Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 275

The cold and eventful winter had flown by, and spring was right around the corner.

Walking through the few early-blooming flowers under the warm sunlight felt refreshing. Do-Jun was reminded of spring in the Kunlun Mountains, the sacred grounds of the Heavenly Demon Sect. Around this time of year, the birch trees would be in full bloom, creating a breathtaking view.

I miss it sometimes, Do-Jun thought wryly.

The Skyscraping Pagoda was the towering headquarters of the sect that seemed to reach the heavens. Watching the disciples dedicate themselves to martial training from the top floor while sipping tea always brought a sense of satisfaction. Do-Jun reached into his clothes and pulled out a sword. Or rather, just the hilt; there was no blade.

Now that I think about it, this sword was also forged in spring. Do-Jun reminisced.

To anyone unfamiliar, the sword hilt would seem like nothing more than an old, useless relic. But to Do-Jun, it was the greatest sword in existence, one that only the Heavenly Demon himself could wield.

Yong-Yong had been accompanying Do-Jun on a walk through Umyeonsan Mountain.

“Eeek!” He flinched and trembled violently at the sight of the sword in Do-Jun’s hand.

Then, the little dragon suddenly shrank back in terror. It was an instinctive reaction as he thought back to the times when those foolish enough to challenge Do-Jun in the Core were taught a lesson with the Heavenly Demon Sword.

W-why is he taking that out?!

Yong-Yong hurriedly recalled his misdeeds, which he believed he had kept from Do-Jun: picking out only the sausages from the sausage-vegetable stir-fry, skipping the dish soap and only rinsing the dishes with hot water when told to wash them, and, oh no, keeping the hundred-won change when sent to buy tofu from the store?

So that’s why he brought me along today! he thought in horror. Do-Jun must have planned to punish him with the Heavenly Demon Sword in the secluded midsection of Umyeonsan Mountain.

Resigned, Yong-Yong collapsed onto the spot.

Meanwhile, Do-Jun leisurely continued his walk, admiring the beauty of the spring mountains.

Noticing that Yong-Yong wasn’t following him anymore, he halted in his tracks, turned, and asked, “What are you doing over there?”

Yong-Yong was kneeling on the ground, tears welling up in his eyes.

Do-Jun looked at him with genuine bewilderment.

***

“Everyone, the fifth of April is Arbor Day,” Ji-Hye announced.

Arbor Day[1], as the name suggests, is a day for planting trees.

Although this year’s April 5 fell on a Sunday, when the daycare was usually closed, a meeting had been held to organize a tree-planting event to promote the children’s emotional development. The teachers initially worried that the children would be disheartened at the thought of attending daycare on a precious Sunday, but contrary to expectations, the kids’ eyes sparkled with excitement.

“I’ll give you guys the information paper, so make sure to show it to your parents,” Ji-Hye said.

“Yes!” The students answered enthusiastically.

Byeol stared blankly at the handout her teacher had given her.

“Arbor Day Event Notice

“Required Item: Small Garden Shovel”

She had seen the shovel they needed before when Yu-Jin brought one from home for their pretend play.

She turned to her best friend, So-Mi, and quietly asked, “So-Mi, do you have a shovel at home?”

“Hm? Yeah. You don’t have one?”

“Dunno.”

Sometimes, Kiriel would go off to “farm” in the Fissure, carrying a shovel about a meter long on his back. But that wasn’t the same kind of shovel the teacher was talking about. A small shovel... Was there one at home?

***

Do-Jun had gathered some mugwort from Umyeonsan Mountain and was now making lunch.

Yong-Yong had been grinning from ear to ear for quite some time. Do-Jun had no idea why, but ever since Do-Jun mentioned that he had brought him along to help dig up the mugwort, Yong-Yong had been all smiles.

Today’s lunch was mugwort soup and sprout bibimbap. There are many delicious foods in the world, but nothing beats dishes that use in-season ingredients.

