The World’s Strongest Daughter.

Amid a pleasant dream, birdsong suddenly started filtering in, and my mind gradually grew clearer.

“…”

Gently opening my eyes, I vividly felt the subtle warmth lingering in the room.

… When did I fall asleep?

I felt tired and must have nodded off while fiddling with my phone.

“Ugh…”

Stretching and slowly sitting up, I saw the dishes from last night’s meal still strewn about.

… Ah. I should clean up.

Sitting in a daze, blinking, I picked up my phone from the floor and checked the time.

“…”

7:24 AM. Almost time to get up.

I’ll probably have to leave the dishes for later.

…

Having woken up early, I leisurely got ready for school and finished quite early.

I had time to tidy up the house, but I didn’t really feel like it.

Thinking it would be better to leave a bit early, I promptly headed out.

On the way to the academy.

Lost in thought as I walked, I suddenly found myself at “that” alley.

“…”

I wondered if Min So-yeon might be there.

I quietly walked over and peered inside the alley.

…

Instead of the stale cigarette smell, only the scent of cold dust touched my nose.

Min So-yeon was nowhere to be seen.

I wasn’t sure if I should be glad or not.

I turned around and headed to the academy, arriving a bit earlier than usual.

The always bustling campus had only a few students and seemed quite empty, perhaps because it was still early.

I leisurely strolled through the school grounds and made my way to the classroom.

Arriving at the classroom, I gently opened the door to find a few students already there.

… How diligent.

Marveling a bit at their diligence, I quietly headed to a seat in the corner when my eyes met a girl sitting in the middle.

“… Oh, hi Ji-hwan.”

It was the girl who had baked me muffins before.

“Hello.”

When I smiled slightly and returned her greeting, a small blush rose to her cheeks.

With nothing much to talk about, I was about to quietly take my leave when she spoke to me again.

“… Y-You’re early today.”

“… I woke up a bit early. Do you always come at this time?”

“Uh, yeah! My house is a bit far…”

She said she lives about an hour and a half away from the academy.

After chatting with the girl about this and that, I sat in the corner seat as students gradually started filling in.

However, Min So-yeon was not among them.

… Why isn’t she coming…?

Feeling a bit anxious, I fiddled with my phone for no reason.

How long did I wait like that?

As the bell rang to signal the start of class, the classroom door suddenly swung open, and finally, she appeared.

Min So-yeon, whom I had been anxiously waiting for.

… Thank goodness.

Only then could I feel relieved that she had come to school without any issues.

On a separate note… I felt dejected by the reality that I had agonized simply because I couldn’t even find out if she would attend.

It would have been easily resolved if I had had Min So-yeon’s contact information.

It was the same yesterday.

If something sudden comes up for her, I have no way of finding out.

Aren’t we basically strangers?

“…”

I need to find a way.

Racking my brain for ways to get closer to Min So-yeon, my eyes suddenly fell on the phone in my hand.

… Oh.

A good idea came to mind.

*

The battle practice session came around again without fail.

As the students were each stretching, I quietly approached Min So-yeon, sitting in a corner, and spoke.

“You sure you don’t need to warm up?”

Fiddling with her nails, she glanced at me, looking bothered, and spat out:

“… I’m skipping training today.”

Her resolute tone conveyed how much she didn’t want to do it.

It was as I expected, but I flinched a bit.

I casually took a seat next to her and said breezily:

“… Yeah? Then I guess it can’t be helped.”

When I agreed without a word, she began to look at me strangely.

“… I was going to suggest something good. Let’s do it another time.”

Dropping a hint, I snuck a glance at her, but Min So-yeon was watching the other students with apparent disinterest.

… Shoot, this is troublesome.

I carefully tried speaking to her again.

“… You’re not going to ask what it is?”

“Not interested.”

“… Really? You’ll regret it…”

I tried engaging her several times, but she thoroughly ignored me, not even bothering to reply.

She must be holding a grudge.

But even so, I can’t back down now.

Min So-yeon, taking after my wife, has been competitive since she was young.

I can still clearly picture how she would cry pitifully after losing at rock-paper-scissors and running into my wife’s arms.

She didn’t pay much attention to areas she wasn’t interested in, but she hated losing to anyone in fields that piqued her interest.

It might have changed as she grew up, but there’s only one way to find out.

I tried provoking her gently by dropping a hint.

“… If you win, I’ll do whatever you tell me.”

“… What?”

My words seemed to have an effect as she asked back in disbelief.

She was starting to bite.

“If you don’t want to train, you don’t have to. If you tell me to fetch water, I’ll fetch water. If you tell me not to talk to you, I won’t.”

She looked at me as if I was spouting more nonsense.

But she seemed a bit intrigued.

I naturally shifted the conversation and slyly brought up a condition.

“Well, I’m not suggesting anything weird. I just wanted to do a simple bet of sorts… Want to hear me out?”

Narrowing her eyes, Min So-yeon spoke as if suspicious.

“… And what’s this simple bet?”

She asked.

Failing to hide my smile, I said:

“Tag.”

“… Tag?”

