Ubermensch – Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Mason said to Jeong Ryeogyeong,

“Could you get me two cups of coffee?”

“Yes!”

Yekaterina watched her make coffee and retreat with an intriguing expression.

“Have you already entrusted her with housework?”

“I didn’t ask her to do it.”

“Then it seems she has a knack for finding her place.”

Mason gauged Yekaterina’s reaction.

“How much did you hear?”

“I heard everything I needed to. About the North Koreans wanting a political marriage.”

“I thought it was something we needed to discuss.”

Yekaterina looked at Mason with an unreadable expression. It wasn’t the honest and sincere face of Kacha she had shown recently, but the dignified face of the Heavenly King, the ruler.

“What is the opinion of the person involved?”

“Jeong Ryeogyeong’s opinion seems firm. She wants to atone to the North Koreans.”

“Not her. You.”

“I…”

Mason thought for a moment before speaking.

“I’ve never thought about marriage before. As for Jeong Ryeogyeong… I feel a human connection with her.”

“What kind of connection?”

“Close to admiration.”

“Then…”

The Heavenly King’s face revealed no emotion.

“It seems like it would be better for you to go through with that marriage.”

Even in the moment of recommending marriage to Mason.

Her calmness was so unsettling that Mason felt a sense of bewilderment.

“Kacha…”

Or perhaps it wasn’t just bewilderment, but a sense of betrayal.

“Looking at the history of mankind, marriage based on love is just a short-lived fad that emerged in the last one or two hundred years. Even that is now regressing, with a trend towards marrying based on wealth and social status.”

“But that’s just a reason why I can get married.”

Mason looked at the Heavenly King.

“Are you really okay with this? Are you okay with me marrying someone else?”

“The only thing to lose is you becoming married, Mason, and what we gain is the loyalty of the North Koreans. While the gains aren’t significant, the losses are even less, so it’s not a bad proposal to accept.”

“Kacha, look at me.”

Mason was calling for Kacha, not the Heavenly King. His lover, behind the mask of the Heavenly King.

“Beyond reasons, beyond needs, tell me your heart. What you think, how you feel.”

The Heavenly King’s eyes wavered for a moment, and Yekaterina made a bitter expression.

“How can I stop you? In this world, in this situation. What right do I have to stop you, Mason, when I’ve been through several marriages before I even met you?”

“If you don’t like it…”

“I won’t say I don’t like it. As I said, this is the world we live in, this is the situation. I never thought I could monopolize you, Mason.”

Yekaterina looked at him.

“But if you want to maintain relationships with multiple people, there’s one important thing.”

“What is it?”

“You have to make everyone happy.”

Yekaterina looked at Mason.

“Me, Eun Yuri, and… Jeong Ryeogyeong.”

“That…”

It was something he hadn’t considered.

Especially, Jeong Ryeogyeong’s happiness.

“Even if it’s a political marriage?”

“There have been plenty of people who were happy in arranged marriages, and plenty who were unhappy in love marriages. Happiness and unhappiness are not born from social institutions, but from relationships between people.”

Mason made a complicated expression.

“Jeong Ryeogyeong is uncomfortable around me. Can I really make her happy?”

“You have to try.”

“Right, I have to…”

Mason gave a wry smile.

He came to talk about marrying someone else, and now he was being encouraged.

It was a strange feeling.

“Can I make you happy?”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

Yekaterina looked at Mason with a loving gaze.

“Because I couldn’t be any happier than I am now.”

“…Okay.”

“Make sure to talk with Eun Yuri as well. If you want to date multiple people…”

“…You have to make everyone happy.”

Yekaterina smiled.

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Eun Yuri’s reaction wasn’t much different.

“If that’s the situation, it can’t be helped.”

“Are you okay with it?”

“Will you stop seeing me if you get married?”

“No, that’s not it, but…”

“Then it doesn’t matter.”

Eun Yuri spoke with a calm expression.

“I went to a wedding recently. A girl I know got married to another woman.”

“Is that allowed?”

“Same-sex marriage isn’t legalized yet, but… common-law marriages are recognized. For the same reason, common-law polygamous relationships are also recognized.”

South Korea had lost too many men, especially young men.

The resulting gender imbalance had led to societal changes.

Eun Yuri was also a person of this era, and a player, no less.

“Congratulations on your wedding. But promise to have a wedding ceremony with me later too.”

“…I will.”

“Still… it’s unexpected.”

“What is?”

“I thought you would marry Yekaterina.”

“Really?”

That was surprising.

“I never thought about marrying Kacha.”

“Why?”

“There’s no need.”

Before they became physically intimate, Yekaterina and Mason had already entrusted their dreams to each other. They were literally comrades.

Their thoughts and hearts were already aligned, so there was no reason to be bound by worldly laws.

The ancient and the future human both placed little importance on the institution of marriage for different reasons.

“Hmm…”

Eun Yuri pretended to be sulky and said,

“Anyway, you have to treat me well even after you get married, okay?”

