There were four Americans in the underground ruins who hadn’t been visible from above.
Judging by the monster-hide bedding in the corner of the ruins and the remnants of combat rations, they seemed to be living here.
‘Are they technicians or researchers?’
The three older ones were clustered around the altar at the center of the ruins, fiddling with this and that.
The young man was talking with David, who had arrived first.
He was the white young man whose face I’d at least seen before.
He, too, seemed to be a researcher handling the ruins.
Perhaps happy to see us, the researcher chattered away with a bright expression.
“Preparations are complete. I’m glad we don’t have to suffer here like we did back on Earth.
It’s a drawback that it needs time to recharge, but at least we don’t need black stones here.”
At his explanation, Soph clicked his tongue.
[They’re relying on the ruins’ natural recovery? Pathetic, but with no mage, I suppose it can’t be helped...]
I walked up to the two of them, but neither noticed the staff.
The same went for Margreta, who came up beside me.
All of them only checked the backpack.
In truth, even I couldn’t see the staff.
Unlike with Benedict, I could sense it, though.
[It’s using the energy in your body. It would be stranger if you couldn’t feel it.]
If he was going to say that, he could at least hide my body too.
[There’s no way to explain the difference to someone who doesn’t know magic...]
Faced with my perfectly sound argument, Soph hid behind the excuse of magic.
While we exchanged such kind words internally, the white young man kept talking.
“Everyone will be surprised when you get to Earth. They never would have expected Margreta and the Korean follow-up member to return instead of Benedict.”
“When they saw the backpack was gone, they would have expected him to come. We needed someone to carry it.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
At the words referring to me, the researcher nodded.
Just as David said, I was the only one who had brought a backpack.
They must have expected me to return.
“More importantly, that’s too bad about Benedict. He was so happy that he got to go on leave early...”
Only the expedition knew that Benedict had died trying to steal an artifact.
David had silenced the expedition members.
He said it was for the sake of morale, but there seemed to be another reason as well.
Hearing the researcher’s words, Margreta moved right up beside him.
“You seem to know Benedict well.”
At her words, the man’s face reddened.
“N-no. I just heard something in passing.”
At the researcher’s stammering reply, Margreta looked disappointed.
“Oh, I see. That’s a shame. Since we were on the same expedition, I was happy to think there was someone who knew him...”
At the expression filled with sincerity(?), the man looked apologetic.
“I’m sorry. I acted like I knew him for no reason. Oh, right. I heard the person in charge of the ruins on Earth was close to him. Would you like me to tell you his name?”
At his words, Margreta shook her head.
“I know that person well too. When I go back this time, I plan to have a long talk with him.”
It was clearly said with a gentle smile.
But it was frightening.
Both her smile and her words.
[...]
Soph was silent as well.
It seemed the others had finished all their preparations and were only waiting for me to arrive.
In front of me lay two bags and some items wrapped in rope.
“The bags contain the black stones we have collected so far. They are the most important items, so do not let them leave your hands during spatial transfer.”
Two small bags that could be held in one hand each. They were filled to the brim with black stones.
At David’s words, the researcher poured out an explanation no one had asked for.
“They’re the most important, of course. Without these black stones, we can’t operate the ruins on Earth.
It would be nice if someone could make the ruins on Earth recharge automatically too. They might even win a Nobel Prize. No, maybe not, since it’s classified.”
There was something interesting in what he said.
I asked Soph.
[What do you think? They might even give you a prize.]
On the way down to the ruins, I had learned how to speak to Soph without making a sound.
It was a method of putting words into energy instead of voice.
Soph said it was nothing more than a technique, but to me, this too was magic.
In any case, if the researcher was right, even if I couldn’t receive a prize, I could probably receive money.
Of course, it was a joke. I had no intention of letting anyone else know about Soph.
[Even if all my memories return, that’s impossible. It’s a planet without dark energy. There’s no way it could recover on its own.]
Contrary to my expectations, a serious answer came back.
‘There’s no energy? But I felt something on Earth too...’
