‘What the heck?’

It was a very shocking situation. Smartie was still huffing, but now, she looked exactly like Dialugia. She had immature horns, while her short and large eyes reminded me of the time when she was still a baby and was the cutest thing ever. But now that she had grown so much, her cuteness was no longer there. Her hair came down to her waist and her skin was as white as her mother’s skin. At first, she didn’t wear any clothes, but as time passed, she started wearing them. I wasn’t sure if this was Dialugia’s intention, but the clothes Smartie was wearing closely resembled the clothes she was wearing. Even the way she sat on a chair closely resembled the way her mother sat, of course, I wasn’t sure if they had noticed that. Anyway, it seemed like Dialugia had been influencing her because the way she bit her lips, the habit of wrapping her hair around her horns, and the way she tapped the floor with one foot resembled Dialugia.

‘They really look alike but…’

It seemed like Dialuria would look like her mother as she grew older.

‘There still is a bit of difference…’

But even with the slight difference, it seemed like Dialuria was made from the same mold as her mother. 

I guess Smartie still hadn’t realized this because she didn’t even look at her mother as she tightly grabbed onto my arm.

After a moment of silence, Dialugia spoke to Smartie with a slightly excited tone.

“Dialuria… what happened? You suddenly…”

It was ridiculous how Dialugia looked kind of happy after the situation had settled down. Even though I didn’t hear the exact explanation, I guess polymorphing into a human form at her age was rare. Unlike her assumption that she had to wait longer, Dialuria had polymorphed into a human form as if it was nothing, and I was sure Dialugia was thinking that our daughter was a genius. Of course, I wasn’t criticizing her for thinking that way because it was natural to have that thought and to be happy about it. However, I was worried about whether it was necessary to express her happiness or not.

‘It was going so well…’

It was chaotic, but no one could deny that this was a brand-new situation. There were pros and cons to this, but when thinking about it in terms of controlling Smartie, I would say the pros outweighed the cons. Smartie understood us before, but being able to directly communicate with her meant we could comfort her properly.

‘Although that’s not always the case…’

“...”

Smartie ignored Dialugia’s words and kept on staring at me. Dialugia was upset and she spoke again.

“Dialuria, you need to listen to your mother.”

The way she scolded Smartie was cringey because after saying something to her, Dialugia would look around as if she had made a mistake. It became obvious how Dialugia was being treated when I wasn’t here and even when Smartie was still in her dragon form, I was sure Dialugia spent every day like this.

‘She really is an angel.’

Despite that, I still couldn’t understand the overly affectionate mother’s attitude toward Smartie, but then, a mother’s love was something I couldn’t understand in the first place.

“How are you feeling, Dialuria? C-Can you walk? Your mana looks good… You’re amazing. It took me over a hundred years to do what you just did…” Dialugia informed her.

‘Don’t say something like that to her, woman.’

I was certain that the more she complimented Smartie, the more Smartie would look down on her. It would be nice if I was just being needlessly worried, but children her age were usually simple-minded.

“I knew you were smart… and your mana is higher compared to children your age…”

‘Stop complimenting her.’

“I didn’t think you’d be able to talk right away… You really are amazing. Can you tell me what you’re feeling right now?” Dialugia asked.

‘I told you to stop.’

I couldn’t help but wonder if she listened to any of the advice from yesterday, but I guess people like her were called ‘good-for-nothing’ for a reason.

In the end, I had to step up and as soon as I spoke, Smartie looked at me. I wasn’t the authoritative type, but as the head of this household, I had to be.

“Luria.”

“Yes, Dad!”

“You need to answer your mother’s question sincerely,” I told her.

“Ah, okay…” she mumbled.

“And sit up straight. Even though I haven’t told you this, I love your mother. Even though I’m only telling you this now, I still haven’t forgiven you for your actions last time and if your mother hadn’t asked me to forgive you, I wouldn’t be here right now. I’m happy that you’re growing and showing results, but this kind of attitude is unacceptable. I wonder if you have been treating your mother like this, this entire time……” I paused.

“I-I haven’t…” Smartie stuttered.

“That’s a relief, but please be careful,” I said.

‘Well said.’

Telling Smartie that I loved her mother was the best choice.

“You should apologize to your mother first,” I instructed.

“I’m… sorry,” Smartie said.

“I-It’s okay, Dialuria… I can’t believe our Dialuria actually apologized… It’s making me cry…” Dialugia mumbled.

“Go hug her,” I told Smartie.

“Okay.”

Dialugia must have been touched when Smartie bowed and ran into her arms because she wiped her eyes with her hand, but I didn’t think the situation had improved. Smartie was just aware of my mood and for some reason, she still considered her mother as her love rival. She may be enduring it for now, but once I left, her attitude would most likely return to how it was before.

