Ch.640Chapter 24. Real Estate Never Die (18)

Everyone in the world wants the Patriotic Master.

Men and women alike.

But if everyone wants the Patriotic Master, someday I might have to have relations with women I don’t even desire.

“What is Do Ji-hwan doing now?!”

“An S-class hero from America has arrived, and there are rumors she hopes to make contact with Do Ji-hwan.”

“Rumors? They’re probably already in bed together! By the time such information reaches us, they’ve already done the deed!! So who is she?!”

Currently, the Patriotic Master is officially known to be in the awakening preparation process with “Black Rider” Seong Ji-eun.

…Or at least that’s what should be known.

If it hasn’t become public knowledge, if hotel staff haven’t leaked guest information due to their professional integrity, then we’ll have no choice but to upload photos of our Mount Geumgang trip to social media.

A photo of Baek Seol-hee and Black Rider smiling together.

And my reflection in their necklaces.

“This isn’t a selfie! The person who took the photo is Do Ji-hwan!”

“Baek Seol-hee, Do Ji-hwan, and Black Rider… the hero Seong Ji-eun are together? It’s patriotic time!”

“As expected of the Patriotic Master. Only one awakening tool, but two hands.”

Only after two ability users got Zenros’d at Mount Geumgang did I barely manage to let people know that I’m “currently awakening Seong Ji-eun.”

Now it’s Seong Ji-eun’s turn.

Before the World Cup, Seong Ji-eun claimed the love call directed at me, and other S-class heroes are already waiting in line.

Like White Rider or Blue Rider.

While these people are lining up to have their time with the Patriotic Master, what comes after?

Do I awaken someone who’s already awakened?

Or do we create some kind of rotation system for time with Do Ji-hwan?

Then other countries will start getting angry.

They’ll say they want their S-class ability users to spend a night with the Patriotic Master to awaken them too, offering more resources than America did, begging me to be patriotic.

Frankly speaking, if some oil prince from the Middle East offers 2 trillion won worth of oil to have me spend one night awakening their S-class ability user—

“Hey, if he’s the Patriotic Master, shouldn’t he be willing to spend one night for 2 trillion won of oil?”

That’s what people would say.

The fatigue would concentrate on me, and I’d have to use my body even when I don’t want to.

I’ll pass on that.

From the beginning, awakening isn’t something only I can do—it’s just a “certain shortcut” disguised as awakening.

Therefore.

“You will also become a Patriotic Master. The sweet man of the Italian peninsula, Europe’s Do Ji-hwan.”

Instead of me, I’ll pass the position of Patriotic Master to someone else.

“The method is simple. You just need to do what you normally do with your wife. Your wife will awaken as an S-class.”

“B-but…”

Milanio seemed hesitant about something.

“If my wife becomes S-class, people will think… that you and my wife…”

“We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen through public statements. And to prevent such misunderstandings, you’ll need to awaken other women in the future.”

“W-what are you saying!”

“Don’t get worked up again, just listen to me slowly.”

I took out the Goblin club and pressed it against Milanio’s shoulder.

“Whether you only do it with your wife or not, that’s up to you from now on. Whether you convince your wife to actually awaken other women or not, that’s your freedom.”

“……”

“You may have lost your ability, but you haven’t forgotten how to use your body. Even though your magical power is gone, your body is still the same as when you were A-class, and it will depend on how you manage it from now on.”

I pulled out photos of ability users who had been Zenros’d.

“About six months from the first Zenros. Most of them have maintained their physique, but there are some who lost their will to live after being Zenros’d and gained weight through stress-induced binge eating.”

“Did he… gain weight?”

It was a man.

The man who should have been muscular had become a muscle-pig.

“He might end up like those ham-humans appearing on American TV sofas, but even a Zenros’d person can maintain their physique if they consistently manage their body.”

“Then with that body…”

“You ‘satisfy’ your wife. Like you did in the cable car.”

“……”

Milanio hung his head low.

“You’re worried, aren’t you? That your wife might leave you. That she might abandon Zenros’d you and choose another man.”

“T-that’s…”

“You might say you’d bless her if she forms a good relationship with another man instead of useless you, but I already know you’d be suffering alone.”

Just like most Korean song lyrics.

“I’ll help maintain your marriage. I’ll make you reborn not as an AA couple, but as an S-class ability user and an S-class Patriotic Master. I, and the organization behind me, will make it happen.”

It’s time to put the finishing touch on my persuasion.

“I am, in fact, the Goblin of The Syndicate.”

“W-what?!”

As expected.

“The scholar who brought down Haeguneul, or a clone of the dead Goblin—all those things you’re thinking are just fabrications. I am the real Goblin, and I’m with The Syndicate.”

“……”

“In other words, from the moment I tell you this, if you join hands with me—”

“I would be joining hands with The Syndicate.”

