Fated Encounter

Several days had already passed since I returned from the Dragon King's palace with Haeryeong and a massive amount of treasure.

In the meantime, Shin Su-ah and Baek Yeon took care of all the annoying tasks of handling the gold and silver treasures.

Since the amount was so vast it could be described as a mountain, it wasn't something that could be handled all at once. So, we decided to sell only a portion and have my true body store the rest along with the other treasures.

And while the two of them were busy dealing with the jewels we decided to sell rather than keep, I was put in a position where I had to look after Haeryeong.

The original plan of leaving Haeryeong to those two had to be abandoned because I ran into an unexpected obstacle.

That unexpected obstacle was the fact that Haeryeong followed only me around everywhere.

When I went to drink water—

Dodododo-

When I went out for a stroll—

Dodododo-

Even when I went to the bathroom—

Dodododo-

"No. Don't follow me into the bathroom!"

"Hiing..."

Perhaps it was because she woke up to find her entire family dead and gone, and I was the only being she knew—introduced to her by her grandfather at the very end—but Haeryeong refused to even think about being apart from me.

Stuck to me like glue, Haeryeong followed me wherever I went.

Knowing what the girl had been through, I couldn't exactly push her away heartlessly.

"Sigh, what am I going to do with you?"

"Nidhogg-ajossi... am I annoying?"

"No, it's not that."

"Haeryeong will be a good girl."

"Augh, seriously."

In the end, I was the one who gave up first in the face of those teary eyes.

Inevitably, I let the girl stay by my side, and we began living together day and night.

Seeing me walking around with Haeryeong holding onto the tip of my drooping tail, Linnea would burst out laughing with a pfft every time we met, as if she found the sight hilarious.

Of course, I didn't forget to retaliate.

"Ack!"

"You think this is funny right now? I assume you're resting because you've cleared all of today's Gates?"

"Augh, that hurts. Of course I'm resting because I cleared them all."

"Then go out and clear tomorrow's portion too!"

"Kkua-ang! Nidhogg-nim, stop bullying Linnea!"

"Sigh. What am I going to do with her."

I let out a sigh as I watched her run out of the house, clutching the back of her head where I'd smacked her.

"Hihi."

Haeryeong, still gripping my tail tightly, let out a bright laugh as if she found that scene funny too.

Having looked after her for a few days, I suppose I've grown fond of her; seeing her smile made me feel good.

I gently stroked her head and thought about today's schedule.

Shin Su-ah and Baek Yeon, who had a lot to discuss with the Association regarding the sale of the jewels and Haeryeong's identity registration, had left early in the morning and wouldn't be back for a while. Since I had just sent Linnea out, I didn't really have any plans.

I asked Haeryeong cautiously.

"Do you want to go outside?"

"With Nidhogg-ajossi?"

"Yeah. I can't exactly send you out alone."

"Then I'd love to!"

I thought she might refuse because the outside world was still unfamiliar to her, but she accepted readily.

First, to prepare for going out, I washed her face and brushed her hair. Then, I finished the preparations by picking out a set of clothes that Shin Su-ah had bought specifically for Haeryeong.

Except for the deer horns on her head, a perfectly normal and very cute little lady was born.

Stroking Haeryeong's wavy blue hair, I said, "Shall we head out?"

"Ung!!"

After putting on her cute shoes and stepping outside, the warm sunlight greeted us.

Since today was Haeryeong's first outing and she was still wary of people other than me, I didn't plan on taking her far. I decided to just look around the neighborhood.

The first place we arrived at after coming down from the apartment was the playground inside the apartment complex.

Haeryeong's eyes sparkled at the sight of the playground, which was equipped with a colorful slide, a seesaw, and swings.

"Waaa..."

"Follow me. I'll teach you how to ride them."

I took Haeryeong, who was interested in the playground but still couldn't let go of my tail, up onto the slide.

Is it because this is an apartment where mostly Awakened live?

The slide was higher and longer than I expected.

I sat Haeryeong down on the slide, but she was still gripping my tail and wouldn't let go.

I can't even let her ride the slide like this.

Nothing else for it.

"Here. This is how you ride it."

I picked Haeryeong up and sat on the slide with her as if I were hugging her.

And then we slid down together.

Syuuuung~

"Uwaaa!"

It didn't do anything for me, but I guess it's fine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠since Haeryeong looked happy.

We reached the end in an instant, and I took her off the slide.

"Was it fun?"

"Ung! It was fun!"

"Shall we ride it one more time?"

I took Haeryeong, who was nodding her head vigorously, back up the slide. We repeated the process of going down and coming back up several times.

When the number of times we rode the slide easily surpassed ten.

I pointed to another piece of equipment.

"Let's try that one this time."

The equipment I chose this time was the swing.

I sat Haeryeong on the swing and made her let go of my tail to hold onto the swing's ropes instead.

"I'll push you from behind, so hold on tight."

"U-ung..."

I went behind Haeryeong, who looked a bit anxious perhaps because she had let go of my tail, and pushed the swing.

"Ah, my mistake."

I intended to push gently enough for it to just sway, but I failed to control my strength.

Huuung!

