A little while earlier, as the awakeners began their retreat from the gate, the five of us remained in our spots, exhausted beyond measure.

Though all I wanted was to rest…

"I just want to go rest already…."
"Hold on a little longer. You know we're the last ones to leave."

In gates, the strongest enter first and exit last—an unwritten rule we needed to respect.

And besides,

"We can't just let the Saintess out without any precautions. We need to buy time for Kong’s team to make arrangements."

The "Saintess" was perched on top of my head. Letting her out into the world could be viewed as an act of terrorism. To prevent that, we had to stall as much as possible before leaving the gate.

"By the way, Yoojin, what was the dungeon boss like? What kind of monster did you fight?"
"Well, actually…."

With the extra time, I had enough of a window to explain the truth to my wives and Kong.

And their reactions to hearing about the Transcendent, and all that surreal stuff?

"So, you're saying that this 'Saintess' called in some Transcendent from another dimension?"
"And it tore through space? Even I couldn't manage a feat like that."
"Sounds like something out of a fantasy novel."

Naturally, there was a fair bit of disbelief. Shia even made fun of it, asking if it was a story out of a novel.

"So, you're saying you were alone with a beautiful woman, and then a baby showed up…?"
"Huh? Well, if you put it that way, yeah, sort of. Hard to believe, I know…."

- *Blushing, mumbling.*

"A room where you can't leave unless you do something… wait… no way… maybe I should… when we get back…?"
"…?"

Alice, however, had a different reaction entirely. Well, she was the only gate rookie here, so maybe it was natural for her to respond more… innocently.

Ignoring her reaction, I continued.

"Anyway, the whole story about me taking down the boss is a complete lie. I’ll be telling the same lie to the reporters."
"Because you can’t explain the whole Transcendent thing?"
"Right. It’s better to say that the Saintess suddenly came down to help me."

I explained the necessity of lying to the media, and the three wives and one unexpectedly adorable individual all nodded in agreement.

"I see. It’s unavoidable to avoid confusion…."
"——And there’s one more thing. I’ll be bluffing that I did most of it solo, and I’ll make it sound as arrogant as possible."
"……?"

They all tilted their heads at my next plan, especially Kong, whose cute reaction annoyed me.

'Is this guy really not a girl? How is he so naturally adorable, even in the smallest gestures?'

- *Snap.*

"Yoojin, are you actually trying to make yourself look bad on purpose?"
"Yep. You got it."

Annoying as his cuteness was, Kong’s intuition was spot on. Without any future vision, he nailed my intention. As expected of someone with near-maxed intelligence stats.

"Huh? I don’t get it."
"I don’t get it either. Yoojin, you hate getting bad press. Why would you do this?"

My wives didn’t seem to understand immediately. Considering I usually cared about my reputation, it probably seemed strange to them.

I decided to explain quickly.

"If I just report everything as it happened, I’ll likely be elevated to S-rank. Given how obsessed the Lord God religion is, I could even rise to number two."
"Isn’t that a good thing for you, Yoojin?"
"It is. But it’s a double-edged sword… it’ll end up being a hurdle later on."
"……?"
"That’s why I’m aiming to cause a bit of a scandal, make it look like I’m just a greedy guy trying to manipulate the results."

In short, I explained:

The performance I put on in the gate was enough to warrant an S-rank designation. Even excluding my achievements related to the boss, it was still impressive enough.

But would that benefit me?

In the short term, yes. Being promoted to S-rank would come with endless perks. I could even graduate early from the academy.

But in the long run?

"It would only hurt me. I’d end up on the same level as my master, and with the S-rank promotion happening sooner."

People would start expecting me to perform at his level—or even higher. My master solo-cleared an S-rank gate at 21, and I’m only 20 now.

In their eyes, I’d be the one to surpass Aika Ninomiya.

Would that benefit me? No way.

If I managed to pull off something amazing, they’d expect it. But if I failed, I’d be mocked with, “Why couldn’t he pull it off?”

Sure, if I could consistently perform perfectly, that would be fine… but I’m not that strong yet.

This gate raid was only successful thanks to the mana fuel rod, the Transcendent lady, and the support of the others. I couldn’t pull it off with my current skills alone.

Getting credit for things I hadn’t truly done was an overwhelming burden.

"So I’m going to act all arrogant… and then casually reveal the fuel rod, making people realize that I’m just relying on equipment."

To deal with this, I’d build up an unlikable image.

An arrogant guy bragging after clearing just one gate.
A self-centered person ignoring the contributions of his teammates.
And a guy caught cheating, then acting smug about it.

With this triple hit, there’s no way I’d be promoted to S-rank. The Lord God church, who handles such promotions, wouldn’t accept a controversial record.

"I get it, but Yoojin, you hate negative comments. Didn’t you even add a clause to manage them in your contract with Cheonhwa?"

