Well, to be honest... it's because she's beautiful.
His eyes looked lifeless, subdued by [Wordcraft], but his voice carried a brightness that seed to try its best to convey his true feelings.
"Yes?"
The first reason is that, out of all the S-ranks I've seen, Esther is the most beautiful, so I even considered proposing an arranged marriage.
"Aha."
And since it was eventually obvious that I valued appearances so much, Miss Esther got really upset and even blocked my contact information.
Interesting.
Appearance. A cliché reason, yet one that's surprisingly easy to accept. Even among birds, many species use the beauty of feathers as a asure for choosing a mate; surely mammals do sothing similar. Appearance serves as a mirror in nature, roughly reflecting an individual's health and vitality. Therefore, choosing a partner based on looks can, in a way, seem reasonably logical.
"The only slight problem is that humans have brains far superior to beasts, though."
Still, personally, I had hoped that beings with intelligence comparable to Earth humans would follow so unique criteria, but alas, that wasn't the case.Ah.
It was the mont when such inconsequential grumblings surfaced in my mind.
"Hmm?"
For reference, the other person was still under the effect of [Wordcraft]. Thus, Leo still had much to say and began to pour out the sincerity lingering in his heart.
But don't you think that was just too much?
What do you an? When I asked back aloud, the glasses-wearing man continued speaking.
Honestly, people can judge appearances. Besides, I even ca clean and confessed it first, but Esther treated my brave confession like trash, belittling and condemning it.
Interspersed in his words were huffs and puffs, as if he were bristling with emotion.
Anyway, for a while, the way I was treated was just too harsh. So even aside from the misunderstandings about the [curse], my feelings toward that woman weren't good.
For now, I can understand the feelings of that male mammal... The problem is, being empathized with by a scholar from another planet isn't necessarily a good thing 100% of the ti...
"Ahem."
Just as I was pondering what to say next, since I'd dawdled a bit, the other person spoke up sooner than I expected.
Even if the number of high-rank hunters has suddenly increased lately! S-ranks are still incredibly scarce, so is it really that offensive to suggest that well-established families unite!
Wait a mont. But sohow, I just can't let this part slide.
"More high-rank hunters have suddenly appeared?"
I cautiously asked him what he ant by that. Specifically, on what basis was he claiming that the number of high-rank hunters had suddenly increased?
What? You... don't even keep up with the news normally?
Then the foreign Awakener widened his eyes and replied. Watching him effortlessly spill information like a search engine on a portal site, I thought, this human must have a pretty weak ntal constitution.
"In other words, the type who's easily affected by skills like [Curse]."
But let's put that aside for now.
Korea might not cover this kind of news in foreign dia, but anyway, Esther seems to have known about it.The increase in Awakened people?Over the past year, if you roughly estimate the global statistics, the so-called advanced psychics, including C-rank and above... have appeared 9% more than in previous years...
"Isn't a 9% increase still within the margin of error?"
It's strange because the increase was only among C-rank and higher advanced Awakened.
"Hmm."
Of course, S-rank numbers are originally so few that the overall total hasn't changed much, but anyway...
Especially in Asian countries like China and Japan, the sudden increase in S-rank Awakened caught attention. Leo, being European, grumbled that with so many new options entering the marriage market, Esther might have casually rejected him. However, I didn't focus on his rare confession and continued my own line of thought.
"Certainly... it doesn't feel like a natural increase in mutations caused by the ecosystem."
A series of phenona that sohow felt unnatural. Later, I'd have to check so papers written by Earthlings, but if these statistics were true, their implications were quite significant.
"It can't be."
It might be an issue I'll have to deal with soday. But for now, I'll set aside any speculation about artificial awakenings. After all, what could a penniless mage—who doesn't even own a single golem—possibly do about it?
"My priorities are a bit different."
I didn't bother to comnt on that topic. But by staying silent, the poor Earthling—still under the influence of [Wordcraft]—took it upon himself to break the awkward silence.
Oh, right!
What Leo brought up next was, once again, a topic concerning Esther.
By the way, where were we...? The topic got a bit twisted, but your question was...
"Why did you want to start a family with that woman?"
"I see. Yes, that's right. That was it."
However, the sentence that followed imdiately...
My primary reason was the appearance, as I ntioned earlier.
So far, that was easy enough to listen to.
Then, I suppose I should reveal the second and third reasons. Honestly, I was even more interested because that Awakener is Korean.
There really wasn't any problem. At least, up to this point.
Even if she's an S-rank, she seed like the type who wouldn't be too proud to listen to what I say.
"Huh?"
The dog at-eating culture is a bit hard for to tolerate, but still, don't Koreans—n or won alike—have kind of a gentle image?
