Chapter 74
A total of four elves moved to Earth. They will watch over the dragons in my place when I'm away. And in their spare time, they'll clean up the overflowing trash in the area.
"Always move while hiding your identity. Don't let anyone find out you're elves."
"Yes, understood."
"And as for where you'll stay on Earth..."
Our house is out of the question for now. Is there no suitable place?
As I pondered for a moment, the elves pointed to a distant mountain full of rotten trees.
"We'd like to stay there. This place has bad air and no nature. That dead mountain is much better."
The elves held their noses as if smelling something foul.
Well, the city isn't exactly a nature-friendly space for elves to live in. I took the elves where they wanted to go.
"Take me too!"
"Me too."
"I want to go too, Father!"
With the dragon kids chirping like chicks, we arrived at a mountain about a 10-minute walk away. It was a small mountain with only withered trees without leaves and dry soil.
"I think they said it became like this because of toxic gas from a nearby factory."
"Bad humans. Torturing trees with poison gas. I'll definitely pay them back someday!"
It would be a bit strange to pay that back. Choryeon vowed to take revenge on humans.
Leaving Choryeon with her scary fantasies, I asked an elf looking around.
"Even homeless people avoid this mountain because bears sometimes appear. All the trees are withered too. Is it still okay?"
Nod-
The elves answered as if it were obvious.
"Yes, this is good. It won't be an easy path, but we think we can revive nature. There's still hope left."
"That's good then. Choryeon will be happy if you restore nature."
Hwaryeon and Suryeon might not care, but Choryeon seems to really like what the elves said. She hugged the watering can she brought and started watering the ground.
"Grow. Grow. Grow tall so we can see face to face. Let's all work together to make Earth healthy."
Trickle, trickle-
Choryeon diligently sprinkled water on the barren land.
According to the elves' explanation, this land is currently in a state of barely hanging on to life.
It's on the verge of death, so there's no vitality in the soil, and even using the elves' watering can, it will take a long time to grow. I grabbed a handful of crumbly soil and said.
"Then can we not plant the fruit of Yggdrasil here?"
"No, if planted here, it would take about 1000 years for a sprout to appear. We recommend planting it elsewhere."
They say it's better to plant the fruit of Yggdrasil rather than eat it. I called out to Choryeon, who was running around sprinkling water enthusiastically.
"Choryeon, stop that and come to Dad! It'll take all day!"
"Yes, Father..."
Choryeon seemed disappointed, wanting to sprinkle more water.
I told the elves to come find me without hesitation if they needed or were curious about anything, and returned home with the children. Before that,
"Let's plant the fruit first before we go back. Where should we plant it?"
The dragon kids each gave their opinions to my question.
"Let's plant it in the playground! There's sand there!"
"It would be nice if it's close to home."
"I think the playground would be best too, Father!"
The playground. It is close to home, which is good.
I nodded and went to the playground to dig in the sand with my hands. The dragon kids helped dig the sand too.
"Heave-ho! I'm the best digger!"
Hwaryeon dug the sand like a dog digging the ground. She looked more like a Red Mole than a Red Dragon. In contrast, Suryeon just watched Hwaryeon quietly, standing with her arms folded.
"Hwaryeon is doing well. I guess I don't need to do anything."
She just watched idly, seemingly too lazy to help. Choryeon, seeing Suryeon's attitude, muttered quietly.
"I think those who don't work for nature shouldn't receive nature's benefits."
"...Are you saying that to me?"
"If it sounded that way, maybe I am, Suryeon."
Grr-
Suryeon and Choryeon start their psychological warfare again. I took the fruit out of my pocket, stepped between the two, and said.
"I think we've dug enough? Shall we put the fruit in now? Who wants to do it?"
At those words, everyone raised their hands and shouted simultaneously.
"I'll do it!"
"Me."
"I want to do it, Father!"
Hmm. It's hard to choose just one.
'I guess there's no choice.'
I decided to use the wisest method to resolve this.
"Let's plant it together. Everyone put your hand on the fruit."
I held out the fruit. They put their hands on the fruit and slowly lowered their hands into the hole with me. We slowly settled the fruit of Yggdrasil into the hole, covered it with sand again, and successfully planted the fruit.
"Now we just need to water it. Choryeon?"
"Yes, Father! It's watering can time!"
Splash, splash-
Choryeon sprinkled water on the sand with the watering can she cherished in her arms. The trees nearby are growing, and someday the fruit of Yggdrasil will grow too. Like the giant World Tree we saw in the elves' village.
