The Plight of a Small Country

White Cloud Kingdom.

A small city-state with a population of approximately one million.

The only reason it had not yet been absorbed by another country was that deploying troops to swallow up such a small nation seemed foolish.

But circumstances could change at any moment.

Right now, White Cloud Kingdom was practically a hot potato in the international community.

President Lina of White Cloud Kingdom sat up straight as she looked at the people who had come to her office, doing her best to maintain the dignity of a head of state.

"Oh my? Our dear President. You're awfully stiff."

Duke Ramey of the Kaleon Empire, a Ninth-Circle Archmage, muttered with displeasure.

The Kaleon Empire, led by Empress Tronia, was unquestionably one of the world's strongest nations, so even if they acted this high-handedly, there was nothing President Lina could do.

"You're being rather rude to someone responsible for an entire country."

Foreign Minister Kim Ha-yoon of Espin, a nation that rivaled the Kaleon Empire, stepped in to refute Ramey's words.

But President Lina could hardly be pleased by Foreign Minister Kim Ha-yoon's intervention.

'Hyenas.'

Men were precious beings.

Every woman had to cater to men's moods and guide them toward happy lives.

That was simply common sense.

And yet that common sense had collapsed in White Cloud Kingdom.

An international organization that transcended all nations and solely managed and protected information about men.

The International Men's Protection Union, commonly known as the IMPU.

That was because a man who was not registered there had appeared.

And when he was first discovered, he had been wearing shorts clinging tightly to his thighs and a white T-shirt with his armpits fully exposed and its stretched neckline revealing part of his firm chest…!!

This was practically indirect evidence supporting the rumors that a criminal organization was raising men as livestock.

A man whose fingerprints, name, and birthday had not been registered even by adulthood, and who had been rescued while walking down the street.

This horrifying crime had emerged as the most urgent problem every country needed to solve immediately.

That was why, only six hours after Geum Taeyang was discovered, representatives from every country had come to White Cloud Kingdom.

"Now that everyone is here, let's get straight to the point. The Kaleon Empire will take responsibility for the gentleman's safety. Any objections?"

"Yes. I have an objection. Who does the Kaleon Empire think it is, taking him away as it pleases?"

Of course, solving the problem was secondary; their primary goal was taking the unregistered gentleman back to their own countries.

The existence of a single man represented a nation's prestige and national strength.

So no one intended to miss this opportunity to bring the gentleman into their country legally.

"Ha! The Empire always maintains a one-minute standby unit composed solely of the finest, handpicked personnel for the protection of men."

"Our country is the same. In fact, wouldn't our democratic nation be a better place for the gentleman to live than an empire still clinging to the outdated system of an emperor?"

In the midst of the conflicting interests of the various countries, countless opinions began flying back and forth.

This was the plight of a small country.

White Cloud Kingdom was clearly the one protecting Geum Taeyang, yet the representatives carried on their discussion among themselves as if it did not matter at all.

"Everyone, that's enough. White Cloud Kingdom will protect the gentleman."

"Huh?"

President Lina cut them off and stepped forward.

Naturally, she believed that the man they had discovered this time should be protected by White Cloud Kingdom.

"Huh? Look here, Madam President. You seem to be mistaken about something. Does White Cloud Kingdom really have any say in this situation?"

"I don't want to agree with you, but Duke Ramey is right. A horrific crime occurred in White Cloud Kingdom, and now the country where it happened is claiming it will protect him?"

"Who knows whether you're only pretending to protect him before sending him back to the criminal organization."

"How can you say such things—!! A criminal organization in a small country like ours would be no more than a gang of local thugs! Couldn't the criminal organization in another country have done this?"

The president of White Cloud Kingdom desperately tried to make excuses.

"Ha… I can state categorically that no such thing has ever happened in the Kaleon Empire."

"The same goes for Espin."

"Our country is the same."

But the response was cold.

They all insisted that such a thing could never happen in their own countries.

And indeed, if such a thing had really occurred, that country would have been destroyed by the IMPU, even if it were the Kaleon Empire.

So everyone desperately denied it.

Everyone's gaze naturally turned toward President Lina of White Cloud Kingdom.

White Cloud Kingdom was certainly doing its best to protect men.

From monsters crossing over from the Void to women who might harm them.

Everyone who had reached the ranks of the Transcendents acted with men's safety as their highest priority.

"Is that really true?"

"I hear the dispatched officers were, at best, at the Sword Expert and Qi Condensation levels."

"And they arrived five whole minutes after the report? If the man had possessed slightly more delicate sensibilities, he might have collapsed from a heart attack!!"

But those words convinced no one.

"B-but we couldn't have imagined that such a horrific crime had occurred. Besides, the police were initially dispatched because a 'cross-dressing woman' was wearing an unauthorized penis sheath."

