Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Polymorph (3)
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Polymorph.
Dragons can freely change their appearance.
Into puppies, cats, humans, or anything else.
If a dragon wants to, it can become anything and do anything.
The dragons I know are close to omnipotent beings backed by such overwhelming power.
"It's not just me...! Why are you only scolding me...!"
Right now, before my eyes, there was a girl wrapped in a blanket, shedding tears of frustration.
She had red hair and an angry pout on her face.
Whether Yi Hwa-ryeon could truly be called such a being was a bit questionable.
'The kid looks like she's about to die of injustice...'
I'll put off the talk about polymorph for later.
First, I needed to address her sense of grievance.
"Why are you only picking on me...!!"
"Hey, Hwa-ryeon. How about sitting down first?"
I felt like I should hear her side of the story.
I asked gently in a soft tone.
"What's got you so upset, Hwa-ryeon?"
"I'm not upset! I'm mad!"
"Got it, got it. Not upset at all. So why are you mad?"
Hwa-ryeon, refusing to admit her injustice out of pride.
The angry Hwa-ryeon muttered in a aggrieved tone.
"You wouldn't even know... She started picking on me first..."
"Su-ryeon picked on you first? And you're mad because I only scolded you?"
"Yeah!!"
With that answer, Hwa-ryeon began explaining everything that had happened.
Who started the provocation, who swatted with their tail first, who dodged whose tail.
"Mmm, I see."
After hearing the rough details, I reached a conclusion.
"It's not like you were entirely at fault, Hwa-ryeon."
"See?! She started it with me—"
"Su-ryeon was at fault too. In the end, you both messed up."
"W-what are you saying!!"
Thud—!
Unable to accept it, Hwa-ryeon stomped the floor hard and jumped to her feet.
"I didn't do anything wrong! She called me stupid first!!"
"But you broke the plate, Hwa-ryeon."
"If she hadn't called me stupid!! I wouldn't have broken the plate! And it shattered because she dodged my tail!!"
She hasn't been born for long.
Yet she speaks so well.
Must be because she's a dragon.
'Still just a kid, though.'
I looked down at the defiant Hwa-ryeon and said.
"Hwa-ryeon."
"What!"
"You're right that Su-ryeon was wrong first."
But.
"That doesn't mean you should hit her with your tail. No matter who started it. You don't hit others. That's your fault."
"..."
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"...Hmph!"
Maybe she had nothing to say, or didn't want to hear about her own wrongs.
She turned her head away with a dissatisfied snort.
Breaking that stubborn lump right now didn't seem easy.
It was their first time, and the kids were probably hungry, so a stern warning felt like the better choice.
"Since it's your first time, I'll let it slide this once. If it happens again, Dad won't hold back."
"..."
"Answer me."
"...Yeah."
Hwa-ryeon replied in the reluctant voice she used when she had to answer against her will.
Taming the pride of an arrogant dragon wouldn't be simple.
I'd have to gradually fix that temper of hers from now on.
It felt like a homework assignment now that I was a dragon parent.
"Anyway. Su-ryeon."
I lowered my stance to meet Su-ryeon's eyes.
Su-ryeon stared silently into my eyes without responding.
"No matter what, Hwa-ryeon is the oldest. You can't call her stupid or anything harsh like that."
"..."
"No more of that next time. Got it?"
"...Sha."
Su-ryeon gave a short nod.
It was her usual response.
But this one carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
As I gazed at Su-ryeon in her dragon form, one question crossed my mind.
'How did they even talk to each other?'
I turned to Hwa-ryeon and asked.
"Hang on. This is weird, Hwa-ryeon."
"Why me again!"
"Not that. You said Su-ryeon called you stupid?"
"I'm not stupid!"
"Yeah, yeah. I know you're not. But Su-ryeon is still a dragon."
"Right!"
"So how did she call you stupid? And how did you turn human?"
"Hmph, you don't even know that? Total dummy!"
"..."
It stung a bit hearing dummy from Hwa-ryeon.
But I decided to hear her out first.
"Dragons use dragon language just like humans use human language! We call it 'Dragon Tongue'! Only dragons can communicate with it!"
So that's why Hwa-ryeon, born not long ago, speaks Korean so fluently.
She must know an even more complex language.
"And you asked how I turned human!?"
"Yeah, that's what I'm most curious about."
"Well, it's like..."
Hwa-ryeon started to speak confidently.
But then she wagged her mouth and looked away.
"Truth is, I don't really know!"
"You don't?"
"Nope! Normally, I'd have to think more about myself! But being under the blanket was stuffy! I was mad and couldn't hold back! So I thought about smacking you once, and when I tried to do it myself, this happened!"
Hwa-ryeon laughed with a relieved tone.
