Ch.619Chapter 23. Patriotic General Do Ji-hwan (23)

Among the internet memes circulating online, there’s one that goes:

Becoming impotent vs. Receiving 1 billion.

No matter how you look at it, logically speaking, receiving 1 billion makes more sense than becoming impotent.

The creator probably had this intention:

Living normally vs. Receiving 1 billion and becoming impotent.

Will you live as yourself, just as you are, or will you sacrifice something to gain something else?

The fallopian tube sealing technique has created a similar situation for ability users:

Living as an ability user vs. Living as a normal person without periods.

For men, this isn’t much of an issue.

But for women, it seems to be a more important matter than expected.

“Not having periods makes sense. If the world becomes peaceful, wouldn’t it be better to live without periods instead of having abilities?”

“But with magical power, you can do so many things.”

“Neither magical power nor abilities can eliminate menstrual pain. I’m assuming a peaceful situation where you don’t need to use magical power.”

“Even if that’s not the case, I’d be happy just to get through my period without pain.”

Opinions were divided.

The debate was so evenly split, with a 2:2 ratio among ability users, and with unexpected alliances forming on each side.

“Let’s change the conditions. Let’s limit the conditions as Thunder Empress just suggested, based on our current situation.”

I offered conditions that both teams could reasonably accept.

“Assuming our current situation, what if there was a period each month when you temporarily lose your abilities?”

“That’s right. There’s no need to become powerless forever. We just need to seal the abilities during painful times.”

What if you only become powerless when the pain occurs?

More precisely, what if you only become powerless right before it starts?

“Couldn’t we just seal it right before ovulation?”

“Hmm… is it that simple?”

Everyone looks at me.

“What? Why are you all suddenly looking at me like that?”

“Because you’re the most creative when it comes to these things, oppa.”

“No one else even thought about eliminating menstrual pain except for you, teacher.”

“Well… I appreciate the compliment about my creativity, but the direction of that creativity is a bit… I’m not even a woman.”

If I were a woman and had experienced that kind of pain, I would certainly understand their feelings 100%.

But even though I was temporarily turned into a woman by the Demon of Amta, and even though I’ve surrendered my body to Taotie and let him control my physical form, I’ve never experienced menstrual pain.

However.

“If you seal it before the cells are discharged, you eliminate the very cause of the pain. It’s possible.”

Theoretically, it’s not impossible.

Even in modern science, it’s possible to seal during contraception and restore when pregnancy is desired.

Of course, going under the knife means accepting certain risks.

“We’d need to learn about side effects gradually, and there are some anticipated ones…”

“Like what?”

“…Menopause? Ah, don’t misunderstand. Since it’s a bodily function, it might deteriorate if not used regularly. It’s the same for men too. You know how urologists appear on health programs saying that regular discharge is actually good for health.”

This is theoretically and medically proven.

“Human cells do their best to produce healthy children. Men create the materials, women prepare the home. But what happens if men just keep stockpiling inventory and women don’t regularly redecorate?”

“The men’s warehouse would get dusty or the goods would expire?”

“For women… if we think of it as regular maintenance, would it just become ruins?”

“Something like that.”

There’s a difference between conveniently sealing when needed and constantly suppressing with abilities.

The latter is like “waiting for whenever you want to get pregnant.”

“There are pros and cons, but it’s worth researching. When we catch suitable E-rank or D-rank villains later, we’ll experiment after getting their consent.”

Research involving life issues always requires caution.

Especially in this world where “future possibilities” are given the highest priority, we shouldn’t become demons in human form for the sake of convenience.

“…We need to walk a fine line. We can’t cause menopause just to eliminate menstrual pain.”

There’s already a rumor circulating among ability users.

Based on existing biological and medical knowledge, it’s a hypothesis that definitely warrants attention if it’s related to “Zenros.”

-Do female ability users become Zenros when they reach menopause?

That kind of talk.

Of course, the actual possibility is slim.

If one becomes unable to bear future possibilities, magical power would naturally drain away, but an ability user’s body is different from an ordinary human’s.

They might maintain their 20s appearance even at 60, and might even be able to have children without much trouble past their 60s.

The physical bodies of normal people and ability users are completely different.

If modern humans are Homo sapiens sapiens, ability users might be called Homo manans nasciens.

Well, all of this will become clear with time.

