1.
“Siu, are you truly going back?”
Black hair fell neatly along the lines of her face. Beneath her dark lashes, her blue eyes trembled.
“I have to. That was the promise from the beginning.”
At my answer, Arbel bit her lip hard. The companions around us approached me.
“Take care. You worked hard all this time.”
The woman with red hair spoke with a gentle smile. Then the man with violet hair curled up the corner of his mouth and opened his.
“You went through hell looking after these hopeless bastards. Take care. And make sure you’re happy over there.”
“Is your conscience dead? You think you have the right to say that? Who was it that woke Siu up at dawn asking him to make a late-night snack because he was hungry?”
“What about you, huh? You don’t have a conscience either. You ate right alongside me, saying it was good, and now you’re talking like that? Unbelievable. And I taught him magic in return!”
“If you put it that way, I taught him swordsmanship too.”
Seeing the two of them bare their teeth and growl at each other, I let out a small laugh.
“You two really do fight until the very end.”
“Ah, I really wanted to show him a good side of us at the end. You ruined it!”
“That’s my line, you bitch.”
It was both funny and fascinating that they loved each other while fighting so often.
“Honestly… are you going to keep this up until the end?”
When the saintess spoke while lifting her iron mace, the two of them clamped their mouths shut. The sight of the saintess drenched in blood was nothing short of terrifying.
She smiled as if satisfied, then turned her gaze toward me.
“It’s a shame you’re returning to your original world. Siu, you have talent for holy magic. If you remain here with me and share in ascetic practice, one day you may be able to become a saint.”
The saintess beamed and clasped my hand tightly.
“I am someone who has experienced firsthand that God exists, after all.”
Of course, that meant my distrust was just as strong.
After all, I had been dropped into this world for no reason at all. The saintess said it was a trial and destiny bestowed by God, but it wasn’t a story that resonated with me much.
“Could you please reconsider your decision?”
“No matter what you say, my decision won’t change. More importantly, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“We killed the Demon King, but even now, I’m not certain. Was there really a reason it had to be me?”
I asked with a bitter smile. The saintess smiled warmly and said,
“How could a mere human understand the will of God? Still, it’s certain that you were of help, Siu. If not for you, we would not have been able to defeat the Demon King this quickly.”
“That… is definitely comforting.”
I was grateful that she at least said that. It meant that, at the very least, my efforts hadn’t been in vain.
“Siu. I’ll ask you one last time. Are you truly going back?”
After my farewells with my companions had ended, the hero approached me again and asked. She, who rarely showed any emotional disturbance, looked unusually anxious today.
“Yes. I have to go back.”
“…Was your life here so unpleasant? Or was there something we failed to do for you? If there was… I’m sorry….”
“No. There were difficult times, but there were more enjoyable times. It’s just that I have a place to return to. So I’m merely returning.”
Just as it was natural for flowers to wither after they bloomed. I, too, was simply trying to do what was natural.
“A place to return to… Is that your answer?”
I nodded. The hero clenched her fist tightly, as if she had made up her mind.
“I understand. I’ll look forward to the day we meet again someday.”
“I sincerely hope so too. Truly… I owe you all so damn much! Farewell!”
“Take care!”
“You have to be happy over there!”
I bowed deeply, then turned around. I moved without hesitation toward the golden portal before me, and my consciousness flickered out.
*
When I came to again, what I saw was an enormous temple and a massive statue. The temple, with warm sunlight pouring down upon it, looked exceedingly benevolent.
“Finally….”
When I had first been forcibly kidnapped to another world, I had been dragged here too. They said that once I achieved every objective, I would visit the temple again. So that had been true.
I approached the statue. When I placed my hand upon it, a being descended from the sky together with the sunlight.
Kwaaang—!
『Kang Siu.』
The forms of a lion and a bull. A human and an eagle. Its legs were straight, its feet were those of a calf, and its skin shone like bronze. Four wings wrapped around that being, and beneath them were human hands.
The moment I saw the monster that appeared with the sound of thunder, my entire body stiffened. I couldn’t do anything at all. Nothing except meet its eyes.
Even now, I still couldn’t believe that being was an angel.
『Congratulations. The will of God has been fully carried out.』
Sometimes it spoke to me in the cry of a beast, and sometimes in a human voice, but strangely enough, I understood everything it said.
『According to the contract, you have now earned the right to return. However, you cannot return to the body you had in your original world.』
‘What does that….’
My mind was thrown into confusion by those sudden words.
『That is the price for deeply involving yourself in another world.』
『But do not worry. A new vessel has been prepared for you.』
I didn’t need anything like that.
What had been the reason I wanted to return to my original world in the first place? It was to meet my family again. But another body?
Yet regardless of my will, the angel continued to say what it wanted to say.
『You will be reborn in the most suitable and outstanding body.』
『And since we bear responsibility for this matter as well, compensation shall also be granted.』
Inside its wings, starlight that seemed to contain the universe rose together with a brilliant radiance. That light grew stronger and stronger, wrapping around my body.
『I pray that only blessings lie upon the path ahead of you.』
Just like when we first met, the angel proceeded however it pleased. And as the light exploded, my consciousness too grew distant.
*
When I opened my eyes, what I saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.
My mind was blank. I blinked and dazedly looked around.
Clean wallpaper and concrete walls. A round light. A large wardrobe and desk. A wooden chair. A few books.
