Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Sports Day After the Commotion
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My family and the thirty heroes were able to return safely to our original dimension.
Since they were all unconscious, it had been quite difficult to pull them out from beyond the dimensional gate.
'Still, Su-ryeon took care of it.'
The heroes there had all witnessed the future Su-ryeon's appearance.
One of them had even gotten on her bad side and taken a hit.
Because of that, the future Su-ryeon had used a certain method.
"You really don't remember at all? Si-hu’s dad?"
"Yes, strangely, I don't remember a thing."
S-Rank Hero Kim Jung-hoon.
The father of Kim Si-hu, who had come to the elementary school sports day with me.
Right now, he was sitting with me in the parents' seating area, watching the children's sports day events.
For the record, he said he had no memories of the future dimension at all.
And apparently, the other heroes were the same.
"I heard Hwa-ryeon’s dad doesn't remember either."
"Yeah, same here."
Of course, I remembered everything.
But pretending not to know was the only option since it would be weird if I were the only one who did.
The stale air of the future dimension.
The ruined city.
My daughters, lost in grief after losing me.
'It's not something you can easily forget. Especially Su-ryeon.'
That dimension had only shown a fragmented future of what happened if I died.
So, if the future led to one where I didn't die, the kids—including Su-ryeon—might avoid that horrific fate.
The future itself would change, meaning no future where the kids turned dark existed.
'The only one who can save those girls is me.'
As I was lost in thoughts about what happened in that dimension,
Kim Jung-hoon, sitting next to me in the parents' seats, spoke up.
"By the way, the S-Rank dimensional gate closed fine and all, but what exactly was it after?"
"What do dimensional gates want?"
"One of the recent research findings is that dimensional gates don't just open randomly. They connect when a collapsing dimension desperately desires something, linking to Earth."
"Oh, that?"
I'd heard about it.
I think Su-ryeon mentioned it.
Dimensional gates don't just open.
The connected dimension desperately wants something, so it links to Earth.
"The stronger the desire, the higher the gate's rank. So what could that dimension have wanted? It even took all our memories."
"Y-yeah, who knows."
No way.
What that dimension wanted...
Wasn't it me?
'Just thinking about what Su-ryeon did at the end makes it seem that way.'
It felt less like familial love and more like...
"Dad."
"Wha—! Don't sneak up like that, Su-ryeon!"
I thought my heart was going to drop out.
At some point, Su-ryeon had approached and was staring at me.
I yelled at her for no reason.
"Make some noise when you walk, you rascal!"
"You're the one who's oblivious. Anyway, Dad, Hwa-ryeon unnie's event is starting soon."
"Already?"
"Yeah, she'll make a fuss at dinner if you miss it, so watch closely."
Su-ryeon delivered the message and coolly turned away.
"Wait!"
Grab—!
I grabbed Su-ryeon's arm as she tried to leave and said,
"Su-ryeon, you..."
"?"
"If someone says your dad's super cool and you fall for him easily, that's not okay? You're my daughter, and we're family. Got it?"
"...What are you talking about? Let go."
Shove—!
Su-ryeon shook off my hand and glared at me with a look of contempt before leaving.
Her expression was so fierce that I felt a little hurt.
"Already in puberty, giving her dad that look..."
"..."
"Got something to say?"
"...Hwa-ryeon’s dad has quite the overflowing self-love."
"Huh?"
"...Never mind."
Kim Jung-hoon looked like he had a lot he wanted to say to me,
but he forcibly turned his head away and swallowed his words.
'I feel like the weird one here.'
Something felt off.
With a slightly awkward feeling, I watched Hwa-ryeon's event.
"First event is balloon popping."
Balloon popping for Class 1, Year 3, on the white team.
A simple game where you throw beanbags to pop balloons.
'Let's see where Hwa-ryeon is... Ah, there she is.'
Her red hair makes her easy to spot.
As soon as it started, Hwa-ryeon picked up a beanbag.
Then, with a motion that could rival a baseball player,
"Pop! Raaah—!!"
Whoosh—!!
She hurled the beanbag, slicing through the air.
The balloon it hit...
Crack—!!
"Yes! I popped it!"
Split right in two.
'Didn't she overdo the power control there?'
There were so many eyes watching, which worried me.
But since Hwa-ryeon was surrounded by kids and had become the class hero,
I hurriedly pulled out my smartphone and took photos.
Click click—!
"Nice shot. As expected of my daughter."
Maybe because I took it, but it came out perfectly.
The sports day continued like that.
"Uraaa—! I'll win this by myself!"
Tug-of-war.
"Hmph, I'm the greatest Hwa-ryeon-du in primate history!"
Soccer.
Hwa-ryeon shone in various events, leading Class 1, Year 3 to victory.
Then, Cho-ryeon, who participated in the obstacle race, picked up a paper from the ground and ran toward me.
"Dad, come here!"
"Me?"
"Yes! I have to bring the person on this paper! You're the only one it matches! Hurry!"
Bounce bounce—!
Cho-ryeon flapped in place, saying there was no time.
I had no choice but to be dragged by Cho-ryeon's hand to the front and get judged by the referee.
"I brought the person on the paper! Pass us through quick!"
What on earth did it say?
The referee took the paper and tilted his head.
"Hmm?"
"Hurry and say we pass!"
Glance—
The referee looked at me awkwardly.
"It says 'boyfriend' on the paper... but you brought your dad...?"
