Black Swan Chapter 32

“It’s a Bishoujo Academy story. A boy in women’s clothing enters a residential girls’ academy. The protagonist has an ordinary appearance, but just by standing still, he gets explosive attention from bishoujos. It’s a harem setup, and utilizing my specialty, I also included a martial arts setting. The tentative title is [Pink Pink Explosive Girls’ Academy]. How is it? Doesn’t it look extremely interesting?”

It was a story that would only appeal to guys who wouldn’t even be able to hold a woman’s hand until the day they die.

“Hmm! Extremely original! It’ll snatch first place in the magazine’s popularity rankings starting from episode one!”

Yoo Nanoh gave a deliberate thumbs-up, then spoke cautiously.

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to make it a co-ed school, if possible? If there’s no sub-male lead, won’t conflicts fail to arise in the story?”

“I hate it.”

A firm retort came back.

“I don’t want to put in more than one male character. Senior, I rotted away in a men’s bathhouse for a whopping eight years. In my debut work and my next work, I consecutively drew ugly old men as protagonists. For the time being, I want to purify my mind and body by drawing only fresh bishoujos. To be honest, I don’t even want to see males in reality.”

As if genuinely shivering with disgust, Ryu Hopi shuddered his shoulders. If the Bishoujo Academy hit it off, guys with unpleasantly looking faces at first glance would likely come flocking to Ryu Hopi with fan letters, but Yoo Nanoh didn’t bother to point that out. Was there any need to dampen the spirits of a budding talent hard at work on his official debut? The visits of acne-ridden fat male fans were matters that could be neatly resolved later by modifying the content so that the bishoujo transfers to a co-educational school.

Before long, they arrived in front of Lee Hwanmae’s official residence. Because he had been sharing a luncheon with the Ryun-side figures, Lee Hwanmae had only given a brief speech at the 1st Regiment’s disbandment ceremony before returning to his quarters. The Ryun-side military officials, having just finished the luncheon, were stepping out of the quarters. After shaking hands with them one by one, Yoo Nanoh turned back to Ryu Hopi.

“Well then, cat, head on back. See you later.”

“Yes, Senior.”

Ryu Hopi nodded his head and left the front of the quarters. Yoo Nanoh, Ryu Hopi, and a few top close aides were scheduled to depart for the capital command later that evening, escorting Lee Hwanmae. Before that, Yoo Nanoh had something he absolutely had to do with Lee Hwanmae.

This time, I must definitely get a promise out of that washed-up gisaeng.

Ryu Hopi didn’t seem to have thought of it yet, but in reality, the biggest obstacle in Lee Hwanmae’s marriage lay elsewhere. No matter how perfect the conditions were, anything could only be achieved if Lee Hwanmae himself had the intention to marry. If he stubbornly insisted, “I will live as a pederast,” it would mean not even laying the first shovel for marriage.

It had already been seven years since Lee Hwanmae, putting Yoo Nanoh and Ryu Hopi at the forefront, assassinated the former Lee Hwa. However, it had barely been two years since he was officially enthroned. That was because the existing bureaucrats had fiercely rebelled against him for brutally assassinating his own birth father. Had Yoo Nanoh’s adoptive father and the military’s top power broker, Yu Changgyeong, not protected them, Lee Hwanmae and his younger siblings would have been killed early on.

Lee Hwanmae knew how to hit and run. Without stubbornly fighting the sycophants of the former Lee Hwa, he threw himself into the military alongside Yoo Nanoh and devoted himself solely to blocking Mukso’s invasion. By his actions, he showed that although he might have killed the former Lee Hwa, he had no intention whatsoever of inciting a large-scale national turmoil. Within a year, the existing bureaucrats recognized Lee Hwanmae’s value. In the face-off along the border with Usaguk, Lee Hwanmae displayed premonitory powers surpassing the former Lee Hwa, and because he thoroughly and faithfully attended to state affairs.

Starting from the second year of the border standoff, the bureaucrats demanded that Lee Hwanmae produce offspring. Their reasoning was that a next-generation prophet was absolutely necessary, even in preparation for a full-scale war breaking out and Lee Hwanmae dying by any chance. Yoo Nanoh harbored deep hostility toward the sycophants of the former Lee Hwa, but he agreed with the opinion that Lee Hwanmae needed to have children. Yoo Nanoh’s adoptive father, Yu Changgyeong, even resorted to the cunning trick of attaching the ugly Kim Hobong to him, claiming he would root out Lee Hwanmae’s pederastic tastes. Despite being nagged so much by those around him, Lee Hwanmae kept playing dumb on the grounds that he hadn’t even ascended the throne yet, and even after officially ascending, he made all sorts of excuses to avoid marriage. However, a king could not avoid the duty of reproduction forever.

