Everyone is Young Except for Me

A chill went down my spine. How long had it been since I received loyalty from someone? In the past, in the days when I was in Legless Bird. I had received this type of look from my younger siblings. It was an awe toward something beyond the concept of ‘a mere person.’ In addition, there was a firm confidence.

The frost orcs in front of me were no different from my younger siblings at that time. It was only possible because they were frost orcs who worshipped combat power.

[You have achieved a lasting achievement in Arkstar!]

[The title ‘One Who Inspires Awe in the Frost Orcs’ has been acquired.]

[The frost orcs will follow you in awe.]

[The new stat ‘Charisma’ has opened!]

“Charisma?”

I opened my status window and took a closer look at the charisma stat.

[Charisma (0): It is the power to master and command someone. The higher this stat, the easier it is to handle a group. 

You will look more majestic to NPCs and users.

Every time you lead someone, it will automatically go up by a random number.]

It was more useful than I thought. It would be necessary one day to command people. If it was a stat that could help then it was obviously a good thing. Then Sven approached me. “Now I will treat this distinguished person as a chieftain. Chwiik.”

“I am very thankful.”

“The same goes for your companions.”

I saw Sven’s excited expression and asked, “First, can you tell me what you know about the position of the mother penguin?”

“Of course, follow me.”

I followed him along with my companions. We headed for a huge cave located at the back of the village. It was a labyrinth like the entrance we had come in. Kim Sujeong looked puzzled as the frost orcs became politer than before. “Their attitude is completely different.”

Gyeonso Dragon spoke with interested eyes, “I want to fight.”

However, Drain still seemed scared.

“Hiik!”

How could he touch leather while being scared of monsters like this? Was this being brave?

“Kwal.”

...Cer wasn’t scared. I almost burst out laughing when I saw the small body of the dog biting at the heels of the frost orcs. Pono was wandering around again to look for things to steal.

“That guy is still the same.”

Just then, Pono showed strange behaviour. “Coo~? Coo coo! Coo!!”

“What is it, Pono?” Kim Sujeong asked but Pono didn’t answer. He just stared somewhere for a moment. After a while, Pono started to rush over there.

“Ehh? Pono, where are you going?!”

“Coo~~!”

She tried to chase but Sven opened his mouth first, “Chwik. It’s fine. He is going to his mother.”

Going to his mother?

“Is the mother penguin here?”

“That’s right.”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is frowning and becoming angry.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is asking why she is here.]

[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ is sighing with relief.]

The ones in the star cluster were angry and relieved. I naturally felt the same way. “Why did you kidnap her? If he finds out about this, you might be destroyed.”

“Kidnap? Kulalala!” Everyone was bewildered by Sven’s sudden laughter. Sven snorted and informed us, “We didn’t kidnap her. It was the mother penguin who came here.”

“She came here? Why?”

"Huhut. You’ll know when you go there. Chwik.”

I saw his mysterious smile and felt a strange sense of relief. It wasn’t kidnapping so it would be better to believe him. We were finally able to pass through the labyrinth and reached the end. Once I saw the mother penguin there, I was amazed. “Ah!”

I see. It was because of this. Why had I never thought of this?

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is grabbing his back and laughing.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is laughing.]

[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ is smiling at the mystery of life.]

“Mama~♡” Pono was in his mother’s arms. The mother penguin wearing a crown was swollen up. I looked at it and searched through my memories.

One day, Prometheus had a conversation with the ‘fourth apostle’ here. At that time, he had talked about the emperor penguin.

‘In fact, the emperor penguins are hermaphrodite.’

‘What? What does that mean?’

‘You are ignorant. It means they can have a baby on their own.’

That’s right—emperor penguins had children on their own every 10 years. At that time, their earlier child would be kept away in order to develop their independence. Of course, it was possible for the tundra dragon to look after the child. In any case, I had missed this... I still had a long way to go.

“Wow, what a big belly! Is she pregnant?”

“That's right. The emperor penguins are hermaphrodites. I had forgotten about this. They have children once every 10 years and this is the time.”

“It’s amazing. Then how did Pono get lost?”

I closed my mouth as I was about to say that it was to raise his independence. In fact, this didn’t matter. Now Pono had met his mother and his mother was smiling at him. I shrugged and smiled. “I don’t know.”

“Chwik. The misunderstanding seems to have been resolved.”

Sven approached from where he had been watching us in the rear. I looked at him and nodded slightly.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“Grruk. No, it is natural. In fact, I was going to show you to the mother even if we won the duel. I just hadn’t expected to lose. Kulalala!”

The mother penguin was listening to Pono and could be seen turning her head toward us. The next moment, a voice echoed in my head. Everyone heard the same voice.

[Thank you for saving my child.]

“Ehh? The mother penguin can talk! How amazing.”

“Jesus! A beautiful voice!”

