Chapter 116: Happy Birthday to You (2)

Morning at the kindergarten.

The dragons yawned as they arrived at kindergarten today. However, unlike usual, the atmosphere at the kindergarten was strange.

Suryeon, who first noticed the odd mood, said.

"This isn't normal. The kindergarten is too quiet."

In the mornings, children always play energetically. But today, there was no sound of children running around and making noise, not even loud chatter.

"Something's off. This isn't like usual."

Chill-

Suryeon's eyes sharpened as she surveyed the surroundings warily. In contrast, Hwaryeon snorted and pushed forward.

"Hmph, maybe everyone's just being quiet! Don't make a fuss!"

"Hwaryeon. I said it seems dangerously different from usual-"

"I'm not in any danger at all!"

Dash-!

Hwaryeon ignored the warning and ran ahead. Suryeon and Choryeon just blinked silently at this.

"Red Dragon Lee Hwaryeon. She'll get herself killed first at this rate. She should be more careful. If she wants to die on her own, I won't stop her."

"That's right. Hwaryeon is just too careless!"

Sigh-

Suryeon and Choryeon sighed and walked down the path Hwaryeon had taken. At least it was good that Hwaryeon went first to confirm it wasn't dangerous.

As the dragons approached the door after walking down the unusually quiet corridor, Hwaryeon put her hand on the doorknob and asked.

"I sense people behind this! Should I open it?"

"It would be better to observe a bit more before opening-"

"Whatever! I'm opening it!"

"...Why did you even ask?"

Creak-

The door opened due to Hwaryeon's solo action.

At that moment.

Pop-! Pop-!

"Happy Birthday!!"

The children's voices, unheard until now, burst out along with party poppers. The confetti settled on the dragons' heads.

Surprised by the celebration, the dragons were momentarily speechless.

"Huh?"

"What's this?"

"Umm?"

A sudden birthday celebration. What on earth was going on?

The dragons still didn't understand the situation even as party hats were placed on their heads.

"Why are they celebrating us?"

Unable to comprehend the situation, Suryeon grabbed a nearby child and asked.

"You, what exactly is this about?"

"S-Sorry... Did I do something wrong...?"

The kindergarten friend cowered at Suryeon's expressionless face. Suryeon let go of the child's hand and asked a bit more kindly.

"So... what's going on here? Why are you celebrating us?"

"Isn't it your birthday today?"

"Birthday? What's a birthday?"

"W-What? You don't know what a birthday is?"

"..."

This is a bit embarrassing. Suryeon answered confidently.

"I know. Birthday."

"But you just said you didn't know-"

"I know now. There's nothing I don't know. Got it?"

"U-Um... okay..."

The kindergarten friend decided not to say anything more. Not only was Suryeon scary, but it seemed impossible to have a proper conversation.

And so, the dragons received birthday wishes from their kindergarten friends and learned what a birthday was during class time.

"So the day you're born is called a birthday!"

"Hmm, dragons don't particularly celebrate the day they're born. We don't die anyway. This must be a human custom."

"They say if you blow out the candles on a birthday cake, your wish will come true! Mangmung! Let's make a wish about Father together today!"

"Woof woof-!"

Surely Dad will celebrate our birthday today too?

The dragons eagerly waited for kindergarten to end quickly. And when kindergarten ended, around the time Dad usually came to pick them up.

"Lee Hwaryeon, Lee Suryeon, Lee Choryeon. Come down. Someone's here to pick you up."

"Dad must be here!"

Pitter-patter-

The children ran down excitedly, their hearts full of birthday anticipation. They met the person waiting for them on the first floor.

"I'm here to pick you up, great dragons."

Instead of Lee Ha-jun, an elf hiding long ears was waiting. Hwaryeon pouted and shouted loudly.

"What's this, it's not Dad! Where did Dad go!"

"He had urgent business today, so I came to pick you up. He's expected to return late today."

"That can't be! Call Dad here!"

"Let's go together today, great dragons."

"Raaah-!"

Hwaryeon threw a tantrum, but there was nothing they could do.

The children had no choice but to go home with the elf.

"Hmph, it's our birthday today! Where on earth did Dad go!"

"I wasn't particularly expecting anything for our birthday, but Dad's choice is disappointing."

"Still, Father will come back before it's too late, right? I hope he comes back, it's our birthday."

Carrying the expectation of their birthday, the dragons returned home, disappointed. They just stared at the tightly closed iron door even after arriving home, waiting for Dad to return before their birthday ended.

They couldn't help feeling let down, especially since it was their birthday.

***

Today is my daughters' birthday, but I have important business today of all days.

However, I can't be a bad father to my children.

"Hide the cake in front of the door... Leave clothes too..."

I should be able to celebrate the children's birthday right away when I finish work and come back later.

I finished all the preparations and left for the hero gathering point. Dozens of heroes were already gathered there.

'Including me, there are 3 B-class heroes. The remaining 12 are all C and D-class.'

The higher-ranking heroes said they were busy.

Still, this should mean the Association President put in some effort. I'm not particularly happy about showing that unpleasant person photos of my daughters, but I am actually grateful.

