Chapter 171: Summer and With It, Trouble (3)
vcJg“Here, Korin. Try this too. It’s fresh from our farms.”Ofu
yoH“Mr. Korin. Would you like some jerkies?”41Is1
FukYQ0p“…Here.”KjIX6q4
QnZmOAThe Lork couple fell in deep thought as they observed their son who was visiting them for the first time in 2 years.q9jHkU
404PShNormally, kids tended to go straight into their rooms with their friends immediately after greeting their parents to play by themselves. But usually, that was only when it concerned normal friends. Korin’s friends, from the looks of things, were very different and were instead girls who were very obvious and explicit about expressing their goodwill.c86wC0
OIz‘Darling. This is… that, right?’bf1Tmk
MFwzOWm‘At least his three peers seem to be seeing him in that light. I guess… we should be happy that he didn’t touch that young girl…’HyPs5p
Sbe“Boss… What is that?”iYET8Yk
DG5W“Dried fruits. Want some?”mf9SYUN
nkWkqL“Mhmm… Aahh~”DZO
Nwe8s4The little girl opened her mouth to have the dried fruits fed to her like it was the most normal thing in the world. The small, blonde-haired girl then said with a mature look on her face.CkYsN
upzTmJ“Today’s my wage day, isn’t it? Can you buy me some clothes with the payment?”W8BlP
XTMIqR“Don’t buy them with your own money. Save it. I can buy it for you instead.”WQXeVi
vUPE‘When did he change so much?’ the couple wondered. The son they remembered wasn’t someone who could smoothly strike up conversations like that with female peers. They couldn’t help but find him slightly unfamiliar, due to the discrepancy from 2 years ago.swf
FVWU1I“Is Sia doing okay? Is she still having honey bomb candies? Hope she doesn’t lose all of her teeth.”hTuJu
yFto“She loves dessert cafes nowadays,” Rudene replied.w1TtO
xV4jVwX“That’s going to be hard with her allowance. Oh yeah, if she starts going around chasing after some weird actors again, tell me, and I’ll break her damn legs.”EPp
kQ1ajThe couple felt rather relieved after seeing that his attitude towards his younger sister was the same as always. It reminded them that he was still the same son, despite having some complicated relationships with females.sb9mZ40
VSDfInside Korin Lork’s body was the soul of a Korean from Earth. However, that didn’t mean that ‘Korin Lork’ had lost all of his original persona. The two souls co-existed in a manner that differed from Hua and Ran. In fact, it was more correct to say that they had been fused already.VT85js
eDx5A3NBecause Korin had already finished his self-introspection in the previous iteration, he was able to treat the Lork couple like normal.YXDT5
k8QdSometime during the conversation, Rudene carefully shifted the topic.Mvm0
5ydfyR3“Kuhum…! By the way, son. Did you… make yourself a ‘girlfriend’ at the Academy?”lHNz56l
PDI-Flick!tbZYg
kEy-Swish!tuX
XkDxK-Hatt!5fXH8lH
YNFC-…!bRdQjHZ
gZVVRWow…cAN2
wJSQu4The girls weren’t even trying to hide it, and that even included the young child who appeared to be around ten years old…KLIeciP
C5YDcMy dear son. What kind of life have you been going through these past two years?Cri7AZa
GQD0Su8“Hahaha. You know me. I’m still single. I’ve been single all my life. These days… I’m a bit busy and have no time for it.”REdFDOD
uoFVCvbYou sure? Umm… I think I know six candidates already though?S8UVg8c
JLBRudene was thinking that to himself when Suel followed through with another question.GtVxj2g
i1WE“Did you make a lot of friends?”8PHH
srNkH“Yeah, I did. I wrote to you in the letter, didn’t I? Lark, Jaeger…”Yhc01
hfIk“Right, but what about female friends? Do you, by any chance, have…”mdEJ
0g8ly1More?WOC
R6xM85oSuel Lork carefully asked the question while telling herself that there couldn’t possibly be any more than this. But despite her wishes, Korin started talking about his friends without any awareness of the situation.6phVt