‘Oh, dear…’

I had never imagined that a situation I had only seen on the Internet would become my reality and it was even worse than those depicted on the Internet. Seeing the polymorphed Dialuria, it felt like something that was far away suddenly came up close to me. That was the difference between having a dragon’s appearance and a human’s appearance. Of course, she was still someone I had to take care of, but Dialuria had felt more like a pet when she was still in her dragon form. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but seeing her human form made me feel a sense of responsibility that wasn’t there before.

‘I hate this…’

I somewhat knew I was a father, but this situation made me even more aware of it.

‘What do I do now…’

While thinking, I heard Dialuria’s voice.

“Um, Dad.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I be with you every day, too?” I asked.

‘This was the reason why…’

This was the reason why I felt like a large burden was weighing on me. Obviously, I was Smartie’s main focus and even though she was jealous of Dialugia, I guess she didn’t like being apart from me even more than her jealousy. Now, I had an inkling why the birthrate of the players who had settled here was decreasing.

I didn’t know how to answer her and of course, I wasn’t planning on lying to her. Smartie’s comment had to have hurt Dialugia because she looked like she was in pain. I didn’t want to give her this answer, but I had to speak slowly while shaking my head. After all, honesty was a lot better than lying to her.

“You can’t be with me right now because I have a lot to do. I have a lot of work to do starting next week… You understand that I’m busy, right?”

“Yes…” she replied.

“But once I have less work, I’m sure we can be together every day. Of course, if I finish my work next week, I’ll do my best to stop by,” I added.

“Really?” she asked.

“Of course, I promise. Now, you promise me, too,” I said.

“What kind…”

“First, respect your mother and treat her well. Second, apologize to the boy you saw a few days ago and get along with him. Ah… one more thing. Even in the human world, I want you to get along with the other humans and be nice. If you keep these three promises, I think I’ll like Luria even more…” I explained.

“I’ll keep those promises! I can do it!” she exclaimed.

“Really?” I asked.

“Yes! I can do it!” she shouted again.

I guess my comment, ‘I think I’ll like Luria even more’ was very effective.

After we locked our pinkies and made the promise, she hugged me.

“I’m so happy!” she said.

Smartie buried her face into my chest. I guess she retained her habit when she was still in her dragon form because instead of wagging her tail, she was shaking her butt. However, it would have been better if she didn’t do that.

I wanted to change into a strong father, but seeing her hug me like this made it difficult to maintain my act.

‘It’s hard to push her away.’

I felt like I shouldn’t push her away in this situation.

I just had to take one step at a time. Since Dialugia and I had made some progress, I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to pat her. When I nodded lightly and patted her, she laid down on the ground and acted cute as if she wanted me to touch her stomach. She looked like a human, but she was still Smartie.

“Purr… purr…”

When I gently stroked her chin, she started purring, but I was relieved that she didn’t start panting. If her tongue was long, then she probably would have licked me like she had been doing before.

“Good girl! That’s a good girl!” I complimented her.

“Kyah! Kyah! Kyah!”

The way she released her distinctive cry with her human voice while jumping around was cute.

‘So this is why fathers love their daughters a lot...’

Of course, it was difficult to say that this was her normal behavior, but since she was showing the same behavior as when she was still Smartie in her dragon form, she didn’t seem out of place. I could even see glimpses of her habit while she was in her dragon form.

Dialugia seemed like she didn’t know what to do when Smartie’s time was coming to an end. She was watching from a few steps back. I guess she wanted to join in because when I signaled her to come over, she started walking toward us. Smartie glared at her mother next to me, but I guess seeing us all together improved her mood. It was either that, or she recalled the promise she had made to me. To be honest, Dialugia seemed to be enjoying it more than Smartie. The short time that Smartie and I had was something she had always been watching from afar. Now that she was a part of it, she had to be thinking that it was better than she thought, as she looked at Smartie with joy while Smartie was jumping around. Sometimes, Smartie would run up to her mom and give her an awkward hug, but whenever she did that, I guess Dialugia couldn’t suppress her intense emotions because she would turn her head away as her eyes reddened.

I wasn’t sure whether Dr. Kang Hyun-Wook’s solution was effective or not, but seeing that Smartie had reacted to it, it meant his solution could be used in a positive way.

‘This is family.’

We could still be considered a fractured family, but I wouldn’t even call us a family at all just a few days ago. It felt like we had created a nice atmosphere between us three—that was the best way to express it. And of course...

“I like you a lot, Dad!” Smartie exclaimed.

Her strange desire still worried me, but I had no choice but to believe that only time would fix it.

[Checking the Unique Habit of the Legendary-Ranked Named Monster, the Black Dragon Dialuria.]

[A twisted and dangerous affection in the dark]

[#Why isn’t he calling me Smartie?] [# Whatever. Dad is mine.] [#I’m not giving him to Mom.] [#Love changes.]

Time would definitely fix it.