Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: Prodigy Yi Su-ryeon, PhD (1)
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Long yet short third grade of elementary school had come to an end.
The kids had reached fourth grade.
An age where they could somewhat clearly distinguish what they liked.
And what they disliked.
"Dad!"
"What."
Was it because she ate so well?
Hwa-ryeon, who was growing the fastest, spoke with her mouth full of side dishes.
"Give me more rice! And meat sides too! I hate veggies!"
"...I told you to eat a balanced diet to grow well."
"Hmph, even if I only eat meat and skip the veggies, I'll still grow the biggest!"
Was it because of the abundant protein from all that rich meat?
Hwa-ryeon had achieved tremendous growth.
It was natural for girls to grow faster when young.
But Hwa-ryeon was quite tall, sitting in the back row.
That was probably why she fooled around a lot, and her grades were a mess.
"Yi Hwa-ryeon."
"Yeah?"
"But why didn't you bring your midterm report card?"
"...I dunno! What's a midterm even?!"
Crunch crunch-
Even after saying she didn't know, Hwa-ryeon started devouring her food.
She must have hidden the report card somewhere.
"Well, I'll find it rummaging through her drawer later."
"Ah, nooo!!"
Whoosh-!
Hwa-ryeon jumped up from her seat mid-meal.
Then she hurriedly dashed to her room.
"...Guess it's in the drawer after all. Hiding it won't help; I can just ask her homeroom teacher. Hope she didn't score under 50 at least."
Lately, she's been too busy playing, and I hadn't seen her study once.
I had no idea what she'd become at this rate.
"If only she'd stick to something. She can't seriously plan to just play forever, right?"
I was a little scared Hwa-ryeon might go astray.
But as if to soothe my anxiety,
Su-ryeon coolly handed over her report card.
"Here, Dad. 100 points again this time."
As if 100 was the expected result.
Su-ryeon handed it over without a change in expression.
"Well, more than grades, your happiness matters most..."
Still.
"You did great again, Su-ryeon. Seeing how smart you are proves you're my daughter!?"
Pat pat-
Any parent would be thrilled at their daughter's high scores.
I ruffled Su-ryeon's fine hair vigorously.
"Hmm."
Su-ryeon poked at her rice with chopsticks, savoring my praise.
She wasn't even trying to hide her upturned lips.
"Worship me more, Dad. I'm a dragon worthy of it."
"Yeah yeah, good job, our Su-ryeon."
Su-ryeon, who hadn't missed a single 100 on any test so far.
"Ughhh..."
Was Cho-ryeon jealous of that?
She tugged my sleeve and handed over her report card.
"Father! My scores are good too! 90 points, but still! I think that's amazing!"
Flap flap-
Cho-ryeon shoved her report card at me repeatedly to show it off.
Su-ryeon glanced at it and let out a hollow laugh.
"I only know 100 as a score. Didn't know 90 existed."
"90 is a score too! Don't look down on it!"
"I wasn't looking down. You're the one belittling yourself."
"Eeeek! No it's not!"
Squabble squabble-
Suddenly, the two started arguing over grades.
'These two fight more as they get older?'
I thought fights would decrease with age.
But these two bickered at every chance.
I wedged between them and said,
"You're all noisy. Quiet down, sit, and eat. Who fights while eating?"
"I'm innocent. She just got offended on her own."
"But Su-ryeon sis ignored my efforts!"
Squabble squabble-
They were still my young fourth-grade daughters.
The spark of their fight didn't seem like it'd die out easily.
Left with no choice, I deployed my technique.
"Keep fighting, and tonight you sleep in your own rooms! The bed's too small now anyway—no more sharing! I'll sleep with Hwa-ryeon and Mang-mung."
"...!!"
"...No way!"
Rustle rustle-!
Only then did they sit and meekly eat.
'As expected, my daughters listen well.'
That aside.
Now they were in fourth grade.
Time to prepare for the next step.
'I wonder where my daughters want to go...'
Entrance exams.
Even after dimensional gates wrecked the world.
Korea still clung to its exam system.
Fiercely so.
***
Dimensional gates appeared.
People stopped obsessing over exams.
College taught skills useless for survival anyway.
So, schools clustered in Seoul changed strategy.
-Support heroes. Come to Seoul Academy.
They decided to train heroes via academies.
Hiring retired heroes from accidents or those working as instructors, they built academies.
There, they taught basics plus skills to handle dimensional gates and villains.
Academy grads showed different caliber from regular heroes upon debuting.
Unless one had exceptional talent, those with solid foundations naturally excelled.
In that sense, even the elementary school the dragon sisters attended had plenty supporting academies.
"Kim Si-hu, you're really applying to academy over regular high school?"