"I'm looking forward to when it's fully grown."
"Me too, Father! I hope the air around here becomes as good as the elves' village!"
Choryeon smiled as if she was very satisfied with today.
'I'm glad she likes it.'
I was satisfied because my daughter was satisfied.
***
I stopped by the Association to report about the trap-type dimensional gate.
"Not informing me that it was a trap-type dimensional gate could have led to a disaster. A promising hero could have lost their life."
"...What do you want, Hero Ha-jun?"
"I'd appreciate it if you could take better care of us."
"...Understood."
Yes!
I was able to receive a hefty reward for the trap-type dimensional gate. After all, this incident was largely the Association's fault.
'I should get what I deserve. This is only natural.'
I smiled contentedly looking at the money deposited. The fact that they didn't say anything about resolving the dimensional gate suggests they hadn't found out about me bringing the elves.
"Should I be glad there are no CCTVs on the streets?"
I never knew poor public safety could be this helpful. I thought this as I was about to leave the Association.
But,
"Just a moment, Hero Ha-jun."
The employee who had just listened to my report stopped me.
Did they find out?
I answered, feeling slightly tense.
"What is it?"
"I forgot to ask. Did you notice anything strange in that trap-type dimension?"
"Hmm, not particularly."
"I see. Then alright. Take care on your way home."
The Association employee bowed to me.
'Hmm... Asking if there was anything strange...'
Something seems suspicious. Curious about the question of "anything strange," I asked.
"Should there have been something strange?"
"No, not necessarily. I was just asking to confirm a recent hypothesis."
"A hypothesis?"
"Yes, it's one of the hypotheses about why dimensional gates open from recent research. It says dimensional gates open to dimensions that are trying to return to normal."
What does this mean? Dimensional gates open to return to normal?
Seeing my confused face, the employee added an explanation.
"That was difficult to understand. To put it simply, they say our dimension is opening the gates because it needs them."
"You mean Earth is opening the dimensional gates?"
"Yes, that's what they say. I don't know the details, it's just hearsay."
"Even with the explanation, it's still confusing."
It seems to be one of the circulating hypotheses. Disliking complicated content, I said goodbye to the employee and left.
No matter how much I thought about it, it was hard to understand.
"Earth chose to open dimensional gates... What is this, is Earth an environmental protection group like Choryeon?"
I don't get it. People who study more and are smarter than me will figure it out. I'm not particularly interested in these truths of the world.
What I need to focus on now is raising my kids well. I opened the front door and said.
"Kids, Dad's home."
"Welcome home, Father! I missed you!"
Hug-!
Choryeon welcomed me with a hug. Suryeon also waved her hand briefly from the side, while Hwaryeon just waved her hand halfheartedly while watching TV.
"Is it Masked Ranger time now?"
"Yes, that's right! Father, it's best not to bother Hwaryeon during Masked Ranger time! She thinks she's a Masked Ranger and treats us like villains!"
"I see."
I used to do such role-playing too when I was young. I almost got lost in memories but shook my head to snap out of it.
Then, I made an announcement to the kids who had just been watching TV while I was gone.
"Kids. Dad has an important announcement to make."
And that is, I steeled myself and said to the children.
"You're all going to kindergarten starting next week."
Kindergarten. It's about time they started going to kindergarten.
At those words, the dragons showed contrasting reactions.
"Kindergarten?! Why should I listen to humans weaker than me!"
"I agree. I don't want to take lessons from bad humans inferior to me."
"I like it because I might make friends! Father is always right!"
The public opinion was worse than I expected. Still, to live in the human world, they need to build a solid foundation of basic education.
They can't just stay at home watching TV and waiting for me forever.
'They need to learn how to get along with others from a young age. I should send them to kindergarten before they get too smart.'
Socializing dragons. Now that we have elves who can watch over them when I'm not around, there was no reason not to send them to kindergarten.
"Rejection is not an option. You're all going to kindergarten. That's what Dad decided, so keep that in mind."
"Hmph, why are you deciding everything on your own, Dad!"
"Because I'm Dad. I decide things because I'm Dad."
Kindergarten is something you have to go to even if you don't want to.
This time, I had no intention of backing down either.
"Kindergarten. Bothersome. Don't like outside."
It seems Suryeon might be the hardest to persuade. Looking at Suryeon's displeased expression, I thought so.