Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 78

10 AM, Seoul City Hall Entrance.

Yoon-Hee stepped off the subway, biting her lip as she looked at the basket in her hands, which contained a carefully prepared lunch.

Yong-Yong, who had been watching from her feet, sighed and said, “Let’s be honest. The Hunter Training Center is just an excuse. You really came to see Master, didn’t you? You haven’t even finished the skill book yet.”

“I-I’m just stopping by since I’m in the area. You stupid!”

“I’ve told you this multiple times, but Master isn’t thinking about what happened yesterday.”

Yoon-Hee recalled the dinner from the night before.

“You’re far more valuable to me than 10 billion won.”

Just thinking about those words made her face burn. She had tossed and turned all night, finally falling asleep around 5 AM, and by the time she woke up, Do-Jun had already left for work.

I know I said I was just stopping by, but...

But in truth, she had come to deliver lunch out of guilt for not making breakfast that morning. Despite what she told Yong-Yong, her true intentions had already been found out.

I didn’t even make him breakfast before he left for work... I’m such a failure as a daughter... Thank God I didn’t have school today.

She felt a pang of guilt at the thought of Do-Jun going to work on an empty stomach. On top of that, she was violating the fourth clause of the contract they had signed when they first met, which said she must be diligent in her household duties during the contract period.

When she entered Seoul City Hall, she scanned the directory on the wall and quickly found that the Fissure Management Division was on the seventh floor.

However, there was one obstacle.

“The elevator’s on the other side...” Yoon-Hee sighed.

The high-speed elevator was beyond the front desk, guarded by several female receptionists and security personnel. It seemed that only employees or authorized personnel could use it.

Swallowing hard, Yoon-Hee walked over to the desk and spoke to one of the female receptionists.

“Um, excuse me...”

***

“Behemoth, resuming Core exploration.”

“A deep Dive into the Tutorial Zone.”

“‘This was just the preparation phase.’ – Hunter’s Bureau.”

“Online stream surpasses 300 million concurrent viewers for the first time...”

There had been twenty-one Dives under the leadership of the Bureau. The Core—an enormous hole near Sodaesan Mountain in Gangwon-do, suspected to have appeared around the same time as the Fissures ten years ago—was back in the spotlight.

For years, exploration had stagnated at a measly 1.4% completion rate, but now, thanks to Behemoth Guild, progress was finally being made and revealed to the public.

News articles about Behemoth’s twenty-second Dive dominated the portal site’s homepage. While the Core remained a mystery to the general public and, in fact, to almost everyone except a select few, a live stream of the Dive was being broadcast in real-time.

Do-Jun leaned back slightly in his chair and glanced at Hyuk-Soo’s monitors beside him. One monitor displayed his work tasks, while the other streamed the broadcast.

Of course, Hyuk-Soo wasn’t the only one with such a display. All of the Fissure Management Division’s staff were glued to their screens, watching the stream with shadows under their eyes.

Looks like no one got any sleep, Do-Jun thought.

The stream had started at 9 PM on Sunday and had been going on for over fourteen hours straight. Both the chat and donations had been disabled, and Behemoth Guild wasn’t engaging in any idle talk with the viewers. They were focused entirely on their raid, only sharing necessary information. But despite that, people couldn’t tear their eyes away.

“Mr. Administrator, look at this! They’re calling this pool of water the Artifact Lake. It seems like this lake has a lot of artifacts floating in it. Isn’t that fascinating?”

Ye-Ji turned her smartphone toward Do-Jun, excited.

Behemoth Guild was currently in the first stage of the Tutorial Zone, fishing in Artifact Lake, though there was no sign of Tusitala.

I guess they don’t need her anyway.

The expedition seemed to be going smoothly even without Tusitala’s help.

“Mr. Administrator, are you not interested in this?”

Although this was a stream of a Core raid, considered the ultimate challenge among Fissures, Do-Jun’s indifferent attitude made Ye-Ji tilt her head in confusion.

After all, not only had Do-Jun already seen all this, but he was also the one who developed the strategy they were watching on the stream.

“No, it’s fascinating. Artifact Lake, huh... Very interesting,” Do-Jun said flatly.

“You sound like you’re reading from a textbook. Really, sometimes it’s hard to tell what you’re thinking,” Ye-Ji grumbled.

“Alright then. You keep watching. I’ve got some work to finish.”

“Okaaay.”

Still glued to the screen, Ye-Ji reluctantly turned her chair back to the stream while Do-Jun resumed working on the mapping report for the hidden dungeon in the C-rank Fissure at Dongguk University.

Then, his hands stopped typing after a moment as he had a sudden thought. Now that I think of it...

Do-Jun accessed the Fissure Management System and clicked on the E-rank tab. A Fissure marked in red appeared on the list, which meant it was overdue for patrol and inspection.

“Ye-Ji.”

“Yes, Mr. Administrator.”

“How about we go on patrol after lunch? An E-rank Fissure in the training center hasn’t been inspected in a month. We should check it out.”

Though she had been engrossed in the stream, Ye-Ji’s eyes sparkled as she eagerly nodded. After all, it had been a while since she had gone out with Do-Jun to inspect a Fissure.

