I Became the Childhood Friend of the Middle Boss

“I became a childhood friend of the middle boss”

Chapter 6.2

“That sounds good, let’s do that.”

“Let’s see how much it’s grown, shall we?”

My dad readily agreed.

Meanwhile, Woo Eun-dong couldn’t have been listening to our conversation quietly.

“I want to play with Dad and my brother too!”

“Woo Eun-dong , you’re too young. When you both play, wear protective gear to avoid getting hurt.”

* * *

Our mother’s insistence made us wear protective gear whenever we dueled, and we had to use wooden swords instead of real swords.

“What’s the matter with you, Do Gyeon-woo, you insist that I do all the dueling first.”

“I just wanted to see how much I’ve improved, and I wanted to show my dad.”

His father looked surprised as he pulled on his protective gear.

He was right to think so.

“You’re always the one who asks me to fight, not me.

I didn’t want to tire him out after all his hard work for the clan.

I thought I would get hurt in a duel, or I would hurt him.

Before I remembered my previous life, I hadn’t asked my father to duel for any of these reasons.

But judging by his reaction, I didn’t need to.

“I asked you when you were going to play with me, and now that I’m in fifth grade, you’re only going to play with me now?”

“This is what you call playing?”

“Of course it is. What’s wrong with me coming home from work late, being with your mom, having Woo Eun-dong play with me, and having this duel with you.”

“….”

If I had known this would happen, I should have asked my father to play duel with me more often.

I didn’t expect him to like it so much.

“So what are you trying to ask me to do?”

“How did you know I was going to ask my dad?”

“I figured there had to be some other reason for this since he never asked me to duel him in his life.”

“….”

“What are you trying to ask me behind my back without telling my mom? My dad is on your side, so he can’t do anything you ask.”

“I was going to ask my dad because I thought my mom would say it was dangerous….”

“Well, let’s see if he’ll listen.”

I was going to say it when I saw the opportunity.

Now that my dad had realized my intentions, I figured I should tell him now.

I pulled the protective gear over my head and pointed the wooden sword at him.

“I’d like to get some hands-on experience.”

“Practice?”

“Yes. I want to kill a monster.”

“You’re going to have to go to ….”

“Well, my other cousins have already done it, and I haven’t, and I’m not a hunter, and I can’t take on monsters on my own… so I need you to help me.”

“What’s the matter with you? You don’t have to be impatient just because you haven’t had a real fight yet.”

“Well, I don’t think I should stay like this, and I don’t want to be ridiculed for being a rabbit anymore.”

“Heh….”

“I’m going to change.”

Five years.

Five years later, I entered the academy city and faced countless crises with the main character, Strong Byul.

To do so, I had to fight monsters and gain practical experience.

People my age in my family have already experienced real-life battles.

Compared to them, I was far behind.

“So I have to catch up somehow.

That’s why I asked my father to help me.

I couldn’t do it alone without his help.

“What made you think of that was what happened in the sword hall this time.”

“What?”

“I heard that you fought with the swordsman’s children. That they were hurt badly, and that they said you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“….”

“Was that a change of heart?”

…I wonder if the swordsman’s instructor was being a jerk.

Perhaps he resented me for threatening him in the name of the House.

But whatever the instructor’s intentions, my father’s demeanor suggested that he had no intention of chastising me for it.

Rather, he was asking me a question.

“You trust me,” he said, “that I didn’t do it for the wrong reasons.

He didn’t say it out loud, but I got the feeling that he did.

I realized that I should respond to that trust and tell her how I felt.

I wondered what I should say.

I took a moment to choose my words.

“From time immemorial, I was taught that the sword of the Divine Sword Toga is there to protect and save people and that I must never forget that.”

“Yes, that’s right, and the reason we’re hailed as a master family is because we don’t neglect that role.”

“So I thought I should wield the sword as my family taught me, and even if others are bullying me, I shouldn’t just wield it to relieve my feelings, because those are the people I’m supposed to protect, right?”

“….”

“By the way.”

If I hadn’t thought of my past life, I probably wouldn’t have thought of this.

The life I went through in my previous life.

