Chapter 433 - [Extra] Kaisa Kureil (3)
As an only child, she steadily received education revolving around throne succession since childhood.
Looking back now, it was really useless knowledge.
The political position of Kureil, the family of the most influential nobles and royals in the Northern Continent, basic manners and etiquettes in social gatherings, facial expression management…
Most of the lessons she received taught her how to deal with outsiders, not the territory itself.
It was no different here.
“Those people are suffering, but you want us to ignore them and just pass by? How can you still call yourself a Hero!”
“That’s right! Righteous Heroes should help those in need!”
“Lanuvel thinks so too!”
“Don’t you feel bad for the people of this city who suffer from their incompetent lord’s harsh taxes?”
Han Soo, the Hero, quarreled with his comrades every single day.
He paused for a while from his morning exercise, which he also did daily, and answered calmly.
“Again, this is a political matter. It isn’t something I, summoned to defeat the Demon Lord, can resolve through diplomacy. If the lord here is really wrong, the king of this country should be the one to administer a solution. Moreover, my duty is to return home as soon as possible and take care of my parents.”
That was his perspective on the matter.
Whenever nobles made mistakes, the monarch had to be the one to punish them, and when the monarch made a mistake, the nobles had to unite and fight against them.
Kings and nobles.
By achieving the perfect balance between the two, the state could be managed and ruled efficiently.
But what if ‘external forces’ such as neighboring countries intervened?
Divisions would arise as they devoured the country’s blood and flesh, demanding a price for their help.
The Hero’s party was no different.
“I’m disappointed in you, Hero.”
“I am as well.”
“I can’t believe you’re supposed to be our Hero…”
“Lanuvel is also disappointed!”
Expressing their discontent, his companions rushed out of the inn, led by the cute archaeologist Lanuvel.
Unable to stop them, Kang Han Soo only frowned and sighed.
“I can’t believe this is going to happen again…”
Staring blankly at his face, which made even the Dragon King he subjugated just a few days ago flinch, the Sword Princess was startled by his gaze.
“What’s wrong?”
“Aren’t you going with them?”
“I’m the supposed heir of Duke Kureil. I know that interfering in political problems will only make things worse.”
“I see.”
The Hero nodded as if he understood and began to wipe his sweaty upper body with a towel.
It had countless scars decorating it like trophies…
The sight was far too fiery for him!
“…”
His forearms and chests were exceedingly impressive, and she couldn’t help but want to be hugged tight enough in them to be crushed.
After defeating her, he surpassed her after just a year and was already moving even further away from her.
Both in terms of body and mind.
He saw her only as one of his colleagues, not as a woman.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“… Why are you going out alone in the night?”
“I’m a slave to desire.”
“Ah, I see.”
She knew what he meant.
This Hero always secretly helped.
Although there were days when he truly satisfied his desires, he attached greater importance to ‘convenience.’
While he ignored those who did nothing but complain, he also helped some.
However, good faith and consideration didn’t always lead to good results.
That was why he was always on the lookout for this.
“I’m not a god, Kaisa Kureil.”
“You’re a human?”
“Yeah. That’s why I can’t help everyone. I’m just a human with a little more ability than others. Even I have a lot of much greater friends in my hometown.”
“You’re humble.”
“I’m just being honest.”
“Either way, it’s not easy to humble oneself. Take me as an example. I believe my swordsmanship is the best in the world.”
“It’s true, though. You and Sage have the highest attack power in our party.”
“…”
“Hmm? Did I say something wrong?”
“Not really, no.”
She was worried he’d never see her as a woman.
***
Little by little, her worries piled up until they finally exploded.
If the Hero’s adventures continued at this rate, she feared she’d never be able to get married and instead would only end up getting old.
Hence, today, she decided to try something a little bolder.
“I’m sure they’ll be back soon…”
Kang Han Soo, whose handsomeness was no different than a cheat, trained at dawn without skipping a day.
And they were currently the only ones in this inn, equipped with an open-air bath that only he’d be using at such an ungodly hour.
In other words, before her was a rare opportunity that might never come again.
Slip.
She bravely took her clothes off in the men’s locker room.
Although her body wasn’t like Lanuvel’s or Aqua’s, whose physiques were naturally petite and required no maintenance, she maintained her form to this day through diet and training.
… Even more so in the recent days since she wanted to look good for the man right in front of her.
“What…?”
As expected, the powerful Hero came into the locker room on time and found her naked.
Thump thump!
Her heart was beating like crazy.
She felt like she was going to die of shame!
On the contrary, he remained unfazed.
Glancing at her, she spoke in a calm tone.
“This is the men’s locker room…”
“Oh my god! Die!”
Kaisa swung Eyer at him, who treated her like an idiot that couldn’t even tell the difference between male and female locker rooms.
There had to be a limit to his insensitivity!
She brought her weapon for self-defense just in case Kang Han Soo demanded too much of her body, but she used it in the exact opposite way.
Bang!
Wooosh!
Crack!
In an instant, she destroyed the entire room they were in out of sheer anger and shame.
That was a mistake she never would’ve made if only she kept true to herself.
“Ah…”
Was it because she was embarrassed for showing her defenseless, naked body to the man he had a crush on?
Was she mad at her for not being okay with suddenly witnessing her bare physique?
Or was it just her desire to make him see her as a woman?
Whatever the reason behind them, her actions were bound to have undesirable consequences.
“You’re insane!”
He only ever shouted in such a way when he was enraged by his ruthless colleagues.
And it had never been directed to her.
