Chapter 41
Translator - Zofu
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The instructor, who came out of hiding immediately, took care of the accident that was not an accident caused by Si-woo.
The instructor, who saw everything firsthand, said that the 95th class fighter, who had bruises on the front and back of his torso, would be disciplined.
Of course, there was no punishment for Si-woo.
Rather than punishment, this incident was expected to spread a legend beyond rumors within the training center.
In addition, his motivation and former jockey’s perspective on him have completely changed. A monster or something that surpasses humans. Jealousy and envy still remained, but now there were more emotions such as envy, envy, and fear.
“A month-old guy can handle magic like that? ... That guy should have gone to a world where he can fight directly, not a world like this.”
“Fuck, it’s that awesome, but it’s also big? What’s life like?”
While Si-woo left for a special guest's visit, the warrior candidates only talked about him all day. The instructor giving the magic awakening lecture tried to calm him down somehow, but it couldn't be easy.
“Si-woo has magical power....”
'After all, he is the man I chose. I really think I made the best choice.'
“Si-woo, you really are a great person...”
Even in the minds of the three women Si-woo contacted, their evaluations of him were adjusted upward. The goodwill that had been high from the beginning brought about many changes for them as a result of this incident. For Si-woo, in a very positive way.
Meanwhile, the person in question met with a customer and faced something unexpected.
“A mission?”
“That’s right, candidate Han Si-woo.”
A woman with hair that looks like it was embroidered with gold, smiling softly.
Iron Blood Princess Helena Glayzer.
It wasn't far from the restaurant, but it was my first time seeing it this close.
In the first episode, Helena was in a situation where she couldn't even see the royal family of her country, the Kingdom of Palania. Moreover, wasn’t this place 10 years ago? Although their appearances were not very different, their youthful vitality was different.
'You're really crazy pretty....'
Si-woo couldn't help but be amazed.
Although it was the royal family of the strongest empire where good blood, talent, and beauty came together through marriage, Helena's beauty was unrivaled.
There were many warriors who approached her because of her appearance, but no one accepted Helena. Because there was no man who could satisfy her heart. In the end, the Iron Blood Princess only ambitiously prepared to aim for the throne without bringing in a husband until the final war.
'I never thought I would see such a young Iron Blood Princess up close. 'I've become really great.'
“Um, candidate Han Si-woo?”
As Si-woo stared at her silently, Helena called out to him with an awkward expression, probably embarrassed.
“Ah, I’m sorry. You were so beautiful. I was so entranced that I was looking at you.”
“Hehe. Thank you for the compliment.”
Helena smiled lightly.
In fact, I've heard so many people say that someone like her is beautiful, whether it's real or not.
Some nobles used the word beautiful as if to say hello, and some warriors habitually said it countless times during conversation.
So, although she was tired of being called beautiful, the princess focused her attention elsewhere.
‘Hmm. Looking at that expression just now... I'm not saying this out of courtesy, it's sincere. Depending on the situation, it might be worth considering the beauty world.'
If Si-woo's value far exceeds what she had assumed, what would be the problem even if she sacrificed herself to become a beauty? Rather, Helena hoped that, if possible, Si-woo would be great enough for her to use the world of beauty.
If I had to get married someday anyway, I thought it would be good if someone of that level would come along. Being in a situation where I had to lower my eyes because there was no one I liked was a terrible thing to do.
“But the mission… I haven’t even become a hero yet…”
“Of course. But does it matter? Candidate Han Si-woo has already met all the requirements for graduating from the training center.”
Si-woo was surprised by those words.
Since the graduation conditions for male warriors are different from those for female warriors who directly stand on the front lines, I have not confirmed all the conditions yet. I thought that, given my talent and ability, I would graduate on time just by taking the training center's lectures.
“But how could the princess do that…?”
“Hehe.”
"......."
Helena didn't answer.
Rather, it gave Si-woo a lot of imagination.
'After all, she's the Iron-Blooded Princess....'
“Wouldn’t it be a waste of time for candidate Han Si-woo to be in the training center anyway?”
Although it may not be a waste of time to be in a training center, Si-woo sympathized with her words to some extent.
The past month has been a very boring time. Fortunately, I had three people in my class to approach, and I was able to spend time practicing my magic alone, otherwise it would have been really boring.
All that needs to be done at the training center is to build friendships with the three existing people, contact three former flag bearer candidates, and four members. The rest are not worth approaching first.
If the mission allows him to leave the training center even for a short period of time, it will be of great help to him. Of course, I have no intention of doing my job for free.
“Mission details. And what is the reward?”
“Candidate Han Si-woo’s mission is to bring a retired warrior back to active duty.”
“Can I persuade you with words?”
“Any means will be acceptable.”
Any means.
It was a very scary word on Earth, but it was also a very dangerous word here.
There are unique and strange medicines, monsters, and magic that cannot be imagined with Earth's common sense. Additionally, thanks to all the cultural artifacts brought by the heroes of this world, this world has become very chaotic.
However, seeing that they even used the word “any means” gave me an idea of the level of the opponent.
Actually, even if that wasn't the case, the princess, who referred to most warriors simply as 'the hero', was the only person who came to mind when they called him 'the hero'.
‘Han So-young, the warrior.’
A retired warrior of the Empire who existed in the first episode.
