Ch.176Chapter 7. Patriotism for Myself and This Moment

The gambling that wasn’t gambling was quite successful.

Thanks to Ymir giving us space, I sang the national anthem with Baek Seol-hee from the first verse to the fourth, and after that, Baek Seol-hee didn’t say anything more.

She just lay in bed in my arms, her face buried in my shoulder as we watched a late-night movie together.

“Somehow we ended up speaking informally to each other…”

Baek Seol-hee casually brought up how I had called her Seol-hee.

“Should we keep speaking informally with each other from now on?”

“Why make it a big deal now?”

I buried my face in Baek Seol-hee’s hair and gently shook my head from side to side.

“If you say that now, I might feel a little hurt, you know?”

“We’ve been speaking formally all this time, so suddenly switching to informal speech would be awkward.”

“It might be awkward, but we’re doing fine right now. Was I the only one comfortable with our conversation just now?”

“No…”

Baek Seol-hee placed her hand on my chest.

Her white fingers traced up and down my solar plexus, and she stared at me with a lazy smile.

“I was comfortable too.”

“Then that settles it.”

“……”

“Regular citizen Do Ji-hwan and S-rank hero. We might be in different positions, but at least when we’re alone like this, we can be comfortable without worrying about anything else. Don’t you think?”

“You’re right.”

Baek Seol-hee pressed herself closer to me.

She held me tightly like a body pillow, clinging to me as if to prevent me from leaving.

“It really feels good to be comfortable. When I’m with you, I don’t have to worry about anything… no, my mind becomes so at ease that I don’t want to worry about anything.”

Her heartbeat, transmitted through her skin, was extremely stable.

“As if we’ve known each other for a long time.”

“Well. Didn’t we first meet in Seoul?”

“That’s right. We met that day in Seoul when you wanted to rent a bike.”

Baek Seol-hee’s eyes half-closed.

Naturally, that look was one of scrutiny, and I stroked her hair with the arm I was using as her pillow.

“Do you enjoy playing with me?”

“Yes. I do.”

“What did you say?”

“I really want to keep you in my arms forever.”

I turned toward Baek Seol-hee and embraced her even more tightly than she was holding me.

“What should we do, Seol-hee? Do you want to stay with me from now on?”

“……”

“Instead of sending you elsewhere, when villains or demons appear, I’ll tell the other S-ranks to go, and unless the situation deteriorates to the point where you absolutely must step in, I want to keep you by my side.”

“T-that…”

“Is it not possible?”

I brought my face close enough to Baek Seol-hee that our breaths mingled, and her eyes began to waver greatly.

“Hmm? Seol-hee.”

“…You say that, but you already have a wife.”

“We can live together with my wife. It would be four of us if Ymir joins too.”

“Do you really have to do that?”

“Yes. I don’t want to let you go.”

I pressed myself closer to Baek Seol-hee.

She seemed tense as if finding me burdensome, but she didn’t back away.

“What do you want to do? If we keep watching movies together at night like this, I might get even more intense.”

“What do you mean by getting more intense?”

“Well. At the very least, I won’t harm the person named Baek Seol-hee, but I might make it so that Baek Seol-hee spends more time as a woman just for me than as a hero for the citizens.”

I caressed Baek Seol-hee’s cheek and brought my face even closer.

“Haven’t you ever thought about it? That you want to be a woman sharing love with someone, not a hero of this country.”

“…And that love would be with a man who has a wife and plays around with other women?”

“Love comes in many forms. If you love me, I’ll give you even greater love in return. However.”

I placed my index finger on Baek Seol-hee’s lips.

“No exclusivity.”

“…What if I want exclusivity?”

“You’ll be ruined.”

“Me? Huh…”

Baek Seol-hee wrapped both hands around my back and pulled me closer, even more forcefully than I had done to her.

“What if I take you to some quiet island, create an ice castle, and keep you from ever going outside? Do you think I’ll be ruined because your wife or Ymir will come to rescue you, and I’ll have to fight them?”

“No.”

“Then what, are you afraid I’ll fall so deeply for you that I’ll throw away my life as the hero Snow White and live with you? That I’ll be so focused on making love with you that I’ll ignore villains and enemies that only I can handle, as you said?”

“That’s not it either.”

“Then what? Ah, I get it now.”

Baek Seol-hee took my hand, brushed it with her own, then placed it on her lower abdomen with a smile.

“You’re afraid I’ll throw everything away for the child if I get pregnant?”

“If a child is born, I could put everything aside even more than now and work my whole life for that child.”

“…What?”

“That’s what becoming a father means, I think. Dedicating yourself to your family and paving the way for your child to grow up properly is my role. If it’s for that, I could even quit my current job.”

