There’s No Way I Can Raise a Dragon Daughter

This is already the second winter I’ve experienced since coming to this world.

The weather turned cold in an instant, and as expected in a mountainous area, it began to snow quickly.

“Hekheki! Look at this! It’s snow!”

“Huh! Hekheki hek!”

“Isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it pretty?”

In the yard, the foxes were frantically rolling around in the snow.

They were so enthusiastic that they hardly seemed to pay attention to Tia’s words.

And Tia, seeing the snow for the second time, was already showing off.

Watching them from the window made me smile.

“Tia! Aren’t you cold?”

“Mm! I’m okay! Is Mom going to play with me too?”

“No······. Mom is too cold······.”

It wasn’t just an excuse I threw out.

My body was really cold.

I don’t know if it became that way with the arrival of winter, or if something has changed in my body.

Sometimes, I feel a penetrating chill down to my bones, and it’s so hard to endure that I involuntarily let out a groan.

It wasn’t like this last year.

Rolling around in the snow with Tia was only cold momentarily, and my body warmed up instantly.

I felt a little anxious, but I didn’t really mind it.

It felt alive.

I felt as if I was becoming a normal person, so I didn’t shun this pain.

“Mm! The inside of the house is really warm! So hot!”

“I’m sorry that Mom is sensitive to the cold.”

“That’s okay! Tia likes the warm house too!”

“Okay, wait a moment. Don’t come in yet.”

I stopped Tia, who was trying to enter the house while taking off her shoes, at the shoe rack.

At first, Tia looked puzzled, but then she noticed my state and opened her mouth in realization.

“Shake off the snow a bit······. Kyaah!”

“Muhuh!”

Trembling, Tia shook all the snow off her clothes.

Having spent time with the foxes, has she picked up their habits······?

Thanks to that, snow splattered everywhere.

I wiped the snow off my mouth corner and put it in my mouth before taking off Tia’s furry hat.

“Ugh. What is this? The entrance is a mess.”

“I’ll clean it!”

“How many times have you said that but didn’t do it?”

“Wow, wow! It smells delicious! I’m going to eat well!”

Tia awkwardly changed the subject and dashed to the dining table.

I had prepared tomato soup, which Tia loves.

I was so busy eating the ingredients while making it that I wasn’t hungry at all.

Maybe I’ve been eating less these days, because even a small amount fills me up.

Maybe I have no appetite in winter.

“Hek!”

“······.”

Looking out at the entrance, I saw four foxes huddled at the front door.

They hesitated to enter, knowing I was upset, while waiting impatiently for Tia to come out and play again.

Earlier, they had been playing in a tangle amongst themselves.

When Tia was away, they drooped their tails and looked dejected.

“You guys play amongst yourselves. It looks like Tia is about to fall asleep, and she should eat and take a nap.”

“Hek······.”

The heads of the foxes drooped as they understood my words.

Poor little things.

I chuckled and wrapped my coat around me.

It’s cold, but a quick step outside is fine.

As I stepped out, the Hekheki followed me eagerly, looking up at me with expectant eyes.

“Should I make you a playground?”

“Hek!”

“Wait a moment.”

There was already a lot of snow piled up.

Since the snowfall had weakened considerably, I could start clearing the snow now.

If I clear it once now, it will be enough to do it again in the morning when I wake up.

“Hah······.”

I inhaled the cold air deeply while closing my eyes.

And I felt the divine power surging within me.

Ripples began to form in the previously calm sea of divine power.

Small waves soon began to sweep across the entire divine power.

It wasn’t very difficult.

It was something I had done many times before.

In an instant, a massive whirlpool of divine power was created.

Everything was under my control.

When I had performed a miracle before on Alexander, the divine power had leaked uncontrollably, but now it was different.

I had learned to use miracles neatly and skillfully.

‘Let’s clear the yard.’

At that moment of imagination, the snow that had accumulated in the yard began to stir according to my will.

The Hekheki were startled and clung to me, but even so, I remained undisturbed and focused.

Soon, all the snow in the yard moved like slime and gathered in one place.

The grass, which had disappeared since this morning, became visible again.

“Whoa.”

When I opened my eyes, a huge mountain of snow had formed in one corner of the yard.

If it were over there, even if the snow melted in an instant, it would be easy to drain.

I wouldn’t have to worry.

“Go play.”

“Hekhekhek!”

As soon as I gave my permission, the foxes dashed out.

Some jumped high, burying their heads in the snow as if hunting, while others hid in the snow and leaped out to startle the others.

I didn’t expect them to enjoy the snow this much.

I glanced at the foxes digging tunnels and playing in the snow for a moment before returning inside.

