Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 279

It wasn’t until five days later that the customers started coming back.

After those five days of forced break, Wei Zhongqi had to move twice as fast as usual just to keep up. The flood of customers was relentless. Taking orders, cooking, serving—he could have used ten more hands, and even then, it wouldn’t have been enough.

In the middle of serving, Wei Zhongqi let out a sigh. Here we go again.

Hiding behind a tree and stealing glances his way was Imfelheim. That guy had an unmatched love for Earth’s food, especially kimbap. But whether out of pride or embarrassment, he refused to admit it. Instead of ordering it directly, he always found ways to weasel a portion for himself using various excuses.

“L-long time no see, Wei Zhongqi.” He greeted.

“Yeah, yeah. What is it this time?”

The other customers barely reacted to Imfelheim’s presence anymore. In the past, they would have been startled, maybe even scared, but after realizing he meant no harm, they simply assumed he had come for kimbap again and carried on with their meals.

However, something felt off about him today. His complexion was unusually pale.

After scanning his surroundings, he cautiously approached and whispered into Wei Zhongqi’s ear, “What is your association with the Overlord...?”

“My association...? Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“When I came here five days ago, the Overlord was looking after your place. At the time, I wanted some kimbap—” Imfelheim stopped abruptly.

A brief silence followed.

Realizing his slip-up, Imfelheim’s face flushed slightly, and he cleared his throat.

Wei Zhongqi muttered nonchalantly, “So, you came here because you wanted kimbap. And you couldn’t order any because the Overlord was here.”

Imfelheim’s obsession with kimbap was already well-known throughout the Deep Realm, yet he still believed he had managed to keep it a secret.

“Ah... Well...” His eyes darted away.

Bingo, Wei Zhongqi thought.

Out loud, he said, “Anyway, yeah. It’s true that the Overlord watched over my shop, no, my house, for a bit. When I went to Earth to meet with the Heavenly Demon, the Overlord offered to look after it.”

Wei Zhongqi shrugged as if it were nothing special. Imfelheim, on the other hand, was struggling to process it.

The Overlord was the former ruler who once dominated the entire Core with overwhelming strength. Even the strongest rankers in the Deep Realm were nothing more than small fry compared to his immense power. Imfelheim himself had once challenged the Overlord, only to be utterly crushed. Even now, that memory sent chills down his spine.

“Then how are you associated with him?!” Imfelheim asked nervously.

“If I had to define it... I guess you could say we’re like senior and junior disciples... No, that’s not quite right. The Overlord isn’t technically the Heavenly Demon’s disciple. The Overlord follows the Heavenly Demon as his ‘master.’ I, on the other hand, learn from him as my teacher. So, naturally, we got to know each other a bit... Imfelheim?” Wei Zhongqi waved a hand in front of Imfelheim’s dazed face.

Imfelheim flinched and repeated, “Master...?”

“Yeah.”

“The Overlord’s master?”

“Yes, master.”

Imfelheim swayed as if the ground beneath him had crumbled.

Understanding his reaction, Wei Zhongqi smirked and added, “With the Heavenly Demon, it’s not surprising at all.”

“N-no way... Are you saying that this ‘Heavenly Demon’ is stronger than the Overlord?” Infelheim asked.

“That’s right.”

The information was too much to accept. But knowing Wei Zhongqi’s personality, he wasn’t the type to joke about things like this.

“You once told me that you had kimbap from some adventurer on the tenth floor of the Core, right?” Wei Zhongqi reminded Imfelheim.

Imfelheim recalled that moment. The kimbap had been so delicious that he would never forget it.

Wei Zhongqi continued, “That adventurer was the Heavenly Demon himself. The one you used Gambler’s Insight on and saw a zero percent chance of winning.”

Imfelheim’s mind went blank.

***

Do-Jun glanced between the daycare newsletter titled, Children’s Theater Performance Announcement, and Kiriel, who was holding several animal masks in his hands: lion, fox, rabbit, and squirrel.

Two weeks ago, the daycare had announced a play titled “The Lion’s Birthday in the Forest,” and Byeol had been cast as the protagonist, the lion. It seemed like she had planned a rehearsal for today.

“You’re going to the fourth floor to practice for your play?” Do-Jun asked Byeol.

“Yeah! Gwempa said he wants kimbap and cola!”

Do-Jun chuckled.

On the Core’s fourth floor, the Immortal, Cho Yang-Un, had recently become obsessed with Earth’s food. It seemed that he had agreed to help with the rehearsal in exchange for kimbap and cola. That explained why, a few days ago, Cho Yang-Un kept bringing up the play during Do-Jun’s visit.

“Kiriel, you made the masks yourself?” Do-Jun asked.

“Hehe, yes, I did! They turned out well, didn’t they?”

To be honest, they were very crude. They were little more than blank white templates sloppily covered with glued-on colored paper to vaguely resemble animals. The squirrel mask, in particular, was so questionable that Do-Jun wouldn’t have known what it was if Kiriel hadn’t told him. Still, he smiled and nodded, appreciating Kiriel’s effort.

“Well then, we’ll get going!” Kiriel announced excitedly.

“See you, Daddy!”

“Wait a second.”

After stopping the two for a moment, Do-Jun picked up the squirrel mask and wrote “Squirrel” on it with a marker.

Seeing this, Kiriel mumbled to himself, “I should’ve done this from the start. Heh.”

Then, he stepped into the dimensional gate.

Do-Jun let out a quiet chuckle.

