Welcome, Mothers-to-Be

“I heard the City Lord wants to send the pregnant women to a safer location in the rear, but transport capacity is limited during wartime, so they can only be evacuated in batches.”

“Pregnant women? Pregnant women shouldn’t be in a dangerous place like this, right? They should be sent to the rear?”

“…”

‘Is that so?’

The people didn’t seem to care much about the City Lord sending the pregnant women away, and they answered Vivian truthfully.

After thinking for a moment and glancing in the direction of the main keep, she chose to return to her residence.

First of all, she didn’t doubt their reactions—because of her own 【Charm】.

To be precise, this was an ability granted by the game’s settings, but in the game itself, this thing was a completely useless ability.

Because in the game’s design, the main purpose of this 【Charm】 ability was to forcibly prevent low-level players from challenging Vivian, the Demon Lord of Evernight—players without a high enough level would be charmed upon first sight of Vivian’s face due to their insufficient resistance, leading to a mandatory, mechanic-based kill.

After all, this Demon Lord Vivian’s appearance was indeed devastatingly beautiful.

Getting insta-killed without a sufficient level and resistance was perfectly reasonable.jpg.

But now, it had become a handy little side skill for her, making it much easier for her to get around.

During this time, Vivian hadn’t been idle.

After her mana recovered, she had been secretly and constantly testing her physical abilities, or rather, confirming what kind of hidden abilities or settings she possessed.

This was a game world, after all, or a game built from it.

But regardless of which came first, the existing elements should still be there—for example, hidden skills, traits, stats… and, levels.

And, since she, Vivian, was here, could there be other “players” who had also transmigrated?

This was a big question.

At the same time, could she continue to grow stronger?

In the game, a BOSS-level existence like her had her stats and skills set long in advance.

Although from the original owner’s memories, these were all abilities she had honed step by step, but… who’s to say the memories aren’t fake?

Who’s to say the entire world isn’t fake?

Who’s to say… she wasn’t still inside the game?

“Sigh, so many questions without answers, so many things waiting to be tested.”

Vivian returned to her temporary residence, her heart filled with melancholy about the future.

But at this moment, there was nothing she could do.

She hadn’t reached a completely safe area yet, and there was still a burden in her belly hindering her mana from recovering to its peak… However, in the days since entering the city, the pains had been rare.

And just when Vivian hadn’t had more than a few good days, a squad of seemingly friendly, fully armored soldiers suddenly appeared in the area where the pregnant women were staying.

“To all you beautiful pregnant women and ladies, there is now an opportunity to be evacuated to a city in the rear. This withdrawal is limited to pregnant women. Those who are willing may come with us.”

“The front lines are tense, and in the near future, the Demon Clan may lay siege to the city. At that time, we may not have the capacity to care for you pregnant women. But please rest assured, the City Lord has already made arrangements with the rear, and you will all be properly settled.”

The soldiers wore friendly smiles, doing their best to reassure everyone present, while Vivian stood to one side, coldly observing their every move.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary—or rather, it was a little too friendly.

So friendly that it gave Vivian a utopian feeling, but in reality, it was completely out of place in this world.

The pregnant women were naturally eager to leave for a safer place, though a few were reluctant to go, wanting to stay with their families.

The soldiers did not force them.

At the same time, one of them noticed Vivian standing to the side.

“Miss, would you like to leave with us?”

“…Alright.”

Vivian thought for a moment and nodded.

Food—she had already gathered enough of it over the past few days, and she had also obtained a good deal of intelligence about the front lines.

It was about time to leave.

But before that, she would see just what this group was planning to do.

And so, Vivian and the other pregnant women who were willing to be evacuated followed the guards toward the rear—and the only way there was through the seemingly tall and luxurious main keep.

The interior of the castle was luxuriously decorated, its floors clean and tidy, a stark contrast to the filthy streets outside that housed refugees and other commoners—

“It will be some time before the convoy departs for the rear. Everyone can rest inside the castle for now.”

And then, after leading everyone into the castle, the guards continued to speak to all the pregnant women with smiles on their faces.

Almost no one suspected anything.

Instead, filled with curiosity, they continued deeper inside—most of them were very ordinary commoners, and this was their first time entering a noble’s domain of this scale.

Everything here was enough to make them look around and marvel.

Except for Vivian.

Ever since entering the castle, she had felt increasingly uneasy.

A disgust born from the depths of her soul rose within her.

At the same time, she also felt that the soldiers inside the entire castle were not quite normal.

They all wore smiles and looked amiable, but upon closer inspection, Vivian found them somewhat creepy.

The noble knights of a fantasy world with a medieval level of technology—since when were they so friendly to commoners?

At the same time, she also saw a squad of fully armored soldiers—they were dressed in exaggerated armor and weapons filled with religious symbols, their frames a size larger than the other regular soldiers.

Not only were their bodies engraved with extravagant religious patterns and crusader crosses, but their faces were also covered by slightly sinister, golden smiling masks.

They looked like moving shrines.

‘…People from the Rhine Holy Church.’

As a game player, she was all too familiar with which faction this kind of decoration and style belonged to.

It was the Rhine Holy Church, which belonged to the 【God of Holy Light】.

However, Vivian was unconcerned—after all, she knew that there were no Heroes within the entire fortress city.

As a Demon Lord, even if not at her full strength, she should still be an invincible existence here.

Soon, the group and Vivian were led to a spacious room where several other pregnant women were already seated, their eyes filled with anticipation.

And after Vivian’s group had all entered the room, a middle-aged man in a magnificent robe walked in.

He wore a smile, but that smile could not conceal the coldness in his eyes.

“Welcome, all you beautiful mothers-to-be,” the man said, his voice as sweet as honey.

“I am Adrian Rock, the Lord of Faro Fortress City. You will all receive a great blessing, but before that, I need you to cooperate with me to complete a mission.”