After Becoming a Mermaid Chapter 96: Birthing the Egg

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Kiramekineko

 

Norman’s attention was drawn to the voice of the little mate, and his eyes fell on the shimmering blue eyes of the mecha model, and he quickly realized. It wasn’t that the model’s voice was exactly the same as little mate’s, but that little mate was talking to him through the mecha. He swept around the bedroom and looked into the eyes of the mecha model. “An An, where are you?”

An Jin did not answer directly. His ethereally soft voice in the night seemed extra gentle. “Mecha model is a birthday gift to you. There is another birthday gift, you come to the balcony.”

After he finished, the mecha model turned around and flew towards the balcony. After flying two meters, it turned to face Norman and beckoned him to come with it. Norman saw the situation and guessed that little mate wanted to surprise him, but he couldn’t guess what kind of surprise it would be.

The birthday gift was a very strange thing to him.

With a rare feeling of anticipation in his heart, he walked to the balcony. Standing on the balcony, Norman’s eyes fell on the somewhat unfamiliar back garden. The garden was lit up with night lights, and unlike the usual lights as bright as daylight, the night lights at the moment were warm yellow, and looked gentle and warm.

The trees around the pond were hung with various neon lights at some point, and the lights were reflected on the water’s surface, which looked extra bright. He looked around the back garden, trying to find his little mate, and was looking for him, when the movement of the pool attracted his attention.

The calm water in the middle of the pool suddenly rose upwards, and the water beam spread out in the air in all directions. The water formed a beautiful arc, and the pool became a huge fountain in the blink of an eye. The water in the fountain rolled, generating a natural vapor around it, and it was dazzling under the neon lights.

Norman was not interested in this kind of merely beautiful thing, and even rarely paid attention to it. However, at this moment, almost all of his mind fell on the beautiful scenery in front of him. As soon as he thought that this was made specially for him by his little mate, he rose up with a strong wish to keep it all forever and look at it from time to time.

With a thought in his mind, he touched his hand to the terminal, ready to turn on the video.

At that moment, the water mist around the fountain converged and formed the words “Happy Birthday” in the blink of an eye. The lights on the shore shifted and four beams of colored light shone exactly on the four words, it was nice and festive.

An Jin floated in the channel, looking at the perfectly aligned lights, and secretly sighed with relief. He had practiced many times, but he was still worried that the words and the lights would be off. He looked at the virtual screen and his voice blushed a little. “I hired someone to make the mecha, but I’d rather give you a gift I prepared myself, and I hope you’ll like it.”

He hesitated to celebrate with what seemed like a somewhat exaggerated scene. After all, this scene was a bit like the modern day scene where some boys confess their love to their sweethearts, except that he had the water ability and the geographical advantage of not having to hold up a lighted sign. But he thought about it, and this gift was very characteristic of him. In this world, the only known person with the water ability was him. It was all prepared by him, and very meaningful.

Norman’s voice was calm and serious. “I love this gift,” he paused, “where are you? I want to see you.”

He did not hide his slightly eager mood, his low magnetic voice reached An Jin’s ears, and An Jin’s heart quickened for a moment. “I’ll be right back to my room.”

He turned around and swam to the mermaid room, disembarking and turning into his human form, he walked outside while removing the moisture from his pajamas and hair. Just as he exited the mermaid room, he saw Norman approaching him from the other end of the walkway, blue mecha model in hand.

Neither man stopped, and soon, they stood in front of each other. An Jin was about to speak when he was hugged by Norman.

Norman didn’t hug him for long, but let go after a while. His palm moved down to hold An Jin’s hand naturally, and his deep eyes locked with An Jin’s. “Thank you, I like it.”

An Jin was a little embarrassed by his cautious attitude and a little distressed that Norman hadn’t had a birthday in a long time. He raised a smile. “It’s good that you like it.”

Norman was attracted by his smile and couldn’t help but lean in and kiss him. The two of them were intimate for a while before Norman recovered his senses and picked up An Jin to bring him to the bedroom before he lost control. He moved toward the bed with a start and carried An Jin to the balcony.

The fountain had lost control of the water and had disappeared. Only the colored lights were still on. Norman’s eyes flashed with chagrin that he hadn’t recorded it!

An Jin was very sensitive to his mood change, and with one hand around his neck, the other hand pointed to the pool. “The gift is given to you. You have the right to open the gift at any time.”

