Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Super Lettuce
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My school days weren't all that long, thanks to the emergence of dimensional gates.
But during that brief time in school, there was one phrase that was super popular among my friends.
I blocked Gu Bong-gu's punch and uttered the words.
"Tekkai."
"Aaagh-!"
Gu Bong-gu clutched his fist and collapsed.
It seemed my body had become too strong.
Oh dear.
"Don't feel bad, Gu Bong-gu. It was just because your opponent was me."
My body had simply become as hard as steel.
Gu Bong-gu grimaced in pain and said.
"You crazy bastard. I told you to pay with your body instead of money, and now you can't even do that."
He looked utterly dumbfounded.
Gu Bong-gu spat out a curse and asked me.
"Damn it. Since when did you get a body like that?"
"I'm not exactly sure myself. But I think it's become this tough pretty recently."
It was because I'd been drinking the training water every day.
It was possible thanks to consistent effort.
Gu Bong-gu sighed as he looked at me.
"Sigh, how did a deadbeat debtor like you end up awakening? The world's going to hell, they say. Looks like it's really happening."
"Well, I just got lucky. Seriously."
"What's with the sudden humility? Anyway, if you can't pay with your body anymore, how are you gonna pay off the rest of the debt?"
"How else? I'll just pay it."
Now I had to pay with actual money, not my body.
With this body, the range of jobs I could do had widened, and my income would surely increase accordingly.
I wouldn't be so squeezed by debt anymore.
With that in mind.
"Cut today's 500,000 won. You saw me awaken, right? I'll pay steadily from now on. How about it?"
"You're saying you'll discount 500,000 won just because you showed me your future? You little punk."
"Come on, I'm gonna be a hero soon. You can do that much for our friendship, right?"
"Packaging it like we're buddies is ridiculous, punk."
His words were harsh.
But Gu Bong-gu gave a hollow laugh and urged me.
"I confirmed the deposit today. I'll come every month. Have the money ready each time."
And then.
"Congrats on the awakening."
With that, Gu Bong-gu turned around, waved, and left.
It had been a long time since I'd seen Gu Bong-gu's back as he walked away without beating me up.
"If he didn't look just like a sea bream, that figure would be pretty cool."
His bald head seemed to shine even more today.
Gu Bong-gu headed home after collecting the money.
I opened the iron door and returned to my nest.
"Daddy's home."
As soon as the door opened, Suryeon, who had been waiting in front of it, greeted me.
Suryeon started scanning me from head to toe.
"Hmm, no injuries?"
She must have been worried about me deep down.
It was a cute look that didn't match her expressionless face.
I decided to explain exactly what had happened outside.
"Why would I get hurt? Daddy's stronger than you think. I half-killed him before coming back."
"...Liar. Whatever. I didn't ask that much."
Suryeon confirmed there were no issues with my body and headed back to watch TV.
I grabbed Suryeon's small shoulder to stop her.
"Why."
Suryeon replied curtly.
I slipped my hand under her armpits.
And then.
"W-what are you doing?"
I lifted her up high.
"P-put me down!"
Suryeon flailed her legs in midair.
Even so, I held her even higher.
"It's all thanks to you, Suryeon!"
"W-what do you mean thanks to me? Put me down right now! House owner, in the name of the dragon, you'd better drop me this instant."
"Daddy's giving you a thank-you airplane ride! Good job, Suryeon! You're the treasure of this house!"
"W-why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
Confusion started mixing into her glaring blue eyes.
She really seemed not to know why I was doing this.
"Suryeon. You really don't know why I'm doing this?"
"You suddenly picked me up. How should I know?"
"Thanks to you, my body's gotten stronger. After drinking that water, it became super tough."
"That's obvious just thinking about it."
Water created with dragon magic.
When you drink water infused with pure magic.
The drinker's body naturally absorbs the magic.
Suryeon explained it that way and struggled to escape the airplane ride.
"Dragon magic is so pure it doesn't dissipate easily. Dragons are superior to any being when it comes to magic. Get it now, house owner?"
"Yeah, I understand."
"Then put me down right now."
"Nope."
"What? Why not?"
"Because I'm in a good mood."
Riding the airplane would put Suryeon in a good mood too.
I lifted Suryeon up high, then down low.
"The treasure of our house! You're the hero of our home! Lee Suryeon! Lee Suryeon!"
"The house owner's finally lost it..."
"Daddy's happy thanks to you, Suryeon!"
Ahaha- Ahaha-
Suryeon and I giggled and enjoyed the airplane game.
"House owner. I said stop."
"Aaagh-!"
Smack-!
In the end, Suryeon smacked my face with her tail, crashing the airplane.
But I figured she knew how grateful I was by now.
"...Stay away from me for a while. That's a warning."
"Daddy's sad."
"Don't call me Daddy either."
Kids usually love airplane rides.
Guess Suryeon doesn't.
I picked up Choryeon, who had been lying quietly.
"Shaaah-?"
Hwaryeon hadn't even touched her out of fear from the start.
I gave the lifted Choryeon an airplane ride.
"Yahoo-! Yahoo-!"
"Shaaah-! Shaaah-!"
"Choryeon likes it... Weird..."
Dragon personalities are hard to figure out.
"...So childish."
***
One peaceful day.
I went up to the rooftop with the dragons.
Today was different—we had something to do.
"Looks like it's fully grown now."
Lettuce.
Super lettuce grown with the dragons' power.
It had turned vibrant green in less than ten days.
