Chapter 70: Could It Be?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: Could It Be?
Min-su pondered where exactly things had started to go wrong.
It had been fine up until he led Chun-hyang out with such bravado, but for the situation to turn out like this...
This was not the outcome Min-su had envisioned.
‘Even if I win the fight...’
His opponent was a mere civilian who knew nothing.
The man’s face bore a strange resemblance to Baek Tae-yang, but it was impossible for that guy to be here.
Even if they were inside a Gate, he felt a certain hesitation about using his strength against a civilian.
‘If I fail to control my strength, I might end up butchering him.’
Chun-hyang seemed terrified, but she had absolutely nothing to worry about.
Though his "Excellent in Literary and Martial Arts" trait was currently inactive since they were in the early stages of the story, it didn't matter. Even without such a trait, the fact that he was a Hero remained unchanged.
"You have fallen into depravity because you have yet to encounter true power! You low-life, intoxicated by a pittance of authority, unable to even recognize my momentum! I can no longer tolerate you running amok, oblivious to the reality of your situation!"
As Kim Min-su spoke, he kept stealing glances at Chun-hyang.
Specifically, he stared intensely at the prominent lines of her bodice, to the point where Chun-hyang tried to cover herself.
Perhaps because it was an era where undergarments weren't well-developed, the upper part of her chest rose softly against the fabric.
Like a beast licking butter, his eyes darted around before shifting back to the Pimp.
"If you get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness now, I shall pardon all your past transgressions and never punish you again! So, right now!!! Apologize to Chun-hyang, apologize to me, and prostrate yourself!"
As he savored his own lines, Min-su felt a brief surge of euphoria.
‘This is why they’re hooked. How could she not fall for me?’
It was a bit ridiculous to mutter such things to himself after they had already broken up, but it was the truth.
In reality, Yu-min had also fallen head over heels because of his aggressive leading.
Of course, the ending had been quite bitter, but even that happened because she wasn't under his lead anymore.
‘Melanie, too...’
She was probably waiting for him to emerge from the Gate right about now.
She might have even lined up reporters to celebrate his clear.
Just imagining it sent a thrill through him.
Melanie, constantly wooing him!
To think the haughty and prickly daughter of the Kaivan Group would be begging and pleading for his attention.
As expected, being handsome was everything.
Though he hadn't actually heard anyone say that to him yet.
‘People can’t usually say things like that to someone who’s truly handsome.’
Min-su laughed heartily and looked at the Pimp.
Seeing the man standing still with a dazed expression, he was clearly terrified.
Well, normally, it would have been Lee Mong-ryong who was trembling.
Given that things were slightly different from the original story, the Pimp was likely a mid-boss of sorts.
However, with the soul of a Hero dwelling within him, the word "defeat" did not suit Lee Mong-ryong.
"I speak as one who has realized righteousness, chivalry, and reason, so listen well! If you understand, then begone at once!"
Perhaps due to tension, the voice he usually projected came out with a bit of a tongue-trip.
The Pimp just continued to stare at him.
Reluctant as he was, Min-su had no choice but to exercise a bit of force.
He was certain that with just a light shove, the man would realize the profound logic and power behind it and start groveling.
‘If necessary, I can even activate Don Quixote's Falsehood.’
Since this was an S-Class Gate, even if they looked like civilians, they were monsters.
Belatedly remembering that fact, he prepared to weave a lie as he walked toward the Pimp.
Because of the height difference, Min-su ended up in a position where he had to look up slightly.
Suppressing the instinctual shrinking of his body in this strangely familiar situation, he glared with wide eyes.
He hadn't come to this Gate to suffer defeat in a place like this.
Just as he steeled his resolve and prepared to shove the Pimp—
"Young Master, if you keep trying to protect that wench, you might face a truly great calamity. Just stay quiet."
"You scoundrel!!!"
To think a mere monster born from a Gate would look down on him!
Anger instantly took over Min-su’s body, and he swung his fist, unable to hold back.
A short-range straight punch, fueled by the belief that it couldn't possibly miss!
He didn't even raise a guard, reasoning that there was no way he could be hit by a mid-boss.
However, a sudden memory of a past sparring session with Baek Tae-yang flashed through Kim Min-su’s mind.
‘Huh?’
Back then, he had also put everything into the first strike.
What was the feedback Instructor Kim Seok-gu gave him?
In the brief moment his gaze drifted toward the sword resting quietly at his waist, a satisfying thud echoed.
Thwack!
"Gack!"
The problem was that the sound didn't come from the Pimp, but from Min-su.
He stared at the Pimp with an expression of disbelief, but the situation was already spiraling toward the worst.
"You're the one who swung first, Young Master."
Since you are a man of righteousness, chivalry, and reason, I trust you know what comes next.
At the Pimp's subsequent words, Min-su looked at him with a bewildered face.
