Ah, This Is...

Park Hanseo finished drafting the rough profiles and sent Gyu-jin upstairs with them. Then, her heart half tender and half taut with nerves, she faced the two beauties sitting together so companionably in one of the interrogation rooms.

Listening quietly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she gathered that Helena had lived a hard, jagged sort of life. Yeonmin was the goddess who had taken pity on her and bestowed her Authority. She was not, however, the omnipotent sort of deity that religions liked to talk about. She seemed more like a small god who granted humanity's little wishes and found her fulfillment in that. Thanks to that impression, Hanseo could let her shoulders down a fraction.

There had been the accident of her own body turning female on a goddess's whim. Even so, this goddess seemed to fall into sympathy with the human heart without much resistance. A streak of mischief, yes—but if she could not turn her face from the dying, then she could be regarded as something close to an innocent child. Of course, what that child held in her hands might well be a nuclear bomb. Someone would have to teach her enough common sense that she would not swing it around. That if she touched the wrong thing, everyone could be in danger.

The chance of an ignorant child setting off a nuclear bomb was a matter of probability. Warning the child, and guiding her toward a decent path, was a controlled risk. That was the better of the two. The one real mercy was that Yeonmin had someone she was attached to. So long as a warm relationship with her Beloved Human held, Yeonmin was unlikely to turn a dark heart upon the humanity of this age. The cycle of her power, its intensity, its range—none of that was known. Still, hoping that not a single person would be thrown away for nothing, Hanseo meant to pour herself into keeping Yeonmin's goodwill toward humankind intact. To that end, it would help to show her the air of this world first. She rose quietly from her chair.

"Well then... since both of you seem to want a fresh start here, I ought to explain a little about the culture of this place."

"I'd be grateful. I want Helena to settle in properly and live happily with other people."

Even so, Hanseo expected it would not be that hard. It would have been a lie to say that gentle manner had not put the thought in her head. Of course, judging a person by the surface was against common sense. The Association she served taught as much, and even had a manual for it. Among those who had crossed from other worlds, there were people who smiled kindly to your face and hid a knife behind their back.

But a goddess who brought the dying back and, as Helena put it, gave them a chance—she could have spent even that on herself. If she used an ability she could call on only once a month for someone else's sake, then surely Yeonmin was, true to her name, a kindly goddess. Then again, being able to reach into a mind might not be so fearsome a gift as it sounded. That was something they would have to learn later, once another psychic-type ability user had a look at her. For now, Hanseo stood to do her job.

The misfortune of her body changing like this had happened, yes—but Returnees ran into that sort of thing often enough. There were people who simply woke up and found themselves in another world. There were people who died, were reborn somewhere else, lived hard, and then came back to reality. Among those who returned, ending up in a different shape, the way Hanseo had, was an extremely common case. So she could take it calmly. Of course, she was also taking it calmly because they had promised to put her back in a month.

"Now that you're here, I was a little worried you might be hungry. It's just about lunchtime—would you like something to eat? There's a saying that if you want to understand a country's culture, you should look at the food first."

Food first, then. She still did not know what kind of world the two of them had come from. Inferring from the words carriage and bandits, though, Hanseo did not think that world had been particularly advanced. The guns, Helena's dress shirt, the hot pants—she pictured something on the order of a Western. And Yeonmin's clothes suggested that same world with an unusual religion folded in.

"Ah, I'm glad you mentioned it. Helena is human, so she'll need to eat to live. Something delicious, please."

"Is there anything you can't eat? Anything that causes a bad reaction?"

"After my parents died, I had to eat whatever I could get. I don't really have foods I refuse. If I had, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I would have starved."

"I'd like something with a lot of different flavors, if possible. Helena has lived a very barren life."

"Very well. Let's go out and eat."

Putting the two of them side by side and listening for a while, she understood. Yeonmin, this goddess, was a complete doting fool. She might even feel something maternal toward Helena. If that was so, the work might get a little easier. If this world pleased Helena, would Yeonmin not come along after her? Hanseo had confidence on that point.

