Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 140
Chapter 140
On Friday, Yong-Yong was out running an errand for Yoon-Hee. He was on his way home from the store after buying soy sauce.
A new restaurant had opened near their home, and its name was quite unusual: “Shobu Ramen.” It seemed that they were hosting a grand opening event. Flags were strung from the store’s eaves to the street, and the shop buzzed with a mix of chatter, cheers, and disappointed groans.
Yong-Yong hung the plastic bag around his neck like a heavy necklace and walked toward the restaurant, where the noise was coming from. He sniffed curiously, and a familiar yet intriguing scent tickled his nose. It didn’t take long for him to figure out what it was.
“Ramen?” he muttered.
Then his gaze landed on a burly man eating ramen from a bowl as big as a washbasin. Sweat poured down his face, and his expression twisted in agony as he struggled to finish the noodles already stuffed in his throat.
People were gathered around him, cheering.
“Alright! 3 minutes left!”
“Eat faster! You still have time!”
“Just slurp it down!”
“That’s easier said than done. The soup is probably super hot!”
Curious, Yong-Yong prodded a man’s heel with his paw. “Hey, human. What’s this guy doing?”
A slender man in glasses felt a poke at his heel and looked down. He found himself staring into the shiny, sparkling eyes of a small mini-dragon.
“Holy crap! A talking dog!” he yelped, startled.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You’ve never seen a dog like me. Anyway, explain what’s going on here,” Yong-Yong said impatiently.
The man picked up Yong-Yong and showed him the ramen speed-eating competition.
“Oh, it is ramen!” Yong-Yong exclaimed.
“If you finish one bowl in thirty minutes, you don’t have to pay for that bowl. Two bowls get you a free ramen pass for a month. Three bowls, and you get a six-month pass. By the way, that guy hasn’t even finished one bowl yet.”
“That’s an insane deal!” Yong-Yong said, eyes sparkling.
Finish three bowls in thirty minutes and get six months of free ramen? To Yong-Yong, this was better than winning the lottery.
The man, still amazed by the talking dog, studied him closely before shrugging, as if this weren’t the strangest thing to happen in the world these days.
He explained, “Each bowl contains five servings of ramen. It’s impossible for a normal person to finish that much.”
Having finished the noodles with a loud slurp, the challenger began gulping down the broth desperately. However, he soon came to a halt due to the scalding heat and sheer volume of liquid.
Seeing that, the shop owner smirked triumphantly and began the countdown.
“Three! Two! One! Time’s up!”
“Aaaaah!” The spectators groaned in disappointment.
The challenger slammed the bowl down, covered his mouth with his hand, and bolted to the restroom. Moments later, having finished his “business,” he returned, only to be presented with the bill by the owner. Failing meant paying 40,000 won for five servings of ramen. In the end, the challenger tearfully pulled out his card to pay.
After a brief contemplation, Yong-Yong jumped out of the man’s arms and returned home.
***
After returning from the Academy, Yoon-Hee was busy preparing dinner. Tonight’s main dish was braised spicy chicken with her special soy sauce. Although the gochujang version was good, Yong-Yong especially loved her soy sauce version.
Returning from his errand, Yong-Yong placed the soy sauce bottle on the table. “Here’s the soy sauce and change.”
“Good job. I’ll make the braised chicken extra delicious for you.”
“I’m skipping dinner tonight.”
Yong-Yong’s shocking announcement caused Yoon-Hee to drop the potato she was holding.
Skipping dinner? Yong-Yong?
Even Karsiel, who was helping with dinner, looked visibly stunned.
“I’m going to bed early.” With that, Yong-Yong walked into the bedroom, leaving Yoon-Hee staring at the closed door, worry written all over her face.
Yong-Yong loved eating and had never once skipped a meal.
“Karsiel, is something wrong with Yong-Yong?” Yoon-Hee asked.
“I’m not sure... I can’t think of anything.”
“Father, do you know why Yong-Yong’s acting like this?”
Do-Jun was sitting on the living room sofa, reading a newspaper. He looked just as puzzled as the others. Concerned, he stood up, intending to check on Yong-Yong in the bedroom, but he overheard Yong-Yong muttering to himself from inside.
—Hehe, three bowls of ramen will be nothing if I skip dinner.”
Do-Jun silently returned to the sofa and resumed reading his newspaper.
***
The next day, Do-Jun took Byeol with him to the Core. They visited Treasure Goblin Company to purchase artifacts as a thank you to the S-rank Hunters who had helped him.
Adventurers from the Core were browsing artifacts on display across the massive shopping complex, which spanned eight floors below ground.
Do-Jun and Byeol began shopping on the first floor, which catered to beginner adventurers, offering the cheapest artifacts. Despite the low prices, the performance of these items was far superior to anything found on Earth.
[Lemargu’s Heart Extract]
Category: Consumable/Miscellaneous
Grade: 3
Special Effect: Permanently increases wound recovery rate and stamina regeneration by 30% upon consumption.
