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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Cyno
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The King of Hugo Kingdom had three sons and two daughters. The crown prince, recognized for his competence by the courtiers; the princess, beloved by the people; and the youngest, immature but adorable.
Among them, the second prince, Lominas de Hugo, also had a decent reputation. He possessed reasonable intelligence and martial prowess, but what truly stood out was his keen eye for talent.
A ruler must know how to utilize talent effectively. Some officials had even pushed for Lominas to be named crown prince based on this ability. However, at some point, he lost his drive and began wandering outside the palace, dedicating himself to hobbies.
A few courtiers still held onto hope for him, but most shifted their support to the crown prince. As a result, Lominas found it easier to move around unnoticed, avoiding surveillance.
‘Today’s the day that guard gets discharged.’
Lominas repeated the name of the guard who had particularly caught his attention—Sama, if he remembered correctly.
Encountering his treatment had been almost accidental. After meeting the clinic director to request recommendations for promising talents, Lominas overheard a story about a guard who had taken down a mandrake and walked himself to the clinic.
Mandrakes could be neutralized with simple earplugs—if one knew of their existence. But those caught unaware risked death, even for trainee knights.
Most mandrakes were found inside dungeons, preventing large-scale casualties. Occasionally, however, they escaped, causing disasters. For a mere guard to have discovered and eliminated one…
‘Should I reward him?’
The guard unit would likely give him something, but since he had saved countless lives, Lominas wanted to personally offer a gift.
So, he took charge of the guard’s treatment—and was impressed.
His bones and muscles were well-developed, putting him on par with an average trainee knight. At twenty years old, that wasn’t extraordinary, but considering Sama’s background, it was remarkable.
‘An orphanage graduate. The only training he received was a year of basic swordsmanship and physical conditioning—volunteer-taught, at that.’
For a commoner with no prior knowledge to reach trainee knight level in just a year… What could he achieve with proper training?
The fact that he had taken down the mandrake without earplugs added bonus points. A rare talent, both physically and mentally.
Lominas began planning how to recruit Sama. Officially inviting him as a knight was impossible—because his “hobby” had ulterior motives.
‘The international situation has been unstable for years. The southern Dwarf Kingdom is still at war with the orcs—their borders are being pushed back. Now’s the time for cooperation, yet the Kingdom of Stejaisi is acting suspicious.’
Stejaisi had been mass-importing ores to expand its military. They claimed it was to support the Dwarf Kingdom, but Hugo wasn’t foolish enough to miss their true intentions.
War. They were preparing for war. With few dungeons of their own, they coveted Hugo’s abundant dungeon resources.
To prepare, Lominas needed to secretly nurture talent. His elder brother was strengthening the military, and his sister was recruiting promising hunters for an elite guard.
As for Lominas? His discerning eye sought hidden talents across the kingdom—not just warriors, but administrators to maintain wartime order, artists to inspire patriotism, blacksmiths to supply arms…
A few weeks prior, he had discovered Elisabeth, a girl with such potential he planned to groom her as a frontline priestess. He fully supported her hunter activities.
If he trained Sama well and paired him with Elisabeth, he could become a knight capable of shifting battlefields. That’s why he had assigned Elisabeth—busy dungeon-crawling—to Sama.
‘Did they grow closer?’
Expecting visible progress in just a day was greedy. Smiling wryly, Lominas entered the hospital room—and froze.
Three naked figures slept amidst clear signs of passion. Elisabeth, mumbling happily in her sleep, made him laugh dryly.
He had hoped they’d bond, but this close? Last he checked, she distrusted men—what charm had Sama used to bed her in a day?
‘And with another woman, no less.’
If any of them woke up, things would get awkward. Best to leave. Closing the door quietly, Lominas muttered:
“Heroes and their lust.”
Whether Sama would become a true hero remained to be seen. He had been pondering a suitable reward—now, the answer was clear. If the man liked women, he’d surely appreciate it.
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Discharged! Sweet Home, Sweet Freedom
Returning to my sweet home, I hummed without thinking. An unnamed healer had peeked into my room, hinting, “Perhaps by tomorrow—” but I slipped out fast.
The clinic was nice, but nothing beats home. Somehow, Selica and Mehya had heard of my discharge and dropped by.
“Happy? Huh? You’re resting while I’m running around for you!”
“Living the dream, Senior.”
“You look fine. Wanna work tomorrow? Guarding mid-tier dungeons got demoted to low-tier—I’m bored to death.”
Glare.
Selica shot Mehya a look.
“Sama still needs rest.”
“You never went easy on me, but you spoil him? Typical male favoritism.”
“Gender doesn’t matter.”
“Pfft.”
“‘Pfft’? Did you just ‘pfft’ your superior?”
“I smelled something nice and tasted the air. Were you cooking? Let me try.”
The two barged in and claimed the dining table. Seeing Iluna in an apron stirring soup, Selica’s pupils shook.
“L-living together?”
“She followed me, worried.”
“Sama! Taste this!”
“Sure.”
I sipped the soup—then felt a chilling aura. Turning, I saw Iluna smiling… differently. Sweet, yet oddly irritating.
Selica, for some reason, gritted her teeth hard. When I looked, both their expressions reset—but I’d already seen everything.
With guest plates ready, the four of us enjoyed dinner. Iluna watched me eat happily.
“How is it?”
“Delicious. Tastes even better since my pretty Iluna made it.”
“Hehe~”
“…You call anyone ‘pretty’?”
“Of course not. I only speak the truth.”
“That’s a playboy’s go-to line. Never thought my junior was a womanizer.”
Her words made Selica glare harder. I wanted to kick Mehya out. Wasting good soup on her.
After dinner, I saw them off—then noticed the garden messages:
[Sunbloom: Growth 67%]
[Mint: Growth 30%]
“Selica?”
“Hmph.”
This guy got free food but still sulked? Mehya’s smug face was worse. They say the mother-in-law who hits you is better than the sister-in-law who eggs her on.
“The sunblooms will be ready in two days. Want to harvest them together?”
“Ah, right. The ones we ‘planted together.’”
Why the emphasis?
“Let’s check now. Hmm… Healthy leaves, clear buds—top-grade sunblooms.”
“I put care into them, since they were a gift.”
Iluna and the game system did all the work. I didn’t water them once.
“Sunblooms must be harvested at sunrise for best quality. I’ll come early in two days.”
“Yep.”
With that promise secured, I was about to bid them farewell when Mehya blurted:
“No party for your discharge?”
“Party? Oh!”
Right—she’d covered my low-tier dungeon shift and demanded drinks. Who was I to refuse drinks with two beauties?
“Of course. How about tomorrow?”
“That girl won’t tag along, right?”
“Of course not. It’s a guards-only gathering—no outsiders.”
“Hehehe.”
Selica left in high spirits. Mehya gave me a slightly disgusted look.
“Didn’t expect you to be this high-level, Junior.”
“Huh?”
“We’re enemies now.”
“Huh?!”
After spouting nonsense, Mehya followed Selica. …Was the soup spoiled?
“Iluna! Did you put something weird in their food?”
“Huh? How could I do that?”
“Good Iluna wouldn’t. Weird people.”
Shaking my head, Iluna suddenly loosened her clothes.
“More importantly… Sama. No dessert?”
“Oh, you prepared dessert too?”
“Yep.”
Blushing, Iluna lifted her ample chest with both hands.
“Iluna is your dessert~”
Gulp. I’d die before refusing. Sure, I’d drained myself with two women this morning—but would it kill me?
This body was twenty. Horny the moment sex ended. Since I was off tomorrow anyway—time to burn the night away.
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