Chapter 90 : Peep (2)

Today marked about the 14th day since I started incubating Ppiyak.

[Hatching will begin soon!]

[01:14:32]

Since morning, the status window had been noisily alerting me.

It was so loud that I woke up early, even though I should’ve been sleeping longer.

“…Uuugh?”

Mom and Dad were still asleep, and I couldn’t even fully open my eyes.

Frowning, I hugged the egg tightly and squinted to read the floating status window in front of me.

“…Can’t… see…”

As I muttered, the status window suddenly zoomed toward my face, as if begging for attention.

“Whoa?!”

Startled wide awake, I flailed.

-Thunk!

In the confusion, I rolled over and fell right off the bed.

Thankfully, I had wrapped the egg securely, so it didn’t crack—but my head hit the ground with a thud.

Thanks to my dragon body being tough, I didn’t get hurt from just that.

Seriously, I have to admit, this body is totally blessed.

“Ppiyak, are you okay?”

It seemed like Ppiyak was fine too—no cracks or anything.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I clutched my chest.

“…Geez, what the heck… scaring me first thing in the morning…”

The sunlight was just starting to peek in, and the air outside the blanket was still cold—an early morning.

I looked out the window at the beautiful view, then turned my eyes to the status window that had startled me.

“…What even is this about, so early in the morning?”

Just as I opened my mouth to yawn, I saw the message on the status window and froze.

[Hatching will begin soon!]

[01:12:08]

“Gasp!”

So little time left!

Panicking, I scrambled back up onto the bed and shook Mom and Dad awake.

“M-Mom! Dad!”

Startled by my urgent voice, both of them jumped up in bed.

“W-What’s going on, Minho?! Daddy will protect you!”

“Wha—Minho?! What’s wrong, sweetie?!”

I must’ve woken them up too frantically—they were so startled.

I threw myself into their arms and excitedly tried to explain what was happening.

“A-Ari! Ari!”

“J-Just now! It’s—wahhh!”

I was so overwhelmed I kind of regressed into baby talk, both physically and mentally.

Honestly, my explanation was a total mess, so I thought they wouldn’t understand at all.

“Ppiyak is about to come out, huh?”

“So Ppiyak’s ready to hatch?”

They both said it at the same time.

Then Mom burst out laughing and patted my head.

“Our Minho, you’re so excited but still explained it well!”

“…Huh?”

“Usually babies can’t talk well when they’re excited.”

Wait—just now, I totally didn’t explain it well though?

Weird.

As I tilted my head in confusion, Dad smiled proudly.

“Our daughter really is a genius.”

But no, I really didn’t talk well just now.

Something felt strange—very, very strange.

It was clearly different from how things normally are.

Feeling pretty wronged and pouty, I crossed my arms.

Then Mom scooped me up and lifted me high.

She slid her hands under my arms and dangled me like a kitten.

“…Nngh…”

“Mad because you woke up early?”

“…That’s not it.”

Mom let out a soft chuckle, which came off a little smug.

But this wasn’t the time to worry about that.

Finally, today is the day our Ppiyak is going to be born.

Today is the very day that the griffin among griffins will take its first step into the world.

A meeting between me—soon to be a ruler who will leave a mark on history—and the griffin Ppiyak, who will remain by my side.

Just thinking about it made my heart swell with pride.

‘…The coronation ceremony has to be even more extravagant than the Emperor’s.’

My happy imagination started spinning at full throttle.

Just imagining myself entering with a griffin at my side—so cool already.

“About an hour left, huh?”

“Yeah, something like that,” I replied.

Dad had lifted the egg and checked the status window.

“Minho, should Mom and Dad step out for a bit?”

“…Why?”

Not understanding why they would leave, I tilted my head and asked Dad.

It was Mom who answered.

“A griffin sees the first person it lays eyes on after birth as its parent.”

“Oh… I see…”

Now that she said it, I remembered them telling me that before.

I remembered Dad emphasizing how important the parent imprinting was.

“Even if it gets smarter over time, that imprint never fades, so it’ll stay loyal to you forever.”

“Otot.”

So that’s why the griffins in the game would fight for me until the very end after hatching.

‘…Ppiyak really did its best for me back then, huh.’

I felt a little choked up.

I was starting to feel a strong urge to meet baby Ppiyak as soon as possible.

“Should we bring Ppiyak back to the bed so it doesn’t get cold?”

“Yup.”

Dad handed me the egg while I sat on the bed.

“Here you go.”