"..."
I looked at Cho-ryeon in disbelief.
"It says bring your boyfriend. How am I supposed to fill in, Cho-ryeon?"
"B-but! Dad could be my boyfriend too!"
"That's not how it works logically, Cho-ryeon."
"Forget logic, Dad! This is totally possible!"
Cho-ryeon protested wildly that it was possible.
Maybe the referee got tired of the complaints.
He stepped back slightly and said,
"Lee Cho-ryeon, pass!"
"Yay! Even the referee agrees, Dad! You can be my boyfriend!"
As if.
Cho-ryeon seemed to have flowers in her head and needed some common sense lessons.
'Still, Cho-ryeon got first place.'
The other kids struggled to find the person on their paper.
But Cho-ryeon found hers right away, arriving faster than the others.
I snapped a photo of that first-place moment too.
"Finally, lunchtime."
Perfect timing since I was getting hungry.
Lunchtime arrived.
I spread a mat in the corner of the field and set out the prepared food.
As I did, my daughters—who had worked hard today—showed up to eat.
"Kimbap!! This is for today's MVP, Hwa-ryeon-du!"
Grrr—!
Hwa-ryeon, starving, immediately devoured the kimbap I made.
"No one's stealing it, so eat slower."
"Grrrraaah—!"
Hwa-ryeon inhaled the kimbap like crazy.
In contrast, Su-ryeon quietly picked at the inari sushi.
"Su-ryeon, no events?"
"Relay. Just that one."
Nom nom—
Su-ryeon said that and ate her inari sushi deliciously.
Then she stopped eating and looked at me.
"But Dad."
"Yeah?"
"What was that future dimension anyway? I'm curious what I talked about with future me."
Su-ryeon, who only didn't remember her conversation with her future self.
"What kind of dragon was future me, Dad?"
"Hmm..."
I hesitated a bit on that question.
"I'm curious too! How cool was I as a dragon!?"
"Me too! Did I successfully marry Dad in the future?"
I couldn't tell them the truth.
'Telling them, "You guys kill half of humanity in the future," isn't an option.'
So,
I decided to bluff.
Just as they hoped I'd say they grew up well.
"Just like you guys? Noisy as usual, eating well, spouting weird stuff."
"Boo, boring!"
"Yeah."
"What about marriage! Did I or not!"
What happens to them in the future doesn't matter.
They won't end up like that anyway.
"You'll all grow up fine, so live doing what you want. But not too much what you want."
Moderately happy.
I just wanted them to grow up happy.
Of course, that meant I had to survive a long time.
'As long as I live long, it'll be fine. Just deal with that Dragon Slayer.'
To protect my children.
To fulfill my duty as a father, I decided to think about countermeasures against the Dragon Slayer going forward.
"All done!"
"Bye, Dad. See you later. Don't take photos—I hate them."
"See you soon, Dad! You'll miss me!"
Bye—
The kids headed back to their spots to shine as athletes again.
And then, the long-awaited relay race.
"Hmph!"
Still, my daughter with the best physical abilities and Kim Si-hu, son of an S-Rank Hero.
Four kids in total were set for the relay.
"Ready—! Go—!"
Bang—!
Kim Si-hu ran first.
He kept the lead and passed the baton to Hwa-ryeon.
"I'll finish this!"
Dash dash dash—!
Hwa-ryeon ran across the field confidently.
Overwhelming skill.
But had she forgotten this was a relay?
"Uraaa—!"
"H-Hwa-ryeon unnie! It's my turn now!"
She passed Cho-ryeon and started running alone.
"Hmph, that's just human rules! I'll do what I want! So what!"
Swoosh—!
Hwa-ryeon passed Cho-ryeon and ran a full lap by herself.
Only then did she pass the baton to Cho-ryeon.
"You're late, Hwa-ryeon unnie!"
"Hmph, not my problem!"
"It was my chance to show Dad my presence...!"
Sigh—
Cho-ryeon let out a regretful sigh and started running.
Hamster-like short legs.
But her speed was no hamster.
"Haa, I barely caught up! Last one, Su-ryeon unnie! Overtake them!"
Pass—!
Last runner, Lee Su-ryeon.
Cho-ryeon panted heavily and passed the baton to Su-ryeon.
Su-ryeon took it, struck a pose, and said,
"Kuku— The dragon laughs. The Blue Dragon is fastest in pursuit. Time to hunt."
Kukuku—
Su-ryeon untied the bandages on her legs and accelerated.
"Seal released."
Dash dash dash dash—!
She tore across the field at incredible speed.
She was even running without moving her arms.
Completely relaxed arms, held behind her back.
Running like a ninja.
"Your daughters are all quite unique."
"...Yeah, tell me about it."
Damn.
Su-ryeon embarrassed me so much I couldn't lift my head.
Still, for when Su-ryeon looks back on the past later,
I captured her amazing, incredible figure on my smartphone screen.
"Year 3 relay winners: Class 1!! White team wins!!"
Still,
Su-ryeon seemed satisfied.
She smirked proudly at her ninja run.
'...Everyone's laughing, so I guess it was fun.'
The sports day ended, leaving tons of memories for the kids.
Su-ryeon got a black history moment,
but wasn't that a memory too?
We live on through such memories for a long time.
'Humans and dragons are the same in living through memories.'
Come to think of it, dragons and humans didn't seem all that different.