If Geum Taeyang had appeared in another country, everyone's initial response would have been the same.

They would have assumed that the erect Geum Taeyang was a 'cross-dressing woman' wearing an illegal penis sheath while parading through the streets, and sent whatever police officers were available.

After all, Geum Taeyang looked far too perfect—the very image women could only dream of—to be called a gentleman.

But what mattered was which country the incident had occurred in.

No matter how much White Cloud Kingdom insisted that any other country would have responded the same way,

not a single country would acknowledge it.

"Anyone can see that you treated the gentleman the same as those third-rate performers called 'cross-dressing women.'"

"There's nothing to be done about a weak country like White Cloud Kingdom."

"If it had been our country, we would have sent Transcendents to protect him immediately, as long as there was even a nonzero possibility."

No country intended to miss the opportunity to add a man to its population.

It was not that White Cloud Kingdom was inept at diplomacy.

It certainly had allied nations.

But the existence of a man as perfect-looking as Geum Taeyang had driven even its allies to pressure White Cloud Kingdom.

If White Cloud Kingdom had been a stronger nation rather than a mere small city-state, they would not have acted so aggressively.

But there are times when even a weak country cannot retreat.

The president stood her ground and confronted the delegations from the other countries.

"We—the White Cloud Kingdom—have placed the Incarnation, Chief Park Hana, directly in charge of protecting the gentleman. So everyone, stop now."

White Cloud Kingdom was already responsible for the man's protection. If she held out at the risk of her life, they would eventually have no choice but to withdraw.

"Are you saying you intend to oppress and imprison the gentleman?"

"Is it really sensible for a weak country like this to entrust the protection of a man to a single Incarnation?"

Monarchies and dictatorships immediately cracked the whip at the president,

"Madam President. This is not something to view emotionally. We fully acknowledge White Cloud Kingdom's achievement in discovering and protecting the gentleman."

"Our country is willing to agree to lowering tariffs."

"We'll offer mining negotiation rights…!!"

Democratic nations waved carrots in front of her.

"No matter what any of you say…!! I will never back down. The gentleman will remain under the protection of White Cloud Kingdom!"

The president did not yield to either the whip or the carrot.

"…You're making this more difficult than it needs to be. Why not simply ask the gentleman which country he likes best?"

In the end, someone brought up the final resort.

Though it was audaciously presumptuous and terribly disrespectful, the representatives began to reach a consensus: they would let the gentleman personally choose which country would protect him.

Normally, such a thing was never asked of men.

It was only natural for the country where a man was born to take responsibility for protecting him.

Geum Taeyang was different.

He had been raised until adulthood by some unknown criminal organization.

It was not even certain that he had been born in White Cloud Kingdom.

That was why the representatives of every country had no choice but to do their utmost to secure Geum Taeyang.

"I cannot permit it! Mr. Geum Taeyang is in an extremely weakened physical and mental state! I absolutely cannot permit it until it is possible to collect a semen sample during a men's health examination!!"

White Cloud Kingdom was equally determined to do its utmost.

This was when she was carrying out her duty as president.

Her head was suddenly slammed straight into the desk.

No one could say anything to the figures who had appeared out of nowhere.

The International Men's Protection Union.

That was because the IMPU's enforcers had arrived.

Their arrival meant that something had happened to a man.

"Madam President. How could you entrust fish to a cat?"

"A horrific crime is taking place right now, and all of you are sitting here leisurely arguing over which country gets to take the gentleman."

"Exactly. You pieces of trash. There's a reason you failed to become ideal wives."

"K-kh... W-why all of a sudden?"

"Why? Because Chief Park Hana, the woman you entrusted with protecting the gentleman, dared to rape him."

"Th-that can't be…"

Chief Park Hana was famous for never causing problems through a sudden loss of control, even on blind dates.

Considering that most women caused trouble on blind dates and were punished by IMPU enforcers, she possessed astonishing willpower and patience.

And yet she had raped someone.

Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

"Then what do you call this? Park Hana, who was at the early Incarnation realm, has now become a True Immortal and is displaying her power without restraint. If this isn't rape, what is?"

"There are procedures to follow, so it was a waste of time coming to the president. Let's depart quickly with these pieces of trash. Even now, the gentleman may be suffering from breathing difficulties, muscle spasms, seizures, and countless other problems."

The IMPU enforcers dragged the president, whose presence was required by procedure, to Park Hana's house.

They were going to stop the horrifying crime taking place right then.

Ding-dong-!!

Even so, they could not simply enter the house where the gentleman was staying.

They rang the doorbell first.

"As expected of the IMPU enforcers…!"

"They don't make even a single mistake when dealing with a gentleman!"

The dukes, diplomats, and other fully authorized representatives from other countries were all filled with admiration at the sight.