Even though she was ugly with jealousy, her roommate and friend in front of her smiled brightly and worried about her.
How embarrassing.
Makoto’s face turned red with shame.
“Is it because of the Master?”
Eri’s orange eyes focused on Makoto.
Under her gaze, which felt like it could see right through her heart, Makoto could only nod.
“Um, yeah… It’s just, everyone else seems to be getting closer to the lord… but I feel like I’m not able to…”
Makoto hung her head.
“Actually, I want to be alone with the lord like Nishizawa does… Ah, no! Forget I said that! Nishizawa!”
Makoto hurriedly covered her mouth, having unwittingly revealed her true feelings.
Seeing Makoto’s flustered appearance, a small smile appeared at the corners of Eri’s lips.
Eri, who had been fretting about the lack of progress with the Master, saw herself reflected in Makoto’s current state.
‘The Master is kind, but when it comes to relationships with women, he’s almost intentionally oblivious… Poor Makopi.’
Eri, the idol of the academy, actually had no one she could call a friend.
The academy students either worshiped her as an idol or had selfish desires for her, nothing in between.
Moreover, with a personality that couldn’t even be said to be nice in passing, Eri had many people around her but no friends.
Rin and Olivia, who ranked higher than her at admission, didn’t even pay her any mind.
For Eri, Makoto was the first friend she made at the academy.
Though they might become rivals fighting over love someday, she still wanted to help Makoto as a friend.
She couldn’t bear to see her friend so down.
“Makopi. You want to go on a date with the Master, huh?”
“Ah, no! Th-that was just something I said!”
Makoto shook her head vigorously, her face red.
“How could someone like me possibly go on a date with the lord… It would be too much…”
Makoto lowered her head.
Thud.
Eri placed her hands on Makoto’s drooping shoulders.
“I’ll help you, Eri will be Makopi’s love coach!”
Eri said with a smile.
“L-love coach?”
Just as Makoto’s eyes began to waver at her words.
Creak.
The Home Economics Practice Room door suddenly swung open.
“What the?”
“Who…?”
Makoto and Eri’s gazes turned toward the open door.
There stood a beautiful woman with gray bobbed hair in a black suit, Han Seo-Jin, shining her cold gray eyes.
“Who are you…?”
Eri furrowed her brow at Han Seo-Jin’s intrusion.
“Feels like I’ve seen you somewhere…”
Just when Eri trailed off with her words.
“I am Han Seo-Jin. I am the secretary assisting Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
Han Seo-Jin lightly bowed.
“Ah…”
Eri let out a low sigh.
That’s when the memory came flooding back.
The suited beauty who followed Kim Deok-Sung like a shadow whenever they went outside the academy.
She was Han Seo-Jin.
“But why are you here?”
“Then why are you here?”
Eri had figured it out.
But she still didn’t know the reason why Han Seo-Jin was there.
Upon receiving her question, Han Seo-Jin’s gray eyes glimmered coldly.
“To help.”
“What with?”
Eri’s question continued.
Han Seo-Jin replied.
“I’ll also assist in the date plan between Kamiya Makoto and Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
Everything was for the construction of his harem.
Swallowing the rest of her words, Han Seo-Jin’s gray eyes blazed with a cold desire.
All according to plan.
At Han Seo-Jin’s words, Eri narrowed her eyes.
She stepped forward, pointing at Han Seo-Jin and spoke.
“Why are you helping us? It’s suspicious.”
Makoto and Han Seo-Jin had no connection.
Eri felt the same.
Yet now, out of the blue, she appeared to offer help.
“I can’t trust you.”
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung is the only hero candidate in Korea. It’s natural for the state to assist in his social relationships.”
Han Seo-Jin said in a deadpan voice.
“That’s…”
Eri was speechless.
She also knew a bit about Korea.
After all, it was the homeland of her beloved master.
Korea was a developed country economically, but weak in terms of hero power.
Kim Deok-Sung, still a candidate, was pretty much the entirety of the country’s hero power.
Given that situation, it was understandable for Han Seo-Jin to say such things.
“But still, I can’t accept it.”
Eri puffed out her cheeks.
Zzap.
A gray flash sparkled from Han Seo-Jin’s entire body.
Using her gift, Han Seo-Jin quickly approached Eri and whispered in her ear.
“Nishizawa also received my help already, didn’t she? One room left at the love hotel. You don’t think it’s just a coincidence, do you?”
