Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 271

As the saying goes, “Praises move even mountains,” it is hard to find someone in the world who doesn’t enjoy occasional compliments.

A kind word can bring a smile to one’s face, but like many things in life, too much of anything is never good. When praise becomes excessive and never-ending, it starts to feel more like a burden than a joy.

Song Jung-Seok, Director of the Hunter’s Bureau Fissure Management Division, was passionately giving a speech, practically spitting into the microphone, as he extolled Do-Jun’s “greatness” to the trainees.

“And that’s not all. Since Supervisor Lee Do-Jun joined, not only has the number of contracted Hunters under the Seoul City Government increased, but their ranks have also improved dramatically. Now, if you look at this graph, you’ll see a clear breakdown of the quarterly distribution of contracted Hunters and their rank progression.”

This had been going on for an hour.

“Wow... He’s really amazing.”

“No wonder the Hunter’s Bureau gives him special treatment.”

With each slide change, the trainees’ murmurs didn’t stop, and their eyes sparkled. They absorbed every word that was being spoon-fed to them as if they were baby birds being fed by their mother.

It wasn’t that Song Jung-Seok was lying, either; everything he said was technically true. However, his delivery was so laden with flowery exaggerations that it sounded almost over-the-top.

Do-Jun quietly closed his eyes. For some reason, his head was starting to throb.

When did they compile all this data? He was dumbfounded.

Of course, anything unsuitable for public disclosure, like his solo raid of an S-rank Great Fissure with a wave reading of over five thousand or his operations in the Core, had been conveniently left out, so there was no real issue.

“And last but not least!” Song Jung-Seok’s enthusiasm reached new heights, and the trainees followed suit.

Ordinarily, these training sessions would be mind-numbingly dull, yet everyone in the room was leaning forward, engrossed in his fiery speech.

“This is the very guidebook that compiles Supervisor Lee Do-Jun’s invaluable expertise!” Song-Jung-Seok declared.

Thunderous applause erupted, and all eyes in the auditorium turned to Do-Jun. Even Im Hyo-Sang, who had been pouting an hour ago, now looked at him with admiration.

Was this really a Fissure management training session, or had he somehow stumbled into a fan club meeting?

Do-Jun let out a short sigh.

***

Kang-Hyun, also known as the Sword Emperor, was the president of the DAC: Do-Jun Admirers Club, or just DAC for short.

This secretive organization operated with the utmost discretion and had precisely twelve members—every one of them a top-tier S-rank Hunter in Korea. And right now, the president of DAC was deep in thought as he stared at a PowerPoint file on the computer screen.

[Training_Presentation.ppt]

Song Jung-Seok, Director of the Fissure Management Division, had created this presentation based on a guidebook Do-Jun had drafted, intending to introduce it during the Fissure management training for civil servants from across the nation. The intent behind his involvement was undeniably appealing.

The office door swung open as Jun-Yeol walked in. He collapsed onto the sofa, yawning loudly. His exhaustion was evident since he had been up since dawn, dealing with three S-rank monsters that had appeared around the Gyeonggi-do area.

“Ryu Jun-Yeol,” Kang Hyun called out to him.

“Yeah?”

“If we were to accept a new member into DAC, what do you think we’d need?”

“Huh? We shouldn’t have anyone coming up for a while now,” Jun-Yeol remarked.

Ye-Ji was the latest S-rank Hunter to be promoted. She had jumped from F-rank to S-rank in an astonishingly short amount of time, all thanks to Do-Jun’s support.

Jun-Yeol mentally reviewed the current lineup of A-rank Hunters. Was there anyone among them who seemed likely to advance to S-rank? Of course, with enough time, they would naturally level up and improve, but realistically, none of them seemed capable of reaching S-rank within the next three years.

He asked, “Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?”

“Take a look at this for a moment,” Kang-Hyun said, and Jun-Yeol got up to glance at the monitor, where the presentation file titled Training_Presentation.ppt was being displayed.

“It’s something Director Song put together. I think it’s quite good,” Kang-Hyun said.

“That guy really has no fear...” Jun-Yeol said, a sudden unease creeping over him.

“So I was thinking—why don’t we make one of our own?” Kang-Hyun suggested.

“Wait, what?”

“A new member might not know much about Supervisor Lee. Of course, membership is voluntary, but still.”

“Senior. No, Kang-Hyun. Don’t you remember what happened to me?”

Once upon a time, Jun-Yeol had created a Do-Jun Analysis Report. When Do-Jun found out, he was sentenced to write a hundred-page reflection paper. It had been about six months since he swore never to do anything so foolish again.

“Of course, I remember,” Kang-Hyun said.

“T-then why are you doing this to me?” Jun-Yeol wailed.

“Obviously, we won’t tell Supervisor Lee about it. The DAC operates in total secrecy anyway.”

DAC was an extremely secretive organization. No one outside the members could ever learn about it, especially Do-Jun—no one knew what kind of terrifying judgment he might pass down if he ever found out.

With an audible gulp, Jun-Yeol stammered, “I-I-I’m out. Count me out.”

“Really? Well, that’s your choice.”

“No, Kang-Hyun, seriously. I’m scared.”

Others might not understand, but Jun-Yeol was already walking on very thin ice. He had been sentenced to write countless reflection papers over various small incidents. In other words, he couldn’t afford to take any more reckless steps.

“Fine. I won’t force you if you don’t want to.”

***

Twelve S-rank Hunters gathered in a small conference room at the Hunter’s Bureau, smiling as they reviewed Song Jung-Seok’s presentation.

