The World’s Strongest Daughter.

Kong Yu-mi’s POV

“…I can do it!”

I clenched my fists tightly and steeled my resolve as I got out of the car.

A lone house stands in the middle of this vast empty lot.

It’s the Sword Empress’ hideout.

To think that a woman once called the strongest is living in such a shabby house…

“She must have made a lot of money….”

The house doesn’t match her reputation.

To begin with, seeing how she went into hiding in this remote mountain just because her husband died, she must not have been that great to start with.

There was intel that she was in poor condition, deeply grieving over the loss of her husband, so this might unexpectedly turn out to be an easy task.

As I approached the house with a silly smile, an elderly housekeeper greeted me.

“…How did you come here?”

Her gaze held a hint of wariness.

To ease her guard, I smiled brightly and spoke.

“Ah, I’m here to see the lady of the house. If you tell her I’m an acquaintance of her late husband, she’ll know.”

“…Please wait a moment.”

Maintaining her wary gaze until the end, she left me standing there and went inside the house.

Shortly after,

“…Come in.”

It seemed the Sword Empress had given permission as she invited me into the house.

The corners of my mouth lifted, thinking I had gotten in more easily than expected.

In the plan to recruit the Sword Empress, approaching her was considered the biggest challenge.

But to have accomplished that difficult task so easily!

As expected, the decision to mention her husband was correct.

Following the housekeeper’s guidance, I entered the house and looked around while fiddling with the camera hidden in my bag.

…This should be well captured, right?

There didn’t seem to be anything particularly important, so it should be fine to film roughly.

At that moment, the housekeeper gave me a subtle look as if telling me to hurry up and led me to the stairs.

“…The lady is on the second floor.”

This old woman sure is impatient…

Just like my ‘father’.

I followed the housekeeper’s words and went up to the second floor.

“You can go in.”

Finally, the time had come to meet the ‘Sword Empress.’

I swung the door open with strange excitement and anticipation and spotted a woman sitting by the window.

Long brown hair, red eyes.

Not much different from the ‘Sword Empress’ I saw on TV.

“Hello!”

I greeted her brightly with a wide smile, but she didn’t answer and just slightly adjusted her posture.

It seemed she had no intention of returning my greeting.

No! When someone greets you, shouldn’t you welcome them back?

With a bright smile, I sat before her and greeted her again.

“‘Sword Empress’! It’s truly an honor to meet you! I’m Kong Yu-mi!”

Then she crossed her arms and slowly opened her mouth, her eyes flashing.

“Who are you?”

Euk…. They said she had gone crazy, but was it all a lie?

Shrinking back from her sharp gaze, I answered with a forced bright smile.

“… I’m Seong-jae oppa’s friend, and I….”

“My husband doesn’t have an acquaintance like you.”

I was taken aback by Ju Yeon-hee’s words that cut me off.

No! How does she know whether he has an acquaintance like me or not? Sheesh….

As I was picking my words, I quickly decided to change my plan due to Ju Yeon-hee’s sharp gaze.

Now that it’s come to this, I have no choice but to throw out the bait first!

“…F-first, take a look at this!”

I hurriedly moved and handed her the plan I had prepared in my bag.

“I’m sure you’ll like it!”

After glaring at me for a moment, she slowly took the plan.

Rustle- Rustle-

As I expected, she carefully examined the documents.

The corners of my mouth rose gradually with the premonition of victory.

The plan I brought contains a scheme that she would be tempted by.

A ritual to revive the dead!

It may sound like nonsense, but for someone who loved her husband, it’s something she must have thought about at least once.

Of course, we can’t actually bring back the dead.

We’re not gods. How could we do that?

But if we use the ‘Young Lady’s’ ability, we can imitate something similar.

Once we take her to the cult and have her meet ‘Father,’ that ‘Sword Empress’ will be in our hands…!

Thud-

The moment Ju Yeon-hee put down the plan, the air suddenly turned cold.