Her whisper was low enough that Makoto wouldn’t hear.
And it was true.
The reason there had been one room left at the love hotel Nishizawa and Kim Deok-Sung visited was that Han Seo-Jin had rented out all the other rooms.
Her harem plan report had already passed through the head of the National Intelligence Service and was approved by the president, with special activity funds separately allocated for the harem plan.
Now it was just a matter of officially executing the plan.
The date coaching for Makoto was the beginning.
Eri’s eyes trembled at Han Seo-Jin’s words.
“That’s…”
She was at a loss for words.
She had thought it was an amazing coincidence.
But it turned out it wasn’t coincidence, but destiny.
“That day, I was also the one who gave Mr. Kim Deok-Sung only one umbrella instead of two.”
“…”
Eri shut her mouth.
Her gaze turned to Han Seo-Jin.
Han Seo-Jin’s claim couldn’t be a lie.
She really had helped her.
“Why would you go that far…”
Eri spoke in a quiet voice.
Blink.
With a flash of gray light, Han Seo-Jin stepped back from Eri.
“Well… Mr. Kim Deok-Sung is the only hero of Korea, after all.”
Han Seo-Jin said while touching the countertop with her finger.
“He carries the national security of South Korea and the safety of 50 million people on his shoulders all alone.”
At Han Seo-Jin’s words, Makoto and Eri’s expressions stiffened.
“To others, this academy life may seem normal, and the relationships between students may be casual, but for him, each one is directly tied to national security and the safety of the people. He cannot casually form bonds with anyone.”
Han Seo-Jin’s words gained weight.
It was as she said.
In Korea, people reacted intensely to every move Kim Deok-Sung made.
“He is living his academy life in Japan while bearing that kind of pressure. The reason I help Kamiya is to lessen that pressure, even just a little. There are no other ulterior motives. Only for him.”
Han Seo-Jin spoke with a solemn resolution in her voice.
“Master…”
“… My lord.”
Han Seo-Jin was indeed right.
Their ordinary school life is nothing short of a war for Kim Deok-Sung, who bears the expectations of his homeland alone.
Eri, feeling the weight he carries, bows her head seriously.
“…I’m sorry for doubting you earlier, Han Seo-Jin. I apologize.”
“No, it’s fine. I was the one being rude to you on our first meeting.”
Han Seo-Jin lightly bows her head to Eri.
“I didn’t even realize that…”
Makoto says while gripping the hem of her skirt with her fingers.
Her expression turns solemn.
She feels pathetic for having been sulking just because she wasn’t receiving her master’s attention.
‘It’s not that my master isn’t interested in me, it’s that he couldn’t give me attention.’
She didn’t even know how heavy the burden on her master’s shoulders was, and like a child, she had been whining.
How foolish could she be?
‘Losing my master’s qualification as a sword.’
Makoto bites her lip.
She lifts her head.
“Tell me, Han Seo-Jin. What can I do for my master?”
“Go on a date with Kim Deok-Sung, sir.”
Han Seo-Jin says briefly.
“Providing him with a short break through a date would relieve his burden, and that’s what you, Kamiya, should do right now. I’m here to help with that.”
Makoto clenches her fist and replies.
“Okay! Leave it to me, Han Seo-Jin! I will definitely be a strength to my master!”
“I will too! Eri will also be your date coach, Makopi! Eri will help our master too!”
Eri puffs up her cheeks and clings to Makoto.
“Whoa! Nishizawa! Don’t do that again…”
The ensuing embarrassing scene unfolds.
A faint smile appears at the corner of Han Seo-Jin’s mouth as she watches.
‘Everything is going according to plan.’
For the harem plan to succeed, it’s essential to gain the consent of all its members for polygamy.
However, if she openly declares that she’ll create a harem from the start, the stakeholders will surely rebel.
Han Seo-Jin, being one of the women who adores him, understands this very well.
The possessiveness towards someone you love is something everyone harbors.
In such circumstances, to gain everyone’s consent to build a harem, they first need to establish friendships.
That’s why the cooperation of Makoto and Eri is significant.
Currently just the two of them, but in the future, she will encourage camaraderie among the other members as well.
Slowly, steadily, she will lead every woman to accept the reality of a harem.
Just like getting clothes wet in a light drizzle.
‘I will risk my life to ensure you build your harem. My beloved Kim Deok-Sung.’
With determination, Han Seo-Jin declares.
