Mayutan's Love (Part 4)

"Oh, for goodness' sake... What a troublesome fellow you are."

The Cat God spoke in an exasperated voice. Aneta, too, stared at Mayutan in utter bewilderment.

"Go ahead!" Mayutan said, bracing himself.

"Very well... Here it comes."

In a weary tone, the Cat God began.

"Two children were born on the same day to the same mother, yet they are not twins. Why? And no, the answer is not 'triplets or more,' nor is it 'fraternal twins.'"

The Cat God had presented an absurdly difficult riddle. Aneta had no idea where to even begin.

But after thinking for only a few seconds, Mayutan answered.

"I understand. It refers to a rare phenomenon known as heteropaternal superfecundation. In extremely unusual cases, when a woman has intercourse with multiple men during the same ovulation cycle, different sperm can fertilize different eggs. As a result, two babies born from the same mother can have different fathers. They may appear to be twins, but strictly speaking, they are not twins in the usual sense of having the same two parents. It is a phenomenon that has actually been reported in medical cases."

As Aneta listened to Mayutan's explanation, she nearly fainted.

"Splendid. Take the Libera Fruit."

As the Cat God spoke, a massive pile of Libera Fruit came tumbling down in front of Mayutan and the others.

"W-we don't need this many! Two will be enough!" Mayutan cried in a panic.

The smoke began to clear, revealing the Cat God's form.

It was a kitten who looked exactly like Tanimaki.

"T-Tanimaki?"

Mayutan could hardly believe his eyes.

"I am not Tanimaki. I am the Cat God. I merely took the form of your friend."

In the next instant, a dazzling light burst forth from behind the Cat God, so bright that none of them could look directly at it.

When they came to their senses, no one was there anymore.

"He's gone... But what are we supposed to do with this much Libera Fruit?"

Mayutan was utterly at a loss.