Chapter 51. < 24. Woman's Kingdom Rodizia >
"What are you saying right now?"
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Are you joking? There's no way a woman would fall for that kind of approach."
Lumian spoke in disbelief.
From his perspective, he had no choice but to react that way.
Just blindly asking someone to date you over and over until it works?
But Morgan didn't back down from his claim.
With a serious expression, he spoke.
"Have you tried it?"
"Huh, what?"
"I asked if you've tried it."
"Well, no..."
He was about to ask who would do such a crazy thing, but Morgan continued.
"I have. I thought the theory alone was perfect, but I wondered if there'd be people like you, hyung-nim, who would question it. I was also bored."
"One morning when I looked in the mirror and felt particularly handsome, I dressed neatly and started right away. And on exactly the 87th attempt, I succeeded."
"...You succeeded?"
"Yes. She said her life was boring and thanked me for making her laugh. We dated for about three months and then broke up."
'Crazy, that method actually works?'
Lumian's eyes shook uncontrollably.
He felt like his common sense was crumbling entirely.
In his thinking, to date a woman, various preparations were necessary, know-how was necessary, experience and technique were necessary.
But just repeating 'please date me' like a parrot solves everything?
"That doesn't make sense!"
"It does make sense."
"No, this really doesn't make sense... How can that be..."
Lumian kept denying Morgan's words. Watching him, Morgan chuckled.
His hyung was missing the point right now.
Why he had brought up this story in the first place.
What was the most important thing in wooing women.
To teach him that, Morgan slowly began to elaborate.
"What do you think is the most important thing in what I said?"
"What? There was something important?"
"Of course there is. The thing hyung-nim lacks the most right now. It's courage. With just that, dating becomes easy."
"...Courage?"
"That's right. Ah, by the way, the 'just kidding, you bastard' I mentioned earlier was just a joke. There's no need to hurt a woman's feelings by saying that."
Morgan took a sip of water and looked at Lumian with a serious expression.
Lumian flinched.
His brother-in-law, talking about women, looked completely different from the person he had known.
He felt pressure as if he were facing a tremendous master swordsman. Unconsciously, he adopted a listening posture.
"Over the past 4 months, how many times have you made a move?"
"A move?"
"The number of times you've approached women. Do you remember?"
"Uh, um... twice?"
The ballroom, and the blind date. Other than those times, he had invested everything in image transformation, so in the end, those two were all.
Morgan nodded as if he expected that.
"As I thought. Pathetic."
"What did you say, kid?"
"Didn't I say earlier? I made 87 attempts in a single day. And succeeded."
"...!"
'Do you understand now? The important thing is action. And the most important element that raises that action is courage. Everything else is merely trivial technique."
"Ah!"
Lumian exclaimed.
Now he understood Morgan's true intention. He felt his vision clearing.
The brother-in-law who had seemed like an idiot until now looked different.
He was no idiot.
He was a master of romance, with his own philosophy and convictions.
"To date, you have to try. But hyung-nim hasn't made proper attempts until now. What's the point of just preparing all the time? It's much better to challenge even one more time in that time."
"I see... So that's what it was."
"Be confident. Be brazen. Don't fear rejection. Getting rejected won't cause any real harm anyway. You won't see them again after that."
Morgan's words gradually gained power.
Lumian looked at his brother-in-law with an expression as if possessed. It seemed like a halo was rising behind him.
Morgan, in that dignified state, declared.
"Anyone can win over a beautiful woman. If only they have the courage to act."
"...You're right. You're right."
Lumian nodded.
It was instantaneous. With just a brief conversation, he came to completely trust Morgan.
It was the moment vague speculation became certainty. He was the real deal.
However, somewhat deflating words flowed from this real deal's mouth.
"Of course, understanding with your head and immediately applying it in practice are different. Practice is needed. There will likely be considerable psychological pressure."
"Hmm... That's also true."
Lumian answered in a slightly subdued voice.
He had no choice but to agree.
Morgan said to just have courage and act, but that was the difficult part to begin with.
That was why he had relied on Teoro's help to arrange situations until now.
Of course.
"So, I'll take the lead for now."
"Huh?"
Morgan, who had accumulated considerable experience, couldn't possibly fail at what Teoro did.
With a trustworthy expression, he tapped his own chest.
"Let's build experience while hunting together. Courage will grow, and the burden will decrease."
"What? Hunting?"
"Picking up women on the street or in shops is technically called hunting. Come on, since it came up, let's go right away. It's evening already. Get up!"
"Uh, what?"
"Don't worry. I'll handle everything from finding someone to approaching and sitting down. You just need to watch."
'Wow, that's actually cool!'
Watching Morgan rise from his seat and throw open the door, Lumian wore a moved expression.
Seeing his brother-in-law who had always just taken care of and helped him, now stepping forward for him, gave him a strange feeling.
Of course, as much as his pride in his brother-in-law, his expectations for what would unfold were also high.
Fully excited, he shot up and followed behind Morgan.
But a moment later.
Deflating words came from Morgan's mouth.
"Hyung-nim, this won't work."
"What? Why?"
"This city is no good. The water is bad."
"The water is bad?"
"It means the women aren't great."
Morgan's face was serious.
It felt like facing a high-ranking demon that would be difficult to deal with using his own power.
He continued speaking.
"Since hyung-nim spent your entire past life in the royal palace, your standards must be high. We'll have to change locations."
"Change locations? Does going somewhere else mean there'll be more beauties?"
Lumian answered in a negative tone.
Honestly, he thought it would be similar wherever he went.
Tarazan Academy was an exception since there were many noble ladies with the means to groom themselves, but finding a beauty who met his standards in an ordinary city was like picking stars from the sky.