With a sound that cut through the wind, the swing rotated 360 degrees.

Realizing it was clearly my mistake, I went to the front to check if Haeryeong was okay, but I realized my worry was unnecessary.

Haeryeong's expression as she returned to her original position after the 360-degree rotation looked even more excited than when she was on the slide earlier.

Come to think of it, she might be dressed in normal clothes, but Haeryeong is the granddaughter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the Dragon King.

There's no way she'd be scared by something like playground equipment.

Still, I asked if she was okay out of politeness.

"Are you okay?"

"Ung? Why?"

"Never mind. As long as you're okay."

I went behind Haeryeong again and this time, without making a mistake, I pushed the swing normally.

She sat on the swing, moving back and forth, enjoying the wind.

"Push me harder!"

"Alright. Hold onto the ropes tight."

It seems that because I messed up the first time, she mistakenly thinks that rotating 360 degrees is the normal way to ride a swing.

Still, there was no danger of Haeryeong getting scared or hurt just because the swing spun a bit, so I respected her opinion and pushed the swing even harder.

The swing finally stopped after rotating several more times.

As soon as Haeryeong got off and stepped onto the ground, she stumbled and fell on her butt.

"Ako!"

"Oh dear. Are you okay?"

"Ung. I'm a little dizzy."

"Be careful."

"But it was fun!"

Haeryeong stood up and brushed the dust off her pants.

After that, I let her experience the other playground equipment one by one.

By the way, I've been feeling eyes on us for a while now...

When I turned my head toward the direction of the gaze, I saw children who looked to be about Haeryeong's age and humans who appeared to be their parents standing there, watching us.

Looking at their eyes, they seemed to know who I was.

Thinking about it, this apartment is mostly inhabited by Awakened, and since I've been walking around frequently in my dragon form, even if it's small, they must have heard the news one way or another.

Well, judging by the fear flickering in their eyes, I doubt it was good news.

"Nidhogg-ajossi?"

"Uh, yeah. Should I push you more?"

"No. But who are they?"

Haeryeong's fingertip pointed toward the humans gathered on one side.

How should I explain them?

It's probably better to just tell her the truth, right?

"They're humans who live nearby and their children."

"Humans?"

"You know what humans are, right?"

"Ung. I heard from Grandpa."

I guess that crazy old geezer did educate his only remaining granddaughter properly.

"What did he say?"

"He said they're greedy bad guys who want to catch Haeryeong."

"That crazy old geezer."

"Ung?"

"It's nothing."

I spat out a curse quietly enough so Haeryeong couldn't hear.

I can't even begin to imagine how he raised this kid.

Wait, but even if we set Linnea aside, aren't Shin Su-ah and Baek Yeon also humans? Then why did she treat them normally, even if she was a bit shy?

"Haeryeong-ah. Shin Su-ah and Baek Yeon are humans too, are you okay with them?"

"Ung? Those two aren't humans, are they?"

"Why do you think that?"

"Su-ah is just like Lin, and Yeon-i is similar to Nidhogg-ajossi."

"Aha."

It seems that to Haeryeong, Shin Su-ah isn't human because she feels the power of a god like Linnea, and Baek Yeon isn't treated as human because she accepted my power and is a half-dragon.

It's not that Haeryeong's wary attitude toward humans is bad, but in order to live on Earth from now on, she shouldn't be wary of all humans and think they're all bad guys. So, I decided to leave the playground for today.

I also didn't want to keep being treated like a monkey in a zoo.

"Shall we go now?"

"U-ung... I want to play more."

"Let's stop for today and come back to play again tomorrow. And if we go now, I'll buy you something delicious on the way."

"Really? We're coming back tomorrow too?"

"Yeah."

Haeryeong got up from the playground equipment and grabbed my tail.

Before taking her back home, I stopped by a cafe.

"W-w-welcome..."

"Let's see... One Iced Americano and one Rainbow Smoothie. To go."

"U-understood. T-the payment is..."

"With this card."

Ignoring the trembling part-timer, I opened the wallet hanging around my neck, took out a card, and paid. Then I waited for the drinks to come out.

The drinks were made and served in an instant, showing how urgent they felt.

A plain Iced Americano and a multi-layered rainbow-colored smoothie.

I held the Americano and placed the smoothie in Haeryeong's hand.

"Put the straw in your mouth and suck on it to drink."

"U-ung."

Haeryeong put the straw in her mouth and sipped the smoothie.

"Is it good?"

"Ung! It's delicious!"

Haeryeong, who seemed to like it, answered with a bright smile without letting go of the straw.

I walked back home with Haeryeong, who still didn't let go of my tail while drinking her beverage.

A dragon-man flapping his wings while drinking an Americano, and behind him, a cute little girl with horns on her head drinking a smoothie while holding onto his tail.

It was a combination perfectly suited to attract attention, and everyone passing by looked our ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way with strange expressions.

Ignoring those human gazes, we returned home to find someone standing in front of the door.

"You're back, Nidhogg-nim."

"Yoo Da-eun?"

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mysterious woman with her eyes covered by a white cloth.

Yoo Da-eun was waiting for me.