The Struggles of Early Parenting
***
"Damn it..."
[My dear, please watch your language with the children around.]
"...I know, but why did the mask break right there of all places?"
The mask had been something I'd created with my mana.
Its strength depended entirely on how much mana I poured into it.
I'd used quite a bit to prevent anyone from destroying it, yet it had shattered anyway.
*I didn't think Yoo Hwa-young had been that strong since childhood...*
Of course, compared to me, she was nowhere near my level, and even lower-ranked heroes couldn't touch me.
But that was thanks to my regression, the Regression Stone Beatrice had given me, all the elixir she'd prepared, and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art she'd taught me.
Without any of that, she had shattered my mask.
Her father was the master of the Flame King Guild, one of Korea's Four Great Guilds, so she'd grown up eating good elixirs. Still, even combining every single one she had couldn't match the drop of what I'd consumed.
I had assumed she couldn't break my mask, but a mere brush of magic had done it.
"...How am I supposed to fix this..."
[Why don't we first worry about what to do with these children?]
"...Ah, no need to worry about that. I know just the person for this job."
No need to worry about what to do with the people kidnapped from the slave trade.
If it was a slave trader, she'd protect them safely no matter how terrified she was.
I gave Beatrice a coordinate, and she teleported to the spot.
The place was an unmistakably grand-looking house.
To be safe, I created another mask and released a vast amount of mana.
"We can go back now. That person will definitely take care of them. Let's head back, Beatrice."
*Whoosh*
"Hm?"
While the children were here, Cheon Seong was about to leave the room before the person arrived. He looked down at the yokoh that was tugging at his clothes.
"Why?"
"Kyaa."
"...Go with me? Me?"
*Nod*
"...That would be tough..."
"Ah... yandere?"
The refusal made the young yokoh's eyes fill with tears. Cheon Seong, surprised that the yokoh would cry, panicked and patted her back.
"Ah... no, I'm not saying you shouldn't cry, but going with me is really tough, okay?"
[My dear, decide quickly. Someone's coming out inside.]
"...Damn it... How am I supposed to do this..."
*Ha... Let's take them with us and think about it later, Beatrice.*
[Shall we move then.]
*Creak*
"Who's there! Eh...? You all... come in, please."
When someone emerged from the house, Cheon Seong had already left. The woman from inside the house stiffened upon seeing the ragged-clothed children and led them inside.
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"...Ha... So I brought them here, but now what..."
When the person's presence became noticeable, Cheon Seong returned to the house with the yokoh. He sighed while looking at the yokoh staring blankly at him.
"Once the academy entrance exam comes up, but seriously... ugh... I'll think about this later. Should I bathe them first?"
Even though he'd raised children before, Cheon Seong hadn't liked children at all in his previous life. Yet here he was, having to raise the yokoh he'd killed in that life. It was incredibly awkward.
"...Can't we just use Clean?"
[My dear, Clean isn't omnipotent. Just go bathe them already.]
"...Okay."
Cheon Seong knew Clean wasn't omnipotent, so he took the young yokoh to the bathroom and stripped off her ragged clothes before spraying her with water.
"Is the water warm enough?"
"Kyu."
The yokoh closed her eyes in delight as the water warmed. Cheon Seong's mouth twitched upward unconsciously.
"If you open your eyes, it'll sting. Keep them closed."
"Grooong!"
While washing the yokoh's hair, he told her to keep her eyes closed. The yokoh responded eagerly. Once the bath was over, another problem arose.
"...I don't have any clothes to put on her."
She didn't have any clothes to wear. He couldn't put the ragged outfit back on either, so Cheon Seong had no choice but to open his closet and pull out a sleeveless t-shirt for her.
"For today, wear this. Tomorrow, we'll go buy proper clothes."
[My dear, but what will you do about her identity?]
"Ah... I forgot about that..."
I had planned to leave all the people taken from the slave trade with the person, but the yokoh had followed me, complicating everything.
"...Maybe I can secretly raise her?"
[It would work, but eventually she'll be discovered.]
"...I don't know. We'll think about it tomorrow. I'm too tired today."
It wasn't that hard, but thinking through every little thing felt endless. In the end, Cheon Seong left the problem to his future self and lay on the bed.
*Blink blink*
"...Come up."
"Umm!"
Cheon Seong looked at the yokoh staring at him on the bed and pulled the blanket over, letting her climb in. She hugged his neck.
*Grumble.*
It looked like a loyal cat. Cheon Seong smiled and held her close.
[Sleep well, my dear. You worked hard today.]
"Beatrice, you sleep well too."
*Click*
The room went dark. As Cheon Seong held the yokoh who was purring in his arms, he fell asleep.
***
The next morning, we went to the department store to choose clothes for the yokoh.
"How about this one? I think it suits the young lady perfectly."
"...Then wrap up all the ones I've picked so far. I'll wear this."
"Yes! Thank you!"