I left the amazed Kim Sujeong and Drain behind and stood in front of the mother penguin. “It was just a coincidence.”

[No. I’d like to thank you but my body isn’t very well...]

“The first thing you need to do is take care of yourself. We’re fine.”

At this moment, I could see the mother penguin’s body trembling. Suddenly, the sun started to shine from the belly that was swollen like a mountain. Don’t tell me...?

Ttiring~

[A hidden quest has appeared.]

It wasn’t just me. Kim Sujeong, Gyeonso Dragon, and Drain all received the same message and looked bewildered. I opened the quest window right away.

[Hidden Quest - Help the Emperor Penguin Lay Her Eggs!]

[Difficulty: S

Here in the North Pole, the emperor penguin lays eggs once every 10 years. At that time, all Arctic races will provide food for the health of the mother penguin.

And now it is the turn of you and the Frost Orcs. Acquire and provide what the mother penguin wants to eat!

Then you will be rewarded.

-Completion Conditions: The emperor penguin safely laying eggs 0/1 (Time remaining: 3 days)

-Rewards: You can choose one of the emperor penguin’s items.

-This quest is a special quest that can be completed once every 10 years.

-Currently, the thing the mother penguin wants to eat most is King Kong Snowman’s Meat.]

As expected, there was this as well. I remembered what the fourth apostle had said.

“It is the celebration of the North Pole that comes once every 10 years.”

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is perplexed by the condition of the mother penguin.]

[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ says she seems sick and is preparing fireflies.]

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is explaining the North Pole celebration to them.]

[The constellations of the star cluster are nodding.]

“Wow, amazing! It is a quest that appears once every 10 years!”

“Ohh, I see it too!”

“I also have it.”

I watched them trembling with excitement and opened my mouth, “I’m in charge of cooking.”

* * *

Time passed by instantly.

We spent days and nights serving the mother penguin. I usually didn’t have to go and get the ingredients, I just cooked them. However, sometimes I wanted something rare that I didn’t have so I had to go out and look for it myself. Fortunately, I got some of the things from what Sven saved beforehand so it was easy to get through this. Finally, the moment of fate came.

[The emperor penguin’s laying of eggs is imminent.]

Was it because the moment I had been waiting for finally came? My heart unknowingly jumped. No, my heart pounded like I was the one laying the eggs.

“It is a tough but rewarding moment.” Kim Sujeong smiled with a trembling voice as she watched the mother penguin’s belly.

I glanced at her face before looking forward again. “Yes, I had a hard time boiling seaweed soup.”

"Huhut. Father has suffered the most.”

When I came here, I had crossed the Atlan Sea and found seaweed, a food ingredient. They were growing on a reef I had seen from the ship. Once I saw it, I stopped to gather the seaweed. I had cooked seaweed soup for the mother penguin for the past three days.

“The birth of a new life is always phenomenal. I always feel that motherhood is great.”

“I think so as well.”

Perhaps love was pouring out for one person, endlessly and generously. No matter if it was a lover or a child in the womb, the important things were interlinked as one.

[The emperor penguin has started laying eggs!]

The next moment, a huge amount of eggs poured out of the mother penguin’s mouth. She continued to pour them out and we watched the vivid process. I was a bit flustered because the process of laying eggs was different from what I thought.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is curious about the unique method.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is dropping lightning bolts at the shocking scene.]

[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ has a blank expression.]

Kim Sujeong opened her mouth from next to me, “I-It is unique...?”

“Yes, let’s wait and see.”

After many hours, a message popped up again.

[The emperor penguin has successfully laid the eggs!]

[The Hidden Quest - Help the Emperor Penguin Lay Her Eggs! has been completed.]

[Winter’s Balancer, who defends the North Pole, has announced the successful spawning of the emperor penguin.]

[All the people of the North Pole know of this and are dancing with joy!]

Winter’s Balancer—I knew this guy as well. Winter’s Balancer was referring to the tundra dragon I mentioned the other day. By the way, there was also a balancer for spring, summer, and autumn. They each had different abilities. This guy had the power of winter.

[Thank you for helping me.]

The mother penguin finished spawning and spoke. There were countless eggs by her side. Perhaps not many of them would survive. This made me sad.

[I will give you one of my things.]

The mother penguin’s belly swelled and she started to vomit things out again. Numerous lights started pouring out one by one.

...I was looking forward to it. What would come out? It was said that the emperor penguins often had great items in their bellies. Well, they were things that would be a tribute to the dragon so it might be natural. I wanted the rumor to be real. I had struggled so wouldn’t it be nice to be rewarded?

I scanned the items that came out one by one and examined the information. It was the same for Gyeonso Dragon, Kim Sujeong, and Drain. Then the moment I checked the name of an item, I unknowingly took a breath. 

“What? Why is this here?”

[Alexus’ Fork Spoon]

This was Alexus’ battle gear.