“Hanna. Let me see your bow for a moment.”
While everyone was still caught off guard, I registered Hanna as a sub-administrator of the spatial transfer device.
Because I used the bow bound to Hanna as the medium, no one else could take her authority from her.
When I finished registering Hanna as well, David opened his mouth.
The technicians and researchers were preoccupied with the sudden increase in the ruins’ energy absorption rate, but David was different.
“I think this is going to require a detailed explanation...”
It seemed he did not like what I had done.
That was only natural.
He was the commander of this base. Since I had acted without saying a word, he was bound to be dissatisfied.
Instead of reprimanding me there on the spot, he went up to the surface and called Margreta and me aside.
Inside the advance party’s cave, which had now become his office, he asked me,
“Now, explain. I hope you can make me understand.”
At David’s words, I told him the truth as it was.
“It is exactly as I said earlier. In preparation for this base being attacked again, I moved the spatial transfer device to the terraforming ruins.
In the worst case, we can escape from the underground ruins to the terraforming ruins through spatial transfer.
The reason I hurried was because I needed to finish it before I went to Earth.”
After hearing me, David closed his eyes and tilted his head back.
David let out a deep sigh.
Then he opened his eyes and glared at me.
“This is troubling. The act itself makes sense, it was necessary, and the result is good.”
Even as he said that, David’s expression did not brighten.
“Even so, I can’t simply accept it. To act without even a report... As the commander of this base, it is difficult for me to acknowledge this.”
It had been absolutely necessary, but I understood what he was saying.
Besides, there was no need for me to argue.
“Hyun isn’t your subordinate. I think you can take it as a report after the fact.”
This time as well, Margreta took my side.
David looked at her and said,
“It seems he didn’t tell you this time either, Margreta.”
“I’m not in a position to receive reports. Hyun isn’t my subordinate. He’s my captain.”
At Margreta’s words, David shook his head.
“If you keep shielding him like that, problems will arise.”
“So far, he’s only been helpful.”
“I hope that continues.”
David looked at me and said,
“I don’t want to say this, but I must warn you. If you continue not to report, there will be trouble. This time, I’ll let it pass because of your past contributions and because the results were good, but it won’t be like that from now on.”
With those words, David sent us out of the cave.
“Please understand. David is someone who thinks authority is the most important thing.”
At Margreta’s words, I shook my head.
“It’s all right.”
There was nothing wrong with what he had said.
He seemed more wary of me than before, but he was not my enemy yet.
The reason David had spoken so strongly was that there was nothing else he could do to me.
I erased David’s words from my mind.
“More importantly, thank you for taking my side.”
Margreta let out a small sigh.
“Make sure you keep your promise to tell me first.”
“I should be able to tell you soon.”
At my words, Margreta’s eyes curved softly.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
After that, I distributed the things I had brought.
The people were delighted when they saw the weapons and armor I had brought.
“At last we’ll be able to build up a stockpile. And no one will have to carry around iron bars that can’t hold energy anymore.”
Even though his own workload would be reduced, the blacksmith looked satisfied.
“It’s not as if they pay me more just because there’s more work. Easy is best.”
“You’re too lazy.”
Even as they bickered like that, the blacksmith and the heat ability user went into the cave and began rolling dice.
The researchers were also delighted when they saw the monster corpses I had brought.
“...Are these really monsters?”
The researchers, who had frowned when they saw the bodies I took out, became excited after checking the insides and swarmed over the corpses.
“The insides are completely different, aren’t they? How does it move like a human when its interior is like this?”
“The skeleton is similar, though.”
“There are no bones in the fingers. Did it remove them for the sake of transformation?”
With them chattering excitedly as the last of it, the inside of the box became empty.
The other things that had been inside the box had all been left behind when I stopped by the terraforming ruins.
The remaining food, monster corpses, small weapons, and other odds and ends were hidden deeper inside the ruins.
The reason I emptied the box completely was so I could take it to Earth.
Unlike when I first went to Earth, there was no one who could take the box from me now.
It was two days after I returned that Margreta and I went to Earth.
We could have left the next day, but the technicians and researchers asked for more time.
It was delayed by one more day like that, but they failed to obtain any information from the ruins.
I said goodbye to the exploration team members in front of the cave.
This time as well, we kept it a secret from the others, but I told the team members where we were going.
“I’m jealous that you’re going to Earth, but in the meantime, it’s a vacation for us too.”
When I translated Tom’s words, Sergeant Wu tilted his head.
“Even if we don’t go exploring, it looks like we’ll still go hunting with the hunting team.”
“That’s a vacation.”
This time, no translation was necessary.
At Tom’s answer, everyone nodded.
I said goodbye to everyone and spoke to Hanna last.
“You haven’t forgotten how to use spatial transfer, have you?”
“No.”
