Now You Call?

Calling me now, of all times? I'll just block you.

I stared blankly at the Distance, the long-range receiver still showing Belin's name on the screen.

Now? After all this time without a single word of contact, after locking me up in prison, she's shamelessly reaching out to me?

The reason for the call was obvious without even answering. I was the first person in the Peren Empire to clear a Red Gate, and the one who had cleared the most of them. I also held more knowledge about them than anyone else. She was almost certainly calling to ask for help.

Of course, there could be some other reason.

I wasn't Belin, so I had no way of knowing what was going through her head. But one thing was certain: no matter why she was calling, I had nothing left to say to her.

I pressed the disconnect button on the Distance. Belin's call cut off at once.

Just put me in a foul mood for nothing.

A flash of irritation was still rising when—

KWAANG!

KWAANG!

Someone was pounding on the bunker's door. Human? Monster? Either way, it made no difference.

I tossed the Distance toward the center of the bunker, grabbed the sword from the corner, and walked straight toward the entrance.

-Creeeak...

The door swung open, and I saw the monsters surrounding the entrance.

"Grrrrrrrk..."

Five monsters that had poured out of a Red Gate were clustered around my bunker. Low-intelligence brutes like ogres would never have found this place on their own.

Sure enough, a slender girl stood trembling in front of me, completely hemmed in by the ogres.

"Who the hell are you?"

"S-save me... please..."

A girl whose life had been put in danger by monsters from a Red Gate had stumbled across the bunker by chance and knocked.

"How did you know there was anyone inside?"

"I-I didn't! It just looked like a shelter, so I knocked on the off chance...!"

I glanced back into the bunker. It had been built to keep out low-intelligence monsters, so once you stepped a little farther in, the massive steel door made it painfully obvious this was a bunker. It was fine for avoiding monsters, but situations like this—where people got involved—could still happen. I made a mental note to reinforce it later.

"Give me one good reason why I should save you."

I had already made up my mind. From now on I would not help anyone without something in return. The people from the Leos Gallery who had supported me from the beginning were the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only exception.

"Food...! I have food! I'll give you everything I've got!"

"I could just pick that up after you're dead, couldn't I?"

"..."

The girl's mouth snapped shut. She stared at my face for a moment, then spoke in sudden recognition.

"Leos... you're Leos-nim, aren't you?"

My face was gaunt, and my hair had grown much longer than before, so I looked different from the old days. Still, I was famous enough that someone recognizing me was nothing surprising. What she said next, however, caught my interest.

"I... I've been a fan of yours for a long time... I even posted regularly on the Leos Gallery..."

I flinched the instant I heard that. There weren't many fixed nicknames that posted regularly on the Leos Gallery. I found myself wondering which one she was.

"Forget the food. I was already in a rotten mood, so this is perfect timing."

Leaving her behind me, I raised my sword and walked slowly forward. The monsters began to circle warily, spreading out to surround me from every side.

Ogre warriors. Five ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of them, each gripping a massive axe. The moment they saw me they lunged, swinging those axes in wild arcs. It was pointless.

Whoosh!

I slipped past the first ogre warrior's sweeping axe and drove my sword straight into its gut. The creature dropped its weapon; I snatched the axe out of the air and hurled it. The blade buried itself dead-center in the skull of the ogre behind it. I was already sprinting forward.

Slash!

Something tore, and one by one the ogres lost their heads and collapsed. Once completely severed, the bodies were nothing more than lifeless lumps of meat that could no longer be called living creatures.

Five B-rank monsters that had emerged from a Red Gate. The time it took me to kill every last one of them was barely ten seconds.

Only after the final ogre hit the ground did the girl beside me let out a breathless gasp, mouth hanging open.

"Whoa... y-you're actually that strong... I've never seen anyone take down monsters that easily before."

She said it, then quickly collected herself and offered her thanks.

"Thank you so much. You saved my life..."

"What's your ID?"

"Huh...?"

She tilted her head, clearly not following. Explaining everything out here would take too long, so I simply told her:

"Get inside first. If more monsters start piling up it'll just become a headache."

I brought the girl into the bunker. She looked around in every direction, then spoke with open surprise.

"You've got way more supplies than I expected. Did you prepare for something like this ahead of time?"

"This place was already built long ago. I just started using what had been left abandoned. I barely touched anything."

"I see... that's so like you, Leos-nim."

I tossed her a plastic water bottle from the corner.

"You said you hang around the Leos Gallery."

"Huh...? You know about the Leos Gallery?"

"Found out recently. What's your nickname?"

The girl answered without hesitation.

"Matjjangtteukkayo."

"..."

The instant I heard it I dropped into a combat stance. She flailed her hands in panic and shoved her Distance toward me.

"I-I don't mean let's fight! That's my nickname—Matjjangtteukkayo...!"

The name clashed so hard with her face that I was briefly thrown off, but I took the Distance from her and began scrolling through the posts and comments she had written, one by one.

Surprisingly, there were quite a few posts where she had been friendly with Juttak. I had skimmed the gallery a while back, but Juttak had left so many posts that I didn't remember every single one. Seeing the nickname and reading the posts one by one, though, the memories slowly came back.

I thought the nickname was weird. So that was her.

Who she was didn't really matter. What mattered was only two things: whether she had been friendly toward me even before the incident, and whether she had continued to believe in me after it happened.

I had sworn I would never save anyone without getting something in return.

But for people who had liked me and trusted me of their own free will, without me ever doing a thing for them—saving those people for free didn't bother me in the slightest.

In a way, it was basically a list of survivors. I intended to help the people who had been active in the Leos Gallery as much as my strength allowed.

The whole world had betrayed me, yet people whose names I didn't even know had believed in me and stood by me.

"B-by the way, could you maybe give me an autograph or something? Everything's been so hectic I still can't believe this is real... and I'll give you all the food in my bag! I promised, after all..."

I looked at her in silence for a moment, then handed her a piece of jerky from the corner.

"We've got plenty of food, so keep what's in your bag. Eat the jerky too. There won't be many places left to get meat from now on."

"Thank you so much..."

"Where were you headed?"

"I can't keep imposing on you, Leos-nim, so I was going to leave soon... I need to find somewhere to stay..."

"I scouted the area earlier. There are quite a few vagrants and looters around. It's dangerous, so stay here for the time being."

"I... is that really okay? I haven't done anything for you... If you'll just let me stay, I'll go out and gather food! Monsters aren't as active late at night...!"

Honestly, her reaction left me a little bewildered. Right now I was publicly branded throughout the Peren Empire as a criminal who had sexually harassed his own disciples. I had even been sentenced to direct imprisonment. How could she trust me this completely? How could she stay this calm even when it was just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the two of us alone?

The reason was simple. Similar things had already appeared in her comments.

Even the disciples I raised didn't believe me.

Something strange stirred in one corner of my chest. It wasn't just empty words written online—this girl truly seemed to believe in me.

"What's your name?"

"Herisia! But is it really okay for me to stay here? I... I'm actually pretty good at cooking! Should I try making something? Wait—there's no way a bunker has a proper kitchen... then maybe I could at least c-clean...?"

Leaving the flustered girl behind me, I looked down at the Distance.

I hesitated for a moment, then sent a reply.

I blocked her contact immediately and made a decision. No matter what path I took from now on, I would not lift a finger to help the people who had betrayed me and refused to believe in me.

Even if they died.

Unfortunately, it had been less than a week since the gates began opening in earnest. The Red Gates would only grow stronger with time. I decided to sit back and watch how they tried to stop them without my power.