The World’s Strongest Daughter.

Min So-yeon’s name appeared on the screen.

A reply had finally arrived.

I immediately picked up my phone and opened the messenger app.

How long has it been since I last received a text? I haven’t used messenger even once since receiving side dishes from the landlord…

With an inexplicably fluttering heart, I carefully checked Min So-yeon’s message.

[Min So-yeon: y]

Min So-yeon’s reply on the screen was a single letter.

It meant yes.

“…Huh?”

I was slightly taken aback by the unexpected response.

… But at least she replied, so that’s fortunate if anything.

Consoling myself, I pondered what to say to continue the conversation.

“Hmm…”

[Did you eat something delicious?]

And sent.

I waited a bit with the chat window open, anticipating Min So-yeon’s reply.

“…”

After waiting for some time, a reply finally arrived.

[Min So-yeon: n]

Another single letter. This time, it meant no.

It wasn’t a sincere answer, but… At least she responded.

I consoled myself again, thinking that I wasn’t completely ignored.

From Min So-yeon’s message, she didn’t seem to enjoy her dinner today.

My wife couldn’t have cooked, so maybe she didn’t like the housekeeper’s food…?

Meaninglessly typing and deleting letters, I sent a message to change the subject.

[I see… What are you doing now?]

The answer came back faster than expected.

[Min So-yeon: gaming]

She was in the middle of playing a game.

“Ah.”

I felt a bit flustered, thinking the timing of my contact wasn’t good.

But looking at it differently, isn’t she diligently replying despite being busy?

… Yes, she’s a good kid at heart.

For her sake, as she was engrossed in the game, I left a message apologizing for disturbing her and said I’d see her tomorrow.

Shortly after sending the message, a reply came back from her.

[Min So-yeon: ok]

It was a pretty quick response compared to what I expected.

*

The next day, during battle practice.

Min So-yeon spoke to me with a determined expression.

“Let’s do what we did yesterday again.”

She was proposing another bet, saying she would get her revenge on me.

Actually, I was going to suggest it first… I didn’t expect her to bring it up first.

She must have been quite frustrated about losing yesterday.

It was a good thing, and I felt pleased she showed willingness to train.

Since it turned out this way, it would be good to encourage her motivation.

Instead of immediately accepting her proposal, I pretended to hesitate and spoke.

“You want to do it again? I was planning to rest today…”

When I showed an indifferent reaction, she began to glare at me.

“What?”

When I met her flashing eyes, my heart thumped as if it were broken.

It felt like seeing my wife when she was furious.

“…O-Okay, I’ll do it…”

Her chilling gaze was just like her mother’s.

She didn’t have to take after her in this aspect too…

“Then, quietly follow me.”

I silently followed her and immediately started preparing for “tag.”

The rules were the same as before.

The time limit was 5 minutes, and the tagger would be decided by rock-paper-scissors.

I wanted to add other rules, but at Min So-yeon’s request, the rules remained the same as before.

Just before deciding the tagger with Min So-yeon, I began to have some concerns.

Should I win or not?

The result won’t change even if we play today.

Unless I deliberately let her win, I’ll most likely win anyway.

But if I win again today, will she be able to handle it?

Appropriate defeat helps motivate someone.

But a one-sided defeat can completely crush one’s will.

I could intentionally create a close situation, but will she be satisfied with that?

Min So-yeon, who has already played against me, will quickly notice whether I’m going easy on her.

Then, she might feel looked down upon, which will only have the opposite effect.

I’m trying to stimulate her, not temper her harshly.

… What should I do?

Just as I was momentarily lost in thought, Min So-yeon urged me.

“…What are you doing? Aren’t we deciding the tagger?”

Thinking I should decide the tagger first, I immediately attempted rock-paper-scissors.

“Rock… Paper… Scissors!”

The result was scissors versus rock, my victory.

The tagger was Min So-yeon again.

She looked at her two fingers with a subtle gaze, then shifted her eyes to me and said:

“…I’m the tagger.”

The corners of Min So-yeon’s mouth slightly rose as she looked at me.

She had a somewhat satisfied smile.

As if she was looking forward to getting revenge.

Seeing her like that, my wavering heart suddenly tilted to one side, and I became certain.

I was certain that Min So-yeon wouldn’t be easily discouraged.

I could be sure because she showed a smile similar to my wife’s when she was young.

Now that the tagger was decided, all that was left was to start.

Just like yesterday, we put distance between ourselves, drew weapons, held our breath, and waited for the timer to go off.

After a short while.

Ding ding~

The moment the start timer rang, Min So-yeon, who had drawn her weapon, quickly approached.

She swung at me in the same pattern as yesterday.

I swiftly gathered mana and blocked her sword.

Clang!!!!

The sound of metal filled the battle training grounds, and all the students’ attention began to focus on us.

“Ugh…”

Even though I had blocked it perfectly, I felt a heavy impact on my skin.

The same pattern and the same movement, but the weight behind the sword was different.

She had infused mana into her attack from the beginning.

Seeing me slightly shaken, Min So-yeon moved with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

She corrected her posture in a strange motion, twisted the tip of her sword, and swung it toward me.

Clang!!!!

A roar echoed through the training grounds once again.