Even in preparation for when a national crisis arises again, the washed-up gisaeng must definitely bear a child. Once he builds a family and raises children, that guy’s mental state will improve as well.

From Yoo Nanoh’s perspective, Lee Hwanmae had an extremely strong sense of responsibility. Once married, he would be a guy who lived well, remaining faithful to his wife and children for the rest of his life. Once married, that is.

“Hey.”

As soon as he stepped into Lee Hwanmae’s office, Yoo Nanoh brought up the business at hand.

“Washed-up gisaeng, do you have any intention of getting married?”

“What is this? Nanoh, did you just speak to me in informal language?”

Lee Hwanmae set down his coffee cup and frowned. Yoo Nanoh let out a loud snort.

“They say it’s different when entering a bathroom and when leaving. Mukso is dead and the snakes have run for the hills, so there’s no need for me to keep treating you as my direct superior. Don’t play dumb! Do you have any intention of getting married or not!”

“Nanoh, you really are heartless, aren’t you? The moment you break up with Hobong, who was in a de facto marriage for four years, you bring up marriage? Oh, and Hobong begged me to make sure to keep his photo in my wallet. Still, in consideration of keeping manners as a sort of ex-wife, I decided to grant his wish.”

Lee Hwanmae smiled broadly and unfolded his wallet. Right next to Lee Hwanmae’s ID card, a photo of Kim Hobong showing his front teeth and smiling brightly was tucked side-by-side. For a moment, Yoo Nanoh’s vision spun around dizzyingly.

“Fuck! You cross-eyed pervert bastard!”

Unable to endure it, he slammed his fist hard onto Lee Hwanmae’s desk. His fist pierced right through the desk, embedding deeply.

“Are you really going to be like this! Are you really not going to get married―!”

“I am.”

At the calm, immediate response, Yoo Nanoh doubted his ears. U… uha? What did this fellow just say?

Lee Hwanmae smiled, lacing his fingers together.

“I am getting married. Naturally, I intend to get married.”

“…”

Yoo Nanoh falteringly withdrew his fist from the desk and stared intently at Lee Hwanmae. His the back of his head felt numb at the refreshing, unexpected answer. What on earth is this? He had even prepared himself to gulp down ingredients for snake soup in one mouthful if the washed-up gisaeng refused marriage again…. Ah, could it be that he foresaw me eating Hera and stole a march on me?

“How barbaric! In your eyes, Nanoh, does every animal except humans look only like cooking ingredients?”

Lee Hwanmae, having read his younger brother’s mind in the meantime, spoke sharply. Yoo Nanoh flinched.

“Then you mean it?”

“Yes! I mean it! Don’t worry, since I plan to get married and have children. Just as you wish, I’ll produce a baseball team. But, there is a condition.”

“…A condition you say?”

Yoo Nanoh asked back, highly tense. He was suddenly terrified that his ugly-lover half-brother might make a demand to procure a homely woman on par with Kim Hobong as a wife. Leaving aside the issue of having an ugly sister-in-law, it was realistically not easy to find a homely woman rivaling Kim Hobong.

Lee Hwanmae leaned his back loosely against the chair and opened his mouth.

“From now on, I plan to disguise my identity as an ordinary public official and live out my life. I also intend to hide my identity from the queen. Due to the cruel temperament passed down through generations, our bloodline repeatedly engaged in fratricide, didn’t it? The reason I was able to reject the destiny of fratricide of my own accord was because I grew up under affectionate adoptive parents. Building upon that lesson, I plan to raise children in an ordinary and harmonious family and give them proper character education.”

“Washed-up gisaeng… you….”

For the first time in his life, Yoo Nanoh experienced a deep human emotional touching by his half-brother. He realized anew that when he calculated up to eight, his half-brother was a fellow who thought up to sixteen. Touched at the thought that this hopelessly wicked fellow was still his eldest brother after all, and had indeed been thinking of getting married, and even meticulously planning out child education issues, the tip of his nose stung.

“The sour-persimmon bureaucrats would love it if they heard your words just now. It’s tantamount to declaring that you’re abandoning the strengthening of royal authority and will work like an ox for the rest of your life.”

Yoo Nanoh spoke in a deliberately sullen tone so as not to show he was moved. Lee Hwanmae chuckled.

“Consuming national taxes, I naturally ought to work like an ox for the rest of my life. As you know, my lingering bad feelings toward my biological father haven’t subsided yet. I plan to walk a completely different path from that fellow. Ah, and also…”

Lee Hwanmae spoke with a face that had suddenly remembered something.