Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Chapter 47 The Tail Was Too Long (3)

The National Intelligence Service Director's office.

The three senior officials gathered here since morning were discussing a matter with a profound impact on national security, befitting their ranks.

It was Lia's school enrollment.

"Director Baek, are you trying to drive me crazy? You said kindergarten, so I went through all the trouble of preparing everything. Now you're saying you want to send her to elementary school?"

"Yes. The child's learning ability is far more advanced than we anticipated."

Preparations for the kindergarten Lia was supposed to attend were already practically complete.

They had selected a kindergarten near the coffeehouse with the least foot traffic, gathered children of the same age among NIS employees, and even completed the necessary administrative work behind the scenes so they could all enroll on the same day.

But now they wanted an elementary school instead of the kindergarten they'd already prepared?

No matter how much the NIS operated above the law, using an elementary school as an operational area for several years was practically impossible.

Ultimately, it meant allowing the Divine Tree to live among ordinary people.

For six whole years, no less.

"Still, there are far too many children at this school..."

"She's an intelligent child. She won't cause any trouble."

"I'm saying this because nothing involving her has ever gone without trouble! Just look at that incident with the Daechun Group Chairman's son! Wouldn't that home-scooper thing be better?"

"Do you mean homeschooling?"

"That's right, Deputy Director Choi! That! Homeschooling! You can attend school from home with that, can't you?"

"An excellent idea. If she studies at home, the risk of exposure to outsiders would be considerably lower."

"Then let's look into homeschooling first and give the school option some more thought."

Despite NIS Director Oh Taesu's vague proposal, Director Baek Mahyeon did not rise from his seat.

"School starts soon. If she misses the beginning of the new school year, she may have difficulty adjusting. That's what the coffeehouse owner is most worried about as well."

"Tsk. You're absolutely certain there won't be any problems?"

Once the name of Jinseong, who was effectively Lia's guardian, came up, the NIS Director reluctantly picked up his pen.

"Then I'll proceed as planned."

-Beep-beep-beep.

Just as he finished signing the approval documents, an alarm sounded from the NIS Director's phone.

"Oh, I almost missed it again. It's time for the world boss. Deputy Director Choi, why aren't you logging in?"

"Ah, yes."

Deputy Director Choi hurriedly set down Oh Taesu's approval documents and launched Hero's Path.

"I wonder if they'll patch this later. I know we're short on players, but obviously the person who contributes the most damage should get the reward. I don't understand why they made it so whoever lands the final hit gets everything. Don't you agree, Deputy Director Choi?"

"That's right. We're at far too much of a disadvantage."

Originally, he'd started playing to investigate the abilities of the Dragon Pearl, but the NIS Director had become completely absorbed in the game, and his character had reached quite a high level.

That was thanks to his position, which allowed him to play games relatively freely during working hours.

He even had an assistant assigned to help him develop his character efficiently.

"Hey, Deputy Director Choi! Heal me! Heal! Oh, damn, I'm dead. You've got all those healing skills, so how can you not heal me properly!"

"I'm sorry."

"Do you think apologizing makes this all right? That boss only appears once a week, and now we've lost it completely. Deputy Director Choi, don't you play the game at home? Your level hasn't changed at all."

Deputy Director Choi Gyeongmun, who had unwillingly become the NIS Director's dedicated healer, was the sole victim of the miracle Yongman had created with his Dragon Pearl.

_____________

-Rrrrr.

The sound of chair wheels rolling drew closer, and Dohyeok's enormous body blocked half my monitor.

"What?"

At my irritated question, Dohyeok leaned toward my ear and whispered.

"Is there anywhere I can get those talismans? Preferably ones that shoot ice and fire."

"Do you really think such things exist?"

A little while later.

-Rrrrr.

"What now?"

"Are there special academies where you can learn palm blasts or the art of shortening distances? Like government-funded training programs? Or does the NIS train people separately?"

"I told you, I don't know."

I'd lost count of how many times this had happened.

He kept asking questions nonstop like a five-year-old, and I hadn't even finished half the work I should have completed long ago.

It was nice that we'd grown comfortable enough to speak informally after the welcome party last weekend, especially since he'd been visiting the coffeehouse every day.

But I hadn't expected him to bother me this much during working hours too.

-Rrrrr.

"Can I seriously ask just one more question?"

"This is the last one."

"Apparently, to get a monster, you have to beat it half to death first. Did you do that too, Hyung?"

"Who told you that?"

"Sani."

"That's ridiculous... Wait, is it?"

Suddenly, I remembered how Elder Nine-Tailed Fox had once beaten Yongman to a pulp before dragging him here.

"Seriously? Holy shit! So Pukatmon was actually realistic!"

"Hey, keep your voice down."

"Oh, right."

"You two, what's so interesting that you're talking about? Pukatmon?"

"No, um... I was just asking if he played the Pukatmon game..."

At Dohyeok's rambling excuse, Manager Lee nodded indifferently and, fortunately, went back to being absorbed in her phone.

There were only about ten minutes left until the end of the workday.

It was precious time when slacking off was unofficially(?) permitted, so Manager Lee quickly lost interest in us.

And so, with everyone absorbed in their phones, the end of the workday was approaching.

-KaTalk.

-KaTalk.

Alerts sounded simultaneously from my phone and Dohyeok's.

「Director Baek Mahyeon: Elementary School Enrollment Notice (Kim Lia).hwp

Director Baek Mahyeon: Geumhyo Elementary School Admission Guide.hwp」

"Huh?"

