Gara had caused quite a stir in his classes, but he himself was completely unaware of it.

He planned to have dinner at home and then train again, when suddenly he heard Bel crying. Gara’s heart leaped. He rushed up to the second floor.

Halfway there, Bel stopped crying, but now Ava’s voice rang out instead.

The fifteen-month-old was no longer crying like a baby. She wailed as if she were carrying decades of grievances. Gara’s chest tightened at the sound of his children crying.

His babies rarely cried over basic needs. Wina, Della, and Ares were always attentive. Rea’s children also helped soothe them.

Panicking, Gara burst into his room, the source of the crying.

The scene inside was pure chaos.

Wina was feeding Bel milk. Ares was changing Ava’s diaper, but the baby clearly wasn’t pleased about having her diaper changed by an adult man who wasn’t her daddy.

Inside another crib, Arion sat with watery eyes, distressed by his siblings’ cries. Becky jumped around in front of him, trying to distract him so he wouldn’t cry. Instead, Arion looked like he was on the verge of breaking down.

Normally, Pandy would calm Arion by nuzzling against him. They could even communicate through eye contact, since Arion could beast-speak.

Becky’s jumping usually worked to soothe Aldwin. She didn’t realize that the second child needed a gentler approach.

Pandy wasn’t there today because he was sick. His younger sibling, Taly, was sick as well. They were still recovering from poisoning after Rea had brought back toxic leaves from the forest behind Gyakarta Academy.

Meanwhile, in Aldwin’s crib, Gara’s firstborn was sleeping. But his brows were starting to knit together, disturbed by the noise. One wrong sound and he would wake up, adding himself to the crying parade.

Gara moved quickly and went straight to Ares.

"Can you take Arion out of the room and calm him down?"

Ares was startled by Gara’s sudden arrival. His mind had been clouded by the chaos, and he hadn’t even noticed.

He nodded and lifted Arion, carrying him outside. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

With Arion gone, Becky returned to Aldwin’s crib, letting her body touch his. The baby, who had been unsettled, quickly calmed down upon sensing her presence.

Gara immediately took over, changing Ava’s diaper while smiling gently at his little girl.

"It’ll be done soon, sweetheart."

Ava visibly relaxed when she saw Gara. Once he was finished, Gara lifted her into his arms so she wouldn’t stay in a bad mood.

Wina, who had been feeding Bel, finally let out a breath of relief.

"What happened, Mom?" Gara asked as he took in the room. It wasn’t noisy anymore, but it was an absolute mess.

Blankets, baby clothes, and pants were scattered across the floor. The triplets’ toys were everywhere. Even the used diaper hadn’t been taken out yet.

Wina sighed heavily.

"I’m sorry, Gara. I didn’t expect things to get this difficult, so I didn’t tell you. Della is in heat. And at the same time, Pandy and Taly are resting."

"I thought I was used to taking care of the triplets with just Della. I assumed doing it with Ares would be just as manageable. But the triplets have become much harder to watch."

"Aldwin can walk now and keeps trying to run everywhere, but you know he still falls often. Arion and Ava follow him, crawling after him nonstop. If we look away for even a moment, they could crash into anything."

"We were so busy keeping them safe that we couldn’t clean up at all. I didn’t even have time to cook dinner for you."

Wina looked deeply guilty.

Gara had never intended to burden his mother. If anything, he felt guilty that all this hardship had fallen on her.

Thankfully, Agus Soren’s presence months ago had forced Ares to stay put, leading him to help care for the triplets. That was why Ares had become a familiar and comforting figure to them. Otherwise, Gara couldn’t imagine how overwhelmed Wina would be caring for four babies alone.

Now I’m pregnant again, Gara thought. Even if Della weren’t in heat, it would still be difficult for them to handle all my children.

I need to find a new nanny. And someone who can cook.

Gara voiced his thoughts and also told Wina about his pregnancy.

The middle-aged woman nearly fainted on the spot.

