Chapter 63
Swish, swish—
Suryeon swam around the sea instinctively. Her tail, attached to her waist, acted as a propeller.
"It feels calming. I like it."
Dad was right. Coming to the sea was a good decision.
Suryeon swam far enough that she couldn't see her family anymore, then relaxed and floated like a jellyfish.
It felt good to be immersed in the cool sea while facing the warm sunlight.
"It's nice that there are no humans and it's quiet."
Suryeon closed her eyes quietly, enjoying the sunbath. When she felt she had enjoyed it enough, she looked down at the sea below and muttered.
"I wonder what's down there? I'm curious."
I want to know. What's in the deep sea?
Suryeon spun her tail vigorously and dove underwater.
Whoosh—!
She headed towards the deep sea like a submarine. As she went deeper, it got darker, and various seaweeds and fish came into view.
Suryeon observed the different fish and said.
"Is that a fish? I think I've seen it on TV. I wonder if they'd taste good grilled?"
Slurp—
Suryeon licked her lips while looking at a fish with orange and white stripes. The fish, sensing danger, fled from Suryeon without looking back.
Watching the fish leave, Suryeon muttered with disappointment.
"...They're gone. I didn't really plan to eat them, I just wanted to touch them."
Dejected—
Suryeon awkwardly stared at her palm.
"I should go deeper."
Tail propeller activated.
Curious about what might be below, Suryeon went deeper. She was willing to go all the way to the unexplored deep sea. However,
"What's that?"
Pause—
Suryeon stopped her tail and looked ahead. It was dark, but she could see a pair of yellow glowing eyes staring at her from afar.
"I'm a dragon. It's not running away even after seeing me. It must be quite intelligent."
Stretch—
Suryeon reached out her hand towards the creature and said.
"Come here. And guide me through the sea."
-...
"This is an order. An order from the Blue Dragon, ruler of the sea."
The creature with yellow glowing eyes hesitated for a moment.
But, unable to resist Suryeon's order, it slowly revealed itself.
-...
The king of the sea, an orca, with a harmonious mix of white and black. It was twice the average size.
It spoke to Suryeon with a sound like ultrasonic waves.
-To think such an esteemed guest would come to this humble place...
"Hmm, an orca? You seem to know about dragons?"
Have you seen other dragons besides me?
To Suryeon's question, the orca cautiously answered.
-Yes, I grew up hearing stories about dragons. Though I've never seen one directly.
"Oh, really? An orca talking about dragons... What kind of stories did you hear?"
-W-Well...
Tremble—
The orca shook, unable to speak properly. But gathering courage, it squeezed out words through ultrasonic waves.
-You see... Actually, long ago, our species thought we were kings of the sea, and we tried to hunt a dragon sleeping on the sea...
"And then?"
-I heard half of us were wiped out... It happened when I was young, so I don't know much... But that's what they say...
"Hmm, so that happened. Interesting."
No one else probably knows this story. It's a story only I know.
Suryeon smiled contentedly at this fact.
"You approached me knowing dragons are such beings?"
-Y-Yes...
"Why?"
-I was curious... I wondered what kind of being could kill half our species...
"You're the type who lets curiosity take the lead, like me."
-Yes, I hear that a lot...
Suryeon stared at the orca before her. Though its teeth were sharp, she thought its skin looked smooth and cute, so much so that she wanted to take it home.
"You'd die if I took you to land. That's a shame."
-Eek...
"I like you. Come here and let me ride you."
-Y-Yes!
Whoosh—
Not wanting to die, the orca quickly let Suryeon ride on its back. Suryeon held onto the dorsal fin, patted the orca's body, and shouted.
"Let's go, orca."
-Y-Yes!
"Show me the sea. I'm curious about a lot of things."
Suryeon acquired a local guide.
And so, Suryeon explored the sea with her guide, experiencing firsthand the sea she was curious about. This time was much more enriching than just using a smartphone at home.
"I'm glad I came out after all."
I even got a new subordinate. This seems fun.
Suryeon was increasingly enjoying going out.
***
It's almost mealtime, but Suryeon shows no sign of coming back.
"Where on earth did she go?"
"I don't know, Father..."
"Choryeon, isn't there a way for dragons to know each other's location? Like GPS?"
"GPS? I'm not sure what that is... But there is a way to find out! I'll check!"
Ta-da!
Choryeon confidently stepped forward with her hand raised. Then, with her feet in the sea, she took a deep breath, exhaled, and shouted.
"Everyone, please tell me Suryeon's location!!!"
Choryeon shouted loudly towards the sea.
'What's this about?'
I asked, puzzled by this sight.
"Choryeon. Who are you talking to? Are you talking to yourself?"
"I'm not talking to myself, Father! I'm talking to my friends!"
"Friends?"
"Yes!"
To think she has friends in the sea too… How popular is she?
"Surely not imaginary friends?"
"No! I really have friends in the sea! The seaweed!"
"Oh, seaweed?"
