“Mi-Mino, how did you do that?”
“I don’t know, it just happened.”
Mother and Father gazed at me, their eyes brimming with eager anticipation, wondering how I had managed to unfurl my wings.
However, having no knowledge myself, I could only respond that it simply happened, tilting my head in confusion.
“Ohh, our daughter truly is a genius!”
“She is, Albi!”
Mother and Father lifted me into their arms, hugging me tightly.
“Unnie, are all dragons originally doting parents (TL Note: A Korean slang term, ‘palbulchul,’ referring to someone who excessively praises or dotes on their children or loved ones, often to an embarrassing degree.)?”
“…I suppose? It’s still a nice sight, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
From a distance, I could hear Ramir Silvadir and Noona whispering.
“I-I want to fly more!”
“Oh, you do?”
That day, as I soared through the sky, Mother and Father continued to clap and shower me with praise.
Eventually, Noona and Ramir Silvadir, feeling the chill, rode on Father’s back and returned to the castle.
I seemed to have truly acquired a taste for flying.
****
“Mino? Shall we head home now?”
“Yeash~”
Mother, looking a little tired, urged me to go home.
“We have to prepare for the festival tomorrow, so we need to sleep early tonight. Mother has work to do now, you see.”
“Huh?”
A festival?
Do dragons even have festivals?
As I tilted my head, Father, who had been flying beside me, answered.
“It’s a festival called the Harvest Festival and the Birth Celebration.”
“Whenever a royal offspring is born, a grand festival is always held. And since it’s currently the perfect time to harvest grains, this festival will be quite large, wouldn’t you say?”
Ah.
Now that he mentioned it, I had noticed the grains had grown considerably before I fell to the ground earlier.
The land near our castle, visible in the distance, was dyed in a golden hue.
Yet, something felt a little off.
“But isn’t it spring right now?”
“It’s autumn, my dear.”
Autumn? Then what about the flowers behind the garden?
“Th-then what about the flowers blooming behind the garden?!”
When I asked, startled, Mother chuckled softly and answered my question.
“They’re being maintained by magic.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Mino, you didn’t know that, so you thought it was spring all this time, didn’t you?”
“Yesh…”
Perhaps Mother saw my tail droop.
She embraced me tightly as I flapped my wings, hovering a mere thirty centimeters above the ground.
“Oh, you’re so cute.”
“Heh, hehe.”
The feeling wasn’t unpleasant.
I was simply embarrassed by my misconception, having thought it was spring all this time.
“That kind of magic is surprisingly easy, so it would be good if Mino learned it too.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s a simple application. Until you officially enroll in the academy, learning from Elder Anuket Mizuumi would be a good idea.”
“…Hmm, alright.”
Grandma Anuket Mizuumi was kind, after all.
She would likely readily agree to my request.
And if she said no, I could always ask Ramir Silvadir.
As an elf, she would surely be skilled in magic.
“It’s time to board, Princesses and Queen.”
“Mino, you must be tired. Shall we ride on Father’s back now?”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
I took Mother’s hand and climbed onto Father’s back.
“Departing now~”
“Yesh.”
“Ugh~ I have to work starting tomorrow…”
Mother’s sigh was brief.
As we gazed at the sunset from Father’s back, our entire family collectively gasped, exclaiming, “Wow~”
The sky, ablaze with the sun’s golden light, seemed to be burning, while the clouds diligently reflected that golden hue.
Below them, our castle stood, and the grains shimmered, creating golden waves across the land.
Caught in that enchanting spectacle, my gaze was utterly captivated.
“It brings back memories~”
“Wow…”
“Mino’s open mouth is so cute~”
Mother hugged me tightly.
The sunset viewed from high in the sky was truly an exquisite sight, so much so that I felt pity for Noona and Ramir Silvadir for missing it.
I must bring them out next time.
With that thought, I returned home and boasted about my first flight to the elders of the council.
Grandma Lavender openly flapped her wings in delight, expressing her joy.
A mage named Damian also stroked my head and praised me.
Though I hadn’t originally intended to let just anyone touch my head, I decided to make an exception as a gesture of gratitude for her heroic deed in saving Noona.
When I boasted to Void Unnie, she shrieked.
“Kya~~~~~ Our genius! Mino!!!”
“Ueeeh…”
“Unnie, please visit often. That crazy old geezer keeps bothering me.”
“Uh, yeah, okay.”
She hugged me and showed no sign of letting go.
It must have been because she had been tormented so much by Grandpa Hader.
After offering Void Unnie my quiet solace, I returned to my bedroom and sought sleep.
“…Mino.”
“…Mmm.”
“Mino, are you sleepy?”
“…Yesh.”
Beside my bed, Mother patted my stomach, asking if I was sleepy.
Though I had uttered informal speech in my drowsy state, Mother didn’t seem to mind, merely chuckling softly.
“Mother will hold a big and grand Birth Celebration for you and Han Yuri, so please look forward to it.”
“…Y-yesh.”
Amidst the overwhelming drowsiness, that answer was my last before I succumbed to sleep.
****
Early in the morning, the sunlight tapped on my eyelids, forcing me to wake up.
“Good morning, Mino!”
“You need to wash your face.”
“Ueeehhhhh.”
Mother, who was always beside me, was gone, and Hazel appeared before me, holding a washbasin.
“Ha-Hazel, I’m not fully awake yet…”
“That’s precisely why we’re doing this.”
“Achoo! Achoochoo!!”
“Heh! Mino’s face is all crumpled up.”
Noona, beside me, stroked my head with a satisfied chuckle.
Without even a moment to register her touch, water immediately splashed onto my face again.
“Hmph. Do it.”
“Hmph!!”
“Good girl.”
What was this strange feeling, not quite unpleasant, yet not entirely good?
