Volume 3 Chapter 7 Hatching
When I woke up, I saw Ice's sleeping face in front of me.
"..."
I gazed at it absentmindedly. Upon closer inspection, I thought to myself, "She has a well-structured face." The line of her eyes, usually hidden by her hair, was now visible through the strands flowing according to gravity.
Suddenly, I noticed there were two sets of breathing. One belonged to Ice, and the other... Still half-asleep, I shifted my gaze downward.
There, curled up, was a small, n*ked girl about elementary school age.
"Wha...!"
Around the girl, scattered eggshells lay strewn about. A considerable amount clung to her body as well.
Careful not to startle her awake, I quietly slipped out of bed. I retrieved the collar I had brought into my room and gently placed it around the girl's neck upon returning to the bed.
The collar.
I spread the collar open and gently placed it around the girl's neck. It then automatically wound itself around her neck.
The collar, which was originally small enough to fit in one hand, now became much larger than the girl's neck, almost like the size people would put on a fierce dog, and thicker.
Amidst the girl's sleeping breath, three magic circles spread out accompanied by mysterious sounds.
I picked up the note placed next to the collar and spoke the contract.
"I forbid your rebellion. I forbid you to touch me with the intent to attack. This is called 'prevention of rebellion.'"
The first magic circle changed its color. Among the three circles that were initially red, the left one turned blue.
"I forbid your rebellion. I forbid you to go against my orders. This is called 'obedience to commands.'"
The second magic circle changed its color. In the middle. The three controls are being applied smoothly.
"I forbid your rebellion. I forbid you to conceal information from me. This is called 'duty to report.'"
And then, the third magic circle turned blue. As the entire magic circle began to rotate and shrink, it was sucked into the collar. Ripples spread in the air, and the girl blinked slightly, saying, "Hmm..."
"...This should be fine, right?"
With many people warning about "being careful when raising a dragon," I guess I could say I took care of everything for the time being.
I looked down at the girl again.
"...She really looks like a human child."
Even though it was about a dragon, she didn't seem to have horns growing from her head. She had fluffy gray hair and an innocent expression peeking through.
Then, the girl started to squirm even more.
Her eyes opened. First, those eyes locked onto me.
"..."
"...G-Good morning."
I tried to smile at her. The girl then absentmindedly looked up at me and said,
"Paa-pa...?"
"―――――!"
I trembled at those words.
Even though no one taught me how to handle this situation, suddenly being recognized as a papa, or any of that stuff didn't matter. I just found this baby so adorable that I couldn't help but tremble.
"Oh, oh, yeah, I'm your papa...!"
"Paapa... Paapa!"
With all the energy of a baby, the girl clung to me. She was light. As light as a feather. Thinking that, I hugged the girl, and the girl hugged me back―――
Oh no, I'm in trouble.
"S-Stop! Stop stop stop! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die! Stop putting so much strength! Ease up! AAAAAAH!"
I struggled with all my might against the girl's grip, shouting at the top of my lungs. My voice woke up Ice, who was staring at us wide-eyed.
"Wade-kun!?"
"Pa-paa...?"
"T-That's right... You're a good girl. Please, go easier on me. Yes, like that. More... that's enough. Yeah."
I confirmed that the girl's power had become appropriate for her age, so I finally took a breath and gently patted her back to comfort her. Then, I closed my eyes tightly and gave an order.
"It's an order. Except when I give the instruction to 'go all out,' you must not use more power than you are using now. Understand?"
"U-um..."
The girl nodded at me with a small bow. Seeing that, I felt relieved and hugged her somehow.
"Anyway, thank you for being born. I've been waiting for you."
"Paapa..."
The girl closed her eyes and entrusted her body to me. After confirming that, I said to Ice.
"So, it seems she has hatched. Come on, say hello."
The girl looked at Ice, blinked a few times, and then smiled brightly.
"Maama!"
"――――――!"
Ice covered her mouth, overwhelmed with emotion, and started to cry.
"So, she's born."
"""Wow!"""
When I introduced the girl to everyone except Ice, they all widened their eyes in surprise.
"Being born in such a perfect human form, huh. Well, but isn't she cute. Looks lively."
"So cute~~~~! Can I hold her? Can I hold her?"
"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. Too cute. Super beautiful girl. Fluffy hair. Fluff fluff fluff fluff."
Toxy and Sandra exclaimed, "Wow!" as they pounced on the girl, who laughed and played along.
Clay said to me,
"It's a good thing her name isn't Morgon."
"Haha, yeah. I didn't expect her to turn out this cute."
For now, the girl was wearing one of Ice's nightgowns, which was quite loose due to the height difference.
And what stood out was, of course, the collar. A collar of just the right size for a large man's neck was wrapped around the slender neck of the girl, making her look delicate.
"It was supposed to automatically adjust to the right size, but it's too loose."
"I think that's the proper size, more in terms of sturdiness than size."
Clay glanced at me.
"Still, I was really surprised by this morning's scream. Did you almost get torn in half?"
"Good point, Clay. I've given instructions to control the strength for now, so it should be fine."
"I hope so."
We all looked at the girl. She was sitting on Ice's lap, with Toxy poking her right cheek and Sandra poking her left cheek.
"She's being pampered by everyone, lucky her..."
"She's really cute. It's dangerously cute. Feels like my maternal instincts are going crazy."
"She's too fluffy and cute. So adorable. Oh, right, I need to go get some milk."
"Oh, yeah, you're right. We shouldn't skip breakfast for her."
"I'll go get it! Sandra and... Clay, you guys help too! There's quite a bit to carry!"
Clay stood up from his chair and shrugged.
"It looks like they need reinforcements. So, I'll go too. Oh, by the way, now that she is a girl, we should get her some clothes too."
"Yeah, I'll go buy them today."
After that exchange, the three of them left the living room. Left behind were me, Ice, and the girl.
I walked up to the two of them and gently patted the girl's head.
"Since she's born now, we should give her a name soon. Morgon... is out of the question, so what kind of name do you think suits her, Ice?"
"Wade-kun, I actually quite liked that name, you know...?"
"..."
I remained silent and averted my gaze.
"Hehe... How about leaving some elements and going with... Moruru? Since this girl has fluffy hair, right?"
As Ice said while stroking her hair, the girl happily exclaimed, "Moruru!" It seems she liked it too.
"Then, let's go with Moruru. Nice to meet you, Moruru."
"Moruru! Paapa! Maama!"
"So cute I could melt."
"Hey, Wade-kun?"
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