Chapter 265 – Grimoire and Stepmother Meeting

Nоw thеn.

Whеn соnsidering the balаnсe betwеen work аnd сhildсаrе, rаising two babiеs could bе сallеd аn аll-оut fаmily еffort.

In оther words, thеrе’s nо rоom for оther wоrk!

Since I’ve tаkеn about a month оff frоm dungeon streaming, I’ve dесided it’s about time to gеt bаck to it.

Uр until now, thе grimоirеs thаt my cousin Shioi tаught childcаrе tеchniques tо, аlоng with Mashirо, have bеen working hard to hаndlе the babiеs.

Вut I cаn’t go into а dungeon without grimоires.

I nееd someone to wаtch thе bаbiеs!

So, summоning!

Mashirо’s mоm!

Shе camе bustling ovеr hаррilу.

“Oh mу, it’s bееn so lоng sinсe I’ve taken care of a baby. Ah, it brings back memories of when Mashiro was little…”

She was all smiles from the moment she arrived.

“Thank you, Mother-in-law. Actually, there’s something I need to confess.”

“Oh my, what is it, Mr. Shogo? You sound so serious…”

“The truth is, our household has been raising twins with the help of grimoires.”

’Mmm, it’s me! Nice to meet you!’

’It’s me! Please take good care of Minato-kun!’

Ignite and Marinna popped out and introduced themselves.

Grimoires that can treat even humans they once looked down upon as equals when necessary!

Impressive.

My mother-in-law’s eyes went wide, but—

“Well, I suppose that’s just how things are these days! Mashiro was doing that streamer thing too, and you were as well, Mr. Shogo.”

She understood right away!

Then she started exchanging childcare tips with the grimoires.

Her adaptability is incredible!!

“Though I think my dad would probably be completely flustered and unable to do anything. Men of our generation often struggle to adapt to this kind of story-like world.”

“Now that you mention it, my father is like that too.”

Men who have lived facing reality head-on have found themselves in a world where reality itself has become like entertainment, and they can’t adapt.

This is often said.

It’s also men of this generation who don’t watch adventure streams.

Though apparently, once they retire and have free time, they start watching adventure streams and become regular listeners.

Maybe while they’re still working, they can’t understand supporting streamers.

“Well, I’m off!”

’She was quite understanding, wasn’t she? Master, aren’t you going to reveal your Spice form yet?’

“That would probably be information overload and make her head explode…”

I’ll greet her as Spice after she’s fully accepted that I’m a streamer.

That’s the plan.

Wait, hold on.

Have I actually greeted her in my Spice form before!?

Maybe the day when everything is revealed is closer than I thought.

Given the child-rearing situation, our relationship with my in-laws is something we can’t really separate from.

’Truly, modern times are tough, aren’t they? Families live fragmented lives, and you have to make an effort to rebuild the original relationships, you know.’

’On the other hand, until something happens, the smallest social unit is the easiest, isn’t it! What’s rational in one aspect becomes extremely irrational in another! That’s human nature, isn’t it!’

“You two and your difficult topics.”

Taking them along, I used Metamorphose outside the house!

Since learning Flight, I can now book dungeons that are a bit farther away.

That’s good, very good.

Whoosh—flying off, and we’ve arrived at our destination.

“Huh? This is the mansion dungeon Spice booked, but there are some unfamiliar young people here—”

’Master, it seems they are filming a short video. They are making a dance and music video using PickPock with the dungeon as a backdrop. I’ve also identified their account.’

“Floppy, you’re amazing!”

’Ah, they’re idiots, aren’t they! Dancing defenselessly at the dungeon entrance! Those stairs are already part of the dungeon! Ah, they got swallowed.’

Flota is giving some detailed commentary!

Simultaneously with a “Uguwaaah!” scream, the young people were swallowed by the dungeon!

It might make for a cool shot, but dancing in front of a dungeon is a life-or-death gamble, huh.

“Alrighty! Time to go rescue them! Stream start! Hey there!”

※ ’Here we go again’ ‘Hey there!’ ‘Hey there!’ ‘Little Spice is already starting to move!’

“Long time no see, everyone! So, uh, it’s a long story, but just watch the footage from earlier and you’ll understand!”

※ ’Ah! They’re filming at the dungeon entrance!!’ ‘The mansion door opened, and the guys dancing on the stairs…’ ‘They all got dragged in!’ ‘Oopsie.’ Maruchou: ’Since the Demon King was defeated, it seems some people have started taking dungeons lightly.’ Rump: ’I know, I know. In fact, civilian deaths have temporarily increased, haven’t they?’

Wh-what the—!!

Are they stupid?!

Kiraboshi Hazuki defeated the Demon King, but even though the Demon King, the root cause of the Dungeon Calamity, is gone, the dungeons didn’t disappear.

It seems they’ve become a permanent, common phenomenon in this world!

And so, with the Demon King defeated, people are thinking, “Dungeons probably aren’t dangerous anymore, right?” That kind of attitude has spread, leading to an increase in victims… news you can’t even laugh at.

Ah, I was so focused on childcare I hadn’t been keeping up.

In this past month, the two juniors in our house have grown quite a bit.

Their eyes are wide open, and they gulp down milk eagerly.

Mashiro, for her part, counters by replenishing her own nutrition, and the grimoires have even become experts at making formula.

We’re raising them with a full-family effort!

“Well, even these young people who don’t know their place were beloved babies raised in someone’s home! I’m going to go rescue them now!! At least let one of them still be alive!”

Alright then, let’s check out a dungeon after the Demon King’s disappearance!