Conquest Complete, So Why Is the Affection Dropping? - Chapter 46
“Thank you all for coming to visit. What shall we play today?”
“We didn’t come here to play!”
“Shin Joo, you’re sick. Patients need to rest!”
I felt bad for not playing with them for a while and suggested it, but the children were quite adamant.
They were about to make me lie down in bed and pat my stomach, so to prove I was really fine, I had to put on an impromptu feat of strength show, which was completely out of character for me.
After using up my energy with exercise and reading them storybooks, they started falling asleep one by one. As always, putting them to sleep is the best solution with kids.
After covering even Ken, the oldest, with a blanket, I was quietly trying to leave the room when I felt someone grab the hem of my skirt.
A girl with brown bob hair and a yellow ribbon. It was Chloe, the youngest of Kaint’s ten siblings.
“Chloe. Aren’t you going to sleep?”
I bent down to meet the child’s eye level and asked in a lowered voice to avoid waking the others.
Chloe let go of my skirt and looked around as if checking whether her siblings were still asleep. Sensing that the child had a secret to tell me, I quietly took Chloe out to the hallway.
“What’s wrong? Do you have something on your mind?”
“Um……”
Chloe clasped her hands together in a prayer-like gesture. Her cheeks puffed out as her small mouth parted slightly.
“Would you please marry Brother Kaint?”
“……”
A chill ran down my spine.
Marriage, all of a sudden. It wasn’t the kind of thing you’d expect to hear from the youngest sibling.
I remembered the surprise quest I had ignored before. It had asked if I would become family to these children together with Kaint. I had ignored the quest because I wasn’t confident about becoming a caretaker to ten children.
‘Well, well… Now I see it.’
The system was up to something.
I understood why young Chloe would ask me to marry Kaint. She likes both her foster brother who took her in and me. She probably wants the two people she likes to become husband and wife and stay together as family.
If this weren’t a game, I would have just thought of it as an adorable request from a child and let it go.
But since a quest appeared, this was clearly the system’s manipulation. Because I ignored the quest, it was trying to make me complete it by encouraging the children.
Suddenly, I felt very irritated.
First restricting my movement range so I couldn’t meet Hexion, then pushing me to pursue Kaint with all sorts of penalties, and now they’re even using his young siblings.
‘I am the player. Games are meant to be played according to my will.’
I can’t stand this – using penalties and quests to guide players toward specific actions and limiting their choices.
‘You damn system, let’s see who wins between you and me!’
Noticing my unpleasant expression, Chloe shrank back with a small “ah” and took a step backward.
“Are you… angry?”
“No.”
Though I tried to smile, my expression management must have failed because the child’s frightened face didn’t relax.
I let out a small sigh and patted Chloe’s head.
“Not at you.”
“Shin Joo. Then……”
“Where is Kaint?”
Chloe fidgeted with her small hands hesitantly before pointing to the opposite hallway.
“He’s in… his office……”
He usually goes to supervise training at the training grounds during the day, but for some reason, he’s in his office today.
“I’m going to go see Kaint. You should go to sleep too.”
After patting the child’s head, Chloe blinked her round eyes repeatedly, then gave a small bow before scampering away. After confirming that the child’s small silhouette had disappeared through the open doorway, I strode purposefully toward Kaint’s office.
***
“Admiral! We need to talk.”
Only after flinging the door open did I realize I’d forgotten to knock, but it was too late to stand on ceremony now. Kaint, who seemed to have been doing paperwork, put down his quill pen and looked up at me.
“Shin Joo. What brings you here?”
“You’re asking because you don’t know?”
Not being able to heal the injured Hexion, forcing me to stay in the castle, and even making the youngest sibling make such a request. This system could truly be called the axis of evil.
But why am I confronting Kaint about being angry with the system?
‘Because I’m currently on Kaint’s route!’
While it was the system that confined me, since I was on Kaint’s route, my restricted movement range had to be seen as reflecting his will.
