The hallway, painted pure white, gave the impression it was desperate to announce just how clean this place was.
The women sitting on the chairs lined up along that corridor let out sighs.
"...Could you please just stay still for a moment?"
"..."
"He’s not even listening."
"No matter how much you move around like that, it won’t help at all."
What a mess.
Everyone shook their heads at Yu Siwoo’s behavior.
Not that they expected him to have the presence of mind to listen to them in the first place.
Sure enough, even after all that, he showed no sign of hearing them, still pacing around restlessly.
He really must not have heard a word.
In truth, they weren’t oblivious to why Yu Siwoo was this flustered.
They could have told him to trust his instincts and that worrying was pointless... but none of them were heartless enough to say that.
They understood exactly why he was like this.
"Please, please, please, please..."
"Sigh..."
Behind the white door Yu Siwoo was staring at anxiously were Arte, the doctor, and the nurses.
He couldn’t see inside. He couldn’t hear a thing.
Just how thoroughly were they maintaining security?
"This is ridiculous. What the hell is that door made of? I can’t see anything. It’s pissing me off."
"They made it that way on purpose. So not even superhumans can see through it."
"...Why?"
"Well, it’s out of consideration."
Consideration?
Haryul looked bitterly at the much younger kids staring at him in confusion.
I’m already this old, huh?
He never thought the day would come when he’d have to explain this to someone else.
Haryul, now accustomed to his role as a teacher, began to explain.
"What do you all think about childbirth?"
"...What do you mean? It’s the process of having a baby, isn’t it?"
"Not the dictionary definition. I mean the feeling. The image. What comes to mind when you think of childbirth?"
The feeling, huh.
To Haryul’s question, Laira answered nonchalantly.
"Maternal love or paternal love? Like a dad holding his baby and crying?"
"Right. That’s the usual thought. ...But what if it’s not?"
"Huh?"
"The process of childbirth isn’t as beautiful as you all think it is."
Haryul had learned that fact by accident, too.
Before he’d happened to witness someone else’s childbirth, he’d thought the same as those kids.
"Newborns are all wrinkled. And the process itself is so graphic that people with weak stomachs might throw up from the shock."
"...Seriously?"
"Yeah. That’s why it’s consideration."
The sight of a baby being born, covered in blood, was nothing like what the media portrayed.
Newborns weren’t as cute as people imagined.
Naturally, newlyweds who’d never experienced childbirth before were bound to be shocked by it.
Seeing the baby that came out of their own stomach—out of their wife’s stomach—wrinkled and ugly, they might be so horrified that their affection for the child cools rapidly.
Sometimes, the sight of something far more desperate and painful than expected leaves an indelible scar.
That kind of thing happens occasionally.
"No reason to ruin a joyous day with a bad experience."
"Huh… That’s amazing…"
"Not really."
Hayul stared intently at the blonde girl pretending not to listen.
It truly was incredible.
That ugly, blood-covered lump had turned into such a lovely little girl.
…Though her personality seemed to take after her father, so maybe she wasn’t all that pretty after all.
"Is that why you can’t hear anything?"
"Something like that."
Of course, Hayul didn’t think Siwoo would be deeply shocked by seeing his own child.
From what he’d heard, the man had even eaten Arte-nim’s heart. There was no way his stomach would turn over something this trivial.
It was just that there were also hygiene concerns, so he couldn’t go in.
"…But shouldn’t we let him in? He looks like he’s about to pass out."
"…"
Where the hell had his intuition gone?
Just as the thought that he might actually faint started to cross his mind—
The light above the door turned on, and the tightly shut delivery room door creaked open.
"Ah, Arte?! Is Arte okay?!"
"Uh, please calm down for a second…"
"She’s really fine, right?! There’s no problem or…"
"Honestly… You’re making too much noise, you got scolded…"
"Arte!"
…Damn, he went in fast.
"Good to see they’re close."
"What? Worried your students’ lives might get messed up?"
"Well, obviously. What kind of teacher wouldn’t worry if their student caused a scandal?"
Claire, who had rushed over in a panic upon hearing that her former student was giving birth, let out a deep sigh.
