Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Like Father, Like Daughter (1)
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The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world.
Those who wish to be born must destroy a world.
A famous line from a novel.
It means that growth requires the pain and struggle of breaking out of one's own shell.
Why am I suddenly talking about this philosophical stuff?
[Uuu... Papa... Breaking the egg is... hard...]
My Hydra was the exact opposite of that theme.
[What?]
Kerr must have heard the guy's telepathy too.
She sent back a sense of utter bewilderment.
Yeah.
You find it ridiculous too, right?
[Papa...? Call him Master! How insolent can this thing be?!]
......She seemed offended by something else entirely.
That's not the issue right now.
'Guess I have to get it out.'
I had no choice but to manipulate the shadows and carefully crack the egg for it.
Crack.
The eggshell was actually pretty tough.
If I'd cracked it by hand, I'd have had to put in quite a bit of effort, and that might have counted as diligent labor, docking my Sloth points.
'Well, a baby Hydra breaking this on its own would be tough.'
...I almost bought that excuse, damn it.
No matter what, it shouldn't be too lazy to even be born!
Anyway, with the shell fully cracked, the creature finally revealed itself.
A small, light-purple snake body.
And atop it, nine round, chubby heads.
It was a Hydra, so it had nine heads, at least.
The problem was...
[Uuu... Sleepy...]
All nine heads had half-lidded, drowsy eyes.
'......'
Hydras usually had sharp, badass looks depending on their attribute.
But this one was way too languid.
Plus, its telepathic voice sounded like a little girl's, making it seem totally harmless.
[Hoo. Look at this.]
Kerr approached right up to its nose and inspected it from all angles.
[From the aura it gives off, it seems like quite the spirit beast. Speaking language right after birth and even capable of mental communication.]
But Kerr continued firmly.
[However, it needs practice in manners. That human is your master, and I am your senior, so serve us with utmost respect. Now, say 'Senior.' ]
The largest head in the middle then looked at Kerr.
[Mama...?]
[......?!]
Kerr jolted back in shock.
[Wh-who's your mother?!]
[Mama... Sleepy... Rock me to sleep...]
All nine heads of the Hydra started whining at Kerr at once.
Their eyes were sparkling... no, drowsily hazy.
[How dare you give orders! Show some respect!]
She grumbled, but couldn't bring herself to harshly dismiss the Hydra's fussing.
[...Tch, it's too noisy. Guess I'll have to put it to sleep.]
Kerr grumbled as she spread her shadows wide.
She wrapped the Hydra snugly like a cradle and gently rocked it.
[Uuu... Mama... Nice...]
[Quiet down and sleep!]
Her words were rough, but the shadows moved with perfect gentleness.
...What the hell are they doing right now?
It was total chaos.
"Phew..."
I let out a sigh without realizing it.
That was when it happened.
[Hiu...?]
The creature, dozing in Kerr's embrace, cracked its eyes open and looked at me.
[Papa, my name... Hiu...?]
"Hm?"
[Hiu... Nice...]
It wagged its tail as if pleased.
[Feels comfy... Easy to say too...]
'......'
It must have mistaken my sigh for its name.
But thinking it over, it wasn't bad.
It sounded like the 'Hiu' from restful sigh.
It fit perfectly with the creature's slothful personality.
"Alright. From now on, your name is 'Hiu.'"
[Hiu... Hiu...]
It mumbled its name, then closed its eyes again with a satisfied look.
'Wonder what its ability is.'
Definitely Sloth attribute, but I was curious about the specifics.
It couldn't be literally just lazy, right?
I pondered while watching Hiu, who had fallen asleep right after hatching.
That was when it fully drifted off.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Pet's first ability has been unlocked.] [Winter Sleep] [The Hydra stores your skills while sleeping. Use them later!] [Current skill slots: 1]
'Skill storage...?'
My eyes widened.
Hold on.
This is broken.
I could pre-store my powerful skills and use them later?
A completely overpowered ability.
