Chapter 2. Wow! Is This the Hero's Hometown?
Chapter 2. Wow! Is This the Hero's Hometown?
A secret passage built for the evacuation of the imperial family in emergencies.
After passing through it and venturing deeper, a vast space opened up.
"Haa... Finally, I'm going..."
The empire's most renowned mages and Kyle, the continent's greatest mage, were busily arranging the magic circle.
'Just how much mana stone was that... Did the empire always have this much money?'
As I stood there watching quietly, the Emperor approached me from the side.
"Hero, are you truly certain you won't take anything with you?"
"It's fine..."
"Even just some gold or jewels..."
Enough. Taking it would only create a hassle I couldn't deal with back home.
Where and how am I supposed to exchange a lump of gold weighing over 5 kilograms with no serial number...
Besides, I had a brilliant scheme to secure funds the moment I arrived.
I fiddled with the accessories—the earrings and rings.
"These will be more than enough for me."
I politely declined the Emperor, who repeatedly insisted on rewarding me.
He then straightened his attire and bowed his head respectfully.
"Hero... truly, truly, thank you..."
"..."
His gratitude, spoken not as an emperor but as a single human being, tugged at my heart.
My departure was a top-secret matter known only to a select few in the empire.
The Hero's sudden disappearance would cause chaos, and there would certainly be those who would try to exploit that gap.
Therefore, my return had to be known only to that select few.
Kyle looked at me and nodded with a heavy expression.
With trembling steps, I stood upon the magic circle.
Then, a gentle light emanated from the circle and mana began to flutter.
"Hoon, fare well. Stay healthy! Though I know a bastard like you will thrive anywhere!"
Luther pounded his chest heartily and gave a boisterous farewell.
"*Sniff*... Just get out of here already!"
"Hehe, don't cry just because your big brother is leaving."
"Who are you calling big brother! You're way younger than me..."
Seris, her nose and eyes red, said her goodbyes to me.
"Hoon..."
Kyle approached carefully and we embraced.
His voice was slightly choked up as he spoke.
"You were a friend like no other to me. Be well..."
"...You're a friend like no other to me, too."
I shared a deep, final moment of friendship with him.
And lastly, Laila was still looking at me with that same beaming, cheerful face.
"Hero, are you heading home?"
The question she'd always annoyingly pester me with—asking where I was going—felt precious today.
And the fact that I wouldn't hear those words anymore made me a little sad.
"Yeah, time to go home..."
I slowly met everyone's eyes.
Determined to never forget their faces.
"Take care, everyone! Thank you for everything, and I love you!"
They also waved back, offering their final farewells.
But among them, Laila's voice rang out clearly.
"Hero, see you later."
"Huh? What do you mea..."
As she spoke, the light of the magic circle began to envelop my body and soon erupted, filling the vast chamber.
When the light vanished, no one remained on the circle.
And the first things my eyes saw were the architectural styles of Earth and the Hangul written on the signs.
- D-Drop your weapon and surrender immediately...!!!
"?"
---
"Hya, another leisurely day..."
A man sitting in his chair was humming a relaxed tune, savoring his free time.
If he were slacking off at a company, he'd definitely get an earful, but his work was so flawlessly and swiftly handled that no one bothered him.
─ Crash! Bang!
"S-Senior...!"
"What is it?"
"L-Look at this!"
A woman with her hair tied back loosely rushed in, out of breath, and opened her laptop to show him the screen.
On the screen, a red graph was skyrocketing as if it would pierce the ceiling.
'If only my stocks looked like that...'
"Senior! This is no time to zone out!"
The man rubbed his eyes and stared at the screen again.
"Is this even possible?"
"That's why I'm telling you it's a huge problem!"
"Hold on. Let's send out a reconnaissance drone first."
The man calmly called somewhere, then immediately began manipulating the keyboard on his desk.
A live video feed then appeared on the screen.
"There's nothing there?"
"I'm going crazy, seriously!!!"
The woman pounded her chest in frustration and manipulated the keyboard a few times.
"There aren't even any precursor signs yet, but the readings are this high! What do you think that means?"
"Oh...!"
A chill instantly ran down the man's spine, and he shivered involuntarily.
His pupils contracted and dilated repeatedly, and his teeth began to chatter.
"R-Raise it directly to the Association President immediately, and send a summons to all major guilds in Seoul!!!"
The woman nodded, forgot to even take the laptop she had brought, and scrambled noisily out of the room.
And the man opened his desk drawer, carefully placing an envelope kept safely inside into the inner pocket of his suit.
