Ch.116Did You Call Me Middle-Aged 20 Years Ago?

*mumble mumble…*

While chewing the food she had stuffed in her mouth, Shina was contemplating various approaches to her situation.

‘Should I just knock him out cold?’

That was certainly one option.

Though she usually slept through her Academy classes, she was a good daughter who forced herself to stay awake during history lessons about her father to avoid bringing shame to His Majesty.

If she remembered correctly, His Majesty’s father, the human Lee Seokgyu, was considered quite strong among humans.

Which meant she wouldn’t accidentally kill him if she miscalculated her strength!

‘I’ll just knock him out then.’

Shina, who craved her father’s love more than the joy of meeting her grandfather for the first time, quickly made her decision.

The next moment.

Swoosh.

She leaped behind Lee Seokgyu’s back.

“Take this! Yurian’s sister’s knife hand strike!”

She attempted to use the knife hand technique she had learned by watching her sister Yurian before traveling to the past…

“Where do you think—!”

“?!”

But as she tried to execute it.

At that moment, a figure emerged from the shadows and kicked away Shina’s swinging arm.

“How dare you! You dare to touch my person!”

“…Huh? That way of speaking…”

The emerald-shining Dragon Queen! (self-proclaimed)

Kersy had emerged from Lee Seokgyu’s shadow and was growling while glaring fiercely at Shina.

“How dare you covet my spam… I mean, our master’s family’s food! Unforgivable!”

“Wow. It-it’s really you… You’re really the Seventh Empress Kersy…!”

“Empress…? Ahem! Even if you flatter me like that, there are things in this world that can be forgiven and things that cannot!”

“You’re just angry because your food disappeared…”

“N-no, I’m not!”

Though it was true, dragons don’t lose face over such trivial matters.

Kersy was desperately denying it.

“Sigh, never mind. I have some combat rations in my room that I can give you. If you’re hungry, go eat those.”

“R-really?! Hehe… Then I’ll take the latest version, and you can have the packaged rice or instant noodles later.”

Lee Seokgyu could only sigh at the sight of his dragon servant as he directed Kersy upstairs to get the combat rations he kept in his room.

After that.

“By the way, young lady?”

“Y-yes!”

“Have we met somewhere before?”

“W-what?! W-well…”

A girl who looked remarkably similar to Shinwoo no matter how many times he looked at her.

With the interruption gone and now alone with Shina again, Lee Seokgyu tilted his head and asked.

“That movement earlier wasn’t ordinary either. As a Hunter, you’d be at least B-rank or higher.”

“Is that so?”

“Impressive skills for someone so young. But it’s such a waste to see someone with your talent stealing food from other people’s homes.”

…This kind of “praise” was something she had never heard in the future.

Perhaps it was because she had grown up always seeing her much more impressive siblings.

Receiving praise directly from her grandfather, who was none other than His Majesty’s father, made Shina feel something warm rising from deep within her chest.

“Th-thank you…”

“…If you have time, would you like to stay for some tea?”

“T-tea?”

“Yes, somehow you don’t feel like a stranger to me. I have a daughter and a son who are just a bit older than you. Looking at you reminds me of my son especially.”

Grandfather Seokgyu’s son could only be His Majesty…

‘He thinks I look like His Majesty?’

This was the highest praise she could ever receive, worth more than anything else.

To think that she, one of the less capable children of His Majesty, would receive such treatment from her grandfather.

‘Maybe I could stay for a little while?’

Shina nodded, feeling strangely drawn to the idea.

Lee Seokgyu smiled kindly, cleaned up the mess Shina had made on the table, and served his granddaughter some organic orange juice that children would like.

“Oh, orange juice…!”

“Hmm? Don’t you like it?”

“N-no! It’s just… fruits are extremely rare in the future, a special treat we only get occasionally…”

“…? Future?”

Shina quickly drank the juice made from fruit—a rare luxury she could only have once in a while in her time, unlike meat or vegetables—and smiled happily.

“Delicious!”

“I’m glad. Would you like another glass?”

“Yes! Please.”

There was something… cozy and happy about this feeling.

In this homey atmosphere so unlike the imperial palace where she always had to be on her best behavior, Shina couldn’t help but smile.

She was happy.

If her grandfather had still been alive in the future, would it have felt like this?

…Personally, Shina wished she could take her grandfather back to the future rather than the First Empress whose face she barely knew.

But that wouldn’t be right.

It wasn’t part of His Majesty’s orders.

This happiness would only be temporary.

After all, the person Shina ultimately wanted praise and recognition from wasn’t her grandfather but her father… no, her dad.

“I should get going now.”

“Hmm? Already?”

“Hehe. Yes. I actually have something to do. I’ll leave payment for the food here.”

“No, that’s not necessary… Huh?!”

Just as she had done at the café, Shina placed another 5kg bar of pure gold from her inner pocket onto the table and stood up.

“Is that… gold?!”

