Chapter 130: Departure for Iceland
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 130: Departure for Iceland
3
“So, Do Hwa is staying at your place?”
[Yeah, there’s nowhere else for him to go. The World Returnee Association dropped by for a bit. Well, since I’m part of the association, it’s not like he can cause any trouble.]
“What’s your decision?”
[Still on hold. He doesn’t seem to have strong feelings about it, since he left everything behind in his world. I’m just thinking things over.]
I was on the phone with Ahyu at Incheon Airport.
As of yesterday, Si-ho and Ji-eun had finished their college entrance exams, so our team was now heading to Iceland.
The reason, of course, was related to Ji-eun’s ability, which Yu U-jeong had told me about.
[More importantly, are you happy to be going on an overseas trip without me, Domi-oppa? You said you liked me, but you won’t get to see my cute and pretty face for days. Aren’t you going to miss me?]
There she went, teasing me again.
“Not at all. I’m worried I won’t get to see you.”
[Hee, huhu, hehe.]
She’s enjoying this.
[Should I send you a picture?]
“I’ll be waiting.”
As soon as I said that, Ahyu sent a photo.
She was making a kissing face, which was admittedly cute.
[You have to do it on my lips for real when you get back, okay?]
Ever since we’d kissed that one time, Ahyu had been pestering me on the phone every day. I gave an awkward laugh.
“Alright.”
[A promise is a promise! You have to keep it!]
“Yeah, yeah.”
After the call ended, I flinched at a presence behind me and turned my head.
Yu U-jeong was standing there, and I felt a wave of relief that it was only her.
“Why do you look so relieved to see me? I can get jealous, you know.”
“It’s fine. Go right ahead.”
“Aren’t you being a little too harsh on just me?”
She glared at me for a moment before her eyes shifted to my phone. “By the way, Ha-chan, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Just how many people are you stringing along?”
I fell silent for a moment at her words.
“I mean, I know you’re a capable guy, and honestly, I’ve fallen for you myself. So I get that a lot of women would be drawn to you, okay?”
She mentioned Si-ho and Ji-eun as prime examples, crossing her arms under her chest as she looked at me.
“But it seems like there are a lot more than I know of. Last time, you said you were the husband of the World Returnee Association’s chairperson, but the girl you were just on the phone with didn’t sound like the chairperson. And yet, from your conversation, it sounds like you’re dating her too, right?”
Yu U-jeong flashed a playful smile.
“Of course, I don’t care how many people you’re seeing. It’s okay if you treat me like your side piece.”
“I wouldn’t treat you like that. I have my reasons.”
“That’s what cheaters always say.”
Damn it.
“...Then let me ask you one thing. What do women like?”
I decided to just be direct.
Yu U-jeong licked her lips and her gaze dropped to my pants.
I immediately raised my hand and chopped her on the head.
Damn it, I shouldn’t have asked.
She must have Satan in her head.
“Iceland, at this time of year…”
Just as I left Yu U-jeong to nurse her head with a pained expression, I saw Baeksan muttering to himself, lost in thought.
“Domi.”
I was about to call out to Baeksan when another voice called my name, and I turned my head.
Eva-noona was there.
She was bundled up tightly in a coat, likely because we were heading to Iceland.
Even so, the look suited her quite well, which was a little amusing.
“Eva-noona, you made it. Thanks for coming.”
“Of course. If you ask, Domi, I’ll go anywhere.”
As I looked at her, I noticed something slightly different about her appearance.
“...Full makeup?”
Beside me, Yu U-jeong finally seemed to notice Eva-noona and muttered the same thing.
Ah, she was definitely wearing makeup.
Before, she never wore any, but now that her life was no longer on a timer, it seemed she wanted to start caring about her appearance.
I felt a sense of pride, feeling like I had helped in some way. Just then, Eva-noona glanced over at Yu U-jeong.
“You’re Camila Agasa.”
Yu U-jeong flinched when Eva-noona suddenly used her real name.
Seeing her reaction, Eva-noona took a business card from her bag and handed it over.
“I’m sure you’ve already heard from Domi, but I am the president of Beom. Our people have crossed paths with yours from time to time.”
“...Yes, we’ve been indebted to each other in many ways.”
Yu U-jeong looked at Eva-noona and politely accepted the business card with both hands.
She was known as the Empress of the Underworld.
Beom was originally a company formed by hunters from the underworld, so it made sense that they knew of each other.
The desire in Yu U-jeong’s eyes as she looked at me grew even stronger.
Knowing her tastes had gotten quite peculiar lately, I clicked my tongue.
Looks like she’s going to be even more of a handful.
“Manager.”
“Ha-chan-oppa!”
Just then, Si-ho and Ji-eun arrived.
They had come together using Si-ho’s spatial teleportation.
That meant everyone was here.
“Alright, shall we get going?”
I looked at Si-ho, and she nodded.
Together, we went to find an employee to begin our departure procedures.
“Iceland, you say? There are no flights at this time.”
“Ah, it’s not for a flight. We’re here to get clearance to use a spatial ability for departure.”
I handed over the permit for using spatial abilities that I had obtained in advance.
Teleporting between countries is illegal by default.
