3. Immeasurable
3. Immeasurable
With the machine's final death rattle, completely smashed to pieces, the first test came to a close.
Seeing the utterly destroyed machine, Ban Yeo-hee couldn't help but tense up involuntarily.
'...There hasn't been a Returnee among them who could wreck the device to this extent.'
Some Returnees might cause slight damage, but they couldn't destroy it.
That doesn't mean they are weak.
Their power and abilities were on a level surpassing S-class hunters.
But now, a Returnee with power surpassing even theirs had appeared.
Raw strength sufficient to smash the machine.
'To achieve that without even using the Japanese sword at his waist...'
Just how strong would he become when he actually grips and swings that sword?
She couldn't help but feel like she was looking at an incomprehensible monster.
At the moment she felt all common sense crumbling and even a flicker of fear.
"Can we move on to the next one?"
"Ah, yes... let's proceed."
Snapping back to reality at Shingen's question, she trudgingly took steps for the next test.
The subsequent tests were simple.
Speed measurement based on a 100M dash.
Reflex measurement catching flying balls.
Aside from these, there were various other measurements, but Shingen set new record highs in every single one of those tests.
After completing all tests and exiting the testing ground, Shingen and Ban Yeo-hee went up to the surface via the elevator.
"Your house and car will be provided immediately. Various financial support including living expenses will also come in through the account we've set up for you."
"Things are processed quickly."
"It's the principle to handle support related to Returnees as quickly as possible."
Was it because Returnees were important resources in competition between nations?
Shingen momentarily considered asking, but then firmly held back.
Bringing up work matters now would do no good.
Right now, he just wanted to lead a peaceful daily life with the support provided.
Upon exiting the Association building, she handed Shingen the car keys and a mobile phone.
"You said you know how to drive, and the phone is separately activated, so contact will go there."
She explained basic things one by one, meticulously.
Shingen also listened intently and kept them in mind. Once all explanations were done, the two parted ways.
A sedan parked in front of the Association responds to the car key.
Beep beep.
'This car is similar to the ones they drove over there.'
Boarding the driver's seat, Shingen felt that Earth's cars weren't much different from those over there either.
Aside from the fact that criminals ruled the world, that place was also an ordinary Earth.
Thus, the sedan slowly began to move, starting to disappear from view in front of the Association.
While driving, Shingen looked outside through the window.
Even though he had seen enough to be sick of it on the way here, it didn't bore his eyes at all.
On the contrary, it was so good he wanted to keep looking.
'I'm back. I'm finally back...'
Even though this Earth was very different from the one he knew, this was still Earth.
The fact that it was his hometown where he lived did not change.
'By the way, I wonder if my family is living well?'
Thinking of his hometown, his family suddenly came to mind.
He wasn't on particularly good terms with his relatives, but their relationship wasn't bad enough to be called a grudge.
'My parents...'
Ten years have passed, I wonder if my parents are still waiting for me?
He prides himself that his life under his parents wasn't affluent, but it wasn't impoverished either.
Along with his only younger sister, our family was so very harmonious.
Would anything have changed just because he disappeared from such a harmonious family?
Perhaps they have forgotten about him by now and are living new lives.
'...I should stop by first before going home.'
Shingen wanted to see his family's faces first.
The time that flowed here was merely 10 years, but the time he experienced was several times more than that.
As he pressed the pedal, the car began to race down the road faster.
A hillside village located on the outskirts of Seoul.
Originally, this place should have been densely packed with apartments, but now it was on the level of a shantytown.
'After the Great Cataclysm, as Gates increased exponentially, this place was devastated, I heard.'
Humanity in the early days, unable to respond to the Gates, lost much, and Korea was no exception.
Opening the door and getting out of the car, acrid air and foul odors stabbed his nose.
'The environment isn't very good either.'
Could his family really still be living in a place like this?
Perhaps they had already moved somewhere else.
Various thoughts made his head complex, but for now, he followed the path up the hillside village.
Most of the people living here were those living day-to-day, earning just enough for each day.
With the homes they lived in gone and no government support now, all they could do was survive here.
Most had been fired from their jobs, so they had no proper workplace and drifted between day labor jobs, but they still lived on.
Because they couldn't die.
"......"