As my consciousness gradually grew clearer, I was able to understand the current situation.
“……I’m back.”
I was startled by the voice that slipped out of me without thinking. Because this wasn’t my voice.
“Ah.”
A memory suddenly surfaced.
The angel had definitely said it. That my original body had disappeared, so it would give me a new one. This was probably that body.
“Phew….”
Anger boiled in my chest from the injustice of it, but I took a deep breath and forced it down. After all, nothing would change just because I got angry.
For now, I had to grasp the current situation and get used to this body first.
I raised myself from the bed. And at the weight I felt on my chest, my gaze naturally dropped.
“…What the hell.”
An old, loose white short-sleeved T-shirt. But beneath it were two hills. Fairly large ones, at that.
“Wait, don’t tell me….”
I hurriedly raised both hands.
My hands were slender and white, and the nails were trimmed as well. My voice was low, but it was definitely high for a man.
Most decisive of all were the strange and bizarre sensations I felt from my chest and below.
“F-fuck…!”
I hurriedly kicked off the blanket and got up. I passed the large bed and went out into the living room. It was neat and tidy, but right now my interest wasn’t in the interior design.
I rushed into the bathroom. The moment I saw the small mirror there, I froze on the spot.
A woman with sharply cut short hair was reflected in it. Her eyes were chestnut-colored, her gaze calm, and her skin exceedingly pale.
A clean appearance without anything superfluous. She had a refined feeling, like a sword honed over a long time.
“…This is me?”
I raised my hand and touched my face. In accordance with my will, the hand in the mirror moved. Perhaps because of the shock, my hand trembled slightly.
Gulp—
Her face was certainly pretty. It was the kind of appearance that would make someone turn back at least once if they saw her on the street.
Actually, wasn’t this a dream? A demon must have been playing some trick on me.
“…There’s no way.”
I closed my eyes and opened them again, but my appearance hadn’t changed. If anything, my pale face came into view even more clearly.
‘I have no choice but to accept it….’
Nothing would change just because I denied it here. What mattered now was grasping the situation and moving forward again.
Even so, I couldn’t help feeling troubled. A sigh escaped me of its own accord, regardless of my will. I left the bathroom and entered the room where I had first woken up.
Just as I was about to throw myself back onto the bed, I saw an ID card, a bankbook, and a cellphone on the desk.
“Kang Hayul….”
My name, age, and gender had all changed. The latter half of my resident registration number also began with a “4.”
‘What year is it now?’
After checking with the cellphone, I found that about a year had passed since I’d crossed over to another world. It wasn’t that long, but it wasn’t a short amount of time either.
There was 50 million won in the bank account. Considering my current age, it was a lot of money, but when I thought about all the suffering I’d endured, it was an absurdly insufficient amount.
‘This apartment must also be part of the compensation.’
I had achieved the dream of every working adult—owning my own home—but I felt no particular emotion about it. If anything, only resentment surged up inside me.
“Phew.”
I sat on the chair and leaned back against it. I blankly stared up at the ceiling and squeezed my eyes shut.
‘So what am I supposed to do now?’
Everything before me felt uncertain.
It was good that I had returned to Earth. The problem was that everything about me had changed.
‘First, I should go to the house I used to live in.’
I stood up and went to the wardrobe. Inside were many clothes with an androgynous feel. Was this supposed to be consideration too?
“Consideration, my ass….”
If they had truly thought about me, they shouldn’t have given me this body. At the very least, how nice would it have been if my gender had been the same?
The weight I felt on my chest made me sigh automatically. Feeling an inexplicable sense of rejection, I chose clothes that clung to my body as little as possible.
“Ugh….”
It was my own body, but out of some unknown embarrassment, I turned my head away as I changed. Thanks to my heightened senses, it wasn’t that difficult.
Once I had put on all my clothes, I immediately put on shoes and stepped out into the hallway. I took the elevator and went outside, when the cellphone I had brought with me rang.
“Hm?”
[Boss]
I tilted my head at the name on the screen. Boss? There was someone who would contact me? And it was even a boss?
“Hello?”
—Miss Hayul. Where are you right now?
“Yes?”
A middle-aged voice I was hearing for the first time. At that moment, a certain memory began to surface in my mind. It was the memory that I had agreed to work part-time at a capsule room.
—You remember that you’re supposed to work from 11 a.m. on weekends, right?
“Ah, that’s….”
—Surely you didn’t forget, did you?
At my dazed response, the boss’s tone changed slightly. He seemed angry that I was late.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been out of it recently. I’ll get there as quickly as I can.”
—Yes, understood. Customers will start pouring in soon. Please hurry.
“I’m sorry.”
With those words, the boss hung up. I stared at the screen with a blank face, then hurriedly turned around.
I wanted to go home right away, but my sense of responsibility held me back. It wasn’t something that urgent, so I should go to my part-time job first.
‘Work as soon as I get back, huh.’
Actually, this worked out. My head hurt like it was going to split, but if I focused on work, my thoughts might settle down a bit.
‘But a capsule room? What kind of place is that?’
Just what had happened to the world during the year I was gone? I wasn’t pleased by the change, and yet, strangely enough, my heart was pounding.
In any case, the curtain had risen on the third act of my life. The stage had changed, and the actor had changed as well, but it was still me.