Chapter 222: First Impressions
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 222: First Impressions
From the moment they first met, Kang Ho-in’s evaluation of the boy named Kang So-hyun had been shifting by the second.
At first, he was a peculiar boy whose level of cultivation could not be grasped at a glance. Next, he was a man blessed with the favor of many women, including Ho-in’s own daughter.
After speaking with him for a moment, Ho-in began to think of him as a strange fellow—one who, far from being intimidated by his swordsmanship, had the audacity to call him “Father-in-law.”
However, after intentionally provoking him just now, Ho-in’s evaluation changed once again.
He’s a madman.
And a madman suffering from a profound, severe deficiency at that.
Standing there was a lunatic harboring a dangerous madness that might one day swallow his daughter whole.
They were alike.
The madness in the boy’s eyes resembled the madness of the monster who had once left Ho-in with an irreparable wound—the same monster who might eventually snatch away his precious daughter.
Should I just cut him down?
No matter how strong the boy was, if there was even the slightest possibility that his power could become a threat to his daughter, it felt right to cut him down here and now.
His daughter seemed to like the boy, but he couldn’t exactly let her keep something so dangerous by her side, could he?
I’m going to be hated again.
The moment Ho-in placed his hand on the hilt of his sword with that thought, the boy’s gaze followed his hand, focusing intensely on the blade.
At that point, the question of ‘Should I cut him down?’ shifted to ‘Can I actually cut him down in a single strike?’
Those eyes, so like that monster’s, were terrifying.
Still, for his daughter’s sake, he had to do it.
But just as he was about to draw his sword, the boy suddenly shifted his gaze away from Ho-in toward something else, and the madness he had been harboring began to subside rapidly.
What is he looking at?
“What do you mean, ‘daughter’? Cadet Kang Han-hee.”
“What do you mean, ‘Father-in-law’? Cadet Kang Han-hee.”
“Well, you see…”
Following the boy’s gaze, Ho-in saw his daughter blushing and making one excuse after another.
No—was he looking at his daughter, or was he looking at everyone there, including the professors?
As the boy watched the scene, the terrible deficiency and madness in his eyes softened, replaced by a burgeoning warmth and affection.
No, could that even be called simple affection?
It was a look one might give a fragile young life that could be bruised by the slightest touch.
It was the gaze of someone who found the sight so precious, so miraculous, that he felt unworthy of even reaching out to touch it.
…Just when Ho-in thought the boy resembled that monster, he was now showing a side that resembled Ho-in’s own past self.
“Whew…”
When Ho-in took his hand off the sword hilt, the boy looked at him as if surprised.
…Since he didn’t seem like an immediate threat to his daughter, Ho-in figured he could watch him a little longer.
“…You.”
“Yes, Father-in-law.”
“Unless you want to test the limits of my patience, you’d better stop that.”
“Yes, Father.”
…Maybe he really should just cut him down.
“I’d like to have a proper conversation about various things, but frankly, this isn’t exactly the best place for it.”
He had to report whether anyone had been left behind in the dungeon and the status of the raid. He was also busy enough as it was, since he had to go turn the Association upside down.
“I’ll invite you separately later, so let’s talk then.”
I’ll see then if you’re someone who can protect my daughter from that monster, or if you’re just another monster who will bring her harm.
I’ll see if the feelings you have for my daughter are true affection, or merely the fleeting interest of a monster momentarily mimicking a human.
And.
“Thank you, Father-in-law.”
I’ll see if you actually have the skill to keep that tongue of yours from being cut off after calling me ‘Father-in-law.’
Of course.
How could he just hand over his precious daughter to some random guy without knowing what kind of person he was?
If he wanted to take his daughter, martial prowess was a given. He also had to be handsome, wealthy, and family-oriented—good at cooking and cleaning. Since a blunt man like Ho-in wouldn’t be a good grandfather, the boy had to be someone who could treat children with kindness.
Unless he was the perfect son-in-law, Ho-in had no intention of accepting him.
He wanted to put the boy through a few tests right then and there, but unfortunately, he had to save his daughter, who was currently being interrogated because of the bombshell he’d dropped during their psychological warfare. If he didn’t step in, their already strained relationship would likely drift even further apart.
* * *
To be honest, I was prepared to take at least one strike from his draw, but surprisingly, my Father-in-law reined in his killing intent.
It felt like he really intended to cut me down halfway through, so I wonder why he suddenly changed his mind.
Anyway, he went directly to the professors to explain Ha-ni’s situation, and his words were incredibly blunt.
“Due to certain circumstances, I enrolled my daughter as a son, and I intend to have her continue attending as a boy. Any problems?”
Wow, he makes it sound so damn simple when he puts it like that. But is that really okay?
Are all the fathers in this world just weird people?
“The rules… no, wait. In the first place, she’s currently sharing a room with a male student, so regarding that point…”
Chairperson Leilan tried to say various things in a flustered manner, but Ho-in’s attitude remained consistent.
“And?”
To put it nicely, he was acting like a true Superhuman. To put it bluntly, he was being incredibly self-centered.
“Am I to understand that my assistance will no longer be needed by the government or the Academy from now on? Chairperson Leilan, the choice is yours.”
It really hit home that this world, for better or worse, followed the logic of power.
“…No. We will conclude this by having the professors and cadets who know the secret remain cautious.”
Wow, look at the adult ignoring procedures and succumbing to raw power.
…I decided to refrain from teasing her, though, because the Chairperson looked like she was having a really hard time.
“Wow, giving in to power and ignoring procedures… I guess even the Chairperson is only human after all?”
But I couldn’t stop someone else from saying it for me.
At Baek Seol’s remark, tears actually welled up in the Chairperson’s eyes, as if she were deeply wounded.
