter, I’m so sad. It feels like I’ll die without seeing my grandchildren, and tears are blurring my vision….”
“Ahhhhh! Why are you doing this to me!”
“…Why am I doing this?”
His face, which had been laughing while teasing me, hardened.
As if he had something important to say.
“I haven’t forgotten the shameful picture you secretly posted on your SNS a few days ago….”
“Ju-just for that…!”
“Just for that? Just for thaaaaat?”
“….”
“You know very well it wasn’t just that.”
“Uh, um….”
I had nothing to say.
I might have been a bit harsh on Dad recently.
But as the eldest daughter of the Lindberg family, I decided to be shameless.
“That’s because you set up all those weird traps in my room last time!”
“That’s because you read my book aloud before me.”
“That’s because you poured water on my bed while I was sleeping and teased me about wetting the bed at my age!”
“I want you to remember that your actions caused me to do that, daughter.”
Dad and I realized that it would never end if we kept arguing about who was wrong first.
We’ve been like this since I was very young.
Neither Dad nor I knew who started it.
The only thought was to get back at each other.
That’s the reason Dad and I have always been like this.
By now, neither of us had any intention or will to stop.
Stopping first would mean losing.
No one ever said it, but we had an unspoken rule like that.
“So that’s how it is, huh? Just wait. Next time, you might actually cry at your age!”
“Haha, my daughter really has a mouth on her. Daddy might get so scared that he wets his pants…”
Dad sniffled with an expression that didn’t look scared at all.
Damn. He’s teasing me again.
“Just wait! I swear on our grandpa’s name, I’ll make you cry!”
“Then I suppose I should swear on my father’s name that I will never cry?”
“Ughhhh…!”
I will never forgive him.
I started thinking hard about how to get back at Dad.
Translator’s Corner
I’m back. Also I believe Peanut from kofi is reading this. Sorry for mislabelling the sponsored chapter in another novel, so you’ll get it here as well.
-Ruminas