“…You’re serious. You really are serious.”

A look of bewilderment crossed Baek Seol-hee’s face.

“If you’re really serious, tell me. Do you really want to have a child with me?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

“If I hadn’t married my wife, you would have been the person I proposed to.”

“…That’s a bit regrettable.”

Baek Seol-hee sighed as if lamenting and buried her head in my shoulder.

“If that had happened, I might have married you first. Hey, if I told you not to see other women, would you stop?”

“Of course. But could you handle it?”

“…Handle it?”

“Yes. It’s an extension of what I meant by ruin earlier. What I mean is.”

I moved Baek Seol-hee’s hand downward, proving my still robust health and vigor.

“You already have trouble handling me by yourself.”

“That’s…”

“If we did this every day, could you really handle it?”

“……”

“If I were unemployed, maybe. If I didn’t have to work, you could handle it. But you know, ability users have several times stronger personal desires than ordinary people, and they need tremendous resources to satisfy those desires.”

“……”

Baek Seol-hee lowered her head with a slightly fearful expression.

“…Couldn’t I manage somehow with effort?”

“There are many things in this world that are impossible even with effort. You should know by now after trying several times. You can’t handle me alone. Look at the time.”

I pointed to the movie on TV.

“We’ve been at it since the movie started, and now the movie is reaching its highlight. But you reached your highlight earlier and are already exhausted.”

“What about you?”

“I could easily watch five more movies and still be fine.”

Fear gradually began to frost over in Baek Seol-hee’s eyes.

“You said Ymir tactfully left, but would the situation be any different if Ymir were here now? No. After the commercials, about ten minutes into the next movie, both of you would already be panting with exhaustion.”

“Are you actually an ability user?”

“What?”

“Do you have exceptionally high abilities in just that area? Is that why you’re still so fine?”

“Maybe. That’s interesting. An ability user who doesn’t emit any magical energy, but whose patriotic magic burns only during patriotic acts…”

The movie ended.

I moved on top of Baek Seol-hee, stroking her hair as I looked down at her.

“If I really were such a being, could you handle it?”

“……”

“You’re struggling just dealing with the man called Do Ji-hwan as he is now. If I were an ability user who wanted to use magic for patriotic purposes, could you handle it?”

“Magic for… patriotism?”

“Yes.”

Ymir had confirmed it.

Having experienced it first with the Goblin and Platinum Sun, she knew well how dangerous the Goblin could be.

How terrifying a Goblin at full power truly is.

“Human imagination is truly diverse. And if imagination is the only foundation, any act can be performed. Even on the battlefield of patriotism.”

“You mean… like this?”

Saaah.

A cold energy flowed from Baek Seol-hee’s hand behind my back, wrapping around me.

“This is a net for capturing villains. Originally, that is. But as you said, with just a little imagination, it can also be used to prevent a man from escaping.”

“……”

“Now, you can’t get away from me.”

Just as Baek Seol-hee said.

She created an ice cocoon as if she had crawled into a one-person tent with me, and I was trapped, unable to move while holding her.

It might be possible to crawl out from inside, but some part of my body would get caught on a major bump, making it difficult to exit.

Even if I somehow tried to squeeze my way out, Baek Seol-hee would hold me so tightly I could barely breathe, preventing my escape.

“Do Ji-hwan.”

Baek Seol-hee caressed my face.

“Do you think you can just rely on your face and body and get your way with everyone?”

“Yes.”

“You tease me, play with me, deceive me, and then try to soothe me like this. Do you think I’m the type to be soothed so easily?”

“Yes.”

That’s how I made it.

“Am I that easy?”

“Of course not. From the moment I first approached you, I did so prepared to get an ice spear in my stomach if things went wrong.”

I’m serious.

“Then.”

Baek Seol-hee held my hand.

“I’ll ask you with complete sincerity. Forget everything else, just answer this. If you lie… I’ll kill you.”

Baek Seol-hee’s eyes grew cold.

“If I.”

Baek Seol-hee looked at me with trembling eyes.

“If I get pregnant, will you take responsibility?”

“Of course. Don’t you trust your oppa?”

“What’s with the ‘oppa’? That answer makes me trust you even less.”

“Then I’ll change my answer. From the beginning.”

I held Baek Seol-hee in my arms and kissed her forehead.

“If I wasn’t going to take responsibility, I wouldn’t have approached you in the first place.”

“Then.”

Baek Seol-hee turned her head slightly to the side.

“Promise to take responsibility.”

“I promise.”

I was about to seal the promise with our fingers-

“Don’t seal it there. Here…”

“……”

Again.

The movie began.