Chapter 113
Dinosaurs went extinct when they were hit by a meteorite that fell from the sky. The dinosaurs known today are all preserved in the form of restored fossils.
Therefore, we can't see with our own eyes what dinosaurs actually looked like.
'But what's this all about.'
That extinct dinosaur was right in front of my eyes. A carnivorous dinosaur the size of a building with ferocious teeth.
A Tyrannosaurus with ridiculously short arms was glaring at me and Hwaryeon. Hwaryeon pointed at it and shouted.
"Dad! That's a dinosaur! A dinosaur! The king of all dinosaurs!"
She's so excited.
Hwaryeon tugged at my collar and pointed at the T-Rex. Maybe because she met the dinosaur she loved so much, Hwaryeon's red eyes were shining like rubies.
"It's the king T-Rex! T-Rex! Hello!"
Hwaryeon waved her hand excitedly. The T-Rex tilted its head, looking at Hwaryeon.
-Grrrr?
"T-Rex! Let's play! Come here!"
-Grrrr!
Boom-! Boom-!
The T-Rex left huge footprints on the asphalt as it ran towards us. But the momentum of it running towards us didn't seem right.
'That doesn't look like it's coming to play... it looks more like it's coming to eat us...'
Roar-!
The T-Rex opened its mouth wide and thrust its vicious teeth towards us.
"T-Rex! Let's play together!"
"Hwaryeon! It's not trying to play with us! It's trying to eat us!"
I picked up Hwaryeon, who still hadn't grasped the situation, and rolled to the side. The T-Rex barely missed my collar.
Hwaryeon rolled on the ground and then angrily said to me.
"Dad, what are you doing! The T-Rex was running to play with me! Why did you dodge!"
"Running to play? You can say that after seeing how it looks?"
Grrrr-
The T-Rex drooled and glared at us with fierce eyes. Hwaryeon exchanged looks with the T-Rex and innocently answered me.
"It looks cute to me! What's the problem, Dad!"
"Oh, Dinosaur Expert Lee Hwaryeon. You've got love blinders on."
Can't be helped. I left Hwaryeon alone and raised my fist towards the T-Rex.
"Even if it's the dinosaur Hwaryeon likes, it shouldn't attack my daughter."
Clench-
I clenched my fist and ran towards the T-Rex.
It saw me running and quickly opened its mouth.
And then.
-Roar!!
Whoosh-!
It started spewing an unexpected breath attack.
'C-Crazy. Why is a dinosaur breathing fire?!'
How is that a dinosaur in any way?
I dove under the breath attack and barely avoided it. Then I jumped over the whip-like tail that followed, trying to tear my body apart.
And then.
"Eat my fist instead of a meteorite!"
I jumped high and planted a knuckle on the T-Rex's head.
Bam-!
The T-Rex's head was smashed into the asphalt road. I stood on top of the T-Rex, striking a pose, and shouted.
"How's that? My fist is like a meteorite, right?"
I'm pretty cool.
Surely Hwaryeon must think her dad is cool?
But contrary to my expectations, Hwaryeon's reaction wasn't so good.
"Dad! Don't bully our T-Rex!"
"Our T-Rex...?"
"Get off the top!"
Shrink-
I got off the top of the T-Rex as Hwaryeon said. Hwaryeon patted the T-Rex stuck in the ground and said.
"T-Rex! Did it hurt a lot? Are you sad because Dad bullied you?"
-Whimper...
"Dad! The T-Rex says it hurts! Apologize quickly!"
What's this?
Why do I feel like I'm being treated worse than the T-Rex? What's so good about that reptilian dinosaur?
I felt jealous of the T-Rex, but since Hwaryeon was fiercely angry, I approached the T-Rex.
"...Does it hurt?"
-Whimper...
The T-Rex cried pitifully, not matching its size. At this, Hwaryeon shouted at me.
"Apologize quickly! Dad!"
"...Okay, I'm sorry. I guess I hit too hard."
Pat pat-
I reluctantly apologized to the T-Rex. Then, the T-Rex stopped its pitiful crying.
'It attacked first. What's this all about?'
This is ridiculous.
Not knowing how I felt, Hwaryeon patted the T-Rex's head. Then she climbed onto the back of the T-Rex lying on the ground, patted it, and said.
"T-Rex! Get up!"
-Roar
Boom-!
The T-Rex got up following Hwaryeon's order.
When did she tame the T-Rex?
Unable to understand the series of events, I just gave up thinking about it.
'As long as Hwaryeon is happy riding her favorite dinosaur, that's all that matters.'
To play with a child, you need to match their eye level.
I also climbed onto the T-Rex's back and hugged Hwaryeon from behind for safety. Hwaryeon patted the T-Rex's back and shouted.
"T-Rex! We're going to rule the world! Let's go!"
-Roar!
The T-Rex listened to Hwaryeon's order and started running through the jungle city.
Where the destination was, I didn't know where it was going, but...
"Wow! Run! As expected of the king T-Rex!"
Seeing Hwaryeon so excited riding her favorite dinosaur, I thought it didn't matter where we were going.
'Hwaryeon looks really happy.'
Seeing the bright smile of a young child, I forgot about the mission for a moment and enjoyed it together.
***
The T-Rex ran through the city with us on its back. When Hwaryeon patted its back, it adjusted its speed or direction.
After getting hit by me, it followed our words very well. As we roamed around the city like this, the T-Rex stopped walking, turned its head, and looked back at us.
"T-Rex! Are you telling us to get off now?"
"I think so."
