Chapter 343: [Wings Of Words]

"Okay then, Iroha-chan and Ogu will become babies in 3, 2, 1… start!"

Ah-nee’s signal marked the beginning of the act.

There’s no other choice. Angu Ogu and I, with our faces bright red, let out our voices.

“…Ba-babuu~”

“…Babuu~”

≫Ahh, I’m ascending.

≫This is too cute. I feel purified.

≫What is this feeling… is this maternal instinct!?

“Gyaaaooon! Iroha-sama is so cute! Iroha-sama!”

“Ugh!?”

“Ogu, you're doing great too~! Cuddle up to mommy, or should I say Ah-nee~?”

“N-no! Anego as mommy!? At least let me switch, pleease!?”

While the two playing mommy were totally into it, Angu Ogu and I, playing the babies, were in hell.

Actually, Angu Ogu, wasn’t half of this your idea!?

“Th-this wasn’t supposed to happen…”

Angu Ogu muttered, hanging her head.

Apparently, she hadn’t anticipated being forced into the baby role himself.

“Hey, Ogu-chan. No talking so fluently, babies don't talk like that~?”

“Gahh, a-aguaaa~!”

“Iroha-sama! Please call me ‘Ilyena-mama!’”

“T-that’s a bit much!?”

Calling a middle school girl “mama,” what kind of shame play is this!?

I may be an old guy inside… No, even for girls the same age, that's gotta be a no-go, right!?

“B-babies can’t pronounce such difficult words anyway.”

“Are you trying to escape, Iroha-sama!?”

“N-no, it’s true! Babies really can’t say that! They don’t have teeth yet, and their mouths haven’t developed… their mouths are too small, so there are physically impossible sounds to make!”

≫No one told you to be that strict with the baby act, lol

≫Stop using your knowledge of linguistics as an excuse!

≫Don’t run, coward! Fight! Become a baby too!

“I-I’m a baby right now, so my vision is so bad I can’t even read the comments!”

A baby’s vision is about 0.02. In other words, they can barely see anything.

And they can’t keep their eyes open for long, either.

So, immediately realizing, “It’s a medieval-level culture” or “This is another world” or “Wow, a beautiful mom!” and being able to speak fluently right after being reborn… only happens in fantasy.

You shouldn’t assume that people from another world would have the same body structure as people on Earth.

There’s even a theory that it’s not the eyes but the brain that’s underdeveloped.

Yeah, they’re probably going with that!

“Yet, you seem to understand my voice quite clearly,” Ilyena said.

“Ugh!? W-well, babies can hear sounds clearly.”

“By the way, Iroha-sama, when you were still in my womb, whenever I spoke to you, you always kicked back…”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Don’t make up crazy memories like that! Think before you speak! That’s way over the line!”

≫Ilyena isn’t the type who wants to be born from her favorite character, she wants to give birth to them, huh?

≫↑Both are insane. Relatable though, lol.

≫↑Relatable, really? LOL

“Well, it's true that babies can hear voices from inside the womb. Though the way they hear is different from how they hear in the air. In a way, you could say language learning starts from that time.”

“Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?”

“But actually, studies show that even at the time of their first cry, babies’ intonation differs based on their native language, depending on the country.”

“Eh!? Really!? I’ve heard that it’s good to talk to babies in the womb… but I didn’t know it meant that!”

“Language acquisition must be instinctual.”

The mouth wasn’t originally made for speaking.

Its primary function is to eat and breathe.

It’s a case of ‘preadaptation’—something originally made for one purpose being used for another.

Therefore, you can’t say that language isn’t instinctual.

“Our words are probably like wings to birds.”

Feathers that originally regulated body temperature eventually became used for flight.

And yet, birds are born knowing how to fly, without anyone teaching them.

That must be instinct, no doubt.

So, maybe words are the same.

…But where does instinct come from, anyway?

That, I don’t know.

“I see. By the way, Iroha-sama, you mentioned there are sounds babies can’t physically make. But how would you pronounce [Ilyena-mama] as a baby?”

“Um…”

I converted it in my head, then spoke the words.

“——‘iiwee-a mamaaa~’?”

“Ohhhohoooo! A-ahem, excuse me, just a little nosebleed.”

“…Huh!?”

Damn, I was tricked!?

I thought I could distract them with the linguistics talk!

“Iroha-chan, you’ve been thinking about complicated things this whole time! At this rate, you’ll never become a proper baby! C’mon, lower your ‘IQ’ a bit more!”

“Anego, please raise your IQ!? I don’t want a mama this dumb!”

The stream, which had been somewhat rational up to this point, finally crossed the line.

Ah-nee sighed as if to say, "It can't be helped."

“Geez, it looks like neither of you are really getting into the baby mindset yet. I guess it’s time to bring out the secret weapon.”

No way, are they really going to use that?

From here, the baby roleplay spiraled into pure chaos――.