Biological parents for me were the ultimate example of what not to be.
Humans, adults, couples, parents.
Not a single redeeming quality among them. Packed with flaws. They fit the description of the worst kind of humans.
Thanks to them, I was able to act like a caution sign.
A type that one should never resemble.
A limit that you can’t fall below, no matter how far you drift away.
A line that signifies it’s better to hang myself than end up like that…
Thus, no matter how unremarkable I was, I made sure to avoid resembling them as much as possible.
I want to be a good person.
I want to grow into a good adult.
I’m not confident right now, but… if I ever marry and start a family, I want to be a good partner.
And as unimaginable as it is… if I were to have children, I must make them happy.
I swore that long ago. That thought still sticks with me.
Marriage and having children must be approached very carefully.
I must think meticulously about whether I can meet someone, build a family, and take responsibility for children—
“Appa!”
“……”
“Baa?”
The memories of my past promise shattered.
The cold reality I wanted to avoid slammed into me.
My eyes twitched. My head felt like it was going to explode in chaos.
Like an earthquake, I swept my face with my flailing arms and turned my gaze again.
There, right in front of me, was an unidentified baby sitting on the sofa.
The baby, blissfully entertained, was bursting into bright laughter. A cheeriness that lit up the surroundings.
Every time the baby smiled, their snow-white eyes sparkled, and silky hair danced just above their shoulder.
And then, they stretched out their tiny hands to poke at my cheeks. The softness and warmth of those little hands were palpable.
If I only thought about that, it was just an incredibly adorable baby…
– Flitter flitter
A pair of wings sprouting from its back strongly hinted that this was not an ordinary human baby.
They looked like they were sporting butterfly wings, tailored to their size.
The vivid and radiant colors gave off an otherworldly vibe that made anyone who saw them feel as if they had entered a dream.
“That’s…”
I’ve seen wings like that before in the original story.
Calming my dizzy thoughts, I racked my brain.
I had rarely spotted them while wandering through unexplored territories, but I had encountered this kind of creature quite often when raiding the main house of the Taesan Clan… a species.
“Fairy?”
A creature that should be termed a higher form of spirit. A fantastical being living in nature, untouched by human traces.
The egg of origin has hatched.
This is important.
Instead of an item, potion, artifact, or magical tool, a living creature emerged.
This is immensely significant.
It seems this creature is a fairy.
Fairies were hard to come by, unless raiding the Taesan Clan was involved, and yet here one was, giggling right in front of me.
This is truly important.
But…
“Ah… Pa!”
That shrieking sound was not nearly as important. In fact, compared to this situation, it didn’t matter a lick.
“I don’t want to hear it.”
I was in no way prepared to hear such words. No, is it even my child to begin with?
I hadn’t ever been in a relationship with anyone. If I think about that, the notion of having a child is nonexistent for me.
Gritting my teeth at that realization, I had to convey this, even if the baby could understand.
[I, I…]
– Creak, creak…
The necklace groaned. My previously emotionless voice stumbled awkwardly.
The unpleasant noise made the baby scrunch up its face. Even that was unbearably cute.
[Your pa, parent…]
But that’s that, and this is this.
No matter how cute it looks, it’s still a no-go.
Aren’t we of entirely different species?
Every time the baby called me ‘parent,’ I felt like my brain might just implode. My chest felt heavy as if being crushed.
My breath became ragged. A groan escaped from my lips.
[No… no…]
The replaying voice faltered clumsily. The baby scrunched its face and covered its ears.
“Waa…”
Suddenly, those innocent eyes grew moist and the baby looked ready to cry. As if it understood my words…
“Daddy…”
– Sizzle…
My head went blank.
The mental strain that hadn’t broken even after being hit by Aelus was unceremoniously severed.
.
.
.
[No, no!]
[I’m sorry…!]
[I won’t say such things again…]
When I came to, I found myself holding the baby and clumsily trying to soothe it.
There was no way I accepted being called a dad.
But I couldn’t just leave a baby that looked to me as ‘dad’ to cry… letting it be was the worst thing I could do, so I had to calm it down.
Using one hand to support the baby, I kept a firm grip with my heavenly wings to support its back in case it fell.
“Hehehe…”
The baby, who was all teary-eyed just a moment ago, now had a radiant smile, snuggling up in my arms. The baby was small enough to fit comfortably against me.
Cute, yes, but I felt a whirlwind of complicated emotions. I suppressed a sigh…
– Hah, huh…!
…And nearly choked back my emotions.
I cautiously examined the baby. I was worried it might start crying again, holding my breath. Thankfully, it seemed not to have heard anything.
In that moment, I realized the baby had no clothes on since it had just hatched.
‘…Is this okay?’
The living room was at a comfortable temperature. The baby didn’t seem cold, but I worried it might catch a chill.
Babies normally have weak immune systems. They need cleanliness and careful attention in their surroundings at all times.
What could it mean for a newly hatched? Human? Fairy? Baby? And for that thought, leaving it like this felt dangerously unwise.
I hadn’t accepted I was a dad, but I couldn’t just leave it like this.
– Uuuh!
First off, I unleashed cleansing magic indiscriminately on the surroundings, including myself. I didn’t feel any dust or foreign particles during my observations, but better safe than sorry.
Then I temporarily spread my heavenly wings around the baby, wrapping it up snugly. It was an artifact, after all; it should provide some warmth.
It looked like the baby was swaddled like a makeshift blanket.
“Uuh?”
