Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: B-Rank Hero Promotion... Picnic (2)
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I rummaged through my bag thoroughly.
Just in case the dragon kids had followed me.
But how on earth could Hwaryeon exist right next to me?
I turned to Hwaryeon, who was gnawing on the vines wrapped around the streetlamp.
"Hwaryeon."
"This is tough! I can't eat it!"
"Hwa-ryeon. How exactly did you follow me?"
"That's obvious!"
Hwaryeon placed her hands on her hips and declared proudly.
"I stuck right to Daddy's back like clay!"
"..."
"How about it? Aren't I amazing!"
Hwaryeon shrugged, oblivious to my crumbling heart.
At that sight, I let out a sigh.
"I can't just take you back home now. Haah, Senior Han Ji-su."
"Yeah."
"Keep it a secret from the other heroes over there. I'll hide her somehow until the mission ends."
If word got out that I'd brought Hwaryeon along, I could face penalties.
"Bringing your kid to work? You think this is a picnic?!"
They might say something like that and cancel the promotion exam outright.
I absolutely couldn't let it end that way.
I grabbed the fidgety Hwaryeon's hand and moved away from the spot as I spoke.
"Anyway, keep it secret. I'll head off first with Hwaryeon."
"Wait, Lee Ha-jun. Are you saying you're taking your daughter to that dangerous place? Even if your abilities are impressive, this is a spot where even A-rank heroes could die if they're careless."
Snap—
Hwaryeon bristled at the words belittling her.
She growled at Han Ji-su.
"I'm strong! Don't worry about me, weak human!"
"Hey now, Hwa-ryeon. Watch your mouth."
"Grrr—!"
I covered the rampaging Hwaryeon's mouth.
Then, facing the clearly flustered Han Ji-su, I said.
"Thanks for the concern. But it'll be fine. Hwaryeon has abilities similar to mine."
"So your daughter makes monsters flee too? Is it genetic?"
"Well, you could say that."
Though calling it genetics was a stretch.
Since I was the one who'd received Hwaryeon's abilities.
Anyway, I gave a vague explanation, grabbed Hwaryeon's hand, and left the spot.
At least it was a solo mission, so that was a relief.
I gripped Hwaryeon's hand tightly and walked through the jungle-overgrown city streets as I said.
"You're here now, so no choice but to come along. But if you do anything dangerous here, Daddy's really gonna get mad."
"Got it! I just won't do it!"
"Yeah, hold Daddy's hand nicely and follow."
Squeeze—
Hwaryeon's tiny hand.
I pushed through the foliage covering the asphalt road, holding her warm little hand.
'I need to find the dimensional core quickly and get back.'
Even if Hwaryeon was a dragon.
Areas eroded by dimensions were dangerous.
Unpredictable phenomena or monsters could appear here.
"Don't let go of my hand, Hwa-ryeon."
"Hmph, I can handle myself!"
Hwaryeon grumbled but gripped my hand tightly.
And so, the two of us began our dangerous picnic together.
***
Right now.
Incheon Bupyeong-gu, where I was, had been eroded by the dimensional gate.
The city center had turned into a jungle, and danger could strike at any moment.
But even in an A-rank dimension, monsters feared dragons.
Hwaryeon pointed at leopard-like monsters glaring at us from afar.
"Daddy, there's a monster over there!"
"Be careful. It could attack anytime."
Weak monsters flee as soon as they sense a dragon's presence.
But those ones seemed confident in their strength and kept eyeing us.
If we showed an opening, they'd attack in an instant.
Hwaryeon, displeased with them, threatened with Dragon Fear.
"Raaaawr—!!"
Only then did the leopards stop glaring.
Hwaryeon, amazed by her own power, tugged at my clothes.
"Daddy, did you see? I beat them without even trying!"
"Yeah, good job. Hwaryeon gets lots of praise."
"Hmph, praise me more!"
Pat pat—
Hwaryeon soaked up the praise with a smug look.
"I'm the best!"
"Yeah. Yeah."
Whenever monsters appeared, Hwaryeon would roar "Raaaawr—" and chase them off.
When dense foliage blocked our path, she'd use Hwa-ryeon Radiation to clear the way.
Hwaryeon and I had wandered the city center without issue so far.
"What's that?"
"A huge flower!"
That was until a massive rose appeared before us.
The red rose writhed grotesquely in the wind.
Suddenly, its stem bent toward us, and it began firing thorns at us in an instant.
"Danger!"
To shield Hwaryeon from the sudden attack, I pulled her into my arms.
At that moment, I felt countless rose thorns piercing my back.
"Daddy!"
It hurt like hell.
But I lifted Hwaryeon and ducked into an abandoned building.
Only then did the rose stop firing thorns, allowing us to catch our breath.
"Ugh, it hurts so bad..."
"Daddy! You're bleeding from your back! Thorns are stuck in there!"
"Yeah, Daddy's dying of pain. Is Hwaryeon hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine! Worry about yourself!"
Hwaryeon shouted loudly, her voice slightly teary.
I chuckled and said.
"It's not like I'm dying, so why the tears."
"I'm not crying!"
"Alright. Then stop it and pull out the thorns on my back, okay?"
"I said I'm not crying!"
Sniff—
Hwaryeon wiped her slightly flowing tears and began plucking the thorns from my back one by one.
'It hurts like crazy...'