Having settled the matter in a very Superhuman fashion, my Father-in-law slowly approached and stood before Ha-ni.
Was it just my imagination, or did this man, who had been so imposing just a moment ago, look a little smaller now?
Hesitating as if he didn’t know how to start the conversation, the words he finally managed to squeeze out were:
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes, Father.”
It was a bit crude, and perhaps too dry for words spoken to a daughter he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’ve contacted you occasionally. I’m perfectly healthy. I wasn’t seriously injured during the mission, either.”
But there was undoubtedly warmth and worry contained within them.
It was just hidden behind his cautious attitude; in front of his daughter, he was clearly just a father.
“I see.”
His nod at the news that she wasn’t hurt was blunt, but a faint smile played on his lips.
“That’s good.”
In the past, the conversation probably would have ended there.
Honestly, Ha-ni had been too young to feel the affection or warmth behind such minute facial changes and a stiff, frozen expression.
“Um…”
But now that she had come to the Academy, met various people, and grown, things were different.
“Thank you… for worrying about me, Father.”
They were trivial words. Words anyone could easily say.
And yet, at those simple words.
“…Hah.”
Kang Ho-in.
The man who had spent his life learning how to wield a sword and failed to be a good father—the man who could only express his affection in the bluntest of ways.
He was left utterly flustered, a look of immense shock on his face.
In his mind, his daughter was a child whose expressions and emotional displays were faint, just like his own. Since she was as stubborn as her mother, he had thought it would take a great deal of effort to repair their fractured relationship.
But in the few months he hadn’t seen her, his daughter had grown. Even the reconciliation he thought would be so difficult had been initiated by her reaching out first. How could he not be shocked?
“…When did you grow up so much?”
“Pardon?”
He stared at Ha-ni for a long time, then, as if suddenly remembering something, he looked back and forth between her and me before muttering.
“…Is this thanks to that fellow, too?”
Well, who knows? I don’t think it’s thanks to me. Ha-ni did say she realized something in the Nightmare World.
It’s not like I was the one who took her to the Nightmare World.
Well, anyway, the rift between the two won’t be filled immediately, but since they had a heartwarming reunion, isn’t their relationship moving in a happier direction than in the original world?
* * *
No, no. No, no, no, no.
That’s not it. What is this? Why is it trying to end on such a heartwarming note?
Here.
There was one person—a girl who wasn’t present at the scene but was watching them remotely—who was currently on the verge of exploding.
Chae Yu-jin.
She had been using her faint remaining Authority to observe them, but she eventually turned her gaze away, feeling like she was seriously going to cry.
Huh? What do you mean, ‘Father-in-law’? What do you mean, ‘talk later’?
Why is the atmosphere suddenly turning into that…!
You guys just came out of a dungeon after fighting Death itself a moment ago!
She should have been happy since she had secured Siegfried according to her plan, but watching that scene didn’t make her happy in the least.
Honestly, whatever, Kang Ha-ni is fine.
It’s not like they’re going to do anything big right now, and she could just interfere once her Authority recovered before he went to talk to Kang Ho-in.
The problem lay with a different person.
Ha-neul… no, Kang So-hyun seemed to have been fooled by the heartwarming atmosphere and hadn’t noticed, but there was a woman there right now who was feigning a smile, yet her eyes weren’t smiling at all.
Perhaps only she, who was watching the whole situation from an observer’s perspective like a broadcast, had noticed.
Cathy.
She was hiding her true feelings, her expression, and her anxiety, completely blending into the background and the situation—even clapping to help create the heartwarming atmosphere—but her eyes were fixed clearly and steadily on Kang So-hyun.
With the eyes of a bird of prey ready to snatch its catch at any moment.
With the cunning of a snake preparing a trap so its prey couldn’t escape.
She was eyeing her quarry.
Yu-jin wanted to scream at him to be careful, but her Authority was lacking.
Wait, why am I getting involved?
But what if she crosses the line while I’m being prideful? Even I haven’t gone that far yet!
She agonized for a long time over whether she should swallow her pride and send him a text.
Eventually, Chae Yu-jin reached a rather stupid conclusion.
…Still, even if he’s a fake, he’s mimicking Ha-neul. Would he really be fooled by a woman that easily?
If I just let it slide quietly, she’ll probably restrain herself on her own, right…?
She would come to regret the day she reached this stupid conclusion for a long, long time.
But that was a story for a little later.
* * *
And as for Cathy, whom the Creator of the world was currently perceiving as the most dangerous being in existence in real-time… what kind of appearance was she showing?
She was clapping with a smile, erasing any wariness with a gentle voice, and intentionally speaking not to Kang So-hyun, but to Kang Han-hee—no, Kang Ha-ni.
However, her mind was racing at a furious pace.
The Wish Ticket.
How should she use it?
Since he might run away.
So that he couldn’t run away.
So that she wouldn’t be rejected.
As she formulated her plan, considering the best, second-best, and worst-case scenarios, she finally reached a conclusion.
She crafted her expression, hiding the conclusion she had reached deep in her heart so that no one present would notice.
Very carefully, so that not a soul would realize what she was thinking.
The Doctor had said it.
Don’t try to eat it all alone and get an upset stomach; share it appropriately.
However, even if they were to share, the question of who would get the first bite was a very important matter, and she had no intention of yielding on that.
Normally, she might not have even thought this far, but the existence of an unexpected rival who had suddenly appeared, and the distance between the two that she hadn’t cared about before because she thought they were same-sex friends…
Numerous factors had set fire to her anxiety, and they were more than enough to spur her into action.
In other words.
‘He’s mine.’
It meant she had reached the point where she was ready to throw away her dignity and everything else.