---

Chapter 178: Hancheol (寒鐵)

At first glance, you might think, “Well, isn’t all iron cold? Why is there a special name for it?” But the status and significance of this mysterious metal were nothing short of immense.

Even Yeon-woo, who could be considered a veteran from before returning, had used mithril but had never encountered hancheol. While mithril and hancheol were evaluated as having equal performance, it was no big deal.

Sure, there were higher tiers like orichalcum and adamantite, but that didn’t diminish the stature of hancheol.

The reason being, those two metals could only be found randomly at the Gate, but although hancheol was rare, there was still a decent supply available.

Most of that supply came from the North Sea. You see, among the polar regions of this planet, the North Sea was the only place where mineral extraction could be successfully conducted.

The conditions of the North and South Poles regressed to the time before the great explorer Roald Amundsen conquered them, and other polar regions often lacked environments where hancheol could emerge or weren’t even habitable.

In that sense, even if the Ice Palace presented hancheol as compensation, it was a testament to how much they valued Baek In-hwa.

‘Well, I did save the life of the young lady, so it’s only natural to receive this much.’

If the amount of hancheol determined wealth, then the Ice Palace could be the wealthiest in the world, able to afford such gifts.

“This will free up my schedule considerably.”

As he tossed the weighty metal in his hand, Yeon-woo muttered that. With a trip that normally took nearly a week vanished, the remaining week could be spent as he wished.

Of course, a portion would have to go toward creating a treatment for Noel, but a week was still a generous amount of time.

Suddenly, Yeon-woo’s gaze shifted toward the two children sleeping soundly on the bed, blissfully unaware. The two of them had cuddled around a blanket as if it were to replace Yeon-woo.

“Mmm… Dad… I’ve gotten too chubby…”

“Ah, Dad has turned into a roll cake…”

“Pffft.”

Yeon-woo couldn’t help but laugh at the nonsensical sleeping murmurs. Kneeling by the bed and gently stroking their heads, the two children’s grimaces melted away in an instant.

‘Roll Cake Yeon-woo. There might be quite a bit of demand for that. The strongest sweet guy on the surface, huh.’

Wouldn’t someone buy it? Roll Cake Yeon-woo. Roll cakes are delicious, and Yeon-woo is cool. Just be careful not to mix those up.

‘… Am I doing alright as a father?’

Suddenly, that thought crossed his mind. The sight of the two children sleeping with the blanket tightly embraced warmed his heart but also evoked a strange loneliness.

Initially, the children had joined in the after-party. They had played joyfully and eaten delicious food. However, their stamina wasn’t great, so they quickly began to doze off.

At first, Yeon-woo laid them down on cushions, but trouble arose when they suggested moving to the secondary venue.

Waking the drowsy children every time didn’t seem right, so he decided to take them home.

However, once they were laid on their bed, the children told him to stay out a little longer.

Though he wanted to say “How can I do that?” part of him was swayed by their plea, and several hours later, he returned to the dormitory.

It seemed like a series of events that appeared to have no issues, but usually, the things that seem problem-free are the real problems.

‘Will they not feel lonely?’

Now that they had siblings, their loneliness must’ve eased a bit, yet, at the same time, the two children hardly had friends their age. Yeon-woo only hoped for them to engage with others.

“Getting through the enrollment process isn’t easy…”

Yeon-woo slumped over onto the desk. It was quite the scenario. He’d tried various ways to get the children enrolled in school, but factors like his age and, particularly, Shar’s race had become issues.

“They say children might be scared if a dragon enrolls…”

That’s only because they haven’t seen our Shar, but it’s not hard to understand that concern.

They probably know Shar isn’t the kind of kid who scares others.

After all, Shar’s temperament had been significantly revealed to the public during the recent competition.

Yet despite that, the refusal to enroll Shar came with excuses…

‘It’s probably just precautionary.’

Honestly, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. Yeon-woo wasn’t foolish enough to think he could raise children without any issues.

It was something he had to do, and he was merely stumbling through it, grappling with the picture he had dreamt of for so long. He didn’t have the courage to think he was a good dad.

Even now, after Shar the dragon had joined humanity, the term dragon still resonated with a sense of the unknown. Even though Shar participated in simple health checks and investigations along with him.

Though calling it an investigation didn’t mean anything extraordinary would happen. It wasn’t like being interrogated at a police station.

The Magic Tower likely wanted to build trust first, lest emotions sour between the dragon and its contractor.

Anyway, Shar had been answering most questions to the best of her ability. She showed a slight reluctance but even provided blood samples.

