As neighbors of the Pym family, lin and Galon certainly gained a lot of entertainnt—especially when there was a little quarrel between father and daughter, Hope would co running to lin's house to complain.
"You think so too, right? Hank was totally out of line!" Hope pouted as she complained.
"Yeah yeah, that jerk of a dad, if it were , I'd punch him right in the—ow!"
"Punch? I'll give you a punch! Go work on your thesis!"
Before Galon could finish his sentence, lin rcilessly punched him out and dragged him upstairs to toss into a room.
"Ahahaha! Uncle lin, the way you and Uncle Galon get along is so funny!"
Hope had seen this happen countless tis: she'd complain, Galon would give so awful advice, and lin would knock him out and throw him upstairs. It had beco a standard routine.
And even after seeing it so many tis, it still made her laugh and lifted all the frustration and gloom from her heart.
"Galon, really…" lin sighed, rubbing his temple.
Though Galon still looked young on the outside, he was actually over fifty, and outside of battle, his personality remained childlike and unpredictable. He was nothing like the mature and dependable Galon lin rembered from the past.
"Could it be that my appearance caused Galon to grow crooked?" lin began to suspect.
But he quickly shook his head and dismissed the idea. The Saints of the Sanctuary had all been trained by him personally, and none of them had gone off the rails—except Galon. So the problem clearly wasn't on his side.
"By the way, Uncle lin, I've always been curious—why does Uncle Galon call you 'my lord'? Aren't you two brothers?" Hope asked.
"Oh, that…" lin paused to co up with an excuse, and then pointed at his head. "You know there's an illness called chuunibyou? Kind of a brain issue."
"Eh~? There's really such an illness?" Hope asked curiously.
"Yep, totally my fault. Spoiled him too much when he was a kid—bought him loads of legendary tales and superhero comics. Now he always sees himself as the protagonist of so story and says the most embarrassing stuff like, 'Taste my Imperial Phantom Fist!' or 'Take this—Galactic Starburst!' and so on."
"But… why do I think that sounds really cool?"
Bonk.
lin flicked Hope on the forehead in annoyance. He really didn't want her to be influenced. He imagined a future version of the wise and brave second-generation Wasp pointing at an enemy and shouting, "In the na of the gods, be destroyed!"
Nope. Delete that thought imdiately. It's nightmare fuel.
"Hope, listen to ."
"Uh… okay…" Hope sat up straight, startled by lin's sudden serious tone.
"Chuunibyou might not be fatal, but it's still pretty scary. You know how so people, though dead, still live on in people's hearts? And so people, though alive, are already dead inside? Imagine standing in the middle of a crowded street, striking a power pose with arms akimbo, shouting, 'Ti of blessings! Supre kindness! Supre virtue! Supre king of all! Ohma Zi-O!'—would you say that person's alive or dead?"
Following lin's description, Hope's imagination filled in the scene… and then—
"Thank you, Uncle. I know what I must do now!" Hope deleted the ntal image and completely cleared it from mory, sincerely thanking lin.
"Good girl," lin said, smiling warmly. Hope really was a good kid—unlike a certain soone upstairs who couldn't even defeat a thesis.
"Uncle… I'm not a good kid," Hope whispered, her head lowered—not out of shyness, but sadness.
"Why not? Realizing your mistakes and making changes—that's what makes a good kid."
"But… I've always treated Hank badly. I always tried to make things hard for him. I know that's wrong… but he… he just won't tell where Mom went…"
As she spoke, Hope began to cry softly. She missed her mother. The last ti she saw her was one evening when both her parents left for work—but only her dad ca back. Her mom never returned. She kept asking why, but her dad would always dodge the question.
At first, Hope genuinely believed Hank had done sothing to hurt her mom, which was why she left. So she treated him badly.
But over ti, Hank's consistent expressions of love for Janet made even young Hope feel his sincerity. She no longer believed Janet left because of sothing Hank did. But that only made her more desperate to know why Janet never ca back.
Yet Hank had never given her an answer.
"Hope, you're still young. There are things you don't yet understand. Adults have their own burdens. Try to understand Hank. His love for your mother, and for you—it's sincere and great. You can be mad at him, sulk, throw tantrums—but don't reject his love. Understand?"
"Mm… I get it, Uncle lin. But… until he tells where Mom went, I won't call him Dad." Hope turned her head away.
"Haha, you stubborn kid."
"Uncle, can I… stay a bit longer? Please don't make go ho yet," Hope asked pitifully.
