Chapter 972

EP.972 Part 2 Chapter 9 Section 28

Here to propose! When Seok Harang first heard those words, she just stared at me blankly.

“I’ve come to confess my feelings.”

“…Did you take something or get hit on the head?”

Was she uncomfortable hearing the word “confession”?

Or did she understand me but couldn’t believe it?

“I didn’t take anything. I’m speaking from my heart.”

Until now, I’ve only ever confessed to Shin-ra.

From when Shin-ra was still Blazing Phoenix, I confessed to her countless times. After crossing over to this world, I finally received a response to my confessions.

Later, Seok Harang and Yuinah became part of our family, though with Shin-ra acting as mediator, it wasn’t exactly the same kind of relationship.

Shin-ra is my wife.

But Harang and Yuna… they were “mothers” to my children, not wives.

They might call me husband, but I’ve never formally asked them to be my wives.

“I can’t keep maintaining this relationship merely as the mother of my child.”

So now, I properly confess to Seok Harang.

“Will you become my wife?”

I approached the bed where she lay.

Harang remained frozen, while I leaned over her, brushing her hair.

“There’s one thing I can’t promise…”

“What is it?”

“I can’t guarantee I’ll love you more than Shin-ra. But I can definitely say that after Shin-ra, the woman I’ll love most will be you.”

“…What a garbage confession.”

Seok Harang glared at me coldly.

“Are you saying you don’t love me because of your child?”

“No.”

“It is. Being second to Gold Horse… Now what…”

“I love you.”

I pressed my lips against hers.

She simply opened her mouth slightly, and for a moment our tongues intertwined.

CHUURP.

As always, her mouth was filled with the scent of blueberries.

“This isn’t out of duty as the mother of my child. It’s not some reciprocal love either. I truly want to cherish you and make you happy.”

“When?”

“The moment you told me that even if Shin-ra and Garura had regrets, you still wanted to be with me.”

Honestly, it shook me.

Because I understood all too well the pain and conflict Harang felt – having someone persistently declare their love when you didn’t reciprocate.

But I endured and moved on.

For Shin-ra’s sake, I put up with everything and focused solely on her.

However, after Shin-ra initiated physical intimacy with Harang and she became pregnant, my feelings for Harang developed.

“How could I possibly push away someone who wants to be with me this much?”

“…At this rate, every time a girl comes hitting on you, we’re going to keep adding two or three more women, right?”

“That won’t happen.”

At least not immediately.

“Shin-ra, you, and Yuinah. Loving just these three is already overwhelming.”

“You know Commanders are allowed to take seven partners officially, right? Are you planning to live with seven women?”

“Will that really happen?”

“I don’t know… But right now, just the three of you are more than enough for me.”

Even having one person love me this much feels like more than I deserve.

And yet, here I am with three wonderful women loving me – what more could I ask for?

“Did you get permission from Gold Horse?”

“Not permission. Forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission.”

“But knowing you, you probably already informed her before doing anything, right?”

“…You got me there.”

Seok Harang smiled wryly and hugged me.

As she drew closer, I-

“Trying to kiss me, aren’t you, Bingoo?”

Seok Harang buried her face in my shoulder.

Though we ended up facing each other cheek-to-cheek, I held her tightly as she wished.

“Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear those words?”

“I do.”

“Does someone who knows make someone else wait this long?”

“Because I was uncertain.”

Honestly, I was uncertain.

No matter how sincere Harang’s feelings seemed, no matter how genuine my own feelings for her, if Shin-ra’s feelings for me changed…

I don’t think I could have handled it.

“Blazing Phoenix becoming Seoyea’s Phoenix happened because of you. Shin-ra opened her heart because of the way you’ve shown yourself until now.”

Sexual partner and mother of my child – that’s not how Shin-ra views Harang anymore.

She’s accepted Harang as an equal “wife.”

I’ve decided to join hands with Seok Harang and Yuinah not just as mothers of my children, but as women I genuinely love.

Previously, it was Shin-ra and I leading, with Harang and Yuna following behind.

Now we’ll walk hand-in-hand as four equals – or perhaps three of you will fairly share my manhood.

“Do you know why Shin-ra’s love could extend to you… not equally, but similarly?”

“Why?”

“Because you chose to love me despite being willing to accept Shin-ra.”

A woman loving a man so much that she accepts sharing him with his wife – Shin-ra struggles with such complicated love.

“…Sounds like someone’s coming.”

