Chapter 24. The Woman Who Gets Beaten.

The Hero team slowly left the underground city. Kobold Jepopo licked his nose with his tongue, gazing intently at the receding Count’s Castle. It shone brilliantly, bathed in the rising sunlight.

“…So, we’re really leaving now.”

Jepopo muttered to himself. Grace, too, stared blankly at the Count’s Castle, puffing on her pipe and exhaling smoke.

She still couldn’t forget that passionate first night with the Daegang-nim. It was so intense and powerful that it easily pushed aside even Raigue, who had filled her heart for years. Her dead lover was now fading, and her beloved Daegang-nim was becoming clearer.

I’m sorry, Raigue. I’m such a bad bitch. …But I think I need to let you go now.

Grace took a deep drag of her cigarette. And exhaled the thin, long smoke with a whoosh. She repeated this several times.

Goodbye, Raigue. I’m sorry. …Goodbye.

Hoo-oo-oo-.

Her hazy gaze stared into the faaaar distance. Happy memories with Raigue came flooding back. And it naturally transitioned into memories with Hero Kang Ji-hyuk.

…Ah…!

She remembered the Daegang-nim’s cock again. It was so magnificent. His phallus had entered her deepest depths, leaving a deep imprint before leaving.

Unforgettable, ecstatic pleasure-.

The chain-smoking healer felt like she had opened her eyes to a new world. It was more thrilling than alcohol, gambling, or cigarettes. She could vividly feel how dizzying this physical pleasure created by sex was. At least, it was by far the most overwhelming of all the pleasures she had experienced so far.

The corners of her lips shyly turned up. But it quickly disappeared. This was, after all, a secret between her and the Daegang-nim that no one should know.

Tang tang.

She turned the burnt-out pipe upside down to shake out the ashes and stuck it into her luggage. Then, she glanced at the Daegang-nim sitting across from her.

Strangely, after that day, she felt too embarrassed to look the Daegang-nim straight in the eye. She couldn’t understand her maiden-like heart, even though she wasn’t a virgin.

The Daegang was focused on Ludbina, who was sitting right next to him. After the expedition, Ji-hyuk emphasized the necessity of double casting to this half-witch. He said that high-level magicians are judged by whether or not they can succeed in this double casting.

“That’s not difficult at all-!”

Ludbina shouted confidently, but of course, there was no way she could do it. No matter how much she groaned, there wasn’t even a hint of magic manifesting.

Only then did she vaguely realize how high-level this double casting technique was.

“Yael has been at it for over a year and a half. But she’s smart, so she’ll be able to do it soon.”

“…I can do it too-! I’ll do it faster than Yael.”

“Okay, if you succeed, I’ll grant you one wish. …Ah, of course, nothing too difficult.”

“…A wish?”

“Yeah. It’s good to have something like that to motivate you. Don’t you think?”

“…Yes, that’s right…!”

A determined desire to challenge bloomed on Ludbina’s face. Although she was still a newbie, Ji-hyuk had high expectations for this half-witch. After all, he had memories from previous playthroughs, and he learned through this expedition that the blood of a witch is more powerful than he thought.

If I raise her systematically from the beginning, she can grow up much better.

In the guild from the previous playthrough, they must have only pursued strong magic, so her magic had developed somewhat asymmetrically. They just blindly increased her power without any direction. It was inevitable since they had to produce results. The guild isn’t a charity.

Of course, she was talented enough to somehow get into the Hero team, but that kind of haphazardness didn’t work in the world of true experts. A tree that grows crooked from the beginning will eventually have its limits.

The reason Ji-hyuk specifically recruited an academy student was precisely that. Talent is important, but he wanted to raise her in a thorough system. …And Yael, a promising teaching assistant in the Department of Theoretical Studies, was an expert in that.

