I am a mercenary.
And a professional mercenary must always handle missions swiftly and accurately.
Not a single mistake can be tolerated.
This is not particularly due to the fussy nature of the client. Maybe it’s just in my nature.
I waited for the start of the mission with a dull posture.
A pleasant sense of tension delicately tingled at my fingertips.
Preparations had already been completed.
However, a professional mercenary never lets their guard down.
I surveyed my surroundings with cold eyes.
Weapons… OK.
Armor… OK.
Healing and survival tools… OK.
Alright, my preparations were perfect.
I lightly jumped off the table.
i- thud.
A professional mercenary must move stealthily. My body, knowing this fact, only conveyed a sound as light as a feather.
There was a mechanical watch in the area, perhaps to suit the client’s taste.
Thanks to that, I was able to easily grasp the start time of the mission.
My cold, sharp gaze confirmed the time indicated by the mechanical watch.
About 1 minute left….
I began to reduce the variables of the situation.
I suppressed my tension and waited for the mission to begin.
And then,
“…Uwah.”
The first to wake up promptly at the designated time was the ‘target’.
I couldn’t afford to delay even for a moment here.
I jumped onto the ‘small bed’ where my target was sleeping with the ‘weapon’ I had prepared in advance.
There was no hesitation whatsoever.
For a mercenary, hesitation only leads to death.
“…Goo?”
The target, a ‘baby’, stared at me with golden eyes.
I didn’t show any signs of panic.
Babies are always sensitive to actions and emotions.
As an expert in this matter, I knew that well.
I delivered the ‘infant formula’ tailored to the warmth of a human body to the baby.
All my actions flowed seamlessly.
I was careful not to give too little or too much formula and gently patted the baby’s back to help expel gas after they finished.
“……Ugh.”
Eventually, the baby, sporting a very satisfied expression, emitted a deep exclamation before closing their eyes again.
I had already organized this information in my head.
This baby had a slightly bigger appetite than ‘other babies.’ If there wasn’t any formula waiting for them upon waking up, they would cry all day long.
Anyway,
Having successfully carried out the mission, I cautiously moved my massive (45 cm) body off the table.
At the same time, my steel-like (soft straw) body reflected against the glass window with droplets of rain trailing down.
My day as the ancient spirit Jupiter was just beginning.
—
Side EP. A Straw Doll’s Diary
Jupiter, the babysitter of the babies, was a spirit temporarily staying here at the request of their proud elf friend Emily.
It was hard for a renowned spirit to turn down the request of a friend, so it was inevitable.
Recalling the tearful farewell from that day, Jupiter fell silent.
i- “It’s true! Just take them with you if you want!”
i- “You really don’t need to fuss over them! This child would prefer being with Lady Andrea!”
i- “Come on, isn’t that right? That’s right! You must take good care of them around Lady Andrea!”
“…….”
If there had been such a thing as ‘tears’ in his straw-made body, Jupiter would have been wailing uncontrollably right now.
Anyway,
Even though Jupiter’s fragile heart was severely cracked at the time, a promise is a promise.
There were reasons that Jupiter ended up living here, in Golden Smile Condominium.
“Ugh.”
At that moment, a child grabbed Jupiter’s head.
“……!!”
Despite Jupiter’s pitiful gestures, the baby coldly plucked a straw from him.
It shouldn’t have been possible with the strength of a 10-month-old, given how tightly bound he was, but the baby was just too healthy.
For Jupiter, it felt like the last few remaining straws were being pulled out, but he couldn’t get angry at the oblivious baby.
Instead, Jupiter softened up the remaining straws so as not to hurt the baby’s fragile skin.
He was a toy from the start.
Of course, Jupiter hadn’t been assigned as the babysitter for the babies from the very beginning.
However, during busy times, the saying goes, “You’d want all hands on deck.” (Jupiter heard a client named Maya mention it.)
Now that the babies had passed a few months after their birth and had entered a stable phase, things weren’t as chaotic as they had been initially.
The parents of the babies were also first-timers in their roles.
Thus, it didn’t take long for a straw doll (Jupiter) to earn a helping hand.
‘…I feel like I’m the one taking care of them the most these days.’
Just a feeling, I suppose.
Jupiter shook his head and sighed.
(That’s just how it felt.)
But generally, it wasn’t like this. They had hit a stable phase, but a baby was still a baby. There were always other clients around…
Today, however, everyone seemed to be busy.
Nevertheless, Jupiter, who had become a pro at babysitting, had no worries.
In fact, aside from the small ‘straw doll’ Jupiter was controlling, his ‘spirit body’ was scattered throughout the room.
There was no chance for any dangerous situations to arise.
This was possible because Jupiter’s friend Emily had guaranteed this to the client (Lee Siwoon and his wives).
Not that they frequently left for extended periods, either.
Jupiter thought blankly.
‘If a few minutes have passed, they should be back soon—.’
Another baby grabbed Jupiter’s head.
“Boo!”
