Laurakis immediately took my pillow into the living room upon entering the house and buried his face into it, lying down.
“This is it. This warmth, I couldn’t feel it in the spiritual realm.”
His thick tail swayed gently.
Park Hayeon and Shinnoda sat across from each other in the middle of the living room and began the inquiry.
He noticed the swaying tail but tried ignoring it as he pacified Park Hayeon.
“Hayeon. He’s messing around. He’s actually my cousin.”
Park Hayeon found it hard to believe his excuse.
It was due to Shinnoda’s appearance, which lent credibility to Laurakis’s lies.
A man with meticulous self-management: he took care of his eyebrows and hair daily.
He never missed wearing accessories like piercings or necklaces when heading out.
He was also tall and handsome.
‘Perhaps Shinnoda has been doing this sort of thing since childhood…’
She replied curtly.
“Don’t lie. Would a little kid tell lies?”
“Laura-sama, or Laura, tell them. We’re cousins, right?”
At this point, he thought it was better to be cousins rather than daughters and asked Laura.
‘Suddenly claiming her as a daughter—what would I do about that! Quickly, say you’re a cousin.’
Park Hayeon leaned in to meet Laura’s eyes as she gently asked.
“Is your name Laura?”
“Yeah.”
“Is the Shinnoda here really your father? Who’s your mom?”
“Shinnoda is my dad, look into my eyes.”
She stared into Laura’s eyes.
Gold, with a vertically slit pupil.
Exactly like Shinnoda’s.
“Um… really? I thought they were circle lenses. Are they real?”
“Yeah.”
Shinnoda told the truth.
He didn’t tell obvious lies since they would be discovered quickly.
“Ugh. I see. So, there really is some kind of genetic connection, huh?”
“Cousins have genetic connections too.”
Park Hayeon eased her doubts slightly at his firm attitude.
“Is that so? Are you really cousins?”
“That’s right.”
A cooled-down Park Hayeon reconsidered carefully.
‘Right. To have a daughter as old as Lauri, one would have had to have a child when they were in kindergarten or elementary school. There’s no way!’
Park Hayeon asked Laura one last time while petting her head.
“Laura, how old are you? Was the daughter thing a joke?”
“My age is twelve! And I’m his daughter!”
“But if that’s true, then Shinnoda would have had you when he was five years old?”
“Hmph. Let’s just say no then!”
Since Laura initially did this to tease Shinnoda, she didn’t insist and admitted it easily.
Shinnoda proudly stated,
“See? We’re cousins. Our family asked me to take care of her for a while.”
“Ah. I see. That’s fortunate.”
“That’s right… Wait? What’s fortunate?”
“Ah, nothing.”
Park Hayeon avoided his gaze and changed the subject by looking at Laura’s wagging tail.
“So, that tail is real. You must possess the Shape-shifter skill, then?”
The Shape-shifter skill.
A skill where one can transform into animals or monsters, sometimes revealing physical traits even without transformation.
‘Silver Tail’, known for its wolf ears and tail, was famous for this.
Laura stretched, fully extending her wings before folding them again and nodding.
Park Hayeon, looking over Laura’s wings and tail, was startled.
“Shinnoda! Why didn’t you make her wear pants?!”
“Huh?”
Laura, wearing nothing but a shirt which was too big and kept slipping, created the impression of being in a ‘missing-bottom’ fashion until Park Hayeon realized she genuinely didn’t have pants on.
“Anyway, how could you dress her up like this? After school tomorrow, we’ll go and buy Laura some clothes.”
“Uh, sure.”
*
The next day.
I woke up earlier than usual because my bed was uncomfortable.
For some reason, I couldn’t breathe properly.
When I opened my eyes, Laura’s tail was wrapped around my neck.
Snoozing softly.
She had been supposed to sleep in the living room with Park Hayeon, but she was somehow in my bed, her tail troubling me while facing the opposite direction.
‘Hmm. It feels nice and smooth.’
It gave off a feeling like a travel neck pillow.
If it weren’t choking me.
I grabbed the tail tightly.
It felt firm yet smooth like snake scales.
It was strangely addictive, so I kept touching it.
Petting, petting.
“Krooo.”
“Ugh.”
Laura, seemingly uncomfortable, kicked my head with her foot while murmuring in her sleep.
She acted exactly like the younger sister I left in another world.
Suddenly, her tail tightened powerfully.
Laura yawned and got up.
“Let me sleep in peace.”
I immediately argued.
“Didn’t we agree you’d sleep in the living room? Why are you here?”
Sitting cross-legged, Laura answered.
“I was sleeping on that hard floor, and I started to wonder: Is it right for a supreme being like me to sleep there?”
“But if you’re a dragon, don’t you usually live in caves? They’re hard too you know?”
“Right now, I’m in human form! Besides, it’s an emotional issue! Isn’t it obvious that the greatest being in this house should sleep in the most comfortable spot?”
Indeed, it was characteristic of the dragon race: intimidating dwarves with extinction threats to seize their weapons for entertainment, then firing breath attacks and fleeing when things went wrong.
‘We don’t negotiate with terrorists.’
The bed was absolutely not negotiable to give up. Giving it to such a high-handed brat instead of Park Hayeon was unacceptable.
I firmly stated.
“No way. I’ll keep sleeping here.”
“Hmph. Then I’ll sleep on top of you. Figure it out yourself.”