“Careful…”

I carefully took the egg and returned to Mom’s side, then quickly pulled the blanket over us.

Instant warmth filled the space under the covers.

“Minho, when the griffin hatches, you have to dry its body right away so it doesn’t get cold, okay?”

“Okay!”

Mom also explained everything else I’d need to do once the griffin was born.

The very first priority was keeping its body temperature stable.

Since the current season was pretty cold, the griffin would come out of the egg soaked and shivering, so

I’d need to make sure it stayed warm.

Then, once the trembling settled a bit, I had to make eye contact with it and firmly imprint myself as its master.

After the imprinting, I’d teach it its name—

Whatever it hears first after imprinting would become its name, so that had to be chosen carefully too.

Mom emphasized that imprinting and naming were the most important parts.

If done wrong, the griffin might not follow its master when it grows up.

Her words made me super nervous.

“You can do it, Minho!”

“Y-Yeah… I’m a little nervous.”

I was shaking just a little.

Would I really be able to pull it off?

That worry mixed with excitement made my chest feel tight.

Of course, that didn’t make the nerves go away.

Because of that, I kept squeezing the blanket with my tiny, soft fists, unable to let go.

Maybe noticing that, Mom and Dad smiled at me warmly and asked:

“Nervous, Your Highness?”

“Minho, Mommy’s here, so don’t worry.”

“…I’m okay..!!”

Their warm smiles gave me strength, and I hugged Ppiyak tight, trying to shake off the nerves.

Meanwhile, Dad called the head maid and told her to bring the necessary items for the griffin’s hatching.

After saying “Yes, sir,” two or three maids came in like they’d been prepared in advance, bringing towels, warm water, and a container for the eggshell pieces.

The head maid’s lips curled ever so slightly with pride—

She looked at me like she wanted praise, but because she was working, she held it in with a stoic expression.

Living with her long enough, I’d come to notice it.

That dragon hides her emotions well, but there’s something clumsy about it.

If you look closely, it becomes obvious.

‘…She wants me to praise her, huh?’

She’s probably thinking “Look at me! I prepared all this! What do you think? Isn’t your big sister amazing?”

She always acts like that when she’s not working.

It’s like a golden retriever putting on a shepherd’s mask when it’s time to work.

And if that’s the case—of course I’ll praise her.

After all, the head maid is one of the people who cares about me the most.

“Head Maid!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“…You’re the best…!”

I gave her not just one, but double thumbs-up.

Her tail, which had started to wag quickly to the right, immediately froze in place.

“Ahem…! Thank you very much.”

“Hehe…”

Maybe she was embarrassed that her tail started wagging unintentionally, because she quickly gathered the junior maids and made a hasty exit.

She’s adorable every time I see her.

Hard to believe she’s a thousand years old.

‘…If a dragon is a thousand, that’d be like 21 in human years, right…’

I’d gotten a general idea of how dragon years work, so thinking about it, that seems about right.

Anyway, with that, all preparations to welcome Ppiyak were complete.

For the remaining time, I reviewed everything Mom had taught me.

[Hatching will begin soon!]

[00:09:54]

“Hehe~”

“Minho, you’re really excited, huh?”

“Yes, super excited!”

I replied with high energy to Dad’s question.

Now there were just about ten minutes left.

It was almost time to meet Ppiyak.

Hugging the egg tightly and pressing my ear to it, I could hear the sounds of Ppiyak moving around inside.

It was amazing.

Is this what the miracle of life feels like?

Inside the egg, I could hear the strong, steady heartbeat of the griffin Ppiyak.

My excitement continued to grow.

[00:04:19]

“El, we should get going now.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“…I’ll ring the bell as soon as it’s done!”

Holding up a golden bell-shaped magic tool, I gave them a big smile.

Mom and Dad each gave me a pat on the head and headed out the door.

“…It’s just you and me now, Ppiyak.”

-Tap tap!

“You’re eager to come out too, huh?”

I could feel Ppiyak tapping on the eggshell from the inside.

“…It must be tough breaking out of the shell.”

“I had a hard time when I was born too, you know~”

“I wonder if it’ll be easier for our Ppiyak?”

Chatting with the egg, I spent the last few minutes like that.

And then the countdown began.

[00:00:05]

[00:00:04]

[00:00:03]

[00:00:02]

[00:00:01]

[00:00:00]

[Hatching begins now!]

“…You’ve got this!”

-CRACK!

-Tap tap!!

Ppiyak started hatching in response to my cheer.