Even though a heap of fried chicken had appeared, I just stared at the text with my mouth hanging open.
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ has proposed your appearance on the childcare variety show .]
[Appearance Reward: Blessing of the Spirit Kings who have entered.]
[Would you like to accept? Yes/No]
Strangely, only the ‘Yes’ option was decorated with flowers, sparkles, and a ribbon. I didn’t quite understand what it meant, but I like pretty things. So, I poked the ‘Yes’ with my fork.
“Little Crab, it is not polite to play with your food at the table.”
A solemn voice followed immediately.
“It’s not a glub…!”
I opened my mouth to explain this strange occurrence, only to realize that I was actually chirping.
“Chirp? Chirp-peep?!”
I’m clearly explaining it properly, so why is this happening?
“Ahem.”
At that, the Dad-slash-Mister gave me a low warning. Grandfather watched us, looking thoroughly amused. I eventually ended up on the verge of tears.
*No, really! It’s because of this, this!*
That was when it happened.
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ has proposed the culture of another world.]
[The conversation interface will become a bit cuter for the child participant.]
[Emoticons unlocked! (❁´▽`❁)]
A strange drawing appeared next to the letters…? It looked like a smiling face. As I tilted my head, another sparkling message popped up.
[Nice to meet you. I am Yuppi, the butler who manages Eden and serves all the Spirit Kings.]
[From now on, I will be the one sending you various notifications. Please take good care of me! `+◟( ˘ ³˘)◞ ♡]
I know what a butler is. At Ppeokkeum-Ppeokkeum Daycare, some of my friends had “becoming a butler” as their dream.
*Then… are the Spirit Kings noble people?*
Before I could even adjust to the sudden turn of events, another message appeared.
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ has entered!]
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ is beaming at you.]
[Whose child is this? Can I raise them?]
“…….”
Unable to make sense of any of this, I stabbed my fork into the cooling fried chicken. I should eat first. A glutton never forgets to eat, no matter the situation!
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ is bragging about how well their baby is eating.]
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ proposes joint childcare to all entered Spirit Kings.]
[There are currently six Spirit Kings in .]
[Once all Spirit Kings have entered, you will obtain the title ‘Beloved of the Kings’!]
Umm, even though I tried not to pay attention, it didn’t work. *Water, Fire, Earth, Emotion… that’s only four.* Who are the other two? Tipping my head, I finished the plate cleanly. The next dish to arrive was crispy roasted peas and mashed potatoes.
*I don’t like peas.*
I ate them sensibly at daycare because there weren’t many. But on my crab plate right now, there were way, way too many.
“You must eat what is good for you. Do not leave any behind.”
As I poked the peas, the Dad-slash-Mister, who had been watching me intently, gave a stern reminder. Grandfather was shaking his beard and shoulders. I forced myself to scoop them up with the potatoes, but I couldn’t bring myself to take a big bite. I moved my mouth like a goldfish to eat only a little, and the Admiral raised an eyebrow.
“More.”
“…….”
Hey, if it’s good for you, shouldn’t the adults be the ones eating more? *Chu is strong already!* As I thought this, letters popped up again.
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ has bestowed the blessing of ‘Great Adaptability!’ upon you.]
[Your ability to adapt to situations increases slightly.]
[Your bravery increases slightly. You might become a little reckless?! ✧☆٩(`･ω･´)و]
[This blessing lasts for 5 minutes.]
Red, blue, yellow, green, white. A butterfly sparkling with many colors landed on the bridge of my nose. It seemed that only I could see it.
*Ah!*
But as soon as I reached out to catch it, the butterfly vanished like soap bubbles.
*Hmm.*
Have I become a little braver? Actually, I don’t really know what changed.
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ proposes a Union Mission reward.]
Union Mission? A Spirit King Union Quest!
Eat well to grow tall!
All Spirit Kings who entered the room have given you homework.
✔
Feed peas to Navy Admiral Diegon Pashayen!
Reward upon success
60g of Magic Sugar of the Orca
Penalty upon failure
Chirp-chirping for a whole day (24 hours)
I calmly glared at the text. I had figured out two things about these strange words that kept popping up. One: no matter how much I try to talk about them, no words come out. Two: somehow… I think it wants to tease me!
*But Orca Sugar… I think it would be good to give that to Teacher.*
Thinking of the daycare teacher who had dark circles under his eyes, I nodded. *I’ll try.*
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ is pleased that the baby has a challenging spirit.]
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ reveals their wicked intent, wishing for you to fail and chirp.]
*No!*
I’m already four years old; I don’t want to chirp like a baby. Puffing out my cheeks, I stared straight at the Dad-slash-Mister. He stopped eating and looked at me. After a silent staring contest, I slid down from the chair and grabbed my plate.
“What are you doing?”
“Tasty things, we have to eat them together.”
“Hmph.”
“I want to eat.”
As I trotted over and stood in front of him, the mister propped his chin on his hand. Struggling to stand on tiptoe, I pushed my crab plate next to his large bowl.
“You rascal, are you trying to feed Diegon because you don’t want to eat them yourself?”
“No. Admiral, because you like peas.”
“Admiral? Hahaha! You little one, have you still not called me Dad even once?”
Grandfather laughed heartily. He looked like a large marshmallow wobbling back and forth, so I chuckled along with him. The only one not laughing was the Admiral.
“…You may call me Dad.”
“Chir…?”
“I am processing the official adoption papers today. Then, you will officially become a Lady of Pashayen.”
“Is that because Chu was chosen by the Ancestor Whale?”
To my question, the Admiral—no, Dad. *No. Dad is a bit… I don’t want to call him that yet.* The letters secretly made a suggestion to me.
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ recommends the title ‘Admiral’.]
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ makes a heartbroken expression.]
*Yes, that’s good. Admiral.*
The Admiral picked me up and placed me on his lap quite awkwardly.
“The Pashayen family has long accepted those not of our blood as family. The Ancestor Whale’s choice is always in the direction of the family, and because it is absolutely correct, no one thinks anything strange of it.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Ricardo, whom you gave a hard time to, is also an adopted son. Though he is from a lower noble family.”
*This feels like a good position to feed him the peas!* I listened to his story while clutching my child-sized fork tightly.
“The Head of House can only be of Pashayen blood, but Attuners or Admirals can be positions for adopted children as well. Among them, you are an Attuner…!”
*Poke.*
“Ah-ko.”
I had been watching for an opening, and I didn’t miss the moment the Admiral’s mouth opened in surprise. My fork moved like lightning and went straight into his mouth. The Admiral looked down at me with an expression that said he was truly, truly bewildered, and an awkward silence fell.
“Pahahaha!”
It was Grandfather who revived the cold, sunken atmosphere.
“Hahaha, haha-”
“Oh, look at that cheeky little brat!”
*Bam! Bam!*
Every time Grandfather slammed his palm against the dining table, the whole room seemed to shake. I quickly averted my eyes from the Admiral and stuffed a bean into my own mouth.
*Chew.*
“Beans, good for the body.”
“Hmph.”
“Admiral, eat to-ge-ther.”
Four beans in the Admiral’s mouth. One bean in mine. It’s not a secret.
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ is rolling on the floor, asking if you just saw that look.]
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ mumbles, “Is this… right?”]
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ takes your side.]
[I don’t want to see a kid who just listens and tries to be loved. Acting like that is much cuter.]
Various characters flickered across my vision and vanished. And then… I blinked, before clapping a hand over my mouth.
*What have I done?!*