Chapter 24
Translator - Zofu
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For two days, Si-woo received advances from many women.
Thanks to Saint Elaine's plan being too successful.
However, the negative aspects outweighed the positive ones.
The attention was so much that he could barely leave his room, and conversely, he couldn't approach the women he was interested in. He saw too many women he had never even seen once in the first round, let alone spoken to. The most stressful part was that he couldn't easily turn away women who approached him using their country or family name as leverage. It was a time when he still needed to be cautious, so refusing their proposals with a smiling face was quite exhausting.
"Well, I'm sorry. I didn't expect the reaction to be this good..."
Elaine even apologized to him, flustered.
"It's fine. It's actually quite interesting."
"But what do we do about the lack of results...?"
While the plan was successful, there were no talented women among those who approached. Not that there were none at all, but they weren't coming personally—they were women sent by countries or families for recruitment purposes. They weren't coming to show off their skills or mana to join his party.
"Still, it's not like there was no gain at all."
He had at least made acquaintances and built rapport with various nations.
Fortunately, there was no one who threatened or warned him for refusing their offers. Si-woo figured this was thanks to Elaine's position as a 3rd-rank Saint and his own future potential.
Out of the 17 countries in the world, four had not approached him: the Palania Kingdom he belonged to, the Elvazon Kingdom with its severe misandry, the highly closed-off Antora Kingdom, and finally, the Glayzer Empire.
In other words, pretty much everyone else had come.
"Were there any you personally liked?"
At Elaine's sudden question, Si-woo scratched his cheek.
"It would be a lie to say there were none. After all, these are people sent to scout talent from other nations—they wouldn't send someone lacking in beauty or ability."
"Then why not try meeting them casually? Something like 'I'll think about it, maybe my feelings will change after a few meetings...'"
The pink-haired Saint said with a seductive smile, but he shook his head.
"Anyway, I won't be able to see them for a while after enrollment."
"That's exactly why you should!"
"Haha. Later."
As Si-woo tried to brush it off vaguely, Elaine grew even more disappointed as if it were her own problem. She puffed out her cheeks slightly, sitting on the bed, swinging her legs and grumbling.
"Ugh, I need to join Si-woo's cartel quickly. That way I can manage your schedule and everything."
At her words, he let out a hollow laugh.
The term "cartel" he had heard yesterday.
At first, it had felt like some kind of criminal organization, but after hearing the explanation, it was completely different. He actually felt "clan," a gathering of heroes, was a more fitting name.
'Didn't they say the origin of hero clans was that people from the same world or country would gather and call themselves a clan?'
Cartel could be explained in various ways: an alliance for a common goal, a collusion group for profit, a faction gathered by special elements.
But in this world, cartel referred to a union of wives or husbands centered around a head of household.
In royal or imperial families and noble houses where a unique marriage system prevailed, the head could be male or female. But given the low libido and timid nature of men in this world, the head of a noble cartel was usually female, while in a hero cartel, it was male.
"Can't we just call it a cartel?"
Even if you call it a cartel, you don't have to register it with a specific organization—it's just an arbitrary title.
He didn't understand why she had to be so strict about it.
"There are conditions to be implicitly recognized as a cartel."
"Conditions?"
Si-woo wondered what more could be needed after the Felatio.
Elaine showed him a gesture with both hands, along with a suggestive smile.
She made a circle with her right thumb and index finger, then pierced through it with one finger.
"..."
"It's quite ambiguous. You could lie, but there's an unspoken rule among women."
"...About not lying about virginity?"
Elaine just giggled silently, but that was answer enough.
Even if he didn't fully understand, he should respect it as a culture unique to this world. Given how much meaning non-virginity carried, such a culture didn't seem strange. It was also amusing that they would pride themselves on such things.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
"Then I have one cartel member."
"Ah, Queen Sharperia."
He hadn't meant to surprise her, but Elaine spoke so matter-of-factly that Si-woo's eyes widened. He was flabbergasted at how something done secretly in the royal palace could have been discovered so quickly.
"It's not that she said anything, but the Queen has been too obvious."
"Obvious?"
"Ever since the night you were together, she's been grinning all the time. Then sometimes she gets gloomy, probably when she thinks of you."
"Haha..."
"You seem to have really captivated her. Thanks to that, rumors spread quickly. And though it's not nice to say, the Palania Kingdom is really weak. So there must be many spies around."
Si-woo smiled bitterly at those words, finding it hard to respond.
He knew it, but his second homeland was truly pathetic. Planting spies in other nations' capitals and royal palaces wasn't unusual, but it felt like there were especially many planted in Palania.
Still, he wasn't trash enough to naturalize to another country just because it was weak after taking the Queen's virginity and heart. He was confident he could raise the nation himself, and thanks to his memories from the first round, it was in decent shape.
'I didn't get attention, but at least I wasn't discriminated against or ignored.'
If he had been, he would have gladly caused a scene and immediately contacted another country.
"But I wonder why the Queen hasn't sent a manager."
"She did."
"What? She did? But I haven't seen anyone by your side..."
"According to Hildear, it seems she's focusing more on other matters than on managing the hero candidate."
