One Such Day (2)

“Why are you suddenly barging in and asking that?”

“Well, that is…”

The woman was an ordinary young lady with a slightly cute appearance.

“Is the restaurant still open?”

“It’s not that I can’t. It’s a freelance business.”

I guided the woman to a table. She nodded and pulled out a chair to sit.

“I want to know what that man likes…”

Then she muttered in an uncertain tone. I looked at her intently, pretending to be more suspicious on purpose.

“I can’t just tell that to anyone.”

The woman, thinking that it wouldn’t work, quickly declared her surrender.

“Actually, I’m his daughter!”

“How can a daughter not know what her father likes?”

“Well… So… Do you really know about him? Is he a regular here?”

She couldn’t easily say the word ‘father’ and kept referring to him as ‘that person’.

Why is this woman chasing after her father?

Earlier, that man said he didn’t know how his daughter was living.

Well, the woman’s mother’s side knows the man’s job and where he lives. If that’s the case, the current situation seems natural.

Not being able to call her father ‘father’ and referring to him as ‘that person’ shows the gap created by time.

“Actually… I haven’t seen him for many years because of my mother’s stubbornness… But I believed the promise that I would be told when I became an adult, and finally…”

But soon she bowed her head. She found him, but she looked troubled.

“I roughly knew about the story between you two. I heard it from your father.”

“Re-really? Is that true?”

The woman bowed her head again and tightly clasped her hands.

I handed her a warm milk tea. This woman needed to calm down a bit.

“What is this? It smells good.”

“It’s a service, so don’t worry about the money. I’m giving it to you because you’re a regular customer’s daughter.”

“Th-thank you….”

Of course, that man came here for the first time today. But he seemed like he could become a regular, so why not.

The woman drank the warm milk tea and sighed. Seeing her sigh made me realize that she was indeed related to that man. Her sad face resembled the man’s very much.

“I know a bit about the situation, so let me ask, have you ever resented your father?”

“Well, in the past… When I didn’t know the situation, I did resent him… But as I grew up and learned the truth, the desire to meet him once grew stronger than the resentment.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. So, could you tell me what he likes, where he often goes, what food he often eats… Can’t you tell me those things? You said he’s a regular! Actually, I’ve been following him and met him once. I was watching him work at a construction site, got into a dispute with some other men, and he helped me out. He said he couldn’t just stand by when a girl around his daughter’s age was in trouble…”

“Did he?”

“Yes, he didn’t forget me. He didn’t. But to say such things in front of his real daughter… It’s kind of funny, or strange. But still, seeing him work hard made him shine even more. However, I couldn’t time it right and ended up not revealing that I’m his daughter…”

“Wouldn’t it be better to reveal it now?”

“Huh…?”

“You came all the way from another city to find your father, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Your father ate this and cried.”

I put the glass he drank from next to her milk tea.

“Why…? Why did he cry?”

“He said he won’t be able to drink that much longer… He wanted to meet his daughter before he dies.”

“What… What do you mean by that?”

She dropped the milk tea she was holding and looked shocked.

“Oh, it’s a secret though.”

I pretended to shut my mouth as if I had made a mistake.

“But let me tell you one thing, you should treat your parents well while you can meet them, while they’re alive. Once they’re gone, it’s useless. I couldn’t do anything for my parents. Really, nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

As I spoke, I started to get choked up myself.

The only child. I wonder if my mother, who lost me, is doing well. There’s no way to send her any news from this other world.

Some people are blocked by a huge wall, and here they are, unable to meet each other due to a mere 15 years. That’s nonsense. It’s rather luxurious.

“No way… My mother left first. And though I had no choice, I left too. Why does my father, who always says he misses me, have to go through this! I have to go! Thank you!”

The woman acted as I intended. She must have thought her father was sick and ran straight outside.

Although he was a first-time customer today, he looked healthy. He wouldn’t die.

I watched the daughter who ran out.

The hill path is long. If she runs, she can definitely catch up to him.

In the center of Greek City stands the Lord’s castle. The commercial and residential areas are divided based on the Lord’s castle, and beyond that, there are farmlands.

In the commercial district, my cheese is being sold everywhere. Specifically, the cheese from the hilltop ranch.

The response to the new food was significant.

[Selling Cheese]

[Fresh Cheese from the Hilltop Ranch]

[Cheese Delicious with Bread]

Stores selling ingredients were all promoting the cheese. It was proof of how many people were looking for it.

It’s not just the cheese.

Large restaurants are selling Palenque dishes they developed. I heard they are so popular that they run out quickly.

[We’ve Obtained Palenque. Special Dishes Now Available]

Promotional phrases to attract customers were hung large in front of the stores.

They say people come from quite far away to taste Palenque. It’s like we created a specialty of Greek City.

Of course, all the royalties are my property.

The restaurant is run my way. The ingredients are high quality, and the prices are low. It’s not profitable, but that’s the principle of my restaurant.

A restaurant where I sell my dishes to people I like.

The lack of profit from the restaurant was compensated by Palenque and cheese.

My treasure.

The treasure of the Dragon Lord who gave me the Dragon Heart.

