Chapter 13: A struggle of a New Mother

Crystal was very idle inside the house of the two elderly couples. She already accepted their goodwill and wanted to compensate them, but the two refused and told her that she should just focus first on her twins,

"Do not worry about us elders, the babies need you more than us, we can manage," The old man told her to ease her of her worries,

"E-Even if you said that, t-there's maybe something I could help with? I honestly feel kind of useless right now..." Crystal said with an awkward look on her face,

"If you really want to help then just take care of the twins! We are not that useless yet to be taken care of," The old woman said to her and both left the room again,

Crystal sighed before going back to the bed and stared at her two sleeping twins,

"That reminds me, I haven't given the two of you a name... am I being a failure of a mother already?" Crystal sighed and lamented at the lack of attention she was giving to the twins,

She felt that all of her worries are misplaced and some of the things that needed most of her attention were not present.

"... If only Mom is here..." Crystal cannot help but remember the love and care that her original gave her when she was a child, but she only remembers the things she did to raise her well at the age of five, as for when she was a baby, of course, she wouldn't remember that! She's no genius that could remember the things they did since she was an infant!

"Should I go and purchase a book? But I have no money, and I cannot ask the two elders for money, feeding themselves were already hard, what more if I added to their burden? Ugh, I feel so useless." Crystal sighed for the nth time of the day and pouted.

"Should I just go and become an adventurer with an alias? I... ugh... No no! The twins need me, they need me..." Crystal told herself repeatedly while looking at the twins to put her mind to ease.

When she calmed down, she pursed her lips and felt down on herself.

She really doesn't have the capacity to be a mother this early, her goal although was for the twins, needs her to be away from them for a long while and she cannot let that happen.

The memories of every child from infant to toddler stages should always be close to their parents, and since she is only their parent, she mustn't let them grow up without her presence.

Just imagining her twins growing up without her and looking at her as if she was a stranger rather than their mother- she cannot accept that thought at all!

While thinking deeply, one of the twins woke up and cried for food, Crystal immediately reacted and gently held him on her bosom to feed him.

She stared at her baby while he greedily sucks milk, Crystal returned to her first priority- naming them.

'A name that shows their best qualities, not sounding too old nor too young, with great meaning and somewhat high classed... what names could it be?'

Crystal was in deep thought while she gently held her baby up against her bosom and patted his back, waiting for a moment until he burped, and fall asleep once more.

When she just finished laying him down on the bed, his twin woke up and cried next, Crystal smiled gently wiped the tears off her small and round face before feeding her,

'For her, it should be something classy and pretty, something that sounds noble but holds its charm in a different kind,'

While thinking of that, Crystal also made her burp before lulling her to sleep before putting them back to the bed.

When it was lunchtime, Crystal went outside the room and went to the kitchen to help the old woman to cook,

"Oh, why are you outside, did you leave the window open in the room? The cool breeze in this area is quite refreshing," She said to Crystal while watching her grab the other ingredients and peel them too,

"Yes I did, Uhm, I actually forgot to ask about this but... what should I call you and your husband?" Crystal asked looking sheepish, but she was answered with a gentle smile from the old woman,

"Just call me Grandma Jam, and that old man, Grandpa Joe, we have been here our whole lives so most of the people refer to us as such," She said to Crystal who nodded her head,

"Then, Grandma Jam, how do you pass the days here in this small village?" Crystal asked and watched her cook at the side to not hinder her cooking,

"Mostly just staying indoors or planting vegetables with Grandpa Joe, other times, some neighbors will come for a chat or leave their children with us while they go to the kingdom to work or buy food," Grandma Jam said to her as she continues to cook the stew for the three of them to eat,

"You can arrange the table now, this won't be too long to finish," Grandma Jam said and Crystal nodded her head and set the table.

"Oh, you are out early, did the old woman finished cooking? Are you hungry now?" Grandpa Joe asked Crystal as he walks towards the dining table,

"Hey, you! Who are you calling an old woman? Do you want to not have any lunch?" Grandma Jam turned and pointed the ladle towards Grandpa Jam with a frown,

"What? You are an old woman!"

"So what? I feed you so do not call me an old woman! Hmph,"

Seeing the two of them bicker without being hostile to each other, Crystal smiled and sat at her seat, watching them with an amused look on her face.

'They look like such a happy and honest couple, if I arrived early, will I know why the original was alone with the twins in the forest? Will I be able to know who is the twin's real father?' Crystal thought and suddenly went deep into her thoughts,

"Dear, why did you suddenly became somber? Do you not feel well?" Grandpa Joe asked Crystal after he sat on the chair,

"Not feeling well? Do you want some medicine? We have someone in this neighborhood who is good with medicinal herbs, do you want us to call him?" Grandma Jam asked after she placed the stew on the table,

"No... no! I'm fine, I just thought of something, that's all," Crystal said and put a small smile on her lips to ease the two elder's worries.

"Are you sure that you are alright? Do not worry about the money that will be spent, if you feel ill then we will get a doctor, The twin infants rely on you, if you cannot take care of yourself then who will take care of them?" Grandma Jam asked her and put her wrinkled hands on her shoulder,

Crystal smiled at their consideration before she thanked the two elders,

"Thank you for worrying about me, but I am really fine. I was just a deep in thought because of some memories I had before I came here in the village," Crystal said and consoled them,

After that, they eat their lunch before Crystal helped wash the dishes. Crystal takes a look inside the room and found the twins were still asleep, and she told the two elders that she will be away for an hour or so to buy what the twins need before she left the house with their money.

Watching Crystal disappear to the North Human Kingdom, The Elderly couple shut the door of the house, before going to the room where the twins are,

"The master needs some sort of medium so that he can communicate with the twins later on." Grandma Jam said and looked around the house.

"Hmm, what about a mirror perhaps?" Grandpa Joe asked while rummaging through the items inside the room.

"It should unique and won't easily break." Grandma Jam said to him, the noises they made woke the twins up and they cried for being disturbed.

Grandpa Joe and Grandma Jam walked towards them and carefully carried them in their arms, coaxing them not to cry and telling them everything was alright.

But the twins feel foreign with the two of them and wailed even louder, they fear that they might get sick and hurt their throat for crying so much.

With helpless looks on their faces, they do not have any choice left but to directly open a portal for their Master to come and see the Twins.

As soon as the portal opened, the person clad in full black armor came through and took the children into his arms,

"My children, your father is here." He said and in a coaxing tone and gently sway them in a gentle motion to lull them both to sleep,

Feeling the familiarity from him, the twins stubborn fought the wave of sleepiness and both opened their eyes to stare at the fearsome mask of their father,

'Just cry! Maybe he will take off his mask and we will see who he really was!'

'Yes, we will cry till we see your face!'

But the twin's plan failed because instead of making their father stay, he was already hurrying to go.

"M-Master, where are you-" Grandma Jam asked shocked after the twins were received on their arms again.

"My wife is coming back, act as if nothing happened, do not contact me in the meantime." The person said and left from the portal.

All four of them stared into that specific place until they snapped out of it when Crystal came back.