Magreta and I first reported our return to the base commander.
I was worried about the missing people, but I couldn’t just run off on my own right away.
The one who received the report was David, the expedition leader and base commander.
The place where we gave the report was a little ways from the center of the base, where several caves were located. It was on the outskirts of the base, where the caves could be seen.
He looked at the caves as he listened to Magreta’s report.
There was no need for me to say anything.
Magreta reported everything, from the end of the war and the situation on Earth to my contract.
Of course, there were things she left out.
She omitted both the reason the war had ended and the fact that she had arranged for me to sign a contract with her instead of naturalizing.
‘There must be reports she’s hiding from me, too.’
I had signed a contract with her, but there were still things Magreta had yet to tell me.
The reason was that my security level was insufficient.
It was a shame, but I could understand.
This was only the beginning. If we kept working together, there would be more and more things I would be able to hear.
After her report ended, David asked me,
“You both did well. So you’ve already finished discussing things with Magreta’s department?”
Before I could speak, Magreta answered first.
“He even finished signing the contract on Earth.”
David stroked his bushy beard.
“Whatever the case, he showed us he could come back alive from the ruins alone. There was no way Magreta would just leave him be.”
At his words, Magreta said with a grin,
“Don’t worry. The work he does here won’t be any different.”
David lowered the hand that had been rubbing his chin and nodded.
“Then it doesn’t matter. As long as it doesn’t cause problems for operating the base, I don’t care where he belongs.”
David, the base commander and expedition leader, was a competent commander.
Just from the way he took the lead in operations and didn’t let personal feelings interfere with his decisions, he was a rare, good officer.
If there was a problem, it would be that he was a U.S. military officer who prioritized America’s national interests, and that he had a slight bias regarding ability and race.
But those things were no longer much of a problem for me.
Even now, he was looking at the paper listing the goods I had brought and wearing a satisfied expression.
“I saw it when you moved goods to Earth, but you brought a lot back with you as well. This will be a big help.”
I had brought all of it for money.
“You brought plenty of salt and spices, too, so we won’t have to force down tasteless food anymore.”
Magreta chimed in from beside him.
It was certain to be delicious.
It was salt and seasoning worth thirty-five million won per kilogram.
There was no way it wouldn’t taste good.
“With this many daily necessities, there shouldn’t be any major problems, and since we have the tools we requested as well, we’ll be able to expand the base according to plan.”
In addition to seasonings, vitamins, emergency rations, and daily necessities, I had brought simple tools.
Measuring tapes and light tools. They weren’t proper equipment, but even tools like these weren’t easy to bring because of the weight.
It seemed I needed to build up my stamina even more.
“As for weapons, we should be able to recycle the junk brought back from the ruins.”
David looked up at the smoke flowing out of the blacksmithing cave.
“Are we finally moving on from bone spears?”
At his words, Magreta also brightened.
We made the spearheads from monster bones and the shafts from carefully selected wood, but handmade spears were inevitably crude compared to factory-made ones from Earth.
Even so, we had no choice but to make spears from this planet’s wood and monster bones.
It was partly because heavy items were difficult to bring from Earth, but also because Earth-made items had trouble holding dark energy.
“If only Earth-made items could hold energy, we could bring things like compound bows or air guns. It’s such a waste.”
In truth, we could bring them.
The only problem was that they were useless against monsters.
They would be decent weapons against humans.
But now was not the time to bring in weapons meant for humans.
First, we had to hunt monsters and find the ruins.
“To think the war would end at a time like this. It was expected, but it’s a bit early. Nothing good will come of rumors spreading, so make sure neither of you speaks of it first.”
At David’s words, both Magreta and I agreed.
With those words, the report ended.
Seeing that the report was over, I cautiously brought it up.
“I heard there were missing people.”
David frowned.
“It happened yesterday. Two members of the follow-up team went missing.”
It was just as I had heard from the college student.
However, David’s reaction was a little strange.
To make that kind of expression after hearing that they had lured the monsters away to protect the others.
It was far too different from the person I had just been thinking of.
I had no choice but to ask again.
“May I ask what happened?”
He glanced at Magreta, then opened his mouth again.
“There’s no reason I can’t tell you.”
After that, his explanation continued.
Before, it would have been hard to hear this so easily. The change in my affiliation had helped.
“I heard that monsters too difficult to handle barged into a group that had been hunting normally. In the end, the group split into two, and the monsters charged toward the smaller group.”
‘Huh?’
I couldn’t help tilting my head.
“While fleeing from the monsters, two people went missing. They later tried to search for the two, but a desert storm swept into the area, so they had no choice but to give up the search and return.”
It was clearly different from what I had heard.
Not completely different, but it had been altered little by little.
In a way favorable to one side.
“May I ask who you heard that from?”
At my continued questions, David’s expression worsened.
Did he feel that I was challenging his authority?
Even so, I couldn’t not ask.
“I heard it from the squad leader. Mister Park. A Korean member of the advance team.”
I had an idea who it was.
