Even If I'm Reborn as a Cute Dragon Girl, I Will Still Make a Harem-Chapter 78Book 7: : Reputation

“Chief?” The old man leaned back in his chair, shifting into a more relaxed position. “As you can see, I’m just doing what I have to—telling the world the truth.”

“B̲u̲l̲l̲s̲h̲i̲t̲! You’re just stirring up chaos!”

Over the comm, the chief growled like an angry dog, quickly making the old man lower his own tone slightly.

“You think this will change the alliance’s policy? Stop daydreaming! The course of the alliance was set long ago. No single person has the right or the power to change it!”

“I’m not trying to change its course. I just… want you all to slow down, so fewer innocent people get sacrificed,” the old man explained softly.

“So you’re trying to rally those bottom-feeding fools? Don’t be ridiculous, old geezer! Even a hundred years ago, your pie-in-the-sky ideals didn’t have an audience! You think anyone will believe you now? No—they’ll laugh and treat it as an after-dinner joke!”

“If that’s the case… why are you so angry, Chief?”

“Because my department produced a fool like you!”

The old man heard the sound of a fist slamming onto a desk on the other end.

“Do you even realize how much trouble you’ve caused me? If the alliance wasn’t a lifetime employment system, I’d have you packing your bags right now!”

The old man sneered. “Then I suppose I should be grateful for your mercy, for sparing these old bones from sleeping on the sidewalk, starving and freezing to death.”

“You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲! Your funding for the second half of the year is good as gone! Next year’s too! And your research group is to be disbanded within a week! You’re old anyway, so just retire peacefully! After a week, someone new will take over your position!”

A loud crack followed, and the line went dead.

Silence returned.

The old man slowly lifted his gaze toward the pristine white ceiling as the quiet tick of the machines echoed in his ears.

“Retire… huh?”

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

“Well, I’ve already done what’s needed. I’ll leave the rest to heaven’s will.”

◆◇◆◇◆

Night fell.

The old man emerged from the basement right on schedule.

Bernie, his adopted daughter and the one who managed the household, was already waiting outside the door.

She gave him a quick once-over and frowned at the white lab coat he still wore, promptly pushing him toward his room.

“Go change your clothes. We’ve all been waiting on you.”

A few minutes later, the old man stepped into the living room wearing formal attire, only to see the children rolling their eyes at him.

Bernie, wearing an apron and holding a spatula in her hand, narrowed her eyes. “What are you wearing? Formal clothes in your own house? Really?”

The old man scratched his cheek awkwardly. “Can’t I?”

“You’re treating us like strangers.”

“Nathan’s right. Who dresses so formally to attend their own child’s birthday party?”

“Ah… Should I go change back?”

“Forget it. At least you tried.”

The dean’s eldest adopted son, already working and supporting the family, grabbed the old man by the wrist and tugged him to the table.

“Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”

“I’m staaaving too!” the youngest child chirped in his babyish voice.

His strange pronunciation made the old man laugh out loud.

“Alright, alright, let’s eat. How could we let our cutest member go hungry?”

“Beef stew with potatoes, coming right up!”

Bernie emerged from the kitchen with the main course, then barked at the boy trailing behind her.

“Hurry up, Donnie! How long do you need to grab a few bowls?”

“Why do I feel like I’m being treated grossly unfairly!” Donnie staggered in, carrying a stack of bowls in front of his chest.

His face wrinkled in misery as he wailed, “It’s my birthday party! Why do I have to work?”

Bernie gave him a sly grin. “It’s not my fault that you failed math last time. Rules are rules. Fail a test, and you do housechores.”

“Since when? I’ve never heard of that rule!”

“I just made it up. Got a problem with the new head of the family?”

She waved her slim arm—the same one that could whip eggs to a perfect consistency without a single gadget.

“If you’ve got a problem, we can sort it out right now.”

“No…”

Donnie, who had often suffered at the mercy of those demonic hands, could only swallow his tears of indignation in helpless defeat.

Everyone burst into laughter at his pitiful expression, and just like that, warmth and joy washed away the boy’s grievance.

◆◇◆◇◆

“If only Susie were here…” Nathan mumbled softly in the middle of the meal, basking in the cozy atmosphere he had missed for so long.

The cheerful mood froze instantly, as if the warm room had plunged from the equator straight to the polar ice caps.

Even Donnie, who had been wailing, snapped his mouth shut.

“Ah, sorry… this isn’t the time, huh?” The young man scrambled to fix his slip of tongue.

“Come on, let’s eat, let’s eat. Bernie’s beef stew with potatoes is amazing. It’s better than anything I’ve ever had, even at those top restaurants!”

“Yeah… if only Susie were here.”

Bernie set down her chopsticks and sighed. “It’s been so long I’ve nearly forgotten what her voice sounds like.”

“It’s been a year since I last saw Sister Sue…” Donnie mumbled.

“Sue?” The youngest child blinked up at them with wide, innocent eyes, unable to understand the sudden heaviness in the air.

“Who is Sue?” The childish voice deepened the silence even further.

“Don’t worry.” The old man suddenly stood and, with trembling hands, served a tender piece of stewed beef onto each plate.

“I’ll cure Susie soon. Then we’ll all sit down for a happy meal together.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” He forced a reassuring smile. “Believe me. Soon, our family will be whole again.”

Everyone exchanged uncertain glances, finding it difficult to accept the sudden good news.

But their trust in the old man ran deep. After a short, stunned silence, the table erupted in cheers—the loudest since the nightmare had begun.

It was as if dark clouds had parted, revealing the moon’s glow again.

◆◇◆◇◆

After dinner, the eldest son quietly pulled the old man aside and showed him the content on his handheld device.

“Dad, this is the cure you were talking about?” 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Displayed on the screen was the post the old man had published just hours earlier, and already it had drawn widespread attention.

The official, certified account of a research institute dean had published what most called wild, baseless conjecture about the Debilitation Syndrome, and within hours, the backlash had been merciless.

Scholars, private-sector researchers, and even casual readers who barely understood the science all piled on to condemn him.

His post sounded as absurd as a scientist claiming they could hatch boiled eggs.

In mere hours, the internet had shredded his reputation. Every contribution from his decades-long career had been dismissed.

Some even demanded he be branded a fraud, questioning how such a charlatan could ever have been made the dean of a research institute.

Countless self-proclaimed “righteous” netizens piled on, calling it karma and claiming justice had been served. After all, a fraud like him deserved nothing less than such a miserable end.

People claiming to be former institute staff came forward too, crying about mistreatment under his watch, accusing him of being unreasonable, of deducting interns’ hard-earned wages.

Their statements were dripping with melodramatic sorrow, seemingly written to draw tears and outrage in equal measure.

The research institute quickly released an official clarification, clarifying that the dean had already reached retirement age, and the post reflected only his personal views.