But my chest felt tight instead.
'...So she basically turned human to hit me?'
Her daughter transformed into a human.
To hit her dad.
She was pretty enough for a children's magazine cover.
But the reason for transforming was too outrageous.
"You've got a real talent for filial impiety, Hwa-ryeon."
"Filial impiety? What's that? Food?"
Filial impiety does involve devouring one's parents.
I decided not to explain it myself.
"Nah, you don't need to know. Let's eat."
"Food! Gimme food!"
At mealtime, Hwa-ryeon grinned and headed to the dining chair.
"That stuff from yesterday was yummy! Give me that!"
Ramen must have suited her taste.
But first, handle what needed doing.
I picked up a white T-shirt neatly dried on the rack.
"Hwa-ryeon."
"What!"
"Drop the blanket and put this on."
No money for kids' clothes yet.
Better to give her one of mine for now.
Hwa-ryeon tossed the blanket far away and quickly slipped into my white tee.
It was oversized, like a dress.
"This is comfier! Nice!"
Pleased, Hwa-ryeon smiled in satisfaction.
By the way.
Hidden under the blanket, I hadn't noticed.
There were odd things near Hwa-ryeon's head and waist.
"Horns...? Tail...?"
"Hehe. Food time!"
Hwa-ryeon hummed while waiting for ramen.
Her feet bounced excitedly, tail swaying freely.
Rough-looking on the surface, but probably moist to the touch.
'I wanna touch it later.'
Seeing a human with a tail made it finally sink in that I was living with dragons, not reptiles.
I hurried to prepare dinner before it got too late.
"Just wait a bit. I'll make it quick."
And so.
We gathered around the small dining table and started dinner.
"This won't work! I'm just gonna hold it!"
Struggling with chopsticks, Hwa-ryeon drank straight from the bowl.
Su-ryeon and Cho-ryeon, still in dragon form and unable to transform, ate their ramen neatly.
Perhaps still bothered by today's incident.
I didn't know what the culprits discussed in Dragon Tongue.
"Eat it or don't!"
"...Sha."
I watched Hwa-ryeon scoop some ramen from her plate onto Su-ryeon's.
That was probably.
A child's clumsy apology.
I didn't know much about dragons.
But that's what it felt like.
***
Firstborn.
Yi Hwa-ryeon.
A week had passed since she first successfully polymorphed into human form.
No other dragons had appeared in human shape since.
"Ha, as expected, I'm the strongest!"
Hwa-ryeon stayed in human form as usual.
Her true dragon body felt more like herself, but daily life was too inconvenient that way.
Hwa-ryeon looked down at Su-ryeon and Cho-ryeon, still in reptilian form, and mocked them.
"Haha! Jealous, huh? I'm the only one who succeeded—must burn you up! If you've got complaints, succeed yourselves!"
Click.
At Hwa-ryeon's taunt, Su-ryeon and Cho-ryeon had no comeback.
-Red Dragon trait. Noisy. Be quieter. I'm trying to focus.
Su-ryeon was annoyed.
But since Hwa-ryeon's words rang somewhat true, she shut her mouth.
-Wow, Hwa-ryeon is amazing! Amazing!
Cho-ryeon had no particular thoughts.
She wasn't all that interested in polymorph to begin with.
Her mindset was that she'd turn human naturally in time.
-Green Dragon trait. Laid-back with a head full of flowers. Even as fellow dragons, hard to understand.
Su-ryeon sighed at Cho-ryeon lounging belly-up so casually.
Their mindsets differed too vastly.
-I still don't get why that Red Dragon got mad. Or why she gave me her food.
Was she trying to throw it away to me?
But that dummy loves eating a ton.
No clue.
-The world is full of confusing stuff.
Even as dragons.
With little time experiencing the world, their knowledge was severely lacking.
No way they'd watch news to gain experience—that was a waste of time.
-All biased info. Fine for average humans. But dragons see through the essence—we don't get fooled.
News info was slanted.
Especially how it constantly attacked corporations.
Enough to make news-only viewers see companies as the world's villains.
-...They look the same to me. Can't trust news. Gotta confirm with my own eyes.
Hwa-ryeon transformed out of anger.
Trigger.
Su-ryeon felt she lacked such a trigger.
So, Su-ryeon resolved to create her own.
-Gonna see the outside world myself. I need info.
Logically, it was risky.
But Su-ryeon didn't hesitate.
A dragon's curiosity overrides danger.
-I'm curious about this world. I want to know.
With that, Su-ryeon squeezed tightly into Yi Ha-jun's bag.
To ride the wave of information herself.
"I'm heading out. You two behave—no fighting!"
Oblivious, Yi Ha-jun went to work with Su-ryeon in tow.