There was only one issue.

One of my traumas from before my regression was the barrage of hateful comments I’d endured.

'It’s only a problem when my wives are involved. I don’t care about getting bad comments myself.'

As long as it’s just me, it’s no big deal.

"It’s fine. I’m not hurting anyone. A year from now, no one will even remember."

Besides, it’s not even that bad. Just a 20-year-old trying to show off and embarrassing himself. Later, I can just say I was excited right after the fight.

Sure, I’d get some backlash now, but eventually, people would brush it off as, “Well, Yoojin’s human too.”

-*Grin.*

"So, even if I act like a jerk in front of the reporters, don’t hold it against me. As long as I have you all, I’ll be fine, even if the world hates me."

With my heartfelt explanation, they were all moved…

"Y-Yoojin…."
"Kong, not you."
"……."

Why was he looking moved? I quickly corrected myself.

Kong frowned.

"Do you really have to ruin the mood? I was kind of touched there."
"What’s the point of a guy being moved by another guy?"
"…Fine. I won’t help you with this plan, then."
"You’re too overloaded to use your abilities right now, so just don’t get in the way."
"Hmph. Don’t come crying to me later."

Kong puffed his cheeks in mock anger, but I ignored him. Men shouldn’t be acting cute.

* * *

Later, just after stepping out of the gate.

"Saintess. Could you go stay with Kong for a moment?"
"……."

-[Upper skill '???' is feeling hurt.]
-[Skill 'Complete Hypnosis' sheds tears, asking if I’m abandoning them.]

"I’ll be back soon, I promise. Then you can stick with me again."
"……."

-*Hop, trot, trot.*

"Good girl. Kong? I’m counting on you."

After handing the Saintess over to Kong, I headed straight toward the swarm of reporters and cameras.

"Yes, I did it all. Absolutely!"

Then, I struck a pose, tousling my hair to look as cocky as possible.

The reporters’ reactions?

'Go on, criticize me. Accuse me of being rude for not acknowledging my teammates….'

-*Murmur, murmur.*

"It’s actually true, though."
"He looks so confident, it’s great!"
"……?"
'Why are they all smiling?'

I’d expected them to criticize me, but they were smiling instead, almost proudly.

What’s with these people?

"Danny Kim from CBC here. Your newfound confidence is impressive—what inspired this change?"

"……Oh."
'Right, I guess this isn’t enough to earn criticism.'

It didn’t take me long to realize.

In my previous life, I’d been criticized over every little thing, but now? I was a flawless, perfect guy.

Apparently, this wasn’t enough to get backlash.

'Fine, let’s move to Phase 2—get caught using the mana fuel rod.'

-*Subtle motion… clink!*

"Oh. This? Well, um…."

Accepting that Phase 1 had failed, I moved to Phase 2, revealing my use of a mana cheat item.

The reporters' expressions changed.

"Oh my god. Isn’t that a mana fuel rod?"
"Uh, well, this is…."

-*Beaming.*

"…So that’s how you fought for ten hours straight! How generous of you to use such a costly item for America!"
"……?"

This was unexpected. What’s going on?

The energy in this thing was equivalent to a nuclear bomb. It’s practically like sneaking a nuke into America and getting caught.

Why

 were they reacting like this?

"So… you’re not mad? This thing could be… dangerous."
"You brought it to clear the gate, right? Just in case."
"But it could be a security threat…."
"America has gained so much from your help; why worry over something so trivial? Unlike Korea, we Americans are flexible."
"……!!"
'They’re really spinning it this way!?'

I was stunned.

Smuggling in a mana fuel rod would have most countries up in arms, and they’d use it as leverage to cut the payout for the raid.

But America, the world’s number one country?

They didn’t see the need to haggle, considering their wealth.

Instead, they decided to be cool about it, recognizing me as a budding S-rank who took a financial hit for their sake.

'Is this a reporter’s quick thinking? Not necessarily the U.S. government’s stance…?'

-*Applause.*

"That young man used a billion-dollar item to help America!"
"My goodness. Using something that valuable to clear the gate!"
"He’s more American than most Americans!"
"……."
'This is a disaster.'

Before I could react, public opinion had completely shifted.

Even some officials in the distance were clapping.

…So now, besides Vietnam, I’d accidentally won America’s favor too.

* * *

A little later.

"Mr. Seo Yoojin. President Morrison has requested a private meeting with you. Would you be able to spare a moment?"

The praise I’d received on social media from the U.S. president at the start of the term had come full circle.

"A private meeting? Just the two of us? A non-awakener with a hypnotist like me?"
"Yes. He’s been keeping an eye on you and would love to speak with you personally."
"And what if I decide to hypnotize him?"
"That’s why he wants to meet in private, just the two of you."
"……."

Wow, I really won them over, didn’t I?