Chapter 25
Translator: Roshi
They had just returned from their sea voyage, but a vibrant crowd greeted them with excitement.
Among the lively crowd, the most dazzling presence was, of course, Yongyong.
"Yongyong!"
As soon as Hanuri saw Yongyong, she ran toward him.
Kreung!
Yongyong willingly lowered his head for Hanuri, who eagerly approached him.
"What? Did he take a child into the dungeon?"
"And yet, he cleared it?"
"Was there a kid in the S-Rank Underwater Palace Strategy Guide?"
"Uh, isn’t it dangerous? A Wyvern! …Huh?"
"What is this? A Wyvern acting like a puppy?"
The crowd murmured as they watched the scene unfold.
In the meantime, Ahn Soo-hwa approached Do-yoon.
"I honestly didn’t think you’d manage to clear it. This is amazing."
"Who are all these people?"
"It’s an S-Rank Dungeon clear. There’s no way people wouldn’t be interested."
At Ahn Soo-hwa’s remark, Do-yoon just shrugged his shoulders.
Well, it was supposed to be an impressive dungeon.
But it had only been filled with overly aggressive merfolk who weren’t even edible.
"Is this really all there is?"
"Huh? What more should there be?"
"I mean, clearing an S-Rank Dungeon, shouldn’t you have brought something back...?"
Ahn Soo-hwa inspected every direction around Do-yoon, front, back, left, right, up, and down. But there was nothing to be seen on him.
"What exactly am I supposed to bring out?"
"……!"
Hearing Do-yoon’s puzzled response, Ahn Soo-hwa had a sudden realization.
‘This guy... he might not know much about dungeons.’
Do-yoon had only gotten his Hunter License a few days ago.
She’d been shocked when she saw his registered age barely crossing twenty.
But his natural demeanor and actions had made her forget that entirely.
"Clearing an S-Rank Dungeon… and coming out empty-handed."
"Oh, I do have one grilled fish left. Do you want it? It was pretty tasty."
"…Grilled fish? Wait, you made grilled fish in there?"
"Of course. That’s the whole reason I went in."
"Ahhh…"
Ahn Soo-hwa finally understood.
This guy’s purpose wasn’t what anyone else would have thought.
Pat, pat!
For some reason, Ahn Soo-hwa looked utterly dejected, and Do-yoon patted her shoulder in sympathy.
And he didn’t forget to throw in a casual remark.
"Looks like you don't like grilled fish. Ah!"
Pat, pat! He patted her shoulder again and turned toward Hanuri. But as if something suddenly occurred to him, he spun back around.
Snap!
He snapped his fingers.
Then,
"The boat I was riding. Can it be sold?"
Boom!!
Right before Ahn Soo-hwa’s eyes, a massive sailing ship materialized with a loud thud.
A radiant glow shimmered behind Do-yoon.
Already handsome, Do-yoon now looked even more dazzling in Ahn Soo-hwa’s eyes.
***
Back at home, Do-yoon wore a satisfied smile, pleased with Ahn Soo-hwa’s efficiency.
‘Now I have a proper job and plenty of wealth.’
A Hunter under the Taegeuk Guild.
And a bank account full of dungeon income.
As it turned out, even the remnants of the Living Armor he had left behind in the Oseong Hospital Dungeon had been sold for a good price.
The resulting balance in his account was…
‘Ten billion won from Oseong Hospital, and around fifty billion won worth of treasures from this dungeon?’
This was just the income from basic loot.
The truly valuable items from the S-Rank Dungeon were being auctioned off or were set to be purchased directly by the Taegeuk Guild, which would take some time.
Money was no longer a concern.
Considering all he’d done was eat grilled fish and enjoy the ocean view, it felt like he’d gained quite a lot.
Of course, nothing was more precious than the fond memories he’d created with Hanuri.
Swish.
Do-yoon’s gaze shifted to a piece of paper lying on the living room floor.