Normally, Yong-Yong would sulk if there was no meat on the menu, but he seemed just fine, if not happy, today. Karsiel, on the other hand, ate anything without complaint, be it meat or vegetables; it didn’t matter. So she helped with the cooking without complaint.

Mugwort and soybean paste simmered in the broth. Once the mugwort softened and was cooked for another ten minutes, a sprinkle of perilla seed powder filled the kitchen with a rich aroma. That took care of the soup.

Now for the bibimbap, tender sprouts and assorted vegetables were mixed into steaming white rice, seasoned with sesame oil and red chili paste, then stirred together to make a sweet and tangy sprout bibimbap.

Do-Jun had become quite skilled at cooking. Of course, only when he had a cookbook to follow.

“This is truly delicious, Master,” Karsiel said.

Her tail wagged as she took a spoonful of the mugwort soup. Judging by that, it was clear she wasn’t just saying it to be polite.

Yong-Yong had buried his face in his bowl, devouring the bibimbap with fervor. Meanwhile, Byeol simply stared at the food in front of her before suddenly standing up. She went over to her daycare bag, rummaged through it, and pulled out the handout her teacher had given her to show Do-Jun.

Do-Jun read the notice. An Arbor Day tree-planting event was scheduled for Sunday, April 5. All they needed to bring was a small garden shovel.

“Do we have one at home?” Byeol asked.

“We don’t,” Do-Jun replied.

“Oh... Okie... Oh no... What do I do now...?” Byeol looked genuinely dejected.

Do-Jun said, “I can buy one for you.”

“Daddy, I know shovels are expensive. I asked my fwiends and they said the cheapest one costs 5,000 won.”

To Byeol, 5,000 won was a huge amount. At her daycare, there were many children who didn’t get any allowance. At their age, even just a thousand won was considered enough to be rich. Given that, 5,000 won was an unimaginable fortune.

Do-Jun let out a chuckle.

***

Marvas, the fifth-ranked among Solomon’s Seventy-Two Demons, had lived most of his life putting his effort into surviving. One of his methods was collecting relic-grade artifacts from the Deep Realm. Born weak, he had to put in far more effort than others just to stay alive among the “monsters.”

However, now, his storeroom was empty. He had offered everything to the “King of Earth,” the most powerful of the powerful. Yet, he felt no regret. In fact, he couldn’t help but smile. Having bribed so generously, he figured that while other demons might perish, at least he would survive.

“Hehehe.” He couldn’t contain his laughter. When was the last time the world looked so beautiful?

Marvas had once heard various truths about the King of Earth from Kiriel. Among those truths was one that would have made other demons faint in shock—the truth about Izaas.

“Even the Overlord himself had to acknowledge his strength,” Marvas muttered.

I managed to curry favor with such a powerful figure? It still felt unbelievable to him.

“Oh, this is great. Fantastic,” Marvas said. He had all but secured peace for the rest of his life.

Life was beautiful. Truly, truly beautiful.

“Lord Marvas!” One of his legion commanders came running, panting for breath.

“What?”

“I-Illeina is here to see you!”

Illeina was the demon who used to be Agares’ legion commander, and now, the officially third strongest in the Deep Realm, just below Baal and Imfelheim. There was only one reason for that: she had obtained the “Demon Sword.”

“Tell her I’m not here,” Marvas instructed.

“I-I don’t think that’s possible...”

“What? Just tell her—” Just as Marvas was about to repeat himself, a loud boom echoed as the fortress gate crumbled easily, sending up a thick cloud of dust.

As the dust settled, a short-haired demon with two horns on her head emerged, prompting Marvas to scowl. Illeina grinned at him and raised a hand in greeting.

“What, ‘say I’m not here?’” she said, mockingly.

Marvas looked at her silently.

“You’ve grown bold, haven’t you?”

He sighed.

“Oh? Was that a sigh?”

“Why the hell did you break down a perfectly fine door?!” he retorted.

“Hah, I guess it wasn’t that good of a door in the first place. I just gave it a little push, and it broke all on its own.” Illeina ridiculed him.