His answer raised a small new question, but there was something I had to ask first.
[If there’s no dark energy, why are there ruins there? Did Earth have energy in the past and then lose it?]
[...There was a need for those ruins.]
A gloomy answer came to a simple question.
I couldn’t ask anything more.
Once I took the bags containing the black stones, David pointed at the items laid beside them.
“They are monster samples caught on this planet. Take out the box and put as much as you can into the backpack.”
Several small bundles tied with rope.
There was hide, and there were squirming innards as well.
Seeing how the organs bulged, I had a feeling there were other things inside too.
As David said, I took out the box and put the rope-wrapped items into the backpack.
After three bundles, the backpack was full.
I could only fit half.
“This is troublesome.”
When David looked at Margreta, she lifted her bag.
“It’s no use looking at me like that. I can only take this one bag.”
No one could complain that she could only carry one small bag.
Most of the people had come empty-handed.
“It would be difficult to transfer more people, wouldn’t it?”
At David’s question, the researcher shook his head.
“Two people is the limit. The ruins on Earth were modified with black stones to increase the number of personnel, but this place is still in its original state.”
At those words, the mage clicked his tongue again.
[Without a mage, all sorts of things become a problem.]
When he had died, many people had left the planet from here at the same time.
It was because a mage had activated the ruins.
Of course, there was a mage here now too.
[Can’t you help, Soph?]
[Right now, I don’t remember.]
As expected.
This time, I wasn’t disappointed. I hadn’t expected anything.
“This much is fortunate enough. If we didn’t have someone to carry the backpack, we would have had to take only the black stones.”
The researcher chattered to the disappointed David.
Then Soph’s voice came to me.
[I don’t know why they’re so fixated on the backpack. You should be able to take more.]
“I can take more?”
At the sudden words, I ended up asking aloud.
People looked at me.
Soph sighed but still explained.
[Did you not understand after hearing that your box capacity was ten times that of other people? This is the same.]
At his words, I tried lifting the other luggage as well.
It was a lot, but I could carry it.
[At the very least, you should be able to move all the luggage here. If it is an amount you can physically carry, you can take it all.]
I stuck the invisible spear into the backpack, then grabbed the bags and luggage with both hands full and slung the backpack onto my back.
It looked extremely ungainly, but I was able to carry all the luggage that had been piled up.
“What are you thinking?”
When I shouldered all the luggage, the researcher frowned.
I looked at David and shrugged.
“I’m going to try taking it all. If it doesn’t work, that’s that, isn’t it?”
“No one has ever transferred more than one backpack before. We tested all of that.”
The researcher clicked his tongue, but David glared at me with a serious expression.
“Considering the box, it might be possible.”
“...Fine. There’s no harm in testing it.”
Once David gave his permission, the researcher no longer tried to stop me.
Loaded down with luggage, I headed toward the altar.
The other researchers beside the altar widened their eyes when they saw me.
They, too, seemed about to say something, but after seeing David and the young researcher’s expressions, they shook their heads.
Margreta and I climbed onto the altar.
It was the very altar where I had first stood when I came to this planet.
I hadn’t thought I would be standing here again so soon.
“Why didn’t you stop him? We’re the ones who’ll have to clean up the luggage left behind.”
“I did stop him.”
“Seriously, they never listen.”
Whispers came from below the altar.
They were quiet voices, but with my enhanced hearing, I could hear everything.
A bitter laugh escaped me on its own.
They were people who spoke behind someone’s back right in front of them, but even so, they were at least capable of doing their jobs.
“We will activate the ruins immediately. Please prepare for motion sickness.”
At the young researcher’s words, Margreta bit her lip.
Unlike me, Margreta seemed to have suffered from it.
“Three! Two...! Oh, right!”
The researcher stopped counting down and shouted loudly.
“When you come back, you absolutely have to bring seasonings! Salt, artificial sweeteners, anything is fine! Chili peppers are fine too!”
It was an extremely random thing to say.
But no one thought so.
