“······I’m sorry.”
Ishihara’s apology comes out like a forced confession.
Seems like the golden sun hasn’t learned its manners yet.
I replay the recording on my phone.
[And to top it off, you even made it your loyal minion. But that won’t happen, right? Hahahahahahahaha!!]
Ishihara’s face hardens as she hears the humiliating voice.
“You agreed to be my minion. You should be respectful.”
Where’s the casual talk coming from?
“I’m sorry, sir······.”
“Good. Keep using honorifics moving forward.”
“Yes······.”
“Got it? Now get lost.”
“Understood.”
Ishihara leaves the hospital room with a glum look on her face.
I shift my gaze toward Shinozaki Rin.
She has an expression as if she’s lost everything in the world.
“What about you?”
“······I’m sorry.”
She utters her apology in a dazed voice.
“Okay. You can go now.”
I wave my hand.
Shinozaki Rin slowly shakes her head.
“···Not yet······. Kim Deok-Sung······. I have something to tell you.”
Something to tell me?
“What is it?”
“Lord wants to meet with you. The treasure you’ve been wanting······. The Black Stone will be delivered directly by him.”
The lord must be Shinozaki Ichiro.
He wants to see me?
‘Is it because I defeated Shinozaki Rin?’
Right now, Shinozaki Ichiro is still in a cold-blooded state, unaware of his “gentle heart for his daughter.”
If he wants to see me, there’s only one reason.
‘He’s trying to recruit me.’
I need that Black Stone anyway, so meeting him shouldn’t be a problem.
“Okay.”
“The lord will contact you first.”
“Got it, now go.”
With that, Shinozaki Rin walks out of the hospital room slowly, her face still blank.
Only the initial members remain in the hospital room.
An awkward silence fills the air.
“······You’re still rough and straightforward, aren’t you?”
Olivia breaks the silence.
As expected from someone who’s not just any light novel heroine.
In this regard, she’s still a pushover.
There’s no point in replying.
Instead, I stab the remaining apple with a toothpick and eat it.
Olivia speaks in a soft voice.
“But it might have felt a bit refreshing······. W-what did I just say?!”
She’s throwing a full-blown tantrum by herself.
I finish off the plate of apple slices completely.
“All gone.”
“W-what?! Y-you really are! This straightforwardness is the problem!!”
Olivia yells, her face flushed red.
Oh wow, that startled me.
Now I have no idea which part of her is triggered by the tsundere button.
Shaking my head, I turn on my phone.
It’s been a while since Nodoka from the newspaper club left.
Considering how fast news spreads nowadays, it’s probably reached Korea by now.
It’s about time to check the results.
First, I access the academy channel.
[Exclusive! The Shinozaki lady, the young master of the Ishihara Group! Kim Deok-Sung the cadet gets a makeover! (photos attached)]
Kim Deok-Sung does the dogeza! (Photo attached)
[The promised dogeza is here~~~ (≧▽≦)/(≧▽≦)/]
[>> Have you been waiting for this day? www]
[Isn’t this edited? (｡ŏ_ŏ)]
[>> It looks like it’s real though? （・□・；）]
[>> The newspaper club only posts the real stuff www]
[The real dogeza of the lady and the young master wwww I never thought I’d see this in person]
[Is there anyone who doesn’t know about the dogeza promise between the two? www]
[I knew it was for Shinozaki-san, but this is the first I’m hearing about Ishihara-kun]
[Korean cadet wwww Real dogeza, how cringeworthy wwwww]
[>> Totally cringeworthy wwwww]
[>> I never thought they would actually do it www]
As expected, Shinozaki Rin and Ishihara Daiki are being roasted in the school community.
Well, it’s their own fault.
They shouldn’t have bet on something like dogeza. If it were me, I’d never do it.
I turn off the academy channel.
After taking a deep breath, I log into the Korean internet.
[Japan is sinking!! The world is watching K-Hero Kim Deok-Sung! Defeating Japan’s top genius at Shuo Hero Academy, the heart of Japan! Reactions from stunned Japanese people?! A proud K-Hero Kim Deok-Sung who protects Korea’s dignity shines a spotlight on this battle!!]
[Even the President of the Japan Hero Association could not contain his shock and tears! What made Japan’s top genius, Shinozaki Rin, bow and hit her head before K-Hero?! A deep analysis on why K-Hero Kim Deok-Sung won this Korea-Japan match!!]
[K-Hero Kim Deok-Sung! Finally conquering Japan! Why did the daughter of Japan’s most prestigious family and the third generation of Japan’s biggest conglomerate kneel, hit their heads, and beg for their lives in front of K-Hero Kim Deok-Sung? Japan is in shock and silence from this humiliating defeat!!]
