68: Fluffy and twice as cute

Tu Nan's twins could be said to have sent the entire military district into a frenzy, becoming the hottest topic of late.

Especially those couples who already had partners but no Children; they sought out all sorts of connections to visit and bring gifts, just for a chance to touch the Children's foreheads.

It was said to be a special prayer ritual.

Touching a cub within its first month of life would allow the little babies, who had just arrived in the world from the beast god's side, to convey the wish for Children back—because the beast god's attention was still on the Children.

What's more, Tu Nan had two of different genders, making it far too convenient for making wishes... This led to Tu Nan's social circle expanding rapidly.

She suspected that every married but childless young soldier in Mata City already knew her.

That day, while Lisa was helping her watch the Children, a little cannonball charged in from outside and lunged into Tu Nan's embrace.

"Godmother! Godmother! I heard the younger brother and sister were born!"

Little Bear hugged Tu Nan tightly before poking his head around to scout the yard.

「Who is this? Why is he calling her Mom?」 Miao Miao was furious, rolling over in her grass nest and staring intently at them.

That's right... the two little ones were placed in a grass nest, set out in the yard to sunbathe.

「Mom seemed to have told us to greet a big brother...」 Ao Ao had some memory of it, but he wasn't very happy either.

「But he shouldn't be calling people names randomly...」

「Exactly! Mom is ours!」 Miao Miao was extremely angry.

She saw Mom stroking that thief's hair and constantly kissing his little face; her chubby little hands, gripping the edge of the grass nest, even formed little dimples on the back of her hands from the effort.

She exerted force with her limbs, wanting to climb out of the nest to drive away the invader, but unfortunately, it was very difficult; her limbs were soft and simply wouldn't follow the movements from the Legacy in her mind.

The little one was so anxious her eyes turned red, yet she refused to cry, feeling she couldn't show weakness before the "enemy."

After straining at the edge of the nest for a moment under the warm sunlight... suddenly, a small animal with sparse fur replaced the human-form child in the nest.

Her brother looked at her in shock.

Miao Miao leaned forward, letting out what she thought was a fierce and menacing roar at the enemy.

"Woo~ Aoo~"

A milky and adorable cry rang out. Tu Nan, who had been busy greeting Little Bear and Ken, turned her head and saw a Little Tiger cub leap out of the grass nest.

Although the landing was a bit shaky and her first running steps were stumbling, the little one quickly coordinated her body.

She charged straight for her.

Reaching her feet, she climbed up her skirt all the way onto her body, opening her pink, three-lobed mouth toward Little Bear, who was still in Tu Nan's arms.

She took a fierce bite!

"Oh my~"

She was scooped into Little Bear's arms. Little Bear petted her from head to tail and looked up happily at Tu Nan.

"This must be the little sister. She really likes me! Look, she came to play with me."

The toddler-sized Little Bear held the tiger cub by her armpits, stretching her into a long tiger-strip... showing her off to Tu Nan with sparkling eyes.

With a face full of wonder, Tu Nan carefully took the tiger cub and held her in her arms.

The little one felt terribly wronged, constantly complaining in her mind: 「This bad guy! He stretched me into a strip! I want to bite him! Mom, let me bite him!」

Ao Ao added a slow verbal blow: 「He doesn't even feel pain, your teeth aren't good enough...」

「Ah! I didn't use force just now! Let me bite!」

Tu Nan curiously rubbed the Little Tiger back and forth. The phrase 'tiger-headed and tiger-brained' suddenly took physical form. Although the little white tiger's fur was still slightly sparse, one could see very faint light grey stripes upon closer inspection. Her whole body was chubby and cute, and her tail was thick and long.

「Miao Miao?」 Although she had already confirmed it in her heart, Tu Nan still asked.

Sure enough, the Little Tiger immediately stopped arguing with her brother, her large round eyes turning to Tu Nan as she asked sillily: 「Mom, why are you calling me?」

Tu Nan's eyes were about to turn into stars. Originally, her Two Children had been quiet and well-behaved since birth, lying cleanly in their nest and able to communicate directly with her—they were already unimaginably angelically cute.

But now, they could actually transform into a fluffy cub form?

This was just cheating.

With this double dose of cuteness... who could resist?

A slightly wicked smile played at the corners of her mouth. She grabbed the Little Tiger's armpits with both hands, stretching her into a tiger-strip again... then, under Miao Miao's incredulous gaze, she buried her face in the Little Tiger's still slightly pink belly and nuzzled back and forth for a long time.

The little one's entire tiger body went stiff, her chubby paws curled pitifully in front of her chest, her mouth slightly agape, her face full of an expression that questioned the meaning of life.

It took quite a while for the commotion to end.

Miao Miao finally curled into a ball on her mother's lap, using her front paws to press her face and ears down, refusing to come out and see the guests.

She! Miao Miao! Had actually had her belly nuzzled in front of so many people! What was to become of her majestic image!!

"Oh my, look, the child is shy." Lisa, having experience with Children after all, smilingly pointed out the little one's thoughts.

"This is her first time switching to Beast Form, isn't it? I didn't expect to be lucky enough to catch it."

While smoothing the child's fur, Tu Nan cast an expectant look toward Ao Ao.

"Ao Ao, transform for me~" she requested insatiably.

"Transform! Transform!" Little Bear also clapped happily on the side.

Lisa looked at the little Male Beast still in the nest and smiled, tapping Tu Nan.

"Alright, don't be greedy. Children in the cub stage can't control their transformations."

"They'll stabilize once they reach the childhood stage at half a year old... but don't you think they're incredibly cute now when they can't control it?"

Tu Nan lowered her head and laughed. Wasn't that the truth? Not being able to control it and turning into a fluffy cub was certainly the cutest thing.

"Everyone says that the earlier a child transforms, the stronger they'll be in the future... This child isn't even a month old and she's already managed to bring out her Initial Form. She'll be extraordinary later on," Lisa marveled.

Tu Nan was stunned.

Initial Form... She still had an unclaimed Talent upgrade that said she could convert her Initial Form.

So that meant she could convert into a cute kitten cub??

Wait, System, didn't you say it was extracted based on male preferences?

Is there something seriously wrong with the aesthetic of the males here?