There was just one task left to complete.
[Formal Adoption Papers]
Becoming Hanuri’s legal family.
He turned his head to look at Hanuri.
"The Evil Ppuu kept hitting like this, like this, with a stick! But Ajosshi hit him back with the Goblin Club!"
"Hahaha! Evil Ppuu? What does Evil Ppuu look like?"
"Uuumm… Like Evil Ppuu? It had horns and a bad stick like this!"
"Kkkk!"
Hanuri was eagerly recounting the events from the sea to Park Ki-ho.
Park Ki-ho, in turn, responded with constant amusement at Hanuri’s lively storytelling.
It made sense. With such a cute explanation, it was impossible not to react like that.
“Ppuu is usually cute... chubby and waddling, a bit slow but kind. But it was an Evil Ppuu...”
To describe Ppuu, Hanuri waddled her body and even slurred her speech.
It was enough to make anyone instinctively break into a dad-like smile.
Park Ki-ho was no exception, trying hard to stifle his laughter as he asked,
"Kekeke, so that's why you reacted that way to the doll the ajumma gave you?"
“Yeah...”
What he was referring to was this:
When they returned to the guild headquarters, Ahn Soo-hwa had given Hanuri a gift.
And it turned out to be... a Ppuu doll.
Ppuu was a character based on a baby harp seal, and coincidentally...
‘It looked just like that damn Dragon King.’
The Evil Ppuu was none other than the ruler of the underwater palace, the Dragon King.
Though that title made it sound grand, he was essentially just the king of the merfolk.
He had been the one lusting after the Imoogi’s egg, and also the source of the Magi corruption.
Woong!
Do-yoon pulled out a fork from his shadow.
It currently looked like an ordinary fork, but it was originally the trident that had belonged to the King of the Merfolk.
Do-yoon had defeated the attacking King of the Merfolk and seized it from him.
It just so happened that doing so was one of the dungeon’s clear conditions.
‘A cursed artifact.’
The trident contained Magi and even a soul.
No one knew why it had ended up in the dungeon, but the King of the Merfolk had used it to not only corrupt his surroundings but even to pollute the far stronger Imoogi.
‘But even then, the egg was protected.’
Do-yoon couldn’t help but admire the Imoogi’s maternal instincts.
Swish.
He slipped the trident, now a fork again, back into his shadow and turned his attention elsewhere.
Adoption.
A family tied not by blood but by bonds.
The relationship between him and Hanuri was different from that of the Imoogi and its egg.
Still... he believed it wouldn’t fall short in its depth.
“Hanuri.”
He called out to her as she continued to chatter to Park Ki-ho about their adventures underwater.
“Hmm? Ajosshi.”
Hearing him, she quickly ran over and threw herself into his arms.
“Hanuri was just telling about the Evil Ppuu.”
“Is that so? Are you not scared of the Evil Ppuu anymore?”
“Nope! Because Ajosshi protected me! Ajosshi protects Hanuri, and Kkomi, and Kkoma too... hehe.”
“That’s only natural because we’re family.”
“Hehe... That’s right! So when Hanuri grows this big, she’ll protect Ajosshi, and Kkomi, and Kkoma too...”
The way she mumbled shyly after making her declaration was angelic.
Do-yoon extended a hand to the little angel before him.
“Hanuri, do you want to be Ajosshi’s daughter now?”
"...Dau-ghter?"
“Yeah, daughter. And Ajosshi will be your dad.”
“...”
He looked at her, tense.
What thoughts might be running through her small head?
Her gaze was fixed on him, her expression unreadable for once.
“Dau-ghter... daughter... if I’m Ajosshi’s daughter, then...”
“Well, even if you don’t want to, we’re still family. So it’s not like you have to...”
"I want to! I'll be Ajosshi's daughter!"
“...Really?”
“Yeah! I want to be Ajosshi’s daughter. Hehe.”