Written in large letters on the envelope was 'Last Will and Testament'.
After all, every office worker carried a last will in their heart.
---
"Is everyone assembled now?"
"Yes, all major guilds in Seoul have gathered. Fortunately, they were all within the city."
To be precise, not every member of every guild was assembled.
In this unprecedented situation, rabble would only spread the damage, so only the elite of each guild were carefully selected and summoned.
"But what about the Hanul Guild..."
"They say it will take them at least 2 hours to get here."
"Yes..."
The man was disappointed but didn't make a big issue of it.
Ordinarily, he would have been furious at their tardy response to a national emergency summons, but their charitable deeds were nationally famous.
'It's not that they aren't coming, just that they're late... Weren't they providing education to poor but talented children?'
Still, it was disappointing all the same.
In a situation where even one more hand was desperately needed, of all times they had to go to Jeju Island for volunteer work...!
─ Beep beep beep beep!!
As a tremendous alarm blared, all nearby attention focused on this spot.
"Huh... This is insane."
An error appeared on the screen interface.
The graph remained the same, but the numbers were climbing incessantly.
─ Crackle crackle!
The empty air distorted and sparks began to fly.
"We must protect the lives of the citizens. Everyone, do not panic and just follow the procedure...!"
Even the Association President, known as a seasoned veteran, swallowed hard as he directed everyone.
And so, a gate of a color never seen before opened, and a heavy mana blanketed the area.
'Ugh... I thought I was gonna be sick...!'
A massive gate opened.
No catastrophic flood of monsters poured out.
A single man merely walked out from within.
But no one relaxed their guard.
Because that single man was likely more dangerous than countless waves of monsters.
"Wow, how long has it been since I've seen Hangul?"
Moreover, it possessed intelligence and an established language system.
Meaning it was different from the monsters that just mindlessly charged and attacked.
"Now! Attack while it hasn't grasped the situation yet!"
Countless flames, lightning bolts, and ice flashed across the sky and flew at the monster.
─ Kwa-kwa-kwa-BOOM!!!
As the Association President gave the order to cease fire, everyone stopped and stared at the place where thick dust was rising.
'Please, God...!'
"It's dangerous to just throw things at a person out of the blue like that."
The monster stirred the dust and revealed itself again, as if such attacks didn't even tickle.
"Attack again! We must defend this place at all costs...!"
Even more magic than before poured down on the monster.
"Hey, I said it's dangerous?"
The monster took a stance and casually thrust its fist forward.
─ Fwooosh-BANG!!!
Extinction.
The magical bombardment, enough to effortlessly wipe out a whole city, vanished in an instant like a candle being snuffed out.
"W-What is that...!"
"W-We can't possibly win..."
The monster looked around, scanning the area.
Like a predator searching for its prey...
'Please, not me...!'
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Excuse me."
"Hyaaaah!!! S-Spare me!!!"
"Please, just listen to me..."
"Uuh... What is it saying... *sniff*..."
The monster in human form seemed to think about something, then gave a small cough.
"Ah, I was speaking in a different language all this time..."
"???"
"Hey, if you can understand me, give me a nod, will you?"
"Y-Yes... I can hear you clearly. Please, just spare my life..."
---
Having gotten so used to the language I'd spoken for 30 years, I hadn't even thought to use Korean.
"I'm not going to kill you, so don't be so scared..."
"Hyaaah...!"
I smiled brightly and spoke kindly, but getting this kind of reaction was a problem...
As the situation entered a lull, people were quietly watching in my direction.
"Ahem... Is there someone in charge here? I'd like to have a chat."
A middle-aged man, fairly advanced in years, stepped out from the crowd.
'Oh... He's the strongest person here...'
"I-I came because you said you wanted to talk. I'm the person in charge here."
If the man in charge talks with that much fear, what would the others think?
His subordinates might look down on him...
"Hmm... Things are a bit chaotic here, could we talk somewhere quiet?"
The man in charge looked around, then let out a deep sigh.
"Yes, I'll escort you to a quiet place. However..."
The man kept glancing somewhere and hemming and hawing.
More precisely, he was looking behind me...
"You use Korean; is this person also Korean, by any chance?"
"Huh? This person? What do you mean..."
"Wow! Is this really Hero's hometown?"
"Waaaaaaaaah!!!"
I jumped in alarm at the voice that absolutely should not have been heard.
And then,
"Euaaaargh!!!"
Startled by my scream, the man in charge yelped too.
Turning around, I saw a very familiar woman standing there.
"Why are you here?"
"Is it not 'common sense' for the Saintess to accompany the Hero?"