The next day, the sky was overcast.
After days of struggle, Liam, seemingly truly out of options last night, had surprisingly agreed to his wife's suggestion.
To seek out her brother, Kaimete.
Initially, Celia had planned to ask the Clan Chief for help.
As the elf with the strongest control over natural mana in the clan, the Chief should have been able to handle such a minor issue easily.
But Liam had vetoed that idea.
Kaimete lived in a wooden hut not far from the Eternal Tree.
The hut wasn't small; it was an old house passed down from their grandfather's generation.
By now, it was over a thousand years old.
Their luck was good.
They had just arrived when they saw Kaimete busy working in front of the house, saving them the effort of searching.
He was repeatedly polishing a longsword.
As if sensing their presence, he looked up.
A trace of surprise soon appeared on his handsome, jade-like fair face.
"Sister? Sir Liam?"
Liam gave a faint, polite smile.
"Long time no see, Mr. Kaimete."
Lately, Liam had been particularly attentive towards Celia's family.
"Brother!"
Celia was happy.
Apart from their first walk to the Eternal Tree, this was only the second time she was seeing her brother.
After a brief explanation, Kaimete understood everything.
Looking at his sister, fidgeting and blushing like a little girl, and Liam acting just as strangely beside her, he chuckled lightly.
Kaimete always felt that seeing the two of them together felt surreal, as if witnessing something straight out of a dream.
That cute younger brother from childhood, who used to train all day, filled with passion.
In the blink of an eye, at just twenty years old, he had become what seemed like a virtuous wife.
—Though not actually virtuous.
Kaimete stepped forward, stood beside Liam, frowned as he looked him up and down, and quickly reached a conclusion.
"Sir Liam, it's just some impurities. Can be cleared out easily in two or three steps."
"What? Two or three steps?"
"Mr. Kaimete, you mean—you can remove it right now?"
Liam's face darkened.
To rid himself of this 'curse,'the lifespan he had consumed over these three days using natural mana amounted to at least two months.
Yet an ordinary Tier 2 elf could solve it so easily?
What about those two months of lifespan?
"Alright, Sir Liam."
Kaimete wiped the sweat from his brow and removed his hand from Liam's chest.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Kaimete."
Celia's face lit up with anticipation as she tugged at the man's sleeve.
Turning to her brother, she asked with hopeful delight.
"Brother, is my... h-husband... recovered?"
It was fine when they were alone, but calling him 'husband' in front of others...
Was really hard to say...
"If you're curious, Celia, you can just try when you get back."
"Not curious!"
After that, he was completely recovered.
As time passed, Liam's attitude towards Celia finally returned to normal—he was no longer as rough with her, nor would he suddenly grow distant.
Another two months passed...
For elves who could live for tens of thousands of years,these two months were but a fleeting moment.
It was like a human's childhood.
The six years of elementary school feel incredibly long, like an entire century, simply because one is young and inexperienced.
But by high school and university, those years slip away almost unnoticed.
It was the same for Celia now. Since passing the age of ten, her perception of time had accelerated.
In her eyes, a year felt like only three months had passed, yet she hadn't missed a single daily task.
This was the unique elven perception of time.
The news that Celia's babies were finally about to hatch spread like wildfire through the clan as soon as Cyra and Lego were notified.
Almost everyone knew.
Soon, an elf suggested gathering the entire clan—over 300 elves—to watch and celebrate on the day of the hatching.
Whenever a new elf was born, the clan held a celebration; this was a long-standing elven tradition.
Usually, on this day, the whole clan would also hold a grand feast.
Of course, this suggestion was firmly rejected by Liam.
His given reason: Both children had mixed demon blood. What if the entire clan gathering affected the distribution of natural mana?
Admittedly, the reason was quite nonsensical.
Coincidentally, most of the clansfolk bought it.
Liam was quite pleased; he preferred quiet.
A clan of three hundred people all crowding around?
Unthinkable.
Recently, as the mother, Celia had to shoulder the significant responsibility of providing nutrients.
Therefore—she stayed by the babies' side in the incubation room almost day and night.
Every time she woke up, she couldn't help but check if the eggshells had cracked, looking for any signs of hatching, so she could notify her husband when the time came.
Naturally, the elf eggs had grown considerably larger, the chaotic, intertwining patterns on their surfaces becoming more pronounced and standing out more prominently.
The reason why elf eggs, unlike ordinary oviparous animals' eggs, increased in size was because the growing egg was simply too large, especially the one carrying more of the father's demon bloodline.
Combined with the albumen surrounding the baby inside, it weighed at least around fifteen jin (~7.5 kg).
Thinking back, when Celia had laid these two eggs, they were only about five jin (~2.5 kg) each, and that had been enough to thoroughly exhaust her, the mother.
A fifteen-jin egg was different from a human mother carrying triplets on Earth.
It was one single, massive egg.
If she had to deliver it, it would likely have meant difficult labor, wouldn't it?
The demon-blooded baby's egg was rougher in texture.
The elf-blooded baby's egg was different; its patterns were considerably smoother compared to the demon one's.
Celia held it protectively in her arms.
Whenever she had a moment, she would unconsciously rub her cheek against the warm, smooth shell.
Currently, this egg only weighed twelve jin (~6 kg).
It wasn't very active normally, and nothing special was apparent from the outside.
But Celia suspected that such a gentle baby would most likely be a girl, the same gender as her, after hatching.
She had kept watch as usual today.
Honestly, having Liam, the father, by her side made things much better.
He would thoughtfully feed her, patiently comb her hair, and gently chat with her.
During this period, Liam, as a husband, had become much gentler overall, unlike before.
Lately, even going out for a walk had become a rare event for Celia.
—After all, the babies were bigger now, requiring more nutrients, forcing her to stay by their side constantly.
Living room sofa.
The TV screen switched between several scenes: one showed elves training around the Eternal Tree;the rest were of ants, chicks, little deer;and a theatrical version—the Lego couple performing a little cringe-worthy skit for their daughter, with Liam occasionally making a guest appearance.
Celia, having just finished providing nutrients for the babies, felt somewhat weak all over and lay tiredly on the soft sofa.
Lying beside her was her mother.
Cyra glanced at her daughter, her gaze soft.
"Celia is about to become a real mother soon~"
"Mhmm."