The conditions I proposed were as follows:

Decide the tagger with rock-paper-scissors. The match ends when the tagger touches the opponent.

The time limit is 5 minutes, and weapons and abilities are allowed.

There probably couldn’t be better terms for Min So-yeon.

“… What do you think? Doable, right?”

After pondering for a moment, she glanced at me and said:

“This… favors the tagger, doesn’t it?”

Min So-yeon already seemed eager to do it.

It’s true, to be fair. No matter what method you use, as long as you touch the opponent, it’s over. The one being chased is at more of a disadvantage.

That’s what I was aiming for.

“I guess so, but rock-paper-scissors is also a skill, and so is evading.”

I had considered a second proposal in case she was dissatisfied, but fortunately, she seemed to agree.

Whether you’re the tagger or not, winning is all that matters.

To drive the point home, I offhandedly said to her:

“… What do you think? Want to give it a try?”

“… I’ll let you fool me just this once.”

And with that, the bet between Min So-yeon and me was set.

*

Lest her interest wane, I quickly started the preparations.

We didn’t need a large space like the friendly match with Jang Su-won, so we positioned ourselves in the corner of the training grounds.

As Min So-yeon suddenly moved after staying still the whole time, the other students began to take notice.

I hadn’t anticipated that, but it might actually work in our favor.

I promptly suggested to her that we decide the tagger, but…

“…”

I won, rock to scissors.

… This works?

Actually, Min So-yeon had a habit of always throwing scissors first when playing rock-paper-scissors since she was young.

I had doubts, thinking she might have outgrown it, but I never imagined she would put out scissors.

Having lost at rock-paper-scissors, Min So-yeon had a subtle look, unsure if she should be happy or not about being the advantageous tagger.

To start tag right away, we set a timer on our phones and put some distance between us.

The gap between me and Min So-yeon was roughly 10 meters.

She had already drawn her weapon and was glaring at me.

… As expected of my daughter, she’s so fierce.

It felt like seeing my short-tempered wife when she was young.

Just as I shuddered at the brutal memories of the past.

Ding ding~

The timer signaled the start.

At the same time, Min So-yeon lowered her stance, sprang forward, and closed in instantly.

I clearly said touch, but she seemed determined to knock me down completely as she swung her sword right in front of my nose.

Slightly leaning back to dodge her blade, I smiled brightly at her.

The moment she realized her attack had missed, Min So-yeon quickly changed her movement and attempted a stabbing attack.

Changing the direction of a sword already full of force is no easy feat.

Inwardly admiring Min So-yeon’s talent, I swiftly drew up mana and deflected the attack.

She glared at me as if accusing me of cheating, probably not expecting me to parry.

“… It didn’t touch.”

“… Tsk.”

Extremely riled up, she slowly gathered mana and began attacking rapidly.

Clang!!! Clang!!!

The sound of metal clashing rang out, proof that condensing mana tightly paid off.

… This is pretty intense.

With my limited mana, I need to handle it as efficiently as possible.

I block the spots where her sword will land by condensing mana into a fist-sized mass.

Thanks to my experience, it’s not difficult to execute, but the efficiency is lacking.

Clang!! Clang!!!

Around the 2-minute mark.

Min So-yeon’s mana also began to noticeably decrease.

I got a rough sense of her mana level.

3 minutes.

Clang! Clang!

Perhaps exhausted, Min So-yeon’s speed gradually slowed.

4 minutes.

My mana was also rapidly depleting, but Min So-yeon’s attack speed had noticeably decreased.

“Yaaaah!”

She mustered all her remaining strength and swung her sword as if truly determined to win.

If circumstances allowed, I wanted to let her land a satisfying hit and praise her for a job well done, but the situation was unfavorable.

Concentrating mana in my palm, I forcefully struck her sword downward.

Clang!!

A dull thud as her strength waned.

Min So-yeon’s posture crumbled.

Just then, the timer sounded, signaling the end.

Ding ding ding~ Ding ding ding~

Min So-yeon, faltering with her broken stance, looked at me with a stunned expression.

Her sweat-drenched bangs, eyes devoid of hostility, and lips bitten tight in frustration revealed how much effort she had put in.

“… Good work.”

Regrettably, victory is mine.

Min So-yeon dropped her sword on the floor, plopped down, and glowered at me.

“… Ha.”

She was huffing and puffing, biting her lip as if angry about her defeat.

After catching my breath, I approached her and extended my hand, saying:

“… You know it too, but that was close.”

Displeased by my consolation, she didn’t even spare my hand a glance and abruptly stood up.

“… Dirty bastard.”

… Uh, what?

She must think she was tricked.

Min So-yeon, after taking a moment to catch her breath, let out a deep sigh and addressed me.

“… So, what did you want to make me do so badly that you even resorted to deceiving me?”

A deep grudge had formed.

But a bet is a bet.

Having won the wager, I had the right to make her do anything.

“… What I want to ask of you is…”

None other than…

The classic cliff-hanger :O

-Seraloves

I’m on the edge of one. (I’m fine.)

-Ruminas