“Wow, this is great!” Min-Ji was the first to react. “S-rank Hunters all end up working under Supervisor Lee anyway, right? Chief Jung will share some information, but that won’t be enough. If we have a guide made by fellow S-rank Hunters, it’ll help new members understand Supervisor Lee much more easily.”

How great a person Do-Jun was, and all the support he provided to S-rank Hunters so far. Every S-ranker in the room, to some extent, had received direct or indirect help from Do-Jun. Among them, Behemoth, Icarus, and Ye-Ji had benefited the most. Excluding Jun-Yeol, they were all fully on board with the idea.

“Hunter Ryu Jun-Yeol?” Ye-Ji called, tilting her head at Ryu Jun-Yeol, who was nervously shaking his leg.

He was exhibiting clear signs of anxiety. Since every other S-rank Hunter had unanimously agreed to create a biography of Do-Jun, he couldn’t just bow out alone. He had been swept up in the momentum and reluctantly attended the meeting.

“I give up... Do whatever you want,” he said.

“Don’t worry. How would he ever find out? As long as we keep it a secret, Supervisor Lee will never know. The DAC has existed for quite a while now, and we haven’t been caught yet.”

That was a fair point. They had been successfully meeting in complete secrecy. If Do-Jun had found out, he would have said something by now.

“Alright, everyone. Start thinking about which achievements we should include. It would be best if you brought in your actual experiences with Supervisor Lee,” Kang-Hyun said.

“Yes, sounds great!” Ye-Ji smiled widely at these words. Since she worked directly with Do-Jun at Seoul City Hall, she had a never-ending list of things to say about his greatness.

She wasn’t the only one. The other S-rank Hunters felt the same. As the meeting concluded, they all began contemplating what to include in the biography.

***

The next five days flew by. The project to create a “Lee Do-Jun Biography” was progressing smoothly.

At first, Jun-Yeol had resisted and tried to avoid it, but now he was leading the effort more enthusiastically than anyone else. In truth, he was more interested in this project than anyone else. After all, he was the one who had originally compiled the Supervisor Lee Analysis Report.

Back then, he had lent it to Jeon Dong-Pil, who had just become an S-rank Hunter, and by some twist of fate, it ended up in Do-Jun’s hands. But now, he was working with much more caution. There was no way he would get caught this time.

“The color printing costs 80 won per page. Since you have fifty pages, that comes to 4,000 won,” said the print shop owner.

“And binding’s just 5,000 won more, right? The spiral binding,” Jun-Yeol asked.

“Yes.”

“Oh, right! I have a coupon. Can I use this?” Jun-Yeol showed a 1,000-won discount coupon.

“Of course! By the way, haven’t you been here before?” the shop owner asked.

“Yes. You remember me?”

“Haha! Of course, how could I not? You’re quite famous. Last time, you printed something similar, didn’t you? I think I was the one who gave you that coupon, too.”

Nodding, Jun-Yeol handed over 10,000 won and received 2,000 in change. Thinking about using that change to buy six taiyaki on the way back put him in an even better mood. What he had just printed was a compilation of his own work. When combined with others’ contributions, the final volume would easily exceed three hundred pages.

The tray beneath the printer rapidly filled with freshly printed pages.

The print shop owner, idly watching the output, grew curious and asked what it was, but Jun-Yeol simply replied, “It’s a secret project.”

***

A day had passed since Do-Jun returned from the training camp.

He went to City Hall, cleared his backlog of tasks, and then stopped at the Korean National Smithy inside the Hunter’s Bureau to pick up the quote for the C-rank equipment to be distributed to contract Hunters. When he checked his wristwatch, it was already 6 PM. He should get home just in time for dinner.

Maybe I should pick up some taiyaki, he thought.

Since Hakase and Kiriel had taken the day off from running the food stall, he decided to stop by a different one near the Hunter’s Bureau. Although smaller than Hakase’s stall, it was well-stocked and sold only two items: taiyaki and fish cakes.

Hm? He felt a familiar presence.

Inside the food stall stood Jun-Yeol, beaming with joy. “I’ll take three pizza-filled ones and three custard-filled ones.”

“Sure. Please wait a moment.”

Jun-Yeol took 2,000 won from his wallet and handed it to the vendor.

Tucked under his arm was a spiral notebook. While waiting for his order, he flipped through the pages, smiling with satisfaction.

“What would you like?” the vendor asked Do-Jun as he packed the taiyaki.

“I’ll take 3,000 won worth of red bean ones.”

“Coming right up.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Jun-Yeol turned around to see Do-Jun. The smile vanished from his face.

At the same time, Do-Jun’s gaze settled on the notebook that Jun-Yeol had unfortunately dropped. He bent down and picked it up.

“The Great Biography of Supervisor Lee Do-Jun”

Jun-Yeol’s face turned deathly pale as he stole a glance at Do-Jun’s expression.

“I-I know this will sound like an excuse, but please hear me out,” he stammered desperately.

Do-Jun flipped through the pages. His face remained completely impassive, and a bone-chilling calmness settled in his eyes.

“I-I swear, I really wasn’t going to do this,” Jun-Yeol pleaded.

Do-Jun’s hands moved steadily, flipping page after page. Then, he snapped the book shut and handed it back to Jun-Yeol.

Panicking, Jun-Yeol blurted out, “O-oh my god! Supervisor Lee! T-to be honest, I didn’t do this alone.”

Flustered, he hesitated but ultimately kept his mouth shut about who else was involved.

Do-Jun couldn’t help but smirk.

“It’s a secret, right?” he asked the trembling Jun-Yeol.

Jun-Yeol nodded cautiously.

That day, Jun-Yeol was sentenced to write yet another hundred-page reflection paper. But knowing that the top-secret existence of the DAC had not been exposed, he was able to grind them out with a light heart.