Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Martial God (3)
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“Uh...”
If my guess was right, the woman standing before me was none other than the granddaughter of the Hero Association Chairman and S-Rank Hero, the Martial God.
I'd had my suspicions, but I never imagined it would actually be true...
'Wow... grandfather and granddaughter, both of them just...'
She and I had met only once before—and even then, it was when she came to subdue me on official orders from the Association.
Of course, she'd insisted back then that she was just following orders and harbored no personal feelings about it. Still, running into the same person under those circumstances couldn't help but feel awkward.
Especially since I'd never expected our relationship to turn out like this.
“I'm surprised. I never thought there'd be someone who could defeat Grandpa.”
“Uh... yeah?”
I knew I was strong, but I hadn't expected to win quite so overwhelmingly.
That final blow of his had been so powerful that even I couldn't have taken it without any shock at all.
In the end, though, he'd succeeded in sending me flying backward—but he hadn't inflicted any real damage on me.
'The impact that hit my body did startle me pretty good...'
To be honest, for a split second, I thought I might actually die right there.
It felt like getting hit by a car in a traffic accident.
Maybe even worse than that.
Well, it wasn't just any ordinary punch—it was an attack powerful enough to demolish everything around it.
“And to think I told a person like you back then that I'd subdue you on orders... I feel a little embarrassed.”
For someone saying that, her expression didn't look much different from before.
“...Shall we head inside for now?”
I glanced around and pointed at a café that caught my eye.
Standing out here chatting like this didn't feel right.
Luckily, she nodded at my question, saying that would be fine.
* * *
“...”
We'd made it inside the café together, but the conversation wasn't progressing much. We were just exchanging awkward glances.
Neither of us were the sociable type, so even though we'd run into each other like this, no good topics came to mind.
We ended up just sitting there, sucking on our drinks through straws to kill time.
Realizing this wasn't going anywhere, I decided to take the initiative.
“Maybe we should start with proper introductions?”
“Ah...”
She blinked blankly at my question for a moment before giving a small nod.
“Then... can I call you Yu-ah?”
“Sure, of course.”
“Alright then... Yu-ah.”
“Yes, Do-yoon?”
This person was... really hard to talk to.
Most people show their emotions through their expressions, but hers hadn't changed much since we first met.
'It's kinda cute how she's holding it with both hands and slurping away like that, though...'
The sight of her gripping a soda—not even coffee—with both hands and sipping through a straw was adorably at odds with everything she'd shown so far.
No one who knew her as the Sword Fairy would ever imagine her like this.
After a short while, she seemed to think of something to say. She set down her cup, which she'd been drinking from, and met my eyes.
“Do-yoon.”
“Ah, yeah...?”
“...First off, I'm truly sorry about what happened last time. Even if I was just following orders, it must have upset you.”
...Now she says it?
Of course, I barely even remembered the incident anymore, but it had taken ten minutes of sitting here for a real conversation to finally start.
Seeing her bow her head apologetically, I waved it off, telling her it was really fine.
Sure, I'd been confused back then about why she was coming after me like that, but it was just a momentary annoyance. A hero had received orders to subdue me—what choice did she have?
I got it.
“Is there anything you want? I'll do my best to make it happen, within reason.”
“Something I want?”
Nothing major came to mind right away...
I thought for a moment.
The biggest issue—my hero license—had already been resolved... and nothing else really stood out...
'Ah.'
First things first.
“Well... right when we met today, you kept calling me your son-in-law.”
“Son-in-law...?”
For the first time, her expression wavered at my words.
It seemed like a pretty shocking term for her too.
“Yeah... could we talk about that a bit...?”
“Ah... leave it to me. I'll handle it.”
Handle it...?
Wait, hold on.
“W-Wait a second! You're heading out right now?!”
I reached out in surprise as she started to stand up, declaring she'd take care of it herself. She made an oh no face.
“Sorry. I got ahead of myself in my haste...”
“N-No, it's fine...”
Did she hate the idea of me being treated like her son-in-law that much?
I mean, sure, it was bewildering to suddenly be called that by a woman I'd never met—but not that bewildering.
It hurt my feelings a little...
“Ahaha... I should've told Grandpa not to call you that on his own... He's so free-spirited, and things happened so fast that I didn't get a word in. You must have been really upset about getting tangled up with me.”
“No, absolutely not...!”
She waved her hands frantically, her face lighting up in alarm.
“Do-yoon, you're an incredibly attractive person. Please don't put yourself down like that. For me, too, you're...”
She trailed off mid-sentence, as if she'd hit a wall, then quickly turned her head away.
“...It's nothing...”
Hmm...
I wasn't sure exactly what she meant, but at least she didn't seem to dislike me.
That was a relief.
“Anyway... I'll talk to Grandpa directly about that. Don't worry.”
“Ah, okay...”
“Anything else you want? I feel like I need to resolve this properly too...”
“Ah.”
I see.
Nothing else major...
As I pondered, something suddenly occurred to me.
'There's the Superpower Training Center.'
I couldn't enter before as a Powerless, but things were different now.
I'd get my hero license soon, and I wanted to train there.
“Could you get me into the Superpower Training Center?”
“Ah... that should be doable. Just give me a little time, and I'll sort it out right away.”
Maybe because she knew I was Powerless.
Or perhaps she instantly grasped the issue. Either way, she said it was no problem and asked for a bit of time.
It was a shame I couldn't go immediately, but only someone at the Chairman's level could pull those strings.
Ding!
“...Ah, sorry. I'll check it real quick.”
She pulled out her phone—must've gotten a message—and after glancing at it, set it down and looked at me.
“...Yu-ah?”
“Ah... sorry. I was just organizing my thoughts... It's a message from Grandpa. He says he'll teach you how to use your body himself, so come to the Association on the scheduled date.”
“...Pardon?”
“It looks like he wants to take you as his disciple.”
Disciple...?
'His disciple...'
I'd never even imagined it.
My surprise didn't last long. Being the disciple of an S-Rank Hero like the Martial God? Not a bad deal.
Sure, I'd beaten him, but my strength was just brute force—I knew nothing about proper body movement.
Learning from him could make me even stronger.
'Do I really need to get stronger here, though...?'
Considering this was the game world and who knew what might happen next, more power couldn't hurt.
“And...”
“And?”
“...”
Her face started turning red as she tried to continue.
Her hand, clutching the phone, trembled visibly—she was extremely flustered.
Thud!
After shaking for a good while, she slammed the phone down onto the table and bowed her head.
“...It's nothing... Please don't mind it...”
“Pardon...?”
Now you tell me not to mind? That just makes me more curious.
What on earth was in that message to turn the emotionless machine from moments ago into this?
“I'll send you the visit date. Contact info... could we... exchange numbers...?”
“Sure, no problem.”
“Thank you...”
No need to thank me for that.
As we quickly swapped numbers, I watched her.
She looked thoroughly flustered.
“...Could you at least tell me what it said?”
“N-No... absolutely not...! It's a personal... matter...”
A personal matter, huh.
Well, nothing I could do about that.
Pressing further would be rude anyway.
Still...
'This is kinda intriguing.'
Seeing her stumble over her words, blush, and avoid my gaze—it was cute.
At first, I'd thought she was some grim reaper.
Who knew the person I'd pegged as an emotionless robot had this side to her.
I watched her with a bit of curious fascination.
She was too focused on her phone to notice my stare, though.