Ch.143Epilogue 4. There’s No Way I Could Raise a Hero’s Daughter (3)

“What’s the problem?”

I asked with my arms crossed.

“Oh my goodness, there’s no problem! It was our mistake for not confirming that Jung Ra-hee is Lord Gerogius’s daughter!”

“The case has been dismissed! Of course, we didn’t keep any records. Don’t worry, Lord!”

“You’re free to go home immediately!”

The police officers saluted me promptly. Of course, in this world ruled by evil, I stand above the law, but somehow this feels like abuse of authority and doesn’t look good.

“I need to understand the situation. Explain what happened.”

“Ah, yes. Around 8:40 PM, a fight broke out between two Academy ability user students at an arcade in the busy district.”

“A fight?”

“It seems two groups designated as delinquent circles happened to meet at the same arcade machine and got into an argument. Jung Ra-hee was involved in that…”

“But why is Ra-hee the only one here? Where are the rest of the students?”

“The rest were all taken to the hospital.”

“I see.”

I understood immediately.

“All thirty-two people at the scene suffered moderate to severe injuries. According to witnesses, Jung Ra-hee beat them all up…”

“Understood. Good work.”

After receiving their salutes, I nodded to Ra-hee. She followed me out of the police station with a displeased look.

The dark night sky greeted us coolly. I turned to look at Ra-hee.

She stood confidently with her arms crossed, looking out at the street. Somehow, it’s a pose I often take myself. I spoke to her in the gentlest tone I could manage.

“Have you had dinner?”

“No.”

“Want to get something to eat before going home?”

“No thanks. I’ll get fat.”

Hmm.

This is awkward.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m not.”

Though she said that, Ra-hee was the type to avoid talking about herself, so I was worried. When I tried to move closer to check on her, she swatted my hand away.

“Your mother is worried.”

“That’s ridiculous. When has Mom ever worried about me?”

“She worries a lot.”

“She’s never said a word to me about how I’ve been acting. She probably doesn’t even know about this. You didn’t know either, did you, Dad?”

“Well, about that…”

“She’s been too busy supervising Soli and Stella.”

Ra-hee turned her head sharply. She seemed really angry.

Ra-hee had just entered the Academy middle school division. Already she’s dressing like this, joining delinquent circles, and getting into fights.

This definitely isn’t normal.

But honestly, I don’t know where to begin addressing this.

Ra-hee, who had been unusually mature since she was a baby, always seemed out of sync with her peers due to her high mental age.

She was exceptionally intelligent, so I vaguely thought she was just a genius, but at some point, she became known as a notorious fighter in elementary school.

Ra-hee would get into arguments daily and beat up all the students around her. Whenever I tried to counsel her, it always went like this, and that pattern has continued until now.

And now, just two months after entering the Academy middle school, this situation.

I rubbed my temple out of habit.

“What, does your head hurt? I bet it does. Sorry I’m not as good as my excellent siblings who are such wonderful villains. I’m the only problem child in this house.”

“No, don’t think that way.”

“What do you mean, no! It’s actually true! I’m the only one in our family without abilities!”

Ra-hee shouted at me.

That was also true. Unlike Soli or Stella who awakened their abilities from birth, Ra-hee had no abilities.

Nothing had been measured or detected.

And since I no longer have the system, I can’t tell what talents Ra-hee might have.

“But you’re good at fighting. Knocking everyone down—you’re definitely my daughter.”

“Do you even know why I fought? Learn when to praise and when not to!”

Oh boy, I stepped on a landmine.

“Lord, shall we take you to your residence?”

My bodyguard asked me. He’s the successor to Prism God who has retired. Since we were in front of the police station, I didn’t want to raise my voice further, so I nodded.

I leaned back in the plush rear seat of the luxury sedan, but the distance between Ra-hee and me felt immense. Could there be a more uncomfortable seat in the world?

***

“What can we do when time is so limited?”

That was Lena’s response. Late at night, she was handling work with tired eyes.

“During the day, Elly handles things, and at night, I manage both L Corporation and Vengeance affairs. It’s not like I’m neglecting Ra-hee, right? Our family gets together at least once every five days.”

“That’s true. But Ra-hee seems to be struggling a bit.”

“We agreed from the beginning, Ui-seok. I handle work, you handle Ra-hee. She’s going through puberty, so please pay more attention to her. And don’t forget to stock up on extra sanitary pads.”

“I don’t think that’s the issue here.”

“I believe in Ra-hee.”

Lena didn’t take her eyes off the monitor, but her voice was filled with conviction.

