Chapter 161 – Pilgrimage Preparation (1/2)
Umm...Alicia? Fate?”
The two of them coordinated to keep my arms still while glaring at the girl I was just praising.
The girl on the other hand, puffed up her cheeks while glaring at my two babies.
It was an absurd sight, of a pair of babies less than two years old participating on a glaring contest with a girl around eight.
Though while I wasn't exactly sure how or why this had come to be, I was glad it hadn't gotten physical. While they have yet to show any violent predispositions yet, if they did, they could seriously hurt the average person if let be.
”Ummm...Philia?”
I swallowed my meagre pride and looked over at the only person who might be able to help me.
”My my. How long has it been since I've spotted such a sight?”
”If you've seen it before, then you know how to fix it, right?”
”My, no. I don't.”
”Huh?”
Philia, the all knowing woman of how to handle kids, doesn't know how to deal with this situation which exclusively involves kids?
”This isn't the sort of problem you simply get out of. It's the sort you prevent in the first place.”
”Prevent?!”
That wasn't what I wanted to hear.
”There is no easy solution to your problem now.”
I didn't even understand what sort of problem I was facing!
”Umm...Alicia? Fate? What's wrong?”
But despite my insistence, the two continued to stare at the other girl while they held my arms tightly.
”Flix? Can you go help Torii make dinner?”
”But Miss Philia! He doesn't need me to help him!”
”You're much better at paying attention to the details. I know he's in charge of dinner today, but I want to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
”...Fine, Miss Philia.”
With that, the girl, Flix, turned and left the room. And with her gone, Alicia and Fate turned back to me and buried their faces in my chest.
”Seriously, what's wrong with you two? Can't you tell me?”
But they just shook their heads. Maybe they didn't understand it themselves?
”Philia, you really don't have any tips for this?”
”Well, it's something which will take time, I suppose. Unless if you want to break Flix's heart.”
I shook my head. She was a nice girl and looked up at me. I didn't want to hurt her honest feelings if I could help it.
”Then you'll have to figure out how to accept her, and how to make your babies accept her as well.”
”Accepting her huh? Do you two really not like her?”
Rather than voicing their answer, the two of them simply squeezed me a bit tighter. It was enough for me to understand.
”Oh yea, speaking of accepting, I wanted to tell you about the people I went to meet.”
”Yes? I heard a little bit about their plight. Quite horrible.”
Philia lowered her head as she spoke.
”I figured I'd take them in. I helped establish a new settlement a few years ago, and I'm pretty sure everyone there'll accept Epione's people.”
”I heard some bits and pieces from Mister Mint, but that's what you've been up to lately is it?”
”Yea. Though, it's not excuse for not visiting even once. Sorry about that.”
”Apology accepted. Though I'm not the only one you should be apologizing to. Right everyone?”
A whole slew of rounded eyes looked up at Philia, then over to me.
”Ah, erm. Sorry for not visiting for so long.”
It was a little bit awkward, but I did at least get my words out properly.
But just like in the morning, they all started to speak at the same time, their words becoming a jumbled mess as they tried to tell me all sorts of things.
All the while I struggled to deal with so many children trying to get my attention, Philia looked on with a warm smile plastered on her face at my expense.
”Ah, geez, I thought it wouldn't end.”
”You know it's going to continue in the afternoon.”
”Yea.”
But I couldn't hate it. Those kids were all pretty cute.
Not as cute as Alicia and Fate, but certainly cute.
The kids had gone off to eat dinner.
Philia was having her dinner separate from everyone else so she could talk to me, who had no need of eating dinner. One big meal a day was enough for me, and I usually had that at night.
In turn, Alicia and Fate were having their meal, having grown hungry at all the excitement.
”So you haven't started to wean your babies yet?”
”No. None of my attempts have worked so far. Maybe it's still too early for them.”
”Well, I don't know much about vampires, but it's quite common for a baby to resist weaning. Once their teeth start to grow in, you need to teach them the flavours of normal food. In a mush form at least. Though I suppose that's not a problem for you.”
”Well, we can't handle a solid diet in the first place.”
There was a tiny part of me which longed for the sensation of chewing solid foods, yet every time I thought about it, I kept getting distracted by the desire to bite my fangs into something to draw its blood out.
Some day, the idea of consuming solid foods might feel more like a nostalgic novelty rather than something I longed for.
”Though, it's possible that for your kind, the need to change diets might be rooted more in convenience than necessity.”
”What do you mean?”
”For the rest of us, we need to eat solid foods to keep our jaws and teeth strong, as well as our insides. I've heard stories of some people who subsist almost entirely on liquids, but it seems to do some terrible things to them. Though admittedly most of them are old dwarven cautionary tales about excess drinking.”
”I...see...”
It kinda figures that dwarves of all people would have cautionary tales about consuming nothing but drink.
”Anyways, you can only keep breastfeeding them for so long. Your milk might have everything they need to survive, but you can't always be with them to feed them you know. Especially as they grow up.”
”That's pretty obvious.”
”Sometimes, it's the obvious things that people need to be told.”
I didn't know what to say. It was true that I hadn't really even thought too much about it in the first place, but figured that eventually they'll try drinking blood and find that they enjoy it.
Instead of saying anything, I simply looked down and lightly rubbed my babies heads as they ate, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the world as they did one of their instinctive duties.
”Now, considering how quickly you came back, can I presume that you've figured out a solution to their problem?”
”Yea. Frankly, there's only one I can think of.”
”That you're going to take responsibility for them?”
I nodded.
Sigh
”You know you don't have to do that, right?”
”I know.”
”If I figured things right, you don't owe them anything.”
”I don't.”
”So then why?”
I took in a deep breath. What Philia said so far entirely made sense. All I did was cause trouble for myself. At a time when I really should have been directing my energies elsewhere in the first place.
”I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't.”
”...”
”I helped them when we first met. It wasn't a lot, but I did, and I offered to help again if they needed it.”
”I know. It's what they told me when they first came here. It's why I didn't turn them away the moment I heard their plea.”
My eyes opened up like saucers.
”You were going to turn them away just like that?”
Philia nodded.
”Just like that. I didn't owe them anything, and I couldn't afford to feed so many mouths. Even for a short while. Not when I'm caring for so many orphans, kids who still have their mothers aren't my problem, even if they are that desperate.”
My eyes fell to the floor.
It was shocking, but her words made sense. It was logical. She was already doing everything she could, and it could barely be called much more than just surviving. And that was after the help I had given her already. Helping a group larger than her own when they were already being stretched thin was asking the impossible.
The orphanage, after fixing it up four years ago, already looked quite worn. Things must have been difficult, even with the ability to make soap that I had set them up with.
”I'm sure you've noticed, but the number of children under my care have almost doubled since you last visited.”
Now that I thought about it, it was true. There were a lot more kids than before. I had thought all the new faces was just the typical influx of young orphans, but maybe it wasn't that typical.
”Did something happen since I was last here?”
”Since then? Nothing too big, though the streets have been less busy lately.”
I hadn't noticed any real difference in the main street, but the alleys were pretty empty. Before, there were at least a few people at any time in the day, but today I had barely seen a single person walking around. Not even the kids were playing in the streets in front of the orphanage like before.
”Is that...”
”Not something for you to worry about. Rather than that, do you have a plan, aside from just taking them under your wing?”
”Kinda. So I mentioned that I had helped establish a new settlement?”
”You did. Apparently it was part of how you've been helping the village Mister Mint came from.”
”That's right. I helped set up a new industry in Edgeworth Village, and my settlement is trading goods for the new product they make.”