“Starting today, I will be attending to the Princesses.”
“His Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen will be quite busy, you see.”
Did that mean I wouldn’t be able to see Mother and Father anymore?
“Huh? I won’t see Mother and Father?!”
“…Both of them ch-cherish the Princesses dearly, so if you go looking for them, you’ll be able to see them. They will also continue to sleep with you.”
“Phew…”
“It’s only natural, as both of you are still young.”
“Oh, I see.”
I subtly shifted my gaze to Noona, but she merely beamed cheerfully, seemingly accustomed to being called a baby despite being thirty-four years old.
…Thirty-four years old. And her body is still the same.
To adapt to being called a baby, that was truly remarkable.
“…Unnie, you’re the best.”
“Uh, huh?! Suddenly?”
Noona’s cheerful smile faltered, replaced by a flustered expression at my sudden compliment.
“Hehe.”
“Oh, how cute.”
“Indeed, quite adorable.”
Noona and Hazel both blushed simultaneously.
What, what is this, it’s scary.
“Now, let’s eat breakfast, and then today, Princesses, we’ll do whatever you wish.”
“Yesh~”
“Sounds good.”
Hazel clapped twice, and a meal was delivered to the room.
“I’ve brought breakfast for now. We’ll have lunch in the dining hall.”
It was perfect, as I was too lazy to move at the moment.
Breakfast consisted of bread and a few pieces of meat.
There was even soup.
Due to the exquisite plating, both Noona and I found it difficult to eat.
“…It’s, it’s too beautiful…”
“H-how could I ruin this…”
“A-ahem. I’m pleased by your praise. I will try to make it slightly less beautiful next time.”
At our words, Hazel blushed with embarrassment.
She seemed to be trying her best to maintain a neutral expression, but her flushed face and rapidly wagging tail made it easy to tell.
“…Noona, Hazel is surprisingly easy to read.”
“…Indeed.”
Noona and I watched her, then quietly whispered and giggled.
After finishing our meal, having nothing else to do, I rolled around on the bed.
“Mother said this morning, Mino, that we shouldn’t go outside the house because she’s preparing for the festival.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh dear, how disappointing.”
Hazel, who had been preparing to go out and play with us, had her tail droop in disappointment.
“Then maybe we should look for Ramir Silvadir inside the castle…”
Looking for Ramir Silvadir, that sounded fun.
I thought it would be enjoyable, like when I found her at dawn before, and muttered to myself.
“Huh, didn’t Unnie tell you? Ramir Silvadir went home.”
“Huh?!”
“She was a guest, after all. She submitted her residency papers yesterday and went to a house she bought here.”
“Sh-she bought a house?”
“Yeah, she’s a noble, she has a lot of money.”
Even so, it would be difficult to buy a house unless she planned to settle down.
It must have been complicated, too.
“…Then we can’t see her anymore?”
When I said that with a disappointed expression, Hazel came over to my side and spoke.
“You can just invite her.”
“Invite her?”
“Yes, it would probably be easy if you used a royal decree.”
…That’s not just an invitation, is it?
Can you just throw those around?
I imagined her being dragged in by the royal guard.
Thinking of Ramir Silvadir trembling and apologizing for her mistakes, it suddenly became amusing.
“Hehe, that sounds fun.”
“Shall I tell His Majesty to invite her?”
“Oh, no.”
If Father called her, it would truly be a royal decree.
As abusing authority felt somewhat distasteful, I decided to write a handwritten letter.
“I’ll write a handwritten letter and deliver it myself!”
“…Do you know how to write?”
Oh, now that I think about it, the writing here is different.
“…Uh, uh-huh.”
“It’s natural that you don’t. I’ll bring a study book now.”
“…Yes.”
I could speak Korean, but I couldn’t read the characters at all.
I had been feeling the need to study, though.
This was a good opportunity, I suppose.
I asked Hazel to bring me a study book.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Yes, please do.”
When I nodded my head politely, Hazel offered a motherly smile.
–Screeeech.
–Thud.
“The door seems to close too hard.”
“Does it?”
“Yeah.”
I sat on the edge of the bed again, swinging my feet back and forth.
“Noona, you need to study writing too, don’t you? You don’t know the characters here.”
When I turned to Noona and said that, she began to laugh like a hidden mastermind.
“Heh, heh heh. You seem to have forgotten what my previous profession was, Mino.”
“…Huh?”
“I was a Hero. Of course, I received special benefits for being transmigrated to this world.”
“What?!”
“A skill! I have one called ‘Translation’!”
Noona said that, then took out a piece of paper and actually started writing.
“Oh, oooh!!”
“Hahaha! How’s that!”
“Wow…”
“What did I write?”
“Um… I don’t know?”
“Mino the idiot.”
“Hey!”
Calling me Mino the idiot, that was too much.
I’m not an idiot! I just don’t have the skill!
As I observed Noona’s special abilities, a question arose in my mind.
“…? Why don’t I have such a special ability?”
“Right? Is it only given to Heroes?”
“I’m the one who reincarnated, though? Shouldn’t I be the one who has it?”
“Pfft! Is this really a reincarnator?”
Noona scoffed at me.
“Don’t tease me!”
It’s unfair, I’m the reincarnator.
‘Hey! Where’s the GM!?’
[The King grumbles about someone calling their friend by a strange name again.]
[He asks what the matter is this time.]
‘Why don’t I have a special ability!?’
[?]
‘Don’t I have a Translation special ability!?’
[Ah.]
[The King scratches the back of his head and says he forgot.]
[He nags that I should learn to read on my own, then claps his hands in delight, saying I’m just like a hatchling of that age.]
What kind of excuse is that!
If you forgot, compensate me!
And so, my chaotic journey of learning to write began.
