Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: The End of Elementary School (3)
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6 years.
Kids who had spent a long time together in the same place.
They were all graduating from elementary school and heading off on their separate paths.
Because of that, even close friends ended up far apart.
"Choryeon, I'm gonna miss you…"
"Even if our schools are far apart, our friendship won't change…!"
Choryeon's friends held out their hands, holding back tears.
Choryeon grabbed those hands with a wistful expression.
"Yeah, even if we're apart, we'll keep in touch and stay close! And we'll all stay healthy from now on!"
A bright smile—
Choryeon bid farewell to her closest friends with a smiling face.
She also exchanged final goodbyes with the other friends she knew.
"I'm going to the academy, so it's too bad! But we'll meet again someday! Everyone, stay healthy!"
Bye-bye—
Choryeon waved her hand in greeting.
After finishing all her goodbyes, Choryeon clung to my arm and said.
"Dad, I've said all my goodbyes. Let's go home now."
"No need to talk more?"
"Nope, I'm good! Our bonds with my friends will keep us connected anyway! We can hang out later!"
I'd thought she'd be sad to part with her friends.
But Choryeon seemed surprisingly calm.
"Well, we can always play later."
"Exactly! We've got so much time left ahead!"
So much time left.
That was probably from a dragon's perspective.
I vaguely understood why Choryeon was so composed.
"I wonder if Hwaryeon is done with her goodbyes too…"
I turned my head to look in Hwaryeon's direction.
There, Captain Hwaryeon's grand graduation ceremony was underway.
"Hwaryeon, we've owed you so much!! Without you, our class would've lost every soccer game!!"
"We're gonna miss you so much, Hwaryeon!! Let's exchange contacts!!"
"Our eternal hero, Hwaryeon!!"
Thud—!
Over fifty male students knelt on the playground, expressing their gratitude.
They all seemed to be Hwaryeon's underlings.
"…K Group kid's there too. Kim Si-hu, was it?"
His dad, Kim Jung-hoon, must've been too busy to come to the graduation.
Still, my daughter having the K Group heir as her underling gave me a bit of vicarious satisfaction.
"Hmph."
The fifty underlings knelt toward Hwaryeon.
She crossed her arms and looked down at them from above.
"From now on, go live your own lives! You're no longer my underlings! You're graduated!"
"H-Hwaryeon… How can you say something so heartbreaking…"
"Shut up! You're graduated! So don't contact me!"
She made them her underlings on a whim.
And now she was discarding them on a whim.
"Hwaryeon!!"
"Hmph."
Hwaryeon turned her back on her desperately calling underlings.
And walked toward me.
Her expression didn't look pleased.
"What, weren't you dumping your underlings?"
"Sh-Shut up! I am dumping them!!"
"Then why do you look so wistful?"
"Wh-When did I? Be quiet!"
Crunch—!
Hwaryeon snapped back in anger and stomped on the top of my foot with her heel.
I could only writhe in pain.
"Ow, that hurts like hell! Hwaryeon, how much do you weigh!?"
"Why would I tell you that? That's rude, Dad!"
"Do you even follow manners yourself… Ow, it hurts like hell…"
"Hmph."
Hwaryeon turned her head away, clearly displeased.
Even after graduating elementary school, I still wanted to flick her forehead.
"Anyway, where's Suryeon?"
"Yeah, where could Suryeon unnie be? She doesn't have friends anyway, so no one to talk to."
"Hmm."
Where on earth had Suryeon gone after the ceremony?
"Well, she'll turn up if we look around nearby. For graduation commemoration, let's tour the school."
"Sounds good, Dad! Is this what a school date is like?!"
"Not quite, Choryeon."
"Aw, too bad."
Suryeon was surely wandering around somewhere alone anyway.
***
An empty classroom.
Suryeon sat quietly at a desk, staring out the window.
"So many humans."
She quietly observed the humans outside.
Friends sobbing as they parted.
Boys excitedly running around now that they were graduates.
Families holding hands with their parents, leaving elementary school behind.
A kid walking home alone because no one came.
"There sure are all kinds of humans in the world. Interesting."
Suryeon watched them all from her seat.
To observe and analyze.
"Humans really are fun. Heh heh heh."
Giggle—
Suryeon, alone in the classroom, looked down at the humans.
Slide—
Suddenly, the door to the empty classroom opened.
A familiar-faced boy entered.
"You're…"
"…You still don't know my name. I'm Gu Min-gu."
"Were we in the same kindergarten?"
"Yeah, Uncle Gu Bong-gu raised me."
Gu Min-gu.
