Chapter 16: Super Lettuce

My school days weren't long due to the appearance of dimensional gates, but there was a popular phrase among friends during that brief time. I uttered it as I withstood Gu Bong-gu's punch:

"Tekkai."

"Argh!"

Gu Bong-gu clutched his fist and fell. It seems my body has become too strong. Oops.

"Don't be disheartened, Bong-gu. It's just because your opponent was me."

My body has simply become as hard as steel. Bong-gu, wincing in pain, said:

"You crazy bastard. I told you to pay with your body instead of money, and now you won't even do that."

He looked quite dumbfounded. Cursing, he asked me.

"Damn it. Since when did your body become like this?"

"I'm not sure exactly. Probably recently."

It happened from drinking Suryeon's water every day. It was possible due to consistent effort. Bong-gu sighed.

"Sigh, how did a debtor like you awaken? They say the world is going to ruin, and it really seems like it."

"Well, I was just lucky. Honestly."

"How unusually humble. Anyway, if you can't pay with your body now, how will you pay the remaining debt?"

"How else? I'll just have to pay it."

Now I need to pay with money, not my body. With this body, I can do a wider range of work, which means my income will definitely increase. I won't be as strapped for cash.

"Just write off today's 50,000 won. You saw me awaken, right? I'll pay the debt steadily from now on. How about it?"

"You want me to write off 50,000 won for showing me your future? You cheeky bastard."

"Come on, I'm about to become a hero, right? You can do that much for our relationship."

"It's ridiculous how you're framing this like we're on good terms, you punk."

Despite his harsh words, Bong-gu chuckled and spoke.

"I've confirmed today's deposit, and I'll come every month. Have the money ready each time I come."

And then:

"Congratulations on awakening."

With that, Bong-gu turned and left, waving his hand. It's been a while since I've seen Bong-gu leave without beating me up.

"If only he didn't look like a rockfish, that scene would have been quite cool."

His bald head seems to shine even more today. Bong-gu headed home after receiving the money. I too returned to my nest, opening the iron door.

"Dad's home."

As soon as the door opened, Suryeon, who had been waiting, greeted me. She started examining me up and down.

"Hmm, you're not hurt?"

It seems she was secretly worried about me. It's a cute side that doesn't match her expressionless face. I decided to explain exactly what happened outside.

"Why would I be hurt? Your dad is stronger than you think. I nearly killed him instead."

"...That's a lie. Never mind, I didn't ask that far."

Suryeon, having confirmed there was nothing wrong with me, left to watch TV. I grabbed her small shoulder to stop her.

"What?"

Suryeon answered gruffly. I put my hands under her armpits. And then...

"W-what are you doing?"

Whoosh-

I lifted Suryeon up.

"L-let go!"

Suryeon flailed in mid-air. Nevertheless, I lifted her even higher.

"It's all thanks to you, Suryeon!"

"W-what's thanks to me? Put me down quickly, homeowner. In the name of dragons, you'd better put me down right now."

"Dad's giving you an airplane ride to thank you! Well done, Suryeon! You're the treasure of this house!"

"W-why are you suddenly doing this?"

The blue eyes glaring at me began to mix with confusion. She really didn't seem to understand why I was doing this.

"Suryeon, do you really not know why I'm doing this?"

"You suddenly lifted me up. How am I supposed to know?"

"Thanks to you, my body has become stronger. After drinking that water, my body became harder."

"That's only natural if you think about it."

Water created by dragon magic. When you drink water infused with high-purity magic, the magic is naturally absorbed into the drinker's body. Suryeon explained this while struggling to escape the airplane ride.

"Dragon magic is so pure that it doesn't easily dissipate. Dragons are superior to any being in the world when it comes to magic. Do you understand now, homeowner?"

"Yes, I understand what you mean."

"Then put me down right now."

"That's not possible."

"What? Why not?"

"Because it feels good, of course."

The airplane ride should make Suryeon feel better too. I lifted Suryeon up and down.

"The treasure of our house! You really are our hero! Lee Suryeon! Lee Suryeon!"

"The homeowner has finally gone crazy..."

"Dad is happy thanks to Suryeon!"

Ahaha- Ahaha-

Suryeon and I enjoyed the fun airplane ride, giggling.

"Homeowner, I told you to stop."

"Ack!"

Slap!

In the end, Suryeon hit my face with her tail, causing the airplane to crash. But I thought she would understand how grateful I was by now.

"...Don't approach me for a while. This is a warning."

"Dad is sad."

"Don't call yourself Dad either."

Kids usually love airplane rides. I guess Suryeon doesn't. I picked up Choryeon, who was lying still.

"Hiss?"

I didn't even touch Hwaryeon, who was scared from the start. I gave Choryeon an airplane ride.

"Yahoo! Yahoo!"

"Hiss! Hiss!"

"Choryeon likes it... How strange..."

Dragon personalities are hard to understand.

"...Childish."

***

One day during our peaceful daily life, I went up to the rooftop with the dragons. Today was special because we had something to do.

"I think it's grown enough now."

The lettuce. Super lettuce grown with the help of dragon power. It had turned a lush green in less than 10 days. It looked fresh and crisp just by sight.

"Alright kids, shall we all pick the lettuce together?"

