---

Chapter 229

Since Shar had a loud outburst, the situation hadn’t changed much.

Three days had passed, but the Old Man was still just staring at the sea. Shar kept having short conversations with the Old Man and repeating the same days over and over.

Still, Yeon-woo didn’t stop Shar. The reason was simple. It didn’t matter whether it was a failure or a success.

Whether Shar would live as a dragon in the future or as a human was still unknown, but if Shar chose to live as a human, Yeon-woo hoped he would at least learn a little about human relationships from this experience.

Of course, even Yeon-woo couldn’t say he had completely mastered the art of human relationships.

Yet, the future Dragon King Yeon-woo knew was a rather kind-hearted and pleasant Old Man, so he believed he wouldn’t pose any threat to Shar.

Naturally, that would lead the Order to wonder when they would deal with this. But Yeon-woo had his own thoughts too. It was easy to predict that if Shar succeeded, it would be good, and even if he failed, it wouldn’t be a big problem.

Of course, this thought only came after hearing the information Shar obtained from Kim Hang-po, so Shar’s contributions weren’t nonexistent.

‘Sometimes I feel relieved to know the future, and sometimes it feels like a curse…’

Before his return, Yeon-woo didn’t quite understand why the Dragon King suddenly took a ship out to sea. He only knew that the creature he caught while sailing was called the Kraken.

Considering that, if Shar thought about the story he heard, things become really simple.

The Old Man belonged to the 22nd combat fleet of the 1st fleet, and it ultimately sank. Though they wounded the Kraken and forced it into slumber for nearly a decade, they couldn’t eliminate it.

However, had the events gone as they did before his return, the Kraken wouldn’t appear for several years. Yet, by chance, this life had some variables.

The Kraken was feared as the terror of the sea. Even when the state launched a large-scale effort to eliminate it, this monster survived. It was evident that it regarded the East Sea as its territory.

But there’s no way the Kraken would just watch as a corpse suddenly appeared and ran rampant in its territory.

A few years is a long time for humans, but it’s not a long time for monsters who live for ages, so it would certainly rise again.

So, Yeon-woo just had to wait for the moment the Kraken appeared. The moment the octopus’s tentacles rose above the water’s surface, the Old Man would surely jump into the sea without a second thought.

“In this case, things might get a bit complicated.”

“That’s true.”

Today, while Shar went to meet Kim Hang-po, Down and Tae-oh went to check out the docks, with Riley trailing behind as a protector.

As a result, only Nea and Yeon-woo were left enjoying a cozy time at the café.

It couldn’t be said that the conversation was particularly cozy, but who cares.

“The Order, monsters, and you too, in a three-way battle, you all seem rather relaxed.”

“I might not be inexperienced, but honestly, having experience doesn’t guarantee anything.”

How could it be the kind of thing that gets resolved just because you have experience?

Rolling around on the ground to not die while everything around you gets swept away was a bizarre experience that made you wonder if you had died and fallen into another world.

“I can handle the Order to some extent, but without an artifact to definitely kill an octopus somewhere in the world, dealing with the Kraken is practically impossible.”

“Do such artifacts even exist?”

“I haven’t seen one myself, but there was a sword that could kill all rats within a certain range.”

“That’s insane.”

Was a chef from an ancient civilization tormented by rats? Who could say at this point?

*

“I’m so curious about why the wind smells like salt. Do you know, Down?”

“Um, I don’t know either. But hey, Tae-oh, look over there, isn’t it pretty?”

Tae-oh and Down walked arm in arm along the sparkling docks. Even though they were kids, they were so charming that people couldn’t help but envy the affectionate display.

And among that crowd was Riley. She was tense, ready to jump in at any moment, yet also looked quite wistful.

‘…It feels like I’ve become a caregiver.’

She definitely hadn’t hoped for this when she crossed over to this world.

Of course, she should be grateful just for being able to cross over, but it’s not like she was aiming for a life where she would be taking care of her grandson in her twilight years.

Well, it’s true that she felt some satisfaction from it, but she was also a woman of the right age. It was hard to say that she didn’t want a heart-fluttering romance when her body was still so young.

“…Sigh, even young kids are dating nowadays….”

Of course, she could easily predict that if she worked with Yeon-woo like this, she would soon gain wealth and fame, and she knew that pursuing romance during such a time would lead to some trouble….

‘Especially since the one bringing romance into the workplace is none other than herself.’

Every day, as quitting time approached, she would just happen to pass by, bringing tasty snacks, claiming she had business nearby while being lovey-dovey and leaving the lab.

If that was all, it wouldn’t be too bad, but now Tae-oh and Down were shoving their lovey-dovey antics in her face, which made her feel a bit prickly.

“Sigh….”

Riley let out a deep sigh. She had thought that if she could get outside and gain her rights as a citizen, a rosy life would unfold, but it seemed not to be the case….