Well, seaweed is a plant after all. I patted Choryeon's head and apologized.
"Sorry, Dad doubted you for a moment."
"You're my father! I'll let it slide this time!"
Choryeon forgave me with a big heart.
After some time had passed, Choryeon reported the situation to me.
"My friends told me! Suryeon is coming this way! It seems she's made a friend too!"
"Hmm, a friend for Suryeon."
No matter how much I like Suryeon, 'Suryeon' and 'friend' are incompatible words.
Since she's coming, I guess we'll see soon enough.
"Since Suryeon is safe, I should start preparing lunch."
I called out to Hwaryeon, who was splashing around nearby.
"Lee Hwaryeon! Stop swimming and come out now! I'm preparing food!"
"Food?! Okay!"
Splash, splash—!
Hwaryeon came out of the sea, spinning her tail vigorously. Surprisingly, she seemed scared of deep water and only played in the shallows.
Watching Hwaryeon shake her head, I headed towards the rocks.
'I wonder how much we caught.'
It was time to check.
I pulled in the net I had prepared. It was quite heavy.
"We caught more than I expected."
My automatic hunting was a success, I guess. I don't know much about fish types, but they look edible.
I carried the net to the grill I had prepared. Then, I put some clams I had caught earlier on the heated grill.
Sizzle—
"The heat's a bit low. Hwaryeon, can you help?"
"If you need my help! I'll do it, just this once!"
Hwaryeon walked over confidently. She opened her mouth towards the grill and breathed fire.
"Roaaar—!"
Whoosh—!
As Hwaryeon roared, the tightly closed clams opened up.
I gave Hwaryeon a thumbs up.
"Hwaryeon, well done."
"Hmph, of course!"
So proud.
I smirked at Hwaryeon and focused back on cooking. I put the caught fish on the grill, and the smell of grilling fish started to spread along the beach.
Perhaps because of that,
"What's that?"
"Wh-What is it!"
"What could that be, Father..."
Whoosh—!!
A huge creature was approaching us from afar.
Looking closely, someone was riding on top of it.
"That's..."
"L-Lee Suryeon! Why is she there! Why is she having fun by herself?!"
Suryeon was approaching, riding a giant orca. And when she arrived nearby,
Screech—!
"I'm here."
Suryeon coolly parked the orca and stepped onto land.
Stunned by this sight, I weakly asked.
"Suryeon... What on earth is that...?"
"An orca. In human terms, you'd call it a Lamborghini."
A Lamborghini, huh. I see.
I decided not to think about it too deeply.
"Tell me later."
"Okay."
"Let's eat first."
I deliberately ignored the orca crying "Kyu kyu—" while looking at us and deboned the properly grilled fish and fairly distributed the clam meat.
Everyone ate the seafood deliciously, without any picky eaters.
'...They're eating well. Especially Suryeon, she seems to be eating better than usual.'
More importantly,
"Choryeon."
"Yes?"
"When did you pick that seaweed?"
"Hehe..."
Munch, munch—
Choryeon was chewing on seaweed she had gotten from somewhere.
'To think she'd pursue vegetarianism even at the sea.'
What an interesting kid.
I distributed food to the kids and approached the orca with the remaining fish.
"Are you Suryeon's new friend?"
-Kyu! Kyu!
The orca shook its head, denying it as if its life depended on it.
"Then are you really a Lamborghini?"
-Kyu kyu!
Nod, nod—
The orca nodded, confirming that was correct.
"I don't know what happened, but I can see you're having a hard time."
-Kyu kyu! Kyu kyu!
"Here, eat some fish."
Toss—
I threw some fish to the orca. It moved quickly, catching and eating all the fish. It seemed like quite a money-maker.
"Hmm, I bet you'd be popular if we opened a show."
-Kyu, kyuu...
"I'm joking. Don't look so down. Just eat the fish. I'd appreciate it if you could play with Suryeon until it's time to leave."
I threw all the remaining fish and headed back to where the kids were. The kids had already emptied all their bowls.
"Did everyone eat well?"
"Give me more! I'm still hungry!"
"Yes, I'm satisfied."
"Me too! I'm very satisfied!"
I'm glad they ate well.
I took out a watermelon from the cooler and put it on the table. It was grown from the seeds of the watermelon we ate last time. Then, with now-skilled knife work, I cut the watermelon into pieces easy for the kids to eat.
Chop—!
The kids each took a piece of cut watermelon and ate it deliciously.
"Eat slowly, Dad needs to eat too."
They're eating too fast.
I put some watermelon in my mouth and enjoyed the summer with the kids. Suryeon was even throwing watermelon to her new friend.
'I'm glad everyone's having fun. Suryeon even made a new friend.'
Even if it's an animal, not a human. Still, I'm glad Suryeon made a new friend.
'We don't have much time left since we need to go back in the evening...'
I hope everyone enjoys themselves until then.
Watching the dragon kids playing and touching the orca, it felt particularly regrettable that the sun was setting on this summer day.