Chapter 16. The Evil Dragon Is Even More Confused
by fnovelpia
There was a book that detailed the developmental stages of a human child.
It described how much time had to pass after birth
before a child would begin certain behaviors.
What kind of reactions the child show,
What movements the child become capable of,
Even what things emerge and eventually disappear.
Things I never knew.
Things that didn’t exist in the humans I was familiar with.
Every new change was recorded, one by one.
Among them—
I unfolded a simple chart that broke down the developmental stages.
Each entry is divided by months.
It briefly summarized what a child should be able to do at each stage.
I gently placed the child on the floor.
“Alright. Let’s try them one by one.”
“……!”
The child nodded.
In her eyes, there was a small but clear determination.
“Let’s see. One month, head… okay, you can move your head. And you can smile, so it’s not three months either….”
“……”
“Hmm, want to try turning over?”
“?”
“I don’t really know. It just says ‘turns over’.”
The child tilted her head as if in thought.
Then, carefully flipped over the bunny in her arms.
The bunny flailed and made a loud noise.
Still hugging the bunny tightly,
The child slightly lifted her head and stared blankly at me.
“…Well.”
“?”
“…Yeah. I guess flipping something counts.”
“!”
“Good job. But let’s hold the bunny properly. It’s noisy.”
The child gave a small smile.
Maybe the child liked the praise— the child hugged the bunny even tighter.
“Next… crawling, that’s in ten months…”
“?”
“No, it’s okay. I’ve seen you crawl, so we can skip that one.”
It was just me talking to myself, but the child was already on her knees.
I chuckled and brushed the dirt off her knees.
“Now, twelve months. It says you should be able to stand and walk on your own.”
“…….”
“Want to try walking?”
The child hesitated, then slowly tried to stand.
But—
It seemed like getting onto her knees was as far as the child could go.
Dragging one foot, the child plopped back down with a thud.
Her lips pouted in frustration.
The child looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.
Gently, I helped them up and patted her back as I held them in my arms.
“It’s okay. You can take your time.”
“……”
“Failing doesn’t mean something’s wrong.”
“……”
A small hand clutched tightly at my clothes.
The child, who had been sniffling, shut her eyes tightly and took a deep breath.
In her gaze, a small but distinct flame flickered.
It was only then that I realized— the child wasn’t sad.
‘…This is frustration.’
The will to keep going was a good sign.
That tiny flame would light the path ahead for this child.
But—
I gently stroked the child’s back.
“Take it slow. If you rush, it’ll burn out quickly.”
“……?”
“For a spark to truly catch fire, it needs the right conditions.”
The child tilted her head repeatedly, blinking, as if she didn’t quite understand what I meant.
I couldn’t help but smile a little.
“Sorry. I’m not that smart, so it’s hard to explain.”
“……”
“Hmm… But if there’s one thing I can say for sure as Time…”
“?”
“I won’t ignore your efforts. Time always leaves a mark on effort. Always.”
The child looked up at me quietly.
After a moment, the child lifted the corners of her mouth and nodded.
I met her eyes and smiled back.
“So take your time. I’ll be here, waiting by your side.”
“……”
“Or try something else if you want. There are still plenty of options. …Let’s see.”
Still holding the child, I looked back at the book.
As I flipped the pages, my hand suddenly stopped.
Something about the description didn’t match up with reality.
“…Huh?”
“……?”
My eyes slowly traced the lines of text.
Once. Twice. Even after rereading—
“…What is this?”
Something was off.
I was sure the child couldn’t walk or speak.
So,
I thought the child was less than 12 months old.
After that, there were several items listed— things the child could supposedly do.
Like expressing what the child want,
Or handing something the child is holding to another person,
Or understanding simple instructions…
I mumbled as I looked back and forth between the child and the book.
“…the child can already do all this?”
“?”
“…Yeah.”
No matter how I looked at it, it felt like the order was reversed.
The child—
Couldn’t talk, but responded well to instructions,
Couldn’t walk alone, but was quite good with her hands.
And yet—
According to the book,
Talking comes before reacting to instructions,
And walking comes before using hands skillfully.
“…That’s weird.”
“???”
Was the book wrong,
Or was this kid just a little unique?
‘…I don’t know.’
Maybe I should just ask the person involved in all this.
“Hey.”
“?”
“How many months old are you?”
“……?”
The child tilted her head again.
Her face clearly showed the question: ‘What’s that?’
“…Right. You don’t know either.”
“……”
“That’s okay. That happens. I don’t even know how old I am.”