But the mont that last sentence ca out of his mouth, my body moved on reflex.
Crack!
I grabbed Leo by the head and slamd him down onto the artificial marble sink, the faucet still running.
"Gasp!"
Damn it, I'd promised myself not to cause any trouble at the event, but the spirit sleeping in my right tendril just had to act on its own...
"There's only one soul in this body, which ans... I did that of my own will."
Crash.
The solid marble sink shattered into dust.
"He actually dared to spout racism—even aliens know better than that. I didn't even realize I'd moved until it was too late."
In truth, it was only because I'd lost my hunting license. An attack from soone who'd never once revealed his true power—and for soone rumored to be weakened to fling him down like a rag doll... the poor man froze, breath catching, eyes wide in dazed disbelief.
".........?"
That probably broke the Wordcraft spell's influence completely. Still, just as I'd been insisting since this morning, we couldn't afford to add another ex-convict to the roster of Korea's S-class hunters.
Tuk.
I placed a hand on the kneeling man's shoulder. Then, casting a genuine [Mind Control] spell that perfectly compensated for the flaws of Wordcraft, I spoke in a calm, steady voice.
"You're the one who broke this."
I still haven't regained my hunting license—and if I end up as a criminal on top of that, finding another job would be a nightmare.
"We'll say you broke it in a fit of anger. Make sure to tell the officials that you suddenly felt ashad for having misunderstood Esther, so you reflexively struck it and accidentally smashed it."
Y, yes...
"Good."
In modern society, maintaining a clean record was a basic requirent for holding any proper job, no matter how unpleasant that might be.
"Phew."
After confirming the spell had taken hold, I hurriedly scanned the area, worried soone might appear as a witness. Fortunately, it seed no one was passing by near the n's restroom. I scrambled to squeeze out my magic to minimize the fallout. Then I cast [Mind Control] on the other guy's head so it would last as long as possible, but...
"This isn't my area of expertise. He'll probably feel the mory fading as ti goes by, but what can I do?"
A vague curiosity ca to mind. Since I'd already made him obedient, I went ahead and asked one more question.
"By the way, do people from your country usually think that way about Koreans?"
Because of this, I couldn't help but recall my own past—how I, too, had constantly discriminated against Homo sapiens just for being a different species.
N, n, no.
"No?"
My friends aren't like that, but... I can't really say for the ones I've never talked to.
Well, anyway.
"A creature like this actually has friends?"
Countless thoughts flashed through my mind in that mont. Among them was the serious question, "Is humanity really going to be okay like this?" Honestly, it wasn't sothing I could bla only on foreigners—after all, even within Korea, there were plenty of people trying to classify and divide other humans.
"There were quite a few online posts that criticized Kang Changho just for being mixed-race."
Classifying individuals within the sa species. These petty forms of discrimination were among the main factors that could lead to genocide. Yet, even upon noticing these fragnts of selfishness, I didn't take any particular action. By now, I had co to understand Earth to so extent. On this planet, where such humans exist, there are also innocent college students born on the other side—such is the world called Earth.
"Hmm."
Co to think of it, it's strange how much that one human, Ahn Yoonseung, has influenced my life. A trivial creature that would've barely lived a hundred years, even with perfect health. And yet, just experiencing that one existence—now, even when I encounter soone like Leo,
I find myself sohow forgiving this entire world.
"Is this the compassion I've only felt after hundreds of years?"
Tuk, tuk.
I brushed the marble fragnts from my hands and steadied my breathing. In any case, amid those various reflections, the [Mind Control] procedure was successfully completed.
Ugh.
Directly manipulating a creature's mind is a delicate task, so very minor issues might arise—but let's set those aside for now.
"Wait... my chest feels... sothing..."
By the ti I sharpened my senses again to avoid running into any humans in the hallway, I realized—through the subtle shift in the flow within my body—that sothing had changed.
"No way... is my magic really showing signs of depletion just from casting a small spell like that?"
But the thought didn't go any further. The fact that this magically primitive planet called Earth was fragile enough to crack under the slightest strain—well, that wasn't exactly surprising anymore. There was no point in dwelling on frustrations that couldn't be resolved here anyway.
At least in a place like this...
"Hmm."
For now, I decided to stop overthinking and slipped out of the restroom as naturally as possible.
"I suddenly realize just how much has piled up."
Honestly, once I got away from the cri scene, everything moved swiftly. The cost of the broken sink would be paid by that Earthling himself—assuming the mind-control I'd been applying had been working.
"Looks like things are about to get busy."
Step, step.
Ending with a light reflection on the schedule, I concluded my brief excursion to Switzerland
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