Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Don't Read Books—Your Constitution Will Change (1)
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After returning home.
After giving her a light scolding.
Hwaryeon stared blankly at the wall, mumbling in a daze.
"Don't swing your fists out of nowhere. Only hit bad humans who try to attack me. Avoid fights as much as possible."
"Good job, Hwaryeon."
Perfect.
Was it because I'd repeated the same words for an hour until my mouth went dry?
Hwaryeon had started reciting the rules on her own without me prompting her.
Repetitive brainwashing through words was undeniably effective.
"Hwaryeon, what did I just say?"
"Don't call me a dragon. No matter how proud I feel, hide my identity. Dragons don't fight humans."
"You memorized it well. No drooling—stare at the wall for ten more minutes."
"Hehe, dragons only hit bad humans..."
Had she overworked her brain?
The kid was drooling.
I wiped the drool from Hwaryeon's vacant face.
This would reduce the chances of her lashing out with her fists first, even if it couldn't eliminate them entirely.
'Even if it's fine now, what if she makes a mistake later when she's stronger...'
She might misjudge her own strength and pop a human like a balloon.
It was bound to cause a major incident.
That's why I'd warned her today—to prevent such accidents.
"You two remember this too, Suryeon and Choryeon. Fists aren't something to use lightly."
"We know that already, Dad."
"Fights are bad! I know that too!"
Such good kids.
I decided to reward these fine children of mine.
And that reward was...
"Playground and crayons fun! Dad will play with you all directly!"
"..."
The moment I said that.
Suryeon bolted to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Bang! Click!
She'd even locked it.
Did she hate playing with me that much?
It stung a little.
I asked Choryeon, who often played with me.
"...Choryeon, do you hate playing with Dad?"
"Um, sometimes it's a bit too much! But I still like it!"
That "sometimes" word bothered me for some reason.
To coax Suryeon out of the bathroom, I spoke to the door.
"Got it, Suryeon. I'll leave you alone. Come on out."
"You're not lying?"
"Would Dad lie about something so petty?"
Creak—
Suryeon opened the firmly shut bathroom door and emerged.
For a split second, I considered giving her an airplane spin, but I held back to honor her trust.
Suryeon came out, stared at my face for a moment, then spoke.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"I need something."
What could she need all of a sudden?
"What is it?"
"When Dad goes to work, I can't use the smartphone. It's boring."
"There's the TV."
"When it overlaps with Hwaryeon unnie's time, I have to watch humans fighting. That's no fun."
Fair enough if it doesn't suit her tastes.
Maybe she wanted to use that boring time productively.
She stared at me intently and made her request.
"I want to read books."
"Books?"
"Yeah, I want to go to a bookstore."
Suryeon declared she wanted to go to a bookstore.
She seemed eager to pick out books she actually wanted to read herself.
'What should I do...'
I pondered for a bit.
But it didn't seem bad for the kids' education.
"Alright, let's go, kids."
***
Bookstores aren't easy to find these days.
The biggest reason is the dimensional gates—nobody has time to read anymore.
Even before that, various issues had driven down readership.
'There's a 30-minute summary on X-Tube. Why read the book? It's expensive anyway.'
I felt the same.
Most people agreed it was fading with the times.
But Suryeon thought differently.
"The drop in demand for books is someone’s deliberate plot. The price hikes are so rich people can monopolize knowledge. E-books online can be censored easily. Unchanging knowledge is being corrupted. That's why I want real books I can touch."
"You've watched too many conspiracy videos, Suryeon."
What the heck does she even look at online?
Maybe I need to control her smartphone more.
I started getting a little worried.
"...Anyway, everyone has to be quiet once we enter the bookstore. No yelling—behave."
I reminded them in front of the bookstore in 05 District.
The dragon kids nodded and replied.
"It's up to me!"
"I'm quiet by nature."
"I'll try!"
Something felt off.
"Especially you, Hwaryeon. If you're not quiet, I'll kick you out."
"Why pick on me! That's discrimination!"
Hwaryeon called it discrimination and tried to body-slam me.
I grabbed the head of the charging kid and stopped her, saying,
"It's not discrimination—it's special treatment."
"...Really?!"
Only then did Hwaryeon halt her charge.
She looked like she'd just had an epiphany.
I was about to lead these dragon kids into the bookstore.
But first.
"After 30 minutes, you all turn into lizards and get back in the bag like before. Got it?"
"Got it!"
"Yeah."
"Okay!"
They answered energetically and entered the bookstore.
Cool air conditioning greeted us.
Once inside.
Suryeon looked around, surveying the interior.
"Hmm, nothing I want here."
"I thought you wanted the Y Series. Guess not."
"What's that?"
"Children's books."
Suryeon looked offended at my words.
"...Dad, you think I'd read children's books?"
"You are a kid."
"..."
Suryeon, pride hurt, clamped her mouth shut and headed upstairs.
"You are a kid, though. Besides, the Y Series is awesome. Don't knock it."
Even as children's books.
The Y Series was legendary and still going strong.
Like dragons, maybe.
I headed to the shelves packed with children's books to check the Y Series for old times' sake.
"Hwaryeon, you have to stay near me at all times."
"Why!"
"Just. Feels like you should."
I didn't forget to hold Hwaryeon's hand.
She looked stifled with her hand held, but it was unavoidable.
Couldn't have her suddenly going wild and torching all the books.
Better to seal her power myself for safety.
"Where's the Y Series... Ah, here."
Such a variety, as expected.
Robots, animals, space.
I pulled out a dinosaur one that the kids might like.
"Didn't you say you liked dinosaurs?"
"I never said that!"
"Oh? Must've misheard."
Gotta pick something else.
I moved to put the dinosaur book back.
But Hwaryeon reached out to stop me.
"Why now, Hwaryeon."
"I didn't say I hated it!"
"...Want to read the dinosaur one?"
"Yeah!"
Hwaryeon nodded furiously.
Following her preference, I added the dinosaur book to the basket.
Her mouth corners shot up sharply.
"Hehe, great! Bookstores are cool!"
She seemed in a much better mood.
I led her along, heading upstairs to find Suryeon.
But Choryeon, who'd been quietly by my side, stayed put, standing still.
'What book is she reading?'
I approached Choryeon, who wasn't moving from her book.
Her focused face was slightly flushed.
"Choryeon."
"Y-Yes?!"
She startled obviously.
What on earth was she reading?
I checked the title of the book in her hands.
"Y...Puberty and Sex...?"
"..."
"Choryeon, you read stuff like this?"
"N-No...! I just grabbed something random...! I-It got stuck...! A-Anyway, my friends upstairs are calling me...! Gonna go...!"
Choryeon quickly shoved the book back.
Then she fled upstairs, face red.
Seeing that, Hwaryeon said to me, baffled.
"Dad, why's she acting weird?"
"You don't need to know, Hwaryeon. Let's stay healthy."
"That's not fair! Tell me too!"
"Shh."
I shushed Hwaryeon, took her hand, and went upstairs.
The first floor had been full of children's books.
The second floor brimmed with serious tomes.
Maybe that's why.
Choryeon, who'd been intently reading about puberty and sex moments ago, froze at the stairs.
I tapped the shoulder of the motionless Choryeon and asked.
"Choryeon, what are you doing here?"
Tremble—
She answered in a quivering voice.
"D-Dad... This place is a graveyard of corpses..."
"What?"
"S-So many trees massacred...! My friends are crying sadly...!"
Choryeon dropped her head, clenched her fists, and shouted.
"Th-This isn't knowledge—it's violence...!!"
Environmental activist Choryeon.
The sound of her protest firing up echoed.