This was the baby who previously stole the straw from Jupiter.
It was ‘Victoria’, the daughter of the client Catherine who had yellow hair.
She was the firstborn daughter, and perhaps because of that, she had an incredible appetite and strength compared to the other babies.
‘…It’s not a good idea to resist here.’
Like a refugee fleeing a typhoon, Jupiter watched as Victoria shook him leisurely.
But then,
Another baby grabbed Jupiter’s arm.
At the same moment, Victoria’s sharp gaze, which didn’t look like that of a baby (truthfully, it scared Jupiter), shot at the other baby holding onto the doll’s arm.
It was ‘Grace’, the other daughter, born only a few hours apart from Victoria.
Being the daughter of a megacorp chairman, Grace seemed to have inherited her father’s temperament, as she simply sneezed at the intimidating look from Victoria.
“Boo, joo!”
Perhaps because they were born on the same date, Grace had a strange sense of rivalry with Victoria.
At that age, one typically wouldn’t have developed such cognitive abilities, but the rate at which both of their reasoning and comprehension abilities had developed was quite fast.
As the two babies were engaged in a tug-of-war for one doll, another baby who had been rolling around elsewhere couldn’t help but turn their gaze this way.
“Dtu dtu!”
However, the next baby approaching was walking on ‘two legs.’
The kind baby, ‘Ian,’ who didn’t like fighting between his two older sisters, was known as “Lee Ian” in foreign style since he carried their father’s last name.
Ian, the only baby capable of walking among them, used his mobility to successfully snatch Jupiter away from the hands of the two sisters.
“…Joo!”
“Boo boo…!”
Wobbling along on unsteady legs, Ian was chased by the two babies crawling on all fours.
By the way, Jupiter just stayed still.
‘…As long as they don’t get hurt.’
It wasn’t that he was tired of playing.
However,
Jupiter couldn’t hide his panic upon realizing the destination Ian was heading towards.
Even Victoria and Grace, who had been trailing Ian, were taken aback.
Where Ian set Jupiter down was a cozy bedding pile where their younger siblings were taking a nap.
Perhaps recognizing that they were indeed their younger siblings instinctively, Victoria and Grace squawked resentfully.
“…Dtu dtu….”
“…Boo boo.”
They were indeed Daniela, daughter of Andrea, Mikhail, son of Natasha, Sakura, daughter of Maya, and Claire, daughter of Julia.
And then,
“…Ugh?”
The youngest, Claire, began to slowly open her eyes.
To note, Claire was still just a baby, only 6 months old.
While all the babies were young, Claire was even younger than them.
As is common with young babies, Claire’s reaction upon waking was not drastically different.
“…U, Uuh….”
She prepared to wail like a modified motorcycle starting up illegally.
Claire’s big eyes widened as she searched for her guardian.
Realizing the situation, Jupiter quickly attempted to pat the baby.
At that moment, a male voice, which had arrived without notice, echoed above the babies.
“Oh dear, our princess and princes. Why are you about to cry again?”
It was an extremely soft voice.
Upon hearing the voice she had longed for, Claire quickly hid her tears and beamed a smile.
“Papa, pa…”
“Yup, it’s Dad.”
Everyone was in a smiling scene.
However, Jupiter couldn’t smile.
It had already been a year since he had seen this man, but he still froze like a frog before a snake, or a mouse before a cat.
Unlike the first time, it wasn’t spontaneous fear, but Jupiter froze due to another ‘action’ now.
The man, an utterly ruthless magician, Lee Siwoon, spun the mana in his body and levitated the babies. He then embraced them tightly.
The babies, regaining their sense of security from their shared warmth, quickly showed signs of sleepiness.
“…Lullaby, lullaby.”
No matter how inexperienced in parental roles, anyone who had to raise 7 sons and daughters would inevitably become an expert.
Siwoon gently laid the babies back down on the soft bedding.
‘…An unscrupulous magician without blood or tears, yet warm to his own babies…’
And then, Siwoon’s gaze turned to Jupiter.
“Good work, Jupiter.”
“……!!”
Jupiter instantly froze in place, waiting for Siwoon’s words.
Siwoon, slowly approaching Jupiter, grabbed the doll’s limbs, sat down on the couch, and placed Jupiter on his lap.
“Rest a bit.”
He spoke understandingly, knowing the doll had worked hard.
‘…If you’re going to let me rest, just leave me be…!’
But Jupiter couldn’t convey his thoughts structurally.
Jupiter felt Siwoon’s hand, which was patting him like a doll, and remained silent. (It was indeed a doll, so he was being patted like one.)
‘…This ferocious beast, a shopping evil…’
Forcing to pat a poor spirit against its will, particularly the sensitive areas.
Jupiter endured the rising humiliation while savoring, no, enduring Siwoon’s touch.
‘…That spot!’
Although he’d deny it, the reason Jupiter did his best to take care of the babies was precisely due to this.
In any case, it was a peaceful everyday life.
