Chapter 48

“…”

“…Waaah!”

The screams came a beat late, despite the unmistakable scene before them.

The first person to open the door had only caught sight of Yu Pado’s nearly naked back and had been startled by that alone.

The others, however, saw something entirely different.

They saw Pado wearing an embarrassed, irritated expression, and Eun Morae hiding behind his body.

They saw Morae with her bare legs exposed, wearing an oversized shirt that was obviously not hers, handprints still visible on her thighs, nervously darting her eyes around like someone who had just been caught doing something they shouldn’t.

“…Seriously?”

Rumors about Pado and Morae had quietly spread ever since he’d carried her away on his back, but… really?

No, more importantly…

“In a situation like this… people normally do that?”

Two young people falling for each other wasn’t unusual. If anything, it was incredibly common.

Cute, affectionate Morae and the handsome, quietly attentive Pado spent plenty of time together. It wouldn’t have been strange at all if sparks had flown between them. People had even joked about when the two would finally kiss, so everyone had been mentally prepared.

No matter how precious Morae was—like a beloved daughter or little sister to the Legion—her dating life wasn’t something that would make the world come crashing down. A few people might react that way, but they were the minority.

If she ended up with some worthless guy, people would certainly interfere, but that was about it.

If Morae wanted to date someone, that was entirely her choice. If dating led to skin-to-skin intimacy, well, they were adults.

Even if they weren’t officially dating and were simply sleeping together for mutual pleasure, that wasn’t some unforgivable stain on someone like Morae.

Heck, even if it was nothing more than a one-night stand within the Legion that might complicate relationships, people could probably overlook it. Morae couldn’t exactly sleep with the enemy, so practically everyone around her was already part of the same circle anyway.

But…

“Inside the enemy’s hideout…”

“After she’d been kidnapped…”

“And without even getting dressed…”

No matter how you looked at it… wasn’t that a bit much?

The three of them spoke one after another.

The shock of seeing their precious little sister figure doing something so outrageously shameless left them reeling.

At the same time…

They also felt an overwhelming urge to tease her about it.

Unable to endure the subtle looks of reproach any longer, Morae completely hid herself behind Pado.

Seeing how mortified she was, Pado irritably turned around.

“What are you all staring at? Get us some clothes already!”

“Oh—right! Right!”

Snapping back to their senses, the rescue team hurriedly threw over a blanket.

Pado immediately wrapped the first blanket around Morae before tying the second one around his own shredded pants.

As he awkwardly turned around, someone snatched a Shadow Knights jacket and tossed it to him.

“Don’t get any weird ideas. Our clothes melted because of the slimes.”

Pado spoke bluntly as he accepted the black jacket.

Behind him, Morae shuffled along wrapped tightly in her blanket. She frowned against the bright daylight pouring in and instinctively hid behind Pado’s broad back.

“Come on. Is there really a slime that perverted?”

“There is. Didn’t you see them on your way here? Everyone’s clothes were half melted.”

“…Now that you mention it, yeah. Everybody was wearing their clothes strangely. Still… that’s one unbelievable slime. Who the hell would make such a perverted monster?”

Pado quietly glanced at Morae.

His lips moved silently.

“They’re talking about you.”

Morae shot him a fierce glare that clearly said, Don’t you dare say another word.

“…I don’t know. Anyway, it existed.”

The explanation was lazy, but what else could they do?

Whatever the truth was, if Pado insisted, they had little choice but to accept it.

The rescue team exchanged meaningful looks before nodding.

Regardless, Morae—the kidnapping victim—and Pado, who had pursued her alone, both appeared unharmed.

That was enough.

Feeling relieved, one of the rescuers poked Pado’s flushed skin.

“…Right. Then why’s your face so red?”

“It was hot being trapped in such a cramped space.”

“What about those scratches on your back? They look like fingernail marks.”

“It was cramped. Morae scratched me trying to tell me to move over.”

“You’ve got bite marks on your neck.”

“A slime bit me while I was running away.”

“Then why’s Morae holding her waist and limping?”

“We were stuck standing in there for hours. She’s exhausted.”

“…And what about that chestnut blossom smell?”¹

“Maybe there are chestnut trees blooming somewhere.”

None of the excuses were particularly convincing…

Yet an answer came instantly to every question.

That only made them more suspicious.

The rescue team narrowed their eyes and asked one final question.

“Then… before we opened the door, who was it saying, ‘Stooop… I can’t take any more… slowly…’ like that?”

The next instant…

All six members of the rescue team were swept away by a torrent of water and launched straight out the window.

Standing by the high window, Pado looked down at the six people splashing into the sea below.

One after another, they swam back toward the shore while looking up at the high window.

At least they had enough conscience not to start shouting.

They’d listened to everything…

And then had the nerve to tease him?

Unforgivable.

Listening in deserved to be thrown into the ocean.

Teasing him afterward deserved it too.

Beside Pado, whose ears had turned bright red, Morae buried her face in both hands.

It was the very definition of wanting the ground to swallow you whole from embarrassment.

“I told you we should’ve finished sooner!”

Morae sniffled.

Even though she’d kept insisting “No, no,” they’d ended up tangled together for another full hour.

