Ch.356Spiritual Being (1)

Knock- Knock-

“… …”

Knock knock-

“Mmm……”

Knock knock knock-

Who is it? I was having the sweetest sleep in the world.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the feeling of small fingers poking my cheek.

Could it be Arwen waking up first and playing a prank? It must be her since only she and I are on the bed.

How typical of Arwen to do something cute first thing in the morning. I smiled weakly and embraced her with both arms.

Squeeze-

“Uung?”

Arwen makes an adorable baby-like sound as I embrace her. She’s so small that she fits perfectly into my body…

‘…Huh?’

She really does fit perfectly. Not just a figure of speech—Arwen’s entire body fits into my arms.

I’m not just talking about her upper body, but literally her entire body. No matter how small she is, this isn’t normal.

I started feeling her body without daring to open my eyes. Starting with her back, then her small head, and down to her legs.

…She’s small. Too small. Her body seems shortened, as if it had shrunk.

Moreover, I felt something barely tangible on her back. It felt like steam or mist brushing past my hand.

This isn’t Arwen. She’s not this small. This is literally a child’s body.

Besides, Arwen doesn’t smell sweet like someone wearing body lotion. As far as I know, she has a subtle lily-like scent.

‘Who is this?’

I trembled my eyes before slowly opening them. The Queen’s bedchamber doesn’t allow anyone to enter without Arwen’s permission.

But if there’s another being here, especially on the bed, the situation could become serious.

As I opened my eyes, what I saw was…

Blink- Blink-

Golden eyes sparkling like pumpkins and hair as red as mine.

“Uung?”

A small sprout timidly blooming on top of her head.

“… …”

I’ve heard that when people are too shocked or dumbfounded, they can’t even speak. That’s exactly my situation right now.

I blinked a couple of times at the sprout-headed child who looked remarkably like my past self.

Not understanding what was happening, I looked behind the child and saw Arwen sleeping soundly.

Given how intensely we had been together, she’ll probably sleep through the entire morning.

“Uuu.”

The child whines while I’m looking at Arwen. Somehow it sounded like she wanted me to look at her.

I face the child again. Her golden eyes were filled with curiosity.

‘So to summarize…’

I spent a passionate night with the woman I love, and the next day, a child who looks like me is lying between us.

Even a makjang drama—no, not even a novel would have such a ridiculous development.

My head was becoming so confused that I couldn’t figure out how to react first.

At least I’m wide awake now. It was hard to tell if this was a dream or reality, but it’s definitely real.

Swish-

I slowly raised my upper body for a more thorough assessment of the situation. I covered my lower body with the blanket in case I might show something inappropriate to the child.

The child, who had been forced to lie down because I was hugging her, got up following me. Now I could see that her hair was quite long like mine.

I also noticed pointed ears among her hair. Elongated ears like an elf’s.

That alone was enough to give me an inexplicable sense of unease, but what was more surprising was her back.

“…What is this?”

“Ung?”

It was hazy and translucent like fog, making it difficult to see, but I could make it out by narrowing my eyes.

Just as horns and bat wings are symbols of demons in literature, angels also have their symbols.

A ‘halo’ floating above the head and pure white wings. Angels are currently extinct so no one has seen them directly, but that’s how they’re described in literature.

And this child has a small sprout on her head instead of a halo, and translucent wings on her back instead of pure white ones.

Something bizarre yet adorable that suits her well—truly a mysterious and lovable appearance.

‘What is going on here?’

This makes me want to curse. I just blinked at the incomprehensible situation and then shifted my gaze behind me.

The World Tree seed that I had definitely placed on the desk was nowhere to be found.

Brown crumbs were scattered all over the bed.

Looking at the sprout on the child’s head, I could roughly guess where she came from, but without evidence, I couldn’t be certain…

“Urp.”

While I was thinking hard, the child suddenly burped. I flinched at the clear burping sound and looked at her.

Upon closer inspection, I could see brown crumbs around her mouth. It looked like she had been eating something like cookies.

Seeing that, I quickly came to a conclusion. All the circumstances pointed to it.

Like the birth story of Park Hyeokgeose, this child was born from the World Tree seed, and either ate the seed while emerging or after fully coming out.

Well, what strong teeth and gums this child has. Luminus mentioned that the seed was harder than steel, yet she ate it all—one bite from her would be the end of me.

Thinking this, I carefully wiped the crumbs from the child’s mouth. I felt like I needed to do something.

“Uung.”

The child accepted my touch without any resistance. The translucent wings on her back fluttered slightly.

What exactly is this child’s identity, with wings and a sprout on her head?

It’s too early to conclude she’s an angel because of that sprout. If she had a halo as described in literature, I would have been terrified.

“Child.”

“Ung?”

When I carefully called out, the child blinked and babbled. She looked exactly like a three-year-old.

Moreover, she’s a girl. I could tell by examining her appearance.

“Who are you?”

“Uung?”

“Did you come from the seed given by Lord Hirt?”

“Uung?”

The child only babbles despite my questions. I scratched my head in frustration and looked back.

Either she hasn’t sensed anything yet, or last night’s activities took a toll on her, but she’s still sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world.

I would have left her alone under normal circumstances. But now, I need to wake her up.

