"It wasn't sex?"
"No."
"Are you joking?"
"I'm not."
"Then what on earth was it that made you react like that—?"
"Well, the whole point was to see if your deduction was right in the first place."
I pressed my thumb and forefinger to my temple and teleported out of my seat—right behind Jere.
Jere turned her head swiftly, clicked her tongue, and said, "That's cheap, teleporting away like that."
"If I didn't, who knows what you might do?"
"Heh~ You've grown, Captain."
"It's thanks to everything we've been through, all because of you, Jere."
Well, the trouble was that it started with "ba" and ended with "ram."
No, and starting with "bul" and ending with "ryun" was in there too?
They could have separated, but they insisted on sharing one body to do... whatever they did.
So I can't let my guard down around Jere, more than anyone.
"By the way, Captain, you're really not going to tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"...Don't worry. I won't tell a soul. Not even Jere."
Jere might be someone I can't drop my guard against, but whenever she speaks Jere's name, her credibility skyrockets enough for me to trust her.
Because it wasn't anyone else but Jere.
Jere cherishes and loves Jere above anyone else—that's how I can trust her.
Because Jere will never forgive anyone who soils Jere's name.
"Even then, I'm not telling."
"Is it that serious?"
"In a way, it is."
When I first saw it, I wanted to hunt down the person who did this and kill them.
If I hadn't trained to control my inner self, I probably would've gone berserk.
"What on earth made you react so strongly?"
"It's a serious matter, for me and for everyone here."
Which is why I'd rather get past this without resorting to such measures.
If someone carried out this act, they'd have at least calculated our current maximum power... Wait, that seems strange, too.
Then how could they anticipate the full power from the Jewel Seed that Aunt, seeing it for the first time today, couldn't have predicted?
Could it be they predicted her strength based on the data Aunt simulated?
Is that even possible?
"Captain, your expression just got worse."
"No. It's just that a bad hypothesis popped into my head."
At minimum, it means the one who created this situation knows us far too well.
In other words, it makes Kiana's earlier remark about interference even more credible.
Who on earth could it be?
Who came up with something like this?
First, we can rule out my wife and Bianca.
There's no way the two who put the child first would take on something so time-consuming.
They're already growing more distressed over time, worrying about the child; I can't see them doing this.
That narrows down the suspects a bit, and we can rule out pregnant Jere.
Then, since Kiana said there was interference in the power we collided with, naturally Aunt and I can be ruled out.
I mean, who would honestly think that colliding kikon cannons would shatter the dimension?
"Ugh, this is infuriating! Would it kill you to just spill it?"
Honestly, I want to lay it all out.
But I can't fully trust Jere either when I haven't confirmed who's behind this.
There's still the possibility Jere is involved... Huh? Now that I think about it, she should be excluded, too—since we share the same body.
"Ugh, seriously. What is this, some scenario where everyone has to be pregnant? It's so frustrating."
flinch
Did I give it away? Probably not.
But judging by Jere's expression, it shows.
"Really? I just guessed."
sigh
After living together for so long, even a small change gets noticed immediately.
Well, but... considering it's Jere, maybe that's a relief.
I settled on my conclusion and nodded at Jere, who looked at me like she couldn't believe it herself.
"What kind of maniac came up with this... Ugh, it makes no sense."
"Imagine how frustrated I was when I first saw it."
"It's not like pregnancy just sprouts whenever a kid has sex—everyone pregnant?!"
Saying that, Jere clutched her forehead like she had a headache and gritted her teeth.
Yeah, that's exactly how I felt the moment I saw the note.
What were they even thinking when they came up with this?
They didn't mention it, but inside the drawer were countless pregnancy tests, as if they expected us to check if we were pregnant.
Fortunately, no one had seen them yet, so I hurriedly hid them.
I didn't throw them away because that would have been a terrible move if there was no escape; so I just hid them.
Honestly, tossing out the tests alone would have been too conspicuous.
To make matters worse, Bronie's condition is deteriorating over time, and Jere's state is shaky too.
That was the biggest problem.
First, there's the probability of pregnancy, and it takes at least a month to confirm it.
In other words, this dimension was built on the premise that we'd last over a month.
sigh "Captain? This is no longer a light matter. Hiding it won't solve such a big problem."
"I know."
"Then why hesitate?"
"Because I haven't confirmed who the culprit is."
"Finding the culprit?"
I explained to Jere, who frowned with confusion, the thoughts I had pieced together so far.
Standing before the Captain's door, someone leans against it, arms crossed, listening to the voices inside.
Amazingly, despite listening openly, neither Jere nor the Captain seems to sense her presence.
"Well, even so, the plan remains unchanged."
With that, she stepped away from the door and vanished like smoke.
At the same moment, the door opened and Jere stepped out.
"First, I'll tell Jere about this."
"Right. Jere is off the suspect list, after all."
"Ugh, really... How do I explain this?"
Jere sighed as if her head hurt and turned—then froze.
Her gaze locked onto Bronie standing there, and their eyes met.
Startled by Jere's sudden halt, the Captain peeked out and paused.
But Bronie's gaze was already fixed on Jere and the Captain.
Their disheveled state, disarrayed hair, and the dark lipstick smudged on their lips—it looked like they'd been up to something in the room, and Bronie's eyes darkened.
As if to say, what were you doing in such an urgent situation?
"Explain yourselves, both of you."
Bronie exuded authority, and the two of them could only raise their hands in cold sweat.
"We'll take full responsibility and explain everything."