Ch.56Chapter 3. Mental Care at Your Service (2)

“Do you know what’s the most common nagging that S-rank heroes hear?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer Baek Seol-hee’s question.

Even though we were already exposing our bodies to each other, soaking together in an open-air bath, we weren’t dating, and there’s definitely a “line” between men and women.

Moreover, crossing that line with an S-rank hero?

That would be a story worthy of death if others found out.

But.

“Is it to get pregnant?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Baek Seol-hee had already crossed that line, and I too was hoping to speak candidly while crossing it.

“Then do you know what percentage chance there is of having a powered child when two ability users marry and have a child?”

“At least well over 50%.”

Statistically, that’s correct.

Among ability users who are over 20—that is, adults—there are quite a few who have gotten pregnant and given birth.

Like the saying “a tiger’s cub is still a tiger,” a tiger’s offspring will naturally be tigers.

Of course, some might be tigers in name only, but most are born as tigers.

“When an ability user and a normal person marry and have a child, there’s a much higher chance of having a powered child compared to when two normal people have a child. There are many variables, but when three factors are secured, the probability of having a powered child is highest. Do you know what they are?”

I raised three fingers out of the water.

“One. When both parents are ability users.”

“That’s right. As we just discussed. And the others?”

“Two. When the ability user has a high mana rank.”

“Yes. Although we can’t precisely measure the mana in one’s body… children of people with abundant mana are more likely to be born with abilities. And do you know the last and most significant factor?”

“…When the woman has never given birth before.”

“Correct.”

Baek Seol-hee looked up at the sky with a gloomy expression.

“There’s something going around on the internet. They say that a child born to a virgin S-rank ability user will be an ability user with 100% certainty. Just like it’s always been, not a single exception.”

“……”

“They say that while the newborn’s talent for abilities might vary, being born as an ability user is definitely the same for everyone.”

I don’t know why this is possible either.

Perhaps it’s some genetic influence, or maybe the normal person’s genes mutate during fertilization to match the ability user’s genes.

If I knew that much, I wouldn’t be Goblin or Manager Do, but Professor Do, a renowned genetic engineering expert.

“It’s just that we’re seeing the first generation of ability users starting to step into society, but in about five years, ability users entering society as ‘adults’ will be popping up everywhere. While previously children were born from non-powered couples, now they’ll actively use ability users to create children.”

That’s exactly right.

The most representative example would be the “Demon’s Seed.”

While that transforms people into demons rather than ability users, the context is the same in that seeds of life sprouted from ability users have a high probability of producing ability users.

“In other words, my first child will almost certainly be an ability user. Whether my husband is a normal person or an ability user, since I’m already S-rank and haven’t given birth.”

There’s only one reason why Baek Seol-hee has been talking at such length.

“So you’re being pressured to have children for the sake of patriotism.”

“Yes, that’s right. Everywhere I go, I’m told to have children quickly, that giving birth is patriotic.”

Baek Seol-hee shrugged her shoulders with genuine annoyance.

“It’s only because I’m S-rank. For those who are A-rank or B-rank, the country sometimes deliberately arranges matches for them. Of course, some get along well, but those who couldn’t bear it ended up leaving the country.”

“Because the arranged partners are all politicians’ children or second or third-generation chaebol heirs?”

“Yes. Some are satisfied with that, but many aren’t. Do you know about the ‘Haeguneul Morning Drama’ incident?”

“I do.”

It’s one of the incidents in this world.

Something resembling a romance drama that would air on public TV at 10 PM happened in Korea, where an A-rank female ability user found herself in a love triangle between her childhood friend, a mailman, and a third-generation heir of Haeguneul Group.

“If it were a drama, the main characters—the childhood friend male lead and the female ability user lead—would have eloped or something. But reality wasn’t like that. People thought it was a romance drama, but in reality, it was a suspense crime drama.”

“The Haeguneul heir threatened the childhood friend, right? Not just his life, but also his friends, family, and even his family’s coworkers.”

“Yes. For a chaebol heir, destroying an entire family is nothing if they set their mind to it. In the end, that man harshly drove the woman away, and she became Haeguneul’s daughter-in-law. She gave birth to a child at the end of last year, and it’s an ability user. That’s how the chaebol heir got a powered child with half his blood. The same goes for Haeguneul.”

