Episode 186 Earthlings of Another World (3)
"First of all, let me introduce myself again. I'm Isea. It's nice to meet you."
Inside the hospital room where only the two of them remained.
She greeted him again with her usual indifferent expression.
"Ah, I'm Hesper..."
"Wait a moment. Could you please use your real name instead of that alias?"
"My real name... you say?"
"It's funny to be so formal in another world, but... I want to properly introduce ourselves since this is the first time I'm greeting someone from my hometown. Well, you can think of it as a formality."
Hesperon nodded and agreed after realizing her intentions, as she was being straightforward.
"As expected, you're the Earthling Riley was talking about. Actually, I had a feeling when I heard your name."
"Hmm, you're Korean too?"
"Ah! I'm Ha Seung-hoon. I lived in Seoul and came to this place a little less than two months ago. Ahaha!"
For your information, this wasn't just a randomly chosen alias.
It was one of the properly established identities obtained through Heterosis, which had become a major player in Seoul's underworld, an identity that even existed in the government's database.
It wasn't that difficult to take care of such minor details if you had power and influence.
"It's already been over eight years since I came here. So many things happened… Ah, thank you again. It was a really tough time after Riley was kidnapped."
"You're welcome, I also received a lot of help. If it wasn't for Riley, I would have been trapped in that place forever without knowing anything!"
And so, after greeting each other again, they started to chat animatedly.
Even Isea, who seemed a bit distant at first, was completely comfortable later on.
After all, she was someone who had been transferred to another world at a young age and endured for over eight years.
Even though she had Riley to keep her company, she couldn't help but miss her home country.
And now that she had met someone from her hometown, Earth, and Korea on top of that, it was only natural for her to feel happy.
And she already had a favorable impression of him because he had helped her.
"So you're twenty years old, Hesperon?"
And the conversation naturally flowed to the topic of age.
Actually, one of her goals was to gather information about Hesperon, so it was something she had intended from the beginning, but the problem was his next question.
"That's right. Come to think of it, how old are you, Isea? Well, you look very young, but if Riley calls you 'sister', you must be at least over twenty… Huh? But you said you came here eight years ago…"
Isea hesitated for a moment as he blinked and tilted his head.
She suddenly became confused about how old she was supposed to be.
She came here when she was eighteen, so she was definitely twenty-six years old now, after eight years.
She was clearly older than him.
But if she went back to Earth, she would be eighteen again, about to turn nineteen.
And if she met him on Earth later, could she still say she was older?
"Tw..."
"Tw?"
"Twenty-six."
But she frowned and thought for a moment, then realized it was pointless and spoke confidently.
She couldn't introduce herself as 'eighteen (ninth year)'!
And age was a measure of 'how long you've lived', so she could think about later, later.
She didn't want things to get complicated because of this, as she would be his teacher.
"Ahaha! This is funny! No wonder you look so young, you're a ninth-year high school student!"
But Hesperon, who deduced her transferred age from her answer, just laughed nonchalantly.
…It was a very casual laugh, as they had become quite comfortable with each other.
"Ahem, Hesperon?"
Isea cleared her throat and subtly glanced at him.
He seemed to respect her age and maintained the honorifics, but she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
"Ah— I'm sorry. I was just surprised. Actually, I thought it made sense when Riley said you were a cute and lovely sister, and she was right!"
"Hesperon…?"
But it seemed like he was even more comfortable with her than she thought.
He was still chuckling, as if making a joke, even after she reminded him twice.
"But honestly, you look more like a middle school student than a high school student…"
"…Just shut up!"
Isea added a bold line to Hesperon's profile in her head.
This guy had no tact.
____________________
In a gloomy corner of the Immortal Fortress,
"Escaped? The newbie… from here? And he took the princess with him?"
Andrew Weber, another Earthling in Auterica, muttered blankly.
He had been busy with his usual work and only heard about it late, but the content was shocking.
"How?"
He could guess how.
It was probably with his unique skill, there was no other way.
But the fact that a newbie who had only been transferred for less than two months had done it was incomprehensible.
"…He was more capable than I thought."
He hadn't had a chance to meet him properly since he was first captured because things had gotten complicated, but he hadn't even imagined that he would be this capable.
And it seemed like he had done something in the meantime because he wasn't even clearly visible in his "Trajectory Observation".
'And for some reason, the Immortal King's army isn't showing any signs of pursuing them.'
Did it not matter because they still had the Crown Prince?
Maybe the Immortal King was just considering this incident as part of his amusement.
"Huh— That guy is really lucky. At first, I felt sorry for him."
Now that he had successfully escaped, the princess wasn't just a hostage anymore.
She had become a golden connection, the most likely candidate for the next emperor.
Not only had he saved her, but the hardships they had overcome together were a common source for romantic feelings to blossom between a man and a woman.
It was something he couldn't help but envy.
'Tsk, while I'm stuck with lunatics and undead.'
But Andrew just clicked his tongue and shook his head.
If it had been before, he might have been consumed by jealousy.
It was no different from the ones he had been working hard with escaping and having a love affair while he was struggling with his duties.
But he didn't have to envy them anymore.
The day he had been waiting for— had finally arrived!
『Karma Shop』
『Return (1,000,000) (Available) 』
『Unique Skill Enhancement (700,000)』
『Status Enhancement – View Details』
『Karma Owned - 1,000,028』
"Heh… Hehehe—!"