So, to make our travel legitimate, I had already gone through the proper channels.
“Teleporting to Iceland? Without any layovers?”
The employee stared at us with wide eyes.
Seeing her reaction, I glanced at Si-ho, who rummaged in her pocket and pulled something out.
It was a hunter ID for minors.
And the rank written on it was none other than S-rank.
Si-ho had recently been officially re-evaluated.
She was now South Korea’s sixth S-rank hunter.
Furthermore, she was one of only two underage S-rank hunters in the world.
That was Ha Si-ho.
The employee’s eyes shook violently as she took the ID.
It was only natural for her to be flustered by the departure of an S-rank.
I handed her my phone.
Displayed on the screen was the departure approval signed by the Hunter Association.
“Is this okay?”
“Ah, y-yes! C-Confirmed!” she exclaimed, her posture stiff and nervous as she quickly processed our departure.
As things were moving at lightning speed, she also checked our IDs.
“S-rank… R-Returnee.”
When it came to Eva-noona’s ID, the employee looked like her eyes were about to roll back in her head.
Now that she had regained her physical body from her spirit form, Eva-noona had also been registered as an S-rank returnee.
Of course, Eva-noona had also brought her departure consent form from the association, so there were no issues.
Still, I started to feel a little sorry for the employee.
The only thing was, when I handed her my F-rank hunter ID, her eyes were filled with utter confusion.
I suppose it was only natural to wonder what an F-rank was doing in this group.
“...You can teleport to these coordinates.”
In any case, we successfully received our departure clearance.
I turned to Si-ho, and she held out her hand.
“Everyone, place your hands on mine.”
As Si-ho spoke, I placed my hand on hers first.
In that instant, three other hands shot out and collided.
Ji-eun, Eva-noona, and Yu U-jeong had all tried to place their hands on top of mine at the same time.
The three of them exchanged glances.
As a strange tension began to fill the air, I simply looked at them for a moment before taking Si-ho’s other hand.
Si-ho’s eyes lit up with joy as I took her free hand, and she gave me a bright smile.
Meanwhile, the other three reluctantly stacked their hands on Si-ho’s outstretched one.
“What a shitshow.”
Just then, that bastard Baeksan placed a hand on my shoulder.
At that moment, I saw Eunhyeon standing in the distance.
Since Eva-noona was coming with us, there was no need for her to tag along, so she simply bowed her head in farewell.
My final words to her were, “We’ll be back safely,” before Si-ho initiated the spatial teleport.
In an instant, my vision changed, and I staggered from a wave of dizziness.
A flight from Korea to Iceland takes 23 hours.
To cover that distance in a single teleport was bound to have aftereffects.
“Ugh, uuegh.”
Just then, Ji-eun, the most physically frail among us, staggered, covering her mouth.
I quickly steadied her to keep her from falling. Her face was pale as she trembled.
I had experienced Si-ho’s teleportation several times, but this was the first time Ji-eun had traveled such a long distance.
“Ji-eun, are you okay?”
“Ugh, yes. I just need a minute to rest.”
While Ji-eun closed her eyes and focused on breathing evenly, I looked at the other three, who were perfectly fine.
Si-ho was the caster, of course. Eva-noona had literally crossed dimensions, and Yu U-jeong was an S-rank hunter.
“Tsk, I should’ve thought of that.”
Meanwhile, Yu U-jeong clicked her tongue as if she’d missed an opportunity.
If she pretends to be sick next time, I’ll kick her.
“Ertu frá Kóreu? (Are you from Korea?)”
Just then, a spatial immigration officer approached and asked us a question.
I had received a language translator from the World Returnee Association beforehand.
As I proceeded with the paperwork, the officer checked a few things and then offered me a piece of advice.
“There have been frequent climate anomalies in Iceland recently. We suspect it’s due to the influence of dimensional entities, so please be careful.”
Is something going on?
For now, I just said I understood, finished the procedures, and stepped outside.
Ji-eun, who had finally recovered from the long-distance teleportation sickness, was sitting there.
She had asked for permission to get some fresh air ahead of us.
When I lifted my head, a land of pure white snow stretched out before me.
Iceland. A country that once had a population of about 360,000—roughly half of Jeju Island—but now had less than 30,000 people.
Yet, its landmass was nearly the size of South Korea’s. It didn’t have enough hunters to stop the dimensional gate phenomena, and was now known as one of the lands of dimensional entities.
The extreme climate and small population meant they couldn’t produce enough hunters to fend off the threats.
‘But I guess the Tower of Revelation is here all the same.’
I was staring at the Tower of Revelation, standing tall beyond the snowy sky, when I felt a touch from behind and turned my head.
Si-ho, who had followed me out, was hugging me from behind.
“Manager, Si-ho is cold.”
Now that she mentioned it, her clothes were a bit thin.
It seemed we’d have to buy some thicker clothes before we went anywhere.
“My, my. Why would an S-rank hunter like Si-ho feel cold?” Yu U-jeong commented slyly.
I looked at Si-ho. She ignored Yu U-jeong, moved in front of me, rested her head against my chest, and guided my hands to wrap around her.
“Si-ho, are you cold?”
I decided to just quietly hold her.
She said she was cold, after all.