Chapter 163 - The End

“Danyl, where are you?”

“H-Here…”

I approached the direction where I heard a small voice, but I was immediately at a loss for words.

Danyl had stuck only his head under two rocks that were wedged together like a hill and was crouched down, lying there.

“What are you doing there?”

“….”

Danyl didn’t respond anymore.

I should have just not asked in the first place!

It seemed like he quickly hid here as soon as the adults arrived.

However, his hiding method was a bit problematic.

Just sticking your head in doesn’t mean you’re not visible.

I returned to where Father was.

Danyl’s dad seemed to have seen everything I did and immediately headed towards Danyl’s hiding spot.

Yuri looked at me with a worried expression, but it seemed like everything would be fine.

In the meantime, after finishing his fight with the talkative bottom-talker, Ivan approached while dusting off his hands.

Uncle Ivan looked at Yuri and started to run his tongue mockingly, asking why he looked that way, and then suddenly grabbed his stomach and burst into laughter.

“Oh, don’t laugh! It’s all because of this idiot!”

Annoyed, Yuri blurted out an incomprehensible claim.

Although his eyes showed some irritation, he didn’t seem as angry as before.

I asked Father if the dragon was his friend.

“No. I don’t know this guy.”

“Krrrr…”

“I wish I could say that, but the truth is, it’s a friend of your mother’s.”

I doubted my ears.

But then, both the chubby raccoon and the big bird were also friends with Father!

So, they were all originally not on good terms, but they ended up becoming friends because of unavoidable circumstances.

I was baffled by this and couldn’t quite understand it.

As far as I knew, Father and the other dads were originally all Paladins.

Then what are these creatures?

Father lifted me up and introduced them: the chubby raccoon was called Popori, and the big bird was called Griffin.

These creatures are like monsters or demons.

The dragon also falls under the category of monsters.

Until now, when I heard the word “monster,” I imagined something like a terrifying evil spirit, but these creatures didn’t look anything like that.

The dragon above me sniffled and peeked its enormous nostrils.

Father made me face the dragon and added with a tone that seemed somewhat regretful, “In fact, this guy is practically your sibling.”

“Why?”

“Because your mother and I raised this guy ourselves.”

When I looked at him in amazement, the dragon let out a snort from its nostrils.

“Then… did they recognize us today? Did they know who I am?”

“Of course they did. They’ve been watching you since you were inside your mother.”

Wow, they knew me even before I was born… It was quite an astonishing and surprising fact in various ways.

It seemed like Yuri was also taken aback by this revelation.

I had to quickly tell Danyl about this amazing fact…

“It looks like it’s all over.”

Suddenly, Father turned to the direction where Danyl’s dad was.

Danyl’s dad responded, “Thanks to you,” and smiled at me.

He had Danyl on one shoulder, and Danyl, after getting scolded, was cheekily making all sorts of childish demands, saying he wanted to eat this and have that.

Both Yuri and I were completely dumbfounded.

Even the dragon, who had been observing our chaotic scene, seemed bewildered.

Because this time, he twisted his body and seemed to retch, as if he had eaten something foul.

This time, it wasn’t the white foamy mass from before.

It was much smaller and solid.

It made a rolling sound as it moved across the floor, only to stop at Ivan’s feet.

Everyone stared at it for a moment.

“Isn’t this your watch?”

Goshuk-nim asked Danyl’s dad.

Yuri quickly ran over to confirm, then looked at us and nodded.

And before I could say anything, Danyl suddenly erupted, cursing at the dragon.

The dragon, while towering above him, only made a threatening gesture, but this time, it was me who got angry and scolded Danyl.

After all, the dragon was the one who found what he lost, so why scold the dragon?

Yuri agreed with me, saying I was right.

With both of us shouting at once, the cave that had been quiet became incredibly noisy.

As Father was covering his ears with one hand, he suddenly turned his body, and I could no longer see Danyl.

Instead, I saw the dragon.

With blinking eyes, the dragon stared at me with what seemed like a bewildered expression.

The griffin, sitting on its head, and Popori, both looked tired.

Father slapped my back, signaling me to stop.

“He likes shiny things, so he often gets misunderstood like this… By now, this guy might also know that you’ve been on his side.”

Even though I was still a bit angry, I promised to stop yellint.

When I turned my gaze forward again, the grumpy-sounding Horse butt Uncle was smiling at me.

Yuri suddenly looked quite pleased.

And upon closer examination, I realized it was because Yuri had received a candy from Ivan.

Instead of stopping our friends’ fight, he had joined forces.

Yuri rubbed his chilly forehead and gave me a cheerful smile.

Because he was happier than Danyl, who was getting scolded.

“… Is that something you should say to the prince? You lost your watch and you’re blaming him?”

“Ah, it’s because of… Uwaaah! I’m sorry!”

Oh! It was an eerie yet satisfying scene.

Hah, I should be thankful my leg isn’t hurt!

Honestly, I wasn’t at all upset since technically, we hadn’t broken our promise.

After that incident, we headed back along the same path.

When I bid the dragon farewell and said I would come to visit again, the dragon let out a sigh.

On our way out of the forest, Griffin and Popori bid us farewell side by side.

The dads and Horse butt Uncle chatted non-stop along the way.

It was all incomprehensible talk, but in the middle of it, I heard Horse Butt saying he was fortunate not to have a son, as if he was relieved about it.

I was somehow curious, so I asked why his nickname was Horse Butt.

Then, for quite some time, no one said anything.

Danyl was going home with his dad, and Yuri was going home with Ivan.

After we parted ways, it was just Horse butt Uncle, Father, and me left.

On our way down, we found lots of strange flowers blooming.

They were yellow, like flower buds, but they were also somewhat transparent.

“Father, can I pick those and give them to Mother?”

Father looked at me with an embarrassed expression, and just then, Uncle Camu next to him said something.

After a brief exchange, Father cut one of the unique flowers and handed it to me.

He told me that if Mother asked where it came from, I should say Uncle Camu gave it to me.

Oh, right.

I didn’t think of that.

I felt grateful, so I apologized to Horse butt Uncle for asking that strange question earlier.

Horse butt Uncle chuckled a little and told me that I’m lucky to resemble the queen.

And there, my first adventure in the Frost Forest came to an end.

Returning to the palace with Father, we erased all traces of our secret adventure, and before I knew it, the sun had set.

I patiently waited until Mother had time to visit the palace, and when she finally came, I handed her a bouquet of flowers.

“Oh my, these flowers are so beautiful.”

Mother was very pleased, holding me tightly and planting a kiss on my cheek.

The original plan might have failed, but it turned out to be a much more fulfilling day than I could have imagined.

Moreover, Father truly seemed to have kept my secret well.

Honestly, it was pretty cool.

As much as the fact that the big bird, the chubby raccoon, and the mischievous dragon had known about me for a very long time.