Since it was still the beginning, my mana was also sufficient, so blocking it wasn’t too difficult.

However, Min So-yeon’s attacks didn’t end with just one.

She kept attacking me as if she was trying to overwhelm me with her monstrous mana capacity.

No matter how hard an egg is, it will break when struck with a huge rock.

My small mana began to waver under her powerful attacks, one after another.

Around the 1-minute mark, my mana had already been cut in half, and I had no choice but to condense my mana even smaller to block the attacks.

Half the size of a fist, the size of a finger, Min So-yeon’s sword rushed at the layered mana.

Clang!!!!

Fortunately, I blocked it well, but if I had faltered even a little, the sword might have slipped through.

With just a few exchanges, chunks of my mana were sliced away.

At this rate, it would be my defeat.

Seeing me gradually shaken, the smile on her lips deepened.

A smile of assured victory.

Seeing her like that, complex emotions welled up in my heart.

How could a child who could smile so beautifully have such a lonely face?

For the 3 years I was absent, I thought Min So-yeon had completely changed.

I took growth and change for granted, thinking it was natural.

It was all my misconception.

There were only a few training sessions, and only one night had passed, but she had grown.

She, who had never once smiled at me, was now laughing so joyfully.

I felt pathetic for having concluded that she had changed.

At that moment, I was captivated by my daughter’s smile, which I hadn’t seen in a long time…

“Hah!!”

She attempted to attack again.

Clang!!!!

Min So-yeon must have consumed quite a bit of mana, as the speed of her sword had noticeably slowed down, making it a little easier to block.

As if she had predicted I would block it, she smoothly moved the tip of her sword toward me.

Min So-yeon’s sword rushed toward my chest.

I couldn’t block this.

Sensing defeat, I thinly spread mana on my hand to create a barrier and gently deflected Min So-yeon’s sword.

Ting-

The tip of the sword lost strength and wavered for a moment.

If you can’t block it, you can deflect it, right?

I never dreamed I would block my daughter’s sword with a technique I learned from my wife.

Slightly startled by the unexpected pattern, Min So-yeon’s smile stiffened a bit.

I took that opportunity to gain some distance and smiled slightly at her.

Fueled by my smile, she bit her lip and quickly approached.

At the very moment, Min So-yeon’s sword and my hand were about to make contact…

Ding ding ding~ Ding ding ding~

The timer signaling the end rang.

I felt a sharp aura from the sword that stopped right before my palm.

As I shifted my gaze, my eyes met Min So-yeon’s, who had bitten her lip tightly.

I could fully feel Min So-yeon’s frustrated emotions in our intersecting gazes.

Ultimately, whether this way or that, it ended with my victory.

Min So-yeon, who had been glaring at me, slowly withdrew her sword and said in a small voice:

“…You jerk.”

It changed from “dirty bastard” to “jerk,” so isn’t that good in a way?

I smiled brightly at her, filling it with the leisure of victory, and she began to glare at me with a sharp gaze.

Don’t look at me like that, it reminds me of your mother.

As I gradually caught my breath and felt the lingering sensation that had not yet subsided, I heard whispers around me.

“What’s with them…? Are they really in the same year as us?”

“Wasn’t that a friendly match?”

“No, they were fighting with killing intent…”

Looking around, I saw numerous students watching us.

It seemed to have attracted attention because we were so noisy.

Trying not to be conscious of the gazes of the surrounding students, I handed Min So-yeon the water I had prepared in advance.

“…”

She snatched the water bottle from me, roughly opened the lid, and began pouring water into her mouth.

“Phew…”

Having gulped down that large amount in one go, she let out a satisfied breath and returned the water bottle to me.

Huh? She didn’t finish it all?

It seemed she hadn’t drunk all the water, as quite a bit remained.

Without a second thought, I brought the water bottle she had handed back to my mouth. At that moment, Min So-yeon suddenly flinched and snatched the water bottle away.

“…What? I’m not done drinking yet.”

“Are you crazy? Why are you using my water bottle?!”

“What do you mean by your water? It’s my bottle…”

Her face flushed, perhaps from the lingering mana. She cursed at me and swiftly left.

I didn’t expect to be cursed at just for drinking some water.

When she was young, Min So-yeon was a filial daughter who would share even a single bean, but now she had become a hot-tempered filial daughter who wouldn’t even let me drink water.

… She has changed indeed.

*

After all the classes were over, I approached Min So-yeon and claimed the “winner’s right.”

“…What do you want to do?”

She asked back as if it was absurd.

I explained to her once again.

“Let’s exercise together.”

“…You do it yourself.”

I was flatly rejected.

As she was about to leave, I hurriedly grabbed her and said:

“Ah, no, I won! You have to do what I tell you!”

I felt the sharp gazes of passing students.

“Get lost. I’m never doing it.”

Min So-yeon coldly brushed me off and left, and I quickly followed her and spoke.

“I’ll contact you after dinner, so you have to come out. Got it?”

“I don’t hear you.”

“No, if you don’t exercise, you’ll never beat me! You have to make me your servant!”

“Please, just shut up…”

Ignoring the gazes around me and persistently sticking to her, I got an exercise promise from Min So-yeon.