“Yes! Let’s go!” She accepted with excitement.

“How about at 2 PM...?”

Just then, the office phone rang, and a call came from the reception desk on the first floor.

“Hello, this is Lee Do-Jun from the Fissure Management Division.”

***

Yoon-Hee was seated in a chair in the Fissure Management Division’s meeting room. She gazed out at the office through the transparent glass partition. It was her first time actually visiting, and it all felt rather fascinating.

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

Do-Jun walked in through the glass door and handed her a cup of tea before sitting down.

Though she had offered to make the tea, Do-Jun insisted that guests shouldn’t be preparing it, so he made it himself.

“Thank you for the tea,” Yoon-Hee said.

“Of course. So, what brings you here?”

“We don’t have school, and I have the day off today, so I was planning to go to the Hunter Training Center. On the way, I thought I’d drop by and bring you a lunchbox...”

The Hunter Training Center was a training ground attached to the Hunter’s Bureau, designed to help Hunters test their skills or improve their combat abilities. Hunters with a Hunter ID or temporary ID, as well as Academy students, could use the facility for free, making it quite popular among Hunters.

“But why the sudden lunchbox...?”

Usually, Do-Jun would either eat at the staff cafeteria or go out to a nearby restaurant. Yoon-Hee knew this, and until now, she had never packed a lunch for him, which made her sudden appearance with one today all the more curious.

“Young Master spent over an hour and a half making this lunch with great care. She seems to feel guilty for not preparing breakfast due to oversleeping. Please accept it without hesitation, Master.” Karsiel spoke up.

“K-karsiel!” Yoon-Hee yelped and gave the dragon a tearful look.

Finally, Do-Jun understood why she had brought the lunchbox. While he didn’t think it was necessary, he decided not to say anything.

“You mentioned you’re going to the training center? I’ll come with you guys in the afternoon,” Do-Jun said.

“Would that be... okay?”

“Yeah. I have some business there as well.”

Yoon-Hee’s face lit up.

***

After lunch, a taxi was on its way to the Hunter Training Center.

Silence ensued in the car. Yoon-Hee, Yong-Yong, Karsiel, and Ye-Ji sat in the back seat in that order while Do-Jun occupied the passenger seat.

The tension in the taxi was palpable, with Yoon-Hee and Ye-Ji both silently staring out the windows.

Caught between them, Yong-Yong and Karsiel felt as though they were being crushed by the weight of the tension in the air, while only Do-Jun alone seemed oblivious, busy fiddling with his SpacePad.

The E-rank Fissure, Tomb of the Spirits, was where the lowest-rank elemental spirits of water, fire, wind, and earth appeared. However, few Hunters bothered hunting there, as spirits were difficult to kill compared to their rank. Additionally, aside from mana stones, they dropped no other valuable by-products.

“Hunter Ye-Ji.”

“Yes, Mr. Administrator.”

“The Tomb of the Spirits has a much larger map than other Fissures, so just walking around could take half a day. We may need to work overtime, depending on the situation. Will that be alright with you?”

Upon entering the Fissure, there were four entrances, each corresponding to one of the elemental attributes—water, fire, wind, and earth. Do-Jun planned to explore all of them today unless Ye-Ji had other plans.

“So, I’ll be spending the entire afternoon on a date with you, Mr. Administrator?”

“It’s not a date. It’s a patrol.”

At Ye-Ji’s words, Yoon-Hee, who had been blankly staring out the window, subtly tensed.

Yong-Yong noticed her hand trembling slightly. A glance at her reflection in the window showed her brow furrowed. Considering that Yoon-Hee rarely frowned, it was clear that something was significantly bothering her.

However, since it was just patrol work, even if Ye-Ji called it a date, there wasn’t much Yoon-Hee could say.

“Master, can we come with you too?” Yong-Yong asked Do-Jun.

“Y-yong-Yong...?” Startled, Yoon-Hee looked down at Yong-Yong, who had been resting his chin on his paw, gazing out the window. He winked at her, giving a thumbs-up—or rather, a toe-up, with his foot.

***

[You have entered the Tomb of the Spirits.]

Inside the Fissure, a large cavern spread out before them with four entrances, each marked with a symbol representing water, fire, wind, and earth. Rather, there should have been four entrances.

“Hmm...”

There was only one entrance.

Yong-Yong stared at the mural above the entrance, depicting a serene woman with her eyes closed and her hands pressed together in prayer. As if in a trance, he walked toward it.

Do-Jun quietly observed him, sensing that Yong-Yong knew something.

“Laghaim, was it?” Yong-Yong muttered.

“What is Laghaim?” Ye-Ji asked.

“Laghaim is the first ever spirit and the queen of all spirits,” Karsiel answered instead of Yong-Yong.

“Queen of Spirits... Mr. Administrator, wasn’t this supposed to be an E-rank Fissure?”

“It was, but... looks like that changed.”

The map had changed. It had transformed into an entirely unfamiliar Fissure.

Since when? Do-Jun wondered.

The Tomb of the Spirits had always been an unpopular hunting ground, so few Hunters ever entered. It was unclear when the change occurred, but one thing was certain.

A brilliant light emanated from the entrance.

“Is it telling us to come in?” Do-Jun said.