What on Earth Does the Hero Want?
"Where is my gentleman taking me?" I teased.
The Hero scanned our surroundings with an incredibly serious expression.
"I-I'm looking for it right now, so don't rush me."
Just how delicious was this place he was looking for to make him act like this? Since I was enjoying myself, I decided to wait. But just waiting around was boring... so I clung a little closer to his side and linked my arm with his like a lover.
"Ah!"
Naturally, the Hero reacted. I mean, with a chest as large as mine, doing this didn't just press them against his arm—it practically buried it...
"Now then, Sir Knight, won't you escort me?"
Both the Hero and I had some experience with this sort of thing, as we'd occasionally had to attend formal events in the other world. Though back then, we usually just showed our faces for a brief moment before slipping away...
"Sigh..."
Letting out a breath, the Hero suddenly squared his shoulders and walked with a dignified stride. Yes, this confident demeanor was the Hero I knew.
"You never used to act like this before. What brought this on?"
Hmm... is he pointing that out? Well, he wasn't wrong. Back when I was active as the Saintess in the other world, I fully believed I would return to being a man. I thought that once I made my wish to that damn goddess and returned to Earth, I'd naturally get my male body back. And...
"We were just so busy back then."
In the other world, if the Hero's party took even a single day off, dozens or hundreds of people died somewhere. Because of that, we couldn't afford the luxury of leisurely enjoying parties or relaxing.
Understanding this, the Hero fell silent.
"Fufu, are you embarrassed?"
"No, it's just... you don't seem like the Saintess I used to know."
Well, back then, I was a bit twisted. I'd managed to recover a little thanks to my sister, which is why I was like this now.
"I went through so much back then that my personality was just terrible."
I used to react so sharply and act so abrasive for no reason... A bitter smile formed on my lips as I recalled my past self. When I spoke so candidly, the Hero looked surprised.
"Everyone had a hard time back then," the Hero agreed, a bitter smile touching his own lips.
Even though we held all the cards, and every commander, king, and prince had to follow our orders... it wasn't as if we never clashed. Our perspectives were just too different. For us, coming from modern Earth, the concept of 'necessary sacrifices' was incredibly difficult to accept. Yet, in that war-torn other world, they would readily cut off a limb if it meant securing a greater victory.
Our values clashed... and while I knew it was unavoidable, it was still deeply painful to accept at first.
"So, where is our knight taking me?" I asked again.
"We're here."
Since this was near where I lived, I knew the area fairly well, but he had brought me to a spot that made me wonder, Wait, there was a place like this here? It seemed to be slightly off my usual paths. Well, given my appearance... and the fact that I'd become famous enough for people to recognize me just by walking around, I had worn a hat today out of caution.
"Is this it?"
The place we arrived at was... a small restaurant? A Western-style diner?
"Yeah. After we made plans, I looked up what was nearby, and this place seemed nice."
We stepped inside. Perhaps because it was lunchtime, there were a few other customers, though it wasn't crowded.
"It seemed like a pretty decent place."
We took a seat by the window, and I checked the menu. The options were...
"A Western course meal?"
"They call it a light course."
Hmm... Because it was a course meal, there wasn't much to choose from besides the main dish. I simply ordered a steak, and the Hero ordered the same. In the end, the only real choices were beef or pork, and which cut you wanted...
"And a bottle of wine, please," the Hero added.
"Alcohol at this hour?"
"Wine isn't alcohol; it's a beverage."
Uh, well... I guess? There were indeed times in the other world when we had to drink wine instead of water. But since I had never been much of a drinker even back then, I couldn't really say. The reason for that was... well, those damn demons would poison the wells. When the water supply was cut off, we had to resort to alcohol.
Though in my case, if things got desperate, I just drank Holy Water...
"Well, that's true."
It seemed he had fully adapted to the culinary habits of the other world after living there for so long.
A moment later, the food began to arrive. Starting with the appetizers, a colorful variety of dishes was served, which was quite entertaining, but...
"The portions are tiny."
"That's just how course meals are."
Then came the main dish, the steak, served alongside the wine. The red wine paired beautifully with the steak.
"It's really nice to have a meal like this," the Hero said, his face looking genuinely happy.
"Is it?"
The taste wasn't bad, but considering the price and the portion size, it didn't seem worth it...
"Of course it is. I thought I'd never be able to see you like this again."
Uh, well... Finding myself speechless, I shut my mouth.
The meal itself was decent. But honestly, if you asked me if this place was worth seeking out... I wasn't so sure. It just felt like a standard, well-made Western meal. While it shared some similarities with the food we ate in the other world, it was much more heavily spiced and flavorful in comparison.
"I'll pay," the Hero offered as we prepared to settle the bill and leave.
"Oh, please. Where would you even have money?"
The Hero insisted he was fine and tried to pull cash out of his wallet.
"Forget it. Please charge it to this card."
I immediately handed over my card. What era was he living in, trying to use paper bills? The restaurant employee hesitated, looking back and forth between us, unsure of whose payment to take.
"Come on, put that away."
I used a bit of physical force to stop the Hero and thrust my card forward. The employee reluctantly took my card and processed the payment.
Once we stepped out of the restaurant, the Hero had a pout on his face.
"What's with that face?"
"I wanted to treat you..."
I let out a chuckle.
"In times like this, the one with more money pays. If you want to treat me that badly, earn more later and buy me a meal then."
