The Unicorn-Like Man
Five minutes from now, the match that will finally decide my fate begins.
Inside the waiting room, I couldn't help but let out a long, heavy sigh.
It was only natural. To anyone looking, it was nearly impossible for a sidekick who’d only been on the job for a week to defeat a C-rank hero—especially Jin Areum, the one and only sidekick of Chairwoman Kim Mija.
It was like throwing an egg at a rock... no, it was an even more absurd challenge than that.
And perhaps she sensed my state of mind.
"M-Master! You're sweating so much!"
Ego, who had returned to her human form in a corner of the room, approached cautiously and began to wipe the sweat from my forehead with her own hands.
I was the one who was clearly terrified, yet the anxiety faintly shimmering in her ruby-colored eyes was bleeding through her smile.
"Master... please, don't make that face. Seeing you crumble makes me feel like I’m falling apart, too."
"Ego... I'm sorry. Was I being too negative?"
"Not at all. It’s a natural emotion. Standing before an opponent stronger than yourself is frightening for anyone. But that courage, the will not to back down despite the fear... I am truly proud of that."
Every word she spoke seeped warmly into my heart.
Perhaps there really is a difference in existence for someone who has lived for so long, even if she is considered a lowest-grade Soul Weapon.
I felt a warmth and capacity for embrace that I never would have expected from such an elegant and dignified presence.
It felt as if someone who had traversed battlefields long ago was now reaching out to me, wrapping me in her comfort.
Squeeze.
...But did she really have to hug me so tightly that my head was buried in her breasts?
"H-hey, Ego... I appreciate the sentiment, but you don't have to hold me this tightly..."
"No, I do. I am your sword, and I am your woman. It’s only natural for me to comfort you with my body when you’re exhausted."
If anyone heard that, they’d misunderstand a hundred percent.
No, it wouldn't even be a misunderstanding—it would be a certainty.
In fact, given our current posture and the strangely thick scent of milk wafting from her at such close range, my head was already spinning.
Feeling that staying like this was dangerous in more ways than one, I hurriedly pulled my face away from her chest.
My face was flushed with heat from the embarrassment, but she just watched me with a quiet smile.
'...Let's calm down.'
What matters now isn't getting swept up in emotions, but focusing on the match in front of me.
I took a slow breath and gently took hold of Ego’s hands.
"Ego, let's... let's do our best."
"H-hawawawa?! S-such sudden skinship is... ungh-oh?!"
But at that moment.
A strange, pig-like squeal echoed through the waiting room.
'...Are they catching a pig outside?'
I glanced around for a second.
Meanwhile, perhaps due to her own nerves, I noticed sweat dripping down between Ego’s thighs. It was almost enough to form a small puddle.
'She was trying to act tough for my sake...!'
Her face was flushed red, her eyes were trembling slightly, and her lips were parted faintly, letting out hot breaths.
Watching her, I steeled my heart even more. She was just as anxious as I was because she was an underdog, too.
So, this was my turn to show faith as her master.
And so.
"Even so... we’re going to see this through to the end. Okay?"
"Oh-oh... oh-oh-oh...! U-understood... oh-oh-oh! It’s... it’s coming again...!!"
"Yeah, we’re going together!"
Our noses were almost touching.
At such an incredibly close distance, we steeled our resolve once more to 'go' toward 'victory.'
Finally, the time had come.
The 1-on-1 proxy match between the Cheongryong Group and Baek Seungha, with Hyunwoo’s sidekick position on the line.
The match was held at a training colosseum near Gyeonggi-do operated by the Cheongryong Group, and it was conducted privately with the consent of both sides.
But what was most shocking of all was that a man and a woman were fighting head-on.
It was an absurd, impossible setting that ignored human emotion, something unimaginable in this world.
The parties involved in the bet: Chairwoman Kim Mija and Baek Seungha.
And the referee assigned to this match.
She was Han Yusul, a C-rank hero who had been planning to spend her long-awaited day off at home today with a soundproof room, ASMR earphones, and a three-piece set of crisp cucumbers.
She was also the very person who had passed Hyunwoo as a sidekick in his exam as a proctor just a short while ago.
So now, she was forced to act as the referee at this colosseum, her vacation revoked.
"Ugh... it’s my day off today... why am I here..."
"Ah, be quiet. You said it was a vacation? I told you I’d compensate you later, so why are you still whining?"
"Hoho. That’s right, Ms. Han Yusul. We at the Cheongryong Group promised to pay you back properly, didn't we? Is there something you’re lacking?"
"Eek?! N-no, ma'am!"
It felt like being a contract worker standing in front of a company chairman and a CEO.
The promise that the two of them would pay her back later was honestly attractive.
But perhaps it was already an undeserved honor for someone without a single backer to have become a C-rank hero, placing her in the top 0.07%.