Yttod“Oh~ right. I have a druid friend called Yuel, and a lady friend called Renya who I became friends with at work. Master, Ms. Lunia… Right, also, the Saintess might be dropping by sometime soon so don’t be too surprised even if she does.”qcesHG
LMRtP4B“S, S, S, Saintess?!”6tcT3
2eBNNRO“Do you mean the 1st Princess?!”iAffe
M6aT“We kinda became friends.”JDW8
BBtFjq“You ‘kinda’ became friends with the Saintess? How?!”zzG
T7eJ4“It’s a long story.”Mj2Wm
4zBOfpoHis epic tale of saving the Saintess was quite a heroic story, but the truly filial son, Korin, did not bother telling them the whole story since it might worry them.PaNKX4x
fkugyXBThe four girls already knew that something had happened between him and the Saintess. Heaving out a sigh, they all watched Korin like puppies out in the rain but…d14ru0M
W39aF“Also…”xZEk9
WJu“There’s more?”GjzRsEK
DkIIOblivious to all that, Korin dropped the real bomb.CpyHF
1k2h“Soon enough I’m going to be friends with Miruam, the 2nd Princess as well.”egR
CPG7G***4jPDetz
OVXLKjEveryone was baffled by his confident declaration. None of them knew what his plans were in detail, but they did know something.uFgI5
1vNHz“Your father…! Did not raise you like that, you damn brat!!”hYAORgo
7OHV“Huh? Wait what?!”APD1Oq
W9Aq“Son… I’m disappointed. That’s really disappointing.”TQPs3a
sbv7What they knew, was that he was going to hit on even more girls.73OVOUv
Irx………zhK1
drnV……yI8
Jc4…1pN9bk
Ozwm3UcKorin was chased out of the house by the infuriated Rudene. A normal person with a broomstick was obviously not a real threat to a knight, but Korin left the house with the wise excuse that he had to repair the roof.D9b7PyP
YXOHe was out of the house, as well as Ren who walked out with him, and that left behind three girls for an interview.3MPB
oTeJmkHThe first of them was Alicia Arden.rIQEs
pKwPF1“M, my name is Alicia Arden.”9K5g
q1u2l4“Sir Lunia was here earlier today… Are you her sister?”QYKr
Y3o“Ah, yes! Was she here today? She did say she wanted to prepare some gifts.”ZhCnSRg
TVxxI5e“I heard she was engaged with Korin…”7bN
gRZIFe“Right, there were a few circumstances behind that but Unni was serious about it so… There will probably be some talks about it in the family.”3Y6s
oauB“H, how did that happen…?”f0EQ
tf9faK“Does that mean you will be Korin’s sister-in-law, Miss Alicia?” Suel asked.n21
F4m“Uhh… I guess? It’s highly likely that Mr. Korin will be my brother-in-law.”bbAckM
Y6NFor that to be the case, the gaze she was giving Korin didn’t make sense. However, after hearing her call him ‘brother-in-law’, the couple decided that they must have been imagining things.RSWn5N
mAwQl“He’ll be a brother-in-law for Unni as well…”5CWh
yM9ImX8“Hnn?”3XhVUK
DtmgwQ“Sorry, what was that?”ecfrVRj
pj2“Aht! N, nothing!”DcmC
Im6lCf8……uIP4
YDLPW…asm
KUkCHua Ran.X7m0fP4
IGRvPQ8“Hello. Nice to meet you.”3KUNsT
sicSQ1Y“Hmm?”PAzjP
Iu3PiN“Your eyes…”86a
jETX19Her ominously red eyes turned blue like the ocean, and her oppressive apathy was replaced by a gentle disposition.AvQhmM1
1QDf8She felt like a different person, and the couple therefore couldn’t help but feel flustered.Fy4mFR
iO7“It’s a long story, but…”ni5GN
Z9ROSeUnlike the terse Hua, Ran softly began telling a brief version of her story. During that, she praised Korin even more to appeal to the couple.aFcyvO6
RaaIdf“Hkk…! You must have gone through so much!”OmBi9We
9kL8“Korin… He did a great job. I’m so proud of him.”hugv
eiJSeeing the two people who were absorbed in her story, Ran got down on her knees and gently held onto their hands.tekD61C
nifa“My life was saved by Oppa, so that means you are both my saviors as well.”1JXsG
e1j0P“Thank you so much for loving our son so much.”urm
zCM“It must have been so rough for you. You’re a very resilient lady.”G4Yy
usEThe two of them empathized with Ran’s story and immediately lowered their guards. They quickly became fond of the kind and gentle girl.t32Ha0X