“Yes.”

“And… treat the person you’re marrying well too.”

“I’ll try.”

And so, Mason’s wedding was set.

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A political marriage meant a marriage for show. A marriage for show meant a grandiose wedding full of pomp and ceremony.

“…Damn it.”

The venue spared no expense, the dress was top-of-the-line, the officiant had to be a top-tier celebrity, and the officiant had to be someone others couldn’t ignore. And on top of that, he had to be careful about selecting the guests.

Of course, hired wedding planners were handling the basic preparations, but Mason had to review and approve all of it.

If only Jeong Ryeogyeong had some desires, he would just go along with whatever she wanted, but Jeong Ryeogyeong seemed overwhelmed by the scale of the numbers and the extravagance…

“Oh my goodness…”

…and ended up turning pale with a sound that was either a scream or a moan.

‘Do I really have to do this in the middle of all this chaos?’

Honestly, he wanted to run to the site and get to work. He wanted to fight monsters on a raid, or oversee the construction of the railroad.

But this was also politics, what could he do?

Mason suppressed his fatigue and prepared for the wedding.

The news of ‘Superman’ Mason’s marriage was big news, even reaching overseas. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the wedding of the century.

Offers to sponsor or discount dresses, tuxedos, and jewelry poured in endlessly, and reporters were flooding in with a desperate determination to get the scoop.

“…”

Just as Mason, exhausted beyond measure, began to seriously consider calling off the whole wedding, the day arrived.

“…Are we really getting married now?”

Jeong Ryeogyeong, in her wedding dress, was pale and sweating. Mason grumbled,

“You’re the one who wanted to get married…”

“That… that’s true, but… Now that you’ll be my husband, we have to live together for the rest of our lives…”

Jeong Ryeogyeong made a worried expression.

“Can I prepare meals to your liking every day? Will I be able to iron your clothes without wrinkles and take good care of your bed?”

“…Are you applying for a housekeeper job?”

Mason grumbled.

“Don’t be so scared. I’m not that picky, it’ll all work out.”

“Really? You promise? You’ll be good to me?”

Mason chuckled and promised, hooking his pinky finger with hers.

“There, promise.”

“Yes!”

Jeong Ryeogyeong seemed relieved.

“Now, go get your bridal makeup done.”

He didn’t remember much of what happened after that.

Wearing a watch and tuxedo worth the lifetime earnings of an ordinary person, he entered the wedding hall with hundreds of VIP guests, people an ordinary person wouldn’t even dream of meeting.

A celebrity he often saw on TV was the MC, and a politician he often saw in the newspapers was the officiant.

He was overwhelmed by the flashes going off everywhere.

He only remembered one thing.

Jeong Ryeogyeong, walking towards him in a pure white dress after her bridal makeup was done, was walking stiffly like a robot due to the discomfort of the wedding dress and her nervousness.

Holding back laughter was such a difficult task.

With a nervous expression, she finally reached Mason’s side and only when she held his hand did she seem to relax.

“This isn’t a dream, is it?”

“Don’t worry. It’s reality.”

Relieved, Jeong Ryeogyeong smiled brightly.

At that moment, Jeong Ryeogyeong was truly beautiful.

Yes, she was the most beautiful when she smiled brightly…

‘You have to make everyone happy… right?’

The moment Yekaterina’s words flashed through his mind, Mason tightly squeezed Jeong Ryeogyeong’s hand.

He didn’t know what happiness was, but he wanted to protect that smile. He wanted her to always smile comfortably like that, without tears or pain.

Mason took out the ring he had prepared and put it on Jeong Ryeogyeong’s finger.

It was the moment Mason became a married man.

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Have you ever ridden a longship through a storm?

The waves surge wildly, and every time you crest one, you feel like you’re being tossed around by a giant.

All a man could do then was pray to his guardian gods for mercy.

When the seawater turned black and the beard of the thunder god streaked across the sky, human courage meant nothing.

Yes, the gods enjoyed testing our luck and faith before testing our courage.

The gods wouldn’t even give a chance to wield an ax and shield to those who couldn’t handle a ship properly, like loosening the knots of the sail or dropping an oar.

Of course, we weren’t fools.

This was my first voyage, but the veterans were seasoned, having sailed many times before.

Especially the owner of this longship, Gorm. The famous ‘lucky’ Gorm.

So… if we hadn’t done anything wrong, the storm would surely subside.

Or we would sink to the bottom of the sea.

“We have a problem.”

When Gorm spoke, everyone’s eyes turned to him at once.

Looking at us, Gorm said,

“As you all know, the storm has been raging for three days. Three days.”

Experiencing a storm for a day was normal.

Experiencing it for two days meant the gods were testing us.

But a three-day storm was different. A three-day storm meant the gods were rejecting us… or trying to sink us.

With a solemn expression, Gorm said,

“The gods are watching. Confess any sins you haven’t paid for.”