Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: I Don't Want to Leave!
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A usual Monday morning.
Unlike usual... it was an incredibly painful morning.
Right before heading out, I pulled Hikari into a hug in front of the front door.
"Hikari, I'll be back soon. Even if it's late, I'll be home by tonight, but just in case, go to sleep first."
"Even if she studied with the word book all weekend, she'd never understand a sentence like that."
Ihana, who was hanging up the laundry, let out a sigh.
She was already looking at me like I was a lost cause, but it didn't faze me at all—I was completely focused on Hikari.
Hikari, who looked like she'd just woken up, rubbed her eyes and stood in front of me. Then she slowly raised her arms.
Thump!
She climbed onto my shoulder as I knelt down and spat out a short word.
"Go!"
"Meaning 'see you later'?"
"See you!"
Oh my god.
She'd said two whole words perfectly.
My kid really is a genius.
If Professor Rena saw her, she might just kidnap her off to be a fresh grad student.
"That's exactly why I can't take you. How harsh this trial is!"
Of course, rationally, I knew better.
I couldn't stay glued to Hikari forever.
After all, since the academy was sponsoring me, I had to meet their performance quotas.
And to do that, I had to hop across dimensions collecting samples.
Someday, if Hikari got a passport, she might be able to tag along—but if it was a dangerous dimension, I'd have to go alone.
So this was an inevitable hurdle I had to overcome.
It had finally arrived.
...I knew that.
"I still don't wanna! I wanna roll around and play with Hikari!"
"Ugh, so annoying. Just get out already, Yuan!"
Ihana finally shoved her tail between me and my little girl.
Unlike a dragon's tail, her smooth and springy one whisked Hikari away in a flash.
"Argh! Give me back my child, you demon!"
"If you're gonna call me one, make it Great Demon. Just 'demon' is so lame."
I was about to rally against the tyrant.
But Hikari reached out toward me again.
Her tiny hand brushed softly against my cheek.
"Se... See you la...ter?"
I melted.
It felt like my mind was just dripping away.
Gathering the scraps of my reason, I spoke to her halting, adorable words.
"Yeah. See you later, Hikari."
I boarded the bus toward the heart of Promere.
[This stop is Dimensional Gate, Dimensional Gate Station.]
"It's packed. This place is always crawling with people."
This was the one and only terminal in the Dias Dimension for traveling to other worlds.
Dimensional gates were hailed as the ultimate achievement of coexistence with other races.
No wonder—they ignored borders and distance entirely.
The moment the connection locked in, you arrived in a completely different world in just five seconds.
When they first appeared, everyone panicked that airlines and car industries would collapse.
Reality turned out differently, though.
Creating and maintaining them guzzled mana at a heartbreaking rate.
Even other races went, "Whoa, this is way too pricey?"
So dimensional gates were mostly for emergencies, business trips to other dimensions, or luxury vacations for the filthy rich.
But Professor Rena had booked my round-trip tickets.
"Welcome! Please present your ticket and passport!"
Heading to immigration, the staff greeted me.
Seaweed-like hair and that distinctive speech pattern.
'Kelp, huh?'
A race that mostly lived in the ocean, super sensitive to moisture.
Too much water and they puffed up like balloons; too dry and they shriveled like raisins.
Their personalities swung with it too, so partners got to enjoy both flavors at once, apparently.
Oh, and fun fact: you could snip the ends of their hair for soup stock.
Kelp seaweed soup was one of the specialties at high-end Korean restaurants.
"Here you go."
I handed my ticket and passport to the pint-sized Kelp clerk, shriveled probably from the dry heat.
Ding!
The scanner chimed, and she smiled, lifting the barrier.
"Thank you! Have a wonderful day!"
"See you~"
Another perk of dimensional gates: no need to rush for a departure time like with flights.
You could dawdle, handle your business in the terminal, and jump in whenever.
But all I could think about was hurrying back to Hikari.
"Gate 3. Gate 3... Ah, there it is."
Each gate swirled with portals of different colors.
Even thumbnail previews of the destination rippled like video thumbnails to keep you from leaping into the wrong spot.
[Seoul Express Bus Terminal Station]
I confirmed the flickering sign beyond the portal and slotted my ticket into the terminal.
'Didn't forget any samples, right?'
I fiddled with my bag for no reason and leaped through the gate.
A touch of dizziness hit, the scenery smearing like wet paint.
Whoosh.
Different air enveloped me in an instant.
"Made it properly."
Seoul after two whole months.