The baby looked up at me, blinking its big eyes. Thankfully, it seemed to enjoy the touch of the wings wrapping around its tiny body.
But just as I felt relief, reality came crashing back with the thought that nothing had been resolved at all.
‘…What do I feed the baby?’
I scrutinized the baby.
It could sit up on the sofa… Oh, it even babbled simple words like ‘dad’. It had a rich mop of hair that flowed all the way down its back…
[Hey there? Wait a moment…]
“Uuh? Bee…?”
With the heavenly wings supporting its bottom, I cautiously opened the baby’s mouth.
‘Looks like it has some teeth?’
If it had teeth, it should be consuming solid food instead of formula…
‘How many months old is it? If it has teeth, is it over 12 months? Then isn’t it already late for vaccinations?’
No.
I still lacked knowledge of this world’s common sense.
In a world filled with magic and unique abilities, there could be differences from what I knew.
Above all, wasn’t this baby not even human, but a fairy? Should I be applying human logic to a fairy baby?
Confusion reigned.
My shallow knowledge did little to help me in forming a clear judgment.
I was utterly unprepared. Acting rashly with what little knowledge I had might put the baby at risk…
My head throbbed. A different type of headache from the side effects of my powers… more like pain from the burden of stress.
– Cackle!
Yet, I couldn’t make a fuss in front of this little one.
This was a true moment of crisis.
‘…Alright.’
Patting the baby’s back, I took a moment to think before resolutely standing up.
A person must be able to recognize their shortcomings. Only once they feel that emptiness can they begin to fill it.
Also, if there are areas they simply can’t fill, they must learn to seek help from others.
What may be just my problem could put the baby at risk as well.
I had to avoid making excuses about how sudden this was, or how difficult the situation was… for all I knew, I could cause a major disaster for the baby.
I used my resolute fingers to tap on my smartwatch.
.
.
.
Riana had been ridiculously busy due to the midterm evaluations.
Those with a spirit affinity are rare.
Those who exceed a certain level of that talent are even rarer, and those who can elevate it to the point of feeling they’ve mastered it are extremely scarce.
Riana, having practically reached the top tier of elemental magicians, was a precious asset even in Shio-ram, hence the constant demand for her involvement in midterm evaluation preparations and grading.
It was exhausting.
Of course, it wasn’t as taxing as being on the front lines.
Maintaining a 24-hour state of vigilance, always alert for monsters lurking to take her life, was far more exhausting both physically and mentally.
But…
Having been expected to face immense pressure from an early age, and doing rigorous training, Riana had fought at the frontline before even reaching adulthood.
Now that the heroes had retired, she had expected a relatively easy life! For Riana, this schedule felt utterly taxing instead.
More than anything, she wanted to throw it all away and escape, or lock herself away in the laboratory…
But, it wasn’t that easy.
Therefore, Riana reluctantly dragged herself into the research lab bright and early on a Sunday, a day that should have been free of work.
She planned to continue grading the still-pending midterm evaluations after completing her basic duties.
– Ding! Ding! Ding!
“Hmm?”
[Contact: Lee Ha-yul Cadet]
▶Lee Ha-yul Cadet: Sorry for contacting you on a Sunday morning. I have an urgent matter.
▶Lee Ha-yul Cadet: I need your help, Professor.
▶Lee Ha-yul Cadet: Could we meet at the laboratory? I would like to meet as soon as possible.
“Hmm?”
As Riana sipped her morning coffee and was checking her backed-up emails, her eyes widened at the name Lee Ha-yul.
Messages were coming in from the usually non-communicative Ha-yul in real time.
And the contents sounded serious. Sorry for contacting you on a day like this. I need your help. I wish to meet as soon as possible…
‘Tomorrow we’ll have a longer talk due to classes… Is it really that urgent?’
Riana nodded to herself and replied that he could come over. Ha-yul quickly stated he would head over right away.
There definitely seemed to be something amiss. Did something happen to him again?
‘How long has it been since that accident at Shipnaja? No, if it were that serious, he would have gone to Atra first…’
Feeling slightly dejected, Riana thought if Ha-yul was in trouble, he would dash to Atra sooner than he would seek her out.
So why would he choose to come to her?
– Knock Knock
[Professor]
[It’s Lee Ha-yul]
“Come in, please.”
Ha-yul arrived remarkably quickly.
He seemed to be in quite a rush.
Upon granting entry, Ha-yul slipped inside like a wet puppy with a guilty expression.
[Sorry for bothering you on a day like this.]
She had previously been asked to take good care of Ha-yul because she was his Ipchun Class professor, which made this sort of apology unnecessary.
Riana shrugged and took a sip from her coffee cup.
“No, I was already at work. But more importantly, what’s going on—”
“Baa?”
“—Wait…?”
The moment that characteristic sound slipped into her ears, her hand froze, holding her coffee cup.
That same coffee-laden mouth suddenly went rigid, and her hand that had been tapping the hologram also froze.
“Huh?”
After blinking dazedly for a moment, Riana turned her gaze.
Behind Ha-yul, who stood awkwardly, his usual wings were nowhere to be found.
No, his wings weren’t behind him but were strapped to the front.
Specifically, there was a snow-white baby…? A baby with wings on its back… or rather, a fairy?
He was holding it like it was his own child, wrapped in his wings like a precious bundle.
“…?”
Riana’s mouth gaped open in disbelief.
Thankfully, there was no catastrophe of coffee spilling everywhere.
She had already swallowed it before her world turned upside-down.
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