On the inside, the imposing construction of the Koboldia Town's complex was bright and spacy, completely opposite to what one could expect from its outside look.
Workshops and mana crystal storage on the first floor, recreational facilities on the second and third, and the living quarters taking all but the top two remaining floors, even those who were familiar with Koboldia's Kobolds had a hard time believing such marvel could be constructed by the short scaly humanoids.
Sarmi took the visiting group to her room, or rather a splendid suite that even royalties of the intelligent races would find acceptable to stay in.
All the furniture, draperies, paintings, and luxurious trinkets were no doubt the result of the trade with the outside world.
"I hope it's not too much. I should have asked Lady Doyen or someone from her caravan for advice after all…"
The gray-scaled Kobold glanced at the faces of the individuals she guided and lowered her head apologetically in response to their baffled reactions.
Well, there was one person who didn't seem surprised at all.
"This is so lovely~! If you don't mind, I will definitely ask you to design the interior of my house once I get one~!"
"~! It will be my pleasure, Brightness~!"
Melinda, with her eyes sparkling from amazement, gasped slowly spinning around to take in the sight and declared, causing Sarmi to perk up and bow her head while the tip of her tail was twitching from happiness.
"Now then…"
But Sarmi was also the first one to shake her head and force herself to speak in a serious tone.
"Since we're not here for some discussion, the table is unnecessary, please make yourself comfortable while we wait."
She said while pointing at the long sofa and a set of armchairs by the windows with the view on the inner square of Koboldia.
"How can we serve you, Brightness?"
As everyone sat down, even Zane and Ross after the initial fear of breaking the luxurious furniture, Sarmi turned and leaned towards Melinda, asking with pure joy.
"...We… we have concerns about our little one…"
Melinda's expression showed great concern and she didn't even try to tiptoe around the subject.
She took the egg out of her bag together with the nest of gold and placed it on her lap.
"...!"
At first, Sarmi flinched and stared at the egg in shock, only then for her expression to turn tender as she reached out and touched the smooth shell.
"It has been over six months by this point… I've been using a blessed heal on it a few times a day ever since but… but…"
*umph*
The gold-haired girl explained while actually casting a spell and a small shockwave of golden light spread within the room.
"And I'm sure I was casting it on the inside of the egg, not the shell…"
Melinda added apologetically as if worried about a scolding.
"...It doesn't smell like a six-month-old egg…"
The gray-scaled Kobold carefully moved her clawed fingers on the shell as if patting it affectionately and pointed out in a gentle voice before looking away from it and turning her head towards the gold-haired human.
"This little one is so loved… I'm sure Irr will have good news for you."
"...yea…"
Sarmi added and smiled encouragingly to Melinda who was too anxious about the egg to return the expression properly.
No matter what was said or done, the longer it took Irr to arrive, the sadder and more anxious Melinda became.
Luckily, the silver-scaled Kobold arrived before the tears gathering in the corner of the gold-haired girl's eyes could burst
"Brightness!"
Irr, wearing only a simple white apron cheered out right from the door and trotted over to the gold-haired girl…
"..."
…flinching slightly as she passed by Bjorki, but otherwise not even looking towards the disguised girl…
"Hello, Irr…?"
Melinda responded quietly, but then her eyes widened as the silver-scaled Kobold kneeled down by her side, leaning against her legs, solely focused on the egg in the nest of gold.
"Who are you, little one?"
With her pupils widened so much that the irises were just a hair's-breadth, Irr reached out one paw and caressed the egg in Melinda's lap and asked.
Then, without asking, she picked it up from the nest of gold and stood up, lifting and lowering the egg before putting it back down and walking around it, carefully examining it without ever rotating the egg itself.
"Irr… h-how is it… is the little one… d…"
"Healthy! Perfect health!"
Melinda clenched her fists and started asking, barely holding it together, expecting the worst, but Irr interrupted her with a cheer.
"R-really!?"
The gold-haired girl's expression lit up but she still asked as if expecting some devastating follow-up.
"Yes~! In truth, I have never seen a little one in such great condition~! She's a lively one inside there too, although the eggshell is too thick for normal check!"
The silver-scaled Kobold called out with amazement while the tip of her tail was twitching like crazy.
"..."
"Mel!?"
In response to that, Melinda suddenly leaned back and basically went limp, causing Zane to call out in panic and check up on her immediately.
"...healthy…! Our little one is healthy, Zane…!"
"Yes, I've heard it too, Mel… Just… don't give me a scare like that again, please…"
The gold-haired girl released a weak whimper as when she heard the good news all the tension left her body rendering her incapacitated while making the monstrous human let out a relieved sigh.
"Judging from the egg's age and the development of the little one inside, it's around twenty-four, maybe twenty-five, weeks! It will take another fifteen weeks to hatch!"
Irr added, all bouncy from the mood.
"Whew… that's great ne… wait… But… doesn't Kobold eggs usually hatch in one to three months? So… four to twelve weeks?"
Melinda breathed out and relaxed for the first time in months, only to perk up and ask in confusion.
"They do! But this one isn't a Kobold! It's similar to Kobold, but not exactly the same!"
"...what…?"
Irr announced casually, causing the room to go silent, only for Zane to blurt out a shocked question.
"Well… It's more like we all are similar to this little one, not the other way around. If I have to guess, this little one will be like we were originally."
"...!"
As the silver-scaled Kobold pointed out, Zane and Melinda stared at each other in pure disbelief, as only the two of them within their group realized what that meant.
"You mean, like… savage…?"
Bjorki, who was not only completely out of the loop but was also used to being spoiled and coddled, casually blurted out a rather outrageous question that changed the atmosphere of the room in an instant.
Irr and Sarmi were tensed up, visibly barely holding themselves back from expressing how rude and shameless the girl was, but as both were glancing at Melinda, it was obvious that they would not attack her companion.