-----
It had been a year since we settled in Jotunheim.
And my god, raising four babies at once was no easy task.
With Benladra, Kate, Drakda, and Yudra, it had been one child at a time. That felt manageable.
But now?
"Waaaahhhh!"
"Guuuuhhh!"
"Buuubaahh!"
"Awaaahh! Heheh!"
These four little devils were going to be the end of me.
Someone, please help.
I was right there, desperately trying to get them to sleep at last.
I had always thought dragon children were calm and quiet. I was utterly wrong.
None of them were pure dragons, of course; they were all hybrids.
Perhaps I had been too spoiled with my older children. These ones were true rascals.
The little one with light blue skin, black scales, a single black horn on her forehead, bright red eyes, and short gray hair was Hedra, the daughter I shared with Hel.
I never imagined she would turn out to be such a mischief-maker. She left even Drakda far behind in pure gremlin energy.
She was so sweet, and I loved her deeply, but she was also an incredibly destructive little force.
I had pictured our child as quiet and somber, like most Death Dragons.
Clearly, I was mistaken.
Something in my blood must have turned her into this tiny devil. She certainly did not inherit that wild spirit from her gentle mother.
"Babuuhhh!"
Hedra squirmed in my arms until she suddenly leaped free, spreading her small black wings and flying away just as I tried to lull her to sleep.
"Hey! Hedra, where are you going? It's nap time. e back and sleep. Don't wake your mother; she's finally resting after so long."
I had insisted on handling the children tonight. My wives had been exhausted for weeks, and guilt gnawed at me for letting them carry the burden alone.
As I chased after her...
"Guuaaagh..."
Another baby decided to gift me a surprise, vomiting straight onto my clothes while cradled in my arms.
"Ah... Midra..."
He was a sweet boy and usually the best behaved, yet he insisted on putting everything in his mouth and then promptly throwing it up.
He had pale blue skin covered in black tattoos, short black hair, glowing yellow eyes, and a single small blue horn on his head.
No scales, no dragon tail, no wings. This was my second son with Miranda.
Yes, we already had two boys with her. Perhaps a girl would e in the distant future.
Lately, though, I had started questioning my life choices.
Maybe having so many children was not the peaceful retirement I had once envisioned.
"B-buuh... Buaaaahhhh!"
Then he began to cry. A sharp crimson eye opened on his chest, right where all the black tattoos converged, and fired a laser directly at my face.
BOOOM!
"Ah..."
Yes, he had that giant eye on his chest. We had only discovered it a short while ago. He seemed to have inherited far more from Miranda than from my dragon bloodline.
Or perhaps his dragon powers would awaken later.
Whatever the case...
"{Cleanse}"
FLASH!
After endless nights of childcare, I had developed a Unique Skill just for this purpose. It cleaned and purified everything in an instant.
"Cleanse" had bee a lifesaver. The vomit vanished pletely.
"Aeh! Aheheh...!"
While I cleaned myself, a little girl giggled at my misfortune. She was an adorable white-haired child with dark blue skin, a pair of golden horns, and matching golden scales.
Her bright blue eyes sparkled, and a third golden eye sat on her forehead. A long golden tail, covered in white hair like a Shenlong's, swayed behind her.
This was my second daughter with Benladann. We wanted a name that felt different yet meaningful, so we chose Rebecca—a mon human name—as a quiet nod to our past lives.
We called her Becky for short. She was a joyful girl who loved to laugh at everything.
"Is Daddy covered in puke funny to you, Becky?"
"Hehehe! Wawah..."
As she laughed, I kissed her forehead and scanned the area for Hedra. I heard the unmistakable crash of ice furniture being destroyed in the next corridor. Rushing there, I found her perched atop a pile of shattered ice.
"Boom, boom! Woom!"
She kept smashing everything with raw strength. No ordinary person could survive raising these children; they would perish in days.
"Alright, there you are."
"Oooh!"
She turned in surprise and tried to dart downstairs.
"Nuh-uh, not this time."
TRUUUM!
Reality warped briefly. She reappeared right in front of me, and I caught her with one of my many arms. She wriggled fiercely, but escape was impossible now.
Yes, I had to use Reality Warping to catch my own daughter. That was how much of a little devil she was.
"Buuh... Abuh?"
"Yes, Andra, everything is fine. Don't worry."
The fourth baby, always startled by the slightest sound, was the boy I had with Andromeda—Kate's little brother. Unlike Kate, he was born physically through Andromeda.
He resembled his sister closely: pale blue skin, silver hair that gleamed like metal, silver eyes, metallic scales on his arms and legs, a small tail, and a steel horn on his forehead etched with blue circuits.
He possessed a special ability that generated Electromagnetic Psychic Waves. When he felt uneasy and wanted no one near...
"Waaahh!"
FLUOSH!
"Ah, here we go again..."
He began crying and locked himself inside an electromagnetic psychic bubble. Those barriers were incredibly tough.
"e on, Andra. It's okay. Papa just wants you to sleep."
I forced my hands through the barrier, exerting real effort. These children were born with even wilder abilities than their older siblings.
"There we go."
My hands bled slightly as I breached it. Andra gazed at me with teary, puppy-like eyes. I gently lifted him and kissed his forehead.
"Everything is alright, my little boy. No need to be afraid."
"B-Buuh..."
He grew clingy instantly, hugging me tightly and rubbing his face against my clothes.
"Alright, shall we all go to sleep now?"
I carried them back to their room and settled each one into their cradles, placing the cradles close together.
"Now, time to sleep, okay?"
Slowly, their eyes closed, and they drifted off.
Perhaps they simply needed to burn more energy to tire out properly.
"Phew... you really are a handful, aren't you?"
Yet despite all the chaos, these were my precious children. I would never trade them for anything in the world.
"One day, you will grow into remarkable people. I am certain of it. The future rests in your hands."
-----
User Comments
0 comments from readers