Surely he doesn't have some old-fashioned mindset that the man has to pay, does he?
Afterward, we took a leisurely stroll and talked. Specifically, about what lay ahead...
"Investigating the Gates..."
"Since they seem to be connected to the other world... I feel like we, as people who returned from there, have a responsibility."
Maybe it wasn't something we absolutely had to do. Even so, I felt a sense of duty.
"Right now, because I'm an S-class, I can't move around freely... but if something happens, I'll step up anytime."
The reason I was saying this now...
"What about you?"
...was to ask the Hero where he stood.
"Responsibility..."
"I've been thinking that maybe the appearance of these Gates is because of us—or more precisely, because of me."
"What do you mean by that?"
These were thoughts I hadn't even been able to share with my sister. But because the person standing before me was Yu Jin, the Hero, I could finally voice them.
"I wonder if it's because I crossed between worlds."
I suspected that when I traveled from Earth to the other world, and then back to Earth, a sort of tunnel had formed, allowing something to interfere. That was why Gates related to the other world kept appearing near me.
Hearing this, the Hero fell into deep thought.
"It's a possibility..."
"That's why I feel responsible."
I hoped it wasn't the case, but it was possible that something had backflowed through the rift created by our dimensional travel.
"On top of that, the Gates from that side seem particularly difficult to clear."
The demons were inherently powerful. That was why humanity had been pushed to the brink, prompting the goddess to summon the Hero and me. While Earth's Hunters weren't bad, they still paled in comparison to us.
"We don't know what kind of Gates will appear in the future."
Perhaps Earth's Hunters wouldn't be able to handle them. When that time came...
"The Hero and I—no, you and I, Yu Jin—might have to step in."
The Hero seemed to agree with that point.
"I'm not forcing you, but you should at least get a Hunter license. That way, I can bring you along when we clear Gates."
Persuading other Hunters would be easy. I could just claim he was my personal bodyguard. After that, we could let his skills do the talking.
"I should do that..."
We had talked about so much, and I felt a weight lift from my chest. The thoughts I couldn't even share with my sister... I could lay them all bare to the Hero.
"What should we do now?"
I had said everything I wanted to say. But the Hero still didn't seem fully satisfied.
"Uh, how is... living on Earth again?"
Didn't I already explain that I was originally an Earthling too?
"It was hard to adjust at first... Ten years is a long time, after all."
By the way, the Hero had a look on his face that said, Ah, I shouldn't have asked.
"Well, thanks to my sister, I've adjusted well now."
Before we knew it, we had walked into a wide, empty lot. It wasn't a park, but rather a construction site that seemed to have been abandoned midway... Looking around, it seemed the halt was due to a Gate.
"U-Um, Nix?"
"Yes?"
The Hero stared at me intently. What on earth was that look? He seemed serious, yet incredibly embarrassed. I had no idea what was going through his head.
"Well, in the future, I..."
He seemed to be trying to say something, but he was hesitating so much it was frustrating.
Just then, a chill ran down my spine.
"Huh?"
The Hero seemed to have felt the same thing. We turned our heads in unison.
This was... a phenomenon I had seen enough times to recognize instantly.
"A Gate!"
"Is that...?"
It seemed the Hero had never seen a Gate forming with his own eyes.
"Ah, damn it... Another Gate?"
Of all places, right where I was standing... *Sigh.* At this rate, how could I not suspect my own involvement?
"Hero—no, Yu Jin, alert the people nearby that a Gate is forming."
"How?"
Ah, right. I forgot he had only recently returned to Earth too...
"Sigh, never mind."
I pulled out my phone and tried to call my sister first. Unfortunately, she was currently in the middle of a Gate raid, so I couldn't get through. In that case... I had to contact someone who was well-versed in these matters.
I called Jegal Cheon and informed him that a Gate was forming nearby. Naturally, he let out a heavy sigh, asking why I was telling him this, but he said he would send people over if I gave him the address.
Times like this really made me appreciate being in a guild.
Before the guild's support arrived, I first called the police to secure and cordon off the area. The police initially treated it as a prank call, but the moment they saw my Hunter license, they immediately got to work.
The Hero watched all of this in silence.
As time passed, the Gate gradually began to manifest.
"Sigh, talk about bad luck..."
"Am I allowed to step in too?"
"Who knows..."
Perhaps because we were near a busy district, everyone moved quickly, and a crowd began to gather.
A Gate... Would this one be connected to the other world too? If so, it would definitely be faster to bring the Hero along.
"Yu Jin, do you have a weapon?"
When speaking of the Hero's weapon, it had to be the Holy Sword.
"I returned the Holy Sword."
What a waste! I thought it might have come back with him, just like my powers...
"I only brought the Rosario."
What the Hero pulled out was...
"Wait, you still have that?"
How embarrassing, pulling that out right in front of the person who made it... What on earth was I thinking when I gave him that? Looking back now, I really couldn't understand myself. It was just mortifying. It didn't even have a proper blessing on it; it was consecrated, sure, but it had absolutely no special effects...
Ah, damn it... this is so embarrassing. If I were to make it now, I could make something far more useful... That was all I could think.
"Well, it's a shame about the weapon, but you can still use magic, right?"
As if in response to my question, the Hero cast a spell. A diverse array of elemental magic manifested above his palm...
"Sigh, let's see how things go and head in together."
As expected, the Hero was going to be a huge help. For now, I took my place near the Murim Alliance guild members and watched the situation unfold.