Free Web NovelChapter 24: A Sign From the Sky
"How are we even supposed to know whether I’m pregnant or not?" she asked.
She wasn’t sure if this world even had something like a pregnancy test, but she once heard that in ancient Egypt, women were asked to pee on wheat or barley seeds. If the seeds grew, it supposedly meant they were pregnant.
Were they seriously going to ask her to pee on wheat too?
Honestly, Maeve would not mind doing it, but she absolutely minded if everyone stood there watching her!
"By waiting for the sign," Cerus answered. He then explained excitedly, "Every time a couple mates inside the cave, the Sky Mother gives a sign through the night sky. If the moon turns red, it means we’ll be blessed with a child."
Maeve frowned slightly because, honestly, that explanation made absolutely no sense to her.
"The sign still hasn’t appeared?" Axan asked while walking toward the hut together with Ikarus. The two of them were carrying a large pile of firewood, probably planning to light a fire near the hut so Maeve would not feel cold during the night.
"Not yet," Cerus replied.
"Leaders! Usually, the sign appears not long after sunset, but even though the night is getting later, we still haven’t received an answer!" one of the Azuryn people said anxiously.
"Could it be that the Sky Mother truly doesn’t want to give us descendants?"
"But we already summoned a Goddess here."
"Maybe we treated our Goddess badly, so the sky became angry with us?"
"I heard Elder Vax spoke harshly to our Goddess yesterday."
Another person immediately clicked his tongue. "That old man... he should’ve been kinder."
One after another, the people began voicing all kinds of worries, and the atmosphere slowly grew more tense.
"The night isn’t over yet," Ikarus said calmly. "And the moon is still in the sky. Until then, we can continue waiting. Besides, no one truly knows when the sign will appear since it has been such a long time since we last waited for this."
The moment Ikarus spoke, the people slowly started calming down again. They still looked nervous, but at least they were no longer panicking.
Just like Ikarus said, as long as the moon was still hanging in the sky, they could continue waiting.
But even though the others had calmed down, now it was Maeve who started panicking.
At first, she truly had no desire to become a mother. But seeing how desperately everyone hoped for a child from her made her chest feel strangely heavy.
"What if the Sky Mother doesn’t bless me with a child?" Maeve whispered quietly to Cerus. "What if I fail to get pregnant?"
Pinky had said that she possessed a 100% fertility rate, but even so, Maeve suddenly felt unsure.
From the universe’s perspective, people like her were considered useless and disposable. But what about from the Azuryn Tribe’s perspective?
What would they do if the person they worked so hard to summon could not give them the thing they wanted most?
Would they hate her?
"Then nothing will happen," Cerus replied softly. For some reason, he suddenly looked far more serious than usual. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
"We summoned you here to help us fight this crisis," he continued. "But if you can’t get pregnant, then it simply means the problem was with us from the beginning."
Just like the others, Cerus was probably filled with worry too, especially since he was one of the tribe’s leaders. But even so, he still tried his best not to pour his anxiety onto Maeve.
"You don’t need to worry so much," Cerus said with a gentle smile. He reached out and softly patted the top of her head. "You did great."
Maeve held her breath for a moment. Honestly, it was so rare for her to hear words like that.
It felt like she had almost never heard anyone say she had done great before. In her old world, people always seemed to hate her whenever she failed to achieve something impressive, especially her uncle’s family.
No straight A’s? She was a failure.
There was still dust after cleaning the house? She was as useless as a broken vacuum cleaner.
Her test score barely passed? She was dumber than a donkey.
Sometimes, Maeve truly wondered if she really was as dumb as a donkey or as useless as a broken vacuum cleaner. After all, no matter how hard she tried, people always acted like her efforts were never enough.
So yeah, those three simple words—"you did great"—felt like soothing water pouring over all the painful memories buried inside her mind.
But... what exactly had she even done? She had only mated with her alien husband!
Was mating really the only thing she was useful for in this life?!
[Well, Host. A talent is still a talent.] Pinky said in a wise tone.
Somehow, those words made Maeve feel both annoyed and grateful at the same time.
"Hey, look!"
Maeve’s thoughts instantly scattered when one of the people suddenly shouted. He pointed toward the sky and added, "The moon... the moon is starting to change color!"
Curious, Maeve immediately leaned toward the window to look outside. But before she could properly see it, Cerus suddenly grabbed her and lifted her right out through the window instead.
While carrying her with one arm, Cerus spoke excitedly, "It’s red!"
His voice was filled with pure happiness as he looked up at the sky before turning back toward her.
"The moon has turned red!" he exclaimed. "My dear Goddess, you’ve blessed us with a child!"
Right after Cerus said that, Maeve began hearing the sound of people crying from the crowd.
Some of them had burst into tears. Others had fallen to their knees while quietly sobbing.
From over Cerus’ shoulder, Maeve stared at the scene in silence, suddenly unsure of what she was supposed to do.
Those tears felt genuine. They carried sadness, relief, gratitude, and happiness all at once.
Every tear that fell onto the ground felt like a small hope that their dying land could finally become alive again.
"Goddess... thank you..."
They kept whispering those words over and over while looking at Maeve with trembling eyes.
And at that moment, for the first time in her life, Maeve finally felt like her existence truly had meaning.
