Seo Yul loved being held.
He would always stretch out his arms toward , his eyes shining with a silent plea, asking to pick him up.
I could understand.
I, too, felt imnse comfort whenever soone held .
If I had to describe it... it was like being wrapped tightly in a thick, warm blanket—a cozy and secure feeling.
After all, don’t most babies love being held by their caretakers?
By being close to their parents, they form a sense of psychological connection and attachnt.
It brings them peace, knowing they’re being protected, and there’s a soothing warmth in hearing a heartbeat from up close.
Seo Yul must have felt the sa.
Though I wasn’t much, and I couldn’t confidently call myself a proper guardian, I tried my best to fulfill a similar role and usually made a point to hold him when he asked.
“Dad, I love it! Hold !”
And now was no different.
The sun poured warmly through the window.
It was the ti of day when the contented fullness of a al brought on drowsiness.
Seo Yul stretched out his arms with a wide grin. Even the wings on his back stretched fully, as if they were also basking in the warmth.
That pure, radiant smile that seed to light up the room—brighter even than the sunlight—brought a soft smile to my own lips.
‘How could he be so adorable?’
The word "fairy" suited him perfectly.
Although the fairies depicted in the original illustrations were certainly beautiful, Seo Yul surpassed them.
Just like before, I put on the most natural smile I could manage and opened my arms to him.
In the past, with only one arm, I couldn’t properly hold him, but now I had both arms.
I could hold him without relying on the Sky Wings.
“You’re the best, Dad!”
Seo Yul leapt into my arms.
I carefully embraced him, recalling past experiences─
—Thud.
He didn’t just fill my arms—his small body, which was now roughly the sa size as mine, completely bowled over.
The impact was stronger than expected.
Thrown off balance, my body tipped backward from the force I couldn’t fully absorb.
‘Oh no!’
Fearing Seo Yul might get hurt, I held him tightly as we tumbled backward.
With our bodies intertwined, we landed on the soft mat in the living room.
There was no real impact; the entire floor was covered with soft mats I had installed throughout the dormitory to ensure Seo Yul wouldn’t get injured.
It felt strange to be the one benefitting from it, though.
“Hehe!”
Seo Yul burst into laughter, the sound clear and lodic like a xylophone being struck.
“Haha, soone’s having fun, aren’t they, Seo Yul?”
Elia, who had been in the kitchen, chuckled softly. She was wearing an apron I had set aside for her as she organized the dishes.
It was such a warm and peaceful scene.
Seo Yul snuggled against like a baby animal, rubbing his head against .
The gesture was so sweet and endearing that I couldn’t help but smile.
‘But...’
The problem was that he was squirming on top of while pinning down.
If it were before, I wouldn’t have minded, but now that our bodies were roughly the sa size, the pressure was... significant.
“I love you, Dad!”
[I... I love you too, Seo Yul...]
“Dad’s cheeks are so soft!”
[Ack...]
[Please don’t bite...]
As he rubbed his cheek against mine, he suddenly opened his mouth and bit my cheek.
[Gyaaah...]
Despite squirming to escape the bizarre sensation on my cheek, I couldn’t shake him off because he had the higher position.
─Sniffle... Sob... Dad...
Moreover, I was weighed down by a mountain of guilt.
I couldn’t even resist such playful antics, ashad to call myself his guardian.
Resigning myself to the situation, I let my body go limp.
Seo Yul continued to gleefully smother , flapping his wings enthusiastically as if it made him even happier.
—Click.
‘?’
A sharp sound rang loudly in my ear, making flinch.
What was that sound?
I knew imdiately—it was the cara shutter sound from a smartwatch.
Taming my trembling lips, I asked,
[Elia?]
—Click-click.
“Yes, I hear you... Oh, just a little more to the left! I can’t get a clear shot of Seo Yul’s face... Perfect, hold still!”
—Click-click.
Elia responded casually as if nothing were wrong, snapping photos incessantly.
At so point, the kitchen was spotless. She had finished tidying up without noticing.
With each unashad shutter click, I felt a piece of my dignity erode away.