Description: A concentrated extract made from the heart’s magic and blood of the Lemargu, a mermaid species native to Carantulle. Known for its regenerative properties, the heart of the Lemargu significantly enhances an adventurer’s physical capabilities. Cannot be stacked.
[Vampire’s Cloak]
Category: Armor
Grade: 2
Option: Applies “life steal” effect on attacks.
Magic Resistance: 2
Description: A cloak used by high-ranking nobles, the vampires. The fabric reeks of blood. Is its deep red color from the material, or is it soaked in blood? (Part of the Vampire Set. Grants set bonuses when combined with other items in the set.)
While exploring the artifacts, Byeol closely followed Do-Jun, glancing around at the displays with curiosity. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks.
“Oh... my... wohld...”
What caught Byeol’s eye was an adorable coin purse with a cute bear face design on a white background, just the right size for her tiny hands.
“It’s... puhfect...”
Byeol loved her current yellow chick coin purse, but this bear coin purse radiated a cuteness that was hard to ignore.
She carefully examined the purse, then looked at the price tag and read it out loud, “Five wed mastuwy stones.”
Byeol was very familiar with the currency, having spent most of her life on the first floor of the Core. However, she didn’t have any. These mastery stones could only be obtained by defeating monsters, but Byeol had never killed anyone—or anything—and had no desire to do so.
She glanced at Do-Jun, who was about ten meters away, purchasing artifacts. The mastery stones required for payment popped out from the bracelet on his wrist as needed, which he used to pay for the artifacts.
“Excuse me, mistah,” Byeol called to the shopkeeper, pointing at the bear purse.
Treasure Goblin Bibik examined the purse that Byeol pointed to. It was actually a useless trinket with no special functions, far from being a popular item. However, with his seasoned merchant’s intuition, Bibik could immediately tell that Byeol wanted it.
“Of course, young lady. This purse is in high demand. If you don’t buy it now, it’ll be gone in no time. And it’s a limited edition—only one left in stock!” Bibik exaggerated.
Byeol gasped. She didn’t know what “limited edition” meant, but she understood perfectly well that there was only one left. She rummaged through her chick coin purse and pulled out a “Choco Pie.”
“Excuse me, mistah, look at this.”
Bibik leaned forward, scrutinizing the item. It was something he had never seen before.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Did you get a good look?”
“Y-yes.”
Byeol tore open the wrapper, revealing a small, chocolate-covered treat.
“Awe you still looking?”
“Yes, I am...”
“It’s chocolate bwead,” Byeold explained.
“Hm...”
“Will you twade this for the wallet?”
Bibik chuckled with a shrug and asked, “Why would I trade my product for something I don’t even know?”
“Hm, you wanna twy it fihst, then?”
“For free?”
“Yep! It’s a sample!” Byeol handed the Choco Pie to Bibik.
***
“A sample, huh...” Bibik carefully examined the small, dark, circular object handed to him by the little girl.
It fit perfectly in his palm. Judging by the word “sample,” it was meant to be eaten. Treasure Goblins liked nothing more than freebies, so he decided to take a bite.
That’s when his world changed.
A burst of sweetness filled his mouth. The outside was slightly firm, while the inside was soft and chewy. Bibik’s eyes widened in disbelief as he ravenously devoured the rest of the Choco Pie.
Within moments, it was gone.
“W-where has this heavenly taste been all my life?!” Bibik exclaimed.
He wanted more. One wasn’t enough.
In a frenzy, Bibik closed his shop and began searching the marketplace for the little girl. It didn’t take long to find her.
Grinning widely, Bibik ran toward Byeol.
***
“Bibik, what’s this?” one of Bibik’s colleagues asked, noticing something odd about the price tags in his shop.
Spear of Teig
Price: 80 red mastery stones
Or: 1 Choco Pie
“Choco Pie?” the colleague muttered in confusion.
Bibik smacked his lips before answering, “Yep. Choco Pie.”
From that day forward, under Bibik’s leadership, a new form of currency began to circulate among the Treasure Goblin Company.
***
Tonight’s dinner was ramen. Yoon-Hee had felt bad about Yong-Yong skipping his meal the night before, so she decided to make the ramen he’d been begging for, even though she rarely indulged him. The spicy, savory aroma of ramen filled the house. Byeol was already sitting at the dining table, eagerly waiting for the ramen to finish cooking.
“Ramen...?” Yong-Yong asked, glancing at the pot of boiling ramen.
He lounged on the sofa, burping repeatedly, with a forlorn expression, resembling a king who had lost his kingdom.
Yoon-Hee smiled and patted Yong-Yong on the head. “Looks good, doesn’t it? You’ve been singing about wanting ramen for ages.”
“Kuh... kuhuh... not today...” Yong-Yong burped again and dashed outside.
The door closed with a bang.
“Y-Yong-Yong!” Yoon-Hee stared after him, confused.
Meanwhile, Do-Jun, seated at the table, chuckled as he looked at a coupon and a congratulatory message. The photo accompanying the message showed Yong-Yong, who had finished three bowls of ramen earlier, caught mid-burp.
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