Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 272

Rain poured down as if a hole had been torn in the sky.

A demon stood atop the corpse of a Giant Soldier. This was Malleus, the last of Solomon’s Demons, number seventy-two.

“Finally, my chance,” he said, unable to suppress the grin creeping across his face. “I finally did it!”

Defeating the Giant Soldier was considered one of the easiest trials in the Deep Realm. Among Solomon’s Demons, Malleus was the weakest, so he only focused on clearing the simplest trials. After a hundred and fifty days of effort, he finally achieved what he desired.

A single sheet of parchment lay in his hand. At first glance, it looked like an old piece of vellum. Yet, despite the relentless downpour, not a single drop of water soaked into the paper. This parchment was none other than the relic-grade artifact, the Book of Transfer, an absurdly powerful relic capable of teleporting the user anywhere across dimensions.

“Kekeke.” A sinister chuckle echoed through the trial grounds. Malleus did not doubt that his grand plan would soon come to fruition.

***

Lately, Do-Jun had noticed a black cat wandering around the neighborhood. At a glance, it looked like any ordinary stray, but the energy it exuded was something else entirely. It was unmistakably similar to the demonic energy of Solomon’s Demons that occasionally surfaced from the Deep Realm, but because it was very faint, no one else seemed to notice.

The cat moved cautiously, constantly on high alert. Yet, whenever it passed by the supermarket, it would stare longingly at the snacks displayed inside, gulping audibly. If a child happened to drop a few crumbs while playing, the cat would pounce and snatch them up in an instant. When it rubbed against passing pedestrians, it often managed to charm them into giving it food, and it would display an expression of pure bliss each time.

It doesn’t look like he has any malice, Do-Jun observed.

Unlike other demons, there wasn’t even a hint of killing intent. For now, he decided to leave it alone and turned away.

***

“Keke.”

Under the dim glow of a streetlamp, a black cat—no, Malleus in cat form—grinned widely. Cookie crumbs clung to the corner of his mouth. Another successful hunt. The crisp texture was divine. The fact that Earth was filled with such delicacies made him feel like he had struck gold.

“I’m a genius.”

He truly believed it.

After all, he had come up with the brilliant idea of traveling to Earth to taste its food directly from the source instead of staying in the Deep Realm. Through careful planning, he made sure no one would suspect him by disguising himself as a cat. Using the artifact Veil of Concealment, he also completely concealed his demonic energy.

Earth’s food was a rare commodity in the Deep Realm. Sure, Wei Zhongqi sold it in exchange for mastery stones, but how long would it take to gather that many stones just for a meal? It was far easier to come to Earth and eat directly.

***

Lately, Kiriel had been plagued with worry, and the problem was none other than his comic book café.

After a week of using mana stones to attract customers, he had come to a sobering realization that this method was costing him more than he was earning. So, he had stopped handing out free mana stones.

Fortunately, the promotional effort had worked, and the number of visitors had been steadily increasing. However, on the downside, the place was becoming impossible to manage as the limitations of an unmanned business were becoming painfully clear.

Kiriel picked up the scattered comic books from the ground and returned them to their shelves. He let out a deep sigh and muttered, “This isn’t working.”

***

A record-breaking cold wave had arrived. Byeol wasn’t particularly sensitive to the cold, but on days like this, her dad would always dress her in warm clothes. Since he wasn’t home today, Karsiel had taken over that duty.

“Raise your arms,” she said to Byeol.

“Okie.”

First was thermal underwear, then a comfortable tracksuit, and over that, she wore a yellow puffer jacket with the hood pulled up. Finally, she slipped into a pair of fuzzy, fur-lined boots.

“All set!” Byeol exclaimed, and without hesitation, she bolted out the door.

The wind howled through the streets. Perhaps because of the cold, her usual playmates were nowhere to be seen. Instead, she spotted Kiriel sitting on a bench under the pavilion, staring ahead with an unusually serious expression.

“Kirieh!” she called out.

The moment Kiriel saw Byeol, he suddenly flopped onto his back and closed his eyes.

Byeol blinked in confusion. “Kirieh, you sleeping?”

“No, Byeol. I’ve been cursed.”

The word “curse” sent a jolt of fear through Byeol. That was a terrifying word. What if Kiriel died because of it?

Her eyes welled up with tears. “K-Kirieh... are you g-gonna die?”

“Yup. If you don’t kiss me on the cheek right now, the curse will kill me.”

Byeol didn’t want Kiriel to die, so she quickly planted a kiss on his cheek. In an instant, Kiriel sprang to his feet and smirked before returning her kiss.

That’s when it hit her—she had been tricked. Again.

Her body trembled with betrayal.

Kiriel chuckled, but soon let out a deep sigh.

“Byeol,” he said.

“Mmm?”

“Why don’t people put the comic books back where they found them after they’re done reading? And why do they eat the snacks without paying for them? Huh? Huh?”

The café’s customer count had increased, but so had its problems. Kiriel sighed again, this time directing it at Byeol. Slowly, he loosened his grip because she was starting to squint at him. That meant she wasn’t in a good mood.

Then, her eyes suddenly went wide.

“Kitty!” she exclaimed.

“Huh?”

A black cat was prowling down the street. Byeol’s face lit up as she toddled toward it.

