CHAPTER 90: NO MILK

Meanwhile, the youngest kept crying, and it was enough to make her older brothers look like they were about to cry, too.

Gara knew it was the time. He had to feed them. But there was a problem. His milk hadn’t come in yet.

"Mom, it’s not... flowing yet," Gara admitted awkwardly, unable to say the full thing in front of Madha and Fian.

"I’ll get the pump," Wina said gently.

She carried the youngest while grabbing the breast pump. Gara quickly shooed Madha and Fian out of the room.

The pump was Fian’s invention, designed according to Gara’s own sketches. But he had forgotten one thing—his chest had changed, and the pump couldn’t draw out the very first milk.

What he needed was stronger suction.

Suction... Humans were best at that, weren’t they?

Gara shook his head quickly. Impossible. His mother? No. Those two men? Definitely not.

"Waaah! Waaah!" The eldest was crying now.

"Waa... waaa..." The second joined in, though his voice was softer.

They had goat’s milk, yes, but goat’s milk wasn’t a proper substitute. Its proteins and minerals couldn’t be digested well, especially not as a baby’s first food.

Gara had naively thought his milk would start flowing right after giving birth. But nothing came, even though he could feel the glands in his chest swelling painfully.

"I’ll make goat’s milk," Wina offered at last.

Gara wanted to stop her, but he couldn’t bear to hear his babies cry any longer.

Before Wina could put the youngest back into the crib, though, the cries from the other two suddenly stopped.

Inside the crib, a small white fur ball was nuzzling against their cheeks. Its soft fur seemed to soothe them, and the babies grew quiet.

It was Rea’s children!

It felt like a gift of extra time, time Gara had to use to make sure his milk finally came in.

"Mom, no need for goat’s milk," Gara said. "Please... call Madha instead."

When Madha entered, the room held only the two of them and Gara’s three babies. Rea’s children had already slipped out after calming the triplets.

Trying to act as natural as possible, Gara made his request.

To be sucked.

It almost felt like he was preparing to make another sibling for the triplets.

"Well, that works too," came Goddess Freya’s comment, her voice echoing out of nowhere.

Gara’s face burned. The goddess wasn’t visible, but she was definitely watching!

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stay focused, especially when he felt that Madha wasn’t just sucking, but going further than that.

Heat rushed through his body, and he knew at once, his Max Charm had activated. The goddess’s urging for them to go further was proof enough.

No, no, not now! Milk for my triplets first, everything else later.

Gara chanted that over and over in his mind until he felt the pressure of milk ready to flow. Quickly, he pushed Madha’s head away—the man was latched onto him like a vacuum.

"Madha, that’s enough," Gara whispered, his raspy voice sounding far too much like a tease.

Thankfully, even through the haze of Gara’s intoxicating Max Charm, Madha had just enough clarity left to pull himself back.

Gara washed his chest with his water and then set the pump in place.

Madha’s face, already red, flushed even deeper at the sight.

"You can go. Mom will help me now. Thank you," Gara said before the awkwardness grew unbearable.

It was as if Madha had used Ghost Walk himself, he vanished in an instant.

When Wina entered, Gara tried hard not to reveal his chest, where clear bite marks remained.

The whole atmosphere was painfully awkward.

He prepared three jars of milk, feeding the babies with a makeshift bottle he had crafted. Though it wasn’t exactly a bottle—more like a small pouch with a nipple—it worked. The material came from local resources of this world, stiffer than the soft silicone of real baby bottles.

For now, his children had to put in more effort since the day they were born. Being a father of three was no easy feat.

As Gara watched Wina feeding the babies, he lay his head on the bed. The anesthethic effect he’d been fighting against since earlier finally reached its peak. He couldn’t resist anymore, he drifted off into sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, sunlight slipped through the window, brushing across his face.

It still felt unreal. His belly was flat now.

He scanned the room. Only one crib remained, while Madha slept on a woven mat on the earth floor.

Gara sat up, his body stiff and hungry. That was when he realized, this wasn’t the evening sun, but morning light. He had fallen asleep before sunset and only awakened after sunrise.

The sound of him moving roused Madha. The man looked exhausted, his hair a mess, dark circles under his eyes, yet still handsome.

Yesterday’s memory of Madha’s flushed face overlapped with his current tired expression. Gara forced himself to look away.

Half-awake, Madha noticed Gara heading toward the lone crib in the room.

"The second and third are in your mother’s room," Madha explained. "This first one cries the loudest, so she kept him here. His wails could wake any guardian."

Gara nodded. After more than twelve hours of sleep, he was already behind in understanding his own children compared to everyone else.

He gazed at his baby’s peaceful face. The reddish skin was no longer as wrinkled as yesterday.

At first, he thought the white layer covering his hair was birthing fluid—but no. His firstborn’s hair was truly silver. Gara let out a long sigh.

His father’s hair.

Not long after, Wina entered carrying breakfast.

"Eat first, Gara. You already missed dinner."

Meanwhile, Madha excused himself. He hadn’t even sent word to his family last night that he wouldn’t be coming home. Now, he had to return—if only to change his clothes.

With Fian’s help, the second and third babies were moved back into Gara’s room.

"Yesterday," Wina said, "I heard Madha waking up over and over to feed them and change diapers."

...