He spoke while using his ability, and when the words fell, the pool once again recreated the previous scene.

The size of the fountain and the position of the words “Happy Birthday” did not differ at all.

An Jin had gone downstairs to the back garden because he was close enough to grasp the position of the words, and he had just used his ability to achieve the intended effect when the gift was at stake, and now he was in a relaxed mood and played just as well.

Norman looked down at An Jin, his brown eyes slightly bright. “Open it anytime?”

An Jin nodded. “Yes.”

Norman liked the gift even more; it wasn’t just a birthday gift, it meant that his little mate would always be there for him.

“I like this right,” Norman said seriously.

An Jin was embarrassed by his look and pointed to the blue mecha model that was flying after them. “What about this gift?”

“I like it too.” Norman looked at the model and commented objectively, “It’s very smart.” He noticed that the mecha shell was shimmering, very different from the common model material, and was a bit curious. “The material is special, I haven’t seen it before, is it a unique material of Rabe Star?”

An Jin blinked. “Sort of, it’s the scales I dropped as an adult,” he added, “the rest of the mermaids don’t drop scales as adults.”

In that case, the mecha’s material was, by all accounts, special. Norman’s heart moved slightly; the two gifts from the little mate were both too special. Although the little mate did not talk much, the two gifts made him feel the feeling of being cherished and loved that he seldom felt. He couldn’t help but hold his little mate tighter. He felt that it was still not enough, and he carried him back to the bedroom.

An Jin stopped Norman from putting him to bed. “I want to take a bath.”

He had soaked in the pool before, and although the pool was often cleaned, it was connected to the outdoors after all, and the water quality could be affected. When he came out of the bathroom, An Jin was completely exhausted and fell asleep within a few minutes of getting into the bed.

Norman, however, did not feel sleepy and stared at An Jin for a long time. Thinking of the topic he had been avoiding, and thinking of the doctor’s statement that the fourth month of pregnancy was already considered a peaceful period, he quickly made a decision to let his little mate know everything about him.

Before going to bed, he looked at the mecha model on the bedside table, thought for a moment, and was not going to put the model in the collection room on the second floor, but directly into the terminal space, ready to carry with him.

—

In the morning, An Jin opened his eyes and saw Norman sitting next to him. His eyes fell on the terminal’s virtual screen, looking very focused. Norman had a hard silhouette and a sharp chin, and his face was calm and serious at the moment. An Jin watched quietly and sighed silently in his heart. It was a great feeling to see your lover when your eyes opened.

After a while, Norman turned his head and met his eyes. An Jin subconsciously raised a smile, Norman’s face instantly softened, and he leaned down and kissed him.

An Jin’s eyelashes fluttered. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

An Jin got up and came out of the washroom to see Norman standing by the door, and his eyes immediately fell on him.

An Jin laughed. “Don’t be so careful, I’m not moving any differently than before.”

“It’s almost four months, the doctor said you might have trouble living.”

An Jin immediately said, “If it’s inconvenient, I’ll tell you immediately.”

After breakfast, Norman held An Jin’s hand and led An Jin to sit on the sofa. An Jin saw that Norman seemed to have something to say and was a little confused, but didn’t ask and looked at Norman quietly, waiting for Norman to speak.

“Sorry,” Norman spoke in silence for a moment, “you are my mate, I should tell you everything about me, but I haven’t talked to you about my parents.”

An Jin immediately knew what he was going to say and shook his hand firmly. “It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

In fact, he already knew a lot. The news of the royal bloodbath twelve years ago was forbidden to talk about, and An Jin had learned about it from just a few words from the netizens. Norman’s eldest uncle took advantage of the star beast wave to unite with the empress’s best friend and bribe the palace servants to stage a coup, with the end result that almost all members of the royal family were sacrificed, leaving only Norman and Nogi, who had the same grandmother as Norman.

Norman was still very young at the time and inherited the position of Emperor of Siao, and became a military marshal with iron tactics and superb abilities. The Star Network was extolling Norman awesomely; no one would think about what price Norman had paid with what he had achieved today.

Norman twisted his head to look at his little mate, his deep brown eyes filled with tenderness. The little mate did not ask or wonder, not that he did not know, but only out of consideration for his feelings. He shook the little mate’s hand. “No need to be shy, I have not been affected since long before. I was going to take you to the mausoleum to meet your parents before the wedding, but you are pregnant.”

