Crack… crack… crack!
The egg that Sapphire was holding gained several cracks, out of absolutely nowhere! We had thought it wouldn't hatch in months maybe, but we really had little idea, it was a strange egg that was not laid by anybody, but created through Aquarius magic, his soul fragments, and the blood and magic of Sapphire.
"T-The egg is hatching!!!" Benladann cried in shock.
"Huh?! It is?!"
"Look! The egg of the ancestor!"
"Oh god… Isn't this the egg she had with the Guardian, Aquarius?!"
"It is finally hatching?!"
"A-After so little time?!"
Thanks to Benladann's scream of shock, everyone in the party inside the castle directed their eyes at Sapphire and the blue egg she was holding in a pouch near her belly.
Crack, crack… CRACK!
Suddenly, everyone gasped as a tiny claw surged from within the egg, slowly beginning to tear apart the egg, then, another claw surged, and then a long, blue-scaled tail!
"I-It is coming… Our baby, Aquarius!" Sapphire was shocked, gently holding the egg while beginning to cry.
Crack, crack…!
CRACK!
The pieces of eggshell flew everywhere as the little dragon inside forced its way outside, finally showing its true appearance to everyone… And it wasn't what we expected.
Instead of a tiny sea dragon, what we got was a hybrid. The baby was half dragon, and half merman, with pale white skin, blue scales covering the skin here and there, a long dragon tail, sharp claws instead of soft nails, and sharp gills in the neck, alongside shiny, golden eyes and long, blue hair. And as I had imagined, it was a boy.
"Bwabuh!" The baby said out of nowhere, looking at everyone, probably scared.
"H-He has been born…" Sapphire said. "Welcome to this world, little one."
Sapphire gently held her child, lifting him up into the skies. The baby innocently looked around and began to feel even more scared, beginning to cry like any baby after being born.
"Uwaaaah! Uwaaaaahhh!"
Everyone remained in silence as they watched the birth and the first cries of the future Guardian of their country, the son between a Mermaid and a Sea Dragon.
"Your name shall be… Triton." Sapphire smiled. "Like the name of your father's big brother, that was always watching over him. I know he would be happy if you received that name…"
"Uwaaaah! Buwaaahhh!"
Triton cried more and more, but slowly, he calmed down. Maybe the mental strength of dragons helping him remain calm after birth, as Sapphire embraced him in a gentle hug.
Anastasia quickly stepped forward, raising a cup of wine as many other nobles and my friends in the party raised a their cups as well.
"From today's onwards, this day shall be known as the birthday of Triton, the child of our Ancestor, Lady Sapphire, and our Guardian, Lord Aquarius!" Anastasia said.
"Yeaaaah!"
"Woooh!"
"Bravo! Triton's adorable!"
"He is brimming with magic power!"
"To be expected of two very talented parents."
"Amazing, his future is bright as the stars!"
As everyone celebrated, Sapphire ran to my side stealthily and looked at me and Benladann and Miranda with a worried expression.
"H-How should I raise him? Do I give him fish paste like the young mermen eat, or should I feed him raw meat?" She wondered nervously.
"Haha, a bit of everything, he seems really hungry." I said. "Here Triton, have this roasted fish."
I took out of my inventory that fish, as he instantly opened his tiny jaws and stole the fish out of my hands.
"Crunch, crunch, nom, nom… Wawuuuh! Bwah!" Triton licked his lips happily, loving the fish.
"It depends in what type of dragon they are." I explained. "Triton seems like a fish lover, so just feed him a lot of fish. Of course, other types of meat would be nice, grains, and a balanced source of seaweed perhaps."
"I see…" Sapphire continued writing everything. "As for drinks, just water now?"
"Water and maybe seafood soup." Benladann nodded. "Later, try out fruit juice as well."
"Thank you for this information! I-I am a first mother so I have no idea what to do now…" Sighed Sapphire. "I'll miss you once you're gone… But at least, I won't feel lonely anymore. Not with this treasure at my side."
"And of course, everyone else here." I said, looking at Rose, Anastasia, Eleanor, Coral, the children of the orphanage, and everyone else. "Make sure to protect this beautiful country, Sapphire… Triton."
I gave Triton a gentle head pat.
CRUNCH!
But the little rascal bite my hand!
"O-Ouch! Those sharp teeth are strong!" I cried in surprise.
"Nam! Nam! Nam!"
Triton began making sounds while biting the air, while everybody else ended laughing at the funny scene.
"I-I guess he's still rather hungry!" Sighed Sapphire. "I will quickly prepare you something, Triton! Oh! How about this fish over here?"
"Nam! Nam!" Triton stretched his tiny arms at the food, as Sapphire started to gently feed him.
"Hehehe, you're so cute! You remind me a lot of your daddy!" Sapphire giggled.
"Nam…!" Triton suddenly bite her finger.
"Ouch- Ah?" However, Sapphire realized he didn't bite her, but gave her a kiss. "Heheh, at least you're gentle with your mother!"
"Bwabuh! Babahh…" The baby quickly pointed at a faraway bowl of fried rice with shrimp and fish, while drooling.
"W-Well, let's go eat some more then, hahah." Sapphire felt happy with her son, although the little rascal was a bit demanding.
Like that, the day went by slowly. My daughters played around with the newborn Triton, and so Coral, Rose, and Eleanor and the other orphan kids. Later on, Sapphire revealed that Rose was the lost princess of the royal family, and announced to the entire country that she would become the future queen once she hit her adult age.
The people was euphoric to know the princess that had disappeared was still alive, and that it was Rose, the girl that had helped save their entire country from the Deep One… Quite honestly, I didn't wanted the day to end, but slowly, the sun fell down the horizon.
And it was time to say goodbyes.