Thorns hurt more coming out than going in.
But a dad can't show weakness in front of his kid.
I gritted my teeth and endured the pain of the thorns being pulled.
"Th-there, all done, Daddy! Doesn't hurt anymore, right?"
"Yeah, feels better now. Thanks, Hwaryeon."
Without Hwaryeon, I'd have been waddling around like a porcupine.
Hwaryeon looked at me worriedly, then glared toward the giant rose.
"How dare you, you plant! You hurt Daddy! I won't let you get away!"
Hop—!
Hwaryeon jumped up with blazing eyes.
I hurriedly grabbed her hand to stop her.
Hwaryeon flailed her arm to shake off my hand.
"Let go, Daddy! I have to avenge Daddy in heaven!"
"I'm not dead, you rascal! More importantly, what are you gonna do there!"
"Burn it all! Burn everything!"
Grrr—
Hwaryeon marched confidently toward the rose's location.
I thought to myself at the sight.
'Just barely got the thorns out. Now they're gonna stick again.'
Sob sob—
I followed Hwaryeon, bracing for more thorns.
Standing before the grotesquely moving rose, Hwaryeon yelled loudly.
"Hey! You messed with Daddy! You're dead meat now!"
Swoosh—
The giant rose bent its stem toward Hwaryeon.
And the moment it fired thorns.
Hwaryeon opened her mouth wide at the rose.
"Burn to ashes! Raaaawr—!!"
Whoosh—!
Intense flames engulfed the rose in an instant.
The thorns fired at Hwaryeon turned to ash, and the red rose was swallowed by the blaze.
'Her firepower's stronger than last time...?'
Just as Suryeon's emotions manipulated the weather.
Hwaryeon seemed to adjust her flames based on her feelings.
Hwaryeon puffed out black smoke from her mouth and shrugged.
"Hmph, don't mess with me! That's for Daddy!"
"Dragons really are dragons."
Impressive ability.
That single breath had set even the surrounding plants ablaze.
"...This won't cause a big fire, right?"
The moment that worry crossed my mind.
A voice came from the supplied walkie-talkie.
-Hey, rookie. Looks like there's a fire over there. Did the rookie cause an accident?
I remembered this voice as A-rank hero Kim Chang-su.
His tone suggested he didn't think much of me.
As I was about to respond casually.
Hwaryeon scowled first and said.
"Stupid human! Don't talk to Daddy! Idiot!"
-What, what did you say! Has the rookie lost his mind? Feeling cocky now? Just wait till I see you next. You're dead—
"Hmph, you'll be the one dying! Idiot! Shut up!"
This won't do.
I cut off the walkie-talkie transmission before Hwaryeon could say more.
Oblivious that the comms had ended, Hwaryeon kept growling.
"Who are you to yell at Daddy! Don't get cocky! I'm stronger than you!"
"Hwaryeon."
"You're just gonna be my sandbag, smash smash—"
"Hwa-ryeon. Enough."
She only listens when I use her full name.
I stopped Hwaryeon's rampage and grabbed her hand to move forward.
"Don't pick fights for no reason. Let's go. Gotta get home quick."
"It's fun here. I could stay longer!"
"No meat here, just veggie side dishes?"
"...Let's go home quick, Daddy!"
No meat sides was unacceptable, it seemed.
Hwaryeon bounded ahead excitedly.
Even so, our matchup was favorable compared to the danger level.
We could still wander around like it was a picnic.
"Ah, butterfly here! Butterfly, come here!"
"Hwa-ryeon, I said don't let go!"
"Exciting! Wheee!"
I wondered if we'd find the core in time.
I had slight doubts about that.
But the picnic with Hwaryeon was fun in its own way.
Since I could keep seeing my daughter smile.
***
Home without Daddy.
Suryeon and Choryeon opened the fridge to prepare dinner.
"Come to think of it, no Hwaryeon-unnie, so the side dishes are cold."
"Yeah. Of all times, Hwaryeon-unnie's gone."
They couldn't reheat the sides.
But Suryeon and Choryeon didn't mind much.
"I like cold side dishes better."
Sausage ketchup stir-fry tasted even better cold.
Suryeon wordlessly piled cold sides onto hot rice.
Choryeon felt the same.
"I only eat veggie sides anyway, so no issue. Fine without Hwaryeon-unnie."
Nom—
Choryeon ate kimchi and bean sprout sides.
The two didn't feel Hwaryeon's absence much.
If anything, it felt more comfortable without her.
'No unnie, so it's comfy. No one's above me. I'm the boss here.'
Ascension to rank 1.
Suryeon wielded the power to choose the TV channel, reserved for the top rank.
Loving the quiet house where she could focus on the TV sound.
"No Daddy today either. So it's my world."
Gonna eat snacks my way.
Suryeon took the potato chips she'd usually yield and popped them in her mouth.
Crunch crunch—
"So potato chips taste like this."
And so.
With no one to bother her, Suryeon watched TV late into the night without turning on the lights, munching snacks.
Choryeon and Mangmung did the same.
"Here, Mangmung gets beef jerky too."
"Mang—!"
"Today, we'll watch TV late!"
"Mang mang—!"
Doing things possible only without Daddy.
Thus, the kids cleverly enjoyed the time without Daddy.
But if Daddy's return was too late, they surely wouldn't enjoy his absence.