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"So what you're saying is, the dragons came after me because of my Cloud Thunder?"

Nod, nod.

Ha...

Back when he'd been fighting Earth's adversary, he'd whipped up a technique on pure impulse. Who would've thought it would turn out like this.

What? A secret art of the Black Dragon? The Demon King?

What kind of idiots were these, slapping the name of a secret technique onto something he'd made on a whim?

If the Demon King and the dragons had heard that, they would've clutched their chests and fainted on the spot.

"So because of those guys, I might've gotten branded as the Demon King?"

Armin kept nodding.

"Yes. Probably about ninety percent? They're that confident."

But why?

He could be a Black Dragon too.

"Right now only a single Black Dragon remains alive. The rest have all become demon dragons."

"And that's Sirius, the dragon leader you mentioned earlier?"

"Yes."

Sunghyun kept sighing.

"This is a headache. If I go back out, will they still be there?"

"Well... looking at the state of this place, maybe your very existence was erased from there? In that case they might think you went back to the Demon Realm..."

His head hurt.

So what happens then?

Wasn't there some way?

Swoosh, swoosh—

Sunghyun kept browsing the Coin Market.

"Ha. I can't see a solution like this."

There was a method floating in his head, but he really didn't want to do it.

Do I actually have to do this?

It was a method he absolutely did not want to use. But there didn't seem to be any other way.

"Hey, Armin. Hold down the fort."

Ah, I really fucking don't want to leave.

"Yeah..."

KWOAAAAAAAA!

"Oh, fuck!"

Insane magic poured down on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spot where Sunghyun had been standing. Having already achieved Lightning Transformation, he dodged the assault by a hair's breadth and hurriedly moved his feet to put distance between himself and the dragons. Even so, his fingers worked frantically, as if handling something urgent.

"Huff! Huff!"

"Hurry up already!"

"Aaaargh!"

Every time Sunghyun turned his body, beams, pillars of fire, and storms poured down on the spot he'd just vacated. If he hadn't pushed his senses to the absolute limit, he would have been dust long ago. His body level had surpassed eighty, but to dodge the dragons' attacks he was operating his body and mana at the extreme of extremes. Even in the midst of that, his fingers kept working.

"Hyaaargh! I can't take any more. Emergency escape!"

"Huff, huff!"

Having run his mana down to the last grain before finally returning to the rest space, Sunghyun looked absolutely terrible. His face was pale from draining every drop of mana, and he gasped for breath from pushing his stamina to the limit. Armin was horrified at the sight.

"What did you just do?! Are you actually crazy? Do you know where that place is, and you went back?! Seriously!"

Tears had welled up in Armin's eyes from the shock. With his deathly pale face, Sunghyun placed a hand on her head.

"It's fine. I'm not dying. Just let me rest a bit."

Thud—

Sunghyun collapsed where he stood, and Armin hurriedly caught him.

"Sunghyun! Sunghyun! Ugh, what do I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do?"

Armin's healing magic was useless.

"If I'd known this would happen, I would've learned healing magic too..."

For now, trusting in Sunghyun's natural recovery, she laid him on the bed.

"What am I that he'd go this far for me..."

Armin didn't know what Sunghyun had done, but she knew one thing. He had thrown himself into danger and sacrificed himself for her. Realizing the depth of that feeling, she couldn't hold back the tears. They fell on Sunghyun's skin, washing away some of the soot.

"Sob... I'm sorry. I won't act ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so cocky again."

From Sunghyun's perspective it had been nothing more than a desperate struggle to survive. But to Armin, he looked like the prince on a white horse from a fairy tale.

Well, all's well that ends well, right?

"Ahh... thank you, Sunghyun."

Unintended brainwashing: complete.

Before long, Sunghyun opened his eyes. Looking around, he found himself lying on the bed.

"Did Armin move me?"

Hearing him stir, Armin hurriedly ran over.

"Oh! Oh! Sunghyun, you're awake!"

What? What's with her?

You weren't like this before.

At Armin's awkward demeanor, Sunghyun blinked.

"What is this? Am I still half-asleep?"

He pinched a cheek.

Pinch—

"Ugh, usually in these situations don't people pinch their own cheek?"

Nice pronunciation.

Sunghyun looked at her as if asking why she'd state the obvious.

"Huh? That would hurt."

"It hurts me too.... By the way, could you let go now..."

Squishy.

Oh ho.

Armin had an incredible talent.

Squish, squish.

"Your cheeks are incredibly soft. Ah... I'm healing."

As Sunghyun kept kneading her cheeks, Armin's face grew redder and redder.

"Eeeeiit! Enough! I was wrong for worrying. If you're up, just eat. There's a lot of amazing stuff here. Food appears exactly as you think of it."

