Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: 15. Adding Insult to Injury? (3)
#2 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of a Certain Daughter
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I hate winter.
First off, you can't farm.
Of course, farming every day is incredibly tough.
But after a hard day, dinner with Dad makes it all worthwhile.
And the snacks Big Sis brings in between are an irreplaceable joy.
Winter does have its perks since you get to rest.
For one, I can spend time with Big Sis, who's banned from farmwork.
Plus, sneaking potatoes or corn to roast by the fireplace is a winter-only delight.
And that winter-exclusive happiness of spreading a blanket in front of the hearth—it's like heaven.
But all those upsides get wiped out by winter itself, so I hate it.
The reason? Snow.
This village gets buried in snow, so the moment it starts, everyone stays indoors.
No one goes out, so no market.
No market means no chickens.
No chickens means... that's right. No chicken!
But snow's a force of nature.
No matter how much I pray to the gods or beg Dad, I can't stop it.
So I hatched a grand plan.
To raise chickens at home!
To kick it off, I got Dad's permission to buy an egg when the chance came.
It was huge, so the chicken would be huge too.
I named the soon-to-hatch baby Kkoko ahead of time and cared for it diligently so it wouldn't crack.
Kkoko was more precious to me than anything.
So.
Crackle!
Even in sleep, I caught that tiny sound.
"D-Dad!"
A crack formed on the egg with the noise.
Kkoko was hatching!
"Dad! Dad!"
I'd boasted about raising chickens, but I had no clue how.
So I urgently called for Dad, who knows everything.
He'd fix this!
"Daaaad~"
"Ugh... What's wrong?"
Dad peeked out from the next blanket, his sleepy face all drowsy as he looked at me.
It was still predawn, sun nowhere in sight.
But with Kkoko hatching, sleep had long fled me.
"Kkoko's coming out!"
I gazed at Dad, equal parts desperate and thrilled.
How would he help Kkoko hatch?
"Yeah, congrats."
Thud.
But against my hopes, Dad muttered dryly and flopped his head back onto the pillow!
"Dad!"
"Sleepy..."
"Get up... Kkoko!"
Dad pulled the blanket over his head at my pleas.
A clear "I'm dead asleep, don't bug me"!
"This is Kkoko's precious birth moment! I don't know anything, Dad has to tell me!"
More cracks spiderwebbed across the egg even now.
But Dad wouldn't budge!
Big trouble!
"Dad~"
I shook his hidden arm frantically.
"Dear daughter. Dad's so sleepy..."
"Hiiing..."
Now it was mumbling, like sleep-talk.
No choice.
Embarrassing, but... for Kkoko!
"Dad!"
Mwah!
I yanked the blanket off and planted one on Dad's cheek.
"Get up like you promised!"
Kisses with Dad ended at ten.
I'd settled in the village and heard from other kids that Dad-kisses stop at ten!
After that, no more smooches.
Not even when Dad begged—Ellis held firm.
Except once a year.
Not on his birthday, though.
Then Dad said one kiss grants any wish.
I'd resisted that temptation till now... but when else to cash it in?
"Ugh... Feels like a raw deal half-asleep, but..."
He rubbed his sleepy eyes, realizing the kiss, and sat up halfway.
"I'll give you one more!"
"Ooh!"
Dad grinned happily at my words.
"So, what's with Kkoko?"
"L-Look at this!"
I showed him the egg, cracked all over.
Barely holdable in both hands, it vibrated so hard my grip shook.
"What do I do for the chick?"
It's fragile, but seems tough for a newborn to break.
Kkoko surely needs help from me, its mom.
So I asked Dad!
"Nothing?"
"Huh?"
His answer: do nothing.
"Chicks hatch on their own from the egg."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. They peck through with their beaks."
"Hiiing..."
So there's nothing I can do for Kkoko?
"Just watch close by."
"Just watch? No helping?"
"Yeah. They have to come out on their own, even if it's hard. That's how they grow strong."
He placed a hand on my head, stroking gently.
"Does it have to be strong?"
"Help too much and they'll be helpless without parents. Raise 'em strong from the start."
Those words weren't just for Kkoko—they were for me too.
"I'm never leaving Dad."
I scooted over on my butt without standing, leaning my head on his chest.
"I'm living with Dad forever."
"You little rascal, you'll run off to marry someday."
"No, I'm not getting mar..."
I stopped mid-sentence, thinking.
Can I swear off marriage?
Words to Dad become promises.
Speak rashly and fail, and it's a lie to precious Dad.
"Hmm..."
Dad's stroking hand paused.
