The atmosphere changed, and everyone busied themselves trying to save their families, but not everyone believed the Earth was doomed.
Among those who had drawn lots to return to Earth, there were still some who had not canceled.
Three middle-aged men and two women of different ages.
All of them would be returning to Earth with me this time.
And so, the people gathered in the underground ruins that had been cut off from the surface.
From the Koreans gathered to one side came the sound of quiet whispers.
They huddled together by gender and whispered among themselves.
First, I heard the conversation of the middle-aged men.
“The Earth is going to be destroyed soon? If they’re going to lure people in with lies, they should at least make them more convincing.”
“Seeing as we’re the only ones left, doesn’t that mean the lie worked?”
“There’s no helping fools. We just need to make sure we don’t get fooled.”
“Exactly.”
The two continued talking, praising each other for not believing in the end of the world. At the same time, they looked down on those who did believe.
If I had only listened to their conversation, they would have seemed certain of their own thoughts.
But looking at their trembling eyes, it was not certainty. They merely wanted to believe that.
The women’s conversation was a little different from the men’s.
“You don’t believe it either?”
At the middle-aged woman’s question, the young woman shook her head.
“It doesn’t matter whether I believe it or not. I don’t want to be here. I just want to go home.”
At the young woman’s gloomy words, the middle-aged woman let out a sigh.
“Yes. I have family waiting for me at home too. I need to see them before it’s too late.”
Unlike the men, these women simply wanted to return home.
And a little distance away from the four of them was a man muttering to himself alone.
“I need to liquidate my assets first. Sell the real estate off cheap, convert it into dollars, and then find someone connected…”
He was diligently repeating what he had to do once he returned to Earth.
It seemed he had a great deal of wealth on Earth.
The man believed in the Earth’s destruction, yet he was going to Earth to secure his assets.
Thus, the five Koreans of the later group, two technicians, Margreta, and I were the ones returning this time.
The two technicians going to Earth were people who would travel to Paradise through Earth.
They were the ones who would manage the terraforming ruins Soph had modified.
To me, they did not seem necessary, but in order to reassure the people in Paradise, they needed someone to manage the terraforming ruins.
On paper, those technicians had been managing the spatial transfer ruins and the terraforming ruins, so they were perfect for reassuring the people in Paradise.
The technicians kept sighing as they looked at me, but there was nothing I could do for them.
As everyone headed toward the altar, I was carrying luggage with Margreta.
While I had loads in both hands and on my back, Margreta held two small bags in her hands.
It was a small amount compared to mine, but compared to the others going empty-handed, she was doing more than her share.
Moreover, inside her bags were the black stones the hunting team had collected so far.
A total of fifteen Akzar black stones.
There were more black stones in the backpack on my back, but these black stones were not all to be handed over.
Even if I handed over all the black stones, there was not much I could get from America.
What I wanted now was not something that could be bought with money.
The same went for black stones.
In order to obtain what I wanted, I needed something only I could get, something like the “Wizard’s Flower.”
The awakening agent made from that “Wizard’s Flower” was also inside my backpack.
Enough for 2,500 people, an amount capable of producing twenty-five to fifty candidates.
The luggage in my hands consisted of items officially entrusted to my side job, Porter.
There was less luggage than before.
“The luggage has changed a lot.”
As Margreta said, the contents of the luggage had changed greatly as well.
Instead of samples like monsters or minerals from this planet, it was full of letters.
“It feels like I’ve become a real mailman.”
They were all letters to acquaintances on Earth.
Letters written on the paper I had brought in bulk last time.
Because of censorship, they probably would not contain detailed information, but they surely contained words of concern for their families.
As I was thinking that, Margreta spoke in a brusque voice.
“They’ll say to dispose of their assets.”
It was unlike her.
When I looked at Margreta, she hurriedly added,
“That’s what Catherine would have said.”
“Don’t tell me you were imitating her?”
The tone was similar, but it did not suit her at all.
“I’m the only one going with you, so I have to play the role of strategist.”
So that was why she imitated Catherine?
Her tone aside, it was something Catherine might have said, but I did not want to hear those words from Margreta.
“There’s no need for that. Margreta is enough.”
“Ah… Yes.”
Margreta abruptly turned her body and walked toward the altar.
Her earlobes were burning red as she walked away.
I followed behind Margreta.
With me as the last, everyone climbed onto the altar and walked into the portal one by one.
Fwaaaah!
As always, the world was covered in white light.
Several branching paths were visible through the white light.
This time as well, no new path appeared.
A short while later, we arrived on Earth.
The Baekdu Mountain underground ruins I saw for the first time in two weeks were no different from before.
Security was tight, but that too was the same as before.
However, after I handed over the luggage, received my cell phone, and went up to the surface, it was completely different from two weeks ago.
The people who came out of the tent all stopped walking and looked up at the sky.
“My God, the sky…”
“Is that a halo?”
There were no clouds, yet the sky had turned hazy.
The sun looked darker than before, and around it was a circular ring of light.
“Yellow dust? Or fine dust?”
People tried to search for some other excuse, but everyone knew why the sky had changed like that.
