Chapter 121
Morning.
People bustled diligently for their work.
Some work for their dreams, some for money. Of course, sometimes money is needed to achieve dreams.
Bang bang-!
A construction site easily exceeding 50dB.
"Hey, mister! That's not where you put the materials! What's the use of just being strong?! Use your head!"
"...Sorry."
Just like the Dragon Slayer earning money to kill dragons.
The foreman's nagging, is always the same. The Dragon Slayer silently moved materials with his sturdy body.
'Earth. It's quite difficult to earn money here.'
Money is needed to find dragons.
Lodging, food, and transportation costs add up.
But the moment you spend time earning money, there's not enough time to search for dragons.
'I'm a Dragon Slayer. I must kill dragons. But what am I doing now?'
The blazing sun. Construction site noise hammering in his ears. His body growing tired.
The Dragon Slayer wiped away his sweat and briefly sank into a sea of thought-
"Hey, mister! What are you doing not working! It's not break time yet!"
"..."
Of course, the foreman wouldn't allow him to sink into thoughts. There's no room for such luxury at a construction site.
And so, the Dragon Slayer, his freedom of thought suppressed, worked until break time, drenched in sweat.
"...Finally, break time."
"Good work, mister. You work well, probably because of your size! Let's eat and work hard in the afternoon too!"
"...Sure."
Trudge trudge-
The Dragon Slayer walked with his coworkers towards a nearby Korean buffet. He naturally recalled his childhood days working on the farm in his village.
'Those were peaceful days. We'd go eat together after finishing farm work. Mother would prepare meals by the end.'
Feeling nostalgic, the Dragon Slayer entered the Korean buffet.
He piled his plate high with jeyuk (spicy pork), side dishes, and a heaping bowl of rice, then sat down. His colleagues already seated were chatting away.
"In my day, this kind of work in this weather? It was easy, I tell you. Ah, those were the good days."
"I was quite something back in the day too. You know E Construction? I was the president there."
"The construction company famous for those flimsy apartments? I heard they collapsed when the dimensional gates appeared."
"Hey, Ju, watch your mouth. Those subcontractor bastards ruined my life. I might just smash you with a hammer."
Mealtime conversations were full of stories about past glories.
Someone claiming to be a company president, another the youngest son of a chaebol family, another a promising hero candidate.
Unverifiable stories were rampant. So the construction workers all had the same thought.
'This guy's a pathological liar.'
They didn't believe each other because it was hard to believe.
They could trust each other as coworkers, but not their stories about the past. Then,
"Ahem. Hey, new guy."
"?"
The foreman started to take interest in the Dragon Slayer, who had been quietly inhaling meat with his face in his plate.
The Dragon Slayer looked up and asked.
"What is it?"
"What did you do before? Come to think of it, what's your name? Looking at your build, did you do sports? What did you do?"
"I..."
The Dragon Slayer recalled his past.
The days he lived as an adventurer. The days he shared love with his beloved wife. The day his daughter, who looked just like his wife, was born.
'...'
But.
They're gone now. All that's left is a human determined to kill dragons.
Just a nameless Dragon Slayer.
"I'm a Dragon Slayer who kills dragons. I have no name."
Dragon Slayer. At those words, his coworkers were all at a loss for words.
'What's with this guy?'
'Did his life fall apart and he went crazy?'
'He's a lunatic.'
And to break this silence, they changed the subject as if nothing had happened.
"So what's the afternoon work today?"
"The site manager said something about magical beast trophies coming in?"
"Haha, guess we'll have to work hard again. Mister... what was it, Dragon Slayer? It feels weird to call you mister. Let's call you Mr. D and work hard every day, okay?"
Mr. D.
The Dragon Slayer received a new name.
Then they left the restaurant and moved again. After eating, it was time to work again.
"Hey, Mr. D! Put the materials properly! Don't put them there!"
"..."
The Dragon Slayer worked hard again today.
***
New home. New area.
Everything looks new when you look around.
"Ah, is this the warmth of the sunny side?"
Sunlight shined between buildings. It's very nice.
Moving was definitely the right choice, though Choryeon seems to think differently.
"City! The air is so unpleasant! There's no nature here! Not enough trees! We should demolish all these buildings and plant trees! Ugh, I can't stand it! Father! Give me the order to destroy all these buildings!"
"Please bear with it, Choryeon."
The air isn't great in the city.
As Choryeon says, there's too little nature. But the good thing is I don't have to worry about pickpockets while walking anymore.
'In District 09, it was lucky if you could get home without encountering anyone.'
We've driven out all the villains this time, and the elves are staying to work on forest restoration.
Maybe someday, District 09, once called a slum, will become a good place to live.
'The elves said they'd come to the city after fully restoring the mountains. I hope they do well.'
Anyway.
In this city full of new things, I left the apartment with the children for one reason.
"Kids."
"Yeah?"
"What."
"Yes?"
I put on my 10,000 won black sunglasses and said with dignity.
"Let's go prepare for elementary school enrollment."
Elementary school enrollment is the reason I moved to District 04.
To thoroughly prepare for this, I plan to go shopping with the kids today. By the way, I'm wearing sunglasses in case someone recognizes me.
'Autographs are troublesome.'
To be honest, I've never been asked for an autograph.
Unlike other popular heroes, I don't understand why I don't get any calls from pretty models.
'Someone like me should be popular... right...?'
As if piercing through my thoughts, Suryeon looked at me with contemptuous eyes.
"Dad. Your expression is unpleasant."
"...What did I do, Suryeon?"
"You just look like a gloomy person. Like there's a demon in your head. I feel like I need to sprinkle holy water on your head."