This world was not without its injustices and its ugly corners. But after the dimensional gates had opened and every kind of other race and monster had come pouring through—after that disaster, the Great Cataclysm—had those injustices not thinned out in a way you could see? Someone had once said that civilized people were ruder than primitives because saying something rude did not get your skull split. You could run a scam, you could beat a person, and the law would still protect a criminal's life, at least. There had even been con artists who walked into politics and business and took power in their hands.

After the Great Cataclysm, though, the logic of power had shifted. It no longer belonged to money and politics, but to ability users who could actually decide whether people lived or died. Those who committed crimes like graft and fraud were now in genuine danger of dying. The ones who would not grow decent, who would not repent, had been swept away in that time of calamity without anyone even needing to send an ability user after them. Ironically, a catastrophe that cut the world's population down to ten percent had set humanity's own purification in motion.

It was not that evil people had vanished afterward. But now, thanks to those ability users called Hunters, and thanks to the guardians of the law who—ordinary people though they were—worked to protect the safety and property of citizens, ordinary folk lived with their minds at ease. That was Earth as it stood. Compared to a world where you might meet a bandit on the road, this place was far better to live in. This was not some cheap national swagger. It was simply the truth. Hanseo hoped Yeonmin would read that feeling in her and find it satisfactory.

Whether she had read Hanseo's heart or not, Yeonmin only smiled in that mild, agreeable way and followed behind her with Helena. Along the way, Helena seemed ill at ease with Yeonmin's appearance, and asked Hanseo in a careful voice.

"Is it all right for Yeonmin to go out tied up like this? We know the circumstances, but to anyone else it will look like they're staring at a criminal. That isn't exactly pleasant."

"Well. It isn't common to see someone restrained this tightly walking around. But people understand. Those who crossed dimensions with powerful abilities tend to wear stronger restraints. It may even leave an impression on others. They'll think, she's strong—better not touch her."

If Yeonmin took offense it would be a disaster, so Hanseo wrapped the truth in something softer and soothed Helena with it. In truth, even to Hanseo's own eyes, the belts binding Yeonmin were rather obscene. Wrap belts around a log and you would have a net of leather. Binding her so that those breasts, each as large as a head, stood out, cinching the straps so tightly the nun's habit had no chance of lifting—anyone could see it was a design that belonged in some niche adult video. She had not, however, told a lie. If you walked around near the Association in restraints, you were not a criminal. You were otherworldly beings who had only just crossed over. A criminal would not be strolling the street; a criminal would not be leaving a cell. And the degree of restraint was also a measure of how strong that person was.

"Hehe. She says so. If I look strong, then no one will look down on Helena, right? Ah—that pretty girl walks around next to someone powerful, so we'd better not mess with her."

"...I am strong enough to protect my own body just fine, Yeonmin."

"That's right. Helena is a strong human."

Perhaps because she had been so thoroughly buttered up, Yeonmin only bantered with Helena and showed no sign of taking it badly. Thanks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to that, Hanseo left the Association building with the two of them. Whether Gyu-jin had reported well to his superiors or not, no agent stopped her. There were only workplace colleagues watching her with that playful glint, clearly itching to tease. They would not come over now, not while she was on the job—but each of them would have something to say when she clocked out. No. Never mind that. How was she going to explain this to her family?

She set the brief tangle of worry aside and walked. Just as she had said, no one looked at Yeonmin strangely. Right there on the roadside, a lizard larger than a person was strolling along in a suit. Maids with machine guns clung to a dragon made of bone and flew off somewhere. A car raced down the street, slipped into a giant dinosaur robot, and combined with it. There was no earthly reason a perfectly ordinary human beauty in restraints would stand out. Helena and Yeonmin saw all of that and stood with their mouths hanging open.

"...Yeonmin. I think we really have come to another world."

"Y-yes. It seems so."

At that faintly foolish look, Hanseo let out a small laugh and led the two of them to a nearby café.

"It may be a little confusing, but that sort of thing is ordinary in this world. Once you get used to it, it isn't much of anything. Ah—you can place your order over here."

They did, at least, seem to have the idea of placing an order and buying something. She called back the two who were heading straight for the counter, and stood them in front of the kiosk. Helena and Yeonmin looked at each other again, bright with wonder.

"Ah. This is what we call a kiosk."

A little thrill ran through her, and Park Hanseo began to preach the conveniences of the modern age.