Pado glanced sideways at the girl who looked ready to die from embarrassment before leaning against the windowsill with his chin resting in one hand.

“You kept saying no… but your body wouldn’t stop clinging to me…”

He muttered the words like a timid excuse.

If he raised his voice, it would only turn into another fight, so he whispered quietly enough that she could barely hear him.

His face—only slightly less red than Morae’s—gradually cooled as the breeze drifted through the open window.

At the Hospital Ward.

The aftermath of the kidnapping was significant… or insignificant, depending on how one looked at it.

The kidnapping itself was hardly anything new.

Morae’s condition, however, was another matter entirely.

She ended up confined to a private hospital room, surrounded by overprotective family members and people close to her.

Every single time she was kidnapped, they reacted more strongly than Morae herself ever did.

On the second day of being stuck in bed, Morae fanned herself with one hand and grumbled.

“Do I seriously have to stay here? I’m not that badly hurt. I can walk around just fine.”

“What are you talking about? You could barely walk before. You’re resting all week.”

Han Nokyeong hugged Morae tightly, worrying herself sick.

Practically climbing onto the hospital bed, she clung to Morae with all her might.

The bedside table was overflowing with flowers Nokyeong had picked that morning and fruit she had diligently peeled and sliced. For Morae, who was no longer a child, it was honestly a little embarrassing.

“It’s not that serious. I only stumbled for a little while.”

“But still! You don’t have the Diamond Body ability. I’m worried because you could collapse at any moment. Seeing you come back that exhausted… Mom was so worried. And those Shadow Knights actually had the nerve to insist it wasn’t their fault. Can you believe that? They left my daughter barely able to walk!”

“It really wasn’t their fault. Don’t be so angry at them.”

She understood why her mother was worried after seeing her staggering around, but the one responsible for making her legs give out had been Yu Pado.

The reason her waist and legs had hurt so much that she could barely walk was simply because Pado had far too much stamina.

The Shadow Knights had merely kidnapped her—they’d intended to feed her well and let her rest comfortably.

As for the slime that melted clothes and burned skin… and the reason her lower back felt like it had fallen apart… those were largely Pado’s doing.

There was no way she could tell her parents, “It’s because Pado and I had sex.”

Her parents were rather oblivious when it came to interpersonal matters, and her comrades had enough loyalty not to report their daughter’s love life to them.

Thanks to that, Morae found herself awkwardly avoiding her mother’s gaze.

“Okay? Don’t take your anger out on them. I’m planning to make the Shadow Knights my slaves. Don’t damage them.”

“Mmm, okay, sweetheart. How kind of you to settle for making them your slaves.”

If Pado had been there, he would have protested that there was nothing kind about making people into slaves.

Even Han Nokyeong, who was considered one of the gentlest underground Hunters, would have looked like a ruthless underground Hunter from a rookie’s perspective.

Nokyeong finally let go of Morae and sat down in the chair beside the bed.

Gently enclosing Morae’s hand in both of hers, she wore a guilty expression.

“Still… you really went through a lot. I’m sorry Mom couldn’t come.”

“It’s okay. Protecting White City was more important.”

Han Nokyeong rarely left White City unless something truly extraordinary happened.

Too many enemies were waiting for the chance to attack White City during her absence.

Without Han Nokyeong’s overwhelming defensive power, launching a full-scale assault on White City wouldn’t be particularly difficult.

Even the government had military units stationed along the coast, prepared to launch hundreds of missiles the moment Nokyeong disappeared.

That was precisely why the Shadow Knights and other Hunters dared to kidnap Morae so boldly.

No one could defeat Han Nokyeong in battle…

But her territory had limits.

A wall that could never be broken also could never move.

Morae already knew all of that.

Still, from a parent’s perspective, being unable to immediately chase after their kidnapped daughter naturally left them feeling guilty.

Nokyeong held Morae’s hand with quiet tenderness.

“I’m so glad you understand. I always feel sorry because of your father and me.”

“It’s like paying taxes for being born as your daughter. It’s fine. If you get kidnapped often enough, interesting things happen once in a while.”

Like witnessing the kidnappers turn on each other.

Or having the kidnappers grovel before her.

Or watching them stubbornly release her on their own terms, only to suffer terribly for it afterward.

In any case, none of it felt particularly new anymore.

After all, princesses being kidnapped was practically a classic cliché.

Lying back on the hospital bed, Morae smiled faintly.

She wasn’t especially upset.

Nor had it been all that painful.

Feeling sorry for herself because she was the greatest weakness of all the powerful people around her—that was something she’d grown out of when she was young.

The phase of crying that I alone am weak or I’m just a burden to my parents had ended before she turned fifteen.

By the time she’d been kidnapped more than ten times, she no longer felt frustrated by her own lack of strength.

After all, the people kidnapping her were weaker than her parents too—that was why they avoided confronting them directly.

Compared to them, she was already strong and capable enough.

There was no reason to feel inferior just because she wasn’t as powerful as her parents.

Lately, she had even found quiet satisfaction in still being their greatest weakness.

After all…

You couldn’t become someone’s weakness unless you were precious to them.

“…Still, this time really surprised me. Why is your chest covered in bruises like that?”

Nokyeong’s casual remark instantly shattered Morae’s relaxed composure, filling her with tension once again.