Was it meaningless to talk to her about the weight of such relationships?
Watching the little girl nod so easily made him feel conflicted.
At first, her expression had seemed hesitant, and his heart had sunk for a moment.
But as soon as the child, who had been deliberating, finally spoke, all he could do was laugh.
And it wasn’t a small laugh, it was a big one.
“But um...”
“Hm?”
“If Ajosshi is a goblin, then if I’m the goblin’s daughter, does that mean I’ll grow horns too? Hanuri doesn’t want horns... but I’ll still be Ajosshi’s daughter! Because I like Ajosshi as much as Hanuri!”
“What... Pfft, hahaha!!”
What had he been so serious about?
To Hanuri, he was already someone precious enough to be family, even if it meant tolerating scary, unwanted goblin horns.
“Hehe.”
Unaware of the deeper significance, Hanuri giggled as she fidgeted. Without thinking, Do-yoon reached out and stroked her hair.
“So... does that mean Hanuri will start calling me ‘Dad’ now?”
“Of course!”
“Hehe... D... Daddy.”
Embarrassed by her own words, Hanuri leapt out of his arms and ran off with quick steps.
Do-yoon chuckled as he pulled out his phone and handed it to the shadow Imoogi.
'Take some nice pictures.'
-Grrrr!
The shadow Imoogi took the phone with a quick flick of its tongue, as if signaling that it would handle things, and headed toward Hanuri.
In the meantime, Do-yoon picked up the adoption papers and began filling in the blanks.
Adopter: Kim Do-yoon
Adoptee: Kim Ha-neul (TL Note: The author initially used Hanuri as a typo and later corrected it to Ha-neul. However, I have kept Hanuri because it sounds cuter. Therefore, I will use Kim Ha-neul when her full name is mentioned and Hanuri the rest of the time.)
Now, the two were officially a family.
“Oh? Did you just finish filling it out?”
At Park Ki-ho’s question, Do-yoon nodded with a small smile on his lips.
Seeing his expression, Park Ki-ho also broke into a grin before suddenly pulling out his phone as if remembering something.
“Oh right! Did you know about this?”
“...?”
“Hanuri’s getting quite a bit of attention. Look at this.”
Park Ki-ho showed him a video.
It looked like someone had edited together a series of short clips: Hanuri entering the Taegeuk Guild for the first time, and her walking out after clearing the S-Rank Dungeon.
“Check out the comments too.”
As Park Ki-ho scrolled, comments started popping up:
- So cute!
- This is insane… Look at her holding that bear plushie bigger than her own torso!
- Wait, the new S-Rank Hunter is carrying one too!
- Huh? That bear plushie is moving.
- Since the child doll moves, the bear doll moves too.
- Is this real life? More views than news about an S-Rank Hunter?!
- A doll that treats a Wyvern like a puppy exists?
- Wait, is the S-Rank Hunter actually that doll?!
- If cuteness were a Hunter trait, she’d be SS-Rank.
- What’s the story here? Is she his daughter? She looks like she could be….
As Park Ki-ho said, the response was overwhelmingly positive.
“Thanks to Hanuri, people are seeing you in a much better light too, Do-yoon-nim.”
Do-yoon didn’t care much about his image.
Still, knowing that so many people had taken notice of Hanuri’s cuteness did feel surprisingly nice.
“Hanuri.”
He called out to her as she continued running around energetically.
“Hmm?”
“Come here for a second. I want to show you something.”
Hearing him, she quickly scampered over.
“What is it?”
“Look, these people took videos of you because they think you’re cute.”
“Hanuri’s cute?”
“Of course, you’re adorable.”
“Hehe.”
“See this? All of these comments say how pretty and cute you are.”
Taking the phone from Park Ki-ho, he showed it to Hanuri.
“Wow… But I don’t know what it says….”
“Oh? Ah.”
That’s when it hit him, Hanuri couldn’t read yet.