The Hero gently stroked Ludbina’s head as she groaned and tried to perform double casting, then looked back across. Grace, who had been glancing at him, was startled and quickly turned her head away. Feeling a little embarrassed, she took out the pipe she had stuck in her luggage and put it in her mouth again.

Ji-hyuk abruptly threw his gaze back out of the carriage window.

…I wonder if Mahu-ssi has returned by now.

He figured that since Gid, Kayak, and even Yael were accompanying him, they wouldn’t struggle with a mere 20-point mission, so they would probably arrive in the capital a month or two earlier than them.

Hero Mahu-ssi without Hero Gunda.

It felt a little awkward since he had always seen only the Hero couple and suddenly separated them this time. But what could he do? He was a guy who could grow up better, so he couldn’t give him to Gunda and reduce his expected value.

Ji-hyuk soon thought of the colleagues he would meet in the capital.

…His contemplation stretched out like a shadow lengthening at sunrise.

· · ·

Hero Gunda was bustling about early in the morning, preparing to go out. As soon as he woke up, he took a clean bath, put on handsome clothes, and styled his hair.

Before going out, he went to the room of his most trusted subordinate colleague. The subordinate, who had woken up early to read, smiled meaningfully as soon as he saw Gunda dressed up neatly.

“Are you going there again today?”

“Yeah, so take good care of the kids. Make sure nothing happens.”

“Don’t worry about here, Daegang-nim. Have a good date.”

“…It’s not a date yet.”

“If you can’t win her over, who can, Daegang-nim?”

“You rascal….”

Gunda was about to leave the room when he suddenly turned back. He raised only his index finger and tapped his lips.

“It’s a secret from Emily. Got it?”

“Would I ever tell her?”

The Hero left the room as if flying and ran out of the mansion. The manager standing at the entrance handed Gunda something. It was a flower.

“Thank you.”

He took a whiff of the fragrant flower and smiled brightly as he got into the carriage. Then, he opened the window connected to the coachman with a rattling sound and urged him to leave quickly.

“Yes, Nari-nim.”

Iyah-! The carriage moved. It left Gunda’s mansion and ran hard on the main road. Gunda, who was riding in the carriage, smelled the flower several times, his chest full of anticipation.

After completing this mission, Gunda returned and heard rumors that a new Hero had been born in the capital. Of course, new Heroes were born every year, so there was nothing particularly special about it, but he couldn’t help but be surprised when he heard who it was.

– This Hero is unique, they say he’s a mixed-blood beastman.

– …A mixed-blood beastman? What’s his name?

– I heard it’s Mahu-ssi.

That’s when Gunda learned that the charming mixed-blood beastman from back then had become a Hero. Of course, he couldn’t help but be happy. After that, he visited the mansion where she was staying and had two meetings.

He always went empty-handed, so he felt a little empty, but today he had a flower, so he somehow felt proud. A single flower seemed more valuable to him than a hundred gold coins.

Should I say you’re as beautiful as a flower? …No, it might be too much if I start like that from the beginning. …No, would that be better? Instead of acting awkwardly, it might be better to push forward like a man….

Hero Gunda, who fearlessly stepped forward in front of monsters, hesitated over a single word.

While he was worrying like that, the carriage had already arrived in front of the mansion. The guard lightly knocked on the carriage door. Gunda opened the carriage window with a rattling sound and showed his face. The guard quickly saluted and opened the main gate.

The carriage slid smoothly into the mansion. The maid who saw it quickly relayed it to the manager. Soon, the manager Durka came out of the mansion to greet Hero Gunda.

“Welcome, Your Excellency.”

“Nice to see you. …Is Mahu-ssi inside?”

“Yes. Shall I bring her?”

“No. I’ll go. …Where is she?”

“She’s in the backyard.”

“I see.”

Gunda refused the offer to be guided and walked on his own. Honestly, it was because he didn’t want any interferences.

He headed to the backyard through the garden instead of the mansion. The gardener, who was trimming the trees, bowed to the Hero. Gunda said, “You’re doing a great job,” and raised his hand once as he passed by with a confident stride.