"Huh? Lia's going to school?"

"What is it with you two this time? Who's going to school?"

"We're talking about a game!"

If telling such an obvious lie was a talent, then Dohyeok certainly had one.

Normally, he would have been thoroughly interrogated, but fortunately, the end of the workday saved us both.

______________

After returning home, I called an emergency family meeting(?).

There was less than a week left before Lia started school. But once I gathered everyone, I realized there was no one suitable to ask for advice.

Even Director Baek, the only one among us with children, had sent his child to elementary school more than twenty years ago.

And the two monsters were obviously no help.

"There's quite a lot to prepare."

"But we already have all those things at home."

"Those are used ones. We should buy everything new. Someone might tease you otherwise."

"Why would they tease me?"

"Well, that's..."

Lia's innocent question left me speechless.

While raising Lia, I hadn't paid much attention to childcare.

She'd never caused trouble, and whether I went to the office or worked from home, Elder Nine-Tailed Fox, Sani, and the shamans were always beside her.

The shamans, in particular, brought storybooks and toys for Lia almost every time they visited the coffeehouse.

After I asked them not to buy new things, they began bringing items their daughters or nieces had used. The resulting accumulation of Lia's belongings was also one reason I'd become increasingly inattentive to her needs.

But things were different now.

She was going to elementary school, not kindergarten.

Worries came flooding in about whether Lia would adjust well and whether my preparations might be inadequate. It felt like the consequences of my past inattentiveness catching up with me.

Of course, sitting around worrying wouldn't change anything.

"First, how about we go to the supermarket? We can buy groceries for dinner and eat out for a change."

"Yes!"

It had been a long time since Lia and I had gone out alone.

Since the Elder and Sani practically clocked in at the coffeehouse every day, I'd felt guilty about leaving Sani behind by himself.

And so we got into the car, and after listening to three or four theme songs from Lia's favorite animated movies, we arrived at the supermarket.

"You brought the paper, right?"

"Here!"

"Listen carefully. You're not supposed to choose the cheapest things. Choose what you actually want, Lia. All right?"

"What if I don't want to buy expensive things?"

"Then that's for you to decide, isn't it?"

"Hmm, yes!"

Lia seemed to think about my words for a moment before running toward the school supplies section.

I knew.

Even after hearing me say that, Lia wouldn't choose expensive things.

Even after gaining a soul, Lia had very few desires.

She enjoyed eating delicious food, playing with new toys, and reading storybooks.

But that was as far as it went. Once she'd enjoyed what was given to her, she never showed any regret or longing for more.

Despite spending so much time with Sani, a specialist in unreasonable demands and tantrums.

"I've picked everything!"

Sure enough, when Lia returned after quite some time, the school supplies she'd chosen had the unmistakable appearance of inexpensive bulk products.

The colored pencils and markers somehow had fewer colors than expected, and the notebooks were plain office-style multipacks rather than ones decorated with pretty characters.

"Is that enough?"

"Yes! Hehe."

I stroked Lia's head as she smiled brightly, then lifted her into the shopping cart.

Part of me wanted to tell her to choose again, but that too would be my own selfish desire.

If I tried to satisfy my wish for her to be an ordinary child, Lia would once again have to watch my reactions and worry about making choices she didn't want.

"Then shall we go eat? What do you want?"

"Pork cutlet!"

"But we eat that at home too. Actually, let's go and choose when we get there. How about it?"

With Lia riding in the cart, we headed to the food court on the first floor.

Food courts in large supermarkets weren't particularly good restaurants. Even to someone like me, who could eat almost anything without complaint, the food was merely passable, not something worth making a special trip for.

But this place had a charm rarely found in other restaurants.

The food replicas that delighted children's eyes.

"Wow! They look just like real food!"

"Amazing, aren't they?"

"This one has all sorts of things on one plate! And this one..."

Lia began taking photograph after photograph of the food replicas displayed beneath the counters.

"You don't know what to eat, do you?"

"There are too many things that look delicious..."

"Choose whatever looks the tastiest."

"Hmm."

It was a difficult task, especially when all the menu options were laid out before you.

Even adults could often be seen standing motionless in front of the counter, unable to decide.

While Lia crouched there pondering her choice for quite some time, a friendly-looking woman inside one of the restaurants waved a ladle and called out.

"Sweetheart! Our hamburger steak is delicious! Second row over there! The children's hamburger steak!"

"Come on! Kids love black bean noodles! The Chinese special right next to it has black bean noodles and sweet-and-sour pork! That hamburger steak can't compare! I'll give you a huge helping!"

"We have tteokbokki and fried snacks too!"

The restaurant owners all began enthusiastically calling out to Lia.

Apparently, they found her adorable as she struggled to decide in front of the menu displays.

"Now I can't choose at all."

Although I appreciated their kindness, it hadn't been particularly helpful to Lia.

"I'll have this one. What about you, Mister?"

"Me too."

After careful deliberation, she chose the classic children's set menu: hamburger steak.

With its irresistible presentation, including omurice topped with a little flag, black bean noodles and tteokbokki simply couldn't compete.

I deliberately chose not to order two different dishes to share.

That way, she'd have another happy dilemma to look forward to the next time we visited the supermarket.

Come to think of it, could I just send her to school like this? Should I accompany her on the first day? I'd heard there were separate parent contact networks, but I hadn't had time to look into them.

"Mister, why aren't you eating?"

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something else."

Adults' worries tend to be a little less pleasant than children's.

It's a school everyone else attends, so surely nothing unusual will happen, right?