"Daughter dear? Not my place, but stopping there—what should I take it to mean?"
"That I'm thinking super seriously?"
"I see..."
Chuckling wryly, he rested his chin on my crown.
"Ow..."
"Till you decide, this stays."
Press. Press.
His jawbone dug into my scalp.
Hurry up and choose, his pressure said.
"Even if I marry, I'll live with Dad, so it's fine!"
"Well, well, so you do plan to marry."
"Eek!"
Dad clamped his jaw and attacked my scalp.
I tried fleeing, but trapped in his arms!
Caught, I surrendered my crown to his chin helplessly.
"Ow..."
"No wedding for you! Bring someone who can beat me at least!"
"I'll find someone if I look..."
Dad trains swordplay every dawn without fail!
'...Or not.'
He rests in winter, rain... but...
On nice days, he does it daily—I know.
He's trying his best, so my husband needs some training too.
"You think I'm a pushover?"
"By the time I marry, Dad'll be old and weak, right?"
"Who's kid are you, so brutally realistic..."
"Dad's kid."
I beamed up at him, but his face darkened.
Does he hate me marrying that much?
"Fine. Beat your sis, and I'll allow it."
"Dad, just say no marriage outright. Easier."
Beating Big Sis?
Even grown, I doubt I could.
She's strong.
Indescribably, impossibly strong.
Beat her? Might have to go lifelong spinster.
Crack!
"Kkoko's working hard."
"Looks like."
The biggest crack yet split the egg's center, shell chipping away.
"Better get close now. Animals often imprint the first face they see as mom. Don't want someone stealing that spot."
I nodded and scooted forward.
Kkoko wasn't from my belly, but lived near it always.
Didn't birth it, but I'm still Mom.
"Kkoko."
The egg quivered at my call.
Did it recognize Mom's voice?
The shaking intensified, like it wanted me.
"You can do it!"
Dad said helping weakens it, so I just cheered from the side.
Future chicken lord Kkoko must be healthy and strong!
"You can break that shell and join the world!"
Whoosh!
The fireplace roared, flames surging like it heard me.
Dying fire flaring up—Kkoko's hatching huge and mighty!
"Mom's right here! Just a bit more! Break the shell and poke your face out!"
Tap. Tap. Thump!
Kkoko responded, pecking harder inside.
"Go, Kkoko!"
Crack!
"Ah!"
The edges shattered at once, and we locked eyes.
"Kkoko...?"
But... don't chickens have beaks?
And...
"Mom!"
Our Kkoko talks?
***
"Get up."
"Ugh..."
My daughter's there, tiny fists clenched, cheering the egg.
She babied that egg like her own, so she's got some parental instincts.
"Real kids are a ways off, though."
Far off.
If some punk touches my sweet Ellis, I won't sit idle.
Only then might I consider approving a marriage.
"Up, I said."
"Sleepy..."
Her tousled hair half-hid her face as Ar blinked up at me blankly.
"What's got you up so early..."
Metal types usually don't sleep—that's the trope—but she sleeps longest of us.
Technically a golem subtype, right?
As I pondered, Ellis's cheers started, and Ar nodded at the sound.
"Something's coming out now, huh."
"Gotta prepare."
No ordinary egg, clearly.
Bird or reptile's okay, but insect monster? Can't rule it out.
Some eat their parents at birth, so protect daughter—prep ahead.
"Well, for a sibling, no choice."
Ar yawned but rose for Ellis.
Winter anyway—no chores post-meal, just sleep.
"Alright, let's see what pops out!"
Ar and I kept safe distance, watching Ellis and her "Kkoko" egg.
Then predawn silence shattered with a crack! as the egg broke—and the face poking out was.
"Reptile?"
Red scales, reptilian.
Reminiscent of dragons among reptiles...
"Drake, right?"
Please don't let reality match my fears.
"Drake. Holy crap?"
Yeah. That's probably...
A drake. Undeniable draconic face and wee wings emerging piecemeal...
"Kkoko...?"
"Mom!"
"Master, since when do drakes talk?"
Ar tilted her head at me.
Heh, this kid.
Drakes don't talk, obviously.
So this must be.
"We're half-asleep, hearing things."
I burrowed into the blanket, head on pillow.
Lately sleeping in, but up too soon.
Body's gone soft—sleep won't come now.
"Dad! Kkoko talked! Genius!"
"Nah, hallucination... Yeah, hallucination..."
"Dad? Mom's dad?"
"And super smart too!"
Ellis shook me, panicking.
I lay there, equally lost.
"Damn it..."
For three days, I desperately denied reality—till I had to accept my daughter tamed a dragon.
