Chapter 53 : I Didn’t Run Away From Home… I Went Out…

“Eh, Emila. Is Minho really here?”

“…Yes!”

“Mom, let’s go in first!”

“O-Okay!”

A wooden cabin.

The house, built strangely in the middle of the city, belonged to Ramir, Minho’s friend and the first honored guest of the Dragon Kingdom.

“…The door is locked.”

“If royalty arrives, they should come running to open it immediately.”

Emila, who had been shaking the doorknob, wore a face full of dissatisfaction.

Her cheeks puffed up in frustration.

But they hadn’t even told anyone they were coming—how could anyone come running immediately?

“Uh, sis, that’s not—”

“Emila?”

Just as Yuri and El were about to calm Emila down—

“Hmph!”

-BOOM!!!!!

With a short burst of energy, Emila didn’t just break down the door—she blew away half of the surrounding wall along with it.

“Minho…!!”

“…E-Emila?!”

“Sis?!”

As soon as the wall was gone and a path opened up, Emila rushed inside without hesitation.

Yuri and El, shocked by her actions, stared at each other in disbelief.

The two of them had been feeling it more and more—Emila’s obsession with Minho was getting worse by the day.

“…Yuri, Mom believes our second child will take good care of her older sister and younger sibling… I’m sorry…”

“I have to do my best.”

Yuri sighed, her shoulders slumping.

Seeing this, El gave a small smile and patted Yuri’s head.

“Thank you~ You’re the only reliable one.”

“…A-Anyway, we should follow Emila!”

Blushing and embarrassed, Yuri quickly changed the subject.

“…We’ll have to pay for the damages.”

“I should give my daughter’s friend some extra allowance while I’m at it.”

Muttering to herself, El began preparing to apologize once they found Minho.

It seemed like Minho had just come here to play.

‘…Our Minho has an impressive vocabulary.’

El decided to stay optimistic.

Minho looked like a child for her age, but sometimes she acted like an adult.

She didn’t even talk like a child her age.

Fluent speech.

Even for a dragon, speaking right after hatching was unheard of.

They could start mimicking their parents’ words after about a day, but their pronunciation would still be clumsy.

Minho, however, spoke perfectly, as if she had been listening from inside the egg.

Hadn’t she even learned to read in just one day?

‘…As expected, my daughter is a genius!’

Feeling her worries fade away, El stepped lightly into the wrecked house.

“Minho! Minho! Are you here?!”

As El called for Minho, Yuri and Emila, who had already been searching inside, also called out her name.

Then, they heard the sound of crying coming from the bathroom.

“…Minho…!! Crying…!!”

But the crying wasn’t Minho’s.

However, Emila, who was in a panic with thoughts of Minho filling her head, heard the crying as Minho’s voice.

Once again, Emila grabbed the bathroom doorknob, just before applying force.

“Uh, sis! That’s not Minho’s crying!”

“…Yuri.”

“Emila, calm down and look at Mom for a moment.”

“…Mom.”

Before she could break down another door, the two successfully stopped Emila, letting out relieved sighs.

Then—

Creaaak.

“Good morning! Why are you all here?”

Minho, with a towel wrapped around her body and her hair in a towel turban, walked out of the bathroom with a carefree stride.

It was hard to believe that this pure, cheerful smile had put her whole family through so much stress.

“…Minho…!!”

“Hehe…”

Seeing that smile, Yuri, who had been about to scold her, just let out a helpless sigh.

Behind her, Emila’s eyes were red with emotion.

Knowing Minho was safe had been reassuring, but actually seeing her with her own eyes made her tear up.

“Minho… Next time, write your letters so they don’t cause misunderstandings.”

“Eh?”

“We thought you ran away from home.”

“…It wasn’t running away… It was just going out.”

As Minho mumbled, Ramir, who had just composed herself, flicked Minho on the forehead.

“…Ouch.”

“Ramir?”

Ramir, the one who flicked her, looked like it hurt more.

“I told you that letter sounded like a runaway note, didn’t I?”

Minho’s dumbfounded expression was more amusing than expected.

Back at the castle, the servants looked like they were on the verge of tears.

The soldiers who had let Minho leave earlier were off in a corner doing disciplinary exercises.

Honestly, she hadn’t thought it was a big deal.

She hadn’t expected her family to come searching for her.

“Uh, Mom—”

“Shh.”

From the moment they reunited, her mother hadn’t let go of her.

Honestly, it was a little suffocating.

She was way too big.

She hadn’t realized they’d be this happy to find her.

Was her letter really that much like a runaway note?

She had started to suspect it when Ramir made a fuss, but when Ramir sighed and simply offered to take her home, she had assumed it was no big deal.

She never imagined the entire household would be in an uproar looking for her.

“Seriously, do you know how much you scared us?!”

“…Minho, that was too much.”

Yuri and Emila were still pouting, their cheeks puffed up in protest.