The number of incidents he had been involved in as a member of Oath of Heaven's Defiance wasn't small.
The most representative and largest incident was when he contributed to opening the abyss and spreading 'madness' to the continent.
Back then, he had only received a relatively small amount of Karma and just enhanced his unique skill to the fourth level, but as the damage accumulated over time, the Karma he received also started to increase.
And he was also steadily receiving settlements from the incidents he had been involved in for several years, and he had even been exploited by Olivia with hard labor recently…
'Nine years… It was long.'
It wasn't strange that the results were finally showing.
He giggled for a while and then looked around with a relaxed mind.
Now that he had an escape route, the Immortal Fortress, which had always felt suffocating, now felt like a haunted house he was touring.
He leisurely walked around the castle, performing his own farewell ritual.
Not only the first residential area, which was teeming with lunatics, but even the tall spire.
He left his mark everywhere, peeking into every place he could go.
-Andrew Weber was here.
"Whew, I think I'm mostly done."
He smiled with satisfaction, looking at the crooked English inscription on a corner of the wall.
It was a dreadful place, but now that he wouldn't have to see it anymore…
[Andrew…? Your working hours are over, what are you still doing here…? You know you don't have free time until you meet your quota…]
At that moment, Olivia suddenly appeared before him, like a ghost.
"Gasp!"
Gulp.
Andrew flinched at her sudden appearance and instinctively lowered his gaze.
He was now free from fear, but he couldn't help but feel intimidated when facing her directly.
'Wait, this is the last time anyway, right? What can she even do to me, no matter what I do?!'
He had initially planned to curse and mock her to his heart's content before running away, but he thought he might be torn limb from limb before he could even escape if he acted recklessly in front of her.
She wouldn't kill him because he had diligently proven his usefulness, so he would be able to escape later, but…
'…I want to return in one piece.'
But it was too frustrating to just leave without saying anything.
This was his last chance, which would never come again, and if he just let it go, he would have to live with regret forever.
'Okay, let's just say a few words and then run away. At a level that's awkward for her to immediately respond to. That much should be okay.'
He took a deep breath and licked his lips.
And after preparing to run away immediately, he raised his head again and looked at Olivia.
[Andrew…? Can't you hear me…? Should I rip those useless ears off and directly transmit my thoughts into your brain…?]
She looked at him with a pitiful expression and whispered softly.
He almost cowered again, but he gritted his teeth and endured, shouting confidently.
"You…!"
[…You?]
"It was disgusting working with you, and let's never see each other again! Working with Siana was much better, you're nothing compared to her! Ah, and every time you talk back to me, it's annoying as hell!"
His voice cracked for a moment because he was too nervous, but he succeeded in saying what he wanted to say.
The level had been lowered because he was scared and tried to draw a line, but his unexpected defiance was enough to fluster Olivia.
And he had even brought up Siana, who wasn't on good terms with her…
Crackle—!
The temperature instantly dropped below freezing, and the surrounding energy started to seethe.
[Are you… going mad from the dark magic…?]
And just as Olivia was about to say something with an unsettling expression,
"Hahaha! I'm leaving! Try to find me if you can!"
Andrew, emboldened by the atmosphere, laughed heartily and gave his final farewell.
And then,
He disappeared from the Immortal Fortress.
[Ah…?]
Olivia was left alone, unable to vent her anger.
She came to her senses and immediately started searching for Andrew, releasing the ghosts…
But naturally, his traces couldn't be found anywhere, as he had already crossed dimensions and returned to Earth.
____________________
Los Angeles, USA.
"Ha! Hahaha! Ah— I feel so refreshed! It's a bit disappointing, but this is good enough! Hahaha!"
Andrew, who had appeared in the basement of the house where he was first transferred, couldn't stop laughing, too excited about returning to Earth.
He couldn't help but laugh, imagining Olivia's fuming face, who had always looked down on him with an intimidating aura.
And the thought of her searching for him for a long time and then giving up was also satisfying.
She knew he was an otherworlder, so she would eventually accept reality, but she wouldn't be able to easily stop searching, just in case.
"Haha… Ha… Huh?"
But his laughter, which seemed to continue endlessly, didn't last long.
Because there was something bothering him.
"Hmm… What's this? Is this how restrictions work?"
The restriction that the Immortal King had implanted was still active in his mind.
And for some reason, it felt even stronger than when he was in Auterica.
'Come on, no way.'
He smiled awkwardly and quietly wiped the cold sweat that was starting to trickle down.
It seemed like this was how restrictions worked.
It was a bit unsettling, but it didn't really matter because the one who gave the orders was gone…
[Oh— You've come to Earth, Andrew Weber?]
At that moment,
The voice he thought he would never hear again echoed through his mind.
"Ah?"
His heart sank, and he froze in place with his awkward smile.
Fear slowly crept onto his face.
"Uh, uh? Wait… wait, wait, wait…! This isn't right! This, uh, this is different…!"
[Andrew Weber.]
"Ah—."
His words were cut off by a single sentence, containing his 'master's' absolute will.
It was an undeniable manifestation of the restriction.
[Hehehe— I needed some help, and you've come at the perfect time. Welcome to Earth.]
And so, Andrew Weber finally escaped from hell, but…
The peace he had longed for wasn't waiting for him at his destination.