I Gave Up on Conquering the Heroines – Chapter 13

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The plan had gone awry.

I had intended to corner Yerina and swiftly proceed with the marriage first.

Marriage first, love later – I wanted to try that too, but unfortunately it didn’t work out.

Of course, just because the original plan was ruined didn’t mean everything was over.

It was only the ‘plan to get married quickly’ that was ruined.

Yerina still seemed to have favor towards me.

But since I was pressed for time, I had to hurry.

“Higher! Raise your foot higher!”

“Ugh, the iron shoes are too heavy.”

“This is why humans are…”

Instead of getting married right away, I was able to stay in Palana under the pretext of receiving swordsmanship training from Yerina.

But it was so intense that I thought I would go crazy.

The Thakia-style that Jill gave me – as long as I trained, the proficiency rose rapidly.

As for the Merida-style, apart from a few techniques that required dislocating joints, there wasn’t much difficulty.

But the Frost-style had many problems.

“I thought you were much stronger in the last match. Why are you so feeble today?”

“I guess I had a strong desire to protect the bodyguard knight’s 10 gold… Ugh…”

“What does that even mean?”

The biggest issue was that I couldn’t activate Guardian Knight.

There was no way Yerina, who was far superior to me, would have the consciousness of being protected by me.

So in the ice cave where I trained alone with Yerina, I could only become powerless with the Guardian Knight penalty.

Meanwhile, trying to learn techniques while wearing iron shoes, wrist guards, and 10 rings each, I was exhausted just standing still.

“Pfft. Already tired?”

“Yes. I guess it’s too much. Besides, I’m not royalty, so these fancy accessories don’t suit me. I won’t be wearing them normally, so it’s not practical.”

“Then shall I make some modifications for you, Yoo-jin?”

Most of the steel chunks covering my body were removed.

The only thing left was a single crude and heavy iron ring.

Yerina said this was a gift as a symbol of luck, so I should never take it off.

It was a bit inconvenient, but wearing one ring was manageable.

Very rarely, I might be able to block a sword with my fist and pierce the opponent’s opening.

“These are new boots. They’re mostly leather with thin iron plates, so they’ll be much lighter.”

I tried on the new boots that Yerina had a craftsman make for her.

They looked like ordinary boots and were very light.

Unless someone deliberately touched the iron plate around the ankle, everyone would think they were regular boots.

“Then shall we test the boots now?”

“Hahaha…”

“I’ll go all out today. Try to block with only Frost-style techniques.”

The rigorous training continued every day.

As if taking revenge for the embarrassment I caused her that day in the banquet hall.

I couldn’t stop even when my whole body was bruised and bleeding.

Yerina’s exclusive healers constantly maintained my condition perfectly.

“You. How is your foundation so solid?”

Yerina asked as if she couldn’t believe it.

It had to be solid.

The moment I decided to use a technique, my posture automatically changed and the technique came out.

“Compared to your foundation, your application is so miserable. You really can’t do anything other than the sly trick of piercing openings with your hidden swordsmanship.”

“…”

She hit the nail on the head.

It hurt so much I could die.

Hearing ‘you have no talent’ from a superhuman in this world setting carried a different weight.

“Then you should at least be able to perfectly execute that sly trick of piercing openings. Pick up your sword. This time, you can use all the techniques you know.”

After repeated training with Yerina, the level of my traits endlessly rose.

And that too, evenly for all three swordsmanship styles.

[Trait: Thakia-style (lv.9)]
[You learn the forgotten ancient one-handed swordsmanship. Your understanding of one-handed swords increases.]

[Trait: Merida-style (lv.4)]
[You learn the traditional Elvish one-handed swordsmanship that was adapted from human swordsmanship. Your understanding of one-handed swords increases.]

[Trait: Frost-style (lv.5)]
[You learn the swordsmanship of the Frost royal family. Your understanding of two-handed swords increases.]

In just a week, the levels were already 9, 5, and 4 respectively.

Considering that in Hameln, I could only raise the Thakia-style to level 4 after swinging a sword alone for several months, it was a tremendous growth rate.

Of course, I hadn’t beaten Yerina even once during that time.

I kept getting beaten after that first match.

How many times had I lost to Yerina today?

After collapsing and catching my breath for a while, Yerina approached and grinned.

“Haa. I really don’t understand how I lost to this incompetent man.”

“You may not understand, but there’s nothing you can do. It already happened.”

“That’s right. It already happened. Both that I lost to you. And the rumor that I fell head over heels for you.”

“Hahahaha.”

“Don’t laugh. Do you know how serious it is?”

Yerina warned with a stern expression.

But her ears kept perking up to the side, revealing that she was just joking around.

Realizing my gaze was directed at her ears, Yerina’s cheeks quickly reddened and she covered her ears with her hands.