Besides, didn’t he say such cold things to Hexion yesterday? Because Kaint arbitrarily ended the event, I had to return to the starting point without even being able to protest.
I’m the player, so why should I be played by Kaint?
“I apologize, Shin Joo, but I’m in the middle of work.”
“Is that work more important than me?”
I had no intention of being polite anymore. My irritation with the system had reached its limit.
Let the route be canceled if it must. Even if a bad ending appears, it all ends when I return to reality. I had nothing to fear.
“Did you tell your siblings that you want to become family with me? Why are you going around making such irresponsible statements without discussing it with me?”
“Shin Joo, please calm down. You seem quite agitated……”
“Do I look like I’m not supposed to be agitated?”
I wanted to climb onto the table and stamp on the pile of documents with my high heels.
However, unfortunately, I was wearing flats, and Kaint’s desk was higher than I expected. As a second-best option, I moved right next to him and sat on the pile of documents.
“You brought me here saying you’d protect me, but you won’t let me do any of my duties as Divine Master. You sent away the messengers from the temple without even asking my opinion, claiming the temple was incompetent. Why is the Commander making these decisions?”
Of course, I had nothing to discuss with the temple priests. I was actually grateful that he prevented troublesome events. There were times I appreciated Kaint’s kindness in blocking minor incidents.
I just didn’t expect it to snowball into something this huge. One should handle their own affairs, but I had been lazy.
“I can’t stand being forced while you claim to protect me. And I especially can’t stand you tormenting my people!”
“Shin Joo. I have never tormented anyone.”
After saying such rude things to Hexion in front of me, how dare he say he hasn’t tormented anyone!
“If you’re going to perform my duties in my place, then heal Hexion. Right now!”
I don’t have any memories from before waking up in Kaint’s castle. But if that was the result of the system forcibly choosing option 2, then the reason I asked the Commander for help is clear.
It must have been to help Hexion who was falsely accused.
Marvis was friendly towards me, and I had safely returned to the temple by then. That means there was no threat to my safety.
So calling the Commander wasn’t about wanting protection from external threats. Kaint bringing me here must have been unrelated to my request to help Hexion.
“Hexion is my guardian knight, and everything that happened to him is because of me. I asked for your help because I couldn’t resolve it with my own power! So if you won’t grant my request…!”
“Very well. I’ll call for a healer.”
“I won’t have anything more to do with you… Huh?”
I expected him to refuse, but he agreed immediately. As a result, the attacking power I had built up had nowhere to go and I stumbled.
“What do you mean you’ll do what?”
“I mean I’ll heal the injured dog. It’s not a difficult matter.”
“What’s with the sudden change? Before, you wouldn’t even let me exchange words with him.”
“I hoped you wouldn’t act foolishly. But since I’m in love with you.”
Those golden eyes looked straight at me. It was a dignified gaze unbefitting someone who had surrendered at the start of the fight.
“I have no choice but to fulfill your sincere wishes.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“I don’t want to earn your hatred, Shin Joo. So there’s no reason for me to be stubborn about maintaining my pride.”
“……”
Because he likes me, he’ll grant my requests even if he doesn’t want to.
“You don’t trust Hexion, Admiral.”
“That’s true, but I’m not so incompetent that I can’t protect you from a stray dog that used to be a guardian beast.”
“Stop treating Hexion like a dog.”
“Understood.”
Once again, he agreed cleanly. He really seems to have no intention of arguing with me.
I came here planning to have a big fight, but things were resolved so easily that I couldn’t find more words to say. It was like I’d lost the timing to put down my tightly clenched fists.
Kaint, who had been quietly observing me sitting there in an awkward pose, spoke up.
“Shin Joo. Do you have anything else to say?”
“No.”
“Then would you please get off my desk now? I need to review these reports.”
“…Yes.”
Everything was resolved as I wanted, so why do I feel so embarrassed?
