I Became a Father - Chapter 3

Translator: Ayana
Editor: Daed

Dragons don’t need meals.

Dragons sustain themselves by absorbing an amount of pure mana spread in the atmosphere.

The same case goes with Sehwa.

But the pure mana exists only in Sujin’s hometown, there is only polluted air available in the Earth’s atmosphere.

After the cataclysm upheaval, mana also spread to Earth.

I used the mana as a barrier and used it on a dragon’s meal. However, not only is the size of the mana small, but it is far from pure. The mana found on the earth is like instant food with plenty of chemical seasoning.

When a child eats these things, she will get sick.

Oh……

I’m craving fried dumplings now because I’m talking about instant food.

Oh, not this.

Anyway, what I mean is that Sehwa needs a separate meal, but not powdered milk and baby food.

Milk powder and baby food are for human babies.

Crystal.

In other words, a magic stone.

The crystal, which is only located at the dungeon, contains huge amounts of mana.

Although the refining technology is still insufficient so the loss rate is high, but the countries and the companies began utilizing the next-generation energy. In addition, they were studying semiconductors and other industrial materials, and the biggest result is crystal screens.

For that reason, one crystal costs 1 million won.

Why did I suddenly make this explanation?

“Kkyah~”

That’s because Sehwa takes 5 crystals per meal.

* * *

“It’s home!” I started the tutorial near my house, so I was able to get home in less than 5 minutes. I rent a semi-basement room monthly, which I didn’t like, but it was still cozy.

“Phew”

My sweat was pouring down like a shower of rain.

<Withdraw>

For an Average Citizen A, who was already exhausted from maintaining a barrier, maintaining a dragon was a reckless challenge in itself.

“Pahaha!”

I set Sehwa onto the floor, because I like it when she flaps her tail and wings. Although, I’m not sure what she’s so excited about.

Pong. Pong. Pong. Sehwa crawled with her tail wagging from side to side. The right wing flaps when the right arm is extended, and the left wing flaps when the left arm is extended.

She can do it in just one day after she was born. Human beings, after being born for several months, still can’t do whatever they want.

“Sehwa! It’s home! It’s a bed! It’s a TV!”

“Ppa?”

Sehwa’s pitiful eyes watched as her father sat on a bed turned on the TV.

My daughter……

That’s why I can watch in her stead since she doesn’t know what it is yet.

“Woohoo.”

I hold up the remote control, hoping that this laugh will sound like one of remorse.

=================

-Baby…..

The baby hatchling’s memory always started with this voice.

The voice that she heard in the beginning of her consciousness before she emerged from her egg. Just by listening to it, the whole body is filled with warmth and happiness.

-My baby. I’m sorry, sweetheart.

But why?

The voice always said sorry to Baby Hatchling.

She doesn’t remember that memory for a while.

She slept a long time in the egg.

“Please….. be born healthy.”

The second memory begins with a new voice.

She was a little wary because it was unfamiliar, but soon she decided to believe that it wouldn’t harm her.

-Dalgrak.

“It moved! It moved!”

-Don’t make a fuss. Stay calm!

Of course! Baby Hatchling has already started growing in the egg!

“Sujin. I think it’s better for you to stop flapping your wings and tail.”

Why is the outside of the egg bustling?

As time passed, the moment she broke the egg and came out into the world, Baby Hatchling found out why.

The first voice the mother cannot be with Baby Hatchling.

But Baby Hatchling was not sad.

“Hi Sehwa.”

It was the second voice. This man is of a different race than herself.

But.

“Awww, there there.”

‘It’s my dad.’

The Baby Hatchling and her father left the time-stressed and life-sustaining world and headed to her father’s hometown.

“Kyyah~!

The world occupied by mechanical civilization was full of wonders.

“Aung?”

It was both terrifying and fun for creatures, other than her father, to approach her.

The space called <Home>, which smells like her father who arrived a while ago, was very small and cramped, reminding her of the days inside the egg.

It’s been a day since she’s come out of the egg, but for Baby Hatchling, it’s a distant past because it has been a half of the dragon’s birth.

