Ch.621Chapter 23. Patriotic General Do Ji-hwan (25)

The World Cup Stadium terror plot ended in failure.

We gained a means to politically leverage the Chinese authorities, and acquired three S-class ability users.

Well, “acquired” might be an overstatement at this point.

As long as the flag waving in their hearts is the Five-starred Red Flag rather than the Taegeukgi, it’s too early to say we’ve gained them as Koreans.

However, as time passes, the flags in their hearts will surely fade to white.

They’ll end up singing all four verses of the national anthem that plays at the start of dawn TV broadcasts, and they’ll grow into good mothers raising children in Korea.

Some people say—some of those married to Chinese wives say—

They don’t know whether they’re living in China or Korea anymore.

While that’s a rather meaningful statement, the fate of the Peach Sisters will certainly be different.

After all…

“It’s done.”

“What? Did they choose?”

“Yes.”

I handed Baek Seol-hee the profile of the man “chosen” by the Peach Sisters.

“…Wait, why him of all people?”

“How would I know?”

The man in the profile could be described as an “unscratched lottery ticket.”

He stood nearly 190cm tall, with a build that made you wonder if his weight might be around the same figure.

…Well, perhaps not quite that extreme, but he was clearly a large young man who would consider a “package” of ramen to be a multi-pack rather than a single serving.

“Did he used to be an athlete? He doesn’t seem just obese.”

“From his social media photos, he seems to enjoy eating out, meeting people, and has an innocent-looking face, but…”

There was one problem.

“Which sister is he supposed to marry? Yuhyun? Gwanun? Or Jangdeok?”

“…All three.”

“What?”

Problem number one:

I only had one profile, not profiles of multiple husbands.

“These three sisters seem to be plotting something together.”

“Even if they’re plotting something, what could they possibly… Are they planning to take down one man together?”

“Probably.”

It’s a shallow scheme, but simultaneously the optimal strategy for these three confined women.

“If they can’t gain advantage as ability users, they’ll resort to human wave tactics. Typical Chinese thinking.”

“Hmm… So one man has to face three S-class users? Isn’t that dangerous?”

Baek Seol-hee expressed serious concern for the young man in the profile.

“If all three of them pounce on him, he might end up emaciated and withered. They might be aiming to become widows. …Wait, could that be their plan…?”

“They didn’t say it directly, but we can’t rule out the possibility.”

The young man, defeated and collapsed by the three Yu sisters.

Intoxicated by peach fragrance, he buries his face in the peach grave and dies of a heart attack.

If that ending occurs, we certainly can’t progress any further.

“They’ve thought this through.”

“…Hey, are they possibly aiming for the ‘virtuous widow’ angle?”

Baek Seol-hee immediately caught on to the plan the three sisters had concocted in their underground suite.

“After their husband dies, they’ll live as lifelong widows, gain recognition as virtuous women, and either put down roots in Korea or return home…”

“They’re exploiting international law and Confucian customs. Clever.”

I only gave them the tablet to check profiles, so they couldn’t have researched this separately.

This must be information they already knew.

The “virtuous widow” technique.

It’s a method for foreign women who marry Korean men to settle in Korea, and there are even brokers abroad who create these virtuous widows.

The process is simple:

Marry a Korean man.

Somehow ensure the husband dies before having children.

This part is crucial—the husband’s death can’t be through obvious “poisoning” or “murder.”

In this age of supernatural abilities, what happens when a murder occurs?

Ability-wielding police immediately respond, analyze the scene with psychometry, and find the culprit within half a day.

Marrying with the intention of poisoning or assassinating your husband is fraud and deception from the start.

So how should one hope for death?

Either desperately pray for an accident, or as a wife, ensure your husband has a “good death.”

A blessed death.

If ancestors died that way, it would be called a good death.

For a foreign woman who married a Korean man and became a widow, there are two paths:

Either return to her home country.

Or earn the right to continue living in Korea by vowing to never be alone with another man for the rest of her life.

That’s what foreigners call the “virtuous widow” technique.

Under the protection of K-Confucianism, even foreign women can live in Korea.