“…You’re from a cult.”

Huh, what?

“Wh-what do you mean…?”

I was greatly flustered by her words.

I’m sure there’s nothing about religion written anywhere…!

“Hiiieek!”

Before I knew it, she pointed a thin, long sword at me.

Wh-when? No, how!?

I’m a B-rank hunter myself, but I couldn’t even sense her movements at all.

“If you don’t want to die, spill everything.”

Unlike the sword tip exuding murderous intent, Ju Yeon-hee’s eyes looking at me were indifferent.

They were the eyes of someone who had no qualms about killing.

“Ahhhh….”

I’ll die if this continues.

But I’ll also die if I betray my ‘family.’

… Sh-shouldn’t have come… I shouldn’t have come! I should have just sent someone else!!!!!

But it’s already spilled milk.

The result of trying to look good in front of the ‘Young Lady’ and ‘Father’ was only death.

I slowly turned and looked at the window next to me.

I-if I use my ability, maybe I can somehow survive…?

My ability is ‘Instant Acceleration’.

If I use my ability with all my strength, I can dodge at least once…

“One.”

When Ju Yeon-hee’s low voice penetrated my ears, I threw my body towards the window, mobilizing all the mana in my body.

Bang!!!

The wind pressure crushed my entire body.

I, who had been shot out the window, was already flying over the lush trees, passing the empty lot where the house had been.

Uuuugh…!

I hurriedly looked around, but there was no pursuit.

D-did I survive…?

Seeing that my neck is still attached, it seems I’m not dead.

Thinking I should run far away, I landed on the ground and stepped on the floor.

Huh?

And I collapsed powerlessly.

Thud!

Having fallen face-first on the dirt floor, I ended up burying my face.

“Pweh pweh! Yuck yuck!!”

I spit out the sand that had entered my mouth and brushed off my face.

“Damn it… Seriously…”

Cursing that I had done something useless, I tried to get up…

“Ugh?”

I spotted something rolling in front of my eyes.

“Kya, kyaaaah!!!!!”

It was an ankle spouting blood.

***

Yoo Ji-hwan’s

“…So-yeon. You already bought four packs of snacks….”

“What?”

Flinching at Min So-yeon’s glaring gaze, I had no choice but to back down.

“…Th-then should we buy this also…?”

“Hmph.”

With that, she put the snacks in the shopping cart and walked ahead, and I let out a short sigh as I watched her.

Why is she getting angry again…

I’m sure she was fine during practice, but suddenly, she started fuming, and now she’s begun a cute rebellion by recklessly picking out snacks.

She seems to be angry at me, but I have no idea why.

“…So-yeon! Let’s go together!”

I quickly pulled the cart and followed her, and Min So-yeon glanced back to check on me, then slightly grabbed the cart and led me to another aisle.

“…So-yeon, we have chocolate at home… Ah, okay… We’re only buying one, okay?”

And so, as I kept accepting her requests one by one…

“T-two is too much! Just one! Let’s buy only one!”

Before I knew it, the shopping cart was filled with snacks.

… Isn’t this too much?

As I blankly stared at the shopping cart packed with snacks, Min So-yeon pulled the cart and spoke to me.

“What are you doing, not coming?”

“…C-coming….”

Right now, all I can do is just accept it.

For now, I have no choice but to go back home and gently coax her.

And so, we bought two more bags of bread before finally leaving the supermarket, and due to the excessive amount we purchased, we took a taxi to Min So-yeon’s house.

Upon arriving home, Min So-yeon threw the shopping bags in the kitchen and went straight to her room, saying she was going to change clothes.

Normally, she would have helped me put away the groceries before going to her room, but today, she disappeared without even glancing at them.

Does that mean she’s that angry?

But at least she let me into the house.

“…This is hard.”

The heart of a teenage girl is really incomprehensible.

As I quietly sighed and organized the shopping bags one by one.

