A New Family Member
“About the test…”
“Doesn’t matter. More importantly, Kim Soo-hyun. Hurry.”
Just as I was about to suggest postponing it, Heo Jun-young cut me off swiftly. He must have caught the scent too. With that thought, I sniffed the air a couple of times and quickly moved forward.
The smell of blood grew stronger as we went. By the time we reached the first-floor lobby, we saw employees looking bewildered, and I could pinpoint the source of the smell. There was no need to sniff anymore. All the employees were staring outside the building.
When we finally reached the garden, I saw a dozen clan members gathered. And what I saw was quite different from what I had expected… no, it was very different.
First, Sasha was on the ground. She seemed to have propped herself up, so she wasn’t dead, but her face looked dazed, as if she was quite shocked. Across from her, about ten meters away, stood a white animal. It was Yumi.
At a glance, Yumi’s condition was unusual. The first thing I noticed was the bloodstain on her softly glowing horn. It seemed she had pierced Sasha for some reason, though I couldn’t fathom why. Her eyes were twisted with anger, and her tail was stiffly raised. In short, she looked very upset.
“What happened here?”
“Oh! Clan Lord!”
As I quickly approached and asked, Park Da-som, who was tending to Sasha, turned to look at me. But she just mumbled and turned back to Yumi, as if she had nothing to say. I nudged Sasha with my foot.
“Sasha. Are you alright?”
“Ah… I’m fine, Clan Lord. It’s not life-threatening.”
“Then tell me, what happened?”
“Well… I’m not sure. I just wanted to check on her, and suddenly she charged at me with her horn…”
At that moment, Yumi let out a loud cry. It sounded somewhat aggrieved. Sasha immediately fell silent, and I sighed. I didn’t know the full story, but it seemed best to calm the situation first. Yumi appeared to be extremely anxious.
“User Park Da-som, please take Sasha inside for treatment. And everyone else, please go inside for now. Yumi seems anxious, so I’ll try to calm her down.”
Sasha agreed and, with some help, got to her feet. She limped away without another word. As the clan members gradually retreated into the main building, only Yumi and I remained in the garden.
I calmly watched Yumi. After about three seconds of mutual staring, her stiff tail slowly lowered.
At that moment, I knelt down and extended my arms.
“Yumi, come here.”
With a soft whimper, Yumi dashed into my arms, trembling. I gently patted her back and slowly stood up, meeting her tearful eyes as I wiped the blood from her horn.
“There, there. But why did you do that to Sasha? Did something happen between you two?”
Yumi lifted her face from my embrace and pointed in one direction with her front leg.
“You want me to go over there?”
She nodded.
Taking it as a sign, I tilted my head in curiosity and walked in the direction Yumi indicated.
When I reached the edge of the garden, where shadows pooled beneath the wall, Yumi wriggled out of my arms and ran to a corner, looking back at me.
Wondering what it could be, I lowered my gaze.
And then I gasped.
“What is this…?”
The first thing I saw were two eggs, more than half broken. In front of them, two creatures lay sound asleep. I blinked, unable to even exhale.
Then, a memory of something Ha-yeon had once said flashed through my mind.
“Oh, Yumi? She’s probably very busy right now.”
“Hoho… You might be surprised when you see.”
Ah, so that’s it. Yumi had been absent because she was nurturing these eggs. And she had attacked Sasha to protect the newborns.
Considering the parental instincts of a unicorn, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Especially if the target was Sasha, a vampire.
Now it all made sense. I looked at the two new lives with a renewed sense of wonder.
A Pegasus egg and a Fairy Queen’s egg.
One was obtained from a Chaos Mimic, and the other from the ancient magical city of Magia. They were certainly achievements, but I hadn’t paid them much mind. I hadn’t felt the need to hatch them. (In truth, I had only ever considered frying them up someday.)
But I never imagined Yumi would incubate and hatch them, and I couldn’t help but feel a strange emotion.
Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing?
Regaining my composure, I quietly observed the two wriggling creatures.
The baby Pegasus looked just like a young Yumi. It was about the size of a kitten, with slightly damp white fur. The only differences were the absence of a horn and a small pair of wings on its back.
As I turned my gaze to the baby fairy, I felt a surge of awe.
I almost knelt involuntarily. Though a bit of dirt clung to its newborn body, the aura of holiness and purity surrounding it was astonishing.
And its face. The gentle features and softly closed lips were beautiful enough to be called a young woman. Its hair shimmered with a subtle silver, like a margarita, and the small wings on its pure white back were nothing short of noble.
The tiny ears peeking through its hair were the only thing that hinted it was a baby fairy.
Yes. The moment I saw this baby fairy, I was certain it was the child of the Fairy Queen. They were so alike.
How much time had passed?
I had been staring at the baby fairy in a daze for quite a while when I suddenly remembered to activate my third eye. Now that it was born among the residents, there might be some resident information available.
Sure enough, a message appeared in the air.
