Chapter 163 – Another World’s Mana Weaning

“Auu—”

I suddenly woke up in the bedroom late at night. The warmth that should have been lying next to me was nowhere to be found.

Huh?

“Shh! Marie, just go back to sleep!”

Heart was whispering at the top of his lungs—or as close to it as he dared—while rocking Daisy and feeding her mana. It had been nearly half a year since she was born, and her mana intake had stabilized quite a bit by now.

“Nom, nom, nom, nom.”

Hehe, so cute.

Daisy was munching away with such relish.

“She eats it so eagerly. I wonder if it has a taste?”

“Apparently it feels sweet to her. But once weaning starts, the flavor gradually fades.”

“Huh. Was it like that for me too? I don’t remember a thing.”

“I don’t remember either.”

“Will Daisy forget it too, someday?”

“That does feel a little sad.”

Once Daisy had her fill and drifted off to sleep, Heart gently laid her down in the baby crib.

“You’ve got work tomorrow, so don’t push yourself too hard.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got more stamina than you. Besides, you still haven’t fully recovered, have you?”

“I’m okay now, really. And isn’t it about time for her weaning anyway?”

“Yeah, let’s talk about that tomorrow.”

Heart slipped into bed and pulled me close.

“I’m home.”

I was rocking Daisy in the living room when Heart returned earlier than usual.

“Welcome back. You’re early today.”

“Here.”

Heart grinned, waving a bag that gave off a mouthwatering aroma right in front of my face.

“Wait, is that the skewered meat from the street vendor uncle?”

“You love it, right? I got some soup too.”

“Thank you, always. Now, hurry and change. I’ll prep the salad!”

I strapped Daisy to my back and headed to the kitchen.

He treats me so preciously. After the birth, I spent over a week bedridden, and he took care of the baby all by himself. Even now, he pampers me like this.

“Daisy’s not weaning properly.”

As we lounged after dinner, Heart set down his empty glass with a soft clink.

“Huh? You’ve already started weaning her?”

“Actually… yeah. But she loves mana so much, she hates the weaning food.”

“You mean that mana-weaning mush, right? The stuff made from sweetly boiled medicinal herbs and flower extracts?”

It’s like juice or a smoothie.

“I tried feeding it to her a few times, but she wouldn’t have it. Didn’t want you to know I was failing at it.”

Heart scratched his head with a wry, resigned smile. As if it were something to hide.

“She’s our child. We should tackle these things together.”

“I know, but… a guy wants to play it cool, y’know? Didn’t want you thinking I was screwing up.”

Ah, so that’s it…

“I’m a newbie at this too, you know. In times like these, it’s ‘when in trouble…’”

“Note?”

“Yeah! Should we summon Note?”

“Haha, yeah. I kinda miss her lectures sometimes.”

“Exactly!”

The next day, we summoned Note. Well, we had her come over.

“Mana weaning not going well, and you wait this long to consult me?! Children grow fast, you know!”

Yep, scolded right off the bat. But this sense of relief… We’ll be fine now.

“What kind of mana do you usually give her? Let me see you feed her.”

“Sure.”

Heart gathered his mana and fed it to Daisy in his arms.

“That’s enough, I get it.”

Note pulled out jars of herbs and flowers from her bag, along with a small magic mat inscribed with a magic circle, and lined them up on the table. That’s a fire-attribute array—one that can heat things up super quick. We have one at home too.

“First, warm this honey a bit, then feed her mana while dripping it into her mouth one drop at a time.”

Heart took the thick honey from Note and fed it to her along with his mana.

“Nom, nom, nom.”

“She ate it! Why? She always spat it out before.”

“Of course. The concentration doesn’t match the mana you’ve been giving her—it’s different from store-bought weaning food. So I boiled it down thicker. It mimics the sweetness of wind-attribute mana. I brought extras; take them. Force it down with some non-mana stuff, and she’ll get used to it and eat anything eventually.”

Yes! I don’t totally get it, but problem solved.

“They didn’t teach us that in fatherhood class.”

Heart looked so dejected—it was kinda cute.

“No, it’s not common knowledge. Probably because you two overdid it with the dense mana. Right?”

““Ah!””

I mean, she kept absorbing it even as we ramped up the density. We were doing it on purpose.

“I figured as much. But let me be clear—I’m no childcare expert! I scoured holy texts and diaries from past saintesses with huge mana reserves, piecing it together myself…”

In the end, Note lectured us straight through dinnertime. Teehee.

Dinner was homemade by Note, just like having Mom visit from back home. It was such a joyful meal that night.

“Note researched all this for our sake.”

Daisy was sleeping soundly in her crib, breathing softly.

“We’re so lucky.”

“Yeah. Let’s raise her right.”

She’ll grow up with all this support from everyone around her.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Thank you for reading.

This is a story about the child Marie gave birth to—a section I wrote fresh but ended up cutting almost entirely.

I hesitated to release it, but please take it as a little glimpse into the world’s flavor.

For book details, check the activity report.

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