Team Leader Park Osu. The Korean officer in charge who had been so full of himself.
He was serving as the leader of the squad I had been absent from.
“The story I heard is a little different. I would like to call one of the squad members and hear what they have to say.”
At my words, David folded his arms and looked at me.
Magreta watched us with an unreadable expression.
After a moment, David uncrossed his arms.
“Lives are at stake, so let’s hear it.”
Fortunately, this much was within the acceptable range.
I immediately brought the college student over.
He was bewildered by the sudden summons, but even in front of David, he did his best to explain the situation.
“It’s true that other monsters barged in during the hunt. But we didn’t just split into two. Those two definitely separated from us in order to lure the monsters away.”
David’s expression grew even worse.
This time, it wasn’t because of me.
“The reason only those two separated was because, aside from the squad leader, they were the only ones who had dark energy.”
It seemed Sergeant An had awakened energy as well.
It was certainly something worth congratulating him for.
And yet, for things to turn out like this…
You really never knew what would happen in this world.
“They didn’t just run off without thinking, either. There was a sandy area nearby that monsters didn’t approach. Those two led the monsters there. They thought that if they reached that place, the monsters wouldn’t follow them any farther.”
Even to me, it was an excellent plan.
To come up with that in such an urgent moment.
I didn’t know who had thought of it, but it was truly impressive.
“As expected, all the monsters followed them, so we were able to catch our breath. The problem was that the monsters chasing those two went all the way into the sandy area.”
It had been a good plan, but as expected, nothing ever went according to plan.
That was true even in a place that wasn’t Earth.
“We couldn’t help them, either. When the monsters entered the sandy area, a sandstorm appeared. It was an incredible storm. The squad members said we should wait a little longer, but the squad leader said we couldn’t wait anymore and brought us back.”
By the time he finished speaking, David’s expression had hardened.
After a brief silence, he opened his mouth.
There was no emotion in it, but his voice felt extremely harsh.
“First… I suppose we need to hear from the person involved as well.”
Seeing that, Magreta whispered in my ear.
“He’s angry. Really angry.”
I didn’t know where he had been, but Team Leader Park came running as soon as David called him.
In front of him, the college student repeated the story once more,
and after hearing it, Park Osu’s eyes trembled slightly before he quickly answered,
“I did not hear that.”
It was the answer I had expected.
“They may have discussed it among themselves, but I could not report something I did not hear.”
The words that followed were no different from what I expected.
My first impression of him hadn’t been wrong. He was the type of person I had often seen in the military.
A mid-level officer who slightly omitted or added to reports for his own benefit, then used his superiors as an excuse to abuse his subordinates.
He was a much worse kind of officer than an incompetent one.
The officer we had in our unit had, unfortunately, stepped on a landmine in a cave not long ago and been blown to pieces.
If it had been any other time, I would have told him in advance…
But at the time, I hadn’t been feeling well, so I hadn’t noticed the landmine in time.
Come to think of it, the rift that had built up between the advance team and the follow-up team was also sure to be partly this man’s responsibility.
In an ordinary military, this incident wouldn’t have been a major problem either.
He really might not have heard it, and returning may have been the right choice rather than waiting indefinitely.
The fact that he ignored what the squad members told him after they returned might have been a problem, but with a good enough excuse, he could probably get away with it.
If David had been the kind of soldier he thought he was, that is.
Unfortunately for him, David was a different kind of soldier.
“Since both sides’ accounts differ, we’ll have to go confirm it in person. I’ll form an investigation team, so you’ll go with them.”
“Pardon?”
At David’s order, Team Leader Park’s eyes widened.
It was clearly an order he had not expected.
David, however, was not finished speaking.
“Magreta happens to be here, so Magreta will be in charge of the investigation team. Magreta, make sure you manage Mister Park well.”
At David’s words, Magreta smiled brightly.
“Of course. Don’t worry. I’ll keep him with me.”
When she smiled, Team Leader Park shuddered.
He had no choice but to.
Because her smile was that frightening smile I had seen before.
“Hyeon, you rest. I’ll go and be back soon with the others.”
At Magreta’s words, I shook my head.
“I’d like to go with you.”
At my words, Magreta and David looked at me with puzzled eyes.
“Is it because they were comrades you hunted with?”
At her question, I shook my head.
In truth, that was the biggest reason.
But I couldn’t give them that reason.
Fortunately, I had a solid reason.
First, I asked the college student,
“That sandstorm wasn’t there from the beginning, was it?”
“Ah, no. It appeared suddenly.”
“And that sandstorm didn’t spread to other places or shrink, either?”
“Uh, that’s right. It stayed only in that sandy area. It was like…”
“As if it had been created artificially.”
“Yes. That’s right. It really seemed like it had been deliberately made to block access.”
After hearing his answer, I spoke to David and Magreta.
“It is an abnormal phenomenon that cannot be explained by science. If it cannot be explained by science, there is only one answer.
Magic.”
In my ears, Soph’s words echoed.
[This is the magic of a companion I parted from long ago.]