“Arwen.”

“… …”

“Arwen. Wake up for a moment.”

“Uung……”

As I gently shook her body to wake her, Arwen squeezed her eyes shut before slowly opening them, just like I had done earlier.

Eventually, her beautiful silver-gray eyes began to appear, and she rubbed them with both hands.

I waited quietly with the child until she regained her senses. The child was also waiting quietly.

“Mmm……”

Swish-

Arwen sat up, pulling the blanket up to her chest. Her bare white skin was breathtaking.

“Hwaaam……”

After a moment, she yawned widely and smacked her lips before opening her eyes.

She was still half-asleep, but her eyes reflected me and the child like a mirror.

Then, as she blinked and looked back and forth between the child and me…

“…Huh?”

In response to this unbelievable situation, she had the expected reaction, but then…

“When did we have a child?”

“Uung?”

She said something completely unexpected.

*****

It took Arwen some time to grasp the situation.

Since she didn’t wake up on her own but was forced awake by me, she couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality.

She even hugged the child tightly and gently stroked her head, as if thinking it was all a dream.

The child didn’t resist being held by Arwen. She even nuzzled her face against Arwen’s chest.

“W-who is this child? And what are those wings on her back…!”

Of course, once she realized this wasn’t a dream but reality, she was shocked. Especially her reaction when she saw the translucent wings on the child’s back was priceless.

She rubbed her eyes several times as if seeing a legendary creature. Honestly, my reaction was calm—Arwen’s is the normal one.

Because unlike demons, angels only appear in literature. There are virtually no records of angels appearing on earth even before the Demon War.

Yet here is a little angel who resembles me, sitting on the bed. With a small sprout on her head, no less.

“Baa.”

Regardless, the child is pulling at Arwen’s blanket. If she succeeds, Arwen’s naked body will be completely exposed.

Arwen knows this and is desperately trying to prevent it. The child seems unusually strong, as Arwen is losing ground.

“W-what strength for such a small child! Let go now!”

“Baa!”

She has a contrary nature. When Arwen became flustered, the child pulled even harder.

I decided to help Arwen, as this situation seemed like it would never be resolved otherwise.

First, I put my hands under the child’s armpits and slowly lifted her up. The child then let go of the blanket and looked at me.

“You can’t do that. Arwen doesn’t like it.”

“Uung?”

The child tilted her head, either understanding what I said or not. The sprout on her head swayed slightly.

I sat the child between my legs and gently stroked her head. Her hair was much softer and shinier than mine.

Plus, it sparkled as if sprinkled with gold dust, making me think she really might be an angel from the literature.

“Nom nom nom.”

The child, while being stroked by me, began chewing on my long hair.

She seemed hungry, but stopping her was the priority.

“Hey now. You shouldn’t eat hair. No no, no no.”

“Uum?”

“Spit it out quickly.”

When I pulled my hair from her mouth, the child opened her mouth obediently. And I could only stare in disbelief.

True to the bite force that ate the World Tree seed, chunks of my hair had been cut off.

Hair is difficult to cut without sharp tools like scissors or knives, but she performed this miracle with just her teeth.

What exactly is this child’s true identity? Looking at her wings, she’s clearly some kind of angel, but the sprout on her head suggests otherwise.

And another thing.

‘What should I do with her?’

Setting aside her identity, how should I deal with this child? That’s the challenge.

When she’s next to me, anyone would see us as father and daughter. Red hair and golden eyes.

She looks so much like me that no one would believe we’re not family. The pointed elf-like ears, the sprout on her head, and the translucent wings don’t matter.

The most distinctive features are similar, so people would think the mother’s genes… Honestly, just the pointed ears would make one think of elves…

“… …”

“W-why are you looking at me like that?”

That elf is right in front of me. Moreover, elves are widely known as descendants of angels.

If by chance, that bloodline manifested in the child, the translucent wings could be explained.

As for the sprout… well, if she came from the World Tree seed, that makes sense too. Anyway, one thing is certain.

The people presumed to be the child’s parents are Arwen and me.

However, I had no idea where, how, or when she obtained our genetic information.

“…Child?”

“Uung?”

“Who is your mother?”

She probably doesn’t understand words, but I asked just in case.

The child heard my question, blinked her golden eyes, then turned her head to look at Arwen.

Then, pointing at her with her tiny hand, she answered energetically.

“Mama!”

“M-me?”

“Mama!”

She calls out “Mama” accurately despite just being born. While Arwen was flustered, I moved on to another question.

This question was almost unnecessary, as the child resembled me to an uncanny degree.

“…Then who is your father?”

“Papa!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the child pointed at me as soon as I asked. I nodded, thinking “of course.”

I’ll go to the temple first to ask what’s going on, but one thing I could be certain of.

‘I’m screwed.’

What would happen if Marie saw this.

‘I’m totally screwed.’

It’s clear without even seeing it. But I feel a bit wronged too—this is the gods making my life complicated.

I inwardly chuckled and stroked the child’s head. I should organize the situation first and then persuade everyone slowly.

Still screwed though.

“Fu… Fu…”

“Hm?”

“Fuuucked?”

“… …”

Somehow it seems even worse now.