“… I’ll help.”

Min So-yeon appeared and started helping me.

…Huh?

But Min So-yeon’s clothes were a bit strange.

Instead of the oversized T-shirt she usually wore, she was wearing a beige tank top and dolphin shorts.

No matter how much the weather has warmed up, isn’t that too short?

“…So-yeon, won’t you be cold?”

Instead of answering, Min So-yeon glared at me and turned her head, quietly starting to put away the items.

…Why is she acting like this…

I had no way of knowing.

After finishing the organization with Min So-yeon, I immediately began preparing dinner.

Today’s menu is braised spicy chicken.

It’s a menu specially chosen by Min So-yeon.

I cleaned the chicken I bought from the supermarket, blanched it, mixed it with pre-cut vegetables and seasoning, and started boiling it.

After adjusting the heat appropriately, I glanced at the living room and saw Min So-yeon playing a game with an irritated expression.

…Is it time?

I slightly lowered the heat and carefully headed to the living room with Min So-yeon’s favorite snacks.

Tak- Clack-

She was so focused on the game that she didn’t even know I had come.

How focused must she be to not even notice her shorts riding up?

If only she had shown this concentration during training…

Sighing quietly, I carefully took a seat next to her.

Only then did she sense my presence and glance at me, then started glaring at the TV while biting her lip.

Seeing her bite her lip until it turned white, there was definitely something she wasn’t happy about.

But what could that be?

Again, I had no idea.

… There’s no choice. I have to interrogate her with snacks.

I noisily opened the snack so she could hear it, and she glanced at the snack in my hand as if entranced by something.

As expected, you can’t resist this.

I immediately ate one and then casually offered it to her.

“Want some?”

I never give her snacks before meals.

Because it ruins the appetite.

But today, I need an interrogation accompanied by snacks, so it can’t be helped.

Min So-yeon stared at me blankly, then stopped the game and reached for the snack, pretending to be uninterested.

“Uh-uh, wait a second.”

I quickly moved the snack away and grabbed her hand.

“…Why.”

At Min So-yeon’s glare as she growled in a low voice, I was reminded of my wife when she was young and unintentionally let go of her hand.

…The daughter is just like the mother.

“Focus on the game. I’ll feed you.”

“…What?”

“You’re not going to play?”

After some contemplation, Min So-yeon, who alternated between looking at the snack and me, finally grabbed the gamepad.

It means she wants to be fed.

The corners of my mouth unconsciously lifted at Min So-yeon’s behavior, and I started delivering the snacks.

At first, she cautiously ate while slightly pulling away her mouth, but before long, she seemed to have adapted and waited for me with her mouth slightly open like a baby bird waiting for food.

Crunch-

At the sound of the snack breaking, I peeked inside the bag and saw it was already starting to show the bottom.

…Is it about time?

In my wife’s case, it was usually resolved with one bag.

But this is my first time interrogating Min So-yeon with snacks, so I don’t know how many snacks are needed.

But if I open another bag of snacks, she might really not eat dinner.

There’s no choice. I have to confront her head-on.

I first put a snack in Min So-yeon’s mouth, then slightly leaned in and spoke to her quietly.

“…So-yeon.”

When I spoke to her instead of giving her a snack, she tightly closed her mouth.

… She’s quick-witted, as expected of my daughter.

“…Did something happen today? Can’t you tell me about it?”

She glared at me and then turned her gaze back to the TV.

If I back down here, dinner is over.

“…If it’s something I did wrong, I’ll apologize. But I need to know the reason to apologize.”

At that moment.

Min So-yeon put down the gamepad with a thud.

[ You Die ]

Along with it, Min So-yeon’s character died.

As the gloomy BGM flowed through the living room, Min So-yeon slightly turned her body and made eye contact with me.

She frowned slightly and glared into my eyes.

“…Are you dating Kong Hye-sun?”

…Huh?