Chapter 29 : I’m Studying Writing (2)

My older sister looked at me with a mocking smile and wildly swung her arms at me.

However, since her arms were short, she was easily stopped just by her pushing against my head.

“Ughhh!!”

“You brat! Do you really think you can beat me with that little strength?”

“Ughhhhhh!!”

“You can’t even read properly, brat!”

“Stop it! Move your hands away!”

Fueled by frustration, I swung my arms even faster, but they still didn’t reach her.

“That’s unfair!”

“Hmm? No, it’s not unfair~”

“You’re so immature!”

“Don’t care~”

“Adults shouldn’t act like this!”

“You’re eight years old.”

“…Oh.”

At that moment, I snapped back to reality.

What was I thinking? Just because my body got younger, I let my mind regress too.

“…Haa……….”

“Did reality hit you?”

“Yeah.”

I sat on the bed, slumping my shoulders, and let out a deep sigh.

“You look like a little kid trying to act like an adult right now.”

“What!?”

“Well, you are a kid.”

“Hey, don’t pick me up!”

My sister grinned and effortlessly lifted me up, placing me on her lap.

Even though I had been standing straight, I was too light, so she showed no signs of strain.

“Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Nope, maybe because I’m strong?”

“It’s because I’m light.”

“Sure, let’s go with that.”

Still holding me up, my sister lay back on the bed and suddenly started flying me like an airplane.

“Let’s play with unnie~~!”

“Vrooooom~ Vrooooom~”

“D-Don’t treat me like a baby!”

“No.”

She flatly refused with a firm expression.

“W-Why?”

“Because Minho is a baby.”

“?”

“Minho is a baby.”

“???”

Scary. Who is this person?

“Just accept it. Minho is a baby.”

“No way!”

“You don’t have a choice.”

My sister flashed a sly, victorious grin.

“If you didn’t like it, you shouldn’t have been reborn.”

“Kiieeek!!”

I struggled as hard as I could, but in the end, I just squirmed helplessly in her grasp.

I hated it. This body, barely eight years old.

“But wow, you really got some good genes.”

“Huh?”

“You’re probably gonna be really pretty when you grow up. Maybe you won’t even age.”

Well, that was true.

Just look at our mom and dad.

Aren’t they like perfectly drawn models of a handsome man and a beautiful woman?

Of course, I’m going to be pretty too.

Feeling proud, I straightened my shoulders.

“What’s with that face?”

“A face full of confidence!”

“Pfft.”

My sister couldn’t hold back her laughter and laid me down beside her.

“I like it. Hearing you say things like that.”

“Huh?”

“You always looked so lifeless before, so it’s nice. Keep being like this from now on.”

“U-uh, okay.”

She smirked and playfully flicked my nose.

“Ouch!”

“Hehe.”

“? …”

Something felt off.

My sister was smirking mischievously as she slowly crept closer.

“D-Don’t come near me! Who are you?!”

“I’m Han Yoori!”

“Ahhh!!”

“Waaah!”

She grabbed the blanket and pounced on me.

– Flap, flap, flap.

“Hey, stay still.”

“S-Save me!”

“Hehehe.”

My tail, which had slipped out from under the blanket, was flapping wildly.

“W-What are you trying to do?”

“Hehe.”

My sister’s hand, with a mischievous grin, reached toward my face.

“Ueghhhh.”

“Hehe.”

“Leth go! (Let go!)”

“No! I was jealous of Damian last time!”

With that, my sister mercilessly grabbed my cheeks, pulling and pressing them.

– Streeeetch.

They stretched like cheese.

– Boing!

Then bounced back like a rubber band.

It didn’t really hurt, but it felt unpleasant.

– Squish.

“Don’t pwess it.”

“Don’t press it?”

“Yeah.”

“Nope!”

The torment continued until the maid returned.

Honestly, midway through, I got too lazy to resist.

So I just sat on my sister’s lap, letting her pull and stretch my cheeks.

If it made her happy, I could at least offer my cheeks. It’s not like they’d wear out.

– Creak!

“I’m back… P-Princess?!”

“Wewcome hobe. (Welcome home.)”

“Hehehe.”

“W-What is happening?! Your cheeks—!”

The maid looked at me with concern.

…She was definitely worried, but why was she drooling?

Ah, the paper is getting wet.

“Maidsh wady, the paber ish wetting. (Maid lady, the paper is getting wet.)”

“Ah!”

– Slurp.

The maid hurriedly swallowed her saliva, blushing as she covered her mouth with a handkerchief.

She wagged her tail slightly as she approached us.

“Ahem! Now, shall we start your writing lesson?”

“Yeshhh…”

“Oh, sorry! Minho, my bad.”

– Boing!

My cheeks bounced back to their original shape.

“It’s okay. I got too lazy to resist halfway through. Besides, it didn’t even hurt.”

