#343
Kind and Gentle
“We have arrived.”
With Han Seo-Jin’s words, I get out of the car.
Brrrr.
True to Gangwon-do, the snow falls heavily, and the biting cold hits my face.
Thinking of winter in Gangwon-do brings back memories of my military service, and I feel a bit uneasy.
I recall Yanggu, where I served in the military.
The crazy prices in the martial law zone.
And the endless snow that fell every winter, or rather, the white trash.
Even fully geared up in winter uniforms, field jackets, and the heavy winter clothes issued to guards including a face mask, custom-made warm gloves, earmuffs, and a neck scarf, I can still clearly feel the bone-chilling wind piercing through the thick winter gear.
With the same cold, the ski resort comes into view.
Originally the Roteworld Resort, the ski resort in front of me looks almost identical to the one I visited before my possession.
Below, there’s the ski house, the management center with a snack bar, changing rooms, and ski equipment, along with the ski course made by carving through the mountains, covered with white snow.
The difference from the ski resorts before my possession is that the only people around are me, my party, and a few staff members who look like they work at the resort.
There was no one skiing on the course.
The opposite of a ski resort bustling with people every winter.
[It’s a totally private ski resort, Partner.]
Just like the Black Prince said, this winter vacation’s private ski resort continues from the private valley during summer break.
In front of the ski house, a red carpet is laid out, and safety personnel known as ski patrols, along with the resort staff, lined up on both sides to greet me and the heroines as we got out of the car.
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung. We sincerely welcome you to our ski resort! We will do our utmost to serve you!”
A middle-aged man, seemingly the resort manager, stands in front of me, teary-eyed, bowing at a perfect ninety degrees.
Behind him, the ski resort employees bow deeply to me.
What the…
Is this some kind of mob boss entrance?
I have no idea why they’re acting like this.
“Yes, understood. Thank you. Now, could you all please return to your posts?”
I let out a sigh and waved my hand.
It’s incredibly burdensome.
They even hung the national flag at the ski resort.
If someone saw this, they’d think it’s a national team training facility.
“Ughh!”
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung smiled!”
“He thanked us!”
“What an honor, such an honor indeed.”
“It’s an honor once again.”
“I just thought I caught a glimpse of Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the ski resort staff burst into tears.
The way they looked at me with genuinely moved expressions and voices gave me chills.
Some even fainted and had to be taken to the infirmary.
So, when can we hit the slopes?
“Did you all hear Mr. Kim Deok-Sung? Everyone disperse! Please return to your original positions!”
With the manager’s words, the staff lined up on the red carpet scattered.
Only after that grand welcome ceremony could I finally enter the ski house.
After changing into my ski outfit and putting on my gear, a voice entered my ears.
“Kyaa! Snow! Eri! The snow is so beautiful!”
It was Eri’s excited voice, who had already changed into her ski outfit in the women’s changing room.
Eri’s orange twin tails were swinging around.
She dashed around the ski resort like a puppy in the snow.
Considering she was already wearing a collar, she really looked like a puppy.
“Wow, so this is a ski resort, how magical… Eri-chan… There’s so much snow.”
Beside Eri stood Makoto.
She looked adorable in her green bob cut and beanie.
Looks like it’s her first time skiing as she poked the snow with her ski poles.
“Oh my, Kamiya-san, is it your first time at a ski resort too? Hehe, we’re the same!”
A pure, beautiful girl with striking purple hair, Hoshino Kasumi-senpai, appeared next to Makoto.
As they both looked around in amazement since it was their first time at a ski resort…
“Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho! It’s been such a long time since I’ve been to a ski resort! I shall proudly showcase the skills I honed in the Alps! Consider it an honor!”
Then Olivia, puffing out white breaths, let out a lady-like giggle.
At that moment, a fiery enthusiasm radiated from her as if she would melt away the cold.
“Duk-seong. I too will showcase the skiing skills I cultivated in Hokkaido. I won’t lose to Bonaparte this time.”
Next to her, Rin appeared in a blue ski suit with goggles on.
Her dark blue ponytail fluttered in the winter wind.
“Hehe, I’ll accept that challenge anytime!”
“I’ll shatter that confidence, Bonaparte.”
Zing.
Olivia and Rin’s glances clashed in the air.
Just then, I thought to myself why they were competing over such trivial things.
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
A familiar voice reached my ears.
Turning my head, I saw Aris.
Aris was holding a white snowboard, not skis.
She rode a board in the original work too.
“Wh-what do you think of my appearance…?”
Aris asked, slightly blushing.
They say the completion of fashion is the face, and since Aris is a beautiful girl, she’d look good in anything.
“You look beautiful.”
At my words, Aris’s face turned slightly redder.
“Hey! Master! Why do you only say Aris-senpai looks beautiful? That’s unfair! Say I’m pretty too! Huh? Say it! Pupu. Otherwise, I’ll sulk!”
Eri, playing in the snow, suddenly interrupted.
She puffed her cheeks and looked over at me.
Her twin tails shook.
“Nishizawa-san? Th-this is…”
Aris’s face turned bright red from Eri’s sudden intrusion.
Her silver eyes darted around in surprise.
The ride spins around and around.
“Ma-master… Is it that you don’t find the beauty of the galaxy’s cutest girl, Eri, appealing? Or is it really the bigger busts that catch your eye…?”
Ignoring her ramblings, Eri places her hand on her chest and pretends to measure its size, talking to me.
A deep sigh escapes me.