After climbing the hillside village filled with various stories, he arrived at the spot where the apartment he had lived in once stood.
There, too, were structures on the level of a shantytown, of course.
'...Roughly around here, I guess.'
I had figured out the approximate residence location through the Association staff.
It was unknown if they still lived there, but it was a place I had to visit regardless.
Now, I just had to go in.
However, I couldn't easily lift my feet to step forward.
'...Will they welcome back a son who's returned after 10 years?'
I was worried that I might only hear blame and resentment.
'Still, I should meet them.'
Even though it wasn't exactly Shingen's fault, it was undeniable fact that he had driven a stake into his family's heart.
Summoning courage, he moved forward and stepped inside the wooden shack.
Entering inside, a small yard appeared, and he saw a house of the typical wooden shack village form.
Thud, thud...
Stepping into the yard, he spent a moment looking around.
Creeeak.
The door of the wooden shack opened, and a woman came outside.
"A guest has come-"
The moment she looked up while putting on her shoes, as if out of habit,
Her body stiffened like stone.
Shingen's body also stiffened at the same time.
This meant they had definitely recognized each other.
"Geon... Geon-hyeok...?"
"......"
Geon-hyeok.
Hearing that name, he now remembered.
His original name was not Iwamoto Shingen, but Choi Geon-hyeok.
"Mother...."
Shingen called to his mother, and as if in answer, she hurriedly ran out barefoot and embraced him in her arms.
"Just where on earth, where on earth did you disappear to...?"
"......"
"Your father too, how much our family searched for you...!"
Mother shed tears and sobbed.
Her tears were mixed with various emotions.
Looking at that, all Shingen could do was embrace his long-unseen mother and soothe her.
After crying in his arms for quite a while, Mother looked at Shingen with reddened eyes.
"First, come inside. There's much I want to talk about, much I want to ask..."
Seeming to have finally calmed down, she took Shingen's hand and led him inside the house.
Shingen also had no choice but to be led into the house without any resistance.
"......"
As evening came, Father, who had been out working, also returned.
And so, the three of them sat facing each other in the main room, quietly silent.
Shingen felt extremely uncomfortable in that situation.
'What should I say...?'
Start with what kind of experiences he had been through?
Or should he first apologize and ask for forgiveness?
His body and mind, which had only engaged in daily life-and-death slaughter battles, were utterly useless in these sorts of matters.
"Um..."
"You came back safely."
Finally, the moment Shingen tried to say something to break the ice, Father cut him off and made the first move.
"I won't ask what happened. I won't ask first what kind of things you went through."
"......"
"Right now, I'm just grateful that you came back..."
Father noticed his son had changed a lot and had become very strong, but he didn't ask about any of that.
Ten years had passed.
It was by no means a short time; it was enough time for more wrinkles to appear on his parents' faces.
It was understandable to be curious, but he suppressed that curiosity for his son's sake.
How much must they have suffered after he disappeared.
Just as Shingen had missed his family, his family must have missed Shingen too.
"Heh heh. Now that we've met, that's what matters, why do we all look so grim?"
Father forced a smile and patted his son's shoulder.
Mother's eyes welled with tears, but she tried hard to hold them back and not cry.
"You seem to have been through a lot, but even so, you're still my son."
"...Thank you."
Ten years ago, he would have spat out informal speech, but now polite speech had stuck to his mouth.
However, he had no intention of reverting back to the old way.
This way seemed better.
For now, all he could say was thank you.
Afterwards, they spent time talking about this and that.
Of course, they didn't talk about what kind of experiences Shingen had been through, but even excluding that, there was plenty to talk about.
Just as the atmosphere had softened considerably, Shingen asked.
"By the way, where is A-young? I'd like to see my younger sister's face after so long, but she doesn't seem to be coming home at all."
"......"
When Shingen brought up his younger sister, his parents' expressions suddenly froze solid.
"...Why are you acting like that? Did something happen to A-young?"
"Well, you see. A-young is..."
Mother started to speak but faltered.
As she faltered for a long time, unable to continue, Father, who had been silent, spoke.
"A-young left home one day, and not long after, she became a wanted criminal. It seems she got deeply involved with a criminal organization."
"......"
A-young had become a criminal.
The news that his only younger sister had become a criminal was enough to plunge Shingen into shock.