WBeSOrA“But according to you, doesn’t that mean that the child called Hua has a different mind? What if she doesn’t like him?”sRVjo
iyqp“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that. Because as much as I like Oppa, Hua also—”4ZByw
gQ9QOThat was when her amicable atmosphere started to shift in the blink of an eye. The change started from her hair to her eyes. After that, her lips that were pointing up came down and turned stiff.8Yz4
z2V2HQ“Ran?”uEu8W
diazx“N… no.”Zlb
RghQsy“Are you… Hua?”WWo
FIKWith a blushing yet indifferent look on her face, the girl with crimson eyes replied while looking straight at the couple.xnLP
kMuve“T, that’s… not true.”0Bc
O8KmOtgAfter that, she turned around with a flick and quickly escaped the house. Seeing that, the couple each gave a comment.89yr
f5bR2T1“What a sinful son we have.”Gve
V69“…Yeah.”9rNOfk
3S41t0The two of them had the exact same thoughts regarding their son.BZxODd
DFUZdj……FgaGfv
dt1G…Tpf
CirMarie Dunareff.JJB7TVT
K94V“H, hello! Father! Mother!”4bX6ay
zZZl“F, father?”jpM8u
JQWp7z“Kuhum… I believe it’s a bit early.”wg1rI
qU6h“Haht! S, sorry! You see, I’m very nervous…!!”IY1euI
gmQShe was a very innocent and gentle girl.GI9wkxB
0Y4ZsThis girl, who was one grade above Korin, also had a similar story to Hua Ran. Listening to everything that she went through, they couldn’t help but admit that it made sense for a girl of her age to fall for their son.q1qW
foTdASp“Huu, so Ms. Marie. You have feelings for Korin as well. Is that correct?”QXt
66irJi“Umm… Is that okay?”W51CAQA
TCsZBo“Of course. How can we say no to your feelings and emotions? The only concern we have is about Korin. What exactly happened, and why are there so many wonderful ladies that are…”GjkYkb
DuZ4xThere were too many.sHkf
jausbXWay too many girls.QyHslMp
zUvkjScAlthough each had their reasons, it was still obvious that many unrequited loves would happen with so many women going after one man. The Lork couple were worried about the young girls that might end up with broken hearts.YtJsPzg
Bc8pEHD“Ah, that’s okay. Time will solve the…”3JQ5bTK
dTRC“Hnn? Time?”9pZxw
AUDtU“N, nothing. O, oh right! I have some presents, actually!”FhyT
wllnBgShe then handed out all the gifts that she had prepared beforehand.TXX
9Ocw“Haha, you didn’t have to bring so many…”dIJSOR
EhC4Y6C“Are all of these fresh crops and fruits? Thank you so much.”dKUm
vMfc“There’s even a spirit made with potatoes! Wait, I remember there being a place in the South that makes potatoes into… Huh?”vlp9F
TAn“Nn?”rKGo
HEgkbriSouth. Potatoes. Dunareff.f8rG
TNfDE0That rather natural combination of words made the couple think of the same word.O0t9
1JwcoPG““Dunareff… Dukedom?””qEg8NQ
7wt“Yes. My father is the Duke of Dunareff.”1SW
PSRRA9F“Huhpp!”kRl
B8aVAL“Oh dear!”pfG3S
ENxeStanding up from their seats in a hurry, the couple immediately got on their knees. Although the modern nobles were just government officials and peerages didn’t mean much apart from the royal family, the Dunareffs were a different story.nT3R
aQBEThey were the most conservative yet most powerful feudal lords of the Kingdom. Even in the Royal Capital, countless merchants were derivatives of the Dunareffs, and the Lork couple themselves were also one of the many people receiving Dunareff potatoes and crops from a supplier.pXBW
Pinsxha“P, please don’t do this…!”RHrcwV
fzk9WA“F, forgive us for our misconduct!”gPU
MKB2w“Please speak casually, Young Lady!”xz3
xsO“Ahht, Father, Mother… You are making me sad. And I feel sorry for Korin as well.”bOCw
VOQ6Mt“Mhmm…”Q4tI7
vvn8EtMarie repeatedly dissuaded them and in the end, the two of them slowly straightened their backs. Their knees, however, were still on the ground.2Fr
YTkHWl“Uhh, i, it is the honor of our family, to have the Young Lady of the dukedom… have such feelings… for our stupid son…”DguVW
