Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Hero Association Chairman's Hobby (2)
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"Is there a dragon near you?"
The chairman asked me with a grave and serious expression.
It was such an unexpected question that I was caught off guard.
'...A dragon near me? How does the chairman know about that?'
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
I'd thought I'd hidden it pretty thoroughly.
How had he figured out there was a dragon nearby?
I did my best to keep a poker face and replied.
"...Chairman, what are you talking about? More importantly, why are you threatening my chastity? Get out of my way right now."
I glared at the chairman as best I could in warning.
But he didn't change expression at all.
"No need to lie. You don't have to hide it from me."
"What bullshit is that, Chairman? I have nothing more to say. Move."
I needed to escape fast.
I quickly headed for the door to leave.
But the chairman clearly had no intention of letting me go. He blocked my path with his sturdy muscles and spoke.
'This guy, old as he is, why is he so damn solid?'
He wasn't budging an inch.
He wasn't chairman for nothing.
His body was like a wall—impossible to push past.
'H-Help. I can't breathe.'
As my panic turned to outright fear.
"I only asked if there's a dragon nearby. No idea why you're so scared."
The chairman fiddled with his impressive mustache, looking genuinely puzzled.
"I'm just curious. What kind of dragon is hanging around you?"
"...I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Sigh. Still not getting it? Fine, I'll spell it out. I've met a dragon before. And we're still in touch."
"What?"
He'd met a dragon?
And they were still in contact?
There were dragons on Earth besides my daughter?
'Looking at him now, he doesn't seem malicious. He was just genuinely curious.'
Hmm.
To clear up the misunderstanding and my own curiosity, I asked right away.
"You've met a dragon, Chairman?"
"Yes, I have. Since you seem to know about dragons too, I'll tell you this: the one who created this association's system was a dragon."
"What!?"
It was a shocking fact.
A dragon had built the Hero Association's system.
The chairman gazed at me with eyes lost in memory and began recounting the past.
"It was a very long time ago. Before dimensional gates appeared. That dragon knew gates would show up on Earth. Back then, I couldn't even imagine—"
"Chairman. Please summarize."
"...Ahem. Right."
The chairman chuckled awkwardly and gave the short version.
From what I gathered, the dragon had explained the association's system to him and helped get it established in Korea.
"The dragon helped me found the association. We ran it together for a while. But she quickly lost interest. She wondered if a mere human like me could handle it properly. Probably still thinks that."
Whew—
The chairman suddenly lit a cigarette and murmured wistfully.
"After that, I became her follower and pushed for her return to the association. But she had no intention of coming back. Seemed like she wanted to hide among humans and enjoy some leisure. It's sad even now, thinking that I'm doing the work meant for such a great dragon."
"Chairman Gramps. Your eyes look kinda weird."
"Ah, sorry. It's my first time meeting someone who knows about dragons. Got a bit too excited."
Even as he said it, the chairman's eyes had a crazed glint.
Like a zealot blindly devoted to some faith.
'That's just straight-up dragon simp behavior.'
Creepy.
No way I was telling him about my daughter.
I took a subtle step back toward the door.
The chairman snapped out of his reminiscing and looked at me.
"Oh, but speaking of which, Lee Ha-jun."
"Y-Yes?"
"The dragon near you—what's she like? I'd love to meet her sometime."
"Ugh, that seems like a bad idea."
At first, I'd thought he was a cool alpha-male type in his prime.
Now? Total crazy dragon simp.
Way too risky to introduce my kid to him.
I waved my hands frantically, rejecting the chairman outright.
"Let's just bury this conversation. It's not helpful to either of us."
"Is it? I think it's plenty useful."
"No, it's not useful at all. Chairman. More importantly, how did you know there's a dragon near me?"
I had no clue how he'd found out.
How had he known to call me in?
The chairman looked at my puzzled face and answered simply.
"I've been through it myself, so I know."
"You went through the same thing?"
