Episode 3

“Mama!”

At first, I thought I misheard.

I mean, how could a newborn baby dragon speak right after hatching?

But then again, on the La-Moon Continent, dragons were worshipped as gods. Maybe it wasn’t too strange that Shu could talk right away — and in Korean, no less.

“Uh… Shu?”

“Mama!”

“Wait, did you hear everything I said while you were still in the egg? Really?”

“Mama?”

“Huh?”

Could it be that “mama” is the only word Shu knows? Or maybe Shu misunderstood what it means?

To be honest, the way Shu kept calling me “mama” was starting to feel a bit off. So I figured I should clear up the meaning of the word.

“Hey, Shu. I’m not your mama. Your mom was Shumikantrahildeo—super strong, no, incredibly powerful, beautiful, and great. I’m more like…”

Well, I’m not a mom, so should I be ‘Dad’?

But Shu wasn’t my child. Even though Shumi and I were close, our bond was purely comradeship. If anything, I leaned on her more than she did on me.

If I had to pick a role, I guess “uncle” would be more fitting. So I pointed at myself and told Shu,

“Ahem. You can call me “uncle,” okay? Try saying it. Un-c-le.”

“?”

“Uncle. Come on, try it, Shu.”

Those big round eyes stared straight at me. It kind of felt like Shu understood… but also not.

Then Shu opened that tiny mouth, tried to copy me, and said—

“Mama!”

Yeah… we had a long way to go.

“Ugh, maybe I talked about your mom too much while you were in the egg? Shu, can you say anything else besides ‘mama’?”

“Shu?”

“Oh, yeah. Your name is Shu! Do you remember anything else?”

“Shu is a dragon!”

“That’s right! You’re so smart, Shu!”

Not just words — full sentences! Shu was definitely a genius. According to the parenting books I read, most toddlers don’t speak in full sentences until they’re 2 or 2.5 years old. Shu just hatched and was already talking with me.

“Shu is Shu! Mama is mama!”

“Haha… it’d be better if you didn’t keep calling me mama though…”

Still, I couldn’t tell a newborn baby to stop calling me that. I figured Shu would figure it out eventually. And honestly, I was just so grateful Shu was born safe and sound — I couldn’t ask for anything more.

“Mama?”

“Yeah… I mean, no. I just meant you’re really cute, Shu. You know that? You look just like your mama. The soft silver scales, the sky-blue eyes. Even the way you smile—it’s just like Shumi when she smiled.”

Maybe that’s why I suddenly missed Shumi so much. I bet she would’ve loved Shu dearly. If I already found Shu this cute and amazing, how much more would a mother love their child?

“It’s okay. I’ll protect you no matter what, Shu. I’ll take responsibility—for Shumi too…”

So you don’t have to worry. I murmured this softly, unsure if it was a prayer or a promise to Shumi. As I sat there, lost in thought, Shu slowly crawled over on all fours and rubbed their head against my knee.

“Wait… Shu, are you trying to comfort me?”

“Mama… mama…”

“Haha…”

Repeating the only word Shu knew, Shu tried to comfort me with their whole little body. This tiny dragon who could barely control their movements was wobbling and rubbing their face against my leg. My heart just melted.

“Thanks, Shu. You really gave me strength just now.”

Feeling suddenly energized, I picked Shu up and stood up. I tried to copy what I’d seen others do and started flying Shu around like a toy airplane.

“Having fun, Shu? Wanna fly even higher?”

I gently held Shu in both hands and swooped them through the air. I even made silly airplane sounds and exaggerated faces. Shu giggled like crazy and flapped their tiny wings—it almost looked like they were about to fly for real.

“Wait… you’re not actually flying, are you?!”

Every time Shu flapped their wings, I felt my arms lifting. I wasn’t imagining it.

Startled, I set Shu down on the floor—and sure enough, Shu started flapping and actually flying through the air on their own.

“You can already fly… with those tiny wings?”

Just in case, I followed closely behind, never taking my eyes off them. If Shu suddenly dropped, I had to catch them.

But it was as if Shu wanted to prove me wrong—they quickly got better at flying. At first, they wobbled, but soon they were turning smoothly and flying all around the house.