M60I3“Ughh, please don’t do this. Oh! Right! You run a restaurant, right? Here, this is my family insignia. If you head to the Dunareff suppliers, you will be able to receive supplies for free from now on!”gcV
x23yogb“S, supplies for free?”zL19R3Q
XOFFzNgThe biggest expense in restaurants was the cost of goods. Good dishes required good ingredients and good ingredients came at a hefty price.eT6v8yM
oPoE46Considering the margin that the middlemen had to take for themselves during the trip to the Royal Capital from the production area, it wasn’t hard to guess how expensive good ingredients had to be.nPEx
lhwO8“H, how can we possibly receive such an honor!? We can’t accept it!”i5gSMg
hNl0I9EHowever, they couldn’t readily accept such an enormous gift. Korin and Marie weren’t even dating yet, so they could not afford to receive such a gift.UhI
9zkiuw“Ahh, sorry. I wasn’t trying to brag or anything about something that small.”C2dFSe
XC95k“S, small?”txbTOO1
wVnUKUWith a sincerely apologetic look on her face, Marie slowly took out a document. It was the document of the gold coin storage, operated by the Zeon Order.RrY7Mil
AOs2“This isn’t much, but I’ve been putting a few coins into a new account for Korin in secret. I was keeping it a secret from him in case he didn’t want it, but please use this for yourselves and Korin.”ECW
zHe“U, umm… We can’t take it.”4CpMp5o
UCxBOP9Rudene and Suel replied and tried to reject it, but Marie gripped onto their hands and requested of them with a face that was on the verge of tears.JDOi4
OJknGfZ“I have… received way too much from Korin. I want to do whatever I can to repay the debt… Can you please accept this small present?”z1258
WUc58“K, kuhum…”NF63dH
gILIndeed, it was undeniable that Korin had done her a huge favor by saving her life. Seeing her humble and desperate attitude, the couple considered it okay to accept the ‘small gift’.Utz
yipe“If you really want to… then we can hold onto it and pass it onto Korin.”yXP9
5VQtdE“Yes! That’s great! It’s nothing much so please don’t worry about it!”QLMF
vYtNffRight. Hearing that it wasn’t anything much relieved the couple. They carefully opened the document up and—lR2IXO
N4fKiRecipient: Korin LorkXF9vA8
3noDeposit Balance: 140,000 gold.v9gsA
6Yv— They ended up fainting on the spot.9od4cuH
NReg***ZI286Fi
xmuIMeanwhile, after practically running away from the house, Hua crouched down near the brick wall, located next to Korin’s house.tsWg8t
2SuV『Why don’t you admit it already, Hua? You like Oppa as well.』2GIsE3
XZKoT“…”JTdgWEB
6A1『How long are you going to be in denial? What if someone snatches him away in the meantime?』Z6t
U98l“…Be quiet.”Wbb5bzU
1H2It was the same thing on repeat.Dg2
RmZjkHua just wasn’t being honest. Even though she was brutally honest with most things, she wasn’t admitting the most important fact.9jcMD
MkB98KkRan couldn’t help but feel frustrated and sighed as she saw her younger sister in denial but still decided to watch on for the time being. Although she wasn’t as young as Hua, Ran was still a young girl who didn’t know how to solve such problems.TnVAYJ9
60K“Ehng? What are you doing here, Sister-lady?”DJqAvZ
wYUA1Hua Ran was still crouching there when a girl walked up to her.T42JX
26JyANdIt was a girl with a wild and free atmosphere, who had done up her long, bluish-black hair in a ponytail. She looked familiar, but before Hua Ran could connect her with anyone else, the girl took out a piece of candy in the blink of an eye.JRvmn81
9Zla“It’s a honey bomb candy. Do you want one?”XfWY
3RAcfq“…Yes.”S2iz55K
sZPk1YGPerhaps it was because she reminded her of someone, but Hua accepted the candy from the girl without being skeptical about her identity.gh6E
f0AisThe girl watched her chew and suck on the candy and let out a giggle.fvNPaT
7kNQ“What… Why?”uUKM
UZeiJvv“No, I was just thinking how adorable you are, Sister.”VcN