Looking at the table, Sunghyun saw foods he'd never seen before in his life. Same basic ingredients, but the cooking methods were novel? Anyway, that was the vibe. He got up, walked to the table, and started eating across from Armin.

Hmm... it's been a really long time since I ate with someone else.... Is this what it feels like to be a father with a daughter...

Sunghyun ate with a contented expression. Not liking the look on his face, Armin furrowed her brow.

"Sunghyun.... That look is exactly like my dad's, and it's kind of creepy."

Only then did Sunghyun drop the doting look and focus on eating.

"Weird. I've definitely never seen this food before, but it tastes somehow familiar."

Probably another quirk of Earth's special nature.

When Sunghyun summoned mustard and dipped the meat in it—

"Oh! What's that yellow sauce? Can I try some too?"

"Sure. Of course. Here."

He handed over the mustard bottle, and Armin lightly sprinkled some on the meat on her plate before putting it in her mouth.

"Oh! Wow, what is this! I've never had this before! Sweet and salty — totally my style!"

Liking the mustard, she poured a generous amount onto her plate and started dipping the meat.

Contented—

When Sunghyun put on the dad smile again, Armin recoiled.

"Ugh! Can you not do that? I'm way older than you..."

"Can't help it. That's just how you look. If you don't like it, grow up already."

Armin brightened at his words.

"I'm not far from becoming an Adult Dragon, you know? Watching you do Lightning God Transformation, I got the hang of lightning. Now I just need to grow my fire abilities. Then I might even become stronger than you? The combination of fire and lightning is powerful!"

"This?"

Sunghyun used Fire and Lightning together and produced Lightning Fire. Armin's eyes went wide as if they'd pop out.

"Nweeeeh? Wait, how?"

"It just works? Why not? You can't do this?"

Provoked by how casually he said it, Armin raised fire and lightning. But when she brought them together, the lightning swallowed the fire, leaving only lightning behind.

"Grrr! Why can't I do it!"

"Right? Why doesn't it work?"

Sunghyun had combined the attributes with extreme ease. That was due to the special nature of his mana. Sunghyun's mana carried the attribute of Taiji — the Supreme Ultimate. That was why he could learn any attribute and combine them for use.

In a word: talent.

Sunghyun immediately stood up and struck a victory pose.

Heh.

"You can't do this?"

"Grrr!"

When Sunghyun teased her, Armin's face went red. Desperate to wipe that smug look off his face, she kept trying to combine fire and lightning. But the lightning kept swallowing the fire, ending in failure every time. Watching this, Sunghyun casually said,

"The mana when you raise fire and when you raise lightning are too different. Try letting the lightning free. First, weaken the lightning's power a bit."

Fwoosh—

Crack-crack—

"Like this?"

"Weaker."

Crack—

"Yeah, about that much. Now combine them with the feeling that the fire is helping the lightning's freedom — don't just force them together."

Sssss—

Sweat beaded on Armin's forehead. She had entered a state of extreme concentration.

The feeling of fire helping the lightning's freedom. Helping feeling...

Crack-crack—

"Oh! I did it! Sunghyun! I did it!"

Following Sunghyun's advice, fire and lightning combined — however faintly. Something that hadn't worked for decades became possible with a single piece of his advice. It was the result of seeing his Lightning Fire firsthand combined with his intuitive guidance. Not expecting it to actually work, Sunghyun scratched his temple. But he couldn't show that. For now, congratulate her.

"Oh... oh! Congrats! You finally did it! Huh? Did you get a bit taller?"

Dash!

Hearing that, she ran up to Sunghyun and measured her head against his chest with her hands.

"Hehe! Dragons grow every time they gain enlightenment! I'll catch up to your height soon!"

"Hmm? That won't be easy..."

Sunghyun's height had originally been 184 cm, but through awakening he'd grown close to 190 cm. He looked around at the mess.

"Anyway, eating again in this state would be rough."

"Ah! It's fine. I noticed earlier that the whole room cleans itself at regular intervals."

As if right on cue, the entire room became clean again as if by magic.

"See?"

Seeing Armin shrug her shoulders as if she'd done it herself, Sunghyun burst out laughing.

"Haha. You're right. Good job, good job."

He naturally placed his hand on Armin's head and patted it. Her face blazed red. Quickly turning around, she asked him as if remembering something.

"Oh right. So why did you disappear again earlier and come back looking like a wreck?"

Only then did Sunghyun shout as if remembering.

"Ah! Right. Why? To make a way for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us to survive."

His fingers started moving busily. According to his senses, it was definitely there — in the newly added shop, a way for them to survive.

Swoosh—. Swoosh—.

"Found it. A way to survive. And as a bonus, I can deal with those guys too."