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Chapter 179: Morning Revelations

“Ugh.”

As the morning light filtered in, Yeon-woo stretched wide. It wasn’t quite right to say he had a good sleep, considering all the thoughts swirling in his head. After dozing off in the early hours, he finally woke up late in the morning.

‘I’m getting too dull.’

In his previous life, he would’ve woken up at the scheduled time, no matter how tired he felt, but it seemed he had gotten used to life after his regression. He decided to accept it, good or bad.

“Dad, did you sleep well? I let you sleep in since you went to bed a bit late.”

“Hmm, are we heading for breakfast now?”

Tae-oh and Shar, who had been playing games side by side, responded while Yeon-woo suddenly realized the time.

“10:30… Ah! Sorry, kids! You must be really hungry!? Let’s hurry and eat!”

“It’s not lunchtime yet, Dad. Tae-oh already had breakfast.”

“Aww… but the food that noona made isn’t tasty…”

“What!?”

At that, Shar got riled up and locked Tae-oh in a headlock. It didn’t seem like it hurt much, and the two kids just giggled. Yeon-woo sat there dumbfounded, not understanding the situation.

Looking closely, he saw signs of someone cooking in the kitchen. Shells from broken eggs, an open bottle of cooking oil, and plates with remnants of food. Considering the kids’ usual eating habits, it looked incredibly sparse.

Still, the fact that the two kids managed to grab something to eat while he was asleep made Yeon-woo let out a sigh of relief without realizing it. Then suddenly, it hit him.

‘It feels like just yesterday I didn’t know anything…’

For some reason, his eyes were getting warm. Yeon-woo had to cover his eyes and bow his head.

He couldn’t quite put it into words, but he felt proud yet heartbroken that the kids had prepared breakfast for themselves.

“Dad? Why are you—uhm?”

“Why are you crying, Dad? Don’t cry, okay? Did we do something wrong…?”

The two kids were startled, abandoning their game consoles and rushed over to Yeon-woo. They leaned in to check his face.

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, okay?”

Yeon-woo pulled the two kids into a hug. It felt like they were reassuring him that he wasn’t a bad dad, and he just stayed like that.

*

“Perfect! Choi Yeon-woo has returned!”

After playing around with the two kids for a while on the bed, it was finally lunchtime when Yeon-woo came out of the dormitory.

Our little angels had a worried look, but once they realized Yeon-woo was fine, they started teasing him, “Dad, you’re so lame~”. At least they didn’t say, “Hey, are you crying?” so he was grateful for that.

“What are we eating today?”

“Well, let’s just go out and think about it?”

“Hehe, I’m excited!”

“Hm, if there’s not a set menu, how about some Chinese food?”

“Speaking of which, we haven’t had Chinese food in a while… huh?”

A suddenly familiar, deep, cave-like voice interrupted as Yeon-woo turned his head to the side. A tall, familiar dragon person stood there.

“Greetings, Choi Yeon-woo.”

“Oh… it’s been a day, Seong-ryong. What’s up? You surprised me by just showing up.”

“I apologize for startling you. But how about Chinese food? If you’re eating it, I’ll treat.”

“I appreciate the offer, but why all of a sudden? I’ve got money now! I’m not a child who just follows around for a free meal.”

“Hello, Seong-ryong oppa.”

“Hey, big bro Seong-ryong.”

“Nice to see you two, kids.”

While Yeon-woo watched Seong-ryong with a suspicious glare, Shar and Tae-oh greeted him enthusiastically. They seemed to have built quite a rapport.

“Don’t worry. I’m not here to lure you into anything strange. I just wanted to see if you could join our meeting.”

“…Meeting? Oh, that gathering with Yongbong and Heukhyeob, right? Why would I go?”

“Both sides have insisted quite strongly on having you participate. I didn’t want to beg you, but it seems it has come to this…”

“Me? Why all of a sudden?”

“You helped set up this meeting at the request of Samiryun-ju. They’re using that as an excuse.”

Huh… Yeon-woo sighed. If they approached him in that manner, there really wasn’t a reason not to invite him. If he didn’t get invited, it might be considered bad manners.

As he observed Seong-ryong, who seemed a bit dazed, he turned his attention back to the kids.

He hadn’t thought about it if he didn’t have a reason to attend, but one reason popped up in his head for one of the participants.

“Kids, would that be okay?”

“Hmm, I think having Chinese food after a long time is nice.”

“I also like it! Can we eat a lot?”

“Of course! Thank you, little heroes. Thanks, Yeon-woo.”

With the kids’ bright and lively responses, Seong-ryong let out a sigh of relief too. Typically, he wouldn’t care what others thought, but seeing him react like that made Yeon-woo suspect there must be someone troublesome around.

‘There’s definitely someone annoying involved…!’

*

“Hmm.”

Claire narrowed her eyes as she looked at the visitor sitting across from her. The voluminous golden hair shimmered like a flowing river of light, sparkling eyes infused with gold were far too familiar.

And beyond that, the woman in front of her was a dragon. Though her spirit seemed weakened, having met dragons before allowed Claire to recognize that. Was this a dragon diminished for some reason…?

“So you are Shar’s mother, I presume.”

“Indeed, I likely am.”

“Claiming to be the child’s mother while saying ‘likely’ is pretty irresponsible… I want to argue, but with the evidence being so clear, I can’t really say anything…”

Claire rubbed her temples, trying to ease her headache. Well, it was obvious that Shar had a closer relationship with Yeon-woo than just an ordinary contract. She didn’t understand why they had to hide that from her, but she assumed there must have been a reason.