[Stop taking pictures...]
[At least focus on Seo Yul...]
“I can’t do that.”
Her blunt response, delivered with an air of unyielding finality, imdiately crushed my pleading tone.
Elia shook her head firmly, adopting a strangely strict deanor.
“Both babies in the photo make it even cuter.”
[I’m not a baby...]
“Hm, can your Observation Power recognize photos too?”
[Yes, it can.]
“Fascinating. Normally, sensory powers can only detect shapes and positions, but...”
Tilting her head, Elia projected one of the photos as a hologram.
It was a freshly captured image: sprawled limply on the mat, with Seo Yul grinning brightly on top of .
“To strangers, you two would look like a pair of adorable siblings.”
[Based on size, maybe, but...]
[Wait a minute.]
[Siblings?]
“Yes?”
Elia blinked, as if she didn’t understand the problem.
[No matter how you look at it, why would I be the younger one?]
“Seo Yul is bigger than you.”
[That’s not true.]
My pride scread in protest.
Even if I had regressed, it wasn’t that bad.
My Observation Power confird...
It confird...
Con...
[...I’m taller.]
“Yes, yes, I understand~ Oh, a little to the right now.”
[Don’t ignore ...]
“Dad, are you smaller than ?”
[Huff...]
A taphorical dagger struck my chest. My breath hitched.
—Click.
The shutter clicked again.
Seo Yul munched on his lips.
“Nom, nom...”
[Gyaaah...]
And yet another piece of my dignity crumbled away...
.
.
.
"Haahm..."
A small yawn escaped from Seo Yul's wide-open mouth, adorable and soft.
His eyelids began to droop, his movents sluggish—he was clearly overwheld by drowsiness.
It was natural.
Babies sleep a lot.
After filling his stomach and playing so energetically, any normal baby would have fallen asleep long ago.
Seo Yul had managed to stay awake for a while, but it seed he had reached his limit and was now shifting into sleep mode.
"Oh dear, is our baby already sleepy?"
Elia, who had been watching nearby, approached and gently grabbed Seo Yul's arm as he rubbed his eyes. She lifted him into her embrace.
The weight pressing down on was suddenly lifted, and I felt a wave of relief.
"I... I can still play..."
"Your eyes are already closing! Let's get so sleep now, and then you can play with Dad again when you wake up, okay?"
"Ungh..."
Elia expertly cald the whining Seo Yul in her arms. At first, he shook his head as if resisting, but soon, lulled by the drowsiness, his eyes slowly began to close.
Shortly after, soft, peaceful breathing filled the room.
"He falls asleep so easily, doesn't he?"
[Yes.]
[You’re amazing.]
"He wasn’t like this at first. He whined nonstop because you weren’t around. Honestly, he was as fussy as a little princess back then."
Despite her words about how challenging it had been, Elia’s hands were gentle. She tidied his hair and occasionally patted his back and bottom with practiced care.
[It must have been difficult.]
[Thank you for taking care of Seo Yul.]
[I’ll make sure to repay you tenfold.]
I offered her an awkward smile as she spoke about her struggles.
Then, as if rembering sothing, Elia chuckled softly.
"But it’s funny how quickly he calms down when held and patted like this. He was fussy at first, but he’s so affectionate that he quickly lowered his guard."
The phrase "takes after soone" accompanied by Elia's deliberate glance at left feeling unfairly accused.
How could she make such an assumption about a child whose parentage we didn’t even know? It felt entirely unfounded.
...But I had no grounds to refute her, so I chose silence.
"Up we go..."
Holding the now-sleeping Seo Yul securely, Elia carried him into the bedroom.
I pushed myself up with trembling legs and followed her.
Elia placed Seo Yul on a bed designed for babies.
Although a cradle was in the room, it seed unused since Seo Yul had grown too quickly for it.
"We used the cradle at first, but he was so active. He kept trying to climb out, so I ended up holding him most of the ti," she said, answering a question I hadn’t asked as if she already knew what I was thinking.
I pressed my lips together.
Climbing out of the cradle? Could it be that he didn’t like it?
