Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 154
Chapter 154
Do-Jun visited the Spirit Realm for the first time in a while. With cotton candy-like clouds floating gently in the sky, the Spirit Realm looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.
Tiny spirits, no bigger than the size of a palm, were frolicking on the green plains. When they saw Do-Jun approach, they gathered around, fascinated.
“A human! How fascinating.”
“Let’s form a contract.”
“I’m bored. Play with me.”
“You smell nice.”
These spirits had various attributes. In addition to the four basic elements of water, fire, wind, and earth, there existed dozens of other types of spirits, like those of the mountains, the sea, or even snow, to name a few.
“Ah, Master!” Spirit Queen Laghaim greeted Do-Jun with a bright smile.
By now, Laghaim had no reservations about calling Do-Jun “Master.” It wasn’t out of obligation but rather a genuine desire, perhaps because Do-Jun’s affinity for spirits surpassed that of anyone else.
“You seem to be doing well,” Do-Jun said with a smile.
“Yes, it’s all thanks to you. I’ve been wanting to express my gratitude.”
New crops were growing in the field Laghaim was cultivating—Spirit Mushroom, which Do-Jun had brought from Cho Yang-Un on the Core’s fourth floor. Remarkably, the mushrooms emitted light and wisps of smoke.
“They possess a marvelous power,” Laghaim remarked.
“You’re right. They’re imbued with celestial energy.”
“That’s the energy of... immortals, right?”
Do-Jun nodded in response. Laghaim had heard stories from Do-Jun about the Core and that these mushrooms were found on the fourth floor.
“Are you heading to work today as well?” Laghaim asked.
“Yeah, I’ll head out in about twenty minutes.”
“Blending in among humans must be tough.”
“Huh...?”
Seeing Do-Jun’s reaction, Laghaim suddenly realized she had made a mistake. She clapped her hands over her mouth, then cautiously removed them and said, “F-for a second, I forgot that you’re human too, Master.”
***
Recently, Byeol had been busy with her own schedule, keeping herself occupied while Do-Jun went to work and Yoon-Hee went to school. So, what was on today’s agenda?
Byeol arrived at the Horned Squirrels’ Cave in Huam-dong, Yongsan-gu. Dressed in squirrel pajamas complete with a hood, she looked just like a baby squirrel. The highlight of her outfit was the thick, rolled-up tail sticking out from the back.
“Youh debt has been cleaed,” she told the squirrels.
The Horned Squirrels, who had names bestowed by Byeol, welcomed their “boss” with open arms.
“Squa 11 is now free of debt!” said one of the Horned Squirrels.
“Me too! I gave Byeol her money back.”
However, three Horned Squirrels were avoiding Byeol’s gaze, their eyes darting nervously. Byeol narrowed her eyes as she stared at them.
“But you thwee...” she said, tapping the ground with a short stick she had picked up on the way.
Although it wasn’t exactly threatening, the Horned Squirrels cowered in fear. Fully aware of their cowardly nature, Byeol puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
“You haven’t paid me back,” she said.
“S-sorry! Just give us a little more time!”
“Humans don’t carry cash anymore!”
“Someone gave me ten thousand won, but I didn’t have change to give back!”
“Those aah bad excuses. I bought you potions with Choco Pie. Choco Pie costs thwee hundwed won. And I gave you ten days. How did this happen? Do you want to get punished?”
She thumped the ground again with her stick. In truth, the thump was barely more than a light tap.
“Today...” Byeol declared with resolve, “I will get my money back.”
***
A party of three—two men and one woman—had arrived at the Fissure. They were E-rank Hunters from the Hawk Guild, contracted with Seoul City Hall.
“So, this is the Horned Squirrel’s Cave everyone’s been talking about, huh?”
“Yeah, the one where squirrels are supposedly extorting people. It even made the news.”
“But they’re F-rank monsters, right? They looked really fast in the videos, though.”
They became curious and intrigued after hearing about the Horned Squirrels’ Cave on Hunter news. With no major assignments this week, they decided to check out the infamous Fissure.
“Why do you think the squirrels suddenly got faster? Doesn’t it sound kind of strange?”
“Stop spouting nonsense. Remember, we used to hunt here two years ago?”
“Exactly. My guess is the monsters evolved, and they’re no longer F-rank. They might even drop better mana stones now.”
As they chatted, something whizzed past them. Hearing the sound, the buzz-cut male Hunter, Ha Young-Jae, quickly turned his head but saw nothing. Whatever it was had already disappeared.
Then they heard a voice from a distance. “Oh my goodness! So, you guys stole all this money?”
“Huh? Is that a person talking...?” asked one Hunter.
What’s more, the voice sounded young—too young. The Hunters exchanged glances, swallowing nervously before cautiously heading toward the source of the voice.
In the cave, the sound echoed, giving the impression it was a hundred meters away. After walking for about thirty seconds and turning a corner, the Hunters froze at the sight before them.
“Who told you to get money that way! You have to eawn it! By being good squas!”
The Hunters couldn’t believe their eyes. The Horned Squirrels were lined up in formation. And in front of them was a large “Horned Squirrel.” No, it wasn’t a squirrel—it was a toddler, perhaps around three years old, dressed in squirrel pajamas, holding a tiny stick.
“I am vewy disappointed,” she said.