"Yes. Dragons mark the ones they like with their saliva. That's why monsters don't attack them—you can clear gates easily."
"Ah."
"Until I saw you today, it was just a hunch. But I smelled the dragon's scent on you and knew for sure. That there's a dragon near you."
Not chairman for nothing.
He had his own solid reasoning.
'I need to be more careful next time. Good thing his dragon obsession is just pure fanaticism.'
If anything, he leaned more toward worship than hostility.
Didn't seem like he'd harm them.
Even if his mere existence felt threatening.
"...Anyway, that's the gist. Please don't tell anyone else."
"Fine, then from today, we're secret-sharers. You're the one keeping secrets first."
"Yeah, whatever. I'm leaving? Take care?"
Whew—
My heart hurt less when my chastity was under threat.
I clutched my chest, soothing my pounding heart, and headed for the door.
Just then.
"Wait!"
The chairman stopped me and made an offer.
"How about meeting the dragon I follow?"
"Huh?"
"She'd probably enjoy talking to someone who knows dragons too! What do you say?"
Meeting another dragon.
My answer to that didn't take long.
'I need to ask a dragon directly. Just how the hell do you raise one?'
What the hell is a dragon, anyway.
I resolved to meet an adult dragon and ask in person.
"So where is this dragon?"
"She came in today and is working an F-rank dimensional gate."
"...Huh?"
"She's enjoying her leisure as an F-rank hero."
"..."
A dragon enjoying leisure as an F-rank hero.
What kind of leisure was that?
Hard to picture.
***
The chairman said he was too busy to come along.
He seemed genuinely disappointed, even trembling a bit, but I guess the chairman position carries weight.
'Whatever. Better for me.'
That chairman gramps.
Looks all prim and proper.
But the second dragons come up, he turns into a rambling lunatic.
"Follower" suited him better than anyone.
"Still, a dragon polymorphed as an F-rank hero... No idea what she's thinking..."
Fair enough.
You can't understand dragons with normal logic.
Dragons are dragons.
The more you try to rationalize them, the further away they get.
"You just feel them. Like music."
With that thought, I arrived at the dimensional gate the chairman had marked.
Looked like they were in the middle of closing it from inside.
'Might have to wait a bit.'
I asked a low-level staffer nearby.
"When did they go in?"
The staffer glanced up from his smartphone and replied indifferently.
"Four hours ago. Should be out soon."
"...Okay."
Bit rude.
Maybe because it's an F-rank gate with F-rank heroes.
The association staff in charge was slacking hard.
So I waited in front of the gate for the dragon the chairman mentioned.
About an hour later.
The gate closure signal blared, and the heroes inside came pouring out.
"Ugh, uwaaaah!"
"You bastard!"
Crash! Thud!!
Four heroes tumbling out onto the floor.
Among them, a flushed, bald middle-aged guy exploded in rage.
"You fucker!! How the hell do you even pull aggro?! We almost died because of you!!"
The target of his fury was a tiny woman in glasses, bowing her head repeatedly in apology.
"I'm sorry...! I'm sorry...! I'm sorry...!"
"Do your damn job right! We almost died because of you!!"
"I'll be more careful next time...! I'm sorry...! I'm sorry...!"
Bow. Bow.
The glasses girl bowed desperately, pathetically.
Her whole team glared at her with murderous intent.
"Hmm..."
I checked the text from the chairman.
"When you get there, you'll see someone getting chewed out or apologizing. That's our great dragon..."
...
"That's the dragon?"
I double-checked the message, unable to believe it.
The chairman's text was spot-on.
Which meant...
"...That pathetic apologizer is a dragon."
What.
What kind of leisure was that dragon enjoying?
What even was a dragon?
"We get in a shitty mood every time because of you!!!"
"I'm sorry...! I'm sorry...! I'll do better...!"
Was that the dragon's language for failed evolution?
Unbidden, I hoped my daughter wouldn't grow up like that.