Thinking that way, his peaked interest quickly cooled.
But Morgan was a man who didn't know defeat.
He spoke in a determined tone.
"There is. A good place."
"Really?"
"Yes. Though it takes a few days from here. The women in that city are definitely pretty."
"Hmm..."
"By any chance, is your schedule tight? If so, it can't be helped..."
"I think it should be fine. About a day or so."
Lumian nodded as he answered.
Unfortunately, more than that was difficult.
Thanks to arriving early, his schedule was somewhat flexible, but if he stopped by another city, time would become tight again.
In fact, wasting travel like this for a day's enjoyment was a decision hard to accept by common sense.
But Lumian was no ordinary person. Neither was Morgan.
"Let's go."
"Let's go. Right now."
The two gathered their belongings from the inn, got horses, and raced out of the city.
Truly terrifying action.
Lumian was already learning his brother-in-law's teachings.
***
Rodizia Kingdom.
A powerful nation ranked among the top five on the continent, sharing a border with Tarazan Kingdom.
Their destination was a trade city adjacent to the Rodizia Kingdom's border, a bustling place where goods and people concentrated.
"Hyung-nim knows too, doesn't he? Rodizia Kingdom is also called the Woman's Kingdom. Women's abilities are exceptionally outstanding. Whether it's the sword, magic, or appearance."
"Hmm. That's right. It's a matrilineal society, and the ruling class has been women for generations. But is that really true?"
The question of whether it was really true was about one thing.
Whether Rodizian women were really beautiful.
Morgan chuckled and nodded as he answered.
"It's true. I visited about three years ago and was surprised. Especially the female mercenaries where we're going are really nice. They're also quite open-minded. And there are many of them."
"Open-minded?"
"That's right. Very open to men who approach them. For someone like me, there's no better paradise. Honestly, even without hyung-nim, I was planning to go there. Thanks to hyung-nim, I'm going a bit earlier, hahaha."
Morgan laughed heartily. He seemed full of anticipation for what was to come.
But in contrast, Lumian's heart gradually grew heavier.
When they first started, he had been fully excited after hearing Morgan's speech, but now that wasn't the case.
As a result, useless worries and anxieties were filling his head.
Lumian asked with a worried expression.
"But is it okay for the two of us to be acting together?"
"What's the problem?"
"Well, isn't the age gap too big?"
His words were true.
Morgan's current age was 48. Thanks to his immense aura, his aging was slow, but he still didn't look younger than his mid-30s.
In contrast, Lumian had the unmistakable appearance of a boy, so to others, it would clearly look like an uncle and nephew going around to pick up women.
"People will look at us strangely, and women too."
"It's fine. Didn't I say? Female mercenaries in Rodizia Kingdom are open-minded. Their philosophy is that as long as the taste is good, they don't care about age or anything else."
"...Taste?"
"I didn't say that, the women there did. Don't misunderstand."
"But why did you change your hair color? Does that town prefer blond?"
"No. I'm one of the best mercenaries in the industry, aren't I?"
"So what?"
"I don't like relying on my reputation to win over women."
'This guy, he really got stranger over 10 years.'
Lumian shook his head.
He wanted to call him overly self-conscious but held back. After all, the leader of this party was Morgan. He was just being carried along.
Thus, the two exchanged silly jokes while riding, and around early evening, they arrived at the trade city on Rodizia's border.
"Now, let's enter!"
"Alright! Let's go!"
Entry was no problem.
Lumian didn't know, but currently Morgan was the undisputed best mercenary, even holding the title of Mercenary King. There was no city he couldn't enter with his credentials.
Lumian was also a noble and academy cadet, so his identity was clear. The two entered the city without issue.
"Oh! They're pretty!"
"See! This place really is nice!"
The women were also excellent. Morgan's words weren't empty.
As befitted a trade city, there were many merchants, and many female mercenaries guarding them. Moreover, their average appearance was very good. It was a scene worthy of the name Woman's Kingdom!
However, there was a problem.
After securing lodging and washing up, the two dressed neatly and spent about thirty minutes going around taverns and inns, scouting for prey.
And they realized.
Compared to three years ago, the number of male mercenaries had increased tremendously.
"What the hell."
"Hey, what is this? Were there always this many men? Everywhere we go, it's crawling with men. More than women."
"Not at all. Three years ago, there were far more women. Rodizian mercenaries are mostly women to begin with... Ah!"
Morgan exclaimed as if realizing something.
Lumian asked, watching him with an anxious expression.
"Why? Did you figure something out?"
"Yes. I think I know roughly. Damn. Hyung-nim, just one cigarette..."
"Sure. Go ahead."
Morgan, who had been cursing continuously, took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. It was an item mercenaries favored because it was much easier to carry than pipes.
He took a deep drag, and the cigarette turned to ash in an instant.
Letting out a deep sigh, Morgan looked at Lumian and spoke.
"Hyung-nim."
"Yeah."
"The guys in the shops, thinking about it now, they're all outsiders. Not merchants, and they didn't come for work either."
"Then why? Why did they come here?"
"Obviously... for the same purpose as us."
"......."
Lumian was at a loss for words.
To think there were this many men burning with passion like him and Morgan on the continent.
"It seems the word got out among mercenaries that the women here are good."
"Then what do we do?"
"What can we do? We compete, and win."
"...Suddenly feels like the difficulty got way too high."
Lumian said with an anxious expression.
He couldn't help it. In this area, he was a beginner among beginners, less than a freshly drafted boy soldier.
But Morgan was different.
He was a veteran warrior who had overcome countless difficulties and achieved results.
He threw the completely burnt cigarette on the ground and spoke.
"It's fine. Let's just dive in and figure it out."