Not wanting to hear a lecture about how closely spaced pregnancies were dangerous, Gara immediately contacted Hilda, asking her to prepare ready-made meals for dinner and to look for slaves who could serve as household staff.

After ending the call, Gara turned back to Wina.

"Mom, Hilda said she’ll take care of it as soon as possible. For now, I’m going to visit the workers outside and see if anyone can temporarily babysit."

Wina could only nod.

Gara tried to put Ava back into her crib, but the little girl refused to let go. She wrapped her arms tightly around Gara’s neck like a koala clinging to its mother.

Seeing how adorable she was, Gara gave up.

After dressing Ava in thick clothes, a jacket, and a knit cap, he carried her outside.

Inside the dimensional home, autumn had arrived. Cold winds could make anyone shiver if they weren’t careful.

The road leading to the workers’ lodging was no longer covered in grass and tree roots. The workers had cleared it, laid down small stones to prevent regrowth and reduce slipperiness during rain.

Torches lined the path for lighting. Near the lodgings, they were replaced with fire light bulbs.

Gara nodded in satisfaction. His ideas had been implemented, even though he hadn’t checked on the area in a long time.

He soon met the manager in charge.

"I’m sorry, Master, but it’s harvest season right now," the manager said anxiously. "Everything must be harvested before winter. I don’t have anyone I can spare. But by next week, things should be much better. I’ll send servants to the mansion then."

The manager waited nervously, expecting anger or punishment.

Instead, Gara nodded.

"Alright. I’m sorry I forgot that things here are critical too. If you feel short-handed, you can ask Hilda to send more workers."

The manager froze in surprise before bowing repeatedly, apologizing and thanking him.

Gara returned to the mansion with a dejected expression.

At least with this harvest, many delayed matters would finally resume. Including the research on chrona flowers.

He searched for a solution.

Should I take a break from the academy? Take a few days off?

He shook his head. That didn’t make sense.

Then an idea crossed his mind, though he felt uncertain about it.

When he returned to the room, he finally shared it with Wina.

"Mom... how about we let Duchess Alterian take care of the triplets for a week? Or until Della finishes her heat?"

Wina’s eyes immediately lit up. She nodded eagerly.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to care for her grandchildren. But with the triplets staying with their grandmother, they would also be under the protection of that family.

"I’ll inform Professor Langga tomorrow," Gara said, surprised at how happy his mother looked.

The next day turned out to be the counseling session with the main advisor.

It was also the first time rankings would be announced.

Several Class S students already had a guess about who would take first place.

After all, that person hadn’t been subtle about their abilities at all.

"It’s definitely Gara, right?" Miki guessed.

Andine nodded firmly. "I totally agree."

Sure enough, the first rank this week was Gara.

Gara himself, unaware that he had been going all out in every class, looked completely confused.

The bottom three rankings were Miki, Vania, and Valeon.

The lion beastman, who had only recently joined Class S, was stunned.

He had always ranked in the top three of Class A. How could he suddenly end up in the top three again... but from the bottom?

Valeon had never felt such humiliation before. Still, he didn’t throw a tantrum. He simply resolved to train harder.

Vania didn’t comment on her ranking either.

Only Miki protested loudly, on the verge of tears. Unfortunately for him, Professor Langga and the other students ignored his complaints.

When it was finally Gara’s turn for counseling, he felt relieved that he didn’t have to listen to Miki’s whining again.

Inside Langga’s office, the young professor greeted Gara with a smile.

"As this week’s first-ranked student, your reward is access to the vice-headmaster’s underground library. Not just anyone can—"

Langga stopped mid-sentence when he saw Gara’s completely uninterested expression.

Gara didn’t want to mention that he’d read nearly everything in that library and had even asked for some of the books to be transferred to his personal library.

Not wanting the situation to get awkward, he quickly brought up the plan he and his mom had talked about last night.

"Professor... I need your help taking care of the triplets for a few days."

...