“That’s a complicated and terrible story.”

“Yes. But the most terrible part is… that woman, that unnie, made an unavoidable choice.”

Baek Seol-hee whispered softly with a face that looked like she might cry.

“She still loved her childhood friend, but if she had chosen him, the pain and suffering he would have endured would have been too great, so she had no choice but to give up. Even as an A-rank, it’s not easy to face the entire nation, and to take her family and her loved one’s family somewhere to seek asylum. With Haeguneul as an enemy.”

“In the end…?”

“She was on the verge of going berserk but managed to come to her senses just in time. Haeguneul used her parents to persuade her, and above all, if she died, the baby in her womb would die too.”

Ability users are sensitive, but they’re also people.

Their delicate mental state can explode, but sometimes, due to some other trigger, they grasp their wavering mental state and strengthen their will to live on stubbornly.

What about the exceptions?

They all died.

And their rampages ended up being classified as “accidents.”

“That was truly a sad ending.”

“Yes. And that story is just at the level where we can talk about it publicly. What about others besides that unnie?”

“……”

No matter how much power ability users have to overturn mountains and rivers.

The oldest ability user was born in 2000.

They didn’t formally graduate from middle school or high school; they came straight out of hero academies where they were indoctrinated with “you must become an excellent hero for this country” and immediately became heroes. Can they really make proper judgments?

Not at all.

The fields from which they can obtain information from their surroundings are limited, the media they can access regularly is restricted, and what if there are people who periodically instill hero ideology into them?

Even Baek Seol-hee is being blackmailed with patriotism as hostage; how much worse must it be for others?

“You probably understand the point of what I’ve been saying, right?”

“Who’s the crazy person telling you to get pregnant now?”

“The President.”

“……”

The final boss appeared right from the start.

“The President has one son. He’s single. It’s not just the President. There’s also the Prime Minister, ministers, and the heirs of those chaebol groups.”

“Isn’t there anyone in the political or business world who can protect you?”

“The opposition party leader is also trying to somehow match me with his grandson, and there’s no one in the business world who can protect me.”

“……”

At times like this, the person who would be most supportive, a pillar, and provide mental stability would naturally be one’s parents.

But Baek Seol-hee has no parents.

More precisely, they’re both dead and no longer in this world.

No matter if they were parents of an S-rank hero, they were non-powered, and when caught up in villain rampages, they died just the same, even as a hero’s parents.

Baek Seol-hee has no allies to protect her socially.

Then…

“Seol-hee.”

“Yes, Ji-hwan.”

“I, Do Ji-hwan, am just an ordinary librarian, so I’m not someone who can directly help you against the government.”

I draw a clear line first.

Baek Seol-hee’s expression sinks gloomily, but ideals and reality are clearly different.

“But I can certainly be someone you can open up to, someone who can listen to your worries. Even if the world curses and criticizes you, even if those criticisms are actually created by the government to manipulate you, I will support you.”

“…That’s what I wanted to hear.”

Baek Seol-hee pressed her flushed cheeks with her hands.

“I was right to decide to consult with you. There were various stories, but what was most pressuring today was definitely that.”

Baek Seol-hee frowned as she composed her voice.

“Hero Snow White, now that you’ve come to Sejong Island, don’t you think we need more ability users? Ability users who can take charge of our security, who can protect citizens.”

“Who said that to you?”

“Yes. So when I said I came to Sejong Academy, an educational institution, to nurture such ability users, they changed the subject.”

“How so?”

“They said a woman is only complete as a woman after giving birth to and raising a child.”

“What ridiculous old-fashioned nonsense to hear.”

“Yes. They’re telling me to quickly grab someone and get married. And it would be better if it were their child, relative, or the child of their political partner. Tsk.”

Baek Seol-hee openly expressed her annoyance.

“It’s not like I’d marry just anyone…”

“Then who do you want to marry?”

“……”

Baek Seol-hee’s body sank lower, and she remained silent for a moment with her nose bridge submerged in the water.

“If I were to marry and have a child, I would want that person to be…”

Emerging from the water again, Baek Seol-hee looked at me and smiled faintly.

“Someone who can see me purely as me, someone who sees me as a woman, not as an S-rank ability user.”