Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: Judicial Exam (4)
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Exam prep, month one.
A regularity had begun to emerge in Seoran and Damcheong's daily routines.
However, the directions they took were completely different.
Seoran moved almost like a machine.
She even shortened her mealtimes to study.
On top of that, she attended so many night lectures that she often didn't return home until dawn.
Damcheong lived regularly too.
After finishing his enjoyable practical lectures, he went home as always, washed up, and ate.
Then he pretended to study diligently.
He didn't need to sit at his desk for long.
That was because the night lectures were about to start soon.
Seoran would vanish from the house at midnight, just like Cinderella.
Now, only Damcheong and the attendants remained at home.
And the attendants' presence wasn't an issue.
Every exam candidate carried one trusty heirloom sword for times like these, after all.
Damcheong said to the attendants.
"I'm going to study late into the night again today, so don't disturb me for no reason."
"Yes, understood."
"You may go now."
The attendants withdrew with polite bows.
Now, no one could stop Damcheong.
It was time for his enjoyable nighttime fun.
Damcheong stealthily climbed out the window.
How long had he flown through the sky when the snow began to let up?
This was the territory of Sangcheongdo from here on.
In the distance, he could see staff collecting admission fees.
In that moment, his eyes met those of a ticket booth worker.
Damcheong pulled a platinum bracelet from his sleeve and slipped it on.
He passed through without any hindrance.
It was none other than a VIP platinum bracelet.
He could board rides without waiting and watch any performance from the VIP seats.
Once you'd tasted privileges like these, going back to a free children's admission bracelet was impossible.
Damcheong roamed the amusement park like it was his own home.
He had visited for over half a month already, but he never grew bored.
Every day was fresh and fun.
That was thanks to the amusement park management committee's tireless efforts.
Yongdam was a wonderful place that returned happiness equal to the money spent.
And Damcheong was an exceedingly wealthy dragon.
He was the god of an entire race, so in a way, it was only natural.
It wasn't because he lacked money that he usually sat on the beach building sandcastles.
Big spender Damcheong spent happy times at the amusement park.
It was a given that he'd doze off during the morning lectures later.
But even that sense of wrongdoing was just another spice.
Playing hooky as an exam student made it all the more enjoyable.
Damcheong returned home, leaving the staff's farewells behind.
As he stealthily climbed back through his bedroom window, his eyes locked with someone else's.
Seoran stood there with her arms crossed.
A long tail was bound to get stepped on eventually.
*****
Seoran spoke in a calm voice.
"Damcheong, have a seat here."
Damcheong's pupils shook as if struck by an earthquake.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
"Where have you been?"
"Just a short walk nearby..."
Seoran silently stared at Damcheong.
Then she pulled out a terminal from her sleeve and showed it to him.
Inside the terminal was a photo of Damcheong.
To be precise, it was a front-facing photo posted on Yongdam's Heavenly Net site, titled "This Month's Most Frequent Child Visitor."
The editing that blacked out the eyes for customer privacy was quite striking.
But it was questionable whether there were two dragon children in the Immortal Realm named "Dam〇" with a broken left horn.
Damcheong felt like he'd chopped his own foot with his trusted axe.
'Ungrateful amusement park bastards...!'
In truth, the Yongdam staff had done nothing wrong.
They had definitely asked several times before posting the photo.
It was Damcheong himself who had been distracted by the whirlwind potatoes and given a half-hearted "sure, go ahead."
Damcheong mumbled, sweat pouring down his face.
"Uh, um..."
"So you did go to Sangcheongdo."
"No, that's..."
Seoran shook her head and spoke firmly.
"No need to hear more. Come to think of it, you've been dozing off during morning lectures lately. So that's why. Damcheong, it's been a month since we started studying. And already..."
Seoran began chattering on.
Every point she made was perfectly reasonable.
But that was only from her perspective.
Unable to endure it any longer, Damcheong showed his resentment.
"I-I never wanted to prepare for this judicial exam in the first place! Didn't you half-force me into it?"
"You weren't cultivating and just playing around, so I had to! Like a lazybones!"
"What did you say? Y-you lone ranger!"
And so their childish quarrel began.
The outcome was obvious without watching.
Damcheong was no match for Seoran in verbal skill or quick wit.
In the end, Damcheong burst into tears.
"G-get out!"
"I haven't finished talking!"
"I'm not speaking to you anymore!"
Damcheong pushed Seoran out of the room and slammed the door shut.
