Chapter 30
After Lee Ha-jun left, the dragons removed their ears from the front door where they had been pressed.
"Is he gone?"
"He's gone. He went up. Probably to the rooftop."
"Hmm, I wonder what happened..."
Choryeon worried about Ha-jun. She remembered when Ha-jun was beaten by Gu Bong-gu and his whole body was bruised.
"I hope Dad doesn't get hurt..."
"Hmph, Dad almost beat me! How could he get hurt!"
"Oh, didn't Father win?"
"It was a draw! I didn't lose!"
Hwaryeon said this to reassure Choryeon. Still, Choryeon couldn't easily shake off her worry.
"What should we do... What if something bad happens…?"
"Argh, stop saying such frustrating things! It'll work out somehow!"
Fidget-
Choryeon continued worrying, while Hwaryeon became frustrated by the worried Choryeon. Meanwhile, Suryeon thought that both of them were foolish.
"'It'll work out somehow' is too irresponsible."
"Then what! What should we do!"
"If we're curious, we should solve it. Let's open the door and go out."
Suryeon stood on her tiptoes and turned the doorknob.
Creak-
"It's open."
The door opened due to Suryeon's bold action. Hwaryeon immediately rushed towards the open door.
"Outside! Let's go quickly! Where's Dad?!"
Once outside, Hwaryeon was the most excited.
"Red Dragons are really incomprehensible."
Shake shake-
Suryeon shook her head as she stepped outside. Choryeon followed her sisters up the stairs. And so, the kids peeked their faces through the gap in the rooftop door and quietly watched Ha-jun.
"Where are you from?"
Ha-jun was interrogating Fatty and Skinny, tied to chairs. It was a very unfamiliar sight to the dragons.
"W-what! Is that Dad? He feels different!"
"...So this is how he looks when he's with other people."
"But Dad seems okay! That's a relief!"
Ha-jun looked quite serious. To Ha-jun's question, Fatty lowered his voice and said:
"Who the hell are you...? You think you'll be safe after messing with us...?"
"That's why I'm asking, who are you. Are you Fatty and Skinny?"
"..."
Fatty bit his lip hard, as his identity was exposed. Seeing this, Ha-jun raised his fist high.
"You're not going to talk? Then I have no choice but to do this."
"...Just hit me! It's better than dying! I can't talk!"
At Fatty's words, Ha-jun raised his fist high and said:
"By the way, I'm a D-rank hero."
"...Really? Y-you're a hero?"
"Yeah."
"..."
To that, Fatty quickly opened his mouth and shouted:
"W-we came because Isaiah ordered us!"
"Isaiah...?"
"You live here, so you must know! Angel Isaiah! That crazy psycho drug dealer!! He told us to investigate this area!! He said strange things were happening around here!!"
"Is that so?"
Ha-jun lowered his raised fist. He had gotten all the information he could from Fatty. The dragons gave their impressions of Ha-jun's behavior:
"Why didn't he hit him! If you raise your fist, you should hit! How frustrating!"
"They came because we caused trouble. The situation seems to be flowing more seriously than I thought."
"Dad’s powerful side is better than I expected!"
They were each just saying what they wanted to say.
Anyway, Ha-jun changed his target and asked Skinny:
"Is that all? You just came to investigate?"
"Yes, to be honest... We were threatened at gunpoint, so it sucks. That bastard Isaiah always does things that way, you know? You said you're a hero, right? Please, can't you arrest that bastard Isaiah? He's getting worse because he thinks he's the king."
"Hmm."
Ha-jun pondered. What should I do?
'...Let's say I silence them and send them back. Will this area be safe then?'
No. They'll probably continue investigating even if we say there's nothing. From the moment they sent an investigation, they thought there was something here. Even if we stay quiet for a while, they'll try to check inside the villa.
"This won't do."
"W-what?"
"Isaiah. I need to meet him."
"It'll be dangerous..."
"But there's no choice."
I wanted to live quietly in hiding, but it can't be helped. This is something that needs to be resolved. Ha-jun untied Fatty and Skinny.
"This time, you guide me to where Isaiah is."
"Y-yes...! Understood...! Hero Lee Ha-jun...!"
Fatty and Skinny quickly tried to start guiding.
"Hey! They're coming this way!"
"Let's run away quickly."
"We're going back home!"
Pitter-patter-
The dragons returned home to avoid being caught. Then, they gathered in the living room and talked about what just happened.
"Dad got involved in trouble because of us. It seemed like dangerous work."
"Is it because we drew attention?!"
"It seems so..."
The atmosphere was gloomy. It wasn't good. The dragons knew well that this happened because they caused trouble.
"Then let's help! We'll handle it!"
"If we cause more trouble, it'll make things harder for Dad."
What we can do now is...
"Let’s just wait quietly for Dad to return."
Trust and wait. We need to trust and wait for Dad who risked danger for us. Suryeon judged the situation rationally, biting her lip and suppressing her emotions as much as possible.
"That's the best we can do."
"Argh, how frustrating!"
"I hope Dad doesn't get hurt..."
The dragons waited like that for Dad to come back, worrying that he would get hurt. They came to understand well how Ha-jun thinks of them.
***
Fatty and Skinny talk way too much. I just raised my fist and threatened them, but they spilled everything that's happened so far. If I just send these guys back quietly, it won't end well.
