A 30 Year Old Virgin (One Who Haven’t Even Interacted with Women) Took an Exam to Become a Wizard.

Volume 2- Chapter 07: Sugumi is born

My father, the branch manager, went on a three-day business trip.

As a branch manager, my father could control his schedule to some extent. He had arranged his schedule to go on this trip, determined to be present for Mari’s delivery week. Her due date was next week, so he would be back by then.

During this time leap, I knew my sister’s birthday, so I tried to stop him, saying, “The baby will be born tomorrow, so wait for your trip.” But he just laughed it off, saying, “How can your premonition be trusted?”

A day had passed, and in the present, Mari was in the delivery room.

Knowing this, I skipped school and forced her into the car before she went into labor. As expected, she went into labor as soon as we arrived at the hospital, and here we were. When I called my father, he was so shocked that he couldn’t respond.

It had been an hour since Mari entered the delivery room. I was in the waiting lounge, playing a mobile RPG, but I was too restless to focus on the game. I had already completed the hospital admission procedures and brought her luggage to the inpatient ward. Just then, a nurse came to me.

“Are you Akira-sama, the family member of the patient? Please come in. Mari-san is feeling lonely, so please cheer her up.”

“Huh?”

Did she want me to be present at the birth?

There were conditions for fathers to be present at the birth. Just in case, I had signed various documents and confirmed that I was negative for COVID-19. In that sense, it was possible, but could I really do it? Only husbands and blood-related relatives were usually allowed to go near a woman on her delivery. Although I was her stepson, we weren’t really blood-related.

“Hurry up. It’s related to the mother’s body, so hurry.”

The female nurse was desperate to lure me into the forbidden room. Was this okay? What would happen? I was guided to a separate room, where I was disinfected. I wore the mask I had brought and thoroughly washed my hands. I had expected to wear a nurse’s uniform like the nurses, but that wasn’t the case.

“Have you received any lectures on how to be present at the birth?”

“No, not at all.”

My father had attended lectures, but I hadn’t. I was a complete novice.

“I’ll explain it simply. You’ll massage her waist, give her a drink, support her when she moves, and hold her hand. It’s difficult to communicate with a woman in labor, so observe her well and do what she seems to want. If you can’t, don’t feel bad. Many men find it difficult to be present at the birth. Let’s go in.”

The delivery room was unexpectedly small, filled with various measuring instruments.

Mari was lying on the delivery table, covered with a sheet, and her legs were wide open. She was breathing shallowly and quickly, her eyes bloodshot and tears streaming down her face. She was enduring the pain. The midwife was a woman who was sweating profusely between Mari’s legs.

Several nurses took turns encouraging her, wiping her sweat and back. This was what a delivery room looked like.

Mari noticed me and weakly reached out her hand. I gently took it, and she smiled, but then closed her eyes in pain again. How long did childbirth usually take?

“Akira… Akira…”

She weakly reached out her hand. When I gently held it, she smiled, but then quickly closed her eyes as if in pain. I wonder how long childbirth takes.

“Uhm…”

“It varies. This baby isn’t in the breech position, so it’s likely to be a quick birth. But I can’t give you a definite time. Some women give birth in less than an hour, while others take a whole day. Some pregnant women even eat meals between contractions. You can take turns sleeping. It’s a battle of endurance, so be prepared.”

The midwife answered my unspoken question before I could even ask. She must have heard the same question many times already.

“I’ve heard that you’re her stepson. You might be interested, but I recommend that you don’t look if possible. The vagina stretches grotesquely during childbirth, and the perineum is cut to make it easier for the baby’s head to come out. In some cases, laxatives are used, and the mother can be covered in excrement. Many men are shocked by this sight. Just hold her hand and encourage her.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best, Mari.”

“Yeah… Ahh, hah, hah, fuu.”

It was a long haul. Or maybe this was normal.

I took turns with the nurses, massaging her and giving her drinks. During the lulls in contractions, I even told her corny jokes to make her laugh. They weren’t particularly funny, but they did lighten the mood.