“…I’m sorry… I just wanted to play with Ramir…”

Since she was in the wrong, she apologized to her sisters and mother.

“Ramir, I’m sorry to you too.”

“Huh?”

“For… the house… being destroyed.”

“Oh, no! It’s fine! I got paid!”

Ramir cheerfully shook a small pouch that jingled pleasantly.

It was money El had given her to repair the wall.

And in Ramir’s other hand was an even bigger pouch— extra money El had given her as an allowance.

“…Hehe, thank you!”

“You’re Minho’s friend, after all.”

“Hehe.”

Ramir’s face lit up with happiness.

Seeing that, Minho felt her chest swell with pride— her shoulders practically lifted into the stratosphere.

‘Friend power. Pretty cool, right?’

As she looked at Ramir with that thought in mind, Ramir gave her a wide grin in return.

“Th-Then, I’ll be going now, Your Majesty!”

“You can just call me ‘Auntie’~”

“A-Ah, no! I could never!”

At El’s suggestion, Ramir jumped back in shock, waving her hands frantically in refusal.

Watching her, El simply smiled in amusement.

“You can come by anytime, even in your pajamas, and play with Minho.”

“Pajamas might be a bit much, but… I’ll visit often!”

“Great~”

Ramir jingled her pouch happily as she waved goodbye, wearing the happiest expression in the world.

She was supposed to be a noble, but…

Had she been living in poverty?

“Mom, are elves poor?”

“Hm?”

“Ramir looked way too happy about getting money.”

“…Hmm… There is discrimination… But I don’t know if that applies to Ramir.”

There’s discrimination, huh?

That’s sad.

It was probably humans in the past who caused all that.

Ramir is only 30—barely a baby in elf years.

Even though she’s a noble, she’s been discriminated against and living in hardship?

As El pondered, she spoke again.

“Recently, it’s possible Ramir has faced discrimination.”

“I heard her mother was accused of being the leader of a rebellion.”

Hearing that, Minho glanced at Ramir’s retreating figure.

Her back seemed lonely.

It felt like looking at her past self.

“…I should take better care of her.”

“Yeah, Mom was thinking the same thing.”

Then, El pressed Minho’s nose with her finger and scolded her, telling her to write where she was going and when she’d be back next time.

“Ngghh… Okayyy.”

“Good.”

With her nose squished, her voice came out weirdly.

Then, my mom smiled and let go of my nose.

Boing!

As my nose bounced back to its original shape, a strange sound came out.

“Mweeng.”

“Oh my, how cute.”

“Heehee.”

Cute? I already know that, Mother.

All thanks to you.

“…It’s because I take after you, Mom!”

“Oh my, really?”

Mom looked like she was about to explode with joy.

I was just stating the truth.

“MINHO!!”

Just as I was grinning from ear to ear—

“Dad!”

From a distance, I saw my dad running toward the castle, drenched in sweat.

“Heehee, Daaaad~!”

I dashed toward him and leaped into his arms.

The sweat didn’t matter.

What mattered was that he ran all the way here just to see me.

“…Thank goodness, thank goodness…”

“I just went out to play!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

Dad laughed heartily as he ruffled my hair wildly.

“Uhhehe.”

“You little rascal, making your family worry like that.”

“Aww… I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. You’re safe, and that’s what matters.”

Dad grinned and tossed me into the air before catching me again.

I laughed at the sheer joy of it.

“Next time, just wake me up and tell me directly.”

“Then this dad will escort you himself!”

“How about that? A royal escort!”

A royal escort? Just imagining it sounded so cool.

But that wouldn’t be possible.

The soldiers would be doing their morning training.

They’re already working so hard to protect our country.

And this world is always on the brink of war.

There are even crazy nations that dare to mess with dragons… right?

Like the Demon Realm and the Empire.

Even Void, my older sister, was a crazy Demon King if you think about it.

‘…How did she ever think of messing with Grandpa Hader?’

Well, she did pay for her mistakes.

She died once and came back to life, then ended up defecting and dedicating herself to our country.

Anyway, I couldn’t disrupt the soldiers’ training just because of my own whims.

“Uh, the soldiers are doing their morning drills, so I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“That? We can just get rid of it.”

“…?”

“Having dragons polymorph and run—does that even help with training?”

Dad stroked his chin.

“Now that I think about it, it’s pretty pointless.”

“Let’s just abolish it.”

At those words, I could feel the atmosphere shift.

The soldiers who were still being disciplined in the distance suddenly had their expressions brighten.

Sensing their gazes, I flashed them a thumbs-up and a wink.

The soldiers responded with their own thumbs-ups and smiles.

‘…Wait, am I actually helping people today?’

I felt oddly proud.

This feeling was unexpectedly nice.

‘…As an apology, should I try being a good kid today?’

I decided—I would spend today being helpful to everyone.

“Uhehehe.”

“Minho?”

Dad tilted his head in confusion, but I couldn’t stop the giggles from escaping.