Seoran was furious to the top of her head.
She even felt her blood boiling.
Just as she was about to shout at the door, Seoran sensed multiple presences.
She turned to see the attendants, tense and on edge.
Their necks and shoulders hunched in fear, eyes desperately gauging their superior's mood.
It was exactly the face Seoran used to make whenever her parents from her previous life had a marital spat.
Seoran snapped to her senses.
She swallowed the barbed words she'd been about to hurl.
And simply left the house.
It was early morning, but the streets were bustling with exam students.
Everyone was hurrying to avoid being late for lectures.
Their argument must have dragged on quite a while.
Seoran walked aimlessly in the opposite direction of the crowd.
She decided to count the morning lecture as self-study rest today.
She wasn't in the mood to study anyway.
How far had she walked when she spotted a small stream.
Seoran jumped into the water fully clothed.
She had been so angry she did it without thinking.
Seoran fumed alone in the cold water.
Lone ranger, of all things!
She had done it for Damcheong's sake!
And he didn't even understand her feelings!
But as her head cooled, other thoughts arose.
Damcheong, you didn't want to study for the exam, did you...
Come to think of it, I never once asked your opinion?
I must have pushed my own ideas too hard.
Seoran pulled out her terminal (fully waterproof) from her sleeve.
When she turned on the screen, there was the front-facing photo titled "This Month's Most Frequent Child Visitor."
Damcheong in the photo was smiling so innocently.
Seoran stared at Damcheong's photo for a long while.
It had been nearly a month since she'd last seen him smile.
Until then, he'd only shown a sullen face.
Seoran fell deep into thought.
*****
Damcheong, who had been utterly defeated in the verbal fight, buried himself under the blanket, cried, and fell asleep.
When he woke, it was already evening.
Having skipped two meals, he was ravenously hungry.
Damcheong left his room and headed to the dining hall.
On the way, he spotted Seoran beyond several walls.
She sat silently at the table.
Damcheong felt vindicated.
Just before falling asleep exhausted from crying, he'd been swarming with thoughts like, "If I'd countered like that back then, Seoran wouldn't have had a comeback..."
His mental simulations were complete; he wouldn't lose so easily this time.
Damcheong entered the dining hall with footsteps that said, "I'm still really mad."
And he received Seoran's apology.
"Damcheong, I'm truly sorry about what happened this morning."
"Uh, what did you say?"
"I want to apologize for my mistake. Looking back, there was no reason for it at all... I must have gotten overly sensitive without realizing. I'm really sorry."
Seoran's apologies repeated several times.
Damcheong's fantasy of overwhelming her with eloquent speech didn't come true.
Still, his pent-up emotions eased considerably.
Damcheong replied in a sniffling voice.
"No, I understand completely. You've been a bit off lately, but after your ascension, your living environment changed drastically, so it's understandable. Yeah, of course..."
"I was planning to visit the clinic tomorrow anyway."
"I'll go with you since I'm worried. It's definitely not because I want to play."
The two soon shared a reconciliatory embrace.
"Thank you, Damcheong..."
"What are you talking about between us..."
Peace returned to the household once more.
The next day, Seoran and Damcheong visited the clinic.
There was no need to go far out of their way.
Sangcheongdo happened to have a big one.
Seoran quietly waited her turn.
Personally, she suspected post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD for short.
She wondered if battles to the death against foes like the Ghost Tree or Poison-Eyed Dragon had shocked her mind.
So she applied for a professional heart demon evaluation.
The clinic staff said.
"Lady Ryu Seoran, please enter examination room 3."
Seoran stood from her seat and said.
"It's my turn. I'll be right back."
"Yeah, do well on the exam."
"Yes, Damcheong."
Left alone, a passing staff member asked Damcheong.
"Did you come for a health checkup by any chance?"
"Health checkup? What's that?"
"Oh, you don't know. A health checkup is..."
Immortal Realm health checkups were conducted once every century for all racial cultivators.
This was another system created by the Peach Blossom Haven.
The clinic staff urged him to get one since it was free anyway.
Damcheong nodded without much thought.
*****
Shortly after, the results came out.
Seoran and Damcheong entered the consultation room tensely.
A doctor sat inside.
The doctor looked at Seoran and said.
"It's a heart demon."
Damcheong shot up from his chair and shouted.
"See! I told you something was wrong!"
The doctor's head turned toward Damcheong this time.
"The one beside you has the same issue."
It turned out not to be someone else's problem.