I sensed the timing.

Then, holding Seok Harang, I rolled off the bed.

CRASH!

The window shattered, glass fragments flying everywhere.

Holding Harang, I managed to avoid the flying shards. After a moment, I picked up an object that had flown through the broken window.

“Here.”

I handed her the box resting on my palm.

With an expressionless face, Seok Harang opened it, revealing a ring where blue and gold spiraled together.

“It’s yours.”

“…Will you put it on me?”

Silently extending her left hand, I carefully placed the ring on her fourth finger.

“…Damn.”

Looking at the ring on her hand, Seok Harang tried to suppress her rising smile, covering her face with her hands.

“The window’s broken, my clothes are in disarray, and this looks like some video editing mishap…”

“Isn’t it nice?”

“…I had a romantic vision.”

Seok Harang pouted.

“I imagined walking down a candlelit path, you in a perfectly tailored tuxedo, kneeling to propose…”

“Should I do it now?”

“Falling to your knees here would be meaningless. First…”

SWISH.

Seok Harang extended her hand toward the broken window.

Using magic power, she gathered the glass shards and repaired the window by reconnecting its crystalline structure.

Living with goddesses has made me attuned to the flow of magical energy just by observing movements.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

There was a knock at the door.

After exchanging a glance with Seok Harang, I opened it to find formally dressed men and women looking pale.

“Are you alright?”

“Huh?”

“We came after hearing about the broken window in this room…”

The manager-like person scanned the intact window behind me, tilting their head in confusion.

“Sorry, we thought this was the room…”

“Where’s the broken window? At this height?”

“There was apparently a sudden gust of wind that hurled a rock against the window. We heard a breaking sound… Sorry, let us check the neighboring room.”

“That.”

How should I explain this?

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I steeled myself for Seok Harang’s sake.

“We rented both neighboring rooms too.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Because of noise concerns.”

“Our hotel rooms have perfect soundproofing…”

The manager stopped mid-sentence, nodding seriously.

They must have understood by now.

Otherwise, I’d die of embarrassment.

“Understood. May we check using the master key if it’s convenient for you?”

“Yes, since we’re only using this room anyway.”

“Understood. Then…”

THUD.

The door closed.

I approached Seok Harang, who had her face pressed against the wall, patting her back.

“It’s fine. Just let it slide.”

“Grrr…”

Having sex in a hotel isn’t embarrassing, but Seok Harang was mortified about her moans potentially leaking to the next room.

That’s why we rented the adjacent rooms too.

The staff found it odd when a couple rented three rooms, but my plausible excuses combined with their discretion made them look away awkwardly.

There’s one reason for that.

“Harang worried her moans might leak to the next room?”

“Of course it’s embarrassing. Have you forgotten what happened to that monster guy and Mr. Gashina who looked like you?”

“……”

I remember, even if I don’t particularly want to recall that annoying fellow.

“Talking about Hwakwon?”

“Yeah. Suffered a lot when their motel sex video leaked. Better to be careful.”

“That’s because you moan so loudly, urgh…”

I shut my mouth against the creeping chill rising from below.

“Anyway, we need to be careful whenever we do it outside home. Got it?”

“Can’t we just not do it outside and be safe?”

“Did you just receive a proposal and a ring but refuse sex? You’ll kill me, Harang.”

Seok Harang pulled me back to the bed.

“Did you know, Brother? Hwakwon actually resembles you quite a bit.”

“……”

“Is it true you dislike Hwakwon because he reminds you of yourself? They’re practically brothers.”

“……It’s not that.”

Hwakwon Lee Seung-hyeong.

An A-rank hero I considered nurturing from the start of my twenty years on Earth – Bear.

Our relationship with Cheon Gaeul was rather ironic, but he proved helpful domestically and internationally in various ways.

“I know why Brother dislikes Lee Seung-hyeong.”

“Be quiet.”

“I started thinking… What if Brother had been born in our world?”

“……”

Why is Seok Harang embarrassing me after I confessed and gave her a ring?

“Though the names are completely different, one look at your face makes it obvious. When Brother came to our world as Blazing Phoenix, there was someone in our world corresponding to you.”

“……”

“Letting Garura be with Lee Seung-hyeong… Were you vicariously enjoying watching them together?”

“I can definitively state this: that guy and I are completely different beings.”

I took Seok Harang’s hand and led her to the bed.

“My equipment is considerably larger, you know.”