Naturally, the Magic Tower was thrilled and offered Yeon-woo tremendous rewards.

Even so, dragons remained enigmatic beings. It was a reality that they, as creatures, existed in a domain yet unreachable by human ability.

‘Still, at least it seems like my half-dragon child is somewhat understandable.’

Now it felt like she was the sidekick, while the dragon took the main stage, a bizarre sight indeed.

‘Who would accept this crazy theory that there’s an explosion switch hidden somewhere in her?’

Though joking about the explosion switch was a stretch, it was a common occurrence in kindergartens and elementary schools. Stories about a child being taken to the hospital without knowing about an allergy were not unheard of.

If it could happen even in a child of the same race, what havoc might occur if a child from a different species appeared, especially one whose research results weren’t even properly categorised?

Hearing such words, Yeon-woo felt a mix of frustration and, above all, a measure of relief.

It was better than being reckless and claiming no fault when something happened.

He had even jokingly suggested to the children that maybe they shouldn’t go to school and just stay with Dad instead.

At that, the kids responded with bright smiles, saying that sounded good.

Yeon-woo rubbed his face with both palms, feeling hopeless. How could he call himself a father when he couldn’t even solve such a simple matter?

‘What if I didn’t have money? What would I have done, Choi Yeon-woo…’

Slumped in his chair, he stared blankly at the ceiling. A gentle breeze caused golden threads to dance in the air.

“If there had been two of them, I wouldn’t have struggled this much. If there had been someone to think through things with me, even if we didn’t know anything…”

So really, this was your fault. It was as if the time spent with you had eaten away at him like the forbidden fruit of Eden.

After letting out an emotionally charged exclamation, Yeon-woo took a deep sigh and reached out to the golden thread floating in the air.

“This is Shar’s hair. I wondered why a golden thread was fluttering around; what a surprise…”

As he fiddled with the golden thread caught on his finger, Yeon-woo instinctively covered his mouth.

“Wait, please don’t tell me she resembles her dad in only this one way while taking after her mom in every other respect…?”

For several minutes, Yeon-woo found himself unable to look away from the top of Shar’s head, worry etched across his face.

*

“Gah…!”

Alkeinea gasped in surprise. As she reached out to open the door, it suddenly slid open by itself!

Startled, Alkeinea stood in front of the door and kept staring at the glass like it was some magic trick.

‘Oh, I see! When invisible light touches an object, it recognizes it and opens. How convenient if it only needed a mechanical structure and didn’t even require mana stones!’

Min-ji watched Alkeinea nodding in satisfaction.

If Jun-woo had been the one to do that, she might’ve worried if he had lost his mind, but seeing a pretty lady do it made it a perfect scene.

‘Being pretty is the best!!’

“What are you doing, you? Who’s that over there?”

Something suddenly tapped Min-ji on the head. She jumped and quickly turned around to see Jun-woo right behind her, catching her waist.

“Jun-woo oppa!”

“What’s with the different reaction? Are you a different person? Hello there, is this Miss Choi Min-ji I see?”

“Sometimes, even a not-so-good-looking person isn’t too bad! Is it just because that lady is so overwhelmingly beautiful?!”

“… What kind of reaction should I have, Min-ji?”

“Just disappear or something, what else can I say?!”

Each word stabbed at Jun-woo’s heart. The innocent remarks were truly lethal…

Clutching his chest in pain, Jun-woo finally gathered himself and asked Min-ji.

“So, who is this overwhelmingly pretty lady?”

“Hmm! I don’t know that either!”

Her reaction was like she’d just been asked whether the African or European swallow was relevant, making Jun-woo hold his head in frustration. Was it really something to answer joyfully and energetically…?

Having no other choice, Jun-woo ventured toward the mysterious visitor. If this person had ill intentions, it would be right to call for a nun, but at first glance, she didn’t seem to have any bad intent.

‘Would someone with that kind of mindset even just stand there staring at an automatic door?’

With that thought, Jun-woo took a few steps closer, sensing a presence, and brushing his hair back, he turned to see Alkeinea facing him, frozen in place.

Only one question slipped from his parted lips.

“H-Hold on, could you be Shar’s mother…?”

“… Excuse me?”

“Is he perhaps a beaver? … Huh? Or a baboon?”

Min-ji tilted her head as she innocently chimed in, making Jun-woo want to disappear right then and there. Who asks someone they just met, especially a seemingly youthful woman, if she’s a mother?

If God allowed it, he felt like breaking out into a baby song as Min-ji suggested.

‘But really, they look too alike…!!’

A little bitterness filled his heart.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

 

---