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Translator: Barnnn
Editor: Anna
Proofreader: Xemul
“Man… been a long time since I got THIS drunk…”
Never had I expected Guile to be this much of a drinker.
I could cast Recover to sober up anytime, but it had been long since I had felt this way, too; I’d like to savor it a bit longer.
Strange… I haven’t felt this peaceful… and fun… for a long time now.
It has been quite a while since we arrived in this era, but we’ve never had a day to stop and breathe, after all.
…I miss the Pochisley Agency.
Are Lina and Tifa doing all right for themselves?
Wait… why am I even thinking of them while in this era, anyway?
This was millennia before they would be born, for crying out loud.
…But it never felt like my connection to them had disappeared.
I finally understand now – what it is that I should be doing in this world.
The one thing I had always been doing. Devoting myself to my studies.
“Master~~ Every strand of my fur is perfectly straight today~~ Now’s your chance~~”
I wish her sleep-talking would at least make sense.
…Man, what a handful.
I stroked Pochi’s back – the fur of which was, in reality, full of split ends – and stared at her comfortably sleeping face while immersing myself in the aftermath of drunkenness.
Thinking about what comes tomorrow, though… I’m sure I’ll be in for a heap of trouble…
With all of the Blazing Dragons gone now, I’d like to see how the Goku’ryu is doing.
Its egg is probably still in the crater, floating in the sea of molten rock.
We couldn’t do anything about it now, but the time of its hatching could be estimated. A newborn Goku’ryu shouldn’t take all that much firepower to kill off.
Which reminds me, Pochi and I must have gained quite a lot of EXP from this fight.
I’d like to check it out now, but entering the main building in the dead of night wouldn’t be a great idea, especially right after an incident.
Let’s just remember to drop by and use the Limit Breakthrough Craft Circle tomorrow.
“Wanna eat… egg tarts… raw eggs… sunny side up… but I can’t… no…”
Right, she had actually brought the giant egg back.
But I’m curious… Could it be that it’s going to hatch someday?
It was clearly not a chicken egg; what manner of creature could be inside?
Or could it be a Shi’shichou egg?
What a random guess – I must still be a bit drunk. Grinning bitterly at myself, I activated my Appraisal Glasses.
…Huh, just a normal peacock egg… but giant. Not that some legendary egg would randomly be in Kugg Village in the first place, I guess.
What a waste to just let it sit here, though; I’m sure it would taste great.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
The next morning, I woke up earlier than I’d planned; it was getting noisy outside.
Hmm? Could Polco have returned already?
Considering the time frame, he mustn’t have stayed there for long before heading back here.
What mission had he gone to the Royal Capital for, then?
From what I had heard from June, the Nation would often summon her for missions, but not for this particular occasion.
Perhaps this meant the summon had been just for the Adams household – or even Polco specifically.
Looks like Pochi is still sound asleep. Well, she did take quite a lot of beating yesterday; best to let her rest for now.
While doing morning stretches, I thought about how I probably should have a talk with Polco.
I went outside once I was done; it was still early morning, so the sun wasn’t fully out yet.
Polco’s carriage stopped at the gate; he got down, carrying some sort of big package on his shoulder.
He looked around, then upon noticing that I was here, looked at me and pointed at the mansion.
…Looks like he’s letting me in.
Guile must have already told him about what had happened last night. June would probably be apologizing to him later, but I’ll have to clear things up with him about scolding Ferris sooner or later, so I might as well go along with him now.
Still, though, that package… why didn’t he have someone else carry it for him?
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
…Oh, so THAT was why he hadn’t let someone else carry it for him.
“So, I heard that things were quite hectic here last night. I’d never thought you would be the one to exterminate those Blazing Dragons, young Poer.”
…
“Guile already told me about my daughter and… the party, too. No need to worry; you are not at fault for anything here.”
…
“The money essentially came from the villagers’ taxes, of course, but surely none of them would blame the brave saviors of their home.”
…
“On the contrary, this incident has netted you more gains in the end. You could sell those Dragons’ horns and fangs; they should earn you so much that last night’s spending would seem like a drop in a bucket.”
…Why?
“Moreover, the Dragons’ nest was near the Royal Capital. No one has been able to do anything about it until you came along – you, as an employee of House Fulbright of the Traditionalist Faction, completing this dangerous mission without casualty. It’s a big deal, and will serve to increase the Traditionalist Faction’s voice of influence as well.”
…What’s going on?