With the cloth blanket left behind by her mother in hand, Baby Hatchling went around in a burst of excitement.

“Sehwa! It’s home! It’s a bed! It’s a TV!”

“Ppa?”

Baby Hatchling didn’t understand how her dad jumped up on a fuzzy bed.

And then.

-Paat.

From a noisy thing that she didn’t care about at all, Baby Hatchling has poured out something she couldn’t even imagine!

================

“Ppa……ah……?”

First of all, even if the TV is on, Sehwa shakes.

Well. When would she ever experience an LCD screen? Here, now!

Realize the greatness of little penguins and cute baby sharks that play best!

“Ppaauuu!”

-Bang Bang!

Indeed, Sehwa couldn’t control the fervent wag of her tail as she stared at the TV with her eyes wide open.

She shook it so much that she fell over onto her side. She bumped her head but rose up immediately. She didn’t even cry.

Great.

When she cries, it is difficult in many ways.

-Woongg woongg.

The smartphone in my pocket rang. Oh, was there something like this? The name on the LCD showed up,<Convenience Store Manager>.

Oh, there’s someone with this name, right?

[Hyun Min Joon, what are you doing? Why are you resigning from your part-time job without notifying me? Huh?!]

He is the manager of a convenience store where I work part-time at night.

[Are you drunk? Huh? Did you just wake up after falling asleep?]

Before I played the tutorial, I had a nightly part-time job. However, I’m sure he had a pinch hitter.

The manager’s anger is reasonable, so I answered him honestly.

“No, forget about drinking any alcohol, I couldn’t even sigh while I was ‘awakening’.”

[You damn, why are you speaking so informally…… . What’d you say? ‘Awakening’?]

“Yeah, ‘awakening’. Talking formally to one another is a sign of mutual respect, but you talked to me informally first, so please understand.”

At my level headed explanation, the manager is speechless.

[Is that true…sir?]

“Yes, it’s the truth.”

[So, Minjun-ssi, no, sir, have you ‘awakened’?]

“Yes, that’s what I’m telling you, manager.”

As expected, humans are rational and reasonable creatures.

I explained that I couldn’t go because I was ‘awakening’, and he immediately understood.

[So, that means, Mr. Hunter can’t work part-time at a convenience store! I’ll settle your salary and deposit it today!!]

From today, I willingly accept the sudden request to quit the part-time job.

With that thought, I contacted a meat restaurant that I worked part-time at in the afternoon, and a similar conversation ensued.

The Initial Dungeon had been terrible.

In the dungeon, I preferred a monster that couldn’t speak a language from the beginning over one that could speak but couldn’t understand my words.

I don’t even have expectations. The intelligence that communicates language but does not communicate is what makes a person real.

After a satisfactory conversation, I was soon hungry.

…….Yes.

I’m hungry!

I’ll die if I don’t have my chemical seasonings!

I’ll die if I just live on monster meat!

“Instant food!”

The world of instant calls to me!

Sehwa watched me run to the kitchen and was confused for a moment. Soon, though, her attention was caught again by the TV screen.

I took out cup noodles from the cupboard and retrieved hot water from the water purifier.

“Keuaaa!”

Then I hugged Sehwa abruptly.

Pong. The tail hits the back of my head.

Thwack. The wings hit my cheeks.

She didn’t take her eyes off TV.

Oh, my daughter is so kind.

I told her to hurry up and eat because I was afraid the ramen would get too soggy.

It’s been less than 30 seconds since I got the water, but I’m sure it is soggy by now.

3 minutes later.

Slurp!

More than the great magic, the mouth was filled with greater chewiness and spiciness.

“Phew.”

Cup noodles are the best!

It was not until I was stuffed that the ultimate main dish of luxury was completed.

The fried dumplings in the air fryer are also complete. The combination of crispy fried dumplings and spicy cup noodles was very impressive.

What kind of food is it that makes the original taste of the ingredients taste good?.

The MSG is melting gently.

[<The First Successor> is hungry]

“………”

A message appeared in front of me.

With a few strands of noodles in my mouth, I turned my head.

“Ppa auung.”