“Wait, Shu! Hold on a second!”

The problem was… Shu was knocking over everything while flying.

“Mama!”

With a happy shout, Shu bumped a mug off the kitchen counter. Then, curiously tilting their head, they grabbed and shook a plate and shattered it.

“H-Hey Shu? That’s dangerous, so maybe don’t—”

I tried to catch them and calm them down, but Shu easily dodged my hands and zipped off to the living room. There, they found a tall potted plant I’d placed to purify the air—a snake plant.

‘Guess everything must seem new and exciting after being born.’

I remembered how I felt when I was first summoned to another world—amazed by everything. So I could relate. Still, I didn’t expect a newborn baby dragon to be this energetic.

I carefully approached Shu, who was staring curiously at the long leaves of the plant.

“Hey Shu, we shouldn’t touch plants like that.”

“Mama?”

“Yeah. Plants are alive too, and it hurts them when we grab them so—Shu?!”

Before I could finish, Shu bit one of the leaves.

They chewed a bit, then made a disgusted face and spit it out. Then they frantically rubbed their tongues with their tiny front paws.

“See? I told you not to eat that…”

I sighed, staring at the now-damaged plant.

I reached to grab Shu, but they got mad, puffed up a little, and, with a pouty face, kicked the whole pot over.

“No! Don’t!”

I was already overwhelmed thinking about cleaning up the broken dishes—now this?

I quickly channeled mana through my body to boost my physical strength and barely managed to catch the falling pot.

“Phew… saved it…”

But it wasn’t over.

While I caught the pot, Shu flew off again.

Their next target?

My room.

“Shu! Don’t tear that up—!”

I rushed into my room… and there they were. My tiny, adorable little menace had already found something else to destroy.

The parenting book I bought in advance — the one I hadn’t even finished reading — was now being ripped to shreds by the very baby it was meant to help me raise.

“That’s fun, huh?”

Using their tiny, chubby paws, Shu was skillfully tearing out page after page.

I should’ve stopped them, but they looked so happy I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

‘Well, I can always buy another copy… I guess.’

But cleaning up was going to be a pain.

‘Wait… is there anything I can use to distract Shu?’

I hadn’t bought any toys yet. What do kids usually like?

Then I remembered—

[I have to watch Bbo-Bbo-Ro!][Yeah! It’s almost time for Bbo-Bbo-Ro!]

“That’s it! Bbo-Bbo-Ro!”

Like finding water in a desert, I scooped Shu up and ran to the living room. I turned on the TV and started flipping through channels.

‘This one?’

On-screen, a bunch of cute characters appeared, and the corner said Bbo-Bbo-Ro’s Big Adventure! I was pretty sure this was the right one.

I said the channel number out loud and turned up the volume, then sat on the couch with Shu in my arms.

As expected, Shu immediately focused on the screen.

‘Nice, she’s hooked.’

Bbo-Bbo-Ro was a seal wearing glasses, and he had animal friends—a rabbit, an eagle, and a tiger. Kinda random, honestly. But one of the characters clearly looked like a dragon.

“Shu! Look! A dragon, like you!”

“Shu same, dragon!”

“Yeah. It’s a black dragon.”

The scales were different, but it did look similar. The black scales reminded me of Harshichetzentra, which I didn’t like—but at least there was a dragon character, and Shu loved it.

[Let’s all stand up and stretch together!]

Suddenly, the characters started doing exercise routines.

Shu jumped off my lap and started following along, mimicking their movements.

[One, two! One, two!]

“One, two! One, two!”

Shu copied the show perfectly—waving their little arms, trying to bend their round belly, then rolling in the air with a giggle. I burst out laughing without even meaning to, and Shu looked at me and smiled too.

“You’re so good at dancing, Shu.”

“Shu good?”

“Yeah. Super good.”

“Shu is super good?”

“You’re doing amazing.”

Shu looked a bit confused, then suddenly raised both arms and shouted:

“Shu good! Shu is amazing!”

I wasn’t sure if they even knew what those words meant… but it was adorable, so I didn’t care.