“Yeah, yeah. We get it. You’re strong now.”

Of course, the fortress gate was meant to be extremely sturdy. But in the face of Illeina’s newfound power from the Demon Sword, it was meaningless.

“Asshole... Not only did you not come out to greet a friend, but you also told your underling to tell me you’re not here?”

“Ugh, what now?” Marvas asked in annoyance.

“I’m heading to the twelfth floor for a bit. You’re coming with me.”

“For what—” Marvas suddenly stopped talking.

Wait.

“Twelfth floor?” He repeated.

“Yeah.”

“Why?” Marvas got an ominous feeling.

“Why else? I’m going to challenge the trial I failed last time,” Illeina said.

“I see. Since you got the Demon Sword, you’re all cocky and want to try again. I understand completely.”

Illeina smirked, her lips curling upward. “This time will be different. Now, I’m invincible.”

“Uh-huh. Sure...”

“What’s with that face? You don’t want to come with me?”

That wasn’t the issue. Marvas bit his lip and said seriously, “Illeina.”

“What?”

“I really don’t think you should go to the twelfth floor right now. If you really want to go, at least wait until next month...”

Marvas had been keeping a close eye on the notice board. Judging by the posts, the King of Earth would be heading to the twelfth floor soon. Maybe not today. Maybe a week from now.

But what if they were unlucky enough to run into him?

Fine. Running into him was one thing.

But what if I get caught up in her mess and end up getting on the King of Earth’s bad side? This was his biggest worry. Then his act of gifting all the hard-earned relics to the King of Earth to ensure his survival would have been for nought.

“I want to go now,” Illeina insisted.

“Then go by yourself! Why drag me along?! I don’t want to go!”

“Hmm. Is that so? Hmm, it is what it is.”

Marvas was surprised. Was she... actually going to leave quietly? That wasn’t like her at all.

Just then, Illeina unsheathed the Demon Sword and said, “Guess I’ll have to make you want to go.”

Marvas knew he had no other choice.

***

The two demons were now on the twelfth floor of the Core. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Marvas begged, “You got that? I’m begging you. If we run into the King of Earth, greet him politely. Or better yet, pretend you don’t know him and just walk away. Do not pick a fight.”

Illeina felt that something was off. Marvas’ fear of the King of Earth was beyond reason. She scoffed and tapped the Demon Sword.

“You see this?” she said.

“I see it.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“It’s the demon sword,” Marvas answered, seemingly giving up.

“Right. So, with this thing in my hand, what’s there to be afraid of?”

“Listen, you don’t get it. The King of Earth is on a completely different level. An irregular. Have you already forgotten how Agares died?”

She hadn’t. She remembered it very well. Still, there was a reason for her confidence.

“The demon sword tells me it won’t happen twice.”

“Oh, for the love of—!”

Illiena interjected, “Alright, alright. Enough nagging.”

“I’m serious. I’ve told you over and over—even the Overlord couldn’t handle the King of Earth,” Marvas pleaded.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Illeina didn’t believe him. The Overlord was the sole being who once ruled over the entire Deep Realm. No matter how strong the King of Earth was, he couldn’t possibly have made the Overlord kneel.

“We’re almost there,” she said as a massive circular stone platform came into view.

Once she stepped onto it, the trial would begin. In the past, Illeina had failed due to her lack of strength, but things were different now. She had the Demon Sword, the ultimate weapon.

“Hm?” As she reached the stone platform, she noticed a lone human standing before it. “A human adventurer? But no armor?”

The human was wearing a hoodie, a type of clothing that Illeina had never seen before. She instinctively reached for the Demon Sword at her waist. Or rather, tried to, but just as she grabbed the hilt of the sword, Marvas stopped her from drawing it.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Illeina snapped.

“Don’t...”

Stop setting up unfortunate foreshadowing.

1. Singmogil or Sikmogil is the Korean Arbor Day celebrated on April 5th. It is a day that celebrates trees, and people plant trees that are suitable for the regional climate. ☜