[“You should never underestimate Kim Deok-Sung.” K-Hero Kim Deok-Sung has become a beacon of hope for the world!! His powerful performance is rapidly raising Korea’s status on the international stage! Japan is shocked, America is paying attention, and France loves the K-Hero!!]
Just looking at those dizzying thumbnails.
A thumbnail featuring the double dogeza photo taken by Nodoka and a skillfully edited photo of Association President Shinozaki Ichiro sweating catch my eye.
But now, I don’t feel angry looking at national pride YouTube thumbnails.
Why, you ask?
[Views 1,344,566]
How long has it been since it was uploaded, and it’s already hitting the million mark, and now it’s all my money.
Money multiplies.
Unlike the black cards and government grants where transaction records are immediately reported to the government, the profits from national pride YouTube rights are personal funds that only I can use.
As I smile and open the portal site.
[Kim Deok-Sung did it again! Japan’s top genius Shinozaki Rin completely defeated by Kim Deok-Sung! The Japanese archipelago is in shock…]
[(Photo) Shinozaki Rin and Ishihara Daiki bowing their heads and apologizing before Kim Deok-Sung, the hero candidate of Korea. Taking over the Japanese archipelago!]
[President Kang: “In this fight, he showed the will of the Korean people to the world… His efforts that illuminate our motherland made my heart warm and brought tears to my eyes…”]
[Today’s Daily Japanese Phrase: Dogeza(土下座)]
[Victory celebration for Kim Deok-Sung! 50% off on Japanese electronics!]
[Let’s click on the recommended victory group for Kim Deok-Sung hahaha]
[Recommended 134235] [Not recommended -1]
[Kim Deok-Sung can’t resist lol]
[Kim Deok-Sung! Kim Deok-Sung! Kim Deok-Sung!]
[Look how fast it’s rising hahaha]
[We are living in the era of Kim Deok-Sung…]
[Owner going overworked to death hahaha]
[One Japan fan dislike, disgusting hahaha]
[Honestly, saying that Korea has surpassed Japan after this duel is a bit much, isn’t it? Objectively, Japan still has an upper hand in hero capabilities, right?]
“Isn’t this a bit much? Objectively speaking, Japan still has the upper hand in hero power compared to our country, right?”
[- wls]
[- Making anonymous comments]
[- Welcome, Japan fan, lol]
[- Don’t cry, just say it, hahahaha]
[- If you’re going to say that, why write in Korean? Use Japanese, lol]
[- Yeah, even in Japan, they wouldn’t accept a fan like you, lol]
The abyss of national pride was there.
My mind started to spin.
No matter how you look at it, this is a bit much.
My face became hot.
Even flattery needs moderation, this is just madness.
I can’t take it anymore.
With a sigh, I closed the portal site.
I thought I wouldn’t be able to hold my sanity if I kept reading.
Bzzz.
My phone vibrated and spat out a message.
[This is Association President Shinozaki Ichiro. Kim Deok-Sung cadet. Meet me now.]
Japan Hero Association President, Shinozaki Ichiro.
He messaged me as expected from Shinozaki Rin.
“Make him your man.”
Ginza. A high-class sushi restaurant.
The spacious interior, impressive with its Japanese traditional decor, was absurdly desolate.
I was led by the staff into the inner area.
A tatami room that overlooked a Japanese garden.
He was sitting across the square table.
“So, you’re the Kim Deok-Sung cadet.”
A man with murky green hair and melancholic green eyes.
Shinozaki Rin’s stepfather, Shinozaki Ichiro.
“Please sit.”
I sat down at his invitation.
Shinozaki Ichiro.
President of the Japan Hero Association and a key figure in Volume 2.
Countless settings about him flashed through my mind.
‘He’s a dangerous person right now.’
The core of it was that he is a dangerous opponent at the moment.
Before the washing machine starts, Shinozaki Ichiro, in the current timeline, is a madman who would do anything to erase the shadow of the sword master.
Thanks to this, there were suspicions among fans who hadn’t read the original when he first appeared in the anime that he was the mastermind.
But by the end of Volume 2, after being ‘saved’ by the protagonist, he realizes ‘kindness’ and, like other heroine’s fathers in light novels, he turns into a doting, foolish, comedic support character.
‘A world where even middle-aged men get saved?’
It’s ridiculous.
Is the “salvation and kindness” in light novels just a form of web novel tyranny and refreshments?
Considering that the number one reason heroines fall for protagonists in light novels is kindness, it seems that way.
Anyway, I have no ability or intention to save Ichiro.
That’s something only the protagonist, who inherits the Shurosawa sword arts, can do, and I absolutely detest having sweaty communications with a dark, middle-aged man.
Let the protagonist and Ichiro handle it. It’s disgusting.
