Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 267

Byeol woke up early in the morning, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she shuffled into the living room.

Do-Jun wondered why she was up so early today, then glanced at the newspaper and saw it was Tuesday! He chuckled to himself, remembering that Tuesday was the day she played with the squirrels.

Last night, at the supermarket, Byeol had spent all her allowance on Choco Pies and packed them into her daycare bag.

Do-Jun set his newspaper down, opened the fridge, and took out a pack of sausages. After drizzling some oil into the pan, he fried them up to begin his breakfast preparation.

“Sausages!” Byeol’s eyes lit up as she eagerly stabbed a sausage with her fork and took a big bite.

The delicious food seemed to shake off her drowsiness. Her half-closed eyes regained their sparkle, and she indulged in her enthusiastic meal until, at last, she flopped onto the floor, rubbing her now-round belly.

After staring at the ceiling for a while, she suddenly sat up, pulled open a drawer, and took out her allowance tracking notebook.

“Did a good job, +5,000 won from Daddy.

“Bot gummy werm -1,200 won.

“Bot Choco Pie for squas -3,000 won.”

Looking at her spending, Byeol realized that something was off. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t just get her allowance for free. She had to collect stamps in her “Great Job!” stamp book and give them to her daddy to earn money. And her daddy had to work hard every day to make that money.

Byeol stared at the notebook for a long time, then squinted and muttered, “I’ve been spoiwing them.”

Do-Jun, who had been watching nearby, struggled to suppress a laugh because of how adorable Byeol was when she was being serious.

Byeol suddenly jumped to her feet, grabbed her “Great Job!” stamp book and her notebook, stuffed them into her daycare bag, and slung it over her shoulder. She rushed toward the door, paused, then ran back and gave Do-Jun a quick kiss on the cheek.

“See ya, Daddy!”

Wiggling her little butt, she finally dashed out the door.

Do-Jun chuckled at the sight and then got ready for work.

***

Meanwhile, at that very moment, inside the Horned Squirrel’s Cave, a group of squirrels sat huddled together, staring intently at the entrance to the Fissure. They were buzzing with excitement because today was the day Byeol would visit. Playing with Byeol was always fun, and she even brought them a special treat—Choco Pie! The squirrels eagerly counted down the days until Tuesday each week.

Meeting their hopes, a tiny child appeared at the Fissure’s entrance.

“Byeol’s here!” The squirrels cheered and rushed toward her.

“Byeol! We want Choco Pie!”

“I skipped dinner last night just for this!”

Any moment now, Byeol would tell them to line up as she always did. Anticipating this, the squirrels quickly formed a neat row in front of her. But instead of handing out the treats right away, Byeol narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and began pacing around them.

“No more fwee Choco Pie,” she declared to the squirrels.

The squirrels were dumbfounded.

“Nothing’s fwee in this world. You know that, wight?”

“W-we know!” The squirrels were flustered by the sudden change in her attitude.

“You’ve all been tweating me like a pushover. But I’m a scawy person,” Byeol said fiercely.

She had recently learned the word “pushover” from a fairy tale Kiriel read to her, about two sisters, where the mean one manipulated the kind one and took everything. When she used the word correctly, the thought of her growing vocabulary filled her with pride, but she held back her smile.

The squirrels frantically shook their heads, wondering where on earth she had learned the word “pushover.”

“N-no, that’s not true!”

“It’s a misunderstanding! Please believe us!” 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Then, one of them cautiously raised a paw and asked, “What do we have to do to get the Choco Pie?”

***

The modern world was filled with Fissures and monsters that lived within them. Although the frequency had decreased, the phenomenon called “Breaks,” where monsters crossed from the Fissures to Earth, had not been completely eliminated.

The police department operated an Emergency Response Unit in case of unexpected Break appearances, and they had just received a report that an orc had appeared in front of Huam Elementary School.

A police car sped down the road with its siren blaring. Orcs were classified as C-rank monsters—too strong for the police to handle directly. Their job was to contain the situation and keep civilians safe until a Hunter arrived.

Three officers exited the vehicle, swiftly drawing their batons and mana guns, which were equipped with magic-powered bullets extracted from mana stones. Sure enough, a lone orc was wandering near the elementary school gate.

“Sir! Over there, the children...!”

Sergeant Lee Soo-Baek followed his junior officer’s gaze and saw five elementary school students cornered against a wall. The orc was slowly moving toward them.

“Krrrrr...”

“I’ll distract it! Once it comes after me, get the kids out of there!” Lee Soo-Baek said.

“Y-yes, understood!”

Lee Soo-Baek raised his mana gun, aiming carefully. He held his breath to avoid hitting the children.

Suddenly, a noise akin to that of a stampede came from somewhere nearby. Distracted, Lee Soo-Baek frowned and turned toward the sound.

The moment he saw what it was, his face went pale. “What... the hell...”

More monsters had appeared. Not just one or two—there were at least twenty. All were Horned Squirrels. Even though they were classified as F-rank, dread crept over the officers’ faces. They were barely managing the orc, and now this?

What do we do...? thought Lee Soo-Baek.

But the question didn’t stay in his mind for long. In fact, his thoughts went completely blank.