"Why should I!"

Hwaryeon immediately reacted to my words and shouted.

"Why should I pick lettuce, homeowner? You're the human, you do it!"

Hwaryeon said this and ran far away. She probably doesn't want to get her hands dirty. Well, can't be helped.

"Fine then."

"..."

"Then, excluding Hwaryeon, we'll just have Suryeon and Choryeon do it-"

"No! I'll do it too!"

She just said she didn't want to do it, but it seems she gets greedy when left out. Hwaryeon returned to her spot. I stood in front of the lettuce planter and said to them:

"Let's start picking. Everyone, pick the lettuce and put it in this black bag. Got it?"

"Why are you making us do such annoying things?"

"Hiss!"

Suryeon grumbled while Choryeon answered brightly. Although Suryeon complained, she boldly reached for the lettuce.

Pluck-

"I guess this is how you pick it."

Suryeon easily plucked the lettuce. She picked it well without any damage.

"Well done."

I patted Suryeon's head.

"...Remove your hand."

Suryeon, seemingly embarrassed, pushed my hand away. Then she focused on picking lettuce again.

"You're doing well. Let's see, Hwaryeon..."

"Why me!"

"Hmm..."

It's better to be honest.

"...You're too strong. The lettuce is getting damaged."

"It's natural for lettuce to be injured by a strong dragon!"

Because she was strong, the lettuce was injured. That's what Hwaryeon was claiming.

"How dare grass try to compete with a dragon! This is the natural result! It's not that I can't do it!"

"Yes, yes. You're the best, Hwaryeon."

"Hmph- Of course I am. I'm a dragon!"

Hwaryeon snorted contentedly at my half-hearted praise. I decided to let her play while roughly picking lettuce. Then, I approached Choryeon, who seemed to have the most difficulty with the task.

"Hiss- Hiss-"

Biting off the lettuce, holding it with her front paws, and putting it in the black bag. Choryeon was harvesting the lettuce well, making enthusiastic sounds.

"Choryeon is doing well too."

"Hiss!"

"It'll taste even better when you eat what you harvested yourself. Keep it up!"

"Hiss! Hiss!"

Choryeon nodded and focused on the task again. This was the fastest I'd ever seen Choryeon move. It must mean she really wants to eat the delicious lettuce.

'This is how they all experience harvesting plants.'

If there's one thing I feel sorry about, it's that I can't give the dragons many experiences. It's not safe to take them out, and I don't have time because I need to earn money. Even if I pass the hero aptitude test, I'll have more time than before, but unlike other parents, I can't give them many experiences. That's why I wanted them to have these small experiences themselves.

"We've harvested everything. Let's go in and eat."

"Hiss!"

She's really looking forward to it. I put Choryeon on my shoulder and headed home, carefully avoiding being seen by neighbors. Now, what's left is...

"Choryeon."

"Hiss!"

"Here's the lettuce you've been waiting for, expecting."

"Hiss!!"

"Eat up."

Choryeon rushed towards the lettuce as soon as I finished speaking.

Crunch crunch-

Munch munch-

The lettuce looked fresh and moist even from the outside. Compared to regular lettuce, it was much larger. Choryeon munched on the lettuce, making happy sounds.

"Hiss~"

After she had eaten about three lettuce leaves, while I was distracted looking at my phone, Hwaryeon suddenly shouted in surprise:

"Ah! Choryeon's condition!"

I looked at Choryeon following Hwaryeon's words.

"Huh?"

As Hwaryeon said, Choryeon's condition was strange. Choryeon might not have realized it, but her body suddenly started emitting a white light.

"W-what's this? Hwaryeon, what's happening?!"

"It's that! That!"

"What's 'that'?"

"I'm telling you, it's that! Why don't you understand!"

I didn't understand what Hwaryeon meant, but I kept my eyes on Choryeon, who was emitting the white light.

"Hiss- Hiss-"

Choryeon just kept munching on the lettuce. Then suddenly, the white light began to fade gradually. And then, it emitted a blinding flash of intense light.

Flash-!

"I thought I was going blind..."

I opened my tightly closed eyes. The intense light enveloping Choryeon's body had disappeared, and Choryeon was still chewing on lettuce. The only difference from before was...

"Delicious- Delicious-"

Polymorph. A girl with green tail and green horns, covered in lettuce all over her body, was eating lettuce very deliciously. She was chewing lettuce enthusiastically, moving her cheeks like mochi.

"She looks like a hamster."

Choryeon looked like a kindergartener. It feels like watching a harmless herbivore. I approached Choryeon and asked her a question.

"Choryeon."

"Mmm?"

"How did you become like this?"

I was curious about what caused Choryeon to take this form. Choryeon thought for a moment and then answered simply:

"I don't know, it just happened!"

"?"

"They say green dragons are most like green dragons when they're close to nature! I think that's why I polymorphed!"

"Hmm, so you're an eco-friendly dragon?"

"Maybe? I don't know what eco-friendly means, but that's probably it!"

Hehe-

Choryeon grinned and bit into a lettuce leaf. As I patted her green hair, I thought that even as a human, Choryeon was still very much Choryeon.

"Is the lettuce tasty?"

"Yes, it's delicious!"

That's good.