“Following Korean traditions, serving kimchi at every meal, working for Korea’s development… Even if born abroad, living like a Korean makes you Korean.”

“But they’re exploiting that.”

“There are always people who exploit rules and laws for their convenience. We do it too, don’t we?”

The Baek Seol-hee of last year wouldn’t have done this, but today’s Baek Seol-hee pursues her interests through loopholes.

In her hero activities, heroes must respond to calls, but since there’s no rule against “sending a clone,” she actively sends clones.

Similarly, these women are trying to use the virtuous widow technique.

“Even The Syndicate can’t force a married woman to marry another man. That would make our ancestors shout ‘you scoundrel!'”

“So you’ll let them have their way? You’ll just watch as three sisters brutally murder a man in bed?”

“Of course not.”

I reviewed the profile of the “chosen” man again.

“Someone who needs to work hard for his country against three foreigners can’t be thrown in unprepared.”

“…What are you planning? Knowing your personality, you’re not going to teach him techniques.”

“Of course not. But sometimes… such petty skills might be unnecessary.”

I pulled out documents from his childhood that the tavern owners had discovered.

“Oh!”

Baek Seol-hee covered her mouth in shock.

“This person, could it be…”

“They probably chose a man likely to die easily of heart attack for their virtuous widow scheme, but they might be the ones to die instead.”

Photos from elementary school, middle school, and high school.

The young man in the photos had been quite large since childhood, and was smiling confidently at the camera with his upper body bare.

“We just need to send him some physical supplements.”

Wearing only blue underwear.

* * *

At that moment, at the former Haeguneul Hotel in northern Yangyang, Gangwon Province.

“Sister, are we doing the right thing?”

“Of course. This is our way to survive.”

“Hmm…”

The three sisters sat with serious expressions in the hotel suite.

“Haaah…!”

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, they stretched their hands forward trying to summon magical power.

But the mana wouldn’t move at all, and their outstretched hands merely trembled in the air.

“Ugh…!”

No matter how much strength they applied, all that came out were groans.

Worried that something else might come out instead, they lowered their hands one by one, with Yuhyun being the last, and all three sisters sighed simultaneously.

“Haa. The mana isn’t gone, but…”

Thump.

Yuhyun struck her chest hard with her fist.

“Gwanun. Try hitting my abdomen. With full force.”

“…It might hurt?”

“We checked earlier. Go all out. If it hurts, that’s actually good. So…”

Yuhyun stood up and lifted her top, and Gwanun swung her fist at Yuhyun’s abdomen with full force.

BANG!

When fist met abdomen, there was a concussive sound as if magical forces had collided.

“Ah…”

“…It seems there was no impact at all.”

“Right. It doesn’t hurt or anything. How about you?”

“It feels like hitting a wall. A little painful…”

Being hit doesn’t hurt at all.

That’s clearly because the mana flowing through the body is protecting it.

But when striking others or swinging fists, it’s as if the muscles have melted, and no strength can be applied.

“Tch. If only my strength remained properly, I could beat down anyone who came…”

“…No, Jangdeok. We can’t kill recklessly. Murder won’t make us virtuous widows.”

Yuhyun firmly held her two sisters’ hands.

“You two can become virtuous widows after me. I’ll take care of that man, and you two just need to wait until I send him off…”

“Sister, I should be the one…”

“No, no. I already decided. The eldest should step up at times like this. Okay? …He’ll be here soon.”

Ding-dong.

Just then, someone rang the doorbell.

Yuhyun got up and opened the door—

“…Eek.”

She was frightened by the sight of a large man in a black suit.

“H-hello.”

His shirt buttons looked ready to pop off, and the seams of his suit were in a precarious state.

“I’ve been briefed. I’m your assigned ‘correctional officer.'”

“…Excuse me, are you some kind of athlete? I heard you were just a college student…”

“Ah, hahaha…”

The young man scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

“I was an athlete.”

“Was?”

“I did sports before entering university. Even pursuing sports professionally, I couldn’t compete against ability users.”

“Oh…”

The three sisters’ expressions hardened.

“W-what sport did you…?”

“Nothing special.”

The young man pulled up a photo from his Taeguk Watch.

“I was the national high school wrestling champion.”