Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Earl's Proposal
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# Chapter 29
“……Who are you?”
Seo Woo-jin blinked as he asked.
The person he met at the place the mage had brought him to was a man he’d never seen before.
“Pleased to meet you, Hero Seo Woo-jin.”
Honestly, being called “Hero” like that was pretty embarrassing.
‘Better to stick with something like “Hero dude” from Massive Guardian, or just “Mr. Seo Woo-jin.” What’s with “Hero sir”? This isn’t the South Korean army or anything.’
But the people of the Empire, nobles and commoners alike, all called him Hero sir.
“My name is Woo-seo.”
The part about him being an earl of the Empire barely registered in his ears.
‘Woo-seo? Woo-seo?’
He was putting every ounce of effort into holding back his laughter.
“I apologize for inviting you to a meeting like this first thing in the morning.”
Woo-seo apologized politely.
“Ah, no. It’s fine.”
Seo Woo-jin, barely managing to compose his expression, shook his head.
His morning training was already done anyway, and all that was left was breakfast.
‘Bet the food here is better.’
A lavish spread of dishes filled the table in front of Seo Woo-jin—so extravagant that the phrase “feast fit for a king” didn’t do it justice.
“You must be hungry, so shall we eat first and talk afterward?”
Music to his ears.
He’d burned a lot of stamina and was starving.
Seo Woo-jin didn’t hold back and started eating.
“The Academy schedule starts next week, right?”
The Academy.
It referred to this massive facility the Empire had set up.
Of course, it wasn’t for teaching academics.
The Academy focused solely on combat techniques and survival skills.
It gathered heroes who had leveled up somewhat over the past year and transformed them into fighting machines under the instructors’ guidance.
Naturally, the instructors were the Empire’s top knights and mages.
‘There’s another reason too.’
Competition.
Putting a hundred heroes in one place would spark rivalry and make them train harder—that was the thinking.
It wasn’t wrong.
Quite a few heroes actually felt motivated by seeing others grow.
“Probably.”
The Academy’s official training began next week.
Until then, the heroes had time to get acquainted and handle personal preparations.
“The reason I invited you, Hero Seo Woo-jin, is to make one proposal.”
‘Proposal?’
Woo-seo brought up something unexpected in the middle of the delicious meal.
Seo Woo-jin’s position was a bit awkward right now.
He was a hero, but D-rank level 10 was just too low.
Because of that, yesterday’s incident where he knocked Lee Jin-ho out cold was seen less as Woo-jin being impressive and more as the guy who got hit being a pushover.
Preconceptions were too strong to change with just one fight.
D-ranks are trash……
So what kind of proposal could this guy have for someone like him?
Curiosity mixed with wariness in Seo Woo-jin.
There’s no such thing as kindness without a price.
‘The vibe doesn’t seem bad, though.’
He decided to hear him out first.
“What proposal?”
Seo Woo-jin set down his fork and knife and asked.
“Our house plans to support the heroes. Separately from the Empire.”
Woo-seo’s proposal was simple.
Grow even stronger with the backing of the earl’s house.
“Some heroes have already accepted this offer. Three of them are even A-rank.”
It wasn’t a bad deal.
With support from both the Empire and the earl, his growth would accelerate.
‘But why?’
Why go to the trouble of setting up this whole meeting?
Especially for someone like him, who seemed unremarkable on the surface?
“……I don’t have much to offer.”
Give and take was the rule.
They’d want something in return for the support.
Woo-seo smiled at Seo Woo-jin’s words.
“We don’t expect anything from you right now, Hero Seo Woo-jin. Just, after the Great Descent War ends someday.”
Woo-seo finished eating too and looked at Seo Woo-jin with a serious expression.
“Lending a little strength to our house would be more than enough.”
Seo Woo-jin wasn’t dumb enough to miss the implication.
‘Power struggle?’
They had a massive enemy called the Demon King right in front of them.
Hadn’t they said the world had nearly ended several times already?
Even uniting everyone’s strength might not be enough, yet they were already scheming for post-war power dynamics……
‘Impressive or idiotic? Hard to say.’
Seo Woo-jin was impressed.
Not in a good way, though.
“I’m just a D-rank.”
What puzzled him was why pick him when there were plenty of higher-rank heroes.
“Isn’t it the person that matters more than the rank?”
Woo-seo smiled as he said it, but Seo Woo-jin wasn’t one to take it at face value.
‘Why……?’
He thought it over.
About his value after the war ended.
His level would be several times higher by then, and as a low-rank, he’d likely be placed in the rear with high survival odds.
How strong would a surviving Seo Woo-jin be?
‘Even as a D-rank, he’d surpass most knights by a wide margin.’
Among heroes, he might be a scrub, but as combat power, he’d be plenty strong.
Plus, other nobles wouldn’t covet him, so he’d be easy to acquire.
Seo Woo-jin let out a hollow chuckle inwardly.
He didn’t know if the guess was right or just delusion.
