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Chapter 271

Yeon-woo was looking at the father-daughter duo sipping vodka with a sour face.

Well, they were here to work, after all. Yeon-woo didn’t particularly like people drinking at such an important event.

He couldn’t shake off the thought that they could just drink after the work was done. It felt a bit off, didn’t it?

However, in a foreign land, the story changed. It was probably just a cultural difference…though it was a bit hard to adapt.

“When you come to the North Sea, you should naturally drink vodka…”

Baek In-hwa looked at Yeon-woo with a terribly disappointed expression while sipping her vodka.

She wasn’t drinking solely because she didn’t like it; after all, she was of legal age without any issues, and her parents didn’t care much.

“Just leave her be; she doesn’t like alcohol.”

“But it’s really smooth!”

Seeing Baek In-hwa lighten up as if encouraging her to drink felt a bit like dealing with a boss who loved to feed alcohol. Yeon-woo found it curious.

“…Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Nothing at all.”

Baek Joo-han, observing their natural conversation, stared at them with an expressionless face. Yeon-woo felt a slight panic and gradually diverted his gaze. Let’s keep the friendly act to a minimum!

“…You seem to get along well with your daughter.”

Baek Joo-han remarked as he watched them. There was no need to pretend otherwise, so Yeon-woo nodded honestly.

“Yeah, she’s my first friend I made at the Academy. In-hwa feels the same way.”

“It was written in the letter, right? That you made your first friend.”

“Ah, Father…!”

Baek In-hwa shrieked in embarrassment at being caught as the first friend.

There was really no need to be embarrassed. He had said the same about his first friend.

Watching Baek In-hwa’s slightly flushed face, Baek Joo-han spoke with his usual cold demeanor.

“I know you’ve been quite helpful to the Ice Palace in many ways. Supplying purification potions and sending Lucrecia over… And you even rescued In-hwa, so the entire Ice Palace should be greatly appreciative.”

“It’s nothing, really. Ah, how’s the purification potion performing? The friend who created the recipe is curious about the feedback.”

Sullivan, that guy, almost fainted for about three seconds when he heard the order came from the Ice Palace. He was definitely a guy who made a scene over every little thing.

“I think it would be best to hear that from the head of the medicinal department or the chief. I can just tell you that it’s getting good reviews.”

“Glad to hear it!”

Yeon-woo replied with a bright smile. Baek Joo-han, observing him carefully, suddenly adopted a solemn aura.

“In-hwa, could you step away for a moment?”

At those words, Yeon-woo sensed the inevitability of the situation. He shot a pleading glance, hoping Baek In-hwa wouldn’t leave, but that wasn’t going to stop her.

Baek In-hwa hesitated to leave, glancing back at them with an anxious expression.

She was aware, wasn’t she? Of what Baek Joo-han had done to the boys who approached her.

“…Father, please don’t do anything strange.”

“I’m only going to have a conversation.”

Baek Joo-han declared sternly. He must have known what had happened, yet he maintained that strictness shockingly well.

Despite how hard it was to believe, Baek In-hwa left the scene.

Yeon-woo looked at Baek Joo-han with a serious face. Baek Joo-han’s expression remained unchanged. His poker face was annoyingly cold.

Baek Joo-han took a sip of vodka, like he was having tea.

“…I can’t give you my daughter.”

“…That’s not why I came here.”

That was the truth. He didn’t come to the North Sea to ask for Baek In-hwa’s hand in marriage.

He came to check whether the plans to deal with Saturday were going well!!

“I know I haven’t been a great father. I won’t make excuses.”

Yeon-woo thought, was he really that bad of a father? At the very least, he hadn’t abandoned his daughter.

The strictness he exhibited toward Baek In-hwa was surely an effort to prevent the same fate as Baek Yi-gyeol.

To do so, he likely had to raise her strictly. But still, he hadn’t abandoned her, so wasn’t that something he could at least be asked about? An orphan like Yeon-woo refrained from voicing anything that would dampen the mood.

“The worlds we lived in, both this one and the one before, are precarious places where strength is essential. I hope In-hwa can be happy, living a life calculated by nothing but her desires.”

“…I see.”

It seemed he was a father who loved his daughter a lot. Yeon-woo could understand that sentiment as he wished for Shar to lead her life based solely on her own judgment.

“In that sense, you’re quite an appealing choice. I know In-hwa likes you. However, if you were to take any kind of romantic relationship with her, she would hear baseless rumors that she married because she wished to have a dragon, rather than love.”

Yeon-woo didn’t say anything in response. That was indeed true. Excluding the fact that he currently had no intention of marrying Baek In-hwa.

“If you truly wish to marry In-hwa…. then yes, bring me a Demon King. If that’s the case, I wouldn’t oppose.”