Three hours later, the baby was born—a girl. I wasn’t allowed to hold her, but the tiny, wrinkled newborn was so small and fragile. This child would hug me 10 years later and say, “I’ll give my first time to you, Onii-chan.” I felt a little teary-eyed at the thought.

“Nii-chan witnessed your birth. You did well, Sugumi.”

“Hehe. You’ve been saying that. It’s like you knew it was a girl.”

“Huh?”

Damn, I had said it out loud.

“It’s a lovely name. How do you write it?”

“I think it’s ‘Sugumi,’ with the characters ‘Su’ from ‘Sunao no Moto,’ and ‘gumi’ from the tree name gumi (silverberry). I think it’s the origin of gummy candy. It feels stiff when written in kanji, but in hiragana, it feels soft.

“It’s a beautiful name. I like it.”

The next night, after my father returned from his business trip, he went straight to the hospital instead of going home. He was moved to tears as he held his precious daughter, but when he heard her name, he was stunned.

“If it was a boy, I wanted to name him ‘Akishi’ or ‘Akiko,’ if it was a girl, but…”

“It’s Sugumi. It’s decided.”

“Is there room for reconsideration?”

“No. Her name is Sugumi. She’ll grow up to be a healthy child.”

Although it wasn’t my father’s fault that he missed the birth, as the father, his decision-making power was lower than mine and Mari’s, who had given birth to the child herself.

My father, with his shoulders slumped, gently hugged his crying daughter. His eyes were red and puffy. He didn’t know that 10 years later, she would refuse his ‘aahn’ with a disgusted look.

***

Now, on to the main event.

It was great that my sister was born safely, but the purpose of this time leap was still unfulfilled. I had only had one initial contact with Sakuragi Mika, and since the unfortunate lucky pervert event, I hadn’t seen her again.

“This goddess is nothing but trouble.”

The goddess had appeared only once, leaving behind a simple explanation and a couple of panties. The status screen I occasionally saw didn’t offer any notable cheats. I couldn’t time-leap freely, and I didn’t know the conditions for the time or the destination of the leap. She was mercilessly testing my adaptability.

All I knew was that if the target wore the panties, the trial would be cleared, and I would return to my original time. But even that wasn’t certain—it was just based on my experience with Mari.

Pregnant women were usually discharged from the hospital within a week of giving birth. If Mari’s health recovered smoothly, she would be discharged in three days, and I would have no reason to visit the hospital anymore. I mean, a man loitering in the women’s ward for no reason would be considered a pervert. If I continued to hang around, I would likely be escorted out by security, and my hands would be cuffed.

The deadline was three days. I had to decide within that time.

That’s why I had been pacing back and forth in front of Sakuragi Mika’s room for a while now.

“I don’t have an excuse to go in. What should I do?”

Should I bring some sweets and greet her, saying, ‘I’m sorry for falling on your thighs the other day. As an apology, would you wear these panties?’ No, that wouldn’t work.

Should I play the role of a foolish older brother, saying, ‘Look at this cute baby sister of mine. She said that she’s going to give her virginity to her Onii-chan!’ No, that wouldn’t work either.

I had no idea. I was at a dead end.

Mari was taking a nap after lunch. It was her duty to rest and recover her strength. Her hospital stay was a precious period of rest before the challenging life of raising a newborn awaited her.

By the way, I wish she wouldn’t make me help her change her clothes. Even when my father was visiting, she would ask me to help her instead. “When he helps me change, he touches me in a weird way and in those places, and I can’t calm down. So I’d rather have you do it,” she would say.

This couple hadn’t had sex since the late stages of pregnancy. So, my father must be quite frustrated. I could understand as a man. On the other hand, I, as a virgin, had no such urges, so it was normal for me to be calm. Still, it was complicated for me, the stepson, and my junior to be helping her change.

As I was thinking about this, I had walked back and forth in the hallway three times. The nurses were giving me suspicious looks. I was in trouble. I might really get reported to security. Maybe I should take a break and relax in the visitor’s room or go back to Mari’s room.

Thud.

I heard something fall in Sakuragi Mika’s room. A pervert? The prime suspect was right here. There were continuous sounds of something being knocked over. I opened the door.