"This regal self must thank you once again for showing the path to a delightful marketplace." Yudi laughed and then hefted the dozens of bags around his shoulder. He smiled at Titor and said, "Our peerless daughter and newborn grandchild shall surely appreciate such blessings."
"Er, yeah." Titor smiled and ignored the stares of both the staff and other visitors of the crane arcade.
They were still in the arcade from earlier. Yudi had gotten enthralled at all the different machines and didn't stop until he won a prize from each and every one. Which he did. And the end result of that was an elderly man in fancy silk robes that looked like cosplay lugging around a bunch of bags filled with various prizes that had to have been really heavy. But he was standing there just fine. And instead of seeming upset or irritated at carrying it all, Yudi was beaming with joy and emitting proud grandpa vibes.
Of course, that made everyone shift their attention to Titor and Amadeus instead. Pointed looks that seemed like they were wondering why neither of the two were helping this old man with his prizes.
Amadeus looked at Yudi and said, "Are you... sure that you don't want us to help with those?"
"Mm?" Yudi looked at Amadeus and let out a kind smile. "We thank you, Beloved by the Gods. However, as these are to be given to Our peerless daughter and her child, We wish to prevent extraneous threads of karma."
Titor muttered, "Seems like it might be a bit too late for that."
Considering how all of those prizes were obtained, there were tons of connections already made... but if the old guy said that was his reason, Titor wasn't about to go against it.
Especially since he just got a message from Qing saying that John's kid was just born and that Titor should prepare for potential chaos.
Of course, it seemed like Qing didn't really understand Titor.
After glancing once more at the on-lookers, Titor pointedly ignored them and then turned towards the entrance. After that, he glance at Yudi and said, "Since you've obtained your presents, shall we go visit your family?"
"Hm?" Yudi stopped looking through his prizes and turned towards Titor. "Have you determined the location of my peerless daughter and her family?"
Titor made a show of looking at his phone and nodded. "Yeah. It turns out that I think I know who you're talking about."
"Marvelous!" Yudi threw his head back and laughed. "It seems this world is granting much favor to this regal self. We should send it blessings when We return."
Titor ignored the bit of sweat coming down the back of his neck and Amadeus's harsh glare. Instead, he smiled and said, "Yeah. Follow me. We'll hop in my car and drive you there."
"Oho! So We receive an opportunity to investigate the interiors of those meticulously designed golems as well... What a intriguing trip. Perhaps We should have listened to Son-on-law's requests to visit sooner..."
Amadeus sighed.
Titor shook his head and kept walking.
Now... to figure out how to get out of the mess where it turned out that he had been faking the Jade Emperor out this entire time. Maybe play on how much he cared for Yue by saying they didn't want him to get involved in such a dangerous situation?
Especially since that guy probably wasn't aware that Yue was having an apparently normal childbirth instead of the magical insta-baby back in the Three Realms.
Ooh, that was a things. Titor wondered how that went for John...
-----AI|IA-----
The moment John walked through the door, Yue glared at him from her hospital bed and said, "I hate you Husband."
John let out an awkward laugh as he looked at his wife.
She looked completely drained. Even while she was glaring at him, Yue's glare was weak. Her normally pure white skin was flushed pink and her body was sleek with sweat. Not only that, but the mess from her labor still stained the sheets.
John rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry not sorry? This was what you wanted, wasn't it?"
'Be careful what you wish for.' That was something that existed in the Three Realms as well. And it seemed like Yue got exactly what she wished for. Just that what she wished for came with a lot more baggage than anticipated.
Yue rolled her eyes and then looked down at the baby. As she did, Yue let out a warm and motherly smile.
As she did, John took a look around the room.
It was still the floor where he usually kept all of his gaming and streaming setup. But it was different now, enough to where you'd never be able to tell.
Sterile white tiled floors, the familiar fluorescent lighting, medical curtains and instruments all over the place. An IV drip for Yue along with a heartrate monitor...
It was exactly like a modern hospital room. There were half a dozen lounge chairs for guests to sit in. Half of which were currently occupied by Daji, Zhaojun, and Xuannu.
John's sisters turned to look at John at the same time when he glanced over.
Daji was pale and still trembling a bit. It seemed like she hadn't taken getting first-hand experience to the endeavor very well.
Zhaojun was as calm and collected as always. Though she seemed a bit accusatory in her stare, as if chastising John- No, knowing her, she definitely was doing it in her head. But Zhaojun knew how to read the room and decided to set it aside for later.
Which meant John was probably going to get an earful from her.
And as for Xuannu... the Goddess was just staring at the new baby with a completely enthralled expression. The sort of happy and giddy one that aunts had when meeting their new baby niece or nephew for the first time.
John shifted his gaze from them and towards the one who did most of the work and made this all possible.