While thinking like that, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d even be good at romance if it came to it. The common sense of this world was absorbed quickly, but relationships between men and women were a different matter altogether.

Riley was overflowing with confidence in everything, but she wasn’t the kind of monster with confidence to throw around in a completely unknown territory.

“Riley unnie! Are you watching!?”

“Yes, yes, I’m watching.”

“It doesn’t look like you’re watching though?”

As Riley supplied a vague answer that sounded like a joke, Down’s cold voice came back. Did she really have to say that? When Riley looked up, what came into view was a translucent mast rising above the horizon.

Suddenly, the area became chaotic. Ding ding ding ding!! A huge bell began to ring.

“It’s pirates!!”

“…Hmm, yes. I wasn’t watching.”

Riley readily admitted it while rubbing her temples and began to send her voice to Yeon-woo.

*

“Finally showing up, huh?”

After hearing Riley’s report, Yeon-woo came out to the docks with Nea. Though they had come, to be honest, Yeon-woo had no boat, so there was not much he could do.

But there were countless pieces of information that could be gained just by observing carefully. Even if he lacked experience in naval combat, he hoped to be able to glean something.

“Still, the Coast Guard seems to be stronger than I expected. The Old Man hasn’t entered the fray until now.”

“I heard he worked with the Coast Guard until a few years ago. I suspect he taught in a somewhat war-specialized manner.”

“So, the Old Man is single-handedly blocking the northern East Sea? What a terrifying fellow.”

Considering that the Coast Guard is closer to a vigilante group unrecognized by the government rather than being a navy or maritime police, that was an absurd level of power.

Even though it isn’t medieval Europe anymore, a mere city wouldn’t have such a force.

How much sorrow from losing his comrades must the Old Man have felt to go this far? Yeon-woo could only shake his head in disbelief.

“This way, the necromancer in charge here will also be in quite a bind. He probably thought it would be easy, but didn’t expect he’d be delaying for nearly a month here.”

“…Hmm, that part is what I’m most puzzled about.”

“Why? They’re putting up a good fight, aren’t they?”

At Nea’s troubled muttering, Tae-oh tilted his head. Yeon-woo couldn’t help but chuckle at that adorable gesture, which caused Tae-oh to get defensive.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You act like you know something! Dad, I want you to answer!”

“No, I just thought it was cute… But it is strange that a necromancer who can even control dragons can’t make it into the city due to lack of power.”

“Gah! So, there’s some deep meaning behind it?!”

Tae-oh jumped in surprise, spreading his arms wide open. While it was strange that he took such an action out of surprise, it was also quite cute.

“I have a prediction. I thought maybe a high-ranking necromancer came, but it seems it was the opposite. Looks like they were just sent here as a way to clean up.”

The necromancer probably couldn’t have been more than “The high priest noticed me! I’m chosen!” and got all excited. Even though necromancers are a bunch of people you’d want to kill, among the Order, they are the most faithful ones.

“In summary, that dragon is something they absolutely cannot handle. Otherwise, the dragon wouldn’t have been so docile until now.”

With a dragon underneath them, even if they pushed too hard and made that massive body tumble into the harbor, they could probably send at least half the combatants to the underworld, so it made no sense that they wouldn’t do it.

“Hmm, maybe this could be resolved more easily than expected.”

Watching several small speedboats engage in battle with the pirates, Yeon-woo murmured that. Well, that was if the Kraken was absent, though.

*

“Grr, why aren’t you moving, you foolish thing!!”

A man with dark circles under his eyes swung a long whip of purple mana he had pulled from his fingertips.

Swoosh!! The whip flew with a sharp sound, hitting the skeleton standing there blankly.

Skeletons. The form of a corpse that has lost blood and flesh and been revived by a necromancer.

Even though skeletons are supposed to be the faithful servants of the necromancer, it strangely seemed indifferent to whatever the necromancer did.

Even being struck by a curse-laden whip, the skeleton appeared unconcerned, making the necromancer’s rage boil even more.

It wasn’t a top-notch servant of the god, but certainly a servant that would rank at least third. It was unacceptable that he couldn’t even control one dead person who died ages ago.

“Damn it, listen to me, I said listen!!”

But the skeleton wouldn’t budge. As if there was no one present, it lounged back in a relaxed manner, yawning despite being a pile of bones.

‘When will my hero come to save me~.’

Ridiculously, the skeleton found itself thinking that thought. The strong ego it had, which could not even be fully taken away by the curse given by the Demon King, kept its spirit alive.

It figured it could only hold on for about three days at most, and just hoped someone would come and make it comfy.

‘Who would pity this sea dragon, huh? You lot~.’

Sighing deeply from the bottom of its heart, the knight cursed the hero who showed no signs of appearing. After all, it wasn’t particularly close to the serpent-like dragon to begin with.

(To be continued…)

 

---