As he looked at Byeol, Ha Young-Jae muttered, “Could this be... a humanoid boss monster?”
Was that even possible? Though there was no precedent, the Fissure was an unpredictable phenomenon. Given the squirrels’ sudden change in speed, it seemed plausible.
Already tensed, the three Hunters went on high alert.
“Wake up, everyone, prepare for combat!”
“Seriously! This is why I said we should stay out of this Fissure!”
“Shut up and get your mana gun ready!”
As their eyes met Byeol’s, the Horned Squirrels scurried behind her in fear. Byeol sighed, rummaged through her pocket, and pulled out her coin purse that held eight one-hundred-won coins.
Byeol let her head droop and asked the Squa Squad behind her, “Did you take money fwom those people?”
“W-we can’t remember!”
“All humans look the same!”
There was no helping it. Not knowing for sure, she decided to pay them back anyway. Byeol took three coins from her wallet and held them out.
“Sowwy,” she said.
The Hunters exchanged bewildered looks, stunned.
“What the hell...”
This kid was... too cute.
***
Byeol wasn’t heading out for snacks after dinner, even though it had become a routine to do so with Yong-Yong or Karsiel about an hour later.
Do-Jun approached Byeol, lifted her into his arms, and asked, “Not going to the store today?”
“No... I don’t have any money.”
“But Yoon-Hee gave you allowance money yesterday, didn’t she?”
“Yeah... but I spent it all today.”
“Did you buy chocolate bread?”
At Do-Jun’s question, Byeol hung her head. Then, looking a little teary-eyed, she buried herself in Do-Jun’s arms.
“I went to get money... but ended up giving money instead. I have to go give money again tomowwow.”
Do-Jun realized that she had likely gone to collect money from the Horned Squirrels. But what was this about giving money instead? What could she mean?
That part remained a mystery to him.
***
The following morning, Do-Jun left the house earlier than usual. He had planned to leave around 8 AM, but he couldn’t ignore how Byeol had cried the night before.
“Fall in,” Do-Jun said, pressing his fingers to his temple as he entered the Horned Squirrel’s Cave.
In an instant, all the Horned Squirrels within the Fissure came rushing out.
“Ahh!”
“Why is my body...?”
“W-what’s happening?!”
When they spotted Do-Jun, they froze in place as if they’d seen the Grim Reaper himself. It wasn’t just the sight of Do-Jun that terrified them; it was also the guilt they felt from watching Byeol dole out her entire fortune to humans the previous day with such a gloomy expression.
“Tell me exactly what happened yesterday. Don’t leave anything out,” he said.
“Byeol came to collect money!”
“But she said we did bad things and gave the money back to the humans!”
“She spent everything she had!”
“Humans...? Do you remember who they were?” Do-Jun asked.
The Horned Squirrels described the appearance of the humans to him.
***
As soon as he arrived at work, Do-Jun summoned the Hawk Guild Hunters. These three Hunters had been contracted with Seoul City Hall even before Do-Jun joined. Standing in front of the supervisor nicknamed “the Drill Sergeant,” they couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
“You went to the Horned Squirrel’s Cave yesterday, didn’t you?” Do-Jun asked the Hunters.
“H-how did you know that?”
After their confirmation, Do-Jun added, “And you each received a hundred won.”
They gasped in unison. They hadn’t told anyone about this, so how could Supervisor Lee know such a thing? There was a running joke among people that Lee Do-Jun knew everything, but they had dismissed it as mere exaggeration.
“I thought about it, and since you haven’t been assigned any work recently, I’m sure you must’ve been bored,” said Do-Jun, opening his bag and pulling out a box of Choco Pie and three thousand won, which he handed to the Hunters.
“W-what’s this...?” Ha Young-Jae asked, puzzled.
“This is...” Do-Jun gave them a sly smile and said, “Your assignment.”
***
Like yesterday, Byeol trudged into the Horned Squirrel’s Cave. Clutching her entire remaining fortune of four hundred won in a small coin pouch, she felt sad just thinking about having to give away this money as well.
Someone entered the cave. Hearing their footsteps, Byeol listlessly pulled out her coin pouch. However, she saw the exact same Hunters from yesterday. Were they here to get even more money from her?
“Hey little girl, you’re such a good kid,” Ha Young-Jae said with a gentle smile as he approached her. “You did a kind thing by returning money to others.”
Then he retrieved a box of Choco Pie and held it out for Byeol. “A good kid like you deserves a reward, haha.”
Byeol stared at him, stunned, before accepting the box with wide eyes.
“Weally? This is for me?” she asked.
“Of course. And this is another gift from us.”
He held out three one-thousand-won bills.
“T-this is so much money,” Byeol said, visibly taken aback.
“It’s a small reward compared to the good thing you did, Byeol. Haha.”
“Weally...?”
“Yes! We’re fairies who give presents to children who do good deeds!”
At those words, Byeol beamed brightly.
***
When Do-Jun came home from work, Byeol ran up to him excitedly.
“Daddy, look at this!” she exclaimed, holding up a box of a dozen Choco Pies.
“A faiwy gave it to me!”
“Really? A fairy gave it to you?”
“Yeah! They said I did a good thing, so they gave me this. And I got lots of money too!”
Do-Jun smiled warmly and gently patted Byeol’s head.
“That’s wonderful to hear.”
This content is taken from free web nov𝒆l.com