“She’s my daughter, no one else’s. I have no doubt she’ll become an even more excellent villain than Soli or Stella.”

“It’s not a competition. And Ra-hee has never said she wants to be a villain.”

“The desire for power, feelings of inferiority toward her villain siblings, uncontrollable violence. What does this look like to you?”

Lena glanced at me with a subtle smile.

“Ui-seok, you should believe in Ra-hee too. She’s definitely our daughter.”

“Sigh.”

She talks a good game.

But what if things really go wrong?

Lena has always been too confident. Even though she once took a hit from me.

“If you’re that worried, why not monitor her 24 hours a day?”

“We should respect our child’s privacy.”

“I meant physically staying by her side to protect her. And actually, monitoring wouldn’t cause any problems.”

“Have you tried it?”

“Didn’t you notice?”

“Hey.”

Lena raised her eyebrow mockingly at me.

That’s annoying.

“When?”

“From the day after the Incursion ended when we officially started dating until our first year of marriage.”

“That’s seriously creepy.”

Still, the advice to stay by her side seemed worth considering.

I also wanted to understand Ra-hee better.

“Alright.”

I looked up the contact information for the principal of the Academy Ra-hee attended.

***

Jung Ra-hee was mindlessly tapping her phone again.

“Mom is so annoying.”

“Totally, totally. I completely get it.”

The Academy filled with fourteen-year-olds was noisy. Full of energy. Idiots everywhere. The group of female bullies gathered in front of her was no exception.

They had naturally included Ra-hee in their group because of her fashion and presence, but Ra-hee didn’t consider them friends.

Nevertheless, yesterday’s fight broke out because of them. One of them was being hit on by a high school boy from another delinquent circle, and when he made excessive physical contact, she got angry and stepped in.

Unfortunately, Ra-hee got caught up in the ensuing brawl and beat everyone up.

She was annoyed that her father didn’t ask for details about the situation and treated her like some kind of bomb.

‘And Mom is nowhere to be seen.’

When Stella had problems, Lu-a’s mom never showed such indifference.

Somi’s mom feels more like a mother to me.

‘Who is my real mother anyway?’

Jung Ra-hee had always harbored such doubts. According to the family registry, her biological parents were Jung Ui-seok and Yoo Cha-mi.

But Yoo Cha-mi was supposedly her aunt. Her real mother was Lena. Ra-hee still found it difficult to distinguish between the two.

To make matters worse, she had two more stepmothers. She couldn’t understand this complicated family tree since she was a baby, nor did she know from whom to seek affection.

Soli and Stella had already become excellent villains.

Is that why they receive so much love?

“Sigh.”

Jung Ra-hee sighed without realizing it. One of the female bullies gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

“Hey, Ra-hee, did you hear the rumor?”

“What rumor?”

“There’s a transfer student coming today. Someone saw him at the faculty office and said he’s super handsome.”

“The admission cutoff for our Academy is really tough, right? And transfers are even harder. He must have amazing abilities, don’t you think?”

Whatever. You guys are lucky. Having so much attention to spread around.

Why don’t you pay some attention to me who went to the police station yesterday because of you?

While Ra-hee was looking at them with contempt, the homeroom teacher entered.

“We have a transfer student today.”

As he began the introduction, the classroom buzzed with excitement. Students whispered excitedly about the new arrival.

“Come in.”

A student entered through the classroom door.

It was a boy.

He had an unusually tall and well-built frame for his age, solid physique, jet-black hair, and melancholic eyes that seemed to contain all the world’s tragedies.

“…Huh?”

Jung Ra-hee unconsciously gulped.

As much as she lacked attention from her mother, she didn’t know how to give attention to others.

But for some reason, she couldn’t take her eyes off the boy who had just entered the classroom. Instinctively, her gaze kept following his figure.

Jung Ra-hee couldn’t understand why. It couldn’t be romantic interest. There was no way she would fall for a boy at first sight.

The boy introduced himself in a deep voice that had already changed.

“Jung Ui… ahem, I’m Recter. Nice to meet you all for now.”

The boy, Recter, finished his brief introduction and walked steadily into the classroom. He naturally sat down in the empty seat right next to Jung Ra-hee.

“Hey.”

Ra-hee was startled by Recter’s voice. She barely managed to avoid choking.

“Uh, what?”

“Could you show me around the Academy during lunch? I’ll buy you lunch.”

It was a bold yet confident request.

After hearing Recter’s first words, Ra-hee realized why she had been drawn to him.

He was the same type as her. Someone who didn’t fit into society.

‘This guy has chuunibyou.’

Pleased to have found someone of her kind, Ra-hee accepted his request.