And the future I’m about to experience has changed my thinking significantly.

“Before I can protect others, shouldn’t I protect myself first?”

“….”

“How can you protect others if you can’t even protect yourself, I suddenly realized.”

“Is that why you fought with the kids?”

“Yes, that’s why I fought them, to protect myself, not to be made a fool of, and that’s how I’m going to live from now on.”

“….”

“To do that, I need to be strong enough to be able to defend myself, to be able to defend others, to not be ignored anymore.” That’s why I want to experience real life. “I need to come first, no matter what.”

I wasn’t willing to change my mind, which might seem selfish.

So I voiced my thoughts.

My father was silent for a while.

Then, after a while, his shoulders bobbed up and down.

I think he laughed.

“Well, you’re not wrong. It’s not a bad thing that you have a reason to want to be strong. You’ve changed a lot without realizing it.”

“So you’re going to help me?”

“Of course, being a father, I’ll help you. But there are conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“You have to prove to me that you’re good enough to fight. That’s why I asked you to duel, isn’t it?”

“…You’re right.”

By now, my father had stopped talking and was preparing to start the duel.

I quickly straightened my posture.

Just like he said, I was going to prove myself in a duel.

If I didn’t, I would just go back to training to improve my skills.

If he didn’t approve, it would mean I wasn’t good enough to compete.

“Just one.”

“….”

“I won’t use any mana, and I won’t move more than five steps, so feel free to pound away.”

“You’re not going to use any water elementals, either, are you?”

“…I’ll only use basic formulas.”

“I see.”

It was the usual way of dueling.

However, I hadn’t been able to land a single successful attack on my father until now.

Even when I had the opportunity to attack him, I was hesitant to do so because I thought I would end up hurting him.

I was afraid. I was scared.

So stupid.

“Come on. Come here.”

In that sense, there was a subtext to my father’s condition.

If you’re going to take on a monster, don’t show any hesitation about harming someone with your sword.

“Whoa….”

I sucked in a breath.

Not before.

Now, I wouldn’t hesitate.

Hunting Stance

To prove it to my father.

I ran straight ahead.

I gathered my strength and slammed my wooden sword down.

Naturally, my father blocked it and struck my wooden sword with his strength at the same time.

Bam!

I didn’t resist the force.

Instead, I used the force to my advantage, taking a step back and turning sideways.

And then I swung my arms wildly.

Meng Jin’s Stance

From the inside of the left shoulder outward.

A horizontal trajectory slices through the air.

Bam!

He blocked it again.

It was well within the expected range.

I continued to step forward, closing the remaining distance between me and him.

By then, I was in a position to swing my arm back from behind my right shoulder.

Turning stance

Step forward on your front foot.

Twist your waist to the left.

You have more power to swing your wooden sword.

From the outside of his right shoulder inward.

It bounced off, leveled again, and aimed for his father’s sword.

Bam!

Now.

I’ve closed the distance, which naturally reduces the distance he has to swing his sword.

I need to increase the distance.

So the action he should take now is to take a step back.

I seized the moment.

“…!”

I don’t give him room to swing.

He steps back, and at the same time, he steps forward in a single bound.

At the same time, I swing my sharpened wooden sword from the bottom up.

Sword and sword collide.

“Thwack!”

This time, it wasn’t my sword that was pushed back, but my father’s.

For a moment, my father’s stance is disrupted.

A gap appeared on his right side.

The Lion’s Iron mace

Heavy as a mace.

Swift as a whip.

I energized my wooden sword and slammed it into his right pelvis.

Thud!

That was the end of the duel.

I coldly closed the distance.

When my father looked back from the pelvic thrust, I was already gone.

“This kid… if you’re going to hit him, you should hit him gently, but did you have to hit him so hard?”

“To get my dad’s approval.”

“Oh, now you’re big enough to hit your dad without hesitation.”

He rubbed my stretchy backside as if to say, “Look at this,” even though it shouldn’t hurt that much because I was wearing protection.

I giggled at the sight.

Then he patted me on the back.

“So you approve of me now, huh?”

My father pouted his lips.