So, are we going to see who wins?
Thus began our bed takeover battle.
We wrestled physically, trying to shove each other off the bed, until I finally gained the upper hand.
With Laura pinned beneath me, I held her arms.
Annoyed, she muttered.
“Haek. If I were in my real form…”
At that moment, Park Hayeon walked in.
“Come out and eat bre… What on earth are you two doing?!”
Laura’s shirt, pulled up to her navel due to our rough tussle.
Our heavy breathing.
To make matters worse, I had her hands tightly bound.
“T-this is a misunderstanding!”
“Release her quickly! You pervert!”
After a long explanation, we were finally able to eat breakfast.
The meal consisted of soybean soup and grilled Spam.
A simple menu but very delicious.
I went into my room to change clothes.
Laura was already sprawled out on the bed.
What a lazy dragon.
Anyway, seeing her always lying down like this, it seemed she couldn’t lie on her back properly because of her tail.
Ignoring Laura, I changed clothes.
She didn’t seem to care either.
Still lying down, Laura spoke.
“Shinnoda, don’t go hunting for a while.”
“Excuse me? Don’t you always talk about hunting?”
“Your level has somewhat improved, so I have something to teach you.”
“Yes, alright then.”
I left the house with Park Hayeon.
Time at school passed quickly.
As always, my classmates chatted beside me, and I occasionally contributed to the conversation.
Before we knew it, it was the closing class session.
The homeroom teacher arrived with a stack of papers to distribute.
“Alright. I will hand out the club registration forms, so please submit them by tomorrow. After school, each club will operate an experience booth, so visit the playground. That wraps things up.”
“Thank you.”
That signaled the end of class.
‘So, the club period is starting now.’
The club you choose determines the friends you may grow close with.
For example, choosing the ‘Practical Combat Club’ would let me befriend Huangje-seong, a powerhouse character, while choosing the ‘Swordsmanship Club’ would let me befriend another powerhouse character, Min-kyu.
‘Hmm, they are all males, isn’t it…’
Anyway, the club I had to join was already decided.
‘Hero Culture Research Club’.
A place where fanatics who obsessively like certain heroes and hero movie enthusiasts gather.
Even if I didn’t join the same club, I could easily befriend Huangje-seong and Min-kyu.
But this club was the only place where I could befriend a certain character.
A character called the 2nd-tier exclusive ally because no one usually joins such an unusual club.
A highly sought-after character with considerable growth potential.
‘The God of Machines’ Yi Hoon.
A character with high usage value right up to the end.
I visited the experience booth simply to get acquainted.
Since he is in the 2nd grade, he’d be advertising at the booth.
When I went to the playground, the students were just setting up tents and booths.
‘They must’ve started making them after the classes ended.’
I sat on the bench and picked up my smartphone.
‘I’ll rest while waiting for the booths to be completed.’
I sent a message to Park Hayeon saying I’d be trying out the clubs, and we could buy clothes for Laura while eating dinner later.
Then, I accessed the community site, ‘Hero Korea’.
As expected, the board was filled with posts related to ‘Dark Knight’.
I clicked on the one with the highest recommendation count.
————————————–
<Quitting support for Darkness Jumper and supporting Dark Knight>
From today onwards, I sever any form of support for Darkness Jumper,
And Dark Knight and I will become one.
Any attack on Dark Knight will be regarded as an attack on me.
If there are seven billion Dark Knight fans in the world, I would be one of them.
If there are a hundred million Dark Knight fans in the world, I would be one of them.
If there are ten million Dark Knight fans in the world, I would still be one of them.
If there are a hundred Dark Knight fans in the world, I would still be one of them.
If there is one Dark Knight fan in the world, that person is probably me.
If there isn’t even a single Dark Knight fan in the world, then only then might I also cease to exist.
Dark Knight, my light.
Dark Knight, my darkness.
Dark Knight, my joy.
Dark Knight, my sorrow.
Dark Knight, my life.
Dark Knight, my resting place.
Dark Knight, my soul.
Dark Knight, me.
Also, who’s the kid with Dark Knight?
Have you recruited a sidekick?
Recommendations – 14,326 Dislikes – 122
(Comments) – 7,244
<Is Dark Knight your friend? Show respect and use 'Sir'>
Reply <Is it any different if I call him 'Miss'?>
Reply <Ah. Let us head your way then, shall we?>
<Ah, I believed from the start! The fake Dark Knight!>
<Surely, at first the opinions were 50-50? Haha, now everyone claims to have believed from the start...>
<Dark Knight is definitely Jesus! When he told Darkness Jumper to repent, I saw the latter repenting and it confirmed my suspicions!>
<The kid seems unable to use information-blocking skills but can use transparency skills... zzz>
Reply <There's also lightning and flying skills>
Reply <Wasn't flying done by Dark Knight?>
Reply <Nope, that’s the kid's skill, according to Dark Knight experts>
Reply
<I want to be Dark Knight's sidekick too;;>
Reply <You need to awaken first;;>
<Is this person an intellectual hater? Lol>
<I see a toxic fanbase emerging. Dark Knight might be scared off>
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————————————–
I rubbed my temples.
It’s burdensome getting so much attention.
It seems I should heed Laurakis’s advice and take a break from hunting.
Besides, it feels wrong to be treated as if I were some kind of justice crusader.