The buzz-cut Gu Min-gu entered and rummaged through a desk drawer.
"Ah, the notebook was here after all."
"…"
Suryeon had no interest in Min-gu.
She didn't even glance at him, just kept watching outside.
"You're the same as ever. Only interested in what catches your eye."
"…"
"Your family is pretty unique. Anyway, see you later. Oh, and I'm going to the academy too. Uncle Bong-gu's sponsoring me. Catch you there."
Bye—
Gu Min-gu left after saying that.
Suryeon muttered as she watched his retreating back.
"Hmm, I see."
She wasn't particularly interested.
Gu Min-gu still wasn't on a level to pique the prickly Suryeon's interest.
"I wonder where something fun is."
Thinking that, Suryeon looked out the window again.
Then she spotted a scene and her expression hardened.
"…Lee Choryeon. Too close to Dad."
Choryeon, seizing the chance to stick close to Dad.
Seeing that, Suryeon inexplicably felt a tightness in her chest.
"…Annoying."
It felt like someone was touching what was hers without permission.
Suryeon hardened her expression and bolted out of the classroom.
"…A quiet school isn't bad either."
Walking alone through the now-empty elementary school for the last time.
Suryeon headed toward Dad with light steps.
"It'd be fun to go to school with Dad, right?"
The academy with Dad.
Suryeon hated school, but with Dad, it might be okay.
"Being with someone matters more than the place."
Suryeon was full of anticipation.
***
Over six long years.
The Dragon Slayer had steadily worked and earned money.
As a result, he'd saved enough to live off for about a year without working.
"Time to hunt dragons now."
Earning money had always been for finding dragons.
Lately, he'd gotten sidetracked and focused on work.
But the Dragon Slayer resolved to get serious.
"…No, I still have to keep going to work."
That was until about ten seconds ago.
The Dragon Slayer did some mental calculations.
"Miss a day, no money… Miss a week, big loss… Miss a month, lose my edge…"
And.
The job wasn't bad at all.
The coworkers were great, and the staffing agency boss fed him hearty lunches.
He even brought homemade side dishes sometimes.
"…This life isn't so bad."
But.
The Dragon Slayer opened the brooch around his neck.
Inside was a photo of his wife and daughter, killed by a dragon.
"…You kind ones would want me to stop. But I still can't forgive them."
What that black dragon disguised as a human had done to his daughter.
Pretending to be a human man with polymorph, claiming to be her lover, the pain it inflicted.
The Dragon Slayer could never forget that day.
"…I'll find you, dragon."
The Dragon Slayer gripped the greatsword hidden deep in his closet.
He picked up the business card on the table and headed to a payphone outside.
"Yi Mu-gi. Said to contact here, right."
Unfamiliar with it, the Dragon Slayer clumsily dialed the payphone.
The line connected quickly, and a young-sounding man's voice answered.
-You called, Dragon Slayer. Ready to get serious?
"…Yeah. Where's the dragon?"
The young voice chuckled lightly.
-Seoul-01 District. High chance it's at the academy.
"Where students are?"
-Yes, and where kids with shining dreams gather. Mostly geniuses there.
"…Then I'll investigate all the so-called geniuses."
-Dragons can't fake normalcy. They can't hide their uniqueness. You know that, right?
"…Better than anyone."
Dragons couldn't hide their presence.
No matter how they polymorphed into ordinary humans.
They couldn't conceal the extraordinary within.
That's why checking geniuses sometimes turned up dragons, even if rarely.
"I've killed three that way. Then I'll scout Seoul-01 District."
-Need money by any chance?
"No need. I'll handle it."
-…Don't forget your promise to hand over the dragon corpse.
Click—
The call ended.
"…Can't rely more on those guys."
An organization that stole kids' dreams.
To fulfill their own.
Yi Mu-gi.
The Dragon Slayer had allied with them, but didn't want their help.
He knew what kind of money they had.
"…Gotta go scout first."
With that, the Dragon Slayer strapped the massive greatsword to his back.
And headed to Seoul-01 District to find the dragon.
Of all days.
"Kids, let's go buy uniforms. They only sell them in 01 District, so we gotta go early."
"No way! I'm wearing what I want!"
"Me too."
"I-I can wear whatever Dad tells me to!"
The dragon family was heading to Seoul-01 District for uniforms.
"It's gonna get hot soon. Weather's nice, so let's hurry."
"Hmph, fine! We're going!"
"But buy me a drink."
"Can Mangmung come too? It's okay, right!?"
"M-Mang…!!"
The hands of fate ticked onward.