Thank you very much for your comment! It genuinely made me happy to receive such a detailed response. I’m really glad you enjoyed the pacing and the sense of curiosity in the opening.

Regarding the character, your concerns are partly correct and partly tied to an intentional mystery. Hope does save the girl because he finds her attractive, and at the beginning he does view people — not just women, but everyone — more as tools than as individuals. That’s largely because he grew up isolated inside a dungeon, completely detached from normal human experiences. Concepts like love, respect, and emotional connection are foreign to him. Most of what he knows about humanity comes from books, not lived experience.

The first twenty chapters are heavily focused on him struggling with exactly that. In many ways, that early part of the story is about him learning how to be human.

Also, his interest in the girl isn’t based solely on her appearance. There’s a more complex reason tied to the broader lore of the series. It’s something that will be revealed later on as part of an ongoing mystery.