The unfamiliar "young lady" made Cheon Seong give a subtle expression as he made the purchase.
Inside the department store's seemingly decent clothing store, he was a little surprised by the expensive price, but it didn't matter.
He had already exchanged one of the elixirs Beatrice brought for auction funds, so he didn't need to worry about money.
"Uuuu... it's uncomfortable."
The yokoh tugged at the clothes, looking irritated. Cheon Seong picked up the wrapped ones and tried to leave the store.
"It's hard."
"...Ha."
Even outside the house it was the same again.
"You can walk by yourself."
"Anja."
"No, yesterday you walked fine—"
"Anja!"
"..."
In the end, unable to resist the young yokoh's demands, Cheon Seong carried her back home.
"Nya... send."
"Eh? You want me to buy that?"
"Umm!"
The place the yokoh pointed to was candy sold at a pharmacy for kids' height growth. Cheon Seong entered the pharmacy and bought a large quantity of the candy because the yokoh wanted it.
"...It's a nutritional supplement, so it's fine. Here, eat."
"Waa!"
*Slurp slurp slurp*
"What are you doing!"
"Does it taste good?"
"Umm! One more!"
"I'm full, you eat a lot— wait, how many can I eat in a day?"
Even though it was delicious and in candy form, this was a nutritional supplement sold at a pharmacy. There had to be a recommended daily intake.
Cheon Seong recalled that and searched his phone for TenX's daily recommended amount. He pulled the TenX from the yokoh's hand while she continued eating.
"Stop eating now."
"Why! Give me more!"
"No. It says the daily recommended amount is two, but you've already had four. Today, stop."
"Give me more!! Give me more!!"
"You can't even remove it."
Cheon Seong firmly refused the yokoh's persistent pleas and returned home.
[Did you return, my dear? Hm? Why is the child like this?]
Beatrice asked why the yokoh in Cheon Seong's arms was so upset. Cheon Seong said he hadn't given her more nutritional candy, and she was upset about it.
[You did well. Even if it's nutritional, moderation is best.]
"That's true, but what do we do with her now?"
It was right to stop her from eating too much, but the yokoh looked so heartbroken.
*Gurgle gurgle*
"Eh? Hungry? Should we have lunch?"
"...Umm."
The yokoh sent a clear signal that her stomach was empty. Cheon Seong asked if she wanted to eat when he saw that. The yokoh answered while still looking upset, "Umm."
Cheon Seong smiled at her response and prepared the side dishes and instant soup Yuna had made.
"Eat up."
"Uaaaa!"
Cheon Seong looked at the yokoh's sparkling eyes as she forgot her upsetness at the sight of food, but the moment he saw her eat, he realized his mistake.
*Chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp*
It looked nice to watch someone eat deliciously. Just someone eating deliciously.
The problem was the yokoh still couldn't speak properly at her age. The fact that she was using utensils at all was because she was treated as an imaginary fox spirit. Normal kids her age couldn't even speak, let alone use utensils.
That's right.
Right now, the yokoh didn't know how to use utensils and was eating the side dishes with her bare hands.
Cheon Seong sighed and stopped her, teaching her how to use utensils.
He swapped the chopsticks he'd unconsciously picked up for a fork and explained the spoon.
"Uuu... hya."
*Jitter jitter*
The yokoh's hand holding the spoon trembled as she scooped up rice and put it in her mouth.
Her spoon-holding posture was clumsy because she was unfamiliar with it, but this was fine for now. She was still young, so this was enough to satisfy her.
"Here, eat this too."
Too focused on using the utensils, the yokoh was eating only rice. Cheon Seong picked up side dishes and placed them on her spoon.
*Slurp slurp*
"Delicious!"
The yokoh looked happy as she ate. Cheon Seong felt his empty heart fill with warmth. The warmth she gave him was a little different from Yuna's, but it was still the warmth of someone hugging him. Cheon Seong smiled, now a little more familiar, and placed more side dishes on the yokoh's spoon.
***
"You really don't know her name?"
"No... I don't!"
[My dear, just give up. Just name her yourself. Even if she had a name, how would this young thing remember it?]
"I haven't even given her a name before."
Cheon Seong had been thinking about the yokoh's name for thirty minutes since they finished eating and cleaning up.
"Umm... Hana? How about Hana?"
After thinking it over, Cheon Seong named her Hana and asked her while they looked at each other.
"Hana?"
"Yes. I don't know her name, so just take mine and call her Hana."
"Hana hana... yes! Hana yes!"
Cheon Seong let out a sigh of relief when the yokoh, who had been muttering the name Hana, actually said it. He stroked the happy Hana's head.
"Yes. From now on, you're Hana."
"Hana! Hana!"
Cheon Seong smiled as he said his own name and watched Hana twirl around him. Beatrice, perched on his shoulder, smiled and watched the scene too.
The new family member filled the once quiet one-room apartment with life. Everyone just smiled.