< Resident Information >
Name: -(Undetermined)
Class: -(Undetermined)
Nation: -(Undetermined)
Clan: -(Undetermined)
True Name & Nationality: Half Elf, Heir of the Fairy Queen • Fairy Forest
Sex: Female (0)
Height & Weight: 43.7cm • 2.7kg
Alignment: Lawful • Pure
[Strength 1] [Endurance 2] [Agility 2] [Stamina 7] [Magic 87] [Luck 97]
< Achievements (0) >
< Unique Abilities (1/1) >
< Special Abilities (0/0) >
< Potential Abilities (0/0) >
-.
-.
-.
This fairy was born with Ganesha’s Blessing.
The child of the greatest wizard in human history, Mavolo de Ailight, and the last Fairy Queen, Margarita Dallant Vitrais. Though the process was horrific, it cannot be denied that she inherited the greatest magical talent and the potential to become the greatest fairy. She may be just a baby now, but she possesses terrifying growth potential and latent power.
What kind of bizarre information is this? A newborn with a magic stat of 87 and a luck stat of 97? And her unique and special abilities are already awakened?
I let out a hollow laugh and took cautious steps forward. This was an unexpected development, and I felt at a loss. Still in a daze, I heard the rustling of grass underfoot.
At the same time, the baby Pegasus, close to me, opened its eyes and struggled to lift its head.
“Peep?”
A soft, tiny cry escaped its small mouth. Though it couldn’t open its eyes properly, it seemed to sense another presence or was trying to locate the source of the sound. As the baby Pegasus looked around, Yumi quickly approached and began to lick it.
Watching this scene for a moment, I shifted my attention. I gently picked up the sleeping baby fairy with utmost care.
“Mmm…? Uh?!”
At some point, the baby fairy, with a slight frown, slowly opened her eyes. I had tried to be gentle, but it seemed I had woken her. I worried she might start crying, but when I met her soft blue eyes, my worries faded.
Her large, clear eyes were fixed on me, filled with an unmistakable curiosity. As if wondering, who is this person? Oh. Did she just tilt her head slightly?
The baby fairy, who had been staring at me intently, finally lowered its gaze, only to look back up and meet my eyes again. It felt as if it was appraising me, and I couldn’t help but let out a small, incredulous laugh.
Suddenly, the baby fairy stretched out its small, chubby white arm.
With a bright smile, it opened its tiny mouth.
“Pa!”
“Huh?”
“Pa! Pa!”
“Pa…? Dad…? Do you think I’m your dad?”
Gurgle! Gurgle!
As if to confirm my suspicion, Yumi let out a loud cry. The baby fairy, seemingly unconcerned, continued to smile brightly. Noticing its little hand still reaching out, I slowly, very slowly, gathered the baby fairy into my arms.
“Yay! Pa~!”
The baby fairy giggled joyfully, snuggling into my embrace and nestling its head against me. Instinctively, I gently patted its soft back, and soon enough, I heard the sound of its even breathing.
“Well, what am I supposed to do now?”
I sighed, feeling a strange mix of emotions. This whole situation was so unexpected and surreal that I could hardly believe it was happening.
Gurgle…
But when Yumi’s cries reached my ears again, I snapped back to reality.
Right. These are newborn lives. Come to think of it, the baby fairy’s back seemed to tremble slightly. Regardless, leaving them out here like this didn’t seem right.
At that moment, I felt a tug on my pants. Looking down, I saw Yumi gazing up at me with a still-anxious expression.
In that instant, as if under a spell, I slowly knelt on one knee. I raised my free hand and gently stroked Yumi’s head. Now that I think about it, Yumi had been through the most.
“Are these… your babies?”
Gurgle…
“I’ve been so busy, I haven’t been able to pay much attention to you.”
Gurgle, gurgle…
“Ha ha. Is that a no? Anyway… you’ve done well. You’ve really worked hard. You’re like their mother. I’m truly sorry, and thank you.”
Huff? Huff, huff…!
As soon as I expressed my gratitude, Yumi smiled. She shook her head as if to say it was nothing, and looked at me with her usual gentle expression. The anxiety was gone.
“Well, it seems I’ve suddenly become a dad.”
I responded with a soft smile of my own.
For about five seconds, we shared a warm, contented gaze.
Huff… Huff, huff…
With a strange sound, Yumi slowly lowered her eyes. She let out another huff and began to scratch the ground, then started to nuzzle her head against my foot.
Why?
I felt a peculiar sensation. It was something she always did, but today, it seemed oddly shy.
Then, out of nowhere, Yumi lifted her head. She looked up at me with a determined expression. Puzzled, I asked her.
“What’s wrong?”
Yumi let out a faint cry and slowly, almost bashfully, turned her body.
And then.
She completely turned her back to me and stuck her rear end in my direction.
”…”
…What?
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
Ah, I’ve been feeling unusually tired these past couple of days. I’ve been dragging myself around all day, feeling achy. I even took two breaks to stretch while writing. I guess it’s because tomorrow, or rather today, is Monday. ㅜ.ㅠ