After training a little bit more, I cleaned myself up and started making preparations for dinner. I made a separate dinner for the chipmunks and Irene and the rest of the family.
I used spare ingredients I have from the system while I used the normal ingredients for the fam. Until I returned back to WoD and earn a pretty amount of points, I should stop using ingredients carelessly.
After making dinner, I put their food in bowls and put them in a tray before I went back to our room. When I opened the door, they are still sleeping so I woke them up. Irene opened her eyes and felt groggy while the chipmunks started rolling around before going back to sleep. I chuckled a little bit seeing that they don't want to wake up but I need to wake them up or else they will be sleeping really late in the night.
After forcefully waking them up, they looked at me with a dissatisfied face which raised my eyebrow but my next words, removed all of their dissatisfaction.
"If you don't wake up and have dinner then there's no ice cream. Do you want that?" I said as they continuously shook their head and immediately took their bowl of food and ate. Irene seeing their reactions giggled and was curious as to what is that ice cream that I just spoke off.
"Father, we're done eating. Ice cream?" Kagura asked as I nodded and told them to ask their uncle to give them a bowl of ice cream and reminded them about having too much is bad.
She cheered and ran to the kitchen with Pitou and Erza. I also heard Kagura chanting with a rhythm.
"Ice cream, Ice cream, Ice cream, Yay!"
I smiled in response. I then looked at Irene and her weakened state. I then started feeding her soup. She refused at first but when she grabbed the spoon and it fell, I took the spoon and fed her.
"Are you sure you're okay, my love?" I asked her.
"I'm fine its just that, the little fellow is a glutton." She said as I froze.
'Don't tell me... System, did the child inherited my gourmet cells?' I asked the system.
[Yes, your child indeed inherited your cells. So far, other than Toriko, Starjun, and Midora. No one has managed to inherit or be born with gourmet cells other than those three. So your baby is a rare occurrence even in Toriko World.] The system said.
'But isn't my gourmet cells the perfect gourmet cells? Why is its weakness of being a glutton apply to my kid?' I asked as I realized the reason why Irene kept getting thinner is the fact that the little fellow is absorbing nutrients from Irene's body at an insane rate.
[The gourmet cells has just started multiplying in her womb and needs a huge amount of nutrients for the cells to continuously multiply.
Your wife will also have your perfect gourmet cells when she finished giving birth to your child, though it is making the burden on her double, since the gourmet cells stayed in her body before becoming an individual organism.] the system said.
'Being a woman really isn't easy. She'll have to carry my child with gourmet cells as well while she faces the burden of weakening until the gourmet cells integrate and stabilize themselves.' I thought
'System, when will the gourmet cells stabilize on my kid? Can I speed up Irene's cells integration and stabilize it?' I asked
[The gourmet cells will stabilize at the seventh month since it has mostly took form and integrated to an individual. Yes, you can speed up stabilizing and integrating Irene's cells by continuously feeding her gourmet world ingredients to help integrate the cells faster since gourmet world ingredients have much more gourmet cells than normal ingredients at Toriko world but you can also use ingredients with high nutritional value like the one you planted back in WoD, though the progress will be slower.] The system said as I nodded.
Seeing me frozen and stopped talking, Irene gave me a poke and it brought me back to reality.
"What's the matter, Noct? Is something wrong?" Irene asked.
"I might have an idea as to why you're weakening right now." I said as I put the bowl down and held her hand.
"I think... our child inherited my special cells." I said as Irene got confused.
I then explained to her basically what cells is and explained the gourmet cell is and she was surprised. I also told her that it would take her 7 months before the gourmet cells stabilize inside her womb. I also told her that after giving birth she will also have the gourmet cells.
'So that's what the demon is when I probed deeper at his 'cells'.' She thought before smiling and staring straight at my worried eyes as she clenched my hand.
"Its going to be fine, my love. I won't let anything happen to our child." She said.
"You just stole my line." I said as Irene giggled.
"Don't worry, we'll return tomorrow. With the ingredients I have back at our home, I'm sure that will eliminate the burden on your body." I said and gave her a light kiss.
"Mm." Irene nodded and I kept on feeding her to alleviate her burdens a little.
After eating, Irene lied down to take a rest and I went back to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
When I entered the dining hall, I saw the chipmunks with their mouth full of ice cream and the melted ice cream on their faces. They are eating and creating a mess while feasting on ice cream. When the Kagura saw me she immediately came towards me and asked.
"Father, what is happening, why did the ice cream melt? Did something scared it so it turned soft?" Kagura remembered the first time she encountered a troublesome customer and witnessed as it turned soft after being scared by his father.
I chuckled hearing Kagura's question.
"No Kagura. It turned soft because it is not cold anymore." If Kagura is older I would gladly explain it but she's not so simplified explanation works best for kids.
"Ohhhh. Father have a taste! Its delicious. Say ahhhh." She said as she scooped ice cream and fed me.
"Ahhhhh. Mmmm delicious." I opened my mouth and ate the ice cream that Kagura fed me.
"Me too, taste my ice cream, father!" Pitou said as she spoon fed me with ice cream.
I then saw Erza with a complicated expression. Of course I know Erza the best, the tsundere in the making. So instead of her approaching me, I approached her.
"How about Erza. Are you going to feed father too?" I said as Erza thought for a bit before scooping some up for me. I then ate the ice cream that Erza is eating.
"Mm. Delicious." I said.
"Of course. Its fathers food!" Erza exlaimed as she praised me which caught everyone in surprise. Erza is not the type who would shout in excitement. Sensing everyone's gaze on her she just gave a slight 'hmph' and turned her back on everyone before focusing on her ice cream. The adults chuckled at Erza's antics and let them be.
After dinner, I took the kids and bathed them to clean all of the sticky ice cream in their body. After they took a bath, it is now story time. I told them the story of Snow white and the seven dwarves. When the kids learned that snow white got poisoned because she accepted something from a stranger, they got scared. Of course I finished the story by a dwarf making an antidote for Snow White. Prince Charming... Prince Charming my ass, as long as they are under my house, suitors shouldn't even think of pursuing my daughters.
When we were about to sleep, Erza asked me.
"Father, when are we going home? I miss Fenrir and the wolves. Will we see them again?" She asked.
"We will return tomorrow morning, 'kay? Now sleep now little chipmunk." I said as I patted her head.
The next day, I woke up really early because the earlier we return, the better. I then started preparing for our journey and the earlier we leave the better. Because Irene ate the food from the spare ingredients I have. It alleviated her condition and until my stocked ingredients from the system ran out, Irene's condition wouldn't worsen.
Soon, we started our journey back to WoD.
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For those confused of Irene's condition, the forming fetus inside her body has inherited the MC's Gourmet cell and started eating Irene's cell for it to replace it and multiply. Because the gourmet cells is inside Irene's body, she would naturally gain Gourmet cell after she gave birth since it was her body that was used to contain the baby with gourmet cells.
Because gourmet cells need to rapidly multiply, it needs huge amounts of nutrients making Irene thinner since the gourmet cells are stealing nutrients from her cells. Although she is a dragon, she still needs those nutrients to sustain her daily living.
Although Midora, Toriko, and Starjun are born with gourmet cells, there were no reason, or any explanation as to why it happened. If it does I must've missed it or its just a theory.