Chapter 152: Return (4)
Surprisingly, the confirmation (?) was over quickly.
"De-definitely...that's true."
Seeing Rin's face turn so red that she even stuttered, Kim Hyunwoo cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke.
"I told you..."
He tried to maintain his composure, but as someone who had never spent time with a woman, it was a very stimulating (?) experience, so Kim Hyunwoo remained silent for a while.
"Hmm hmm-"
It took him a little time, but thankfully, he was able to regain his composure and speak.
"First, I've said everything I wanted to, so I'd like to get to the main point. Is that okay?"
"Of-of course!"
Seeing Rin nodding vigorously at his words, Kim Hyunwoo wondered where he should start.
"...First, I think I need to explain the situation before talking about this part."
With that, he began to explain the current situation to Rin, step by step.
He started with how he was under a prohibition, and then moved on to how he met all the previous heroes of Lartania, only for absurdly high infamy points to prevent him from recruiting them.
As he began recounting everything, Rin, who had been tense at first, gradually adopted a serious expression as she listened to Kim Hyunwoo's story.
"...So, with Loria gone, I called you to see if penalties would still apply."
"Indeed, I understand what's going on now."
After some time had passed, and Kim Hyunwoo had finished explaining everything about Loria, Rin nodded in understanding as he explained why he had called her.
[★★★★★☆ Would you like to offer recruitment to the hero 'Absolute Ruler of Darkness'? Y/N]
A notification window popped up in front of Kim Hyunwoo's eyes.
[※Note: Accepting this hero into your territory may result in hostile territories, guilds, or nations]
[Norba Kingdom Affinity: -12]
[Eastern Clan Alliance Affinity: -23]
[Mage Tower Affinity: -17]
[Tesnoka Territory Affinity: -18]
[Malan Territory Affinity: -22]
[Hyran Territory Affinity: -28]
[Rollan Territory Affinity: -15]
[Bloa Territory Affinity: -31]
[Shulatia Territory Affinity: -13]
[Mandia Territory Affinity: -22]
[Mihalan Territory Affinity: -14]
....
...
..
.
[Mula Alliance Affinity: -11]
Notification windows scrolled in front of him.
But what appeared was simply a notification about territory relations. Unlike before, there were no messages about Rin's identity being revealed, leading to a drop in territory influx, or other heroes turning hostile toward her.
The notification window in front of Kim Hyunwoo was simply showing the territory relationship, nothing more.
He tried scrolling the window up or down, just in case, but seeing no movement, Kim Hyunwoo realized that Loria had indeed tampered with the notifications.
"Thanks for helping me confirm...?"
Just as Kim Hyunwoo, having finished confirming, smiled and spoke.
He saw it.
Rin was staring at him with a look of great expectation on her face.
Kim Hyunwoo, seeing her slightly overwhelming look of expectation, was momentarily taken aback but soon understood what she wanted.
"...Would you like to return to Lartania?"
With one sentence from Kim Hyunwoo.
Rin spoke with eyes that sparkled like a six-year-old receiving a Christmas present.
"I-is that really okay?"
Her voice sounded both very joyful and somewhat pitiful.
As if she couldn't believe the situation, she asked, and Kim Hyunwoo replied with a smile.
"Of course."
In fact, from Kim Hyunwoo's perspective, there was no reason not to accept Rin if she wanted to return to Lartania.
Loria had made it blatantly clear that she was plotting something before disappearing, and Kim Hyunwoo needed strength to counter her schemes.
In such a situation, Rin's return was something Kim Hyunwoo would gladly welcome.
Moreover, when Kim Hyunwoo had first rejected her recruitment offer, he had heard that Rin, like the Hero King, had suffered greatly.
In short, from Kim Hyunwoo's perspective, he was willing to accept her, even if it meant some level of damage.
So, Kim Hyunwoo gave that answer.
"Oh, but come to think of it... Are you currently affiliated with the Calan Kingdom?"
