Chapter 86: Picking Up a Stray (1)

Quite some time had passed since the elves arrived on Earth. According to them, they spent their time reviving nature on the mountain behind District 09.

I stepped on the still dry soil and asked the elves.

"Winter will be here soon. Will you all be okay?"

"Of course we can endure. We are proud elves."

The elves answered with solemn expressions. They seemed to think they could withstand winter.

"...You'll be in big trouble if you underestimate winter."

These guys. They don't seem to know how scary Korea's cold wave can be. I decided to test if they could survive the winter.

"Suryeon."

"Yeah?"

"Make some ice for me."

I need to see if they can withstand the cold well.

Suryeon put her face in the basket. Then, she started spitting out ice from her mouth.

"Bleh-"

Clatter-!

Ice poured into the basket like an ice maker. I took that ice basket and stood in front of the elves.

"Since you don't seem to know how cold winter is, I'll show you directly."

This is extreme cold training. If they can endure this, they should be able to survive winter without any problems. I handed the ice basket to Hwaryeon standing next to me.

"Hwaryeon will be the instructor for this extreme cold training."

"Hehehe! You're all dead!"

Hwaryeon took the ice basket and stood behind the elves. Then, she mercilessly sprinkled ice on them.

"Hahaha! Die, all of you! Dragon discriminators should all die!"

"Eeek-!! C-Cold-!!"

"I-It got in my back!! H-Help!!"

Did ice get between their clothes? The elves ran around frantically trying to get the ice out. Hwaryeon smiled like an evil lord watching the elves.

"Hahaha! Die, elves! Die by the hand of Red Dragon Lee Hwaryeon!"

Hwaryeon laughed at the elves writhing in pain. It seems the elves don't have cold resistance.

It looked like I'd have to buy them thick sleeping bags and heaters to get through this winter.

"Anyway, elves."

"Yes, Dragons’s Father. What is it?"

"Did you clean up the trash well?"

Trash. The elves' eyes changed completely at the question about cleaning it up.

"Let's talk over here."

"Okay, kids. You play around here. Dad will be back soon."

I waved my hand as I went inside with the elves. Then, my daughters waved back at me.

"Come back quickly!"

"Take care."

"I'll be waiting, Father!"

As soon as I was left alone with the elves after leaving the kids, I opened my mouth and asked seriously.

"How's the trash cleanup going?"

The elves answered with serious eyes.

"It's going well. There's certainly a lot of trash in the human world. We're having a hard time because there's so much."

"Really? Exactly which areas have you cleaned up?"

"We've cleaned up everything up to here."

Swish-

An elf took out a map and pointed to the location for me. It seemed they had cleaned up all the entrance areas of the ant cave.

'Already up to here? This is quite a satisfactory result.'

I asked them to clean up for the children's safety, and the elves were completing the mission quite admirably.

I clapped my hands in satisfaction and said.

"Well done, elves. You have the qualities to become followers of dragons!"

"Th-Thank you!"

"We will always look only to the dragons!"

Thud-

The elves knelt before me, meaning to pledge their loyalty. For some reason, it overlapped with the image of the Association President.

'Are all dragon followers out of their minds? Why are they all like this?'

It's good for me, but that kind of loyalty is a bit burdensome.

I made them stand up and said.

"Anyway, keep cleaning up the trash."

"Yes!"

"You're in charge of public safety in this area. If you keep doing that, the dragons might remember your names."

"If the great dragons remember my name, I'd be fine even if I died!"

"There's no need to go that far."

Anyway, I told the elves to keep doing well and left the place. And when I arrived at the place where I had parted with the kids, the dragon kids were spending time playing on their own. Hwaryeon especially was playing in the most dangerous way.

"Hey, Lee Hwaryeon! Aren't you coming down from that tree!?"

"Hmph, I'll do as I please! Don't talk to me!"

That stubborn kid.

Hwaryeon ignored my words and was climbing the tree, grabbing rotten branches. She seemed to have become a monkey, not a dragon.

'No matter how I look at it, that seems dangerous.'

I kept watching Hwaryeon, feeling uneasy. Hwaryeon kept climbing the tree without any hesitation.

Then,

"Oh no!?"

Snap-

The rotten branch finally couldn't withstand Hwaryeon's weight. As the branch crumbled, Hwaryeon lost her balance and started falling from the tree.

"N-No!"

She's already dumb, but if she falls from the tree, she'll become even dumber!

With that mindset, I ran with all my might, and I caught her in mid-air before she hit the ground.