“Stop peeking at other people’s emotions with their ears…”

“I’m not peeking. It’s out in the open.”

“I don’t know. It’s annoying.”

Plop.

Yerina lay down next to me with her lips pouting.

And every time I tried to turn my head, she grabbed my chin and made me face the ceiling.

It was the ceiling I had seen countless times after being defeated by Yerina.

Still, the sight of icicles coming down and emitting colorful light was always beautiful no matter how many times I saw it.

Receiving the dripping water on my face, I involuntarily laughed.

“This is a space I cherish a lot.”

“I can see why. It’s incredibly beautiful.”

“It’s beautiful, but it’s also a place filled with my memories. This is where… I defeated my father for the first time. That day, it was decided that I would succeed the throne.”

“A cave that brought you the throne. How meaningful. And now it’s also a cave that brought you a marriage partner…”

“Ah, shut up!”

Smack.

Yerina quickly covered my mouth.

But something filled my mouth.

I was startled and mumbled, realizing it was cold ice with a sweet taste.

“Hehe. It’s sweet, right?”

“It is…”

She must have wanted to shut my mouth like that.

Yerina abruptly sat up, hid her ears with her hat, clasped her hands behind her back, and slowly walked around the ice cave.

With her ears covered, I really had no idea what she was thinking.

“Yoo-jin… You’ll be leaving soon, right…?”

Yerina’s voice trembled.

How did she know?

The time to leave was approaching.

The level of swordsmanship was hardly rising anymore.

My relationship with Yerina had hit a limit.

Now, it would be much more efficient to go see Jill or Yulia.

“That’s right. I learned a lot. Thank you so much.”

“Yoo-jin. I don’t acknowledge you as someone stronger than me.”

“I know.”

“And you are a sly, despicable, and opportunistic person.”

“I won’t deny that.”

“You’re also a mischievous person from another race who plays naughty tricks using our race’s ears.”

“…I don’t think that’s my fault.”

“And I still think it’s right to get married after a long courtship.”

Yerina continued, shrugging her shoulders.

It wasn’t very difficult to predict what she would say next.

That marriage with you is impossible after all.

You were a good friend and a good student.

Farewell.

Something like that.

“So, would you please make a marriage pact with me?”

“What?”

But my body froze at the words Yerina uttered as she turned around.

Her face was completely flushed, and she didn’t try to hide her ears that were perked up from tension.

Instead, Yerina just clasped her hands together and met my eyes.

“I’ll give you time. Until you become stronger than me…”

“No matter how much time you give me, I won’t be able to become stronger than you, Yerina.”

“Ah! Be quiet! I want to get married, but doing it right away would make me look bad as a ruler, so I’m saying let’s take time to date! And I don’t want another woman to snatch you up in the meantime, so I’m going to tie you down with a marriage pact! Do you understand now, you dimwit?”

“Actually, I knew from the beginning.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Yerina, as if judging that it was now impossible to hide her emotions from me, shouted honestly.

But that sight was so cute that I couldn’t stop the laughter from escaping.

Yerina, extremely excited and fuming, extended her hand to me.

Just as I was about to grasp that hand and stand up,

“Alright. The marriage pact…”

“Lord Yoo-jin.”

The butler’s voice echoed from the cave entrance.

It was a rather serious voice.

But what was strange was that he called for me, not Yerina.

Holding Yerina’s hand, I stood up and approached the butler waiting at the cave entrance.

“A letter has arrived.”

“Is it addressed to me?”

“Yes. The address is Palana Palace, but the recipient is Lord Yoo-jin.”

“…”

What was bound to come had come.

No one knew I was here.

Who could accurately write my name and send a letter in this situation?

The answer was clear.

The person who would be anxiously searching for me.

I had failed the time attack.

I closed my eyes tightly and swallowed the bitter taste along with the ice in my mouth.

“Who is the sender?”

“The sender is Jill Diner. The saintess of the southern continent.”

“Yoo-jin. What is this about?”

Do you know the core of the harem conquest method in our game?

One most important principle.

Never let Yerina find out about the other heroines.

If Jill’s jealousy level is 3 and Yulia’s is 5, Yerina’s is about 10.

Even if Jill and Yulia find out about each other, it’s still possible to clear the game somehow, but not with Yerina.

If Yerina finds out, you can consider the harem conquest completely ruined.

“I’m asking you. I’m asking because I’m really curious. I won’t get angry.”

“You’re already angry.”

“I said I’m not. Tell me. You said you had no one, so why did the saintess send a letter to you all the way to this remote place?”

As Yerina said that, her ears were standing straight up.

The fur on her tail was the same.

Unlike her face that was trying to look cool, her ears and tail were clearly showing anger.

1st playthrough.

No matter how I thought about it, it was fucked.

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