With a loud initial thwack, the squirrels swarmed the orc all at once. The orc flailed, trying to shake them off, but they were too quick. A flying body slam from the squirrels sent the orc crashing to the ground, unconscious. With a final boom, the orc hit the asphalt, and the squirrels circled around its motionless body, squeaking excitedly before scampering off into the distance.

The most surprising part was that they didn’t lay a single paw on any civilians.

Lee Soo-Baek lowered his mana gun.

“What the hell was that...?” he muttered. “Those... those were Horned Squirrels, right?”

***

After that, the Horned Squirrels patrolled all over Huam-dong. They took down any monsters that had emerged from the Break without hesitation and readily jumped in to help anyone in distress. Having left the Fissure with the help of Anne’s power, they never forgot the crucial rule: never attack humans. Following Anne’s guidance, they helped people in any way they could.

“Huff, huff... I’m starving,” one of the Horned Squirrels muttered.

“Since we worked up a sweat, the Choco Pies are going to taste even better.”

“Yeah! Let’s hang in there a little longer.”

Just then, a large van with “KBC”, short for “Korean Broadcasting Center,” written on it stopped about thirty meters ahead. A cameraman, a sound technician, and a reporter stepped out one after another.

“There they are!” they shouted, rushing forward in unison.

The squirrels blinked in confusion.

***

After completing their mission, the Horned Squirrels immediately returned to the cave and darted all the way into Anne’s nest, which was connected to it. But for some reason, Byeol was nowhere to be seen. The squirrels flinched and quickly scampered over to Anne, who was sitting in a pavilion, sipping tea.

“Where’s Byeol?” they asked. “She promised us Choco Pies if we did good deeds.”

Did she forget and go home? The squirrels drooped their heads in disappointment. They had been looking forward to it so much. Was filling their empty stomachs with acorns their only option now? Their energy drained at the thought.

Anne smiled and patted the hardworking squirrels on their heads. “She’ll be here soon.”

Sure enough, after about twenty minutes, Byeol arrived at Anne’s nest, her bag looking noticeably bulky. Overjoyed, the squirrels rushed toward her.

“Did you all wohk hard?” she asked the squirrels.

“Yep, yep!”

“Good. Then line up.”

Sitting down next to Anne, Byeol took off her bag, unzipped it, and turned it upside down onto the pavilion floor. A pile of Choco Pies tumbled out, easily numbering over fifty. It was a literal mountain of Choco Pies.

“You all wohked hard today, so I’ll give you two each. Okie?”

The squirrels could hardly contain their excitement.

“Wooooohoooo!”

“Nobody cut! Come here and line up pwopewly,” Byeol demanded, and for once, the squirrels were perfectly orderly.

One by one, they approached Byeol and received their share. As they bit into their Choco Pies, they thought to themselves that working hard today had definitely been worth it.

***

When lunchtime arrived, Cheol-Soo stretched with a long sigh and stood up from his chair.

Noticing it was already noon, people around him also started standing up one by one and naturally headed toward the cafeteria. The inside of the cafeteria was bustling. Today’s lunch was curry rice.

After receiving their portions, people found seats and settled down.

“That training camp at the Talent Development Institute... It’s not even mandatory. I don’t understand why they’re making such a big deal out of it. We’re already doing fine as it is,” Cheol-Soo muttered as he scooped up a big spoonful of curry.

He was referring to the biannual training program held at the Seoul Talent Development Institute for Fissure Management employees. Last time, Hyuk-Soo attended on behalf of their team.

“The same goes for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. What do they even know? We’re the ones out in the field.” Cheol-Soo continued his grumbling.

“That’s why this time, the Hunter’s Bureau is sending an instructor,” Hyuk-Soo said.

“Oh, really? So it won’t be an administrative officer from the ministry like last time?”

“Yes, Chief.”

Hyuk-Soo’s answer seemed to satisfy Cheol-Soo, who nodded in agreement.

A breaking news segment was airing on the forty-six-inch LED TV mounted in the cafeteria.

⌜And now, for our next story. Today, in Yongsan-gu’s Huam-dong, a large group of Horned Squirrels appeared. Around twenty-five F-rank monsters were seen roaming the city, engaging in acts of goodwill. In particular, they gained attention for dealing with an orc near Huam Elementary School, as captured in citizen-submitted footage...⌟

The Fissure Management Division had already received reports about the Horned Squirrels moving through Huam-dong, but watching the news, Cheol-Soo clicked his tongue in disbelief. Since the appearance of Fissures, there had never been a case where monsters gathered in groups to help humans. The world had been feeling increasingly peaceful lately, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine something like this happening. Cheol-Soo shook his head.

On the TV screen, a video showed squirrels helping an elderly woman push her cart up a steep hill.

Though only the adorable squeaks came through the broadcast, Do-Jun, who understood them, let out a chuckle.

⌜Heave-ho. Heave-ho.⌟

⌜Feels like someone’s just pretending to push. Why is this so heavy?⌟

⌜H-heave... ho...⌟

Cheol-Soo muttered under his breath, “What in the world am I looking at...?”

“No clue, Chief,” Do-Jun responded with a subtle smile as he watched the TV.

Cheol-Soo looked at Do-Jun, then turned his head back to the TV, scratching his cheek.