The treasures I’ve collected will be placed in the dragon lair. Palenque and cheese provided enough pocket money that I didn’t need to touch the Dragon Lord’s treasures. The Greek boy officially recognized the exclusive rights to cheese and Palenque, so they are legally my assets.

“Rurin, let’s grab all the clothes we can!”

“Really? Really?”

I declared to Rurin in front of the largest clothing store in the commercial district of Greek City. Honestly, I was a bit shocked when she said she didn’t have any clothes to wear the other day. I felt like I hadn’t been paying her enough attention.

To make an excuse, it’s only recently that Rurin started caring about clothes.

“Can I really buy all of them? At first, I didn’t understand why people bothered with clothes, but lately, I think pretty clothes are nice!”

This outcry represents Rurin’s feelings. Our dragon, laughing happily.

“Welcome.”

When the owner bowed his head, Rurin shrugged.

“Okay! Hehe. How did you know?”

“It’s not that he knew. That’s just the proper attitude towards customers. You should learn too.”

“Is that so? I thought there’s no way a human would do that. So, what kind of clothes should we buy?”

At first, she had the mindset of killing and looting all these clothing stores, but recently, thanks to my scolding, she’s adapted to the human world quite a bit. She’s even developed a concept of money.

The dragon’s game is to hide that she’s a dragon and blend into the human world.

“Since it’s come to this, we can’t play small.”

While Rurin tilted her head as if wondering what I meant, I spoke to the clerk.

“Can you give us all the clothes that fit her size?”

“What?”

The owner widened his eyes and looked at me. I showed him a gold nugget in my hand.

“I’m serious.”

“Just, just a moment!”

The owner started running excitedly. And Rurin started bouncing around.

“Wow! All of it? Are we rich?”

“Recently, we’ve had some unexpected earnings. And I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to create a wardrobe in the lair.”

I haven’t been able to pay much attention, so I need to solve it all at once. Rurin’s eyes started to sparkle.

“What if we also buy clothes you can wear in dragon form?”

“What are you talking about! Where would we find clothes that big! We dragons are a dignified race! We cannot hide our black fur!”

“Then why do you wear clothes in human form?”

“Because you told me to!”

“Well, you should wear them. Wear them.”

“And she said I shouldn’t show my naked body to anyone but you.”

“That woman again?”

My old comrade who pops up whenever I’m about to forget. My determination to get revenge when we meet again is firm.

“Then what about when you’re in dragon form? Isn’t being naked in human form and not wearing anything in dragon form the same thing?”

“Any human who sees my dragon form will die.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry. You’re the exception! And I won’t transform into a dragon. Since I live with you, I want to be the same as you.”

Rurin subtly revealed her inner thoughts, so I looked at her in surprise.

Since she followed me from the clutches of the dragon clan, I didn’t know why she hadn’t transformed into a dragon even once.

Unaware of the ripple her words caused in my heart, Rurin just looked at me with a mountain of clothes in her arms.

“Are you stupid? How are you going to walk like that?”

I shook my head and asked the owner for clothing packages.

“I’ll pay the delivery fee, so could you send them by cart to the restaurant on the hill?”

“Oh, you will? Since it’s a large amount, I’ll deliver it for free!”

The store owner couldn’t stop grinning, feeling like he’d hit the jackpot with a great customer.

After finishing shopping, I walked out of the commercial district with Rurin. There’s a square in front of the Lord’s castle when you walk out of the commercial district. It’s Greek Square.

In the Square, there are statues of the Greek family and benches.

Birds similar to pigeons flit about. A peaceful scene.

A dragon far from peace, but now contributing to it. Sitting in front of the statue, sucking on a fruit candy called mirushu sold in front of the clothing store, she looked even beautiful.

A scene worth capturing in a photo. Like a painting.

“You! What are you doing standing there? Sit here!”

Smiling brightly, she tapped the base of the statue. She seemed very happy, probably because she got a new wardrobe.

“Instead, why don’t you come here after eating?”

“Food?”

At the mention of food, Rurin jumped up and ran to me. The candy she was sucking on had disappeared without a trace.

“Then are we going back?”

“No? Since we’re out, let’s eat before we go back. Sometimes, I want to eat food made by someone else.”

“No! I like the food you make!”

Rurin started spinning around me, throwing a tantrum.

“No! No! The food you make! Meat! Meat!”

She was jumping around dizzyingly, so I grabbed her and pried her mouth open, making a strange sound come out.

“Sometimes, the local cuisine is good too, you crazy dragon.”

“Then can I flip the table if it’s not tasty?”

“Don’t flip it.”

Rurin pretended to flip the table and looked at me.

The bad habits she knew of the human world were learned from my comrades, who once acted together. Damn comrades, I must say.

“It’s the joy of eating food made by someone else rather than the taste.”

“I always eat food made by someone else!”

“Are you bragging?”

For a nonsensical dragon, there’s punishment. I started pressing Rurin’s temple. Firmly. Press, press. Yelling naturally followed.

“Ow! It hurts! How many times do I have to tell you this hurts!”

“Stop talking and follow me.”

“Let’s go together!”

When I started walking, leaving her behind, Rurin came running.