One that didn't even exist in [Stella Academia].
The middle head among Hiu's many heads seemed to glow faintly.
Is that where skills get stored?
'Let's try it then.'
The first one to store would obviously be this.
My signature skill, the slash.
'Store [Magic Blade Slash].'
Then...
Shooo.
Mana drained from my body and got sucked into Hiu's middle head.
Humm.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Storing skill 'Magic Blade Slash'...] [Sleep time required: 12 hours]
Success.
Though it had to sleep for 12 hours.
True to its slothful nature, it stored skills while sleeping.
'Still, this is insane!!'
Even if I ran out of mana or had to wait on cooldowns in battle, I could use skills through Hiu.
And with nine heads, maybe later I could store up to nine backup skills.
That would make it a legendary-grade pet for sure.
It wasn't just lazy after all.
'Heh heh... Suddenly looks so cute.'
Hiu, sleeping in Kerr's embrace, looked prettier than a picture.
Ah, is this paternal love?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
In the game, it didn't detail what pets ate, but raising one revealed something.
Hydras are carnivores.
'Whatever.'
Thanks to academy perks, the dorm pantry was stocked with meat, so no feed worries.
...But it wouldn't eat on its own.
[Haa...]
Kerr was using shadow tentacles to feed chunks of meat into its many mouths, one by one.
[Mama... Feed me...]
[...I told you, I'm not your mom. Keep calling me Mama and... it makes it sound like I'm in that kind of relationship with that human!]
'It's fine by me, Kerr. Let it go.'
[Wh-what? F-fine...? Ngh. I'm not fine with it!]
Kerr clicked her tongue.
Anyway, it needed three square meals a day.
Plus, academy rules required official registration for beast-type pets in dorms, so I had to bring it to school today.
In the game, Hydras loyally trailed behind the player.
But...
'This one’s too lazy to even walk.'
Hiu had coiled around my neck like a scarf.
Snakes are cold-blooded, so shouldn't it feel cool against the skin?
But this one was warm and squishy for some reason.
So, with Hiu draped around my neck, I headed to class.
"Jeron! Good morning!"
Yuria, with Seolbaek on her head, greeted me brightly as always.
Then she spotted Hiu around my neck and gasped.
"J-Jeron. What's that on your neck...?!"
"Oh, this."
How to explain?
Just say I picked it up.
It was true.
"Found it on the island during the comprehensive eval."
"I-I see..."
"Yeah. Decided to keep it."
I said flatly.
Yuria looked scared but couldn't resist her curiosity and peered closely at Hiu.
"I'm usually scared of snakes and such..."
She cautiously eyed one of Hiu's heads.
It was buried in the nape of my neck, blissfully asleep to the world.
"But this one feels... comfy somehow."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. It kinda matches your vibe, Jeron."
I could see that.
It had grown by eating my slothfulness from the egg, after all.
That was when...
[Uuum... Papa?]
It mumbled in its sleep.
'Awake?'
I naturally stroked its head with a finger.
But then...
"Huh...? I think I heard a weird voice in my head. A girl's voice saying 'Papa'..."
'Huh?'
Did Yuria hear it too?
I panicked and looked at Hiu.
Kerr chimed in with an explanation.
[Its mental communication is still immature. It's not controlling telepathy meant only for you and broadcasting to everyone nearby.]
Ah.
Luckily, we were in the back corner of the classroom, so only Yuria heard.
If the whole class had, it'd be massive aggro.
"Oh, that's its ability. It's still young, so it can't control it well."
I explained to Yuria.
"Ah... I see? A familiar that uses telepathy—amazing. Must be super intelligent."
Yuria nodded in understanding and looked at Hiu with interest.
"It sees you as dad, huh. Like duckling imprinting?"
"Maybe."
I replied.
But then.
Hiu lifted its head and stared straight at Yuria.
Its purple pupils blinked once.
[Uuum...?]
And then.
[Mama too...?]
"Neeet?!"
Yuria's eyes shook wildly.