Kim Si-hu, son of an S-Rank Hero.
His future was set for academy.
"Yeah, I'm going to academy. I'll become an outstanding hero like Dad."
"Wow, you're athletic too! You'll get in for sure."
"Of course-"
"But not as good as Yi Hwa-ryeon!"
"..."
Yi Hwa-ryeon.
Even Kim Si-hu, called once-in-a-century talent.
Had a massive wall named Yi Hwa-ryeon before him.
"If I'm once-in-a-century... is Hwa-ryeon once-in-a-millennium...?"
Frustrating.
Kim Si-hu hung his head, slightly disappointed.
Oblivious in her dreams, Yi Hwa-ryeon lay on her desk sleeping.
"Hmmnya... Hmm... Sausages floating... Hehe..."
"...Losing to a kid who worries about nothing and stays so carefree."
Kim Si-hu just felt more self-loathing.
Lunchtime.
Gulp.
Gathering courage, Kim Si-hu approached Yi Hwa-ryeon.
"...Yi Hwa-ryeon."
"Hmm?"
Hwa-ryeon wasn't pleased at the meal interruption.
But Kim Si-hu stood firm, placing a lunchbox on her desk.
"...My meat side today. Eat it."
"Really!? All mine!"
Gulp-!
Hwa-ryeon devoured the beef Kim Si-hu offered.
Midway, he cautiously asked.
"But which school are you thinking of?"
"Hmm? What's that?"
"Elementary entrance prep starts in fourth grade. You're going academy, right?"
Where to go next.
Chewing meat heartily, Hwa-ryeon answered.
"I'm not going to school!"
"...What?"
"Too annoying! I'll just play at home!"
"..."
Quitting after elementary.
Kim Si-hu's pupils quaked at those words.
"Y-You're just doing elementary...?"
"Yeah? Got a problem?!"
"N-No, just surprised..."
Kim Si-hu had assumed she'd apply to the same academy.
But her answer was unexpected.
'With that ability, just elementary? No way.'
He envied her ability.
But letting it rot unused felt like waste.
So Kim Si-hu appealed strongly.
Thud-!
"No. You have to enter academy. Or your talent wastes away."
But Hwa-ryeon who heard it reacted coldly.
"What, slamming desks! Hmph, I'll do what I want! Don't order me! Dragon Punch!"
Pow-!
Hit by Hwa-ryeon's fist, Kim Si-hu returned to his seat.
"...Ow."
Rubbing his stinging cheek, he ate his healthy multigrain rice, thinking.
'I'll convince her for sure. Skipping academy with that talent is a waste.'
Kim Si-hu thought that while shoving rice in his mouth.
But Hwa-ryeon didn't seem like someone who'd be convinced by others.
She barely listened to Dad, after all.
"Why order me around! Ruining my mood!"
Nom nom-
"Meat's goooone!!"
Hwa-ryeon was simply happy eating delicious food.
Especially Dad's homemade lunch.
***
Meanwhile.
Hearing most friends aimed for regular middle school,
Cho-ryeon was somewhat satisfied.
"I was gonna go regular middle too! This is great!"
"Woooow!"
"Our friendship is eternal!"
Cho-ryeon was glad her besties agreed.
Different schools meant no seeing each other.
Same school meant daily playtime.
"Glad I won't lose friends!"
"Even different schools, we'll stay friends!"
"That's true too! Hehe!"
Cho-ryeon grinned happily.
Her harmless smile naturally healed her friends' hearts.
Unlike Cho-ryeon surrounded by friends,
"Hmm."
Su-ryeon, bandages on her head, stared quietly out the window.
Seeing it, boys whispered softly.
"Hey, wasn't her arm bandaged yesterday? Why head today?"
"Bandage spot changes daily... Why wrap if not hurt?"
Kids couldn't understand Su-ryeon's actions.
'I hear it all. Stupid humans.'
Heh.
Su-ryeon overheard and smirked alone.
"Sealing my power with bandages is to keep you unhurt. Even that, stupid humans don't know."
Heh heh.
Su-ryeon giggled to herself.
Kids felt slight fear at her mystic-weird presence.
"She'd be super popular and pretty if not like that..."
"Yeah..."
Su-ryeon ignored the stares.
She thought it time to decide her path.
"Looks like it's finally time to start."
Su-ryeon propped her chin on the desk.
"Time to show my true strength as the power-rank queen."
Swish-
Su-ryeon unwrapped her bandages, releasing the seal.
"I'll show the world my brilliant brain. Article title: Genius Elementary Kid Enters College. That work?"
Heh heh.
Su-ryeon began scheming another weird plan.
At this point, it was practically an annual event.