Finally, this man understands.

“In exchange for receiving help from The Syndicate and living under the name of Patriotic Master as The Syndicate wishes, I can continue with my wife…”

“That depends on how patriotic you want to be.”

“…I appreciate your words, but don’t you know what kind of body I have?”

Milanio sighed deeply and stood up, reaching for his pants—

“Don’t pull them down. I already know. Who do you think made you Zenros in the first place?”

I know better than anyone what state a Zenros’d man is in.

There’s no need to pull them down; if you undress the lower half of a mannequin in a clothing store, that’s exactly this man’s condition.

I don’t want to explain the details, what matters is teaching this man how to become a Patriotic Master.

“You use this.”

“This is…”

“An item newly created by The Syndicate for the Patriotic Master. A miraculous object that allows even Zenros’d men to be patriotic.”

I pointed to an elongated rod and two golden spheres that I had placed on the desk before our conversation.

“This is what people call the ‘awakening tool.'”

“…That’s not an awakening tool, it’s just a—”

“It’s an awakening tool. Because you can actually awaken someone to S-class with it.”

Logically.

“If there’s enough love, becoming S-class isn’t impossible. The fundamental background for the Patriotic Master’s ability to make women S-class isn’t external cores, but the tender emotions and love that bloom between men and women.”

“……”

“You can do it. You who became a demon for your wife, who handed over a beehive for her—you can do it.”

The path of the Patriotic Master.

“This is an object made of mana. An awakening tool created based on mana gold. It might feel unfamiliar at first. But once you get used to it, you’ll be able to use it more skillfully than what you originally used.”

“……”

“People live with prosthetic hands and legs, so why are you so surprised?”

“N-no, it’s just…”

Milanio picked up the rod.

“D-does it need to be this big…?”

“Why?”

“No, this size is…”

“Is it small?”

“N-no, that’s not it. Are you saying it can be this size?”

“Of course.”

A Patriotic Master must have the dignity of a master craftsman.

“I could make it bigger if you want.”

“……”

“Well, that’s for you to decide. Try it on first and then make your decision. I’ll give you… about an hour.”

I pulled up some information that appeared on my Syndicate watch.

“It seems your wife has been caught.”

“What…!”

A-class hero and Mount Geumgang honey thief Firenze, arrested.

“It seems she couldn’t awaken. All the beehives disappeared, but she was caught before becoming S-class and is now being brought to the hotel.”

“My wife…!”

“So.”

I extended my fist to Milanio.

“You will make it happen. With your awakening tool.”

“……”

“Even after your wife becomes S-class, she won’t be able to leave you. Because…”

I picked up the golden spheres he hadn’t touched yet.

“These will be the ‘anti-abandonment rings’ that give you the power of a supporting husband, ensuring your wife can never leave you.”

* * *

While sweet man Milanio was contemplating whether to walk the path of the Patriotic Master or the Milano-faithful husband.

“Excuse me. About this awakening tool.”

I stepped outside and had a brief conversation with Kim Yoon-ji.

“Can Firenze really be bound by the emotion of love alone?”

“No. Nothing is more easily shaken than human emotions. Especially in a situation like this where the husband is no longer an ability user, and if this were Korea…”

“Pardon?”

“Wouldn’t it be perfect timing? How happy would Italy be if a Korean A-class man with a taste for married women took her away?”

“Ugh…”

Kim Yoon-ji openly frowned, but such incidents are commonplace during this World Cup season.

“Single ability users in their home countries are trying to get in touch with Koreans any way they can, whether through DMs on social media or through their associations.”

“Are you saying that woman, Firenze, will seduce a Korean A-class?”

“Yes. If that’s what she wants.”

If she wants to abandon her Zenros’d husband and find a new one, Yoo Yeol-chung will certainly find a suitable new husband for Firenze.

“She’ll definitely meet someone better than her current husband. Even a B-class would be better than a Zenros’d Italian when you consider the Kimchi premium.”

A fateful encounter.

An affair.

“And then she’ll get ‘eat-abandoned.’ Punished for leaving her husband and having an affair with a Korean. The demon will feel pleasure watching that.”

And then destruction.

“To prevent that, love is necessary, of course. But love alone isn’t enough. That’s why the awakening tool is needed.”

“What exactly is this awakening tool…”

“In other words, it’s a ‘mana injector’?”

I took Kim Yoon-ji’s hand and pulled it toward my mana injector.

“It refines the mana in the external core and injects it through the awakening tool.”

“…Ah, aah?!”

Kim Yoon-ji was startled by the mana beginning to flow through her hand.

“D-don’t tell me…?”

“Yes.”

The Patriotic Master makes it ‘possible’ even for those who have been Zenros’d.

“What crazy ability user woman would leave a husband whose power increases every time he’s patriotic?”