I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 75
075 The Truth Behind the Hero Summoning
Humans believe what they see. If you utilize that fact well, deceiving people is an easy task.
Deceiving an ignorant populace is easier still. You display the successes and hide the failures. With just a tiny bit of grooming, they were easily enthralled and easily led to believe.
But occasionally, things happen that cannot be hidden. A deep breath leaked from his mouth. Glenn stood by the window, his gaze dropping downward.
A man, somewhat shorter than the average male of the Tairon Kingdom, was swinging a sword. However, it didn’t seem to be going well. The man was stabbing at the air with swordsmanship that would have looked clumsy even on a ten-year-old child.
The woman beside him was even worse. It had been nearly a month since she first held a sword, yet she still hadn’t mastered a proper stance.
Glenn’s brows furrowed of their own accord. Those two were Magicians. There was no need for them to pick up a sword. He had explained several times that it wasn’t necessary. Yet, they were the ones who had demanded it.
‘Even though they had no intention of taking it seriously.’
There were times when the two wore helmets and armor as well. But once they actually put them on, they found it too difficult. As soon as they dressed, they didn’t even walk a few steps before stripping them off. It seemed they simply thought the sword and armor looked cool.
According to reports, they would occasionally grumble about how things were different from what they expected, yet they would still dress up in the fancy gear just to look at themselves in the mirror. They had no grit, no drive. Utterly useless.
Even if the two had been motivated, they wouldn’t have achieved much. Swordsmanship must be practiced from childhood. An adult who begins learning late in life does not easily become a master.
Furthermore, the two were slow learners in every aspect. Learning the language, mastering etiquette, and even handling magic—the most important skill of all—they were slow.
A sigh escaped him despite himself. The only thing in which those two surpassed ordinary people was their raw strength.
But strength alone can achieve nothing. Power only holds meaning when it can be controlled. Power that cannot be controlled is nothing but a disaster.
“….”
One cannot stop the mouths of the people. No matter how carefully he guarded and packaged them, their true nature would eventually be revealed to the citizens. It would be ideal if they could achieve something before then, but looking at them now, there was no hope.
“You must not linger here too long, Your Highness.”
An attendant diverted his attention.
Glenn walked away from the window after seeing the female Hero whispering and giggling with a guard. The man’s angry voice, sparked by the woman’s behavior, drifted in through the window.
The world is not a play or a painting. If you starve, you feel hunger; if you are hurt, you bleed. The Heroes were the same. They could fall ill or be injured, and as they aged, their power would weaken.
Anyone with a shred of sense would assess their own situation and devise a plan. They would strive for improvement and observe their surroundings carefully. They would judge who could be of help to them and seek cooperation or friendship. Regardless, they would do something.
But those two had no intention of doing any such thing. They only reacted to immediate pleasure and praise. It was as if innocent children had simply grown in size.
‘If only they had been more decent individuals.’
If they had, Glenn and his father, the King, would have approached them with the intention of giving them important roles.
But vulgar fools who possessed only strength could be used as nothing more than simple pawns. He would give them lovers, money, and titles that sounded grand, and then—
‘What a waste, considering they are Heroes.’
But were those two truly Heroes? At first, he had been certain, but now, doubt began to creep in.
“….”
The Tairon Kingdom had never performed a Hero summoning ritual. Those two had simply appeared one day in a room where a Hero’s summoning circle had been drawn.
Though there had been no ritual, everyone naturally assumed they were Heroes. They believed God had sent them for Tairon, which was currently at war. Their appearance, the location where they were found—there had been no room for doubt.
‘We should have handled this more cautiously.’
According to legends and records passed down, a Hero can use various types of power. However, those two possessed only a single power each. There was no sign of other powers manifesting. They certainly possessed immense strength, but it felt incomplete—like they were only half-Heroes.
He couldn’t bring up such things now. His father the King, and even the High Priest, realized something was wrong, but no one spoke up first.
The word that those two were Heroes had already been spread throughout the kingdom. The rumors had even reached other nations. It was the King and Glenn himself who had used spies to fan those flames.