Baek Joo-han’s mouth twitched. He wasn’t aware earlier, but it seemed he was more expressive than one would expect.

Look at him now, imagining the scene where Yeon-woo, having slain a Demon King, stands boldly offering for Baek In-hwa’s hand in marriage.

The roles of a courtier and a father are different. It was a significantly different impression compared to before his regression. Realizing this made Yeon-woo chuckle softly.

“Well, that is my goal, after all…”

At that moment, Yeon-woo realized he had made a mistake. He shouldn’t have said that.

He wanted to say something like, “Oh, so our goals align!” but saying that here would certainly lead to Baek Joo-han interpreting it differently.

Wouldn’t it be taken as he was determined to kill a Demon King in order to marry Baek In-hwa?

Yeon-woo’s prediction hit the mark. Baek Joo-han’s face contorted in displeasure, and he shot a piercing gaze at Yeon-woo.

Generally, fathers from righteous martial arts backgrounds have two expectations from their potential sons-in-law.

Valor and righteousness. They favored men who pursued these two qualities to what might seem like a foolish extent. It was an expression of pride as righteous warriors.

And incidentally, Yeon-woo had just revealed both his desire to slay a Demon King and that for the right cause, he’d undertake even impossible endeavors.

“Hmm, I find myself somewhat pleased. It’s good if you possess some spirit. Do try hard.”

“Such righteousness…”

Yeon-woo wanted to say it wasn’t righteousness, but upon meeting Baek Joo-han’s fierce gaze, he clamped his mouth shut.

If he continued on, he would surely be dragged to the training grounds while being accused of toying with his daughter.

“I don’t want to die…”

Yeon-woo thought as he stifled his words.

“Of course, that was the meaning.”

There was no way out of this…

*

Yeon-woo walked alongside Lucrecia and Seollang. Tae-oh opted to stay back in the Ice Palace. He could join Yeon-woo whenever he wanted, but he also found the city too beautiful.

Since Tae-oh remained, Dawn naturally stayed behind too. Standing beside the two children was the now-grown Baek Yi-rin.

“Nice to meet you, kids. I’m In-hwa’s aunt, Baek Yi-rin.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Yi-rin!!”

“Hello!”

Baek Yi-rin smiled lightly as she watched Tae-oh energetically raise his arms towards the sky and Dawn bow politely.

Perhaps it felt slightly unfamiliar; it could just be because such exuberance was rare.

Children in the North Sea tended to have calm and composed appearances. Their skin was generally fair, and they were mild-mannered. Was it perhaps because of the cold?

But Tae-oh and Dawn were tanned and lively. It was hardly seen in the North Sea.

They mentioned they would stay for about a week, and Yi-rin hoped that during this time, their vitality would spread all over the North Sea.

However, it wasn’t just because the children were cute that Yi-rin, who was quite skilled herself, took charge of them.

Her niece, whom she couldn’t help but cherish, obviously liked these kids’ father.

Of course, she knew that being a father wasn’t about blood relations. The kid coming to the North Sea was a dragon, while this one was a spirit, and the kid beside them was a god, albeit not their child.

‘The scale is indeed extraordinary…’

While spirit masters existed in the North Sea, raising spirits like kids wasn’t something rare.

Still, this spirit master was the first person Yeon-woo had ever seen who raised a dragon, spirit, and god. What in the world is a god, anyway?

“…So! What should we play!? Even though it looks like a pretty city from a distance, there’s actually a lot to do in the North Sea!”

“Really!? Then what are the main attractions!?”

“Hehe, you’ll be surprised.”

With a confident smile, Baek Yi-rin took the hands of the two kids and marched forward.

This was a popular game that could certainly be counted among the North Sea’s specialties.

“Is it sledding on snow?”

“Eh? Tae-oh has done that before. He might find it boring now?”

“Face it, you can’t compare it to sledding elsewhere. North Sea sledding is totally different!”

Naturally! The North Sea was a land covered in snow and ice wherever you looked. This meant that if you sat down suddenly while walking, you could enjoy sledding right then and there!

“Have you ever sled down from a castle roof?”

“…!! I’ve never done that…!!”

And it was something even the adults in the North Sea enjoyed once, the extreme sport of sledding down the steep ceilings of the Ice Palace.

It was dangerous for little kids, so it was prohibited unless you were old enough to handle mana, but…

Who was she, after all? Baek Yi-rin, one of the top-tier individuals in the Ice Palace. With her around, sledding would be completely safe!

‘Hehehe, I’ll raise the affection rating and dig out info about the guy In-hwa likes…!’

Baek Yi-rin, known as the family’s wild card, was rolling up her sleeves for her niece’s romance.

(continued in the next part)

 

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