71s“…Are you teasing?”AlXr
bZ8“No? I’m just being honest. Do you want another one?”EhGfxMo
yel7v9d“…Yes.”h7Xips
m9QyX50Honey bomb candy. It was a candy that Korin often gave her. Both Hua and Ran were fond of that numbing sweetness.EUZfey
mrD“Why are you crouching like this in the middle of nowhere? Do you have any concerns?”aRsiRgo
wiOHGf“…”yZCYbq
MxqFQ3Just like what she thought at first, she reminded her of someone. Thanks to that, Hua didn’t feel very vigilant against the girl, and after being urged by Ran, who told her about the benefits of an objective consultation, Hua started laying out her situation.W6UMf
H23XhV“That’s love.”50Yf
AJ8C『Right? I told you!』G5HD6KM
SVdDFbF“How… can you be certain?”EeHSzcZ
xgo1Hearing the two of them give a straightforward label to her feelings made Hua feel rebellious. With a sharper look in her eyes, Hua glared at the girl, asking for evidence.PnpHaJ
igldXx“Sister, think about it. How do you feel when that person is with another lady?”zSZ
va0SdIg“It feels heavy…”rjF
swb“What if he touches you?”be4i2F
yu9“My heart… races.”LVUkVmK
36EQb“What about when he’s hugging you?”YS0D
1cc“…Feels cozy.”93rmxm
Lvam9yC-Clap!s3G
BM2The girl gave a sudden clap for a change of mood, and once again labeled it with an irritating smile on her face.OXZyFUh
YST1p“And that’s what we call ‘love’.”Jdm
wq5iU3i“Uht…!”y0oic8
HpPGhDHua couldn’t come up with a rebuttal but still hesitated while looking for something to say.XKPh
4y0J“Then how about you do this? Go ask him out on a date.”XHhmX
XE5y“A date?”xkNrL
Y1D“First off, you can try going out and playing with that person. Try it out and if you don’t think you like him, then that’s the end of it. But if you do…”FV7
oQD2X“If I do…?”HGYB2C
0CYiQSx“Give him a big, fat kiss!”AdDh81e
dg6VVu“…!!”Xgx
yFhVW『That’s it!』8Bg4
1ZagZkThat was way too fast. Hua desperately looked for a rebuttal.zRfKr8
KCAR“T, that’s too… fast. Clara… said so. Kissing and the one after that… has to be done after making kids…”Vpq
EbT『Oh! Right! W, what should we do… Hnn? Wait, didn’t we do that several times already?』YOyV
gBDK“Ah…”Og6Kl
JpuBnGYShe was right. Even though there weren’t any storks living in this area, they had tried making children already, did they not?vBH
vzJLuRXWas that enough for a kiss then? What was the right thing to do? Or were they supposed to start at baby-making again?hCPIHxF
f1l9Hua Ran was trying to sort things out by herself in confusion as the girl watched over her with a grin. That was when a boy walked over to them.RRte
uwmnI“What are you doing out here? Huh? Sia?”T1DAt
KrDv3pr“Brother?”4an
2ZFxX“Yo~. My dear sister. What were you doing here?”bd4
84jdWud“I was giving life advice to a sister, my dear brother.”C2KQ0NC
kvuuR“???”JHYFX
oiv3bhuHua became even more confused as she watched the two of them intimately share a conversation. Sia? Sister?3HSgz
fqOei“Let me introduce you guys. This kid’s my younger sister, Sia Lork. And Sia? This girl’s Hua Ran, she’s one of my peers at the Academy.”RzesNH
OfsN“Hoh~ I seeeee~~”Ma8ljiq
q1dWnSia said while turning to Hua with a smirk. After realizing the nature of their relationship, Hua finally understood what she had done – she had just asked the younger sister of the person in question for love advice!mGy
QH4mob“Hohh~. You’re pretty good, aren’t you, Oppa? Getting yourself a girlfriend very soon, ey?”47jqGpS
kyi2rNF“What are you—”fZRP
MT2vrCGrip!ys9
uTYIt was then.NUNT
deFNU0NHua suddenly gripped the sleeves of Korin’s shirt.7Qk
alMWtw“Uhh… Hua?”td28Hs
JmQ3jWith her head dropping low, Hua hesitated. Her mind spun in circles but in the midst of her confusion, her thoughts led to one conclusion.zEF4r
NF7If he was going to find out anyway…qJ9Lr
69p7e4n“You…”AxiaC
WLWZSVY“Hnn?”L7AhhUA
yKbaJ“G, go out on a date with me.”brqmn
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