Glenn exhaled softly and quickened his pace. His heart was immeasurably heavy at the thought of meeting his father, but it wasn’t something that could be postponed.
As he walked down the long corridor and arrived in front of the office, the door opened without him even having to wait. It was proof that his father had been waiting. His heavy heart sank even further.
It felt as if invisible hands were reaching out from the floor to pull him down. Entering the office with leaden steps, he saw his father, who had been looking out the window, turn around.
“You’ve come. You’re late.”
“I apologize.”
“It is fine.”
His father moved toward a nearby chair. Sitting down, he gestured toward the opposite seat with his gaze. Glenn sat before his father, feeling slightly tense.
“How are they? The Heroes.”
“…As before, no further powers have manifested.”
“Any sign of them creating a Rudolph?”
His father likely already knew the answer. Glenn lowered his eyes slightly as he replied.
“No. Two more Magical Beasts died today.”
“Could it be they are neither Heroes nor Santa’s contractors…”
His father trailed off and fell silent, staring at the ceiling.
After sinking into thought for a moment, his father asked again.
“Is it a certain fact that those two met Santa?”
“Yes, that much is certain. I heard they met him when they were very young.”
“And it’s true they made wishes to Santa?”
“Yes, Father. They said they made wishes several times. It is certain that Santa granted those wishes. They answered clearly that they received gifts.”
“Both of them?”
“Yes.”
“Then why…”
His father let out a deep sigh. Even if they weren’t Heroes, it would have been fine if they were Santa’s contractors. In fact, that would have been better. However, no matter how much they sacrificed the Magical Beasts they had worked so hard to obtain, the two could not create a Rudolph.
“Um, Father.”
When Glenn spoke hesitantly, the King looked at him.
“It has become difficult to obtain Magical Beasts within the kingdom. If we seek them too openly, rumors will spread, and to seek them secretly, there are too few of them.”
That was the biggest problem at the moment.
It was still unknown whether the Heroes could create a Rudolph or not. They couldn’t give up too early, but the Magical Beast was the most difficult creature to capture alive. It was now impossible to obtain the already scarce creatures without starting rumors.
His father nodded lightly.
“Yes, I suppose so.”
His father gestured for the Chief Attendant. When the man approached, the King spoke in a low voice.
“Contact the merchant in the Wind Kingdom and tell him to secure some Magical Beasts. Tell him to commission the Santa Guild in the Simoni Kingdom. The beast hunters there are famous for their skill.”
The Simoni Kingdom was the country they were currently at war with. Glenn looked at his father with a dazed expression.
“But Father, that country is currently our… enemy.”
His father smirked.
“Glenn, are you aware that our country’s finances are in a difficult state due to the long war?”
“Of course.”
“Then where do you think the money comes from to buy weapons and feed the soldiers?”
“….”
“Pillaging.”
“Pardon?”
“Our country is committing banditry in various other nations. It’s time you knew.”
Good heavens. He must have made a foolish face at such an absurd story. His father chuckled.
“There is a merchant guild in the Wind Kingdom that helps disguise the loot to cross borders. He is a man of great ability. Leave it to him; he will hide our presence and procure the Magical Beasts, so do not worry too much.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
“The Chief Attendant will introduce you to him later. Take good note of his methods.”
The conversation with his father ended there, but the lingering aftertaste was long. To think the King was permitting pillaging in other countries…
‘This is madness.’
It was possible for a ruler to deceive the eyes of the people. No, that was only natural. Politics was not a clean business. He knew that. But to think they were pillaging. A sense of loathing welled up within him.
Hiding his emotions, Glenn quietly bowed and left the office. He walked down the corridor, armed with the expressionless mask he had worn for so long.
“Your Highness.”
He stopped at the sound of an attendant calling from behind. When he turned, the attendant said quietly with slightly lowered brows.
“You keep wiping your lips.”
He realized he had been rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand. Glenn clenched his fist.