“R-Really? Then, next time…”

“No.”

“…Okay.”

There won’t be a next time. You had enough fun today.

Anyway, I hopped off my sister’s lap and scurried over to the chair, sitting down.

“Quick, teach me!”

“Alright.”

“This looks fun.”

“Would you like to join, Princess Yoori?”

“Very well.”

Even though my sister could already read and write, she decided to join because she thought it looked fun.

She kept grinning every time I wrote something, which was distracting, but overall, it wasn’t bad.

“Alright, these are the basic characters.”

They looked like hieroglyphs, yet when combined, they worked like Hangul.

That made me curious.

“It’s always been this way. I heard that a Dragon Lord was inspired by the story of a king from another world and reformed the system.”

“Coincidentally, around that time, a black-haired hero arrived—the father of the first half-dragon.”

“Considering the timing, he probably learned about it from that hero.”

Was that hero Korean?

My sister and I exchanged glances and nodded.

We both knew exactly what the other was thinking.

‘King Sejong?’

‘King Sejong made it here…?’

Thanks to that, I was able to pick up the language quickly.

“Hehe.”

“The future of the Dragon Kingdom is secure! Princess, you must be a genius.”

The maid clapped, showering me with praise.

I got embarrassed and covered my face, but she patted my back, encouraging me to read aloud.

“I… I want to see Ramir.”

Wait, my voice sounded weird midway through.

Sure enough, a mysterious message appeared in front of me.

[You have infused mana and read the Dragon Script!]

[Verifying user qualifications.]

[Verification complete!]

[Magic: Dragon Speech (龍言) activated!]

[Skill: Dragon Speech (龍言) has been unlocked early due to reaching Level 25!]

[Title: Magic Restorer acquired!]

[You have greatly contributed to your race.]

[The ruler bestows a reward upon you.]

[Lv.3 → Lv.5]

After the text rapidly scrolled up, a blue flame engulfed the room.

“W-What is happening?!”

The characters I had written on the parchment began to glow in brilliant blue.

“T-This is Dragon Speech?!”

Recognizing it immediately, the maid quickly wrapped her arms around my sister and me.

– Rumble! Rumble!

– Crack! Crack!

The entire room shook, and cracks spread across the walls.

I had heard that the walls were reinforced with powerful magic, yet they were breaking?

A blue storm of mana raged inside the room, swirling wildly.

And when the storm finally settled…

“Huh?”

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Ramir sat up in her pajamas, looking dazed.

“…Hehe, it’s Minho.”

“Huh?! W-Wait, let go! Give it back!”

“Hehe…”

Still half-asleep, Ramir clung to my arm without hurting me, drooling again as she dozed off.

As a result, the maid’s clothes got slightly damp from her drool, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Something about this felt very wrong.

A wave of guilt washed over me, thinking that I had startled the maid.

“I-I’m sorry.”

The maid remained silent as I fidgeted, feeling guilty.

Then, she reached out and gently patted my head.

“Now I understand why Sir Albi and… um, His Majesty and Her Highness never stop boasting about you.”

“They always call you a genius.”

At that, the maid stopped patting my head and suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.

“You truly are a genius.”

“The fact that you apologized first despite your own surprise proves it.”

I had only apologized because I had done something wrong, so why was she calling me a genius?

“…B-But I was at fault.”

“Children… can be like that sometimes.”

“Y-Yeah…”

“It was my fault for not stopping you as your guardian. Next time, please tell me in advance.”

After setting me down again, the maid playfully poked my cheek.

“Oh, so soft.”

“???”

“First, we need to clean up here. Dust, cracks…”

She glanced at the bits of stone dust on the floor and the cracks in the wall, then snapped her fingers.

Instantly, the room was restored to its original state.

“…We also need to send Ramir home.”

With another snap of her fingers, Ramir’s body glowed white and vanished from the room.

“Uh, where did she go?”

“I sent her home.”

“O-Oh… okay.”

Good. For a second, I thought she had been thrown into some underground dungeon for trespassing.

I would have felt guilty if I had summoned her only to get her imprisoned.

“Hehe, a part of the princess’s growth that her siblings haven’t seen… I must report this.”

Hearing the maid mumbling to herself, my sister clenched both fists.

“I-I should do it too.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll brag to Mom and Dad!”

I didn’t understand why my growth was their bragging point, but I decided to let it go.

From now on, I had to be careful not to infuse mana when reading.

‘I need to be cautious before something serious happens.’

[The King bursts into laughter, admitting that he was just messing around. He apologizes and promises not to recklessly use your mana again.]

[However, he gives you a thumbs-up, saying that thanks to him, you can now use Dragon Speech (龍言), so you should be grateful.]

Argh, old man!

Can you please just sit still for once?!

[The King chuckles awkwardly.]