“That’s right. Seasonings are absolutely necessary.”
“Don’t worry. I remember. If Mr. Hyun succeeds, I’ll bring plenty.”
At those words, David nodded, and Margreta clenched her fist.
In truth, I thought the same.
I hadn’t even been on this planet for ten days, but that was enough time to understand the need for spices.
I had come to understand better than anyone why pepper had been more expensive than gold during the Age of Exploration.
“One, zero. Opening the portal!”
And so, listening to everyone shout about seasonings, I returned to Earth.
**
Spatial transfer was no different from before.
When I stepped into the hologram that appeared in midair, I arrived in another ruin with a burst of bright light.
It was the ruin we had departed from, that stone chamber.
“Uegh!”
I heard the sound of someone retching beside me.
It seemed Margreta was vomiting.
I turned my head the other way.
People were staring at me with wide eyes.
‘Is it because of the luggage I brought?’
It was just as Soph had said. All the luggage was still there. None of it had been left behind on the other planet.
“They’re not the people scheduled to arrive today...”
The others also looked puzzled, but the American standing in front of the altar looked even worse.
It seemed something had not gone according to plan.
“...Phew, I’ve finally settled down a bit. Did you see?”
“I didn’t.”
“I know you didn’t. Though someone was staring.”
While I was looking around, Margreta came to her senses.
She looked at the man standing in front of the altar and smiled.
[What a frightening smile.]
That smile even frightened Soph, who was obsessed with women.
She spoke to the man standing before her.
“You were waiting, weren’t you? For Benedict.”
“Pardon?”
The man looked at her with a puzzled expression.
“The Benedict you were waiting for won’t be coming. He died in an accident on that planet. I have some questions for you regarding that matter.”
“What are you—”
The more she spoke, the stiffer the man’s expression became.
Just as he was about to make an excuse, Margreta raised her hand.
“Take him away.”
At her words, the U.S. soldiers guarding the ruins surrounded him. The soldiers dragged the startled man away.
Her status seemed much higher than I had thought.
“You have a phone, don’t you?”
After stepping down from the altar, she held out her hand to someone else.
A cell phone immediately appeared.
She made a call at once.
“I’ve brought some news. Both good news and bad news...”
She walked to one side and continued the call in a low voice.
While she was on the phone, I set the luggage down and sat off to the side, waiting for people.
There were both U.S. and Korean soldiers in the ruins, but I didn’t see the Korean person in charge.
How long did I wait like that?
I saw several people rushing in from the entrance.
Among them were the general and the deputy director of the NIS whom I had seen before departure.
The two widened their eyes when they saw me.
“You made it back safely. We came running as soon as we heard the news. Come, let’s go.”
“We should take the luggage too. Since, what was his name... Mr. Myeonghan brought it back, we should take it first.”
The general and the deputy director made a fuss as they tried to take me away.
The U.S. soldiers blocked their path.
The Korean soldiers tightened their grips on their guns.
It was a situation I hadn’t expected.
As I looked around, I happened to see Margreta finishing her call.
Seeing the U.S. and Korean soldiers in a standoff, she waved her hand.
“He belongs to Korea, so send him off for now.”
At her words, the American soldiers who had been blocking the way stepped aside.
“A wise decision. We’ll contact you separately later.”
At the general’s words, Margreta shook her head.
“We will be the ones to contact you.”
She hadn’t said the U.S. government. She had said we.
Now I was afraid to ask where, exactly, her position lay.
She showed me a radiant smile.
“Mr. Hyun. Stay with them for now. It looks like things will be sorted out soon.
I promised you, didn’t I? That once we returned to Earth, I would be able to give you a gift.”
There was not a hint of pretense in the smile she wore now.
It was an expression of genuine delight.
“It will be a truly wonderful gift!”
She looked as if she had prepared a Christmas present.
But neither Soph nor I liked that expression very much.
[It seems it isn’t the gift I was thinking of, is it?]
Annoyingly, I was thinking the same thing as Soph.