Though Si-woo spoke calmly, Elaine frowned as she listened.
"How could anything be more important than taking care of Si-woo?"
There were two hero candidates from the Palania Kingdom, but the Saint didn't even mention the other one. She didn't know his name. To her, who had already found her master, other men weren't worth remembering.
"It's fine. I permitted it."
"You permitted...?"
"It seems our Queen is using me to exercise her political power for the first time in a while."
"...Aha."
That was a relieving story.
Queen Sharperia was competent, if unlucky and compassionate. Whatever she was planning, it was good news. That she would use someone assigned to assist a hero candidate meant it was at least worthwhile.
"That's a relief. I thought... Oh my! Si-woo!"
"What's wrong?"
"You need to leave now. The examination time is approaching."
"Ah, I forgot."
Today was the day of the physical examination before enrollment.
An important task to systematically assess and quantify Si-woo's talents. Since morning, Hildear had been bustling about. Before Si-woo could say he was fine with having done nothing recently, she had rushed out. Thanks to that, he could leisurely chat with Elaine in his room.
"Let's go quickly."
"Will you come too, Elaine?"
"Wouldn't it be better for me to be there to fend people off?"
"...Right."
Si-woo and Elaine left the room together.
Having spent almost a day holed up in his guest room, there weren't as many people waiting for him outside as he expected. The few who were there could be easily dismissed with the excuse of the Saint's presence and the physical examination.
"Is the physical examination in the hospital building?"
"Yes, that's right."
There was a building with a classic, sophisticated feel, though not modern.
Quite a few people had gathered around it, and for security and safety reasons, only a male hero and one companion were allowed inside. When he glanced at Elaine beside him, she smiled cheerfully.
"I know. You're taking Hildear, right?"
"Since it's tough work."
"It's a bit disappointing, but I'm fine."
"Thank you."
As Si-woo approached Hildear in front of the hospital, she welcomed him with a bright face despite being busy with other tasks. Everything needed had been submitted in advance, and now she handed him the prepared ID card and name tag.
"Take this and go inside..."
"Are you done?"
"Huh? Ah, yes, I'm done, but..."
"Let's go in together."
"Yes!"
With an energetic reply, Hildear stood next to Si-woo.
The two showed their ID cards to the security guard at the hospital entrance and went inside.
Unexpectedly, the inside of the hospital was quiet. Naturally, there were few male heroes to begin with, and with companions limited to one each, that made sense. They were using the entire hospital for the physical examinations today, so there were no other people.
"Did they say this cohort has 96 people?"
"Yes, and among them, 42 are male heroes."
"42..."
Si-woo's eyes narrowed slightly.
It wasn't because there were many potential competitors. On the contrary, it was too few. Compared to what he remembered from the first round. Even if the 4 who dropped out for some reason were all male, that would make 46. In his memory, there were 53 males in the first round.
'What happened? It's good that there are fewer men, but it feels unsettling.'
Even as he thought this, he followed Hildear and the hospital staff's guidance toward the examination room deeper inside.
"This is it."
Raising his head, he saw a sign reading "Examination Room #7."
"They said it takes about 2 hours? Take it easy."
"Um, Si-woo?"
"Hm? What?"
"If the examination takes a long time, it's never a bad thing, so don't worry."
At the words of the sky-blue-haired knightess, who was more nervous than the one taking the test, he let out a faint chuckle.
The more he saw her, the more adorable Hildear seemed, to the point where none of his memories from the first round came to mind. Surely he wouldn't worry about something like that. Still, her consideration was truly commendable. Her tendency to worry a lot was also part of her charm.
"Got it. See you later."
"Yes, yes!"
Opening the door and going inside, he saw various experimental tools and examination devices that didn't fit a fantasy world. It wasn't as advanced and high-tech as modern times, but it still looked impressive enough.
And at the far end, a rough-looking woman sat leisurely in a chair. She had finished her examination early and was reading a book, not paying attention to people entering.
"Excuse me."
"Ah, sorry, I was reading... Huh?"
The red-haired sorceress who recognized him belatedly.
She turned her head toward Si-woo and smiled with her eyes.
"...Lucky me."
"Lucky?"
"Yes. Lucky. Hero Candidate Han Si-woo. That's you, right?"
"That's correct."
"I've heard so much about you. So I was wondering. Which examination room would get to greet Si-woo? And it turned out to be me."
Her face was flushed with what seemed like genuine anticipation.
The feeling was mutual for Si-woo. For fun, he hadn't asked Hildear or Elaine about the examination contents and methods beforehand. So he was extremely curious about what kind of test would be conducted and how.
"Have you heard how it's done?"
"No."
"Hmm, really? You must have many people who could tell you."
"I thought it would be more fun not knowing."
"I see. Then I'll make it fun for you."
She got up from her chair and walked up to Si-woo.
She wasn't much shorter than Si-woo, who was just over 180cm. Even accounting for high heels, she seemed to be in the mid-170s. She had a great figure that kept drawing his eyes downward, and she spoke.
"Could you... take off your pants?"
"By all means."
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