The Siao royal family had a long history, and had many ancient taboos. Norman usually did not care, but when it came to his little mate, he had to be cautious.

An Jin was a bit puzzled. “It’s okay to be pregnant, I can go to the mausoleum with you anytime. You’re off today, why don’t we go later?”

Norman disapproved. “Go after the baby is born, going to the mausoleum while pregnant would be frightening.”

Even in the early stages of pregnancy, it was not appropriate to talk about the deceased with others.

An Jin was a bit tearful. “It’s the interstellar era, and I’m not afraid. That kind of argument doesn’t make sense.”

If it was in ancient times or when technology was not developed, timid people might have been affected by the psychological effects of going to the cemetery at night, leading to physical discomfort. In the interstellar era, the mausoleum was not at all scary.

Norman thought about it and took a step back. “If the doctor allows it.”

When Hornád heard Norman’s question, a look of surprise surfaced uncontrollably on his face. “Your Majesty, I just realized today that you are so traditional, it is so touching that you can find a mate!”

With the doctor’s permission, An Jin went to the mausoleum with Norman to pay a formal visit to Norman’s parents after a routine checkup.

—

After Norman’s birthday, An Jin and Norman resumed their regular life as before the star beast wave. On this day, An Jin woke up when Norman was not in his bedroom, having gone out for his morning walk. An Jin got up and changed out of his robe and into the latest nine-quarter pants from the research institute, which could adapt to mermaid deformation.

When he buttoned his pants, he stalled slightly, walked to the full-length mirror and pulled up the hem. The white skin was exposed, and he stared at it for two seconds, turned sideways, and his slightly bulging stomach became particularly obvious.

An Jin froze for a moment, and quickly calmed down. He’d been pregnant for more than four months, his belly changing was normal.

“Not feeling well?” Norman came back from his morning walk, saw the action of his little mate, was stunned for a moment, accelerated into the washroom, and held An Jin’s shoulders, looking with a nervous look.

An Jin was a little embarrassed. “It’s bulging.”

Norman breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes fell on his shiny white belly, and he restrained to ask, “Can I touch it?”

An Jin nodded. “Sure.”

Norman cleaned his hands and ran hot water to make sure they weren’t cold before placing his hands on An Jin’s stomach. The two of them met in the mirror and their eyes were tender.

After this day, both An Jin and Norman paid extra attention to the egg, and the changes in An Jin’s belly became more and more obvious.

After six months, An Jin clearly felt that the baby had a greater thirst for food and was able to absorb some of the energy, and the egg was very active every time he absorbed the energy from the beast’s core.

After eight months, at the doctor’s suggestion, the egg was removed. An Jin didn’t feel anything the whole time. He slept and woke up to find a nursery box next to his bed with a big, white egg inside.

Norman immediately asked, “Does it hurt?”

An Jin shook his head. He got up and Norman helped him. An Jin only felt a slight pain in his abdomen, it was not too uncomfortable. He turned his head and looked at the egg, a little incredulous. “Are there really two babies?”

This egg was much bigger than the usual eggs, but he thought there were two babies in it, and he thought it was too small.

Norman said, “Mn, the mermaid baby and the human male baby.”

An Jin couldn’t help but worry. “Aren’t they too small?”

Norman had already asked this question while An Jin was sleeping, and he was calm. “It’s okay, they’re still growing and won’t break their shells for a while.”

An Jin breathed a sigh of relief.

After that, An Jin and his daily routine added one more activity to the list: taking care of the egg. He had to apply a special nutrient solution to the egg every day, a task that could have been done by the caregivers, but An Jin and Norman decided to do it themselves after learning that the babies were already conscious.

It was very hot in Siao at the end of September, but the villa was kept at a comfortable room temperature. An Jin took the egg for a dip in the water and the egg was very active lately, rolling around in the pool.

An Jin received a communication from Little Silver, who, after chatting with him, saw that it was almost lunchtime and picked up the egg and prepared to go ashore. When he reached the shore, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes slightly open, staring at the crack at the top of the egg.

Did it hit? Or was the shell about to break?

Billy arrived and immediately examined the egg and concluded, “It’s hatching!”