Remembering that she had come with Sasha, Kim Hyunwoo asked, and Rin, looking horrified, waved her hands.
"No, absolutely not! I was only helping the Calan Kingdom temporarily to gather some gifts; I'm not affiliated with them!"
"Ah, I see."
Seeing her on the verge of tears, looking truly wronged, Kim Hyunwoo, somewhat flustered, answered and pressed the 'Y' button.
[★★★★★☆ You have recruited the hero 'Absolute Ruler of Darkness' into the Lartania Territory!]
As the second hero of the Round Table returned.
The tears on Rin's face, which had been there moments ago, were replaced with a beaming smile.
After recruiting Rin into Lartania, Kim Hyunwoo sent her back to her room and began to ponder alone.
'What is Loria aiming for?'
Kim Hyunwoo recalled Loria's face.
Then, naturally, the words she had said came to mind one by one, and the first thing that came to mind was this:
She had said that she had already stalled for enough time.
'I don't understand what that means.'
In fact, given the circumstances, Kim Hyunwoo had a good idea of what Loria was after.
If he carefully recalled what she had said, it was clear that Loria's goal was to prevent him from re-recruiting the heroes of the Round Table.
But what he still couldn't understand was why she had said she had stalled for enough time.
'...Once the heroes are recruited, that's it. Or is there something else?'
Kim Hyunwoo pondered.
'Or does it mean I won't have enough time to gather the other heroes properly? ...That could be one interpretation, but so far, all the heroes I've met have liked me. Hmm...'
After much contemplation, Kim Hyunwoo reached a conclusion.
'...Well, she seemed satisfied that she had stalled enough... So it seems my job is to gather the heroes. Preferably, all of the Round Table heroes.'
He concluded, but...
'...I wonder where they all are.'
Kim Hyunwoo pondered.
He hadn't seen the Crimson Dragon even once since he arrived here, and as for Merilda, although he sometimes met her at the Lord's castle (?), he had never had a proper conversation with her.
'I guess there's nothing I can do about the Crimson Dragon not showing up... Should I ask the next time Merilda comes to the castle?'
While pondering, Kim Hyunwoo suddenly went "Hmm?" as he thought of something.
'...Now that I think about it, didn't Adria say she was protected by the dragon? ...Though the Crimson Dragon is a half-human, half-dragon.'
After thinking for a moment, Kim Hyunwoo called a guard to summon Adria without hesitation.
He thought that it wouldn't hurt to ask her at least once.
To be honest, Loriel didn't really have much hope that things would go smoothly just because Rin had entered the Lord's castle.
Maybe if something had gone well before, it would be different, but so far, nothing had gone smoothly when it came to the Lord of Lartania.
So, when Loriel met Rin this time without any particular expectations, she couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.
The reason was that, despite the conversation not being very long, Rin had successfully returned to Lartania.
At first, Loriel stared in disbelief.
"Congratulations, Master...!"
With a truly heartwarming expression, she said this to Rin with a smile.
"...Master?"
"Ah, yes? Ah, right, that's true-"
But Rin, who should have been happier than anyone else, muttered with little reaction, despite Loriel's excitement.
"...?"
As Loriel made a puzzled expression, Rin, who had been spacing out as if entranced, suddenly stretched out her thumb and ring finger and looked at her hand with a very subtle expression several times.
"...??"
Ignoring Loriel's confused expression, Rin continued to look at her hand, tilting her head.
"I-I think it was about this much..."
Muttering as if groping for something, she soon brought her elongated fingers to her lower abdomen.
Her hand pressed against the tight-fitting clothes.
And then.
Realizing that her thumb and ring finger could connect her lower abdomen to her crotch, Rin muttered with a clearly reddened face.
"Ah, it didn't seem like it would fit..."
"......"
Loriel, upon realizing what Rin was talking about, looked at her with a speechless expression.