Eri pulled off a pair of blue medical gloves from her hands before tossing them into a bin. After that, she looked at John and smiled. "Congratulations, Mister Smith."
John bowed his head and said, "Thank you for the hard work, Miss Iyasu."
She waved her hand and said, "Just Eri is fine. I heard from Bai that we'll be working together soon for Project MirAIs anyway, so there's no need to stand on formalities."
John raised his head and smiled. "Still-"
"Ahem."
Betty, clearing her throat.
John blinked and turned around to see his second daughter giving him an irritated look.
"Father." Betty looked over at Yue and said, "Instead of chatting with all of these other beauties, you should be comforting Mother and greeting my new baby sister."
Eri's eyes lit up and she said, "Oh! Sorry to intrude." She looked over at John's sisters and said, "Ladies, shall we give the parents some privacy?"
Before Eri could finish, Daji bolted out of the room.
Zhaojun shook her head and then followed after Daji.
But Xuannu hesitated. She got out of her seat, but then she stared longingly at Yue and the baby before saying, "Can't I stay a bit and hold the baby too?"
The moment Xuannu said that, strength immediately returned into Yue's eyes and she glared at Xuannu. "My baby."
Xuannu pouted.
John let out an awkward laugh and said, "You can meet your new niece later, Xuannu. For now, could you check up on Meggie for me?"
"...Fine." Xuannu sighed and then walked out of the room.
After that, Eri waved at John and Yue before walking out.
Betty lingered a bit longer.
John noticed and looked at Betty. "Something wrong?"
"No. Just..." Betty sighed and said, "Please do not give my new baby sister a ridiculous name."
John started to sweat.
Right. A name.
...He really should have thought of a name before all of this happened, huh?
Betty gave John an exasperated look and then sighed. "...Whatever. I'll just have to think hard about a cute nickname later then with Alphy. See you later, Dad."
Was she that annoyed? Betty broke character and walked out in a huff.
...Yeah, definitely needed to do something nice for his oldest daughters too. He couldn't be playing favorites now.
The door closed again, leaving just John and Yue alone with their new baby daughter.
John walked over to the bed and conjured a chair to sit down next to his wife's side.
As he did, Yue looked up at John and let out a bright smile. "Look, Husband." She gently raised the baby and said, "This is our new child."
John leaned over to take a look.
A beautiful baby girl, carefully swaddled in a light green blanket. She was sleeping, probably as tired as her mother was about the entire ordeal. But perhaps sensing John's gaze, the baby girl's eyes blearily blinked open and looked at John.
Bright green eyes that seemed to almost shine in the light stared at John. And then the baby girl smiled before closing her eyes and going back to sleep.
Yue noticed and stared down at the baby girl with an exasperated look. "You little rascal. Were you that eager to meet your father?"
John chuckled and said, "Considering all the mess she made just to be here, I think she was."
"Hmph." Yue looked up at John and said, "This is your fault. If you weren't hanging around with so many beautiful and competent women, our daughter wouldn't have been so worried."
John let out a wry smile. "Can't deny that."
Yue gazed back down at her baby daughter and said, "And you. Causing me so much grief and pain... You truly take after your father, don't you?" She reached out and tickled the baby's chin.
The baby stirred and started tearing up.
Yue sighed and then slowly rocked the baby. "It's fine. Mother forgives you. But please don't cause more trouble. Your mother's delicate heart can't take it."
The baby girl stared at Yue for a bit, sniffing. But then she smiled and closed her eyes again, going back to sleep. And this time, her breathing turned steady, signaling a deep slumber.
Yue sighed again, but let out a gentle smile staring at her baby daughter.
John sat there, simply enjoying the comfortable atmosphere.
And then Yue spoke up. "So, Husband." She looked at John and said, "Have you decided on a name for our new daughter?"
"Ah. T-That..." John started to sweat.
Yue gave John a blank look and said, "Husband. You cannot be telling me that you have not even considered a name until this point."
"Y-You haven't either, right?"
"I have. Snow, Winter, Rose... Maybe light." She looked down at the baby girl and said, "Those were the names I considered for a daughter. But seeing how beautiful she is... I was thinking 'Beauty' would be a good-"
"Absolutely not."
Yue blinked and looked up at John. "Why not?"
John groaned and said, "Give me a few minutes. I'll think of something."
It was no good. If he left it to Yue, she would definitely give their daughter a literal name.
But John wasn't that good of a namer either. After all, he was the guy who came up with 'Myth Inc.' for a company name. And while it didn't have the reputation of one, someone could easily mistake it for an adult video company if he made the wrong steps in the beginning.
Right. So a name.
One that his new flesh and blood daughter could hold her head up high and be proud of. ...And one that his other daughters wouldn't strangle him for giving to their cute baby sister.