The child’s eyes widened a little.
Then the child smiled and nodded,
As if to say, ‘Same here.’
I turned my gaze from the child back to the book.
As I searched for the part I’d looked at earlier, I murmured softly,
“…Well, I guess I just need a rough idea. I was thinking of buying food for tomorrow, and I wanted to figure out what I should be feeding you.”
“……?”
“I don’t really know either. I heard babies eat formula or baby food… Ah, found it.”
There, it listed appropriate foods by age group.
When to stop feeding formula, When to start giving baby food,
When solid food is okay, What can be given and what shouldn’t be.
And beyond that—
Unfamiliar words,
Unkind explanations,
Information I was seeing for the first time… my head was starting to hurt.
“Hmm…”
“?”
“No, I’ll read a bit more. The reason for feeding baby food…”
The book says it’s to help babies get used to eating meals.
At first, the child starts with thin rice gruel, then moves on to more watery porridge.
It says to change the ingredients to help them experience various tastes and textures, and gradually increase the size of the food particles so her digestive system can adapt…
“…What is this even saying?”
“…?”
“Why go through all this hassle?”
The child had no trouble chewing even hard wooden nuts.
Though her mouth was small, the child seemed to have enough chewing strength and had no problem swallowing.
‘Is there really a need to grind it all up?’
Once again, the information in the book conflicted with what I saw right in front of me.
And besides—
It also conflicted with what I knew about humans.
The previous generations of humans didn’t grow up eating this way.
The whole process just felt overly complicated and inefficient.
I held my throbbing head in one hand and muttered,
“We could just have them absorb mana. Why bother feeding them this stuff…”
“?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
The child tilted her head slightly, but soon gently leaned it against my chest.
As I patted the child,
I once again calmly read through the contents of the book.
Though it clashed—
With reality. With my knowledge.
It was still full of information that might be necessary in this world now.
So—
Even if it feels unfamiliar, even if it seems inefficient.
I have to try to understand.
To live together with this child.
“Oh, this might be important.”
“?”
“It says things to be careful of when making baby food. Hold on a sec…”
But—
It didn’t take long before my throbbing head reached a point where I couldn’t think anymore.
Without a word, I closed the book.
I slowly looked up at the sky.
And I resented my old friend who must be up there.
“…Why did you make things so complicated?”
“???”
“Carbohydrates, proteins— what even are all these things?”
“??????”
“Why did the child have to make everything so complicated….”
The child stared at me blankly.
Then,
The child furrowed her brows deeply and lifted her head high.
Her crumpled chin twitched, and her half-lidded eyes twisted even more.
Soon, with a small sigh, the child shook her head slowly.
“You don’t get it either, do you?”
“…….”
A slow nod.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
I reached out and smoothed the wrinkles between the child’s brows.
“Maybe we should ask my friend, the one who knows about the changed humanity.”
“……?”
“The child is pretty busy, so it won’t be easy to meet them right away.”
“…….”
“For now, we’ll ask the bookstore owner. Sometimes, users know more than the creators.”
The child nodded, though it didn’t seem like she fully understood what I meant.
There was still a trace of confusion lingering in her eyes.
But maybe the child was a little curious too, because her eyes sparkled faintly as she looked at me.
I quietly gazed into the child’s eyes.
Over the light green irises, the red sunset gently settled.
“The sun’s setting. Let’s go back.”
“……!”
“Are you cold?”
I quickened my pace.
Holding the child more snugly in my arms, I began organizing my thoughts.
Tasks to do flitted rapidly through my mind.
“There’s a lot we need to buy tomorrow. And a lot to ask about too.”
“…….”
“Writing supplies, a book about rabbits, clothes that fit you. How many months old you are, and also…”
“???”
The child looked up at me with wide eyes.
Somehow, my thoughts had slipped out loud again.
“Ah, don’t mind me. Ever since the memory issue, I’ve been talking to myself a lot more.”
“…….”
“It just means… Tomorrow is going to be a little busy too.”
The child’s eyes curved gently.
her small mouth curled into a smile, and her grip on my hand tightened.
A forest tinted red, the sun disappearing behind the mountain, a child breathing quietly in my arms.
Taking in everything around me, I slowly closed my eyes.
My past knowledge, my familiar ways of thinking—
It feels like it’s time to let go of some of them.
“And fill myself with new things.”
“……?”
“Because I’ll need them to be with you.”
It wasn’t bad.
No, maybe it was even better this way.
Unlike before— when I clung to learning blindly and aimlessly—
At least now, I have a clear purpose.
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