"Whew, barely caught you!"

"Ugh... I almost died!"

"Lee Hwaryeon! I told you to be careful!"

Thump-

I tapped Hwaryeon's forehead with my palm as she was in my arms. Hwaryeon kept turning her head to avoid my palm.

"S-Stop it! My forehead is precious!"

"You didn't even treasure it. What do you mean, precious? You need to be hit."

"Stop it! Waaah!"

Whoosh-!

Hwaryeon finally resisted by breathing fire, so I had no choice but to put her down.

"Sigh, what should I do with this fool?"

"Hmph, what do you mean what to do! Just leave me be!"

Huff-

Hwaryeon said this and turned her back. Then, she muttered quietly.

"...Thanks for saving me!"

She seemed embarrassed to express gratitude. I chuckled and said to Suryeon and Choryeon who were nearby.

"We're done with everything. Let's all go home."

"...Okay."

"Yes, Father."

For some reason, they didn't look happy.

'Is it because the weather is getting colder?'

Well, I thought that could be it.

I have days when I'm not in a good mood too. Dragons probably have such days too.

Thinking this, I headed home with them.

***

On the way home, the kids were walking and chattering noisily.

"I'm Lee Hwaryeon! I'm the boss of the alley! Everyone move aside!"

Hwaryeon walking proudly. In contrast, Suryeon and Choryeon were walking quietly holding my hands.

"They're sisters, but their personalities are so different."

How can they be this different? As I was thinking this, Suryeon spoke to me.

"But my personality is the best, right?"

"Suryeon's personality... hmm..."

"...Why are you hesitating, Dad? I'm starting to feel bad."

Glare-

Suryeon frowned and glared at me. Then, Choryeon tugged at my hand and said.

"Father, what about me? Isn't my personality good? I think I'm really good... I'm curious what you think!"

"Choryeon... Choryeon has a good personality."

"Really? Yay!"

Bounce, bounce-

Choryeon jumped around happily. Seeing her so happy, I was glad I didn't say anything more.

'...Her personality is good, but there's something scary about her.'

It feels like there's something terrifying sealed inside Choryeon. If that gets unleashed, it seems like it would be hard to stop no matter what.

'It's just a guess though. Anyway, what should we eat for dinner tonight?'

What should I make for dinner that the kids would like?

I walked down the street, deep in thought. Just then, Hwaryeon suddenly blocked my way.

"What is it, Hwaryeon? Why aren't you moving forward?"

"D-Dad!"

"Yeah?"

"Th-There's a suspicious-looking human over there!"

"Wait behind me, Hwaryeon."

Swish-

I stepped forward and hid Hwaryeon behind me. Then, I looked in the direction Hwaryeon had pointed. There, a familiar guy was walking towards us, doing something that didn't match his build.

"Hey, Tubby."

"Oh, Big Bro. Long time no see."

Bow-

Tubby greeted me while holding something in his arms. I pointed at the cute thing Tubby was holding and asked.

"Why are you carrying that? Are you going to eat it?"

To this, Tubby shook his head and said.

"N-No. How could I eat such a cute thing! I found it abandoned alone nearby! The weather's getting cold soon too!"

Judging by his tone, he seemed quite wronged. Perhaps curious about our conversation, Suryeon peeked out from behind me and looked at Tubby.

More precisely, at the cute thing in Tubby's arms.

"Oh, it's a puppy."

"Woof woof-!"

It was a young puppy, and it was barking energetically at us. Seeing this, Hwaryeon tugged at my clothes and asked.

"Dad, can we eat that too?"

"...We could in the old days. But not now."

"Tch, what a waste!"

Hwaryeon clicked her tongue in disappointment. I decided to continue questioning Tubby.

"So what are you going to do with it? You said it was abandoned. Why did you bring it?"

"Ah, well, you see. It was alone and I thought it might die if I left it like that. I had no choice but to take it home."

"Where's your home?"

"It's over there."

Tubby pointed to his house location. It was an alley reeking of drugs.

"...Put it down and go, Tubby."

I can't help it.

"I'll take care of it until we can find someone to adopt it."

It would certainly die if left outside in this weather. I reluctantly decided to take that pure white puppy.

'Have I become meddlesome too? I can't just pass by a young puppy.'

Just for a very short while.

"It's a puppy! I want to eat the puppy!"

"It's a puppy."

"Puppy! It's so cute, Father! Look at this!"

And the dragon kids seem to like it, too.