SS #37 Kang Yujin (9)

“His build is too small. He’s too short.”

“What are these slender arms? With arms like these, he’d struggle to lift even a small cat.”

“His mana capacity is too low.”

“His hairstyle is tacky.”

“Does he even eat properly?”

“Lacking, utterly lacking. His lack of training is plain to see.”

“I don’t like the shape of his fingernails.”

Count Chase’s nagging was endless, and what had started as plausible critiques devolved into simple nitpicking.

Yet, even while receiving all this scorn(?), Yujin’s expression was incredibly bright.

It wasn’t because Yujin was some thoughtless fool.

Nor was it because he had steeled himself to smile no matter what he heard in front of Yuria’s maternal grandfather.

It was simply a natural smile.

In fact, he was in such a good mood that the corners of his mouth kept turning up, despite his best efforts not to show it.

It wasn’t that Yujin was some pervert who derived pleasure from being tormented.

He was far from having a taste so twisted that he would delight in the scolding of a large, intimidating, middle-aged man like Count Chase—though he might, just maybe, enjoy some transparently fake scolding from Yuria.

So why couldn’t Yujin suppress his joy?

‘C-Count Chase is the best!’

He had physical evidence, not just a hunch.

Piled high before Yujin’s eyes were all sorts of boxes.

And nestled beautifully inside were all sorts of items.

‘This item lineup is absolutely insane.’

It was an insane collection of items, where a Fruit of Strength, which permanently increased strength by a small amount, was considered a bottom-tier item.

Is it really okay for me to accept something like this?

There were even some items so rare you wouldn’t see them until the latter half of Heroic Saga 2.

Yujin, who was practically raised on Heroic Saga, knew.

He knew that if he gathered all the items before him, he could easily buy not just one, but a dozen castles.

‘Father-in-law…’

Yuder watched the boxes piling up in front of Yujin with a truly complicated expression.

The selection of gifts was a massive upgrade from what he himself had received back in the day.

He could understand the lineup itself.

After all, the Count Chase of today was a completely different man from the Count Chase of a decade ago in terms of power, status, wealth, and everything else.

There was only one reason for Yuder’s complicated expression.

‘Aren’t you accepting him a little too quickly?’

The kid in front of him and Yuria had only met yesterday!

His own case had been different.

He had been personally chosen by Count Chase as the partner for a pre-birth engagement, and he had been Cordelia’s official fiancé for over a decade.

So it was only natural for the Count to coolly accept their relationship and even support them from behind the scenes.

But what about Yujin?

Wasn’t his situation completely different?

If Scarlett had heard this, she would have said, “They sound the same to me,” but Yuder didn’t think so.

After all, not all pre-birth engagements were the same.

It was at that very moment.

[Yuder, do you have a problem with this?]

At the sharp message magic that flew from Count Chase, Yuder sent a telepathic message back in the calmest tone he could manage.

[Father-in-law, shouldn’t we at least look into this kid a bit more first?]

[Hmph, foolish boy. I’ve already looked into all the important things.]

[Pardon?]

[I’ve done plenty of research on him since the day he was born. And… tsk, you foolish boy. You’re missing the most important thing.]

At Count Chase’s displeased expression, Yuder frowned, flustered.

As the Guardian of Pleiades and the Pope of the Cordelia Church, it had been a long time since he’d been rebuked like this, but also because nothing immediately came to mind.

‘Missing the most important thing?’

What could it be?

What was Count Chase talking about?

Yuder tried to ponder it, but he couldn’t.

Count Chase revealed the answer right away.

[Yuria said she likes him.]

Yuria said she likes him.

Yuria herself—his precious Yuria, who was so pretty, kind, cute, and lovely that he wouldn’t feel pain even if she were the apple of his eye—had said she liked him.

At Count Chase’s confident assertion, Yuder flinched for a moment, his gaze shifting.

He had figured one thing out.

‘Don’t tell me Yuria already paid him a visit?!’

He had seen her get into bed after bringing her to her room. Had she really snuck out afterward to find her grandfather?

‘Hehe, Dad. Did you really think I’d just stand by and watch when it was so obvious Grandpa was going to summon Yujin-oppa?’

As Yuria’s voice began to play in his head, Yuder’s expression grew complicated once more.

The thought ‘That’s my girl’ and ‘That’s my girl, alright…’ crossed his mind simultaneously.

In any case, back to Kang Yujin.

Whether it was because he was still young and not adept at hiding his expressions, or because he simply took after Hong Yu-hee more than Kang Jin-ho, the boy had a bright smile plastered across his face, his eyes sparkling. Count Chase, as always, just snorted.

“Hmph, this should be enough for now. You may leave.”

“Thank you, thank you so much, Count!”

“Hmph, you’ll need to learn some proper etiquette as well.”

“Yes, sir! I will train diligently!”

At the sight of Yujin leaping to his feet and even saluting, Count Chase snorted again and turned away.

It was his signature farewell, his way of saying ‘you can go now.’

“Thank you so much! I will come to see you again!”

“Hmph.”

Count Chase waved a dismissive hand with his back still turned, but in his mind, he was already compiling a list of new items Yujin would need after being upgraded by the gifts he had just received.

And then there was Yuder.

Knowing full well what Count Chase was thinking, Yuder spoke to Yujin with a rather childish expression.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

After giving Yuder a loud reply, Yujin swept the items into the bag Count Chase had somehow provided and followed him out of the room.