Everything made for Seo Yul was of the highest quality. I had used the best materials and ticulously engraved magic runes myself.
The cost had brought my previously stable bank account down significantly...
‘Hmm...?’
While sulking, I felt a curious sensation, like sothing poking the top of my head.
It was as if sothing—or soone—was watching and sighing in exasperation.
Even after activating my Observation Power, I couldn’t sense anything unusual.
It was an odd, uneasy feeling.
"Alright, one down. Now for the next..."
Elia tucked Seo Yul in snugly and clapped her hands before turning her gaze toward .
I froze.
Her gaze, her drawn-out tone, and the ntion of "one down" ford a clear and ominous picture.
I instinctively stepped back, but her swift hands slipped under my arms.
"Eep?"
Before I could resist, my feet left the floor, and a weightless sensation enveloped .
"Now, let’s put little Hayul to bed too~."
Elia’s movents mirrored how she’d handled Seo Yul earlier.
One hand supported my lower back, the other cradled my neck and shoulders.
My face ended up buried in sothing soft.
[Wait...]
[Wait, hold on...]
—Thump, thump...
Just as I struggled to free myself, I heard the steady rhythm of her heartbeat.
Even through the soft cushion of her embrace, I could feel its pulse, and the rapid beating of my own heart gradually slowed to match hers.
A warmth and sense of security began to creep over , quelling the resistance in my mind.
My flailing limbs went limp as my strength faded away.
Above , I heard Elia’s soft chuckling, which only added to my embarrassnt.
Her gentle pats on my back and bottom, however, sent into a deeper, almost hazy state of relaxation.
My thoughts beca fuzzy.
It felt as though my logic was lting into a warm, honey-like sweetness.
It was baffling.
No matter how I thought about it, this reaction was anything but normal.
I puffed out my lips in defiance.
[...This feels wrong.]
"What feels wrong?"
Elia’s tone was soothing, as if she were humoring a pouting child. It made feel even more awkward, but I continued.
[I feel like...]
[My mind is too childish.]
I was aware of it.
I wasn’t much of an adult.
Even though my body had sowhat grown, my mind still seed stuck in the state of a child.
I had realized it again just a few days ago.
Though the mory was foggy, I seed to recall clinging to Professor Liana like a child. And now, I was doing the sa thing with Elia.
Normal adults don’t lt into a daze just because they’re being hugged and patted.
"That’s just a matter of personal preference. Is it really sothing to worry about?"
Elia responded thoughtfully.
She wasn’t wrong.
As long as I wasn’t harming anyone, there wasn’t anything inherently shaful about it.
‘......’
Even so, the awareness of my peculiar tendencies didn’t erase my embarrassnt.
"And besides, isn’t it unavoidable right now?"
[?]
Unavoidable? What did she an?
"Mind and body are one, as the saying goes. Healing magic often references this concept. When the body is injured, the mind suffers, and when the mind is wounded, the body weakens as well."
I tilted my head as Elia’s kind smile softened her words.
"In short, your regressed body could be affecting your ntal state. It’s only natural."
Oh... was that it?
"In fact, it’s better not to suppress those feelings too much. Over ti, your body will return to normal, won’t it?"
My body returning to normal... That felt correct, but still...
As if reading my lingering doubt, Elia reached out and gently patted my head.
"So, if you feel like you can’t hold it in, don’t. It’s not improper at all. I’m here, and I’ll accept whatever you need."
Her kindness was as overwhelming as it was reassuring.
Despite my fuzzy thoughts, her earlier explanation seed reasonable.
Suppressing emotions and letting them explode in unintended ways often led to trouble.
It felt like a small wall within had crumbled.
‘......’
After a mont of hesitation, I timidly pressed my face against her shoulder.
"There you go. Good boy~," Elia said, her smile radiating warmth.
____________
[Player Adjustnt System: Affection Level]
Lee Hayul → Elia Sreid
●●●●●●●●○○ (78 ▶ 80 / 100)
Tags: Affection, Gratitude, Chick, Guilt, Remorse
...
[The Master of the Tower of Growth sighs deeply.]
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