Lee Seokgyu was dumbfounded at the sight of a high school student paying for food with pure gold.

“…It must be fake?”

Naturally assuming it was counterfeit, he bit into it.

Clang!

It was too easy to bite.

Which meant it was genuinely 100% pure gold.

‘To think there would be another student besides my daughter who carries pure gold as pocket money… Is this a coincidence?’

Still, why did he feel so drawn to this child?

Watching Shina’s back as she walked toward the door, Lee Seokgyu felt like he shouldn’t let her leave just yet.

“W-wait a moment!”

He wanted to ask her something.

Why she gave off an aura so similar to his son’s.

He wanted to talk with her more, even if it meant letting her steal food.

But standing in front of the door she had just opened was…

“Huff… huff…”

“You are…”

“I found you… one of Shinwoo’s children!”

“!!”

“Shinwoo’s… child?”

Yoo Cheran, who had run at full speed from the Hunter Association and finally arrived at the doorstep, was standing there.

When she revealed Shina’s identity, Shina—recalling the lessons about His Majesty that she had dozed through at the Academy—dropped her usual smiling expression and spoke.

“I see… I remember now. Gray long hair, red eyes, and the only person who addressed my father with honorifics during this era. You must be Yoo Cheran, the initial action commander of the rebel army.”

“Action commander?”

“The villain who rejected my father’s courtship and sided with foolish humans! Every time I heard stories about you, it made my blood boil!!”

“…!”

Here she was, unloved despite her desperate efforts.

In contrast, this woman had been loved enough to receive courtship from her father, yet she had rejected his hand—a betrayer.

The jealousy Shina felt from that historical fact made her clench her fist.

The next moment.

WHAM!

“Ugh?!”

“Hmph! Even if this is 20 years ago, you’re not even National Authority-Level yet, are you?!”

A heavy blow flew toward Cheran.

‘So… heavy…!’

Cheran barely managed to raise her arms to guard, but she was pushed back.

Shina continued to charge forward, throwing one spirited punch after another.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“I was disappointed that you were already dead by the time I was born! Now that we’ve met, I need to vent my frustrations!”

“Urgh?! First that Yujin kid, and now you! All of Shinwoo’s children are abnormally strong for their age!”

“Don’t you dare address my father with honorifics with that filthy mouth!”

Perhaps it was because this was 20 years in the past.

Compared to the exploits Shina had heard about in Academy classes, the current Yoo Cheran was incredibly weak.

At least weak enough to be overwhelmed by Shina without even using her kaijufication.

‘I’ll finish this now!’

Since she had been focusing her punches on the upper body, Cheran’s lower body seemed vulnerable.

Shina decided to target Cheran’s unprotected legs to knock her down before delivering the final blow.

So she feinted with her fist.

“Legs!”

She swung a kick aimed at Cheran’s thigh.

But at that moment.

Swoosh.

“…Huh?”

Instead of falling, Cheran’s body suddenly leaped into the air with her back turned.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

She began to spin rapidly.

The crown jewel of Taekwondo.

The ultimate Taekwondo kicking technique that theoretically allows even an ordinary human to generate one ton of destructive power.

The 1440-degree spinning kick.

CRASH!

“Gahk?!”

Combined with the Fighter Hunter’s ability, the impact was doubled as it guaranteed a critical hit.

Shina, who had been targeting the lower body, took the counter attack squarely in the chest.

Her eyes rolled back as she was sent flying backward, crashing through the entrance door and back into Seokgyu’s house.

“H-hey, are you alright?!”

“Mr. Seokgyu. Hello. My master sent me.”

“Ms. Cheran? No, Ms. Cheran! How could you! How could a grown adult in her thirties attack a high school student like that!”

Yoo Cheran followed Shina into the house.

Lee Seokgyu, unaware of Shina’s true identity, berated Cheran furiously, telling her to act her age.

“Almost thirty…”

Having her only PTSD triggered like she was some aging wine, Cheran became dejected and speechless…

“Grrrr…”

She was nodding her head when suddenly:

“Grandfather. I’m fine. Please step aside.”

“Grandfather…? Then what I overheard earlier is true? You really are…”

“Yes, my father is His Majesty Han Shinwoo.”

“Han Shinwoo… His Majesty?”

Shina, having regained her senses, revealed her identity to her worried grandfather.

Then she stood up, glared fiercely at Yoo Cheran, and said:

“So Yoo Cheran is Yoo Cheran even 20 years ago. You’re strong.”

“If you come with me quietly, I won’t harm you further.”

“Ha, really? But you know what? If you know whose daughter I am, you should also know I have abilities I haven’t shown yet.”

To Yoo Cheran, who mistakenly thought this was the extent of her power, Shina took a deep breath and then:

“KRAAAAAAAAAAA-!!”

“N-no way?!”

“…!”

She succeeded in kaijufication, emitting black lightning from her body.

“You’d better be careful from now on. Auntie.”

“A-auntie?!”

“In this state, even I can’t control myself very well!”