Before long, he began to hear the small sound of wind being cut, shwik shwik. The corners of Gunda’s lips turned up. It seemed that Mahu-ssi was practicing swordsmanship again today.

Good.

Since she was practicing swordsmanship, it seemed enough to talk about this without having to bring up a difficult topic. And then naturally move on to other topics.

He soon left the garden and arrived at the backyard. Mahu-ssi, who had been busy wielding a short spear, noticed the Hero after a while and smiled, “Uh-.”

“Gunda-!”

Mahu-ssi’s bright smile was so beautiful. Gunda smiled from the bottom of his heart.

He smelled her sweat. He found it fragrant too.

The mixed-blood beastman approached him and asked what brought him here.

“I was just passing by.”

“Is that so?”

“Were you training?”

“Yes, I have to work hard to become a Great Warrior-!”

She was so innocent. Mahu-ssi spoke as if becoming a Great Warrior was the most noble purpose in this world. Someone might hear that and think she’s immature, but Gunda loved that innocence so much.

The Hero held out the flower he had hidden behind his back. Mahu-ssi’s eyes widened as she saw a flower suddenly flying towards her chest, and she looked up at Gunda.

“A flower?”

“…Please accept it.”

“This?”

“Yes.”

Mahu-ssi readily accepted what Gunda offered. And looked at him again as if asking why he was giving it to her. He couldn’t bear that innocence that required him to explain everything in detail.

“It’s just a gesture of goodwill.”

“Goodwill? …Ah, like a friend?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right. A friend.”

…Yes, start with being friends.

Mahu-ssi smiled and held out her hand.

“I like having warrior friends too. You’re strong, and you know honor-!”

“Of course.”

Gunda took her outstretched hand and shook it lightly up and down.

“Ah, keep doing what you were doing. I’ll watch from over there.”

“Will you? Okay.”

Mahu-ssi wondered what to do with the flower she had received and looked for a place to put it down. Gunda took it back.

“I’ll take it later. And put it in a vase and put it in your room. In a place where it’s easily visible.”

“Yes.”

Gunda smiled contentedly and walked towards the mansion. Then he saw a lizardman in the window. It was Kayak, wasn’t it? He bowed lightly to the Hero. Gunda raised his hand slightly to acknowledge the greeting.

The Hero sat on a chair and watched Mahu-ssi wield the spear with a pleased expression. He felt good just looking at her.

He was watching her like that for a while when suddenly the manager Durka came running in a hurry. He immediately ran to Mahu-ssi and conveyed something.

-!!

Mahu-ssi was greatly surprised, immediately threw the short spear she was holding on the ground, and started running somewhere. Gunda quickly grabbed the manager and asked what was going on.

“That person has returned.”

Ah.

Gunda felt his heart sink. …He felt like this was a trick of fate.

Why now of all times….

Still, he couldn’t not go since the owner of the mansion had arrived.

Gunda headed to the entrance of the mansion with heavy steps. There was already a crowd of people gathered there.

His beloved Mahu-ssi was in the arms of another man, smiling so beautifully.

…Ah.

Hero Gunda’s heart was heavy. His expression naturally hardened. But he couldn’t show it. It was not right to be so unwelcoming to a Hero who had returned safely from a mission.

The person who greeted everyone also gave Gunda a look. Gunda smiled brightly.

“It’s been a while, Hero Kang Ji-hyuk.”

“…You remember.”

“Of course. How could I forget that?”

How could he forget that miserable and desperate defeat? He even has nightmares about it sometimes.

…And, he lost Mahu-ssi there too.

“Nice to see you, Gunda.”

Ji-hyuk held out his hand while holding Mahu-ssi in his arms.

Gunda smiled even more brightly and shook the other’s hand.

“Nice to see you too, Hero Kang Ji-hyuk.”

…The Hero hid the flower behind his back.