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I hope I can find a reference for how “normal” babies act…

There was a time when I had such thoughts. I thought that way because I believed it was the best way to live “normally” like a baby.

And now…

“Auu…auug.”

Alfe, a baby born a few months after me, lay by my side, reaching out to touch my face with her tiny hands.

“Auahh…”

She seemed to be trying to convey something, smiling at me warmly.

“Hehe, Alfe seems to be in a good mood.”

Alfe’s mother, Judy, smiled as she compared us. I didn’t know how Alfe usually behaved in the Clifford family, but her current condition seemed quite different from the hardships that I heard Judy speak of previously.

Perhaps influenced by that, I had been visiting Alfe’s house for the past few days. With the mothers’ voices filled with joy, maybe I should welcome this situation too.

While thinking about that, I returned my gaze to Alfe. Just as she was about to put her hand in her mouth, I felt like she looked at me and smiled.

“Ahyaa, kya!”

Ugh… Please don’t put your drool-covered hand in my mouth…

But if I refuse, Alfe might start crying. In that case, wouldn’t I be marked as useless?

I was suddenly plagued by a moment of anxiety, and I decided to let Alfe do as she liked. I prayed she wouldn’t go too deep, and I shifted my body slightly to create some distance. I played with her by gently nibbling on her, and Alfe let out a joyful sound, flapping her legs in delight.

Come to think of it, I remembered something. When I was Glass, I had read about a primitive reflex called the sucking reflex. Could Alfe’s actions be related to that? If so, should I consider this a valuable opportunity to verify it?

With these thoughts in mind, I suddenly became curious about Alfe’s behavior. What kind of reaction would she show if I did the same to her?

“Awwe.”

I called out to her like a baby and gently touched my finger to Alfe’s soft lips. As expected, Alfe blinked her eyes rapidly and latched onto my finger.

From a survival strategy perspective, having an instinct to put something in the mouth would be beneficial, I suppose. Maybe I should try offering a spoon next time. Or is it already too late?

While I couldn’t know what a baby like Alfe was thinking, if she was instinctively trying to put something in her mouth, there was a possibility that she was concerned about me in her own way. When I thought about interfering with someone from such an early stage, thoughts about the infancy period of Glass, which I had no memory of, made its way into my mind.

How I managed to survive in that kind of environment eluded even me.

I couldn’t know for sure, but it’s possible that I had been taken care of by someone to some extent until I reached a certain level of growth. Based on the conversations of the goddesses, probably only enough to ensure I didn’t die.

As I thought about such things, Alfe released my finger and started touching my mouth and cheeks again.

“Auau.”

I hypothesized that sticking hands into the mouth might be a part of instinctual affection expression, but even if that was the case, I didn’t really welcome her sticky, drool-covered hands.

“Daa.”

I didn’t think my message would get across, but I closed my mouth to indicate “no.” Alfe’s hands, which were about a size smaller than mine, began tracing the shape of my face with a curious look.

“Auaa.”

It seemed like she was trying to communicate with me, but I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say. Hearing it objectively now, this was probably how my parents felt about it whenever I tried to convey something.

“Leafa is so well-behaved. Is she like that at home too?”
“Yes, she hardly ever cries, and she’s not much trouble at all.”
“She’s such a filial child.”

Judy’s gaze glanced in my direction. It seems that I fall into the category of being filial when compared to Alfe. My mother also seemed to be smiling, so she appeared to be taking this fact in a positive light. I made a small sound and waved my hand in a friendly manner since I made eye contact with my mother. Knowing that I wasn’t causing any inconvenience, I felt relieved.

“…Our Alfe is in a good mood now, but sometimes she suddenly gets fussy…”

As she said that, I could hear the tone of Judy’s voice dropping.

Even though it had only been a few days since we started spending time together, based on the mothers’ conversations, it seemed that Alfe’s behavior was different when she was with me compared to when she was with just her family.

“She cried loudly in the middle of last night too… We went for a walk to change her mood, and it was quite challenging.”
“Well… I hope we’re not overstaying our welcome. If Alfe gets sleepy—”
“No, it’s fine. I’m sure it’s because Leafa is here. It helps distract me too.”

Judy’s voice seemed to carry a hint of fatigue. It seemed that raising a normal child was quite challenging. I recalled how my parents used to persistently ask me to rely on them more.

But that didn’t mean I wanted to deliberately cause my parents trouble now…

“Ah-ah, ah-ua.”

Perhaps I had been too focused on the mothers’ conversation, as Alfe was making a dissatisfied sound.

“Awwe.”

Okay okay, they want me to play with you, anyway.

I rolled over and turned onto my stomach in response to Alfe’s call, moving closer to her. Alfe immediately responded with a happy-sounding voice, but I felt that something was a bit different.

“Ah…”

While moving her body with a fidgety motion, Alfe kept moving her legs restlessly. It seemed fundamentally different from the way she moved her legs quickly when she was in a good mood, as if expressing her emotions physically. She was making a displeased expression, so I wondered if it was her diaper.

“Awuu?”

I reached my hand toward her buttocks, but it didn’t feel wet. Judy had mentioned earlier when I visited their home that she had just changed her diaper, so it might not be that. In that case, what could be the reason for Alfe’s discomfort? What uncomfortable events had I experienced a few months ago?

“Ah.”

As I tried to recall all the memories of this current life, I remembered a time when the base of my legs and my knee joints felt itchy and uncomfortable. It was often more pronounced in the evening and at night, and I had even cried out a few times due to the discomfort, unable to do anything about it.

My mother had heard it and rushed to help, but naturally, I had no way of conveying the reason for my discomfort, and all I could do was fidget and move my legs. Could it be that Alfe was going through a similar phase?

“Uuu?”

I shifted my body and touched the base of Alfe’s legs. With a bit more pressure applied to her thighs, Alfe stopped moving her body restlessly.

“Aa-aah!”

Alfe was voicing herself as if encouraging me. My deduction might not be entirely wrong. With this in mind, I pressed my hand against the base of Alfe’s legs and joints, applying pressure carefully.

It seemed to be quite pleasant for her, as Alfe gradually reduced her sounds to elongated vowels. Just as I thought she had become calm, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.