She must’ve felt like they’d just cleared a huge hurdle.
"Doesn’t that apply to you too?"
"…Yeah."
Hayul didn’t bother arguing with Claire’s words.
At first, he’d started teaching driven purely by vengeance…
But seeing Boss and Siwoo smiling so happily, or watching that wrinkled little blood-covered lump—now a girl who looked just like her father—pounding Siwoo’s back and shouting something…
It seemed teaching had turned out to be far more enjoyable than he’d expected.
He wouldn’t be feeling this proud otherwise.
"She’s so pretty…! This is our child…!"
"…You think this is pretty? Seriously? Did you hit your head or something?"
Guess he’s completely whipped.
Hayul hadn’t expected it, but it seemed his worry about Siwoo being shocked was unnecessary after all.
Not when the man was staring at his wailing daughter, muttering over and over how pretty she was.
"…Are you alright, Arte?"
"Ah, Teacher. I’m fine. There was someone outside the door who was more distressed than I was."
Arte smiled as she watched her boyfriend, completely entranced by their daughter.
"I was gritting my teeth in pain, but seeing Siwoo more nervous than me outside the door… it actually put my mind at ease."
"…I see. That makes sense."
"He should’ve known better than anyone that I’d be okay. He worries too much."
…Looks like she’s just as whipped as he is.
Seeing her laugh cutely at his airheaded appearance, despite being drained of energy, made me think that.
"Arte."
"Yes?"
"Would you consider returning to the Academy even now? With your abilities, you could easily skip grades. You could be with your boyfriend. I’ll handle the rumors somehow."
Maybe she still hadn’t let go.
Forgetting that she had just gone through a major event like pregnancy, Claire began urging Arte to re-enroll in the Academy.
Well, Arte-nim’s abilities were useful in many places.
It must be a shame to let her leave like this.
But when Arte-nim heard the offer, she smiled bitterly and refused.
"Ah, I’m sorry. That seems difficult."
"Why? Don’t worry about childcare. The Academy has an employee daycare center inside…"
Claire stood there with her mouth agape in shock at the rejection, before she started urging her again.
Did she think childcare was the issue?
But Arte-nim shook her head, as if that wasn’t the problem.
"I appreciate the offer, but it’s really impossible."
"Sigh… Alright. It’d be wrong to keep pushing when you’ve refused. …But could you at least tell me the reason?"
"It’s nothing much."
Maybe she was worried the child would get hurt.
Or maybe she was afraid of passing on some bad germs.
As Arte-nim sent an affectionate glance toward Yu Siwoo, who was watching his child like a mouse playing dead, unable to even approach, she smiled.
"Because I don’t think it’ll end with just one."
"…"
"He likes it so much, I’m sure I’ll get pregnant again."
That makes sense…!
Hearing Arte-nim’s words, Claire and I both nodded instinctively.
No, beyond making sense—it felt like an absolute certainty.
There was no way a couple this head-over-heels in love wouldn’t do it again.
Since they’d already gone through childbirth, there was nothing left to hold them back.
"So, Hayul. I’ll be in your care from now on."
"…"
Was this essentially a retirement announcement?
Officially, she was still the leader of Arachne, but it was safe to assume she’d rarely use her powers from now on.
Feeling slightly down, I nodded.
"Then, what are your plans moving forward?"
"Plans?"
"Hm. Pregnancy aside, you can’t just spend all your time on childcare. Do you have something else in mind…?"
"I don’t have any long-term plans… but there is something coming up in a few months."
"Oh?"
"Yes. You have to come too, since the teacher will be there as well."
"…Me too?"
"Yes. Dorothy, Teacher Claire, the frontline people, my classmates—everyone’s invited."
What was she planning to do with so many people?
Hadn’t she just said she’d be scaling back Arachne activities?
She couldn’t possibly be planning to kill all of them.
As I tilted my head, completely unable to grasp Arte-nim’s thoughts, she brightened and said with a smile,
"We have to have a wedding ceremony!"
Ah.
Now that I thought about it, they hadn’t had one yet.