“It must have been a valuable lesson for both young Bright and my daughter, too. Moreover, I now hold you to a higher standard, young Poer.”
Why is this man carrying a little baby in his arms while talking to me?
“Hehehehe… he’s so sound asleep.”
To recap, when I had walked into Polco’s room, he had put down the package… and pulled a baby out of it.
Holding the baby in his arms, he then expressed that I hadn’t done anything wrong and proceeded to praise my achievement.
He smiled softly at the child, wrapped in pure white baby clothes, so young that I couldn’t tell whether he was a boy or a girl at first.
“Hehe… are you not curious, boy?”
“…I’m not sure if I should ask, is all.”
Asking about the kid, that is.
“Even my abilities have its limits, young Poer.”
“Your abilities, sir?”
“Ever since my wife passed, I had come to realize the difficulty of educating a child… very painfully so, at that, you see?”
Oh… so young Ferris’ mother had died when she was still very little.
I wouldn’t point at it as the complete cause, but that upbringing would explain her personality now.
But what was Polco trying to tell me, though? What did this have anything to do with his abilities?
“I don’t claim to know everything about education, but… child care is a completely different beast in itself, wouldn’t you agree?”
Oh, so that’s where he’s coming from.
For one reason or another, this child had been put under his care – that must be it.
Sensing something bad coming my way, I let out a subtle sigh.
“…So, who was it that had entrusted you with the child, sir?”
I wanted to know whether he had been kidnapped, but there was no way I could ask that outright.
“Hahahaha, I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you that.”
This seems to be heading into a bad direction… Really, what was Polco trying to tell me?
“Young Poer.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Have you ever cared for a child before?”
…Huh?
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
“Master, Master!”
“What is it, Shiro?”
“Look! The egg! The egg is moving!”
Pochi held the egg in question in her front paws.
It was moving – pulsating.
I was just kidding yesterday about it hatching… seriously? If I had broken and cooked the egg last night… Uh…
Unpleasant imaginations surfacing in my mind, I shook my head to get rid of them.
I heard some knocking sounds from inside the egg; whatever was inside seemed to be doing its very best to open its eyes to the outside world.
Pochi climbed up my knee, to my torso, to my shoulders, clinging to my head with her paws… Is she THAT scared of seeing an egg hatch?
She is so… heavy…
My arms were already tired from carrying the kid, too…!
“Hey, it’s starting to crack!”
“Whatever you are, bring it on!”
Pochi braced herself… But that’s not an enemy, doggo.
One small crack at a time, the creature inside revealed itself to us.
…By the way, was it just my imagination, or had the egg changed from last night’s white to black?
The beak that broke through the shell looked… kind of black, too.
For some reason, its body was a deep purple – like, so deep that it was almost black.
Strange… I’d seen this from somewhere before…
“Ah, ah… it’s standing up!”
And you’re standing on my head. Get down, damn it.
“Chirp.”
“Woof!”
Now she’s just being paranoid!
What was she thinking, threatening a peacock that just hatched?!
…I mean, that’s a peacock, right?
“Chirp!”
“No! It’s woof!”
Ngh… I could already feel a bit of arcane energy from this little bird.
It gave off a similar feel to that of this chicken currently barking on my head.
Extremely similar. Might not even be an exaggeration to say that it was almost the same.
It’s supposed to be a peacock… right?
I invoked my Appraisal Glasses and looked at the chick.
NAME: ???
TITLES: Violet Phoenix, Avian (Tentative)
LV: 1
HP: 2
MP: 2
EXP: 0
SPECIAL SKILLS:
…Huh?
“M-M-M-M-M-M-Master?!”
“What now?”
“W-why are you holding a baby in your arms?! Where did you get him from?!”
Bah, I knew she would say that…
Gah, damn it… she just woke him up with all that shouting.
“……Ah-“
“…Ah-ooh?”
Man, the two babies sure are in sync with each other.
Pretty impressive that the little boy didn’t cry upon seeing me and Pochi for the first time, though. Now let’s look at him-
NAME: LEON
TITLES: Holy Emperor (Tentative)
LV: 1
HP: 2
MP: 1
EXP: 0
SPECIAL SKILLS:
…Huh?
“Chirp-!”
“Ah-!”
…Huh?
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Asley wanted to do many things, taking care of a childen (the Holy Emperor’s child no less), was probably not one of them. When he gets back, no one is going to believe any of this happened, for better or for worse
thanks for the chapter