Instead of watching the TV, Sehwa’s gaze was fixed on the shaky noodles.

Her eyes, which are 1.5 times bigger than in her incarnation form, now look at me.

The tail fell, and the wings drooped.

……..Slurp!

The noodle is sucked up through the lips and gulped down the throat.

Whenever the noodles shake, Sehwa’s head moves from side to side.

Even the horns felt weak. That’s just my misconception, right?

………..I am proud.

………..I’m definitely not feeling guilty.

My body is in the same condition as when I finished the night part-time job: hungry and sleepy. It’s because I’m a hunter, so it’s no wonder that I’m hungry right away.

On the other hand, Sehwa came to Earth from the tutorial. In The Initial Dungeon, she could consume mana from the atmosphere.

I’m not the kind of man who would leave Sehwa hungry alone as I filled my own stomach.

Anyway, it’s a system message.

“I didn’t know that my daughter had this skill.”

Dragons are a transcendental species that become a transcendental person as they age, but our princess is a thousand years old? Well. Is it because of the specificity of the system?

Perhaps only I, the First Wizard, can convey her feelings.

However, the title “<The First Successor>” is not good enough. As I reached out and picked up the message, the content of the message changed.

[<My daughter who loves her dad❤> is hungry]

Okay, now it’s worth seeing.

Crystals are prohibited items for personal transactions because they are managed at the national level.

“Transaction window.”

But hunters are an exception.

As soon as the specified command is recited, a separate window appears in front of me. It is a hunter-only transaction window that is only available to hunters by the system. This is a transaction window where only The Initial Dungeon-related items can be registered.

“5 Crystals.”

And the crystal itself is related to the dungeon.

[Would you like to buy 5 crystals?]

[Cost: 5,000,000 won]

“Yeah.”

Rumble. Five opaque colored stones rolled on the floor.

With only 200,000 won in my account, how could I have made 5 million won?

[Balance: -5,000,000 won]

[Please connect your account.]

How can it be? It’s negative.

It’s a kind of credit transaction.

If I don’t make up the negative amount, the association will come to collect it later.

The system is overly delicate, as is the tutorial’s special care service, as well as the transaction window with credit transactions in mind.

Credit was not an option at the very beginning. It became possible when the first national institution was established, either in the United States or in Europe.

-Uung

After putting 5 crystals in the cup, golden magic was injected.

-Ppugeureukreukreuk

The opaque crystals inside the cup shake and then melt.

“Daughter~ Let’s eat ~”

“Ppa! Ppapa! Ppapa!”

It would be nice if she could drink from the cup by herself, but my daughter hasn’t learned such a skill yet.

“There, ah~”

After dissolving the liquid crystals, I transferred it to Sehwa’s mouth.

It is possible only when mana is controlled delicately. It is difficult even with ordinary water, but liquid crystals can be evaporated or solidified again if anything goes wrong.

So this Average Citizen A’s temple is twitching and his fingers are trembling.

But.

“Haap!”

If I look at her lips and small cheeks that swallowed the crystal liquid at once, this difficult task will get better.

“Ppeuuu.”

Sehwa revealed a broad grin.

It seems that the taste that she experienced for the first time is different and interesting, from the mana that she absorbed directly from the atmosphere.

Well.  Even if they are made with the same flour, wheat rice cake and wheat noodles are completely different from texture to taste!

“There there, is it so delicious?”

When I’m talking with Sehwa, my voice and pronunciation become weird without me realizing.

Objectively, it must be disgusting, but I like talking to Sehwa like this.

Sehwa, who came to such a strange world, played well and ate well.

“Huuu.”

Soon she fell asleep.

Her tail is twitching as if she’s in a good mood.

Lying on her side like this, her facial muscles will loosen and her tail will rise.

“Have a good dream.”

I stroked her head subconsciously.

-Kook.

A small hand latched onto my index finger.

Sujin was also quite soft, but she had a different feeling from that.

I guess it’s because Sujin has exhausted all her power and so she inevitably takes the form of a mini version of her body, and she’s not a baby hatchling.

After having a moment of healing while looking at Sehwa.

I faced reality.

Money.

I need money.