Han Yusul, who just wanted to live a quiet life... was swallowing her tears inside.
"And you have to take responsibility for creating a male sidekick, don't you?"
"Eek?! Y-yes, that’s right!"
"Yeah, yeah~. You have to take responsibility."
Hey, you fucking bitch.
You’re the one who threatened me that day to make this happen!
...She felt like her head would be chopped off if she shouted that, so Han Yusul just swallowed her tears again.
And so, she was forced to broadcast the world's first 'Male Sidekick vs. Legendary Hero Sidekick' match.
'Haha... my life, fuck.'
Still... she’d be free once she retired.
Clinging to that hopeless hope, she squeezed out her professionalism and gripped the microphone.
"First! The Blue Cornerrrrr!!"
Her voice rang out as she pointed to the left.
The opponent was a monster-like rookie who was ten years younger than her but held the same C-rank status.
One of the heirs to the Cheongryong Group, the only sidekick of Chairwoman Kim Mija, a super-rookie of the generation before Shin Yura, and a user of a high-grade Soul Weapon—one of only 100 in the entire world.
"Jin Areuuuuuuuuuum!!"
"Uoooooh!"
A secret stage without a single spectator.
Even so, Jin Areum appeared, shouting like a warrior.
That presence alone overwhelmed the field.
Chairwoman Kim Mija, her mentor and the hero in charge of her, clapped her hands upon seeing her disciple.
"Hehe. That child... she seems to be putting too much strength into it."
"Hmm... but you know, what if she actually causes an accident with Hyunwoo?"
Upon hearing Baek Seungha’s words, Chairwoman Kim Mija stopped smiling and shouted with a desperate expression.
"Ah, Areum! You... you must not hurt Hyunwoo, okay? He’s a man, a man! There’s a proverb in our country that says you shouldn't even hit a man with a... with a dick!"
"Hmph! Don't worry, Master! Just in case I couldn't control myself, I went to the waiting room bathroom and self-regulated until I was dehydrated!"
"Aha! That female wild boar squeal I kept hearing earlier... that was you! I’m proud of you, Areum!"
Chairwoman Kim Mija clapped, seemingly satisfied with her disciple’s enthusiastic preparation.
Baek Seungha, who was next to her, realized that the 'Buhihit~!' sound she had overheard from the waiting room earlier was preparation for the man, and even though they were enemies, she sent a round of applause along with her.
The cozy clapping time was brief.
"...But aren't you being too relaxed?"
"Hm?"
Seeing Baek Seungha still looking so relaxed, Chairwoman Kim Mija felt like she was being ignored and asked cautiously.
Baek Seungha smiled nonchalantly and replied.
"I have no choice but to be."
"...Pardon?"
"Because, Hyunwoo is going to win anyway~."
"...?"
She had no idea what she was talking about.
Setting aside the man-versus-woman aspect, there was a two-rank difference. The gap between an E-rank and a C-rank wasn't just a number.
In the hero industry, they say you have to live another life just to raise your rank by one.
Comparing a professional fighter to an average person wouldn't even cover it; it was like a matchup between a baby and a professional fighter.
'But seeing her this relaxed... did she pull some kind of trick?'
Chairwoman Kim Mija was suspicious of Baek Seungha, but no matter how she looked at it, there was no room for foul play or cowardly tricks.
Just as her suspicions were deepening.
"Red Cornerrrrr! Entering the stageeeee!!"
"?!"
"Ohhh...!"
"Hyunwoo, fighting~!"
Appearing from the right passage was a gender that was rare in existence—usually slender or fat, moving in groups, and fewer in number than women.
In short, a man.
But the person who appeared there now was not that kind of 'common' man.
He wasn't a being hiding in the darkness like a hermit, but a man standing proudly with his back to the light, like a true 'hero.'
His appearance was like a unicorn, something called a fantasy beyond rarity.
The only difference was that while unicorns are said to carry only 'virgins' on their backs, the moment any woman touched that man... she would no longer be a virgin.
Because... if a man appeared with such majestic, beast-like dignity, virgins or not, everything would just evaporate.
"Oh, oh, ohhhhh...!"
"Nice to meet you, Jin Areum."
"Oh, oh! N-nice to meet you too... Master..."
The person standing in front of Jin Areum was no longer an 'opponent.'
As if facing a god, she shook her fluttering twin-tails like a dog in heat and shyly reached out her hand.
He was clearly below her, yet... for some reason, she wanted to call him 'Oppa.'
Lick, lick.
"Mhehehe... delicious... slurp..."
Jin Areum, who had secretly turned away, was busy sucking on the fingers that had just shaken Hyunwoo’s hand, and she even slipped them between her crotch plates.
And finally.
"Then... I will now begin the match between the two of youuuuu!!"
The battle had begun.