It had been a while since I used a miracle, but I didn’t feel the slightest bit tired.

The weight of the snow I moved must have been measured in tons······.

I could feel that my strength was gradually increasing.

I wonder if this has to do with the changes in my body.

I’m not sure.

“Ugh······.”

I shook off my fur coat and hung it back up.

Then I hurried to the fireplace and warmed myself.

Despite getting so close that I was nearly touching the fire, the deep-seated cold seeped into me.

Cold breaths still escaped from my mouth.

Even a short trip outside made me hesitate to go out lately.

“Uh. Is it good?”

“It’s so good! It’s the most delicious tomato soup in the world!”

When I went to the table, Tia was eagerly licking her bowl, her face smeared with red sauce.

So cute.

How old is she, yet she eats so messily?

But I heard that she behaves a bit more mature at school.

I can’t imagine how Tia is doing at school.

At home, she looks like a complete child.

“Besides what Mom makes, you’ve never eaten anything else.”

“I’ve eaten something! That time when the Duke Uncle took me to a big shop! The soup I had then was delicious····· but······.”

As she excitedly talked, Tia began to elongate her words as she noticed my expression.

Oh no.

It seems she realized that I had stiffened.

Even when she tried to smile back, it was too late.

“I’m sorry······.”

“What is there to be sorry about?”

“Talking about that person······.”

“No, it’s okay now.”

‘That person.’

Tia was now hesitant to even affectionately call him ‘Duke Uncle’ out of consideration for me.

I was thankful, but at the same time, I felt sorry.

For Tia, it must be hard to understand even now.

No matter how bad a person he is, to Tia, he is only a good person in her memories, no matter how much I talk until I am hoarse.

To convince her, I would have to tell her what he did to me.

How he treated me roughly while slamming my face to the ground.

I would need to reveal the fact that he had shut up and deceived me when we met again.

I didn’t want to do that.

This is not a world a child should know about.

“Would you like some more?”

“Mm!”

“Go to the pot and serve yourself.”

“I can’t do it alone. Mom has to do it for me.”

“How old are you that you still can’t do that?”

“Two years old!”

“Sit still······.”

I sighed deeply and took Tia’s bowl.

I filled it with soup again, and placed a couple of pieces of bread on top before serving it.

It looks pitiful on such a shabby table, but Tia enjoyed her food with a blissful expression, as if she was in a five-star restaurant.

“Are you going to take a nap after eating all of that?”

“Mm. I’m full, and I’m sleepy.”

“The Hekheki are waiting for you.”

“Huh! Then I want to go out!”

“You can sleep if you’re sleepy. I cleared the snow outside and made a mountain. The Hekheki are probably having a great time playing there now.”

“They made a mountain out of snow?! Tia wants to go play too!”

“Hey, hey! You have to finish all the bread before you go!”

“Mm! Give me one in my mouth!”

“Ugh······.”

With bread soaked in soup held in her mouth, Tia hurriedly put on her outerwear and dashed out.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if she’s a person or a beast.

The moment she heard that there was snow piled up, she dashed out like that······.

Tia’s swishing tail collided with the entrance wall, creating a loud sound.

The wall was already filled with marks from her antics.

If it were an ordinary person, that force could have caused serious injury.

“Why is everyone playing without me! Play with me too!”

“Hekhekhekhek!”

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.

As Tia’s voice rang out, the foxes began to poke their faces out from the snow one by one.

Tia, who had dashed out in a single leap, created a large hole in the snow that looked like a person.

Seeing that made me chuckle and sit back down by the fireplace.

“She really has grown up a lot.”

I realize how fast Tia is growing.

Though she isn’t growing taller each day like when she was a baby.

I can still see her gradually getting longer.

After winter passes, Tia will be in the second grade.

In just eight more years, she’ll graduate from school and become an adult.

Or maybe she’ll graduate even earlier than that.

I heard that her homeroom teacher and the vice principal recommended her for an advanced class because she is so bright.

“Looks like she’ll manage just fine without me.”

In the past, just imagining parting from Tia would bring me to tears.

Now, as I think about that future, I can’t help but smile.

Imagining Tia leaving my embrace to see a wider world and pursue her dreams makes me feel good.

Tia will probably also meet a good person.

Whoever it might be, she is indeed a lucky girl.

I might even weep at Tia’s wedding.

“Ah, here I go again.”

I corrected my focus and regained my mental state.

This has been happening often lately.

Imagining Tia’s future without me by her side.

Recently, I have started to feel a strong intuition.

An instinct that I will disappear in the future.

I don’t know why, but I have this ominous feeling.

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