'This decision is the best way to keep them safe.'
If things go wrong, we'll see when that happens. I followed Fatty and Skinny's guidance towards the central area. With every step, the stench of ammonia and stuffy air attacked my nose. The sight of drug-addled homeless people attacked my eyes too.
'I need to earn money quickly and move out.'
Coming to the central area after a long time, I was certain. We need to escape from this district quickly. Unless some great force intervenes, this area seems hopeless.
"H-here it is, Hero Lee Ha-jun."
Skinny stopped in front of a door and spoke. I checked the sturdy door with my eyes and asked:
"Isaiah, that drug dealer, is inside?"
"Yes, he's there. But be careful, there'll be other drug dealers too. They'll all have guns."
"..."
That's a bit scary. I've never checked if bullets can penetrate my body or not.
'Ah, I should've been careful from the start. What have I gotten into?'
Still. If children cause trouble they can't take responsibility for, parents must clean it up. Thinking there's no choice, I knocked on the sturdy door.
Bang bang-!
"I have business with Isaiah. Open the door. Fatty and Skinny are with me."
-What business do you have?
"I have something to talk about with Isaiah. I'd like him to spare some time. By the way, I'm a hero."
-...Wait a moment.
A deep voice echoed from inside.
'Come to think of it, they're really called Fatty and Skinny.'
It sticks unpleasantly well to the tongue. After waiting for a while:
"Come in."
The sturdy door opened. I passed by the huge guy who opened the door and headed inside the building.
"The boss is inside. Show respect."
"I've lived here for 10 years, if not in the central area. I know what I'm doing."
"..."
I opened the door and went inside. Isaiah was pointing a gun at me as a welcome greeting. He was wearing gold decorations all over his body, probably because he earned a lot of money. I'm envious.
"I heard a precious hero has something to say to me. What's the matter? I have nothing to say."
Swoosh-
Isaiah turned his gaze towards Fatty and Skinny. He seemed to have found the connection, being quite sharp-minded.
"Did you do all that?"
"...Well, it's exaggerated in many ways. But you could say so."
I ignored Isaiah's gun and sat on the sofa. The smell of drugs was very unpleasant. Anyway…
"You investigated that area just because of what some drug dealer said?"
"I'm the type who needs to shoot a corpse once more to make sure it's dead, you see."
Hmm. After a brief conversation with Isaiah, I was certain of one thing.
'We'll definitely clash later.'
He's ambitious, meticulous, and thorough. If I just go back, he'll probably monitor my villa and look for an opportunity. To a drug dealer, heroes are cumbersome beings.
'I didn't expect to raise my performance like this.'
Can't be helped. I stood up from the sofa and spoke.
"Fatty and Skinny, wait outside."
"Y-yes!"
The quick-witted Skinny took Fatty and went outside. Then, Isaiah laughed as if in disbelief:
"Ha, you stupid bastard. Are you saying you're going to fight me and win? An unknown hero thinks he can beat me?"
"You're not an awakened one, are you?"
"That's right, I'm not awakened. But what do you think of this?"
Isaiah pressed a button on the wall.
Boom-!
Then, a transparent glass wall was erected between me and Isaiah. Judging by its thickness, it seems to be specially treated reinforced glass. And as the wall opened like a door, I heard the unpleasant cry of a beast from inside.
Growl- Growl-
That cry remained in my memory.
"Don't tell me it's a werewolf?"
"You know well. The magical beast that will devour you today. It's a werewolf."
Isaiah smiled as if he had already won.
'Certainly, a normal person would definitely die. Even low-rank heroes would be in danger.'
Werewolves are strong. That's a fact I realized firsthand when I almost died. But now, it didn't matter to me.
"Kill him, werewolf."
Roar-!!
The werewolf rushed at me in sync with Isaiah's voice. I just stared at the werewolf. And when it made eye contact with me:
Whine- Whine-
It ran away to a corner and curled up. Bad luck for it.
"You're unlucky. How did you prepare something like this for me?"
"W-what. Why did a starving werewolf suddenly…?"
Isaiah was flustered. I threw a punch at the glass wall before he could escape.
Crash-!!
Then, I immediately grabbed his collar.
"You shouldn't have taken interest in my home."
"W-what are you-"
"First, let me hit you. You wasted my time."
You just wasted time I could have spent playing with my daughters. And so, I beat him until he lost consciousness. In the middle, I also swiped some gold rings from between his fingers.
'Honestly, I was a bit envious.'
And his subordinates...
"F-fuck! There's a werewolf inside! How is that bastard still alive?!"
They couldn't even approach me, probably because of the werewolf. And so, I protected my nest from intruders today.
***
The one-room apartment was silent. Only the anxious heartbeats of dragons echoed in the one-room as they sat quietly, just waiting for Ha-jun to return.
Step- Step-
The kids got up at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, and they waited for the front door to open.
"..."
"..."
"..."
They stared intently at the front door. And the moment the door opened with the sound of keys:
"It's Dad!"
"...He's back."
"Dad! Welcome home!"
The kids came out to greet Ha-jun and checked his body. Seeing this, Ha-jun smiled and spoke.
"What are you worried about? Nothing happened. Let's eat though it’s a bit late today.”