"That's too harsh, Suryeon."
Sob sob-
I cried, hurt by my daughter's attack.
But that only made Suryeon's gaze sharper.
"Ahem, anyway. We're going shopping. Everyone be quiet. Mind your manners. If you cause trouble, no delicious food today. Understood?"
"Yesh."
"Okay."
"Yes!"
Hwaryeon's halfhearted answer was a bit annoying, but I led the children towards a nearby large shopping mall.
It was a mall where we could get a hero discount.
"What do we say when crossing the crosswalk, everyone?"
"Raise your hand! I'll raise mine the highest!"
"Raise hand. Bothersome."
"We have to raise our hands high! So the drivers know we're here!"
The education is paying off.
The children crossed the crosswalk like little chicks following me, raising their small hands high in the air.
Passersby smiled, their eyes drawn to the cute sight.
'It feels good but also worrying when my daughters get attention.'
Still, unlike District 09, District 04 is relatively safe. This kind of friendly attention shouldn't be a big deal.
As long as they don't become an internet sensation or appear on the news. The Dragon Slayer might come looking if he sees them.
It's better to be cautious.
"We're here. Everyone walk slowly, no running."
"I'm not a kid! I can handle myself!"
"You are a kid. Anyway, no running."
"Hmph."
After giving basic warnings, I held the children's hands and entered the shopping mall.
We passed by various stores, heading to our destination. On the way, Hwaryeon tugged at my sleeve and said.
"Dad! I want to eat that!"
"Hot dog?"
"Yeah! It's hot! I want to eat something hot!"
A store selling Korean-style hot dogs. I led the children into the hot dog store. Checking the menu, I asked the kids.
"What do you want to eat?"
"What are you going to eat, Dad?!"
"I'm going to have the basic one."
"Then I'll have the basic one too!"
Hwaryeon, following my lead, chose the basic flavor.
"Suryeon, what about you?"
"I'm not eating."
Shake shake-
Suryeon, who doesn't usually snack, waved her hand in refusal.
"Choryeon?"
"I'm not eating! Hot dog! Dog means dog, right? I can't eat Mangmung!"
"Oh, you know English too, smart girl? But that 'dog' isn't actually dog, Choryeon."
"R-Really?! T-Then..."
Choryeon pondered for a moment, looking at the menu. Then, as if she found the perfect menu item, she pointed.
"I'll have that! Cucumber hot dog!"
"...Really?"
"Yes! There's no meat in it! And cucumbers are delicious!"
"..."
That's quite an odd food choice. To think she'd choose that.
I ordered the menu items the children wanted.
Soon after, the employee handed us our order.
"Here, Hwaryeon, take yours."
"Yay! Hot dog! I'll put lots of red ketchup on it!"
"Suryeon, have a bite of mine."
"...Okay."
"Choryeon, here's your cucumber... hot dog."
"Yes, thank you for buying it, Father!"
The children received their hot dogs with bright faces. There was a crunching sound from Choryeon's hot dog, but.
"Mmm, it's delicious! It has a refreshing cucumber taste!"
Judging by her expression as she ate, it seemed to suit her taste.
'Snacks are done. Now let's start shopping.'
We need to prepare for school.
I pushed the shopping cart, going around various clothing stores. I bought the clothes the children wanted and bags matching their colors.
Bags suitable for elementary school, unlike kindergarten.
'We didn't use them for a few years, but the kids grow so fast we're replacing them already.'
Still.
Unlike before, money isn't too tight.
I can afford to buy all the clothes the children like. I just need to work harder.
"Dad! Buy me this! It's hot outside, so short is better!"
"I want long clothes that don't show skin."
"I want a beautiful bride's wedding dress!"
The open-minded Hwaryeon. The all-covered-up Suryeon. The strange Choryeon.
I decided to buy a white one-piece dress instead of a wedding dress. Soon, our shopping cart was piled high with clothes we bought.
'This many clothes, including some brand names, should be good enough.'
Even though it was a bit expensive, I bought quite a lot of clothes. The children wanted them too.
I hoped the children wouldn't be looked down upon in elementary school.
'Well, they're not the type to be looked down upon anyway.'
Still, as my daughters, I just want them to have a good elementary school experience.
To build happy and good memories, it's the parents' role to set them up at the starting line.
At that moment.
"This is the new Masked Ranger gun! Let's add this too!"
"Hey, wait. Lee Hwaryeon, I didn't say we'd buy toys-"
"Charge! Grab everything!!"
Starting with Hwaryeon suddenly adding toys to the cart.
"I need earphones too. I don't want to hear noisy kids' voices. I'll listen to music. Music is the only pleasure allowed by the state. Expensive earphones should have much better sound quality. I'll buy these."
"Suryeon, these are quite expensive earphones. Who's paying?"
"Of course you are, Dad. Thanks for buying them, Dad."
"I haven't even said I'd buy them yet..."
Suryeon adding expensive earphones.
"They're selling plant seeds too! W-We must buy these! Ah, Mangmung's treats! There are toys too! We must buy these too!"
"Do you really need all that, Choryeon?"
"Of course! The city lacks nature! I need to sow seeds, Father!"
Choryeon frantically adding items, insisting they must buy them.
"..."
As a result, I had to pay twice as much as I expected.
'This is why big supermarkets are scary. We should have come with a set list of things to buy.'
Damn it.
The cashier, oblivious to my feelings, smiled and asked.
"That'll be 3,170,000 won! Do you have a point card?"
"...I'll make a new one."
"Alright, I'll help you with the payment first."
Sob sob-
I had no choice but to hand over my tear-soaked card to the employee.
Preparing for elementary school enrollment was harder than I thought.