But it felt spot on.
And he didn’t like it.
Some people had to risk their lives preparing for war, yet here were talks blinded by power.
And Woo-seo was seriously mistaken about something.
“Did you forget? After the war ends, we return to our original world.”
Block the Demon King, end the war, and heroes could go back to Earth.
Of course, those with no attachments might choose to stay.
Here, they’d have power and status.
In fact, some past summoned heroes had stayed.
But most would choose to return.
Family and friends.
‘And I couldn’t live without the internet.’
Seo Woo-jin would definitely go back too.
He didn’t have anyone he’d call family, but he couldn’t stay here forever.
‘Not with this shitty Demon King around.’
No reason to stay unless he planned to conquer the world.
“I remember. But we can worry about that when the time comes. For now, just accept the goodwill.”
Something felt off.
Woo-seo, who’d seemed polite and courteous, now came across as sleazy.
“I need some time to think.”
Seo Woo-jin held off on answering.
Honestly, he wanted to refuse right away, but that might stir up unnecessary trouble.
There were already plenty eyeing him with disdain; he didn’t need one more.
“Of course. There’s still plenty of time. Haha!”
Woo-seo laughed heartily, saying he’d wait as long as needed.
Seo Woo-jin smiled back and finished the rest of his meal.
Sorting through his complicated thoughts inside.
* * *
“Where’d you go?”
Eileen asked Seo Woo-jin, who had suddenly vanished in the morning and just returned.
“Ah, wasted some time.”
The food was great, but his mood wasn’t.
“Something happen?”
“Nothing big. More importantly, where’d you go?”
Like Seo Woo-jin, Eileen had disappeared early that morning too.
Ever since arriving at the Empire, she’d been constantly rushing around somewhere.
“I had some business…….”
But again, Eileen dodged the question.
Her expression wasn’t great, so something must be up.
“Tell me next time.”
“Sure.”
Seo Woo-jin didn’t pry.
He believed she’d open up when the time was right.
They were that close now.
“So, you done with stuff for today?”
Eileen nodded at his question.
“Probably nothing for a while.”
“Perfect. Wanna spar for old times’ sake?”
It had been a while since he’d crossed swords with Eileen.
Back then, she was just a low-rank knight, but that was enough to match Seo Woo-jin, who’d been like a strong but unskilled kid.
No, in pure swordsmanship, she’d overwhelmed him.
Sparring daily like that had made them close and improved his skills a lot.
As Seo Woo-jin grew more accustomed to his strength, the gap widened, so they hadn’t sparred lately……
‘No one else around here to train with anyway.’
Might as well spar with her and get some practice in.
“Hey! It’s mister! Where were you? I looked everywhere!”
But an interloper appeared.
Out of nowhere, Lee Ji-ah came running up with a popsicle stick in her mouth.
The girls from yesterday were with her.
‘What were their names again?’
He remembered greeting them, but the names escaped him.
Right after introductions, Lee Jin-ho had started a fight.
“This is Hong-seol unnie, and this is Da-hye. You saw them yesterday, right?”
Luckily, Lee Ji-ah reintroduced them.
“I’m Seo Woo-jin. This is Eileen. My friend.”
The two bowed their heads hastily upon hearing that.
“Hi. I’m Yoo Hong-seol. Ji-ah’s told me a lot about you.”
“Uh, I’m Kim Da-hye.”
“Nice to meet you. And sorry about yesterday…….”
Seo Woo-jin apologized.
He’d ruined their fun time.
“Oh, no! We’re the ones who should be sorry. For bringing a weirdo.”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
The two seemed genuinely apologetic.
Only Lee Ji-ah grinned innocently, playing dumb.
“So what’re you up to? We’re about to go sightseeing in the capital. Wanna come, mister? Eileen unnie? Unlike Lennitangs, there’s tons to see here!”
Lennitangs was bigger and more advanced than Zion, sure.
But it was still a minor kingdom compared to the Empire.
Obviously, the Empire’s capital would be way more fun than some rural kingdom.
But Seo Woo-jin wasn’t particularly interested.
Spending that time swinging his sword one more time would be more beneficial.
“We’re about to train. You guys go have fun.”
“Ehh? Training again? You did it this morning.”
“That was morning training.”
Lee Ji-ah stared at him like he was a monster.
She couldn’t comprehend it.
Just level up—that’s all it takes, so why go through the hassle of physical training?
But apparently, she was the only one who thought that.
“Can we join? That training thing.”
“Me too.”
Yoo Hong-seol and Kim Da-hye suddenly wanted in.
“Hong-seol unnie! Da-hye! What’s that all of a sudden? We were gonna hang out together!”
Startled, Lee Ji-ah grabbed their arms, but they didn’t budge.
Seo Woo-jin watched them for a moment, then nodded.
He’d never sparred with these girls before.
Lee Jin-ho had gone down in one hit.
Might be good to experience it this time.
For the future.
“What’s your rank and level?”