Chapter 6
Even though a huge pile of fried chicken was placed in front of me, I just stared at the floating words with my mouth open.
“[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ has suggested a parenting variety show <My Child So Precious I’d Put Them in My Eyes>.]
[Participation reward: Blessings of all Spirit Kings who join]
[Do you accept? Yes / No]”
Strangely, only the “Yes” option had flowers, sparkles, and even ribbons on it.
I didn’t really understand what it meant, but pretty things are always nice.
So I poked the “Yes” with my fork.
“Crab, you must not play at the table.”
A strict voice spoke immediately.
“It’s not that…!”
I opened my mouth to explain this strange thing—
But then I realized I was actually making chirping sounds.
“Pip? Pipi?!”
I was definitely explaining properly, so why was this happening?
“Ahem.”
Dad—no, uncle—gave me a quiet warning.
Grandpa was watching with great amusement.
I ended up looking like I was about to cry.
‘Nooo, really! It’s because of this!’
At that moment—
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ suggests culture from another world.]
[For the child participant, the dialogue screen becomes cuter.]
[Emoticons unlocked! (❁´▽`❁)]
Strange little pictures appeared next to the words.
It looked like a smiling face… I think?
As I tilted my head, more sparkling words appeared.
[Nice to meet you. I am Yufiros, the manager of Eden and the butler who serves all the Spirit Kings.]
[From now on, I will send you various notifications. Please take care of me! `+◟( ˘ ³˘)◞ ♡]
I knew what a butler was.
At daycare, some kids even said they wanted to become butlers.
‘Then… the Spirit Kings must be very important people?’
Before I could even understand what was happening, more words appeared.
[The Spirit King of Emotions ‘■■■’ has entered!]
[The Spirit King of Emotions ‘■■■’ smiles brightly at you.]
[Whose child is this? Can I raise her?]
“……”
I had no idea what was going on.
So I stabbed my fork into the cooling fried chicken.
I should eat first.
A glutton never forgets food, no matter what!
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ proudly shows how well their child is eating.]
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ suggests co-parenting to all Spirit Kings present.]
[Currently, six Spirit Kings have entered <My Child So Precious I’d Put Them in My Eyes>.]
[When all Spirit Kings join, you will receive the title ‘Beloved of the Kings’!]
Hmm… even if I tried to ignore it, I couldn’t.
‘Water, Fire, Earth, Emotion… that’s only four.’
Who were the other two?
Tilting my head, I finished my plate neatly.
The next dish was roasted peas and mashed potatoes.
‘I don’t like peas.’
At daycare, I ate them properly.
Because there were only a few.
But now, there were too many peas on my crab plate.
“You must eat healthy food too. Don’t leave anything.”
As I only poked the peas with my fork, Dad—uncle—spoke again.
Grandpa’s shoulders and beard were shaking as if he was laughing.
I forced myself to eat peas with potatoes, but I couldn’t take a big bite.
I nibbled like a fish.
Then Dad—uncle—raised an eyebrow.
“More.”
“……”
If something is healthy, shouldn’t adults eat more?
‘Chuu is already strong!’
As I seriously thought about it, more words appeared.
[The Spirit King of Emotions ‘■■■’ grants you the blessing ‘Amazing Adaptability!’]
[Your ability to adapt slightly increases.]
[Your bravery slightly increases. You might become a little reckless?! ✧☆٩(`･ω･´)و]
[This blessing lasts for 5 minutes.]
A butterfly shining in red, blue, yellow, green, and white landed on my nose.
It seemed like only I could see it.
‘Ah!’
When I tried to catch it, it popped like a bubble and disappeared.
‘Hmm.’
Did I become a little braver?
I wasn’t sure.
[The Spirit King of Emotions ‘■■■’ suggests a joint mission reward.]
A joint mission?
Spirit King Alliance Quest!
Eat well and grow strong!
All Spirit Kings in the room have given a task.
✔ Make Navy Admiral Diegon Pashayen eat peas!
Reward (Success): 60g of magical sugar filled with killer whale energy
Penalty (Failure): Only chirp like a baby for one day (24 hours)
I calmly stared at the words.
There were two things I figured out about these strange messages:
First. Even if I try to talk about them, no words come out.
Second. It feels like… they are teasing me!
‘But that killer whale sugar… it would be nice to give it to teacher.’
I remembered the tired teacher with dark circles under their eyes.
I nodded.
‘I’ll try.’
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ is pleased with your spirit of challenge.]
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ secretly hopes you fail and chirp.]
‘No!’
I’m already four years old. I don’t want to chirp like a baby!
Puffing my cheeks, I stared at Dad—uncle.
He stopped eating and looked back at me.
After a quiet staring contest, I climbed down from my chair and grabbed my plate.
“What are you doing?”
“Delicious things… should be eaten together.”
“Hm.”
“Na-na eat.”
I walked over and stood in front of him.
He rested his chin on his hand.
Standing on my tiptoes, I pushed my crab plate next to his big plate.
“You little thing, are you trying to feed Diegon because you don’t want to eat it?”
“No. A-jji likes peas.”
“Ajji? Hahaha! You still haven’t called him ‘father’ even once?”
Grandpa laughed loudly.
His big marshmallow-like body shook, so I smiled too.
Only uncle didn’t smile.
“…You can call me father.”
“Pya…?”
“Today, the adoption documents will be processed. Then you will officially become a Pashayen princess.”
“That’s because Chuu was chosen by the ancestral whale, right?”
At my question, uncle—
No, Dad—
‘No… Dad is a bit… I don’t want to call him that yet.’
As I hesitated, words appeared again.
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ suggests calling him ‘Admiral’.]
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ looks heartbroken.]
‘Yes, okay. Admiral.’
The Admiral picked me up and awkwardly placed me on his lap.
“Pashayen has long accepted those without blood ties as family. The ancestral whale’s choice is always for the good of the family and absolutely right. No one questions it.”
“Mhm.”
“Ricardo, the one you hit earlier, is also adopted. Though he is from a lower noble family.”
But this position… was perfect for feeding peas!
While listening, I tightly held my fork.
“Only those of Pashayen blood can become the family head, but resonators and admirals can be adopted. Among them, you are a reson—”
Stab.
“Ouch.”
I didn’t miss the moment his mouth opened.
My fork moved like lightning and went straight into his mouth.
The Admiral looked completely shocked, as if thinking, “What is this?!”
An awkward silence filled the room.
“Pwahahaha!”
Grandpa burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Look at this bold little one!”
Bang! Bang!
Every time he hit the table, the whole room shook.
Avoiding the Admiral’s gaze, I quickly put peas into my own mouth.
Munch.
“Peas… are good for you.”
“Hah.”
“Admiral, let’s eat together.”
It’s a secret that there were four peas in his mouth and only one in mine.
[The Spirit King of Emotions ‘■■■’ rolls around laughing at that expression.]
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ mutters, “Is this really okay…?”]
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ supports you.]
[I don’t want to see a child trying hard to behave and be loved. This is much cuter.]
The messages appeared and disappeared quickly.
And then—
I blinked.
Then suddenly covered my mouth.
What… did I just do?!