It looked fresh and crisp just by sight.
"Alright, kids. Shall we all pick some lettuce together?"
"Why me!"
Hwaryeon immediately reacted to my words and yelled.
"Why do I have to pick lettuce? House owner, that's for you humans to do!"
Hwaryeon said that and ran off far away.
She must hate getting dirt on her hands.
No helping it then.
"Fine, do what you want."
"..."
"Then we'll do it without Hwaryeon. Just Suryeon and Choryeon—"
"No way. I wanna do it too!"
She'd said she didn't want to a second ago.
But if she's left out, she gets greedy.
Hwaryeon returned to her spot.
I stood in front of the lettuce bed and said to them.
"Okay, let's pick. Everyone pick and put them in this black bag. Got it?"
"Why make us do something so annoying."
"Shaaah-!"
Suryeon grumbled, while Choryeon replied brightly.
Suryeon said it was annoying, but she boldly reached out toward the lettuce in the bed.
Pluck-
"Looks like you just pull it like this."
Suryeon easily picked the lettuce.
She pulled it out perfectly without a single tear.
"Nice job."
I patted Suryeon's head.
"...Get your hand off."
Suryeon brushed my hand away, embarrassed.
Then she dove back into picking lettuce.
"You're doing great. Let's see how Hwaryeon's doing..."
"Why me!"
"Hmm..."
Better to be honest.
"...Your strength is too much. The lettuce got damaged a lot."
"It's natural for it to get hurt by a strong dragon!"
Because I was strong.
The lettuce was just injured.
That's what Hwaryeon was claiming.
"How dare a mere plant challenge a dragon! This is the obvious result! It's not that I did badly!"
"Yeah, yeah. You're the best, Hwaryeon."
"Ehm- Of course I am. I'm a dragon!"
Hwaryeon snorted contentedly at my praise—or not-praise.
I decided to let her play around while picking lettuce roughly.
Then I approached Choryeon, who seemed the most inconvenienced by the task.
"Shaaah- Shaaah-"
She bit it off with her teeth, picked it up with her front paws, and put it in the black bag.
Choryeon was diligently harvesting lettuce while chirping away.
"Choryeon's doing great too."
"Shaaah-!"
"Eating what you harvested yourself will make it taste even better. Fighting!"
"Shaaah-! Shaaah-!"
Choryeon nodded and dove back into the work.
It was the fastest I'd ever seen her move.
She must really want to eat that delicious lettuce.
'This way, they all get to experience harvesting plants themselves.'
One thing I felt sorry about.
I couldn't give the dragon kids as many experiences as other parents.
Security was bad to take them out, and I didn't have time because I needed to earn money.
Once I passed the hero aptitude test, I'd have more time than now.
But unlike other parents, I couldn't provide them with a ton of experiences.
So I wanted them to have even these small ones firsthand as much as possible.
"All harvested. Let's go eat."
"Shaaah-!"
She's really looking forward to it.
I put Choryeon on my shoulder and headed home.
Carefully, so the neighbors in the building wouldn't notice.
Now, the remaining task...
"Choryeon."
"Shaaah-!"
"The lettuce you've been waiting for. The one you were expecting."
"Shaaaah!!"
"Go ahead and eat."
As soon as the words ended, Choryeon lunged at the lettuce.
Crunch crunch-
Munch munch-
The lettuce brimmed with fresh moisture just by looking.
Compared to regular lettuce, the size alone was overwhelming.
Choryeon munched on it happily, letting out joyful chirps.
"Shaaaah-"
By the time she was finishing her third lettuce.
While I was distracted checking my phone.
Hwaryeon suddenly shouted in surprise.
"Ah! Choryeon's status!"
I looked at Choryeon following Hwaryeon's words.
"Huh?"
Just as Hwaryeon said.
Something was off with Choryeon.
Choryeon might not have noticed.
But suddenly, her body started emitting white light.
"W-what is this! Hwaryeon, what's happening!?"
"It's that! That thing!"
"What thing?"
"I said it's that! Why don't you get it!"
What thing.
I didn't understand Hwaryeon's words.
But I kept my eyes fixed on the glowing Choryeon.
"Shaaah- Shaaah-"
Choryeon just kept munching on the lettuce.
Then.
Suddenly, the white light began to fade.
And it emitted a flash intense enough to blind.
Flash-!
"Thought I'd go blind..."
I opened my tightly shut eyes.
The intense light that had enveloped Choryeon's body was gone, and Choryeon was still chewing lettuce.
One thing was different.
"Yummy- Yummy-"
Polymorph.
A girl with a green tail and green horns, covered head to toe in lettuce, was devouring it deliciously.
She was working her glutinous rice ball cheeks, chewing away.
"She looks like a hamster."
Choryeon resembled a kindergarten kid.
She gave off harmless herbivore vibes.
I approached her and asked.
"Choryeon."
"Hm?"
"How'd you turn into this?"
I was curious what caused Choryeon to take this form.
Choryeon thought for a moment and answered simply.
"It just happened, so I don't know either!"
"?"
"Green Dragons are most themselves when close to nature! Probably why I polymorphed!"
"Hmm, so you're an eco-friendly dragon?"
"Probably? Don't know what eco-friendly means, but yeah!"
Hehe-
Choryeon giggled and stuffed more lettuce in her mouth.
As I stroked her green hair.
Even as a human, she was totally Choryeon.
"Is the lettuce yummy?"
"Yeah, yummy!"
Good.