bookpower Chapter 415: Knowledge Shared
Chapter 415: Knowledge Shared
Chapter 415: Knowledge Shared
As it turned out, Jadis’ sex didn’t have a guaranteed effect on how her children would come out.
Kerr took the news of her successful impregnation surprisingly well. She did vomit, which Jadis supposed was at least partially due to choking on an apple. The crying also probably had mostly to due with the fact that Eir and Sabina were both weeping tears of joy as they hugged Kerr from either side. All excuses said, however, it was pretty obvious that Kerr was anxious as all get out at the prospect of being pregnant.
“I didn’t... I didn’t think I’d actually get knocked up so quickly...” Kerr murmured as she rested a hand on her stomach. “Holy gods above... I’m pregnant...”
“Are you... not happy with the idea?” Jay asked cautiously from where she sat next to her stunned lover.
Kerr had needed to sit down after being practically pounced on by the others after Bertha announced the news. In all honesty, Jadis had needed a few minutes to recover, too. She was still getting used to the idea of Alex having a baby, so the news that Kerr apparently had twin boys growing inside of her had made her feel somewhat faint, at least for a moment. Jay had led Kerr away from the excited group after a few minutes, taking her to one of the beds in the patient recovery room to sit down and catch her breath while her other two selves ran interference for a little while.
Jay winced as Kerr smacked her hard on the side of her arm with her not inconsiderable strength.
“Of course I’m fucking happy!” Kerr growled at Jay with her teeth bared. “Êtes-vous stupide? I went into heat specifically because I want your babies, you dumbass!”
Kerr deflated as she sank heavily against Jay’s side a second later.
“I just didn’t think it would hit me this hard, okay? I’m... going to be a mother. It’s a fucking weird thought.”
“Yeah, it is,” Jay agreed as she put her arm around Kerr and pulled her in closer.
“I mean, sometimes I feel like I barely have a handle on my own life, you know? How in the blessed breasts of Ulya am I supposed to raise another tiny person? Two tiny persons, actually.”
Jay felt her own inner panic at the prospect, but the bubbling joy at the idea of having little baby Kerr’s was doing a good job of keeping that anxiety-ridden concern from setting in.
“Well, it’s not like you’ll be alone,” Jay pointed out. “I’ll be with you every step of the way, changing diapers and cleaning up barf. And everyone else will be there, too. You know that if no one else, at least Eir will be able to tell us what to do when we get lost in this whole parenting thing.”
“Hmph,” Kerr made a noise as she rubbed the side of her head against Jay, inadvertently poking her with her horns. “Do you think I can get her to handle all of that diaper shit? I’m not really looking forward to any of that.”
“You probably could get her to do all the cleanup,” Jay smirked. “But you shouldn’t take advantage of her like that.”
“I’ll try not to,” Kerr sighed. “But no promises.”
The two were silent for a few heartbeats, simply leaning into each other for a while. They watched as the rest of the group spoke with Bertha, talking about Kerr and Alex, as well as what was involved with the ritual that would allow them to pause the pregnancies of both women. Eventually, Kerr spoke up first.
“Jadis?”
“Yeah?”
“We’re going to have kids.”
“Yeah.”
“Holy shit.”
Jadis and her companions spent the rest of the afternoon speaking with Bertha, learning what they needed to know about their pregnancies. Eir was familiar with general health advice, of course, but Bertha was an extremely experienced expert in the field, so her guidance was some of the best in the world. Jadis had a lot of questions when it came to both Alex and Kerr, which Betha was happy to answer, though even her vast knowledge was severely limited when it came to what they might expect with Alex and her Succubus baby. Kerr’s pregnancy, however, was much easier for the midwife to advise on.
One of Jadis’ first questions was about the idea of the two baby boys being twins. Were they identical, or fraternal? According to Kerr, therion’s usually gave birth to “litters” of pups. Bertha had kindly clarified that a therion pregnancy was usually only two or three babies at a time, rarely more. There was no way for her to test if the two were identical or not; Bertha didn’t have a spell that provided that information. However, she was able to tell that the two boys had been conceived on the same day. That didn’t mean they were necessarily identical twins since two of Kerr’s eggs could have just been fertilized at the same time, but the possibility was there.
The main thing that Kerr asked about was what she needed to know for the pregnancy pausing ritual. While she wasn’t at all getting cold feet about her now realized motherhood, she didn’t have any intention of letting the pregnancy progress to fruition so long as she was still needed on the battlefield. Bertha had explained that the ritual would take a few hours to complete, but once it was in effect, the two barely formed embryos inside of her would remain in a state of indefinite suspension until Kerr herself cancelled the effects of the ritual. Bertha was careful to point out that the suspension wouldn’t keep the babies from being harmed. They could still be damaged by outside forces, which was why doing the ritual right away rather than waiting until the embryos were further along was best.
