These Lunatics are Obsessed With Me-Chapter 163

The child looked up at me with an innocent expression. Just a moment ago, Yong-sik had been right there—in that exact spot. I stared at the child in surprise.

"Who…?"

"…"

At my question, the child tilted his head, as if to say, “Why would you ask that?”

I stared at the innocent-looking child, and before I knew it, a ridiculous thought crossed my mind.

Could he be… Yong-sik? There was no way a kid I’d never seen before could be him—and yet, I couldn’t shake the thought.

I glanced around the room. Yong-sik was nowhere to be found. He had vanished without a trace, and now, this little kid was here instead. In a fantasy world like this, my suspicion wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Yong-sik had turned into a human.

And at that moment, I remembered something Fafnir—the dragon I met in the Svartalfheim Dungeon—had once said.

‘Ah… so you weren’t a fellow dragon using polymorph.’

In fantasy stories, polymorph was the magic that dragons used to take on human form. Fafnir had mentioned it so casually, and he had looked perfectly human when I first met him. It wasn’t until later that he revealed his true form—a massive dragon that filled an entire section of the dungeon.

“…”

The child in front of me was small. Since Yong-sik wasn’t fully grown yet, it made sense that his polymorphed form would be that of a young child. I spoke again, this time with certainty.

“…Yong-sik?”

“Kkya… u…?”

Yong-sik tried to answer like he usually did, his face lighting up with joy—only to suddenly pause and tilt his head in confusion. He raised a hand to his neck, his expression turning uncomfortable. Then he stared down at his hand and body as if they were something strange and unfamiliar.

“Eek, I should get some clothes on him first.”

“…?”

Yong-sik was currently naked. Was it not possible for him to create clothes in his Polymorph form? No, unlike other dragons, Yong-sik was still young, so he probably wasn’t familiar with the skill yet. I let out a groan and started thinking.

Can I even get children’s clothes at this hour? Either way, I have no choice but to let the Odin Guild know that Yong-sik has turned into a human. Still, waking someone up in the middle of the night just to ask for children’s clothes felt a bit…

I glanced at Yong-sik. Judging by his appearance, he looked to be around eight—or maybe ten years old. About the size of a typical elementary schooler. Compared to how small his dragon body had been, his human form was actually a bit bigger. Still, he was pretty small.

I doubted Do-gyul’s clothes would fit him. Ever since he awakened as an S-rank, Do-gyul had been growing like a weed. It was probably better to just let Yong-sik wear my clothes until morning.

“Let’s see…”

I walked over to the closet and took out a plain white cotton T-shirt and a pair of pants that looked a little too big for him. I wasn’t sure if the pants would fit, but I brought them just in case. I decided to start by putting the short-sleeved T-shirt on Yong-sik first.

“Here you go, Yong-sik. Let’s get you dressed.”

“…?”

But Yong-sik just stared at the T-shirt, clearly on guard. That look on his face suddenly reminded me of something.

Back in the Muspelheim Dungeon, when I was so overheated that I draped a thin, veil-like cloth over my head—Yong-sik had gone wild trying to grab it, thinking it was a toy. I had a feeling this was going to turn out the same way. The way his eyes sparkled as he stared at the shirt—it was just like back then. And sure enough, my bad feeling came true.

“Kkyau!”

“Hey! That’s not how you wear it! Don’t bite it—let go!”

Yong-sik went wild, shoving his face into the T-shirt. He flailed his arms and legs, gnawing at it like it was some kind of toy. Startled, I quickly tried to pull it away from him.

“Gasp… gasp… I’m exhausted.”

“Kkyauu…?”

After a long struggle, I was left breathless and completely drained.

Yong-sik, now awkwardly wearing an oversized short-sleeved T-shirt, tilted his head again. Just as I thought, there was no need for pants—his small body was completely covered by the shirt alone.

First thing in the morning, I needed to talk to Park Yoon-sung and get him clothes that actually fit. I also needed to call Hae Song-ha. I had to find out if anything like this had ever happened with other summoned beasts—and more importantly, make sure there was nothing wrong with Yong-sik.

“Kkyau, u…”

“Uncomfortable?”

Yong-sik kept fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable in the clothes. Not only did his appearance feel unfamiliar to him, but the sensation of wearing clothes made him even more uneasy. When he started scratching at the shirt with both hands, I stopped him and pulled him into my arms—just like I always did.

“Shh, it’s alright. Dad’s right here, okay?”

“Uuu…”

Yong-sik had grown a little bigger after turning human, but he was still small and warm. Holding him like this felt completely different from before. Back then, I couldn’t hug him tightly because of his hard scales and spikes—but now, with soft human skin, I could finally hold him without worry.