‘But doesn’t she have to tell something about being a child’s mother…? More importantly, why didn’t she notify this person…? No, could it really be possible to steal a child…’

For Claire, it was all beyond comprehension. She didn’t know much about how dragon reproduction works, but it was unlikely that such a noble magical race would be born like regular reptiles.

And Yeon-woo supposedly stole an egg? That was truly nonsensical. Though Claire had exchanged swords with her dragon friend several times, the concept of ‘stealing’ wasn’t one that applied to their existence.

“Anyway… I understand. But I think there’s some misunderstanding. Yeon-woo is not the kind of child who would steal someone else’s property.”

“However… right now, he’s the only suspect.”

“I won’t treat that child like a criminal, but could you let me meet him?”

The woman speaking… Alkeinea, had sincerity in her eyes. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was on the brink of despair. Claire could relate to that feeling of helplessness when a child went missing.

“…Alright. I will let you meet Yeon-woo.”

“Thank you so much, child of the forest fairy…!”

“However, I will accompany you. I doubt you could go alone, and it would be necessary for Yeon-woo and Alkeinea to have a composed conversation. Do you agree?”

“…Hmm, I agree. I’m calm now, but I can’t predict how I will react when I see that child. Is that alright, child of the forest fairy?”

“Yes, it is for my precious child.”

With those words, Claire smiled gently. Meanwhile, Min-ji, who was peeking through the office door, yelled, “The princess and knight are together!!” and started running around the orphanage.

*

The massive round table had divided the crowd in two. On the left side, the Justice faction, and on the right, the Evil faction.

From the Yongbong guild side, there were Namgung Seong, Je Gal Seong-ryong, Dang Sa-ryeon, Yang Mi-ryeo, Baek In-hwa, and one other unknown person. The Heukhyeob side seemed to have about four members, including Moon Gi. It looked like if a brawl broke out, the Evil faction would likely lose due to their numbers.

In the midst of it all, Yeon-woo found himself inexplicably seated at the central round table, enjoying a meal. It was quite burdensome, but he decided not to pay too much attention since the kids were happily eating.

Naturally, martial artists were not the types to allow such a peaceful meal to continue. Where was the place where the most fights broke out in martial arts novels? An inn, wasn’t it?

The first person to approach Yeon-woo was Moon Gi. Clad in wide clothing reminiscent of a Taoist, he approached Yeon-woo with a goofy smile like during their last encounter.

“Hey, it’s good to see you again, Yeon-woo.”

“Hey. You charged in so confidently, only to lose to Bailey.”

“Could you refrain from saying painful things? I might die from emotional wounds.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s likely… Anyway, it’s great to see you! I’m glad there’s a familiar face over there too.”

“Hahaha, they’re quite mysterious figures. Should I introduce them?”

“Um… no. Those who want to connect with me will come on their own. Let’s talk while we’re at it.”

“I’m all in favor. It’d be even better if you visite my Geumomun later.”

“Let’s hear a bit more about that. My kids won’t go unless it’s really fun, you know? So make sure to sell it well.”

“Oh dear, I didn’t know you were the master salesman, Yeon-woo.”

This is why friendly folks make things easy. While Moon Gi waited with a bright smile as if he understood the situation, Yeon-woo lowered his voice to ask quietly. He had set up a barrier with mana, so there was no worry about eavesdroppers.

“Is it possible for me to learn Taoist techniques?”

“…Hmm? Well, you could, but it would take a good amount of time. Taoist techniques aren’t as handy as magic, you know?”

Hearing Moon Gi’s puzzled tone, Yeon-woo pondered for a moment, stroking his chin. For Yeon-woo, the method of Taoism was extraordinarily appealing.

Of course, it wasn’t about wanting more means for combat. At this point, simply managing magic and swords felt like it was going to crack his head open.

The reason he was intrigued by Taoism was that it seemed like a way to bring Alkeinea out.

For instance, the gate through which martial artists came into this world. Wasn’t it opened by no other than the Sword Saint, Ye Dong-bin? He doubted it was a realm only accessible through swordsmanship.

…Well, considering Yuri crossed dimensions to cut off Christopher’s arm, it was hard to say definitively, but he thought at least some Taoist technique to maintain a gate must have been used.

“…Oh, I was thinking if it’s possible to create something like a pseudo-gate. Or maybe to open a closed gate that got shut because someone entered.”

“You mean a dimensional gate? Hmm… It might be difficult at my level, but maybe the elders can manage it. If they have enough preparation, it might be possible?”

“Is that so…?”

If he could learn Taoist techniques, he wouldn’t need to get an artifact to forcibly open a dimension… that was confirmed. The biggest problem would still be how to travel between dimensions.

“Oh, I think going to see a dimensional gate would be quite interesting.”

“Huh? There’s no need to see the gates. They’re everywhere.”

“No, no. Not those common dimensional gates. I mean, the ones that are personally forced open by someone.”

“…Ah.”

Yeon-woo let out an exclamation. Right, thinking about it, that made sense. The one at his side wasn’t just any race, but a dragon. Shar might figure out how the techniques work.

One problem, though…

‘I have to go beyond the martial arts dimension to see it, but the conditions for crossing to the martial arts dimension are quite demanding.’

Of course, he believed he would achieve that someday soon.

“Thanks for the great answer! I’ll come to visit later.”

“Oh, Master will be delighted to hear that!”

(To be continued in the next chapter)

 

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