The Syndicate’s job is to prepare in advance so that future possibilities aren’t cut off even if such things happen.

The goal of the Syndicate is to control and prevent human extinction by considering and preparing for all sudden possibilities of human annihilation.

Therefore.

“Let’s first gather data from those who have undergone semi-permanent fallopian tube sealing. Let’s see what kind of men they chose.”

Collecting data from now on is the best approach.

[Then shall we go in? The three of them should be together. You can either watch from outside or continue the discussion.]

I left the four of them to continue their conversation in the lobby and went down to the basement.

“…You’re here.”

In Emperor Yoo-hyun’s suite reception room.

The three sisters were sitting on the sofa, busily organizing something while alternately looking at the tablet in front of them and a large monitor.

[Have you chosen your husband candidates?]

“…….”

[It seems like you have something to tell me.]

“We do have something to say.”

Gwan-un raised her hand.

“We’ve made our decision. All three of us have decided.”

“On the count of three, we’ll point.”

“Will you count for us?”

[Well, alright. One, two, three—]

Spirit form.

“Ah?! Suddenly?!”

[I knew it.]

I briefly left the sofa using spirit form, then picked up the large monitor placed in front of them.

[That shallow trick of trying to make me responsible for all three of you as your husband won’t work on me.]

“Y-you…!”

[Let’s see who your fingers were pointing at. Hmm, a middle-aged man in his 40s, who has been single until now….]

“No! We chose that person!”

“…You were expecting this. Unnie, it’s not working. We failed.”

“Ugh….”

Of course I was expecting it.

I knew the Peach Sisters would try to mess with me by choosing me, Do Ji-hwan.

It happened because they were shown Do Ji-hwan’s face and physique.

[Just trying to pick a fruit you can’t eat. I’m not a fruit you can consume. If you really want to eat me, request permission from the Korean government, get approval from the Association, and bid at an auction to purchase one night.]

“…Is that okay?”

[Of course. I can provide ability consulting for one night anytime. Some might maliciously call it a compensated date or whatever, but it’s clearly different.]

“Isn’t it patriotic consulting that happens in bed rather than ability consulting…?”

[The end result is that by morning, their abilities become stronger and the Mark of Awakening is engraved. The process doesn’t matter. What matters is the result.]

Spending a night with Do Ji-hwan makes you stronger.

Just like Baek Seol-hee, Yoon Yi-seon, and Kim Yoon-ji did.

[It seems you were trying to use that to interfere with me as much as possible, but…]

“That’s not it.”

[Hmm?]

“…If we have to choose a man anyway, we just wanted to choose a strong man who could protect us from the authorities.”

The three women held hands.

“Do you think the authorities will leave us alone? If we stay alive, they’ll kill us. They’ll frame it as individual misconduct and clean up their own mistakes themselves.”

[Image making, I see.]

“Yes. Whether it’s the Heavenly Demon or someone else, they’ll try to kill us directly.”

It’s like in noir films where the boss personally deals with a subordinate who made a mistake to maintain relationships with rival organizations.

In reality, the mistake was the boss’s order, but everyone knows it yet maintains the relationship on the surface.

Otherwise, it would be too damaging to themselves.

“So that’s why we chose you…”

[Sorry, but I have no intention of impregnating you.]

“Are you looking down on us because we’re Chinese?!”

“According to rumors, you devour all virgins regardless of race…”

[I’m neither a unicorn nor a cannibal.]

I’m just someone who prefers the best.

A good descendant who tries to listen carefully to the words of his ancestors.

[I understand your concerns, but the Chinese authorities won’t find you. Officially, you’ll be reported as dead.]

“…You’re going to execute us? After all this?”

“Unnie. I think ‘officially’ means they’ll launder our identities… something like that?”

[Correct.]

Tonight, the Peach Sisters died.

[We’ll prepare appropriate bodies, execute them, and then keep the ashes to sprinkle on clones created by the Syndicate and their children.]

“…So even if we regain our abilities and use them as before, we won’t be who we are now?”

[You understand well.]

In other words, reincarnation.

[If you say you want to be reborn as Koreans, with the cooperation of the Korean government, I can help you be reborn as sealed ability users with Korean nationality. The prerequisite is that you marry Korean men and live happily ever after.]

Even Chinese people become Korean when they naturalize.