“Do you know what is the most frequently heard nagging, which isn’t really nagging, for S-Class heroes?”
Given Baek Seol-hee’s question, I was uncertain about how far I should respond.
Even though we had laid our bodies bare and were soaking together in the open-air bath, we weren’t in a relationship, and there was a clear ‘line’ between members of the opposite sex.
One should not recklessly cross that line, especially when the other party was an S-Class hero.
If anyone found out, it would be a life-threatening matter.
Yet.
“Isn’t it about having children?”
“…Yes. You’re correct.”
Baek Seol-hee crossed that line first, and it seemed she wanted me to be sincere after crossing that line.
“Then, if two ability users marry and have a child, do you know the probability that the child will be a power user?”
“It’s well over 50%.”
Statistically, it was so.
Among the ability users who are 20 or over—in other words, adults—there were quite a few who had become pregnant and given birth.
Just like the saying, ‘no cub is inferior under a tiger’, a tiger was bound to be born from a tiger’s seed.
Of course, there were cases where they were tigers only in pattern, but most often, a tiger was born.
“The chance of having a child with abilities is significantly higher when an ability user marries an ordinary person than when two ordinary people marry. There are various variables, but the chance of having a child with abilities is highest when three factors are ensured. Do you know what they are?”
I raised three fingers above the water.
“One. When both parents are ability users.”
“That’s correct. That’s what we were just talking about. What about the other one?”
“Two. When the power user has a high mana rank.”
“That’s right. Although we can’t accurately quantify the mana in the body… a child of someone with a lot of mana in their body has a high possibility of being born with abilities. And do you know what the last and most significant factor is?”
“… When the woman has never given birth before.”
“That’s right.”
Baek Seol-hee looked up at the sky with a gloomy expression.
“There’s a rumor circulating on the internet. They say that a child born from an S-Class power user virgin has a 100% chance of being a power user. Everyone agrees as it’s always been the case.”
“…….”
“Even though the power level in newborns varies, everyone agrees that they will all be born as ability users.”
I didn’t know how such a thing would be possible.
Perhaps it was something genetic, or perhaps the genes of ordinary people mutated during the modification process to match the genes of ability users. It was probably one of these two.
If I knew more than this, I would be known as Professor Goblin or Doctor Super and would work as a genetic engineer.
“Right now, the first wave of ability users is starting to step into society, but in about five years, there will be a flood of ability users of ‘adult’ age. If children were made between non-ability users in the past, now they will actively start making children using ability users.”
That was exactly what would happen.
The most notable example was the ‘Devil’s Seed.’
Although it transformed people into a demon, not an ability user, the seed of life sprouted from ability users tended to result in ability users with a high probability, which was the same in context.
“In other words, the first child I give birth to is likely to be a power user, whether my husband is an ordinary person or a power user. I haven’t had a child yet, and I am S-Class.”
The reason why Baek Seol-hee spoke at such length was for one simple reason.
“You’re being pressured to have a child for the sake of the country.”
“Yes. That’s right. Everywhere I go, they tell me to have a child soon for the sake of the country, that childbirth is patriotism.”
Baek Seol-hee shrugged her shoulders in genuine irritation.
“Well, because I’m S-Class, it’s bearable, but they’ve been subtly matching A-Class and B-Class people with partners from the country. Of course, those who get along well do so, but those who couldn’t bear it ended up leaving the country.”
“Because the people they pair up with are all second-generation politicians or chaebols from large corporations?”
“Yes. Some people were satisfied with that… but many were not. Do you know about the ‘Morning Drama in the Shadow of the Sea’ incident?”
“Yes, I do.”
It was an event in this world.
A romance drama reminiscent of those broadcast at 10 PM on public broadcasting happened in South Korea. It involved an A-rank ability user woman in a love triangle with her childhood friend, a mailman, and a third-generation chaebol of the Haegnul conglomerate.
“Had it been a drama, the childhood friend male lead and ability user female lead would have run away in love or something. But the reality wasn’t so. People thought it was a romance drama, but in reality, it was a suspense crime drama.”
“Didn’t the Haegnul third-generation chaebol threaten the childhood friend? Not only his life but also his friends, family, even their coworkers?”
