001
Chapter 1. I Am! The Carrot Class Leader at the Blup Blup Daycare!
This child is not his daughter.
“So, what is this exactly?”
“This is a life form that you are required to raise, Your Excellency. In other words, it’s called a daughter.”
Diegon massaged his forehead as he listened to his subordinate’s explanation.
He had returned yesterday evening after wiping out a band of pirates.
It’s been half a year since he was last home.
And now, after waking up, he somehow has a daughter.
How should he describe this wide-eyed little being in front of him?
A baby crab?
A baby starfish…?
“A baby sea squirt?”
The child puffed out her cheeks, seemingly disliking that comparison.
It was surprising enough that she understood what a sea squirt was at her age, but what was even more absurd were those puffy cheeks.
‘Why do they look like they’re about to burst?’
Moreover, something delicious even seemed to be smeared on them.
“Butter? Did they put butter on her to be eaten?”
“Your Excellency, the child is crying! And you already look intimidating enough!”
Carmen, his subordinate, hurriedly covered the child’s ears in alarm.
However, it was clear that the child had already understood everything and scrunched her nose in displeasure.
For such a little thing, she was remarkably clear about what she liked and didn’t like, which was quite amusing.
“You didn’t pick her up from somewhere, did you?”
“Of course not.”
“Then?”
“She is a blessing from the Ancestor of Whale. Please accept her. They say she is the most promising responder of this generation.”
Diegon frowned slightly.
The child, who had been watching him closely, mimicked his expression.
Unable to believe it, he turned his gaze toward Carmen, who added quietly,
“They say she’s much smarter than others her age.”
“Hmph.”
“Moreover, her teacher has testified that a place where the Bijou will emerge has already formed. She is definitely an ‘Awakened One.’”
Bijou.*
That was the mark of an ‘Awakened One.’
But Diegon had never in his life heard of a four-year-old having a Bijou mark.
But even if it were true that she existed…
“Why me? Wouldn’t it be better to send her to my eldest sister who has no children?”
He already had two sons.
And… he also had a youngest daughter once.
It was well-known that seven years ago, during an unprecedented storm, he lost both his wife and daughter at the same time.
And since then, he had gone mad, scouring the seas and raiding every pirate den he could find.
“Ahem. There’s a message from the head of the family.”
The child’s expression brightened slightly, as if she noticed his reluctance.
‘Wait, she’s happy?’
What kind of child would be pleased when a potential father is rejecting them?
Moreover, this child didn’t cry. She just sat there quietly, as if this unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation was nothing new.
But this wasn’t normal behavior for a child… No, not even for a tiny baby like her.
Feeling uneasy, Diegon closed his mouth.
He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he felt as if he had done something terrible to this child.
‘Why does she have pink hair? It almost makes me wonder if my daughter would have looked just like her.’
But this child could never be his lost daughter.
If she had lived, his daughter would be nine years old this year.
“According to the head of the family, ‘That unruly fourth son might live like a proper human being if he had a daughter again!’”
Diegon half-listened to Carmen’s words and sighed.
Right. This child was not his daughter.
If his daughter had survived, she would have been nine years old this year.
***
‘Wow, he’s big.’
That was the first thought I had when I saw the man.
He’s big.
Really big.
Then I had another thought.
‘He’s really handsome.’
I was a bit hurt when he called me a lumpy sea squirt… It almost made me cry…
But I held back.
Because!
Because!
I am the class leader.
‘Ahem.’
Even though I was clumsily caught without even wiping the butter off my cheeks, I was still the class leader of the Carrot Class at the public Blub Blub Daycare.
‘So, I have to be brave. There must have been some kind of mistake.’
I even know difficult words like ‘mistake.’
I read it in a real book, not in a fairy tale for snot-nosed kids.
It was a word in the book ‘Mommy and Baby Bake Yummy Cookies Together!’
Why did I read such a book?
Because the children in the Carrot Class are destined to become kitchen maids or servants in the future! So, I thought I should prepare in advance.
And I had no complaints about that kind of life.
