Broadcast Day 4 - Collab with My Daughter (3)
The daughter's reaction to drinking cola for the first time was fascinating.
"Do humans really eat this stuff?"
"……."
Would you believe she wrinkled her nose and grimaced?
My goodness, even I was shocked, so the viewers were beside themselves. The chat exploded at the sight of my daughter clearly disliking the cola.
"What's wrong? Does it taste weird?"
"One flavor is just too overpowering. I don't think I like it much."
Arna Henisia grimaced as she took a bite of pizza. I'd expected her to recoil from the carbonation, but the taste? Too overpowering?
In response to my daughter's reaction, I took a sip of cola myself.
Shwaaaaa...!
The sharp, prickly sensation unique to carbonation. Some first-timers might not adapt to that fizz. But for a dragon like me...
It wasn't all that unfamiliar, actually. Some poisonous creatures gave off a similar fizzy vibe. There was this deadly eel I personally dubbed the "cola eel." Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
The real issue was the sweetness in the cola. It drowned out the subtle bitterness and saltiness completely, making my brow furrow.
Was cola always this sweet...?
My memories from my human past life were hazy, but the cola back then tasted amazing... Did they change the recipe after I reincarnated? Nah, cola was a bestseller back then too, and research shows it's still flying off shelves now. They'd have no reason to tweak the original flavor of a hit product for variants only.
Thud!
"Hmm... Yeah, the sweetness is way too intense."
I couldn't even finish the glass. One bucket-list item I'd wanted to check off upon returning home—drinking cola—shattered like a beautiful illusion crushed by reality. What a letdown...
The viewers hammered out sad chats too... Though their visible reactions were all pure amusement, of course. Two-faced as ever—is that a human trait? Intelligent beings across dimensions all master the art of hypocrisy...
Dragons might actually be the more honest ones...
I gazed at my pure-hearted daughter in a way and gently stroked her head. She leaned into it, clueless but delighted.
Anyway, we'd finished the cheese pizza, so next up: pepperoni.
"I'll set the cola aside. Most dragons wouldn't care for the taste anyway."
"The sweetness is too overpowering. It buries all the other flavors completely."
Couldn't even tell how much sugar they dumped in there—it was insane. Dragons prefer flavors in harmony, blended together. Not one dominating and smothering the rest.
"Hmm. Do Hwa."
"Yes, Mistress."
Do Hwa, who hadn't left the broadcast room yet, responded to my call. Jae Ye's subordinate and my personal maid bowed her head, dressed in what folks from her dimension called a "chatoka."
"Go to my storeroom and fetch something to drink."
"Understood."
Do Hwa swiftly retrieved a drink from the storeroom at my command. She placed the pure white porcelain bottle—wrapped in mithril silk just like before—on its stand and knelt before me.
"Here you are."
"Thank you."
I picked up the bottle and uncapped it. Popping the rubber-like lid released a faint fruity aroma.
A familiar scent... Where had I smelled this before?
"What is this?"
"Liquor brewed from the flowers of the Phantasm Peachwood Tree."
"Phantasm Peachwood? Where did I get this?"
"After you judged the Red Kingdom, humans offered it as tribute in atonement—one of the rare treasures."
...Ah! I remember now. Was it the 1,234th dimension I visited? Or 1,432nd? Order's fuzzy, but it was this bizarre world blending wuxia fantasy with steampunk. That's where I got this booze...
Whoops. I'd left the viewers hanging solo too long. I waved Do Hwa out, conjured a new iron cup, poured the Phantasm Peachwood liquor into it, and handed it to my daughter.
Her reaction after sipping? Meh.
"It's ordinary."
"I see."
Mine was the same. Sure, it might be exotic to humans from that world, but dragons have different tastes and sensibilities. Even fully draconic me found it unremarkable.
*Slurp!*
"Eh... Might wow humans, but to dragon tongues like ours, it's just average."
Like watered-down booze with a hint of fruit juice? Cocktail might hit better for dragons, but this subtle stuff? Just meh food to us. Better to divvy it up among the servants...
"...Actually, want some? I could share with you all."
No need for the servants anyway—they prefer my domain's grub over human fare. But right now, fifty thousand humans were eyeing this isekai liquor my daughter and I were sipping.
My sudden declaration lit the chat ablaze. Munching pizza with my daughter, I continued.
"Thrilled so many want it, but sadly, I don't have much—only about five thousand bottles."
"So, we'll use the gacha feature."
About fifty thousand viewers, five thousand winners. One in ten odds.
"Alright, time to take applicants."
Applications flooded in as we grabbed the next pizza.
"Oh! This one has lots of toppings!"
"Indeed."
My daughter beamed, hooked on pizza flavors. Seeing her happy made me smile too. I've laid eggs myself, so I get it. Animals giving birth are fragile—strong external shocks can crack the egg inside. Dragons aren't exempt. Actually, we need extra caution.
What are dragons? We shrug off auras with scales, absorb shocks with bones and muscles. So we tend to tank hits. But pregnant? That could shatter the egg within.
Thus, brooding dragons get fiercer. The aggressive ones rampage more; even the nice ones snap... Everything around them suffers, basically.
"Laying eggs must be tough, huh?"
"I'm fine, Mother. You're here with me."
I stroked her head; she clung happily. Sigh... How could I not love my kids? They cause trouble sometimes, but having a friendly family feels so reassuring.
Dragons normally lack family bonds—just packs. Thanks to my human memories and my weirdo husband's influence, we became one...
The gacha-hype chat ignited for a whole new reason.
...Didn't I mention?
"Yes, my daughter is brooding eggs right now."
This time, chats matched their true feelings... But why the sadness? Baffling.
"Anyway, got all the applicants. Time to draw winners."
I activated the Day 2 gacha. About five thousand winners.
"I'll personally deliver the booze to winners. No worries."
"Was gonna just portal it over. That a no?"
"Silly kids."
I smiled faintly and started the draw. Sadly, this system's gacha picks one at a time, so five thousand would take ages.
Hmm... Too much downtime.
We'd demolished over half the pizzas. Post-munchies, what for content? That's when—
"...Ah!"
One viewer sparked inspiration.
"Right. Just drawing's boring, so I'll share the story behind this liquor."
What do they call this in this world? Storytime... yeah.