A ruined inn.
Han Soo’s vigilant gaze.
She already knew what he was thinking.
“You’re an idiot…”
Cling-clang.
Magic Sword Eyer, which had always been by her waist or in her hand, slipped out of her grasp.
Huge inn repair costs.
Knowing full well it was her mistake, she tried to fix it, but…
“This is the Hero’s fault!”
“How dare you look at a woman’s naked body!”
“You’re so careless.”
“Lanuvel totally agrees with them!”
“The Hero must take responsibility.”
Kang Han Soo generously donated the money he recently earned from hunting evil dragons.
Its reconstruction itself didn’t cost that much.
However, the funds needed to repair the village destroyed by the dragons, the living expenses of the bereaved families, the participation fee of the unhelpful militia, and even the merchant who bought by-products at a low price using their friendship…
His profits that remained after all of those expenses were unpretentious, unlike the subjugation of evil dragons.
And he even used what little amount he had left to pay for the reconstruction of the inn, which she destroyed.
“… Let’s go.”
Kang Han Soo urged his adventure forward with a gelid tone.
Aspiring to defeat the Demon Lord and return to his home planet as soon as possible, he didn’t waste time blaming her for her mistakes, which was yet another indifference towards her.
“Are you okay, Sword Princess?”
“Did he traumatize you?”
“He might attack you at night, so be careful from now on.”
“I’m glad you’re safe, Kaisa.”
“Keep an eye out for that sly Hero!”
Her colleagues comforted her, even though she was the one who showed her bare body to him.
And without a word, the hero turned his back and went ahead alone.
She had become one of them.
Just another ‘colleague.’
“… Yes, I’m okay.”
From that day on, her heart completely died.
Now that nothing she’d ever experience would be the worst, she thought everything would be fine.
***
Ten years after her heart broke into pieces, Kang Han Soo’s extremely long adventure finally began to see its end.
Up to this point, she didn’t give up following him steadfastly because of her lingering feelings, regrets, and glimmers of hope.
“I can finally see the Demon Lord’s Castle.”
“Our journey took quite a while.”
“And there have been many sacrifices.”
“Let’s not waste this path road opened by Lanuvel and our other companions.”
“If we work together, we will definitely be able to defeat the Demon Lord.”
“What about the Hero…”
They lit a bonfire near the fortress and gathered around it, reminiscing and telling stories.
Of course, Kang Han Soo wasn’t with them.
He was exploring his sworn enemy’s territory alone, saying that he shouldn’t leave any of his descendants behind.
No one in this place was concerned about him acting alone.
He was overwhelmingly powerful, after all.
At this point, even if they all worked together, they might not even be able to match him.
To be more honest, she couldn’t even imagine Pedonar himself defeating Kang Han Soo.
That was how strong he became.
It had reached the point where he no longer needed her.
“Do you still feel the same, Kaisa?”
“Now that I thought about it, you liked that crooked Hero.”
“What did you even see in him?
The Elf King, Sage, and Mercenary King turned their attention to her. They were the only ones to survive until the end of this adventure.
It didn’t seem like a topic to be discussed right after the demise of Sword King Alex, who had been a huge help to them thus far, but they were already far too used to watching their colleagues die.
Finding no reason for her to hide anything at this point, she answered honestly.
“All of him.”
His face, which even demons feared.
His love for his family.
His broad political perspective.
His wisdom to foresee the future.
His immense power and talent.
Wouldn’t it be more difficult to dislike this man who had all the virtues the perfect king should have?
Except for Sylvia, the human-hating Elf King, she couldn’t understand her female colleagues’ type at all.
She wasn’t certain if it was because she was born a noble, but she had had a crush on Kang Han Soo for over seven years now.
“Won’t he be returning to his home planet after defeating the Demon Lord?”
“It’s impossible for us to stop him from leaving.”
“I’ll introduce you to an outstanding elf in my name as the Elf King. What do you say?”
Sylvia’s remarks aside, the Mercenary King and Sage were right.
Even with their strengths combined, they’d never be able to touch him.
His swordsmanship surpassed hers, his strength was beyond that of the Mercenary King and Sword King combined, and he was faster than Sage’s magic. Moreover, the spirits also held him in higher regard than the Elf King and would protect him over her.
Preventing him from going home was impossible.
Perhaps because the Hero wasn’t around, Sage uttered something extremely ominous.
“He’s so strong that even if the entire human race were to work together, we still wouldn’t be able to put up a decent resistance against him. That gap between us will only widen after he defeats the Demon Lord and absorbs his experience and multiplies it by five.”
The Mercenary King, who participated as a substitute for the deceased Sword King, argued against him from the perspective of vile yet practical mercenaries.
“Hmm. The only time we can defeat Kang Han Soo, who treats evil dragons as snacks, is when he’s still exhausted after his fight with Pedonar. After that, there’ll be no hope for us.”
Sylvia intervened.
“I hope the Hero disappears sooner rather than later. When he disappears, the spirits will only follow me, the Elf King!”
“No.”
Kaisa loved him, but she didn’t want to deprive him of his happiness for her own sake.
He’d leave her forever, but that didn’t mean she spent the past seven years in vain.
She saw the wide world beyond the Northern Continent, made a bunch of new friends, and built up multiple large and small networks.
As for marriage…
She didn’t feel like doing it in the future since she couldn’t stop herself from comparing all the men she met to Kang Han Soo.
Even so, she selflessly uttered, “I want him to disappear, too.”
She prayed that the man she loved would be able to return to his home safely.
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