It was because of the aerogel America had sprayed into the stratosphere two weeks ago.
I had no idea what it was made of, but in just two weeks, we were already seeing the results here in Korea, on the opposite side of the Earth.
“This can’t be… It has to be a lie…”
The men who had tried not to believe the news from Earth looked at me with fearful eyes, then headed to another barracks with the soldiers.
Inside that barracks was the artifact for the security oath.
There, they would make a promise not to speak of the Earth’s destruction, something they had not believed in.
The technicians left as well, and Margreta also left first to hand over the black stones.
“I’ll go tell the higher-ups that I brought Hyeon’s item. Once I contact them, you should be able to meet someone important soon.”
There were soldiers around the tent, so she did not say it plainly, but I knew without being told what item she meant and who that important person was.
If there were no particular issues, it seemed I would be going to America this time.
After everyone left like that, I was left alone in front of the tent.
Unexpectedly, I had gained some free time.
“Should I make a call?”
Since I had come to Earth, I had to contact my older brother.
Since Paradise had ended up like that, I had to find a way to send my brother to Trappist.
But before I could make the call, someone approached me.
A man who appeared wearing a neat suit, unlike the others.
It was Lee Jaeyun, the third-generation chaebol heir.
Unlike his neat suit, the man standing before me was gasping harshly for breath.
He had come running after hearing news of me.
“Huff, huff, thank goodness. I’m not too late.”
He spoke to me while catching his breath.
“It’s been a while.”
“Huff, huff, it has. When you came last time, you didn’t contact us.”
Come to think of it, during my last return, I had not been able to contact the Koreans.
I had flown straight to Djibouti and gone all the way to Paradise, so I had not had the chance to pay attention to Korea.
“Because there was no contact from you, the higher-ups are not in a good mood.”
After speaking with them directly and even receiving various supplies, I had pretended not to know them, so it was understandable that they would be dissatisfied.
Still, I had not expected to be told outright that they were not in a good mood.
As I frowned at those words, Soph’s voice rang out.
[You are trying to found a country, so hearing such words would naturally make you angry.]
Soph’s characteristic sarcasm.
Hearing that, I felt like I understood why I was displeased.
Unlike them, who still knew me as my former self, my perspective had already changed.
Like a rich man who had suddenly come into money, it seemed I too had begun wanting recognition from others.
However, Soph’s next words were different from what I had thought.
[There is no need to deal with those who do not treat you properly. If you truly find it bothersome, there is also the method of showing them your true ability.]
[That wasn’t sarcasm?]
[Is there any need for that? I merely stated the truth.]
Come to think of it, Soph had been a person who lived in a world with kings and nobles.
Though he was a mage who had sacrificed his life to save people, he valued etiquette and formality more than anyone.
That said, there was no reason to refuse to deal with them as Soph said.
Misunderstandings could be corrected, and I had made a promise, so I needed to keep it.
“I apologize. As you know, at the time, I had to hurry to Paradise. Moreover, I was attacked by missiles along the way, so I wasn’t in any state of mind to contact anyone.”
“Ah… That’s…”
At my apology, he was left speechless.
It seemed that story was a bit too much for an ordinary third-generation chaebol heir.
“This works out. I think I’ll have a little time before going to America, so I’ll meet the higher-ups.”
“Why are you going to America…”
At my following words, Lee Jaeyun asked in a hurry.
It seemed he wanted to get any information he could from me.
I told him the truth.
“I am scheduled to meet a VIP.”
“A VIP? Don’t tell me.”
“Is there another VIP?”
At my words, he shut his mouth tightly.
“Please wait a moment. I need to leave a message.”
Instead of my older brother, I called Margreta.
A short while later, she answered.
—Why did you call?
Margreta’s voice came through in English, and I answered in English as well.
“Would it be all right if I stopped by Seoul for a bit before going to America?”
—Wait a moment. We’ve already contacted the homeland. They said they’ve dispatched a plane from the homeland to Pyeongyang. The President also said he would cancel his schedule and wait…
For a plane to fly from America to Korea, it would take more than half a day.
That much was enough time to stop by Seoul.
“It’ll take time for the plane to arrive anyway, so I’ll stop by Seoul for a bit.”
—Then we’ll have to send the plane to Gimpo Airport. All right. I’ll finish my work and go to Seoul too, so I’ll see you there.
When I hung up and looked at Lee Jaeyun, he was staring at me blankly.
It seemed he had heard my call.
“I don’t have that much time, so let’s go right away.”
“Y-yes, understood. A helicopter has been prepared.”
He hurriedly guided me.
I boarded the helicopter with him.
The helicopter immediately headed for Seoul.
Making the President of the United States wait and changing the plane’s destination was a somewhat unreasonable thing to do.
But the reason I was doing something so unreasonable was not merely to keep a promise.
It was to obtain one piece of information before going to America.
The large and powerful bomb I intended to use was not something that could be obtained easily.
Even if I asked America for it, it was not something they could give me, and the same was true for other countries.
However, there was one place where I might be able to obtain such a bomb.
Bombs whose owner was now gone.
I intended to first ask the higher-ups in Korea where the bombs that had been in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula were now.
Pursuit (2)