“Let’s move. We need to plan the date course.”
Upon hearing her words, Makoto and Eri turn their gaze to Han Seo-Jin.
*
In the Shuo Hero Academy Annex.
Student Council Room.
True to being an organization with power strong enough to drop birds, the student council room was excessively spacious and clean.
A desk for the president, vice president, and secretary marked with nameplates is visible.
“Have you arrived, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung?”
In this eerily spacious student council room, there is only one person present.
A slender silver-haired beauty, the Student Council President Saionji Aris, wearing a red armband.
“Sorry for being a bit late.”
Aris looks at me and says.
Her demeanor is calm and collected, quite different from when she was a country girl.
“Why did you call me?”
I throw a question her way.
While it’s good that she helped me escape from that mess, I can’t quite guess the reason she called me here.
[Why exactly did she call you? Partner.]
The Black Prince repeats useless questions in my mind.
After hearing my question, Aris speaks in a calm voice.
“The reason I called you is primarily… Mr. Kim Deok-Sung, I’ve determined that you need personal tutoring.”
Personal tutoring?
Tutoring?
“What do you mean by tutoring all of a sudden?”
It’s totally out of the blue.
“I witnessed your incomplete unlock of the true name liberation in Kyoto. However, it seems it is still not a complete true name liberation.”
Aris looks at me with her silver eyes.
[Wow, this Aris girl has an eye for detail. No wonder she’s the strongest in the academy.]
The Black Prince chimes in.
“To make your incomplete true name liberation complete, you need to fully master the realm of integration through constant training. But Mr. Kim Deok-Sung, you’ve been quite lazy with your training so far.”
Aris looks at me with a flat expression.
Being told I’ve been lazy is true, but it stings a bit.
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung, you are one of the only two students at Shuo Academy to awaken true name liberation along with me. For the sake of improving Shuo Academy’s overall strength, you must reach complete true name liberation as soon as possible.”
Clack.
Aris places her hand on her chest.
She looks at me and says,
“Therefore, moving forward, as the Student Council President of Shuo Hero Academy and your senior, I will take responsibility for your training. Unless something unexpected happens, I will conduct personal tutoring every day in the practice room, so you better be prepared.”
She said a lot, but in the end, it’s just her wanting to practice with me after school from now on.
‘I don’t dislike Aris, but I absolutely hate practicing.’
Feeling tired is no fun.
Getting by easily is the best.
[Partner. Practice is incredibly important, so let’s make the most of this chance to train hard with that Aris girl. Ah, but if my beloved little sister Olivia sheds tears, you know what’s coming, right?]
The Black Prince rambles on.
Ignoring him, I nod.
I may not be thrilled about practicing, but as Aris says, I do need it.
To freely use the true name liberation I mastered in Kyoto and to enter the realm of integration at will.
Plus, if the strongest in the academy, Aris, guides me, even if it’s tough, the outcome is guaranteed.
In the original work, after Volume 7, Yuji’s strength increases as he trains with Aris, so while my body may suffer a bit, in the end, it’s a gain.
There’s no reason or justification to decline.
“Yeah, sure. Are we starting practice right now?”
“That’s right. But before that, I have something to say.”
Something to say?
What else could there be besides practice?
Just then,
Swipe.
Aris pulls out a photo from her pocket and places it on the desk.
“This is a photo that the Chairman confiscated from Amano of the newspaper club.”
It’s a scene of me and Eri entering a love hotel while linked arm in arm.
Why is that even here?
I’m truly flabbergasted.
“Spending the night at a love hotel… how can such unhealthy dating happen…”
Aris’s face turns red.
Her cheeks are trembling.
“It’s inappropriate, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung. What on earth were you doing with Nishizawa at a love hotel?”
Blushing, Aris looks at me and interrogates.
[Partner. This is a total pinch, right?]
‘No, just stay quiet and don’t say a word.’
Calming the Black Prince down, I let out a sigh internally.
Unhealthy dating?
Is this some line and situation that would only happen in a romantic comedy?
Looking at the blushing Aris, I respond.
“There was nothing unusual. Unfortunately, I missed curfew, and the only accommodation nearby was a love hotel. You know, since you and I have gone through similar experiences, right? You know I’m the last person who would do anything inappropriate.”
“T-That’s Kim Deok-Seo. Y-You, you suddenly bringing that up… that’s just unfair!”
A dialect slips out of startled Aris’s mouth.
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