‘My voice...!’
Because he had been hit in the Adam's apple, his voice wouldn't come out properly.
Distorted sounds leaked out intermittently as his balance crumbled.
If it were a normal hit, he wouldn't be this shaken.
‘My image...!’
It had only been a short time, but he had already spat out several honeyed words.
But if he showed such a pathetic side now?
As the Pimp’s fists continued to fly, he looked toward Chun-hyang.
The moment Chun-hyang’s distorted face entered his vision...
Min-su felt the strength draining from his body.
"Khee-ick... uh..."
But as they say, a champion is always a champion.
Even before entering Victory Academy, Kim Min-su had been a top prospect.
Though flustered by the first hit, he immediately regained his balance and caught the incoming fist.
"Huff... huff... You seem to have some skill... But it won't be enough!"
To think even a mid-boss was this strong; an S-Class Gate was truly no joke.
Min-su clenched his fist, hardening his resolve.
He couldn't afford to lose anymore.
Filled with the sense of duty that he must make a grand return as the Hero Kim Min-su, he moved his body.
‘Chun-hyang will think I’m cool, right?’
A man who puts his words into action.
A man who takes responsibility until the end.
She couldn't help but fall for him.
The Pure Love Diary Writer said he would become a Casanova if he followed his advice.
It felt like those words were truly coming to life.
*
‘This is the worst.’
Meanwhile, Chun-hyang had not viewed this situation positively from the start.
The moment she felt it had truly become the "worst" was when Kim Min-su opened his mouth.
‘Why on earth would he pardon the transgressions he’s committed?’
The sins the Pimp had committed were truly endless.
From harassing women to countless acts of violence and extortion, that was the kind of man he was.
He was someone who cleverly walked the line and bribed people everywhere, so he was never caught.
And he was going to forgive such a man? Was this really the Lee Mong-ryong she knew?
He didn't look like the man who, until recently, had promised to "raise her hair" and save her.
Look at him now, spouting strange words and creating consequences he couldn't even handle.
Though he was the Magistrate's son, Lee Mong-ryong’s influence in this village was meager.
He might be a talent who would achieve great things later, but for now, he was someone who barely commanded basic respect.
But the Pimp was different.
‘The Young Master hasn't thought deeply about why a gisaeng house larger than a tiled mansion exists in this village.’
The reason the Pimp could be so bold and arrogant toward the son of a nobleman?
It was because he had someone backing him.
Thud! Whack!
Though the Young Master and the Pimp were trading blows, it was never a good situation for a commoner and a nobleman to be brawling.
By nature, a scholar should persuade and enlighten the people with logic.
Yet here they were, both turning into beasts and hitting each other.
‘It’s certain now that I’ll be dragged away by the Pimp.’
Chun-hyang’s expression was changing in spite of herself.
*
"Young Master, let's wrap this up."
"What do you mean...!"
Kim Min-su was under a massive delusion.
Did he not know that combat inside a Gate is directly linked to one's life?
He was surely receiving character education, so I couldn't understand why he was being so stupid.
No matter how much he was committed to his role, to not even utilize the sub-skills he possessed...
It was clear he had reached a ridiculous conclusion through his own internal monologue.
When Kim Min-su extended his right hand to strike my face, I responded with the same hand.
I was playing the role of the Pimp, but the contents were those of Baek Tae-yang.
Baek Tae-yang’s body, stacked with multiple physical enhancement skills, was more powerful than a runaway train.
Boom!
The sound of the impact echoed through the surroundings from just their fists colliding.
Before Min-su, who still hadn't grasped the situation, could muster more strength, I extended my other hand.
Stepping forward with my right foot, I rotated my hips along with my left foot as an axis and threw a left hook.
A clean straight line that seemed to cut through the air slammed directly into Kim Min-su’s head.
"Ugh!"
Even according to the story, Lee Mong-ryong only truly displays his power after passing the civil service exam with top honors.
In other words, I, who combined the Pimp’s strength with Baek Tae-yang’s innate power, was bound to have the upper hand.
Kim Min-su probably hadn't even guessed this.
"Come here, you wench."
"Kyaa!"
I didn't even spare a glance for Kim Min-su, who was rolling on the ground clutching his head.
I grabbed Chun-hyang’s hair roughly and started walking toward the Gibang.
‘Wait?’
I felt something strange.
Normally, when you grab someone's hair and move like this, more screams should follow.
But Chun-hyang hadn't shown any significant sign of pain after that first scream.
Was it even possible to be dragged along the ground by your hair like this?
When I looked at Chun-hyang’s face with a puzzled expression, I saw a deep, dark blush on her face.
‘Could it be?’
A hypothesis flashed through my mind.
If that was true...
‘This just got a lot easier.’
Kim Min-su, as long as I'm around, you're never losing your virginity.
With that thought, I let out a deep smirk.