The public Blub Blub Daycare is a place that raises and feeds children who lost their parents due to pirate raids.
It even carefully helps them find future jobs!
Ever since I developed a sense of self, I could understand what people were saying, and I was much smarter than other babies my age. So, I asked right away.
But I chose the gentleman who seemed more kind rather than the scary yet handsome one.
“Mister, am I not going to cook anymore?”
“What? Once you become a young lady, those things will be done by maids.”
Thud!
That was my dream!
My favorite person was the teacher of the Carrot Class.
I really wanted to wear that long hat that only the teacher could use!
I wanted to express that desire, but even though I had mature thoughts, my words didn’t come out easily.
It was probably because I was physically smaller than the other kids.
I was the smallest in the Carrot Class.
In height, build, hands, and feet.
Someone might mistake me for a two-and-a-half-year-old or a three-year-old.
But I was already four years old!
“So, little one.”
Just as I was getting seriously worried about my future, he asked me a question.
***
Diegon asked out of obligation.
“What’s your name?”
“Chuu…”
“Shu?”
The child with pink hair fluttering like cotton candy shook her head, then spoke again.
As if she thought he didn’t understand, she sighed as well, which seemed oddly mature.
“No, it’s Chuu. Chuu!”
“Shu then.”
It couldn’t possibly be that her name was Chuu.
Diegon, using his highly rational thinking, came to a conclusion.
The child puffed up her chubby cheeks in apparent dissatisfaction, but Diegon lightly ignored it.
Though, he did feel the urge to poke those cheeks just to see them bounce.
“What a little… angry crab.”
The child’s clear eyes widened in shock, as if she had been hit with a loud thud! once again, making Diegon feel uneasy.
He couldn’t understand why she reacted like that when he used an apt comparison.
His sons used to laugh when he spoke to them like that.
Diegon shot a glance at his subordinate who was clicking his tongue nearby.
Even though he was a bachelor, Diegon prided himself on handling children better.
“How old are you?”
“F-four.”
“Four years old? But you still can’t speak well.”
Diegon said this absentmindedly, thinking of the monstrous children in his family.
Even his own sons were riding dolphins by the time they were four. If not that, they were running wildly on the sea.
Oh, or they were pulling out the reverse scales of mermaids and running away.
That caused a lot of trouble with the mermaids, making things difficult for a while.
But the child in front of him didn’t seem capable of anything like that.
“She’s not here to be eaten, and I don’t know what use she could be.”
Diegon turned his gaze to the name tag on the child’s chest.
It was a bright yellow sunflower-shaped tag that said ‘Class Leader’ in large letters.
And, like a proper class leader, the child began to assert herself.
“I have something I want to say.”
It seemed that the impression that she didn’t want to be his daughter was mistaken.
Because that couldn’t be the case.
Who in the world would kick away the chance to become a noble?
“I bake good snacks.”
“Hmm. And?”
“And… I eat well. That’s why I’m chubby.”
“Useless. I don’t eat sweets. I can’t stand them.”
“Then…?”
“Instead, I eat children who don’t listen.”
Thud!
That’s the third thud now.
Finding it amusing, he almost laughed but instead awkwardly rubbed his lips.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he laughed.
What was this?
He quickly hardened his expression and gave a cold command.
“Send her back. Prepare for it.”
“Y-yes…”
“Answer properly.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
It seemed his senile father was eager to share a warm fistfight after a long time.
Thinking that, he ground his teeth.
Even though the child was not at fault, he couldn’t tolerate the fact that they had brought a child who reminded him of his daughter.
But shortly afterward…
For the first time in his 37 years of life, Diegon experienced being rejected to his face.
And this happened even before he could declare that he wouldn’t accept her as his daughter.
“I’m not going to be your daughter. I’ll bake snacks instead.”
This audacious little brat!
Diegon felt his pride wounded.
*Bijou is a transliteration of the French word ‘bijou’, which means ‘jewel’ or ‘gem’. It can refer to something small, delicate, and precious, much like a fine piece of jewelry.
