Ch.127Chapter 5. Do Ji-hwan’s Ambitious Project (4) ☆

Ymir pokes me from behind.

She stares at me with surprised eyes, wondering what I just said.

[Two women?]

“Yeah. Two women. I think two is possible right now.”

Three minutes.

As soon as the battle began, I felt like a giant of light with a red glow in my chest, desperately hoping my wife-the boss would help me get through this situation.

[Two women, hmm.]

Surrogate. Two. Though just two words, the boss already understands my situation.

The boss I know would throw me a lifeline while also finding a way to gain even more benefit.

[Will two be enough?]

As expected.

[I think you’ll need more than two. If you’re trying to make a soccer team.]

The boss has precisely grasped my intention.

[Are you with those two right now?]

“Yeah. They’re listening on speakerphone right beside me.”

[Is that so? Well…this is awkward. Um, I appreciate it, but excuse me?]

The boss carefully addresses the two women.

[If you two feel it’s too much to handle, you can stop anytime. I’m not forcing you.]

“……”

[Did you hear me?]

“Ah, understood.”

Baek Seol-hee responds respectfully while glancing nervously, while Ymir just keeps staring at me expressionlessly.

[I’ll look forward to good news. Oh, by the way, honey.]

“Yes?”

[Do that thing. I need to get back to work.]

“…Darling.”

It’s a bit embarrassing to do this in front of two women—actually, beyond embarrassment, I have no idea how to deal with the aftermath—but I decided to follow the boss’s request.

“I love you.”

Smooch.

I kissed the smartphone.

The two women gaped in surprise at my action, but then—

Smooch.

[I love you too. You’re the one I love most. Tell them I said good luck.]

“Okay.”

Click.

The call ended.

And simultaneously, I felt completely relieved.

“…That’s our relationship.”

I sat down on the bed.

“My wife is that kind of person.”

I felt as refreshed as if a painful toothache had suddenly disappeared, and I lay down on the bed, even crossing my legs.

“Well, it’s not as…intense as I thought it would be?”

“Seol-hee, what were you expecting?”

“I thought she might scream like in morning dramas, ‘How dare you do this to my man!’ or something.”

“She’s not that kind of person.”

I’m confident about that.

She has absolute faith that I won’t betray her, and I have the same faith, which is why I don’t betray her.

Therefore, from now on, it’s the turn of the Syndicate, Yimemangryang, and the villain Goblin.

“Seol-hee. Let me speak a bit more comfortably. Um… although the surrogate topic came up, you don’t necessarily need to worry about that. Both Seol-hee and student Ymir are far more impressive people than I am, and more helpful to the world than I am. Compared to Do Ji-hwan.”

I added the qualifier “Do Ji-hwan” because Ymir gave me a look that said “what nonsense are you talking about.”

“Do Ji-hwan, a man with no abilities except liking novels and analyzing supernatural powers, can listen to and solve the problems of Snow White, Korea’s top female ability user, and Platinum Sun, who, though mysterious, subdued an S-class demon. Just for that, I think I’m being of great help to the world.”

As Do Ji-hwan.

“Think about it. Someone like me, who has nothing but his body, can solve the problems of world-class ability users. It might sound self-congratulatory, but if I can help care for their mental state or provide even a little psychological support, I’m happy to help. Whether it’s with my body or my heart.”

All a non-ability user can do for ability users is fulfill roles as human to human or man to woman.

“And if I can receive a little help in the process…I’d like to ask for your understanding about providing a little help for my wife.”

“……”

“…If you say no, that’s that.”

“I never said I didn’t want to.”

Ymir spoke up first.

“It’s complicated, honestly, and it makes my head hurt.”

Ymir came over to me, sat down next to me, and lay down just as I had.

“So I just don’t need to think about it too much, and keep going on with you like we have been, teacher?”

“…I guess so?”

“Then the answer is simple.”

Ymir raised her legs high.

“If it happens, there’s no problem!”

“That’s not exactly true, is it?”

“Unlike S-class heroes, I’m known as an E-class ability user.”

Ymir crossed her legs like me and gave a confident smile toward Baek Seol-hee, who was still standing.

“If people hear that a foreign E-class ability user and a Korean non-ability user had a child, they’d at least see it as a win-win situation.”

Ymir is right.

“Setting aside the marriage issue, if you officially certify that I gave birth to a Korean child, I could become Korean, right?”

“…That’s generally true.”