“He’s so warm…”

I absentmindedly murmured to myself and stroked Yong-sik’s head. Soon, he began dozing off in my arms.

“Kkyauu, kkyau…”

“Alright, alright. Time to sleep now.”

“Ppi? Ppii?”

“Time for you to sleep too, Yong-sun-ah.”

Even Yong-sun, who had been staying close but hadn’t dared approach the transformed Yong-sik, sleepily walked over on her little feet. I usually laid down cushions in their designated spot and let Yong-sik and Yong-sun sleep there while I took the bed for myself, but tonight I felt uneasy doing that—because Yong-sik had turned into a human.

With no other choice, I brought both Yong-sik and Yong-sun up onto the bed with me. I figured I’d need to get Yong-sik his own bed soon. This one was starting to feel a little cramped. It was big enough for me alone, but rather than upgrading to a bigger bed, it made more sense to just add one for him.

Lost in those thoughts while putting Yong-sik and Yong-sun to bed, I soon quietly fell asleep myself.

“Whoa, is this for real?”

The moment Hae Song-ha got my message, he rushed over with wide eyes. Since he wasn’t out on a dungeon mission, he arrived at the accommodation much sooner than I expected.

He used to visit almost every day when he was training Yong-sik, so it had actually been quite some time since his last visit. Seeing Yong-sik in human form, Hae Song-ha couldn’t take his eyes off him. Maybe he was skeptical when he first got my message, but now he was more shocked than anyone else here.

“Still just a reptile, no matter what.”

“Shouldn’t we start his training from scratch?”

"It's a useless waste of time."

“…”

You bastards are the useless ones. Damn high-ranked hunters.

I ground my teeth, cursing them inwardly. It felt like déjà vu. Back when Yong-sik was being trained by Hae Song-ha, these guys would always crowd around and get on my nerves. Seriously, not a single thing about them has changed.

“Don’t you guys have anything better to do?”

“What do you mean? My job is to stick by your side.”

“What are you talking about?”

I brushed off Eden’s comment and turned my head. That’s when I saw Kang Soo-hyun looking unusually serious. He’d been like that the whole time, as if something was really bothering him.

“What if that’s not the real Yong-sik, but some kind of alien creature?”

“What?”

“Like, what if the real Yong-sik’s already gone and that’s just a fake one…”

“Uhh.”

There was no point in listening to Kang Soo-hyun anymore. He needed to stop playing games. I shook my head and turned away from him.

Then I noticed Kang Yoo-hyun standing a short distance away, looking spaced out. Unlike the others, he was dressed to go out. Was he about to leave somewhere? I looked puzzled and asked Kang Yoo-hyun.

“Where are you going?”

“…”

Kang Yoo-hyun stared at me for a moment, then walked over. I wasn’t as scared of him as I used to be, but my body still flinched a little out of habit. He stopped in front of me, wearing his usual indifferent expression.

“I’m heading to a pop-up dungeon under the Odin Guild’s management.”

“What? Why?”

A pop-up dungeon referred to a type of gate that appeared randomly, without any fixed time or location—like the one that had once opened right in the middle of Seoul. In game terms, it was more like a special event dungeon, so it was quicker to clear compared to regular ones.

But since it could appear right in the heart of a city, it had been a real nuisance at the time. These days, the Association and guilds actively monitor mana levels, so they’re able to predict and respond to them to some extent. Still, if it wasn’t a dungeon that required a raid team, there was no real reason for Kang Yoo-hyun to go himself.

What was he going for?

As I looked at him with a puzzled expression, Kang Yoo-hyun answered in his blunt tone.

“Someone said the pair item looked like a dog collar.”

“…”

“So I’m thinking of getting something more normal.”

That…! Hey, how is that my fault?

Honestly, anyone would think twice about wearing something that looks like that. And now he’s acting like I’m the picky one?

I snorted and turned away from Kang Yoo-hyun.

“Alright, have a safe trip.”

At my words, Kang Yoo-hyun immediately turned and walked off without another word. With that kind of determination, he’d probably find a decent pair item in no time.

With his protagonist buff, is there anything he can’t do?

I could already picture a future where I was completely bound to that pair item, and let out a heavy sigh.

"Yong-sik-ah, try saying it with me—'hyung'!"

“Hy…eong?”

“No, no. It’s ‘hyung’! Hyuuung!”

“…!”

As soon as Do-gyul saw Yong-sik, he eagerly began trying to teach him how to speak. Yong-sik, who hadn’t been able to speak at all before, was finally starting to mimic some of what Do-gyul said. I quickly approached Yong-sik.