Kiriel scratched his head and watched. Then, something caught his eye. A white pendant hung around the cat’s neck.

Veil of Concealment? he thought, rubbing his eyes and taking a closer look.

The pendant, adorned with a hexagonal gemstone, was unmistakably the artifact known as Veil of Concealment, something that belonged in the Core.

Kiriel’s eyes narrowed. Could it be...?

Doubt quickly turned to certainty.

***

Is this what it felt like to be struck by a bolt from the blue?

Out of nowhere, something rammed into Malleus with a loud thump.

“Gueegh!” He let out a muffled grunt.

Along with the feeling of being pulled in, Malleus was dragged into an empty dimension. At that moment, his Form Shift skill was forcibly undone, returning him to his original demonic appearance. He quickly scrambled to his feet and scanned his surroundings. What the hell just happened?

“So it was you.” He heard a voice say, and gasped in shock.

Kiriel was walking toward him, his expression unreadable.

Startled, Malleus pushed himself backward with his palm against the ground. He had completely concealed his demonic energy—how had he been found?

“K-Kiriel!”

“Coming to Earth... that means you’re ready to die, right?” Kiriel asked menacingly.

“No! I didn’t come here to fight you guys—”

Even as one of Solomon’s Demons, he was only ranked seventy-second. There was no way he could defeat a Transcendent, especially if that Transcendent was Kiriel.

Malleus swallowed hard.

Seeing the flustered demon, Kiriel said, “Then give me an excuse I can accept. Try lying to me, and it won’t be fun for you. It had better be convincing and not some lame, predictable lie, like... I don’t know, that you came up here because you were dying for some Earth’s food?”

“B-but that’s exactly why I’m here...”

Malleus’s grand scheme was simple from the start. Using an artifact to erase his demonic energy, he had transformed into a cat, planning to live undetected on Earth and sneakily feast on its delicious cuisine.

“You could’ve just bought food from Wei Zhongqi.”

“Gathering enough stones would have taken forever, and it’s only a one-time deal,” Malleus retorted.

“So, you dared to invade Earth?”

“I-I didn’t invade....”

Kiriel studied Malleus’s expression. He was telling the truth.

He asked, “What exactly did you eat on Earth?”

Malleus thought back carefully and answered, “Well... first, some crumbs from chips. I picked them up when kids dropped them...”

“Hm.”

“I also managed to get some kibble once in a while.”

“And?”

“That’s it.”

“O-oh, really? Um...”

What was Kiriel even supposed to say to that? So after all that effort—sneaking onto Earth, hiding his presence, shapeshifting—he had eaten nothing but chip crumbs and the occasional pet food?

Kiriel finally asked, “Was it... good...?”

“It was just as amazing as I imagined Earth’s food to be. Just like the rumors said, it was incredible...” Malleus gushed.

Hearing his answer, Kiriel genuinely pitied him. At the same time, he was reminded of just how god-awful the food in the Deep Realm truly was.

“Hey,” he said.

“Yeah, I know...” Malleus had already resigned himself to death. This was it. He would die here, at Kiriel’s hands.

But what Kiriel said next was completely unexpected. “I’ve got a great idea.”

***

Malleus, now back in cat form, followed Kiriel to the comic book café inside the F-rank Fissure. As usual, the place was a mess. Kiriel picked up the scattered comic books from the floor and arranged them on the shelves in order.

“Now, what did I say your job here was?” he asked Malleus.

“Greeting customers.”

“Show me.”

“Welcome,” Malleus said cheerfully.

“Add ‘meow’ at the end,” Kiriel instructed.

“Welcome, meow.”

“A customer’s leaving. What do you say?”

“Please come again, meow.”

“How much does it cost to read a volume?”

“One hundred won, meow.”

“Good.”

Malleus had absolutely no complaints about adding “meow” to his speech.

“If you work hard, I’ll buy you real food. Way better than some crumbs or pet food,” Kiriel told him.

“Y-you really mean that?” Malleus asked, shocked.

“I don’t lie about things like this,” Kiriel assured and shrugged.

***

Hakase was scrolling through an online job board. Since Kiriel had mentioned needing an employee for his comic book café, he was looking into it. However, working within a Fissure required a Hunter license, and the legal procedures didn’t follow standard labor laws, making it incredibly complicated.

And the wages? The minimum was 50,000 won per hour, which came out to a staggering 12 million won a month if worked for eight hours a day.

“This isn’t going to work.” Hakase sighed.

There was no way. The costs weren’t just high—they would be excessive. Shaking his head, Hakase decided he would explain everything to Kiriel.

Just then, the food stall door swung open. He looked up and saw Kiriel stepping inside.

Kiriel sat down as if everything was normal.

“Oh, Kiriel,” Hakase said.

“Yeah?”

“About that comic book café employee thing... It’s not gonna work.”

“Don’t need one anymore.”

“Huh?”

Kiriel shrugged and added, “I’ve become a true boss.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I hired someone. Myself.”

“What...?”

Where? When?

Finding employees wasn’t easy, so when did he even do it? And the biggest issue—what about the salary?

“How much are you paying them?” Hakase asked.

“I’m not paying him money,” Kiriel explained.

“Then what...?”

“Fried chicken. Once a week.”

Hakase was dumbfounded.

“He wanted it so bad, he already took this week’s in advance. Looked so happy about it, too.”