The T-Rex seemed to be hinting that we should get off now, so Hwaryeon and I carefully got down to the ground.
Then, the T-Rex went ahead, seeming to guide us.
"Let's follow it."
"Okay!"
Hwaryeon and I trailed after the T-Rex.
Following the T-Rex through the vegetation, we arrived at a place. There, we found the dimensional gate's core, emitting powerful magic in mid-air.
The T-Rex pointed at the core with its short arms and roared.
-Roar!
"Did you guide us to this core?"
-Roar! Roar!
The T-Rex nodded as if to say yes. Hwaryeon patted the T-Rex's leg and praised it.
"Well done! T-Rex! Very good!"
-Roar!
They seemed to have become fast friends.
Then Hwaryeon and I approached the dimensional gate's core. I grabbed the core with my hand and showed it to Hwaryeon.
"You've never seen one up close, right? This is the dimensional gate's core."
"It's pretty too! Dad, can't we take this home?"
"If we take this home, our house would turn into a jungle."
"I don't like vegetable side dishes!"
No matter how pretty it is, she doesn't want the house to turn into a jungle. Since I usually destroy cores every day at work, I thought it would be good to let Hwaryeon experience it.
"Hwaryeon. Do you want to try breaking it?"
Hwaryeon nodded rapidly in response.
"Me! I'll do it! Give it to me!"
I handed the core to Hwaryeon, who was eagerly raising her hand.
Hwaryeon observed the core from various angles, shook it, licked it with her tongue, and then gripped it tightly with her small hand.
And then.
"Yah!"
Crash-!
She broke the core we had been searching for so long. Hwaryeon raised her shoulders high after breaking the core.
"Hmph, this is basic! How am I, Dad! Strong, right!"
"Yes, you did well. As expected of my daughter."
"Hehehe."
Hwaryeon smiled as she received a pat on the head. She seemed to be in an especially good mood today.
After destroying the core, the surrounding area that had been eroded by the dimensional gate began to decompose.
The vines wrapping around buildings returned to magical energy in the air, and the lush trees started to disintegrate like powder. And the T-Rex that had guided us was also fading away.
"Dad, something's wrong with the T-Rex's body! T-T-Rex is dying!"
Hwaryeon tugged at my collar, startled by the T-Rex's body.
I calmly explained to the panicking Hwaryeon.
"It's not dying, it's just returning to its original dimension."
When the core of an erosion dimension collapses, everything returns to its original dimension. So Hwaryeon's friend T-Rex is also returning to its original home.
Sad that the friend she had just made was leaving, Hwaryeon bit her lip slightly and waved her hand.
"T-Rex! It was fun playing together! Let's meet again next time!"
-Roar!
Perhaps the T-Rex also realized it was parting with Hwaryeon. It waved its short arms vigorously, saying goodbye to us.
And so, it disappeared like a white mirage, bidding us farewell as it vanished.
I put my hand on Hwaryeon's head as she lowered it after the T-Rex disappeared, and spoke gently.
"You might get a chance to meet again later."
"..."
"So don't cry."
"I-I'm not crying!"
Huff-
Hwaryeon swatted away my hand on her head. Then, hiding her face, she walked ahead and said.
"Let's go home now, Dad!"
"Okay, let's go home."
Hwaryeon had a brief meeting with a friend and said goodbye. Even though she was sad for a moment, Hwaryeon hid her tears and moved forward.
'If her never-stopping personality is an advantage, it could be seen as one.'
Still, besides being promoted to B-class hero, I thought this was a good field trip because Hwaryeon could have a fun memory.
***
After everything in Bupyeong was settled, Lee Ha-jun and Hwaryeon returned home.
"Why is the house like this! What were you doing without cleaning!"
"...We were about to do it. You came back too quickly, Dad."
"T-That's right! We were going to do it!"
"Woof-!"
Of course, when they returned home, the state of the house was terrible.
Snack crumbs and bags were scattered on the floor, the sink was full of dishes, and Mangmung's fur was spread everywhere.
If they had been a little later, it would have been so unsanitary that insects would have been swarming.
'To think this happened just because Dad was gone for a bit.'
It's better than before, but Lee Ha-jun once again realized how big his absence was to the children.
And the next day,
"I hope this will do. I'll buy this."
Although she had snuck in this time, he decided to give a gift to Hwaryeon who had done a lot.
Lee Ha-jun handed Hwaryeon a toy box.
"What's this, Dad?"
"You'll know if you open it."
Rustle-!
The impatient Hwaryeon quickly tore open the gift box to check its contents.
"This is!"
Swish-
Hwaryeon took out the toy from the box, and with a big smile, shouted.
"It's my friend T-Rex! The king dinosaur is back!"
Although her friend had left, so that she could always remember her departed friend, Lee Ha-jun gave Hwaryeon a T-Rex doll as a gift.
Hwaryeon, unable to contain her joy, bounced around the house.
"Yay! My friend is back!"
"Handle it carefully. Be careful, it's stuffed with cotton."
"Hehe, Dad! Thank you!"
Smooch-
The happy Hwaryeon kissed Lee Ha-jun's cheek and ran off. Perhaps because she was embarrassed, her face was flushed red.
"..."
"..."
At this, Suryeon and Choryeon narrowed their eyes and muttered.
"Kuku, as expected, this world can't be trusted. It's right to destroy it..."
"...Maybe I shouldn't have helped. Helping others might not always be good."
The two dragons turned slightly dark.
Perhaps because Lee Ha-jun was in a good mood from receiving a kiss from his daughter, he unfortunately didn't witness the two dragons turning dark.