“I thought something was on them.”
“….”
The attendant bowed his head silently.
Glenn moved on, his fists clenched tight to prevent his hand from rising again. The sharp voices of the Heroes drifted in through the window. They seemed to be fighting. Before he knew it, he was rubbing his lips again.
Humans are truly quick to adapt. In reality, I had only been to this Guild a few times, but it felt like I had been coming here for years.
As I stepped inside the Guild, the gazes of the adventurers sitting on the chairs to the right all turned toward me at once. Not just their behavior, but even the adventurers themselves seemed familiar. Surely they weren’t all unemployed bums, so why did it feel like I was seeing the exact same faces as before?
“Juhwan, is something wrong?”
Lij tilted her head curiously. When I told her it was nothing, she took Dorothy’s hand and smiled as she brushed past me.
“Let’s go in. The Red Sword party must be waiting.”
Lij and Dorothy, who had been stiff with tension when they first came here, now walked inside without any hesitation. Seeing Lij walk with her back straight made her look dignified. She really felt like an adventurer.
When we were always together, it didn’t seem like much had changed, but seeing her like this made me realize how different she was from when we first met. Thinking that she had changed because she met me made her feel all the more lovely and precious. I felt like a gardener watching a carefully tended flower finally bloom.
The Red Sword party was sitting in a corner. For some reason, the atmosphere around them was different than before. As I wondered what it was, I suddenly realized.
The men around them weren’t harassing them with crude words or mocking them.
‘Something must have happened.’
With that thought, I approached them and saw bloodstains on the table where Red Sword was sitting. Red droplets were gathered over a round dent that looked like a nail mark.
The chatterbox Guild staff member threw a word toward Red Sword.
“Hey, you lot. Don’t think we’ll just let this slide, even if it’s you. It’s only natural that you pay if you damage Guild property. Do you have any idea how much we spend on supplies because of violent people? That’s why the tables and chairs in our Guild are incredibly sturdy. We bought expensive ones. Do you know why? Because hot-blooded adventurers like you break them all the time. Well, fine. Since it didn’t break this time, I’ll let it go, but make sure you treat that dent and bloodstain so no trace remains. It’ll go away if you rub it with sandpaper. Wipe the blood off cleanly too.”
Actually, it wasn’t just one word. The members of Red Sword looked exhausted.
When Lij whispered to ask what happened, Marie answered in a small voice.
“A guy who usually picks on us was pestering us with dirty jokes again, so Karin slammed a nail into the table. She only meant to scare him, but she accidentally poked him between the fingers.”
No, you shouldn’t have just scared him; you should have gone at him with the intent to kill.
One of the adventurers sitting quietly in the corner suddenly spoke up.
“Good job. Well, that guy deserved it. I’ve seen him pestering you dirtily hundreds of times.”
Karin looked at the adventurer, who gave a smirk.
“You need that kind of grit to make it as an adventurer. If he acts dirty again, don’t go for the hand—burst his balls.”
The men around laughed loudly at the adventurer’s words. The atmosphere softened a bit. One man near Red Sword shrugged and spoke.
“Dammit, hitting on them and sneaking a touch was the only joy of coming here.”
“You crazy bastard! That’s why you can’t get past Rank 5. You should think about improving your skills.”
“Dammit, you’re the same way, so what are you talking about?”
The men roared with laughter. But they weren’t sending greasy gazes toward Red Sword like before; it was just simple lewd talk between men.
The chatterbox Guild staff member clapped his hands and shouted.
“Take that kind of nonsense to a pub! This is a sacred Guild!”
Laughter erupted from the adventurers here and there.
“Crazy!”
“Sacred, my foot!”
“Is that a joke?”
Turning my gaze, I saw Lij and Red Sword frowning at the laughing men. But somehow, it looked like a scene from a single painting. They no longer felt like they were isolated and drifting apart from the rest, as they had before.
“….”
Bit by bit, I hoped they could blend into this society. Starting from the small things, if they changed little by little, perhaps such a day would eventually come.