Ymir, who doesn’t have Korean nationality, would score major points in the naturalization process just by having my child, not even necessarily through marriage.

Simply having a Korean person’s child isn’t enough.

They consider whether the person is an ability user, what their family background is, what their family’s occupation is, their economic status, and whether accepting them as Korean would benefit Korea.

Millions of people apply for immigration to Korea every year, and to go from immigration to naturalization requires excellent abilities or background.

“…Ymir. People are saying that the world should classify you as EX-class.”

Perhaps to check Ymir who was charging ahead like a runaway train, Baek Seol-hee pointed out a realistic issue—one that’s currently causing a global sensation.

“Me?”

“Yes. The ability to render demons powerless. I don’t know exactly what kind of ability it is, but the whole world is looking for you right now.”

“So?”

“…You can’t just say ‘so?'”

Baek Seol-hee frowned, pressing her hand against her head.

“If your ability could be utilized, people who have become demons could be restored to their original state, so everyone…”

“Ms. Baek Seol-hee, you’re very pure and kind. Teacher Ji-hwan was worried about different issues.”

“Different issues?”

“Yes.”

Ymir turned her gaze to me.

She seemed to be asking “May I speak?” with her expression, and I was worried she might say something strange.

“Ymir. For now, your words…”

“He told me to be careful because there might be people who want to develop new abilities through my ability.”

I never said that.

“I’d never thought about it that way before, but the teacher told me about it. He taught me about the adult world.”

“Th-the adult world?”

“Yes. About the terrible and cruel world of adults. He advised me about things I’d never even considered.”

Ymir looked at me as if I had given her incredible advice, speaking like someone moved by a profound lecture.

“He said my ability is unusual, so there might be people who would forcibly capture me to research my ability. They might use my ability directly, or they might try to make me ‘give birth’ to develop new abilities.”

“That means…”

“It might be similar to your concerns, Ms. Baek Seol-hee. Having ability users give birth. Forcibly implanting ability users’ genes into my womb…to birth new ability users. I would be locked up somewhere until I die, used as a broodmare to mass-produce ability users. I—”

“Ymir. That will never happen.”

Baek Seol-hee interrupted Ymir with an urgent voice.

“That was just Ji-hwan warning you to be careful because such people might exist…”

“Actually, if you search the internet, there are quite a few such cases, aren’t there?”

“…Even if that’s true, I won’t stand by if something like that happens. I’ll help you.”

“Thank you, Ms. Baek Seol-hee. But there’s someone here who can help me more easily.”

Ymir placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Teacher. I’ve been thinking about this on my way here.”

“Yes.”

“When people pressure you to have a child, what do you think is the best response?”

“…I wonder.”

I had a guess, but deliberately didn’t say it.

Because it would be more effective coming from Ymir than from me.

“It’s to already be in a state of having a child…”

Grip.

Ymir trailed off and squeezed my shoulder for a moment.

“…Ymir?”

“…Hah.”

Ymir’s eyes trembled slightly.

“Reservation…room…. Ah, that… Haha. Hahaha. Really. Hah.”

She seemed genuinely angry for a moment, and I wondered if Ymir had caught on to my excuse.

She definitely had.

“Really, teacher, you should be grateful to have a woman like me. Truly.”

“I do think that.”

“Hah. Anyway, the correct answer is to have a child. Ms. Seol-hee.”

But she deliberately didn’t mention it.

“What do you think? If you’re worried about being forced to have a child, have one preemptively.”

“……”

“It’s better than being forced by others, better than being treated like livestock by the state and suddenly living with some man they bring you.”

Ymir took my hand and turned her body toward me.

“At the very least, I want to choose the person who will be the father of my child myself.”

“Ymir.”

Baek Seol-hee approached the bed with a serious face.

“I’ve already had that thought too, you know?”

Baek Seol-hee.

“If I wasn’t prepared for that, I wouldn’t have given permission to this man in the first place.”

Unlike Ymir who was beside me, she climbed on top of me.

“Get ready, Ji-hwan.”

Click.

As Baek Seol-hee snapped her fingers, white magical energy flowed from her hand and operated the room’s console.

The blinds came down, and the lights went out.

“Today, I’m on vacation.”

“Me too, teacher.”

“…Is there anyone here who isn’t on holiday?”

I reached out to Baek Seol-hee and Ymir, taking a light breath.

“No need to think too much. I’ll make you both forget everything else.”

* * *