Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Thump! Parent Observation Class (2)
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S-Rank Hero Kim Jung-hoon had made his appearance.
And that S-Rank Hero had greeted me.
Because of that, everyone in the class now knew who I was.
'Ah, the time for autographs has finally arrived.'
I could finally show off the signatures I'd practiced all night.
I watched over my kids' class while mentally rehearsing my autograph in my head.
Then, once the observation class ended and it was break time.
"Come on, line up. I'll sign as many as you want."
I was fully prepared to sign enthusiastically.
However, there was one thing I'd overlooked.
Namely.
"Hey, you're Si-hu's friend, right? Can you give me your autograph, mister?"
"Me too! Me too!"
"S-Rank Hero autograph! Let's take pictures too!"
When an S-Rank Hero and an A-rank Hero are standing side by side,
most people will choose the S-Rank Hero.
'...Si-hu's dad. I thought you were cool.'
Here comes the inferiority complex again.
Memories flooded back of the hundred times I'd written hate comments in the reply section only to delete them.
"Well, that's obvious! An S-Rank Hero is way cooler than an A-rank Hero! I'd go for the S-Rank autograph too!"
As I was consoling myself with some mental victory,
Su-ryun quietly approached and said.
"That's cooljin, Dad."
"..."
"Accept reality. You're not popular, Dad."
"Why rub salt in the wound, Su-ryun..."
"Hmm, is it?"
For some reason, Su-ryun looked pleased that I wasn't popular.
'Even Cho-ryun's friends all flocked to the S-Rank Hero.'
A few kids were looking my way with lingering expressions.
"Huh?"
But even that fleeting attention vanished when Cho-ryun tilted her head.
I guess I really was an unpopular hero.
My daughters burst out laughing at the sight of me.
"Pfft, Dad's unpopular! Less popular than me! That's hilarious!"
"Unpopular dad. Not a bad thing, though."
"Father! It's okay if you're not popular! You have us!"
Right, I have my kids.
With tears in my heart's eyes, I pulled my daughters into a hug.
"Yeah, I have you girls..."
"Hmph, don't hug me whenever you want! Get off!"
"...Dad's annoying."
"Operation success—no, yes! Father has me!"
They were a bit prickly about it.
But it seemed like my daughters understood my sadness.
That was the moment when I, the unpopular hero, was about to head home.
"You're Hwa-ryun's dad, right, mister?"
The son of the S-Rank Hero.
Hwa-ryun's bread shuttle.
Kim Si-hu approached with an innocent face and asked.
I nodded and replied.
"Yeah, I'm Hwa-ryun's dad. Do you need an autograph?"
"No, not that. Hwa-ryun said her dad difference... but it's weird... My dad seems cooler..."
My dad is cooler.
At that remark, Hwa-ryun, Su-ryun, and Cho-ryun bared their teeth.
"What are you talking about? Your dad's nothing special! That's why you lost to me!"
"You can trash my dad if you want, but who are you to judge him? Want to disappear from Earth?"
"Kim Si-hu, was it? You must want to become a vegetable. It'd be good for Earth if you sacrificed yourself. What do you think?"
Grrrrr—!
Just one word, and they were pressuring Kim Si-hu like they wanted to kill him.
Overpowered by their intensity, Kim Si-hu averted his eyes slightly and spoke.
"Ah, no, that's not what I meant. What I wanted to say is... I still don't get what 'dad difference' means..."
"You still don't get the dad difference!? Want me to teach you again!? Wanna head to the rooftop!?"
"Sorry, boss..."
Bow.
Kim Si-hu bowed his head.
I had no idea how Hwa-ryun had turned that kid into her minion.
'This kid was just curious about what kind of person I am.'
I decided to give Kim Si-hu a simple answer.
"You're Kim Si-hu, right?"
"Yes, that's me."
"You seem curious about what kind of person I am because of Hwa-ryun. Compared to Hwa-ryun, I'm just a normal dad."
Though I am the dad of a dragon.
Compared to Hwa-ryun, I'm an utterly normal, ordinary human.
'No point hyping myself up as special when I'm unpopular anyway.'
This explanation should do.
With my shoulder still busted, I said that and took a breather.
However, someone disagreed with me.
"You're being overly modest, Hero Lee Ha-jun."
"Huh?"
S-Rank Hero Kim Jung-hoon suddenly appeared and called me modest.
Kim Si-hu saw him and broke into a big smile.
"Dad!"
"Looks like you were curious about Hero Lee Ha-jun, Si-hu."
"Yeah, it's been a while! Dad! Feels like a whole month! Did you make time to come?"
"It was a parent observation class, so I felt I had to be here."
Kim Jung-hoon stroked Kim Si-hu's head with a gentle smile.
They seemed to have a surprisingly good father-son relationship.
They didn't appear to have much time to talk.
Kim Jung-hoon met my eyes and spoke with a serious gaze.
"Anyway, excessive modesty isn't becoming. Hero Lee Ha-jun."
"I'm being modest?"
"Yes. I've heard the news. Fastest A-rank promotion, most Dimensional Gates cleared, Dimensional Gate clearance record. K Group believes Hero Lee Ha-jun holds immense value."
Kim Jung-hoon looked at me sharply and handed me a business card.