“Yes. If he wishes, it’s not a big deal for a chaebol’s third generation to ruin a whole family. Eventually, the man harshly drove the woman away, and the woman became the daughter-in-law of Haegnul. She gave birth to a child last year, who turned out to be an ability user. The chaebol’s third generation thus got a child with half of his blood being an ability user. The same applies to Haegnul.”
“A complex and dreadful story.”
“Yes. But the most dreadful thing was… that woman, that unnie, had no other choice.”
Baek Seol-hee whispered with a face that seemed to cry.
“She still loved her childhood friend, but the pain and suffering he would receive if she chose him was too immense. She had no choice but to give up. Even if she was A-rank, going against the entire country and taking her family and the family of the one she loves to flee somewhere would not have been easy. Especially if you turn Haegnul into an enemy.”
“So in the end…?”
“She came to her senses just before she went berserk. Haegnul convinced her using her parents, and more importantly, if she died, the baby in her womb would die too.”
Ability users were sensitive, but at the same time, they were just people.
Their sensitive mentality could explode, but sometimes, they grasped onto their wavering mentality due to some other catalyst and mustered the will to live through it.
And the exceptions to those?
They’re all dead.
Their outbursts ended up as’ accidents.’
“A truly tragic ending.”
“Yes. And such stories are at the highest level of discussion. What about others besides that unnie?”
“…….”
No matter how powerful an ability user was, even if they could overturn mountains and rivers…
The oldest ability user was born in 2000.
Could those who have never formally graduated from middle or high school and had only been through the ‘You must become a great hero for this country’ indoctrination at the Hero Academy really make proper decisions?
Not at all.
The fields from which they could gather information were limited, the media they could usually access were restricted, and if there were those who regularly indoctrinated them with the ideology of a hero?
Even Baek Seol-hee was being threatened under the pretext of patriotism; how would it be for others?
“You understand the gist of what I’ve been telling you so far, right?”
“Is some crazy guy telling you, Seol-hee, to get pregnant?”
“It’s the president.”
“…….”
The final boss appeared from the beginning.
“The president has a son. He’s unmarried. Not just the president. There’s the Prime Minister, Ministers, and successors of the chaebol groups over there.”
“Isn’t there anyone in the political and financial world who can protect you, Seol-hee?”
“The opposition party leader is also trying to link me with his grandson, and no one in the financial world can protect me.”
“…….”
In times like this, the most relied upon and supportive people who could provide a sense of mental stability would naturally be one’s parents.
But Baek Seol-hee doesn’t have parents.
To be precise, both of them were no longer of this world.
Even if they were the parents of an S-rank hero, they were non-ability users. If caught in the rampage of villains, they were bound to die despite being a hero’s parents.
There was no ally to protect Baek Seol-hee socially.
So then…
“Seol-hee.”
“Yes, Ji-hwan.”
“I, Do Ji-hwan, am just an ordinary librarian and not someone who can directly help you against the government.”
Firstly, he drew a clear line.
Baek Seol-hee’s expression sank into sadness, but reality and ideals were markedly different.
“However, I can always be someone with whom you, Baek Seol-hee, can open your heart and listen to your worries. Even if the world scorns and criticizes you, even if those insults are indeed false accusations created by those in power to manipulate you, I will support you.”
“I… I needed to hear that.”
Baek Seol-hee gently pressed her flushed cheeks with her hand.
“As I thought, consulting with you, Ji-hwan, was the right choice. There were various things, but the most stressful today was indeed that.”
Baek Seol-hee cleared her throat and frowned.
“You may also understand once you come to Sejong Island, but don’t you think we need more ability users? Ability users who can take care of our security and protect our citizens’ safety.”
“Who said that?”
“Yes. So when I said I came to Sejong Academy, a master of education, to nurture such ability users, they changed the subject.”
“And?”
“A woman is completed as a woman once she has a child.”
“That is some crazy, old-fashioned talk.”
“Yes. It’s basically telling me to marry quickly, preferably to their child, relative, or a child of their political partner. Tsk.”
Baek Seol-hee was openly annoyed.
“It’s not like I’m going to marry just anyone….”
“Then who do you want to marry?”
“…….”
Baek Seol-hee sank lower and held her words for a moment, her nose barely above the water.
“If I were to get married and have a child, the partner would be….”
Resurfacing, Baek Seol-hee looked at me and smiled faintly.
“I hope he would be a man who sees me purely as me, as a woman, not an S-rank ability user.”