Even though he is the highest SS rank among the warriors, I have never heard of him returning for 10 years since he was summoned due to trauma and emotional wounds. And, with his body and mind devastated, he is assassinated by demons just before the final war.
"......."
“The name of the person that Candidate Han Si-woo will persuade is Han So-young, and this person is….”
The blind escort knight who was standing next to the princess gave personal information and reference information about Han So-young. These were things needed for the mission.
Some of it was information that Si-woo also knew, but most of it was unknown to him. Although he is retired, he is a warrior of the empire. This was because the Glayzer Empire did not easily expose information about its warriors to foreign countries.
“...and the most important thing is this.”
“I guess that’s why Hero Han So-young retired.”
“Yes.”
Soldier of the family.
That was the reason for Han So-young’s retirement.
Han So-young's husband hid the existence of an incurable disease so that he could focus on his warrior duties. Unfortunately, while Han So-young was on a mission, her husband died. It was her son who stopped her from retiring due to the sadness of not being able to even watch her beloved husband die.
However, the son also died from the same disease as her husband. The incurable disease that killed two people was a hereditary disease. This time, I was able to save her from death, but losing her husband and son to the same disease did not lessen her grief.
“Persuading someone like that to return to active duty... Is that possible?”
Si-woo, who did not know the detailed reason, looked embarrassed.
I thought it would be difficult, but isn't this too much?
When converted to mission rank, this is easily equivalent to S rank. I couldn't help but think that there was some other intention rather than giving it to me to complete a mission. For example, something to keep the imperial faction in check or to diminish his value.
'I'm sure that won't happen.'
Helena slightly bowed her head at Si-woo's words.
“I’m really sorry about that.”
“Oh, no. Raise your head, princess.”
Si-woo was taken aback when someone as old as the Iron Blood Princess suddenly lowered her head.
I realized I made a mistake later, but I couldn't correct it after I had already said it. I regretted that I should have used my advantage a little more, but as I looked at her faintly smiling, I realized that even that was intentional.
“Then what will your mission be?”
“...Is there a demerit for me if I don’t receive this mission or fail?”
“I don’t think there is. The mission itself is incredibly difficult, and it will be conducted in secret.”
"......."
“But the reward you can get when you succeed in your mission will be beyond Candidate Han Si-woo’s imagination.”
Si-woo burst out laughing.
Now Helena is cajoling her into saying yes even if she can't eat it. The fact that she came directly to him and said these words would mean that the rewards and benefits would be helpful not only to herself but also to Helena.
“What kind of compensation is given to me?”
“Of course, there are rewards prepared, but... is there anything else you want?”
Of course, all of the compensation was prepared by Helena herself.
The imperial family only gave them missions and paid lip service to them. There was no way they could have prepared anything in advance.
Therefore, Helena promised compensation to Si-woo first and planned to extort a comparable or greater amount from the imperial family. They will consider it an impossible mission anyway and will set generous compensation, thinking it is an empty check.
“Class A.”
“......?”
“As soon as you graduate, you’ll get an A level. Will you do it?”
“......!!”
Si-woo calmly talks about being an A-class hero.
Helena's eyes widened. And soon a deep smile appeared on her lips.
As expected, he was a man I liked.
The distribution is large and the ambition is high. The attitude of asking for what you will receive was also good.
Perhaps because I liked my first impression at the restaurant, I was satisfied with everything Si-woo showed me from then on.
“We will make it possible somehow.”
“Good. And I would appreciate it if you could give me everything you prepared.”
It would be unlikely for someone as strong as the Iron-Blooded Princess to do that, but Si-woo drew a line in advance to prevent a situation where the compensation he had prepared was replaced by a single A-level promise. Even that seemed like a good thing to Helena.
“Hehe. Then of course.”
“Then, let me check the mission details. Han So-young, a retired SS-class warrior, has returned to active duty. Is that correct?”
“Yes. Right....”
Suddenly Helena stopped speaking.
“Princess?”
Seeing her strange appearance, the escort knight called her, but Helena did not answer.
And Si-woo felt cold sweat running down his back.
'shit. 'Did you even notice?'
As expected, negotiating with a smart person was annoying.
Clearly specifying the mission content is very important. If you give room for different judgments depending on the interpretation, a situation will arise where you will not be able to achieve what you want and the compensation will be taken away as compensation.
"......."
As Si-woo expected, Helena realized what he was aiming for.
She didn't get angry or nod willingly. Instead, I wondered if there was a way I could use what he said.
A method that can be beneficial to oneself and Si-woo, but also detrimental to the imperial family.
'Candidate Si-woo... may be a gift given to me by the goddess.'
“Hehe, that’s right.”
“Yes, I see....”
“Yes. It will probably be written that way in the official mission request sent from the imperial family.”
Official mission request.
Si-woo realized that she had figured out his intentions.
And even the fact that he plans to use it for his own power. It was truly an action worthy of the Iron Blood Princess.
'I don't mind as long as I get what I get.'
“I understand. Then I will accept the mission.”
“Thank you. Then, we will discuss more details later when the imperial family sends a person in charge. This is Candidate Han Si-woo’s first time doing something like this, so I will help him a lot.”
"okay."
Si-woo and Helena held out their hands and shook hands.
The two people had satisfied smiles on their faces.
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