“Did you have a good talk?”

Dahlia asked, her eyes full of mirth, though her face was unsmiling. Yuder’s pout in response brought a sweet smile to Maia’s face.

“Anyway, let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yujin, replying like a soldier, took a few steps behind Yuder.

As Maia followed them with a black-hearted smile that only Yuder and Dahlia could discern, Yuder spoke in a low voice.

“Kang Yujin.”

“Yes, Father-in-law.”

“…Call me Your Holiness the Pope. Not Father-in-law.”

“Yes! Your Holiness the Pope!”

As Yujin immediately corrected himself, Maia chuckled silently. Yuder suppressed the urge to look back at her and continued.

“Answer me clearly.”

“Yes, Your Holiness the Pope.”

“What exactly do you like about Yuria? You’d better answer carefully.”

What do you like about my daughter?

Answer me in detail.

At Yuder’s question, Yujin was momentarily flustered but soon adopted a determined expression.

He had only met her in person for the first time yesterday, but his heart was already full of love for Yuria.

“Yuria is…”

Yujin began, then took a breath before continuing. Maia watched him with a look that, to others, would seem expressionless, but to Yuder and Dahlia, was one of intense interest.

For some reason, Yuder’s eyes were like those of a hawk stalking its prey.

“Kind, pretty, cute, lovely…”

He hadn’t originally planned to say this.

He had even practiced for this very situation with Aunt Natasha last night.

But when he opened his mouth, all that came out was a simple list of words.

Kind, pretty, cute, and lovely.

But what could he do?

It was all true!

Yuria was the kindest, prettiest, cutest, and most lovely person in all of Pleiades.

And when she wore the rabbit headband, she was already the best in the world, but then she became even more, more, more pretty, cute, and lovely.

The reasons Yujin listed were simple, but they were filled with pure sincerity.

That was why Maia looked at the back of Yuder’s head with anticipation, and why Yuder snorted.

“Tsk, is that all? How shallow.”

Yujin flinched at Yuder’s cold voice, and Maia narrowed her eyes.

She had been letting Yuder’s new, cute behavior slide, but now she felt that, as his de facto older sister and exclusive maid, she needed to intervene.

But it was at that very moment.

“Then why do you like me?”

A goddess appeared.

This was a literal statement, not a figurative one.

Cordelia August Chase.

Appearing naturally as if she’d been there all along, she hugged Yuder’s arm, pressed her chest against him, and asked in a suggestive voice.

It seemed that, given the circumstances, she had been watching the whole time and had the same idea as Maia.

‘And I get to launch a little attack while I’m at it!’

As Cordelia, whose heart had been blackened by Yuder over the years, asked with a sly smile, Yuder smoothly wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered.

“Because my princess’s hair is a lovely shade of pink, her eyes are as clear as the sky yet as refreshing as the blue sea, her white skin is as soft as silk and pleasantly squishy, her lips are as sweet as honey and so soft they could melt, her small, pretty chin is so beautiful I miss it even while looking at it, her slender neck is as white and pretty as a deer’s, and the collarbones that follow are so charming that I feel like I’ll stop breathing every time I kiss them, and her round, pretty shoulders and the most beautiful breasts in the world are so soft, warm, and squishy that I feel they can’t possibly be of this world…”

“S-stop! Just stop!”

“But I’m not even a quarter of the way through. I haven’t even begun to describe your inner self, which is comparable to your goddess-like beauty.”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please, just stop here.”

It was an embarrassing enough conversation to have when they were alone, but in front of Maia and Yujin?

As Cordelia, whose entire body, not just her face, was flushed red, pleaded with him, Yuder found her all the more cute and lovely and began to whisper again.

“As expected, my Cordelia is—”

“Please! Please! Just stop! The kid is watching!”

When Cordelia said that and pointed at Yujin, Yuder snorted. Yujin’s eyes were sparkling.

Anyone could see he was thinking, ‘I see! If you’re going to do it, you have to do it right! Just saying she’s kind, pretty, cute, and lovely wasn’t enough!’

“No! That’s not it! Don’t learn strange things from him!”

Cordelia shouted desperately, then let out a groan and pulled on Yuder’s arm.

“Anyway, Yuder, you and I need to talk.”

“Wait, Cordelia. Right now—”

“Teleport!”

And the goddess vanished.

Along with her partner, her pope, and her troublemaking husband.

“Yujin-nim.”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

“I will escort you. Lady Yuria actually told me where to bring you if things turned out this way.”

“Yuria did?”

“Yes, Lady Yuria.”

Because Yuria took after Yuder far more than she did Cordelia.

She had already predicted a situation like this.

“…I understand. Please lead the way.”

“Yes, Yujin-nim.”

As Yujin replied with a determined face, Maia gave a small, soft smile and began to walk ahead.

A few minutes later.

Yujin and Maia arrived before a pavilion situated in the corner of a large, beautiful garden.

And there—

“Oppa!”

—was Yuria, waving with a bright smile.

And a girl with dark blue hair, watching them with eyes full of curiosity.

And next to her, a very large, muscular young man.

And—

“Hmph, is that the guy?”

—a haughty girl with a somewhat sullen expression.

“I will escort you,” Maia said.

Swallowing a dry gulp for some reason, Yujin took a step toward the beaming Yuria.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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