She couldn’t even count numbers properly, so it made sense.
Growing up around hospital staff had helped her develop good speaking skills, but reading was another matter.
Seeing her become visibly sullen at the realization made him smile.
She looked so adorable that part of him wanted to let the moment linger, but he spoke up before she could get too down.
“I’ll read it for you.”
“Okay!”
He began reading the comments aloud.
‘Looks like I’ll have to teach her letters and numbers soon.’
As a new father, he suddenly had another task on his to-do list.
Of course, he wasn’t in a rush.
Watching her blush shyly yet insistently ask him to keep reading the comments, he smiled.
He was determined to find a way to make learning fun for her.
***
The next morning.
Do-yoon submitted the adoption paperwork and received confirmation.
The process turned out to be more complicated than expected, but thanks to Ahn Soo-hwa, it was handled smoothly.
When Park Ki-ho had returned to the guild and mentioned it, it seemed everything had already been prepared, and the process was completed within a day.
“This is standard procedure. If you ever need anything else, feel free to contact the guild.”
Ahn Soo-hwa said.
Having spent the night reviewing the items Do-yoon had brought back from the S-Rank Dungeon, she was in an excellent mood.
On top of that, the guild’s reputation had skyrocketed overnight thanks to the addition of a new S-Rank Hunter.
They had received countless congratulatory messages, many tinged with envy.
“I’ll do that. Oh, by the way, I’m about to have breakfast. Want to join me?”
“What?”
“I’ve got something good to eat, and there’s plenty of it.”
He invited Ahn Soo-hwa, who had helped out since early morning, to breakfast.
Caught off guard by the unexpected invitation, Ahn Soo-hwa didn’t decline.
‘I was curious anyway, what’s it like living in a monster nest?’
Do-yoon’s home was in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, which had been overrun by monsters. She couldn’t help but wonder about it.
“Sure, sounds good.”
“Let’s head out then. It’s about time for Hanuri to wake up.”
In response to Ahn Soo-hwa’s answer, Do-yoon’s shadow instantly enveloped them both.
A brief moment of darkness.
In the blink of an eye, the two had traveled from Seoul to Chuncheon.
“Wha-?!”
Ahn Soo-hwa reacted belatedly to the sudden change in environment.
Meanwhile,
“Ajoss-! No, Daddyyy!”
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Hanuri woke up and immediately leapt into his arms.
It was a picture-perfect scene of a father and daughter.
Still holding Hanuri, Do-yoon gently stroked her puffed-up cheeks and asked,
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, hehe.”
“I’ll make you breakfast soon. With eggs, just how you like it.”
“Wooow! Really?”
“Of course. Why don’t you go play with that ajumma over there for a bit?”
"Ah? It's ajumma... hehe."
He let go of Hanuri, who had just noticed Ahn Soo-hwa, and went to prepare breakfast.
The main ingredient for today’s meal was none other than the Imoogi’s egg.
The egg the Imoogi had protected so fiercely was, unfortunately, never going to hatch.
It was incomplete from the start.
It seemed like the Imoogi, laying eggs for the first time, hadn’t known what it was doing…
This was an infertile egg.
Unless it was a creature that completely defied the laws of nature, like a Phoenix, infertile eggs simply couldn’t hatch.
Even so, it felt strange to eat it, so Do-yoon had initially been reluctant.
But,
-Child, consume. Healthy.
The shadowy Imoogi had surprisingly urged him to eat it.
Since it claimed it would benefit Hanuri’s health, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
“Thank you. I’ll eat it well.”
-Kreung...
Expressing his gratitude to the Imoogi once more, he cracked open the egg.
Tok!
The Imoogi egg, about the size of an ostrich egg, filled up the stainless steel bowl.
The yolk was plump and jiggly, its freshness apparent at a glance.
Today’s menu would be a special Dragon Egg Brunch made with this fresh egg as the main ingredient.
*****