“Have you had dinner?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Well, that’s good then.”
Ichiro smiles.
A shady middle-aged man I don’t know well, and here I am, having dinner with the father of the guy I just humiliated.
What an uncomfortably awkward situation!
I’m definitely going to choke on this.
If it weren’t for my purpose, I wouldn’t have come to such an absurd place.
Slide.
The sliding door opened, and a staff member placed sushi on the table.
Each piece looked spectacularly high-class.
In the original world, this was high-level cuisine I wouldn’t even touch.
“Just go for it.”
“First, let’s deal with business.”
Shinozaki Ichiro’s eyes narrowed.
A smile crept across his lips.
“I like your attitude. Normally, a cadet would be scrambling to make a good impression on me in a situation like this.”
Shinozaki Ichiro is thorough in distinguishing between public and private matters and has a strong desire for talent.
If he likes a talent, he recruits them without discrimination, unless they’re from the Kurosawa family.
Even if they’re an enemy.
Thanks to this, the talent pool of his quasi-private organization, the association, is top-notch within the story.
What Ichiro values the most, despite his desire for talent, is attitude and composure.
In simpler terms, the more the other party rejects him, the more he likes it—he’s a bit of a perv.
The more the opponent plays hard to get, the more I like it.
And right now, I’m a promising talent who has beaten Shinozaki Rin and earned the recognition of the spirit of Durandal.
From his perspective, I’m the most coveted talent.
I pick up my chopsticks and pop a piece of sushi into my mouth.
It tastes delicious, just as you’d expect from a high-end sushi restaurant.
“Please give me more.”
Hearing normal dialogue instead of corny light novel lines after such a long time is refreshing.
Yeah, this is what a conversation is.
The tsundere girl, the top beautiful girl with a disdain for men at the academy, the rude cool girl, the protagonist who can’t help but throw out lines from shonen manga at every opportunity, the senior who reacts weirdly at the drop of a hat, and the maid who won’t stop calling me “Master.”
After living in this crazy world, meeting someone normal feels like a breath of fresh air.
“I saw the photo of my daughter doing a dogeza for you; it was quite the sight.”
Ichiro’s eyes narrow.
For someone like him, who values his family’s honor, having a photo of his daughter doing a dogeza plastered all over the nation must be humiliating.
“If I lost, I would have done it myself. It’s just the rightful price of the outcome.”
But there’s no need to bow here.
As I said before, I’m a pervert who enjoys being toyed with.
“You’ve insulted the greatest noble family in Japan! Aren’t you worried about the consequences?”
Ichiro growls.
His gaze sharpens.
A faint green aura swirls around him.
The table loaded with sushi shakes.
Suddenly, an overwhelming pressure surrounds me.
It’s the classic test of nerve cliché.
Seriously, whether it’s a martial arts novel or any other story, why do people think testing someone’s mettle like this is a good idea?
Just because you can hold out well here, does that mean you can handle everything else?
I let out a sigh internally and speak.
“If you wanted to do something to me, you would have done it already. The fact that you haven’t means you have tacitly agreed. Now coming at me like this just means you’re trying to test me. Isn’t that right? Let’s not engage in such childish antics among players.”
I’m frustrated.
I grab another piece of sushi.
“What? A test? Among players? Heh, ha ha ha, this is way more interesting than I expected! You, my friend.”
Ichiro suddenly bursts into laughter.
The green aura that was swirling around him, the shaking table, and the pressure all vanish as if washed away.
Ichiro’s green eyes focus on me.
“I’m impressed with your demeanor and ability. It’s almost a shame that you’re a student from a small country like Korea.”
Ichiro, the President of the Japan Hero Association, is showing me goodwill.
Objective achieved.
It’s clear that he’s a dangerous individual, but the position of President of the Japan Hero Association he holds has high utility value.
“Most of the major events in the original story happen in Japan. Having a cozy relationship with the powers that be in Japan wouldn’t hurt.”
I definitely need his support to face the final boss.
In the original story, he provided the most help to the protagonist after being saved by him, making him the biggest contributor.
There’s no harm in planting some goodwill at this point.
After all, his style is to support those who show him goodwill in every way possible.
“I’ll drain him dry. Shinozaki Ichiro.”
I’ll get everything from Ichiro and the entire Japan Hero Association.
That’s just common sense.
I’ll extort Japan. You could see that as true patriotism, in a way.
Ichiro’s words echo in my ears.
“But it’s also undeniable that my daughter has been humiliated because of you.”
What’s this?
We already wrapped that topic up, didn’t we?
“Isn’t that conversation over?”
Why’s he still dragging this out?
Aren’t we supposed to keep it cool?
His gaze fixes on me.
“……You will take responsibility for my daughter.”