Thinking this, I spoke as a representative to the gathered heroes.

"Today, we will root out the criminal organizations here. So that the poor living here don't live in fear. And to provide a safe environment for children to grow up in. We are responsible for the future of this street! Understood?"

Wasn't I pretty cool just now?

I admired myself, feeling intoxicated with my own coolness.

'Hurry up and applaud my speech!'

But.

For some reason, there was no applause even after my speech ended. Instead, they were whispering about me.

"Who is that guy anyway?"

"I heard he became a B-class hero really quickly. But he looks too weak for the rumors."

"Isn't B-class hero Woo Jin-soo next to him more famous? I don't get why this guy is in charge of this mission."

Damn it. How many dimensional gates have I closed?

Maybe it's because they haven't seen me in combat. They were severely underestimating me because I'm not famous.

'I'll show them properly this time.'

Grind-

I gritted my molars. 

I resolved to become a father my daughters could be proud of, not ashamed of.

'I'll show my skills. Finish quickly and go home.'

Ahem-

This time, I emitted a bit of dragon aura. The expressions of the lower-ranked heroes who had dismissed me changed rapidly.

Riding that momentum, I shouted confidently.

"Now everyone, move out. Eliminate all criminals without getting hurt. Begin!"

"Y-Yes sir!"

The dragon aura works after all.

The guys who weren't listening to me earlier rushed out quickly. I ran ahead of them, opened my smartphone, and pulled up the map Tubby and Weakling had sent.

It was a map with circles marking several buildings.

"The building right to the right from here! Go in immediately!"

"Yes sir!"

I charged in like a bulldozer at the front, reaching the second floor of the building. Then, I lightly kicked the tightly locked door.

Boom-!

"W-What's this!? What organization are you?"

Five criminals gathered in a small office on the second floor. They're scum who run a loan shark operation and traffic people who can't pay back.

I planted my fist in their faces and said.

"I need to get home quickly, so let's go quietly."

Crack-!

The criminals were easily taken care of with one punch from me. Without even breaking a sweat, I turned to the heroes standing quietly behind me and said.

"What are you doing, not moving quickly? Tie them up outside with rope. It's rope they can't untie no matter what."

"Yes, understood!"

Only then did the hero guys answer me vigorously. Looking closely, I felt like the way they looked at me had changed too.

It seemed like some heroes were starting to recognize me.

'The closest place seems to be the building of the organization where that scientist was. It won't be easy.'

To celebrate the children's birthday, I worked hard to quickly eliminate the criminals before the day was over.

***

Regardless of the primitive era, medieval era, or modern era, dragons enjoy amusement for their own entertainment.

When they start getting bored, they end their amusement and return to their own nests with the most memorable item. Then, they go through a hibernation period in their nest, ruminating on what happened during their amusement over a long period until they forget.

After such a long hibernation period, the awakened dragon moves to another dimension to enjoy amusement again.

Dragons live solely for their own interest and fun, and are adept at deceiving others through their amusement.

It's the dragons' way of alleviating the curse-like laziness and boredom that comes with their near-immortal lives.

"Dragons are a selfish bunch. They're satisfied as long as they're happy. They don't care at all about the humans they deceive."

There are also humans who have been deceived, harmed, and had their lives ruined by such selfish dragon amusements.

They hold great vengeance against dragons and are humans who have dedicated their lives to killing dragons. 

The world calls such humans 'Dragon Slayers.'

To kill only dragons. To kill the disgusting dragons that hide in the human world, enjoying amusement and deceiving humans. Beings who hunt dragons across dimensions.

"So, there are dragons in this dimension?"

The Dragon Slayer asked, with a huge sword on his back. The man hidden in the darkness answered.

"Yes, there are. In fact, many are hiding. Even to the great dragons, the Earth dimension is a very fun playground for amusement."

"How did you know about me in another dimension and call me?"

"Well, you see. I used pure, untainted magic power. It was quite a struggle to gather that magic power."

Grin-

The man said this with a light smile. The Dragon Slayer frowned but decided not to mind it.

His interest was solely in dragons. He walked towards the door, trudging.

"The contract terms are that I kill the dragons and that you dispose of the corpses."

"Yes, that's right. You can deal with any interfering humans as you see fit."

"Right, I'm not sure if the corpses will maintain their intact form. But since you called me to this dimension, I'll do that much. And..."

Pause-

The Dragon Slayer turned back and asked.

"What's your organization's name?"

The man hidden in the darkness came forward, showing his masked face, and said.

"We are 'Imugi'."

"Imugi, huh. Tsk, to think a disgusting being that wants to become a dragon is the organization's name."

The Dragon Slayer showed his discomfort and went outside. When he came out of the building after walking down a long corridor, he could smell the lingering scent of the dragon he had been looking for.

"I've already found it, though it's vague. I suppose that's how I should see it."

A human imbued with the dragon's scent, though faint.

Lee Ha-jun.

The Dragon Slayer clearly captured Lee Ha-jun's image in one eye. His other eye had been unable to see anything for a long time.