Yesterday, I had taken Hanna to the underground ruins and confirmed that she could perform spatial transfer.
“If something happens, open the gate without delay. Don’t forget that you and the exploration team come first.”
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
Entrusting it to Hanna was probably the right answer.
If Hanna’s light showed her the path to survival, then even if something happened, it would protect her and the exploration team.
And if we were lucky, the others would all be able to escape too.
[It is regrettable. If we could absorb a little more energy, we would have been able to flee to Earth.]
Soph replied to my words.
[Once I recover my memories, transporting everyone will be possible. Or if you properly learn magic.]
No matter what I said, Soph’s answer was the same.
I chose the more likely of his answers.
[Then we need to recover Soph’s memories.]
[If only you had no mouth...]
Soph clicked his tongue.
After giving Hanna my final instructions, I entered the cave with Margreta.
The remaining team members waved to us from in front of the cave.
Others were watching, but no one found it strange.
That was because we had gone back and forth to the warehouse ruins several times already.
People thought Margreta and I were going on an expedition through the warehouse ruins.
After going underground, we received the technicians’ confirmation in front of the ruins.
“What you’re taking is the black stone bags and... monster samples?”
Unlike before, this time I was carrying several bags filled with black stones.
That was because we had obtained many black stones in the base defense battle.
On top of that, I was also wearing a backpack.
Inside the backpack were things just as important as the black stones.
They were samples of the Akzar monsters.
Samples from the humanoid monster and the scout monster.
They were things the researchers had emphasized several times as important.
“There’s nothing else. Very well. If you wait a moment, we will open the portal.”
At the young researcher’s words, I glanced over my shoulder.
A spear was tied beside the backpack. It was the spear hidden by Soph’s magic.
This time as well, I intended to take the spear to Earth.
There was one more thing to take.
The box hidden deep inside the backpack.
The spatial expansion box, which could now be transferred since I had removed everything inside it.
It would be useless during spatial transfer, but I had no intention of leaving the box on this planet.
Besides, it might have some use on Earth as well.
“Preparations are complete.”
At the technicians’ words, we climbed onto the altar.
A large hologram appeared before our eyes.
Before stepping into the hologram, Margreta said,
“Everyone is going to be surprised, aren’t they? I’m sure none of them thought I would return this early.”
She stepped into the hologram.
The moment she came into contact with the hologram, Margreta vanished as if being erased.
I also picked up my luggage and walked into the hologram.
Flash!
My vision turned bright.
**
When the light disappeared, I was somewhere else.
It was the ruins beneath Mount Baekdu.
Perhaps because I had gone back and forth several times, I no longer felt nauseous.
Margreta seemed to be fine as well.
She was already talking with the others.
The Americans speaking with Margreta were in a great fluster.
“...We did not expect you to return this quickly.”
“Shouldn’t you be prepared so that it would be fine no matter when I came?”
“We apologize. We will correct it.”
The people kept apologizing.
Margreta ignored their apologies and continued speaking.
“This time, there are many black stones we brought back. There are also important samples, so you will need to be careful with transport.”
“We will do our utmost.”
At her words, the people came running to me.
I handed the bags filled with black stones over to them.
They tried to take the backpack on my back as well, but I raised a hand and stopped them.
“I will carry this myself.”
The backpack did not contain only monster samples.
Until I took out the box, I had to carry it myself.
After checking the people gathering the luggage, she asked about something else.
“The deputy director hasn’t arrived yet, has he?”
“He is scheduled to arrive in Korea in three days.”
“Should I call that fortunate...?”
Tilting her head, she approached me.
“I said I would let you meet a superior, didn’t I? Since we arrived sooner than expected, we have some time left. What will you do? Would you like to wait at the base until then?”
I had gone to the trouble of coming to Earth; I had no intention of being tied down to the base like last time.
“May I go home?”
At my words, Margreta spoke cautiously.
“The war is over, so there is no problem with going south. Even so, I can’t guarantee that it will be safe.”
She did not seem to be worried about remnants of the North Korean army.
“You probably didn’t know because you weren’t involved until now, but things on Earth’s side are quite complicated too. There are factions even within the United States, but Korea seems to be even more complicated.”
Her concern lay in a completely different direction.
The world called the realm of intelligence agents, a world I knew nothing about.
“If this were the other planet, I wouldn’t worry even a speck, but this is Earth, where there is no dark energy.”
Her concern was only natural.
However, this time, I intended to meet my family.
So I decided to ease her worries.
Using my body to block the others’ line of sight, I snapped my fingers in front of her eyes.
Crackle!
A small spark leaped from my finger.
Margreta’s eyes widened.
“Don’t tell me... Hyun, can you use it here too?”
I grinned at the startled Margreta.
“Yes. I can use it here too.”
As promised, I told Margreta one of my secrets.