Way busier than Promere's terminal.
Well, it was an express terminal hooked up to the existing buses and subways, so no surprise.
[Train to Daechi Station has departed all stations.]
"No break whatsoever!"
I clutched my bag and shoved through the crowd.
(Meanwhile, what about Hikari?)
Staring blankly.
Sitting on the sofa, Hikari silently gazed around.
"Seha, all the windows are open~"
"Big cleaning after ages? I'll fire up the vacuum right away."
Whirrrrr!
"Whoa!"
The massive roar stabbed her ears, and Hikari hunched her tiny shoulders.
Then, peeking with just one eye half-open, blinking away.
Spotting the human deftly maneuvering the vacuum, she immediately dropped her guard.
Hikari was still awkward around modern gadgets.
Which made sense—her memories before stumbling into those ruins were all hazy for the young Nurarihyon girl.
Yuan had guessed she wasn't born in the wild, judging from her budding social savvy and quick reads on situations.
Sure enough, vague body memories let her swiftly win over Yuan and the couple.
But concrete recollections still wouldn't surface.
She'd come to in deep ruins of the Dias Dimension, forced to survive beasts and magical creatures.
Thankfully, Nurarihyon instincts and Dokkaebi toughness kept her alive until Yuan.
And when she'd nestled in his arms, arrived at the boarding house, spent that short time together.
It was warm.
I felt safe.
...I didn't want to be apart.
Though she didn't know the Korean words or script Yuan used yet, so the thoughts just swirled in her head.
Still, the girl wanted to voice them someday. Oh, to the Balrog couple cleaning upstairs too.
Nurarihyon were clever folk.
Even as a child, Hikari sized up the situation effortlessly.
Yuan was out right now.
Given how she'd clung to him, he'd definitely come back.
"Hehe..."
What if she did something cute when he returned, worthy of praise?
Bonus points if she impressed the Balrog couple too.
Her eyes swept the living room and locked on one spot.
"Hmm!"
Nodding to herself, Hikari reached for the laundry pile stacked on one end of the sofa.
"...Oh my Demon King."
Ihana, who'd come down after wiping the upstairs windows, spotted the change first.
The laundry she'd set out that morning was getting neatly sorted.
Who'd have thought such a gift awaited after using the deep clean as an excuse to flirt with her husband.
"Seha, take a look at Hikari."
"Huh...?"
Seha, who'd been a bit late erasing his wife's kiss mark from his neck, mirrored her expression.
Fold by fold.
Hikari was folding the laundry one piece at a time with her small hands.
Towels with towels.
Shirts with shirts.
Underwear... head tilt.
Incredible skill for a kid—unbelievably mature.
"Did you put her up to it? Fitting for a tyrant, going all out even on a child..."
"As if! Anyone can tell she did it herself!"
The Balrog swatted her husband lightly and called to the young Nurarihyon.
"Hikari."
"Uh...?"
Hikari, deep in focus mode, slowly lifted her head to look at Ihana.
Her hands fidgeted just a bit.
A flicker of worry—had she done something pointless?
But the Balrog approached with the gentlest smile and...
Pat pat.
Stroke stroke stroke.
"Good job. Excellent♪"
Her sleek tail, flames flickering, caressed Hikari.
The little girl had found and done a task she could handle all on her own.
Wasn't that plenty?
All that was left was heaping on praise brimming with pride and admiration.
And when her one guardian returned, casually bragging that she alone had witnessed it?
"Re... read!"
Hikari stumbled over the word clumsily and picked up the book beside her.
The picture book for word learning that Yuan had bought.
She flipped the pages slowly, one by one, gesturing at something.
"Want me to read it to you? As a reward?"
When Ihana pointed to herself, Hikari nodded.
"Learn more!"
Who could turn down such a plucky girl?
Seha laid a hand on his wife's shoulder.
"Just tidying left anyway. Stay with Hikari, honey."
"You sure you'll be okay alone, Seha?"
"I'm a Balrog's husband, aren't I? Your one and only childhood friend who can swing your Flame Sword."
"Hehe, you're too adorable. Looking forward to you vanquishing me with your sword again tonight♡"
"Ahaha... I'll do my best."
After a quick kiss, Seha headed to the storage room.
Ihana settled Hikari on her lap and opened the picture book.
"From the start?"
"Mm!"
"Here we go? Once upon a time, there lived a ghost who loved mopping floors and hide-and-seek. When you tickled it, it'd cry, 'Don't rub me!' they say."