"In that vein, I'd like to talk sometime. Not business—parent talk would be fine too."
"Parent talk?"
"Yes. My wife mentioned it. Apparently, my son lost to your daughter?"
"Th-then, does that mean..."
He'd heard about the bread shuttle thing?
That can't happen.
'K Group Chairman's son and S-Rank Hero's son is a bread shuttle? That's not just school violence. That's news material.'
This is bad.
Hwa-ryun might have to transfer due to bullying allegations.
Gulp.
As I swallowed dryly with that thought.
Kim Jung-hoon looked at Hwa-ryun warmly and said.
"I thought I'd trained my son well enough. I'm curious how you beat him."
"Oh, that's what you meant."
"Was there something else?"
"Oh, no, nothing."
Phew—
At least the worst-case scenario didn't happen.
Kim Jung-hoon knelt down to meet Hwa-ryun's eyes and said.
"Thanks for playing nicely with my son, Hwa-ryun. Thanks to you, he won't grow up arrogant."
"Hmph, taking care of minions is the boss's job!"
"I see. I'm curious how you got stronger than my son, but..."
Glance.
Kim Jung-hoon checked the time and said regretfully.
"No time now—next time. Kim Si-hu?"
"Yes, Father!"
"Get along with your friends. No fighting—stay rational."
"...Yes, Father."
"If you work harder from now on, you could become an S-Rank Hero like me."
With that, Kim Jung-hoon gave a brief goodbye and left.
I'd thought the K Group Chairman would be stiff.
He turned out to be more soft-hearted than expected.
"That's your dad? Kimchi Hu-rye?"
"My name is Kim Si-hu."
"Hmph, and he's supposed to be an S-Rank Hero!"
Hwa-ryun gave her verdict on Kim Jung-hoon.
"He's strong, sure, but Masked Ranger is cooler! Dad'll get even stronger someday!"
Hwa-ryun spoke with full conviction.
Could I really become an S-Rank Hero like that?
I decided to ask Su-ryun and Cho-ryun.
"What do you girls think?"
Their answers were as follows.
"If Unnie says so, it's probably true. Though popularity's out of the question."
"I think Father can become S-rank! Though no ads in the future either!"
At least they said something nice.
'The popularity part stings a bit, though...'
As a Dimensional Gate opener, being unpopular was inevitable.
Still, one thing I learned from the parent observation class.
Hwa-ryun and Su-ryun had poor attitudes in class.
But Cho-ryun had excellent class behavior.
And.
'Good thing they're all enjoying school life in their own ways.'
I was relieved the kids were adapting well to elementary school.
Really lucky they had good friends.
***
The sweltering summer.
On a blazing sunny day.
Dragon Slayer was sweating it out with his coworkers as usual.
"Hey, Dr. Slayer! Move this to B District!"
"Got it."
Flash—!
Dragon Slayer picked up the heavy load and headed to B District.
His coworkers marveled at his superhuman strength.
"Whoa, that guy's the real deal."
"Things have been going smoother since he joined. Lee Ha-jun was solid too—great worker. Heard he's a hero now."
"Yeah, doing pretty well apparently."
Whisper whisper.
The laborers killed time with chit-chat during breaks.
Once all the goods were moved to the freezer, the tough day ended.
"Good work, everyone!"
"See you tomorrow!"
"Bye."
Dragon Slayer gave a deep-voiced farewell and turned to leave.
"Ahem, hold up."
The labor office manager.
Jo Hyun-gyu blocked his path.
Jo Hyun-gyu approached the massive Dragon Slayer and asked.
"Uh, Dr. Slayer, right? Where you staying now?"
"Nearby motel."
"How much a month?"
"600,000 won."
"Sigh, knew it."
Shake shake.
Jo Hyun-gyu shook his head.
Dragon Slayer couldn't understand the reaction.
"Is there a problem? The lady said it was cheap."
"It's cheap for that district! Overall, it's pricey! You'll never save money there, Dr. Slayer! You're saving for America, right?"
"Correct. High chance of dragons in America. I'll kill them all there."
"Thought you were nuts, but it's true. Anyway, to save money, move to 09 District. Cheaper there."
"09 District?"
Jo Hyun-gyu nodded.
He scribbled something on a memo pad and handed it over.
"Yeah, 09 District's gotten livable lately. Here's the address. Leave that motel and crash in 09 District."
"...Understood."
Nod.
Dragon Slayer nodded and took the memo.
He decided to check out the address.
"09 District... where I met the Yellow Dragon..."
The hulking Dragon Slayer crammed onto the subway and arrived in 09 District.
"Why so many trees here? Strange."
He walked down streets lined uselessly with trees and flowers, heading to his destination.
"Dragons... I will find and kill them all..."
Dragons had already left their nest.
Unaware of the faint lingering dragon mana.
Dragon Slayer arrived near what used to be the dragon's nest—Happiness Villa.
"Wish Villa. This place."
He began setting up a new base at Wish Villa.
The moment a new resident appeared in 09 District.
And.
"Isn't that Dragon Slayer? Check the pic."
"Hmm, looks like it. What do we do? Report him?"
"Report him. But he could help with trash cleanup. Use him?"
"Make 09 District cleaner. I'm for it. He's a total value-for-money vacuum."
The moment the elves spotted Dragon Slayer.