If I leave Eri like this, she’ll keep going on endlessly with her two verses and three verses.
It’s better to just say she’s pretty.
Perhaps it reflects the original heroine’s top beauty ranking setting; in reality, Eri is indeed the prettiest.
“Oh, yeah, you’re pretty too.”
“…!!”
Eri’s face flushes at my words.
Her orange eyes quiver.
Swish.
Eri’s body vanishes from sight.
She must have used invisibility.
Soon after, Eri’s face peeks out from behind Aris after she deactivates the invisibility.
“Master… I was just joking, you know… I didn’t really think you’d say I’m pretty…”
Eri’s face, now red, is visible.
“Eri, my heart is pounding like crazy. Truly, Master is becoming kinder lately. I like the rough, S-type Master who treats me like a pet by pulling on my leash, but I also like the gentle and warm Master too♡”
Eri spills out a line worthy of a light novel, her face all flustered.
What on earth is she talking about?
I’m going crazy.
Just as I was trying to endure the pain rising within me.
“Little one! Hehe, I too have arrived!”
A silver-haired, smiling little girl in junior ski gear and goggles jumps in between me and Aris.
Yoshizaki Seira.
“This ski resort is quite well-managed. The snow quality is just perfect for skiing!” Seira says with a smile.
I’m not that good at skiing, so I can’t tell, but it’s clear the staff are working hard.
But who pays these staff? Is it the Hero Kim Deok-Sung Foundation?
While I pondered such thoughts,
“Hawawawawa! Mr. Kim Deok-Sung! A girl has come too!”
In a princess-like pink ski outfit, with pink skis and twintails sticking out from her beanie, the impressive smiling girl, Evangelin, pops up.
“Ugh… It’s so cold…”
Beside her stands Beatrice.
Her goggles are off, yet she’s still wearing an eye mask.
Is she seriously doing this all the way here?
She’s still as eccentric as ever.
Just as I sighed at that moment.
“Everyone’s gathered.”
Han Seo-Jin appears in front of the ski house.
Dressed in black beanie, black goggles, black ski suit, and holding a black snowboard, she speaks in a calm voice.
“Then, let’s follow me. I’ll take everyone to the intermediate slope all at once.”
As Han Seo-Jin speaks, a monorail that connects the slope and the ski house is speeding down from afar.
Wait, a monorail?
“I present to you the pride of the Hero Kim Deok-Sung Resort Snow World, the Snow Monorail that connects the ski house to the slope.”
As Han Seo-Jin finishes her introduction, the monorail comes to a stop.
So, they installed a monorail at this damn ski resort instead of a lift or gondola?
What is this, some Arab oil tycoon installing a mini train in their private zoo?
“Is that the sound of a mini train being installed at the zoo?”
There’s a creative way to waste money, for sure.
“Who on earth installed this?”
“The snow monorail was manufactured and donated by Mirae Rotem, a company specializing in railroad vehicles in Korea. By the way, Rotegroup is covering all operational costs of the resort, including employee salaries, so you don’t need to worry about finances.”
Mirae Rotem this time?
In web novels, they’re often the evil conglomerates that obstruct the protagonist’s path.
But in this other world Korea, these conglomerates aren’t pushovers; they keep donating things to me and even cover all operational expenses.
Did they all eat something wrong together?
I mean, during the last summer vacation, the conglomerate presidents lined up for my autograph, shaking my hand like fans meeting an idol, tears in their eyes.
Definitely something’s off with their heads.
“Then let’s board.”
With Han Seo-Jin’s guidance, the monorail doors automatically opened, and I boarded with the heroines.
It was the moment when the serious ski time began.
*
At the same time.
In a motel in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.
Inside the shabby room of an old building that looked worn out.
The peeled wallpaper and the musty smell of mold rising from the yellow linoleum filled the room.
A wooden cabinet holding a vintage 4:3 ratio CRT TV that was barely working due to the noise, a worn mattress without a bed frame, a grandmother’s blanket with a tiger on it, and a neck pillow piled in one corner—whoever saw this wouldn’t want to stay the night.
Three guests resembling foreign tourists were there.
Dokta Shinahel, Undertaker, and Diego Morales.
They were three EX-rank villains who had come from abroad to attack Kim Deok-Sung and his party.
It was like a monstrous force capable of easily destroying an entire country had gathered in the motel’s shabby room.
“There’s no Wi-Fi either.”
Dokta Shinahel, a man in a mask holding a phone, complained.
“I can’t believe this crappy room costs 500,000 won. Is the cost of living in Korea this terrible?”
“This is the cheapest room.”
Diego Morales, an old man wearing a beret and sunglasses, explained as if justifying himself.
“Again with that excuse… as usual…”
“Operation… overview.”
Dokta Shinahel’s rant was interrupted by the Undertaker, who was wearing a robe and a hood.
“Hmm, alright. The operation is simple. With my magic, I’ll set up a barrier to isolate Kim Deok-Sung and Beatrice from the ski resort to create a winter mountain rescue scenario. After that, Diego and Undertaker can subdue them within the barrier. Simple, right?”
“Sounds good. But is there room service here?”
Diego Morales asked after listening to Dokta Shinahel.
“Is there such a thing?!”
Dokta Shinahel snapped back at Diego Morales irritably while Undertaker clenched his fists.
‘Damian… wait…’
Sister will save you.
Undertaker repeated this in his mind as he bit his lip.
This was just under 12 hours before the execution of the plan that Diego Morales had devised.