Kerr was not happy to learn that outside forces still included the things that Kerr consumed. So long as her pregnancy was suspended, she wouldn’t be able to drink any alcohol, not without risking the health of her babies.
“...You must have an Arcane based class to have a spell like that,” she said while slowly turning her glare away from Syd. “But I had heard from some of the priests that you specialize in illusions. Were they mistaken?”
“No, they were not,” Una shook her sheep-like head. “I do specialize in illusions. However, I also specialize in kinetic-based arcane magic as well as defensive benedictions. I have purposefully leveled each of my magic attributes at the same rate and have unlocked a class that takes advantage of each separately.”
“Wow,” Jay raised her eyebrows in an expression of surprise. “That sounds very planned out.”
“It also sounds incredibly inefficient,” Aila said with a frown, “if you’ll forgive me for saying so. Wouldn’t that drastically lower the potential for each of your classes?”
“Yes, it has,” Una agreed without hesitation. “However, ever since my youth, I have had a theory that there are high-level spells that possess great power but require an equal or similar level of power in all three of the magic attributes. No such spell has ever been recorded in the archives, but I theorize that is because no one in modern recorded history has tried evenly leveling all three attributes to such a high level since to do so goes against all conventional wisdom.”
“That’s pretty intense,” Dys murmured as she considered the level of dedication involved in the plan. If the Golem had three classes unlocked, that meant she had been doing this strange plan for a very long time. “But what if it turns out you’re wrong and you don’t unlock any spells like you predict?”
“Then I will have provided a valuable lesson to all others who might have a similarly theory in the future.”
“So long as they have access to the imperial academy archives,” Aila pointed out.
“Just so,” Una acknowledged. “However, I do not believe you asked to see me to discuss archives and spell theory. How may I assist you?”
“Right. Well, I’m honestly not sure,” Jay started as she gingerly leaned forward in the chair that was not intended for someone of her dimensions. “By that I mean, I was told by D, er, Destarious, that I needed to ‘Seek out the Lamb guided by the Moon.’ Jocelyn thought that he might have been referring to you.”
Lady Una patiently listened to Jadis’ story, never interrupting as the entirety of her four class descriptions, minus any reference to her extra-Oros origins, were relayed. Jadis also made sure to go over her question and what D had said in answer verbatim, just in case some small detail might matter. Jadis even went over her own interpretation of the classes, as well as the arguments that her lovers had made both for and against the various choices. Aila chimed in regularly to help clarify different points, and even Bridget gave her own input from time to time. When they were done, Jadis felt like she had at the very least followed part of D’s instructions. She’d just gifted Una with a lot of information. Now she could only hope that Una was able to give her some back.
“Fascinating,” was the first word that Una uttered after her long silence.
“Yeah, it’s an unusual situation, right?”
“Indeed it is.”
There was a long pause as Jadis waited for further input from Una, but as the seconds dragged on it became clear that the Golem was in no rush to talk.
“So... do you think you can help me out?” Syd verbally prodded the stone sheep. “I, uh, kind of laid this all out to you because I really need some info. I’m not asking you to tell me what to do, I just want to be able to make an educated decision.”
“I am pleased to hear you say that,” Una replied with a slight dip of her head. “I would not wish to be held responsible for your class choice decision. I fear that you have a dangerous path ahead of you.”
“Why do you say that?” Aila asked, concern furrowing her brow. “Jadis is already being targeted by Samleos and Demons everywhere. I don’t see how things could get much worse, and frankly, I would rather not contemplate the possibility.”
“...thanks.”
“Before I speak further, I do wish to ask a question of my own.”
“Sure, go ahead,” Jay motioned towards the Golem with one hand. “I’m honestly surprised you haven’t asked any questions so far. I figured you would have some.”
“I have seventy-three questions I wish to ask, actually,” Una said without batting an eye. “However, my questions are largely more for my academic curiosity, so they can wait for now. The question I need to ask before I offer any advice is this: have you confirmed with certainty that the Demon Alex is pregnant with a new species call a Succubus?”
“Yes, we actually confirmed before we came here,” Jay nodded, her curiosity peaked by the unexpected focus of the Golem. “Are you asking because of the Progenitor class I was offered?”
“Yes, I am,” Lady Una replied as she took several steps towards Jay. Her flat tone finally showed some level of emotion as she stressed her next words. “Progenitor of the Succubi is potentially the most powerful as well as the most dangerous class that you could choose, and I highly caution you against taking that class. Simply taking that has the potential to put you on the path to heresy and may eventually turn many of the faithful against you. Even Lyssandria’s temple could potentially cut ties with you if you choose Progenitor of the Succubi.”
“Why?” Jay asked, her voice filled with a mixture of shock and incredulity. “What’s so bad about it?”
“It may lead to you becoming a Demi-God.”