"Of course. What do you want for dinner?" lin asked.
"Hot pot!"
lin's smile froze. Hot pot? Was she serious?
Sure enough, the next mont, there was a knock at the door.
lin flicked Hope's forehead, gave her a warning look, then got up to answer the door.
Hope covered her forehead and stuck her tongue out at lin's back, then giggled quietly. She knew he had seen through her little sche—but he didn't say no!
Yes! Just wait, Hank!
lin opened the door with a blank expression. Outside stood Hank—
"Hey, lin! Look, I bought—" Hank smiled brightly, holding up two big bags.
Bam!
Before he could finish, lin shut the door right in his face. Hank, about to step forward, almost smashed into it.
"lin, open up! You can't treat your friendly neighbor like this! My daughter's inside! Open up!"
After a while of knocking, lin opened the door again.
"l—"
Hank tried to speak, but lin cut him off.
"We're having hot pot tonight. You coming in?"
Hearing that, Hank's smile froze. The area under his thighs clenched instinctively. His hands went limp—if not for lin's quick reflexes, the groceries would've hit the ground.
"I didn't offend you, did I?" Hank asked pitifully.
"Hope ordered it," lin said with amusent.
Thud.
Hank's heart dropped. He looked over and saw Hope sticking her tongue out at him through a gap in the door. His heart filled with cold sorrow.
But to win her approval, Hank clenched his teeth, steeled his resolve, and went for it!
"No problem! I love hot pot!"
"Uncle lin! I want full spice!"
Hank: (ノへ￣,) My sweet daughter… how could you be so heartless?!
"You still coming in?" lin's smile deepened.
"Of course! Let's do this!"
"Co on in, then."
lin watched Hank stride in like a warrior off to battle, his expression solemn. He barely held back laughter.
…
Bright red like blood, gleaming like fire, churning like molten lava—the heat was overwhelming. Sweat poured down, and the hot air stung the skin.
"Hank, if I were you, I'd just go for it! We're all n here!" Galon grinned mischievously, stoking the flas.
He was 100% on Hope's side. If Hank made a fool of himself, Galon would applaud. He might even record it.
Last ti he ended up in the hospital, he secretly recorded his "serious" conversation with the doctor. He still had the footage, and sotis rewatched it for laughs. He'd even thought about showing it off to his old friends in the Sanctuary. Fun was better when shared!
"Hank, maybe… it's okay to back out. I wouldn't think less of you."
Galon gave Hope a thumbs-up under the table.
Nice! Now that's a team player. Perfect support. That last line? Totally cut off Hank's retreat.
Already hesitating, Hank couldn't take that. No way he'd back down now! Even if it ant death! A true warrior dares to face life's harshness, confront blood, and endure the tornt of spicy hot pot!
His trembling hand picked up a thin slice of beef, dropped it into the boiling magma. It was instantly tossed around by the bubbling broth, turning from raw red to perfectly cooked.
Then it went into his bowl, dipped again and again in sesa oil to wash away the heat.
Finally, under the expectant eyes of Hope and Galon, Hank put it in his mouth.
"Mmgh~!"
Hank's eyes widened, his jaw clenched, but his teeth wouldn't stop chattering.
It was fire! Roaring flas filling his mouth! Hank wanted to beco a dragon and let out a mighty roar, announcing the return of the king!
Chew chew chew… gulp~
The fire spread—defying physics—from his mouth to his throat, to his guts, and finally his stomach!
"Huff… huff… huff…"
Hank was drenched in sweat, his clothes soaked through, his eyes bloodshot. But his expression was proud. He had once again overco a great challenge—to beco a hero in his daughter's eyes…
Hank turned proudly toward Hope, expecting her praise, only to realize—
She wasn't even watching. She was happily chatting and eating with lin and Galon.
Pffft— A mouthful of blood stuck in Hank's chest, demanding release.
"Here, have so water. Take a break," lin said with a chuckle, handing him a glass of ice-cold lemon water.
Gulp gulp gulp~ Hank downed it all, finally feeling like he had escaped death's embrace and co back to life.
"Hank, you're so weak."
"Yeah, seriously. Can't even handle that little spice."
lin rolled his eyes and kicked both of them under the table, then consoled Hank, "It's okay, Hank, take your ti. You're just—"
"Don't say another word!" Hank raised a hand to cut him off.
It was over. He was done for.
"I will conquer this hot pot tonight! No more water!"
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