***

Imfelheim would occasionally visit the fourth floor of the Core whenever he felt unsettled. There, in the world of the Immortals, he would sit on the edge of a steep cliff and look down at the entire mountain. Somehow, this view always helped him clear his mind.

He sighed heavily, thinking about the Heavenly Demon, who was also the King of Earth. He was a man strong enough to overpower the Overlord. Instead of questioning how such power was possible, his first concern was whether he would even survive if that man descended into the Deep Realm. In the Deep Realm, he was feared by its residents, and his reputation was far from favorable.

His stomach growled as he clutched it.

“Dammit... In the end, I didn’t even get to say I wanted kimbap.”

That was when he spotted a familiar figure below. It was Kiriel, another Transcendent like himself. He was with Cho Yang-Un and a baby. Imfelheim watched idly, wondering what they were up to.

Then his eyes widened, seeing something unexpected.

“T-that’s kimbap!”

Without hesitation, Imfelheim took off, flying straight toward Kiriel’s group.

***

“I’ll do it! I’ll help! Let me help you with your play!” Imfelheim agreed immediately.

The condition for getting kimbap was to help Byeol with her play rehearsal. Imfelheim agreed without a second thought. Cho Yang-Un, however, appeared displeased at the idea of adding another mouth to the table, but since the request came from Imfelheim, he didn’t openly voice his complaints.

And so, the masked play began.

“The Lion’s Birthday in the Forest” was a simple story about a lion celebrating its birthday and receiving gifts from its animal friends. Imfelheim was the first to go. Just as he was about to start reading his line, Kiriel handed him a mask.

“What is this?” Imfelheim asked.

“It’s a squirrel mask. I made it myself. Once you put it on, you’re now a squirrel.”

Imfelheim looked at the crudely made mask and let out a dry chuckle. A moment later, Kiriel donned a fox mask, Cho Yang-Un wore a rabbit mask, and the three of them stood before Byeol.

Imfelheim was the first to deliver his lines. “Uh... Lion, happy birthday. I’m honored that you invited someone as esteemed as me to this unworthy... wait, no, I’m honored that you invited someone as unworthy as me to this esteemed place. It’s not much, but I brought acorns as a gift, so please enjo—”

Imfelheim fumbled through the script, written in the Core’s language, reading it aloud word by word. Byeol, who had started off watching with excitement, suddenly looked quite disappointed. Kiriel, observing from the side, narrowed his eyes.

“You call that acting?” he snarked at Imfelheim.

Caught red-handed, Imfelheim stammered, “I-I’m trying...”

“I can tell at a glance whether someone is putting in effort or slacking off. You know that, right?”

Having read countless storybooks to Byeol during mealtime, Kiriel remembered his own experiences. There were times when he had been too lazy to read properly, and when that happened, his delivery would start to sound just like Imfelheim’s right now.

“Act like a real squirrel who’s actually been invited to the lion’s birthday party,” he instructed.

Imfelheim didn’t protest. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for kimbap.

He cleared his throat and, a moment later, spoke again with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

“Hey, Lion! Happy birthday! I’m truly grateful that you invited someone unworthy like me to such an esteemed place!”

Byeol immediately brightened up and responded in delight. “Roar! Thanks for coming!”

“It’s not much, but I brought some acorns as a gift! Would you like them?”

“Yay! I like acorns! How many do you have?”

“Dear me...” Imfelheim scratched his head.

Did lions even like acorns?

Well, whatever. He decided to just go along with it and continued the play.

***

Do-Jun, sitting alone at home reading the newspaper, checked the time. It had been two hours since Byeol and Kiriel left for the Core. He wondered if their play rehearsal was going well and thought about dropping by to check.

Folding the newspaper, he pulled out a Core talisman and instantly teleported to the fourth floor.

“Gasp! W-what is this, Kiriel?!” A voice Do-Jun had heard somewhere before echoed through the space.

He turned his gaze toward the sound. There, he spotted Byeol, Kiriel, Cho Yang-Un, and Imfelheim, one of the Transcendents and also a man he recognized.

Imfelheim was gulping down a bottle of cola.

“What? You don’t know what cola is?” Kiriel said in disbelief.

“This... This is my first time drinking something... like this. Is it poisoned?”

The four of them sat on a picnic mat, gathered close together. In the middle were kimbap and cola. They looked like they were having a picnic. Scattered nearby were the masks they had used for the play, confirming they had been rehearsing just moments ago.

“It’s not poison. It’s called carbonation,” Kiriel explained.

“Car...bonation? Carbonation, you say.” Imfelheim sounded curious.

“Ahh... Buuurp. Now this is the taste of life.” Cho Yang-Un let out a loud burp after drinking his and laughed heartily. Then he grabbed another piece of kimbap, popped it into his mouth, and smiled in satisfaction.

Imfelheim spoke up. “Once we finish eating, let’s switch roles and go again.”

“W-weally? We can do that?” Byeol asked, surprised by such a groundbreaking idea.

“Well... Y-yeah, this is kind of fun...” Imfelheim rubbed his cheek, looking slightly embarrassed.

A little later, after they finished eating, they swapped roles and resumed the masked play. This time, Kiriel played the lion, Byeol was the squirrel, Cho Yang-Un took on the role of the fox, and Imfelheim became the rabbit.

Wearing their masks, they sat on the picnic mat and performed their roles with enthusiasm.

“Hmph. I, the great lion, love acorns. How many do you have?”

“Oh no! I left the acorns at home!”

Watching the play unfold, Do-Jun let out a quiet chuckle.

Not wanting to disturb their practice, he silently left the fourth floor of the Core.