Destruction in 100 Years?
Following the Elf Captain's light footsteps, we arrived at the guest chamber where I'd met the Elf Queen last time.
The room was filled with a faint, soothing scent of wood.
There stood the middle-aged man I'd seen before, pacing anxiously.
The interpreter who'd translated the elves' words into human language.
The moment he spotted my silver hair, he rushed over without a care for decorum and grabbed both my hands.
"Oh, it's been so long! Uh... Kang Tae-ho-nim!"
His hands trembled in mine.
His eyes mixed desperation, fear, and a sliver of hope.
"Can I really go home now? My family... is my wife safe?"
The weight of the time he'd endured here, playing interpreter in this alien land, pressed down heavily.
I hadn't just been slacking off back in Korea.
I'd passed his personal details to the government to check on his family's status.
"Yes. They're fine."
My curt reply stopped his breath.
"Your wife's doing well, and your daughter's grown up healthy. She burst into tears when I showed her your photo."
His eyes reddened instantly at the news of his family's survival.
He hastily wiped them with the frayed sleeve of his worn suit.
Then he bowed so deeply his back nearly snapped, nodding repeatedly.
"Thank you... truly, thank you...!"
"Enough. You've gotta go see your daughter looking healthy."
He wiped his tears with a resolute expression and returned to his spot to prepare for interpreting.
I watched his retreating back.
Was that the weight of being the head of a Korean household?
It was a sensation I couldn't yet grasp, but it left a strange heaviness in my chest.
With a single glance, I silenced the foreign hunters milling about noisily and the bureaucrats murmuring to themselves.
Moments later, accompanied by a ripple of mana, the Elf Queen entered under guard.
"When I first beheld you, I could not discern if you were human or spirit."
She stared piercingly into my red eyes before parting her lips.
"Seeing you act with such haste confirms you are indeed human."
Her tone seemed apologetic for the misunderstanding, but I couldn't tell if it was praise or an insult.
'I don't wanna get species-certified like this.'
As the Queen composed herself to get to the point, I raised a hand, cutting her off without a shred of courtesy.
"Hold up. Before that, lemme ask something."
The Queen twitched an eyebrow at my rudeness but nodded after hearing the interpreter, granting permission.
"You asked for cooperation to avert the destruction of both worlds from those unknown monsters, right?"
"Indeed."
"But today, this place looks way too peaceful. Hell, you've got the luxury to wait a year for us. So this 'world-ending crisis' isn't exactly urgent, is it?"
I poured out the unease I'd felt since the forest entrance.
The interpreter sweated bullets refining my rough words before relaying them to the Queen.
Her eyes deepened at my question.
"I see."
She answered calmly.
"The world's destruction you fear is not imminent."
"Wait, hold on. How 'imminent' are we talking?"
The Queen pondered my words at length before replying.
"Assuming no measures are taken, we estimate between 50 and 100 years."
"Ha."
Laughter and hollow chuckles erupted from the Earth hunters and bureaucrats gathered here.
I scratched the back of my head and swallowed a scoff of my own.
'These pointy-eared bastards...'
To humans, 100 years was more than a generation.
I'd come ready for war, only to find the disaster had a century-long shelf life.
"Then you don't need to rush into negotiations with us, do you? With 100 years left."
The Queen widened her eyes in genuine puzzlement at my cynical question.
"You are strange."
Her voice echoed quietly through the entire guest chamber.
"If a passage connects to another world within my realm and communication is possible, is it not natural to forge relations through dialogue rather than force? A true sovereign must preempt even the slightest harm to their people."
There wasn't a hint of deceit in her gaze.
"Knowing of future peril through oracle, only to idle with 50 years remaining—that would be the truly bizarre course. Exchanging information and preparing for doom. Why question such obviousness?"
The Elf Queen's response was a pure, elementary-school-morality-textbook brand of justice, utterly absent from Earth's political arena.
Everyone in the chamber fell silent.
To her, humans tallying national interests must have seemed the grotesque ones.
"Whew... Anyway, good to know blades aren't flying today."
I rubbed my throbbing forehead. This wasn't a spot for a fighter like me.
"I'm here as the symbolic rep for this alliance, so I'll stamp the deal. Handle the nitty-gritty info and details with these folks."
That kicked off the tedious, drawn-out haggling.
The Elf Queen and Earth's government bureaucrats' talks dragged on endlessly.
Earth's systems, mana utilization data, and the elves' intel on the Human Empire, dwarves, and beastkin alliances.
One clear fact emerged from their discussion.
Those grotesque tentacle monsters spilling from dimensions.
They contaminated soil and devoured continents, a definite threat—but suppressible with the alliance's current forces.
The reason they'd formed the alliance and reached out to Earth was simple.
No infighting when facing a common foe.
And to compare notes on dimensional collapse causes and solutions with Earth, who'd endured similar gates.
The exchange of world-understanding info stretched on tensely.
I was dozing off, slumped against the sofa, when...
"Hm. This should suffice."
The Queen's voice snapped my eyes open.
Glancing at the table, Earth's bureaucrats and elven elders were sorting thick stacks of densely scribbled documents.
The long, boring info exchange between worlds was finally over.
The bureaucrats' faces showed fatigue mingled with odd excitement.
They'd probably gleaned more tech and knowledge than they'd brought data.
I stood and approached the Queen.
"Satisfied with the info swap?"
"Quite. The process of knowing the unknown is ever a joy."
She approached with a faint smile and suddenly gripped my right hand.
"?"
Her lips moved, spilling incomprehensible elven tongue.
Zzzzt!
"Ugh."
A sharp sting flared on the back of my hand.
I tried to pull away, but her grip was no joke.
Blue mana intertwined, etching a glowing tattoo onto my skin.
The geometric vine pattern blazed brilliantly before sinking seamlessly into my flesh and vanishing.
"Thus, the alliance of two worlds is sealed. Here's to our future, Earth's representative."
"That's our line."
I rubbed the back of my hand casually in reply.
Good thing no scar.
My annoying diplomat gig was done.
"Then, as alliance commemoration, mind returning our promised people?"
The Queen nodded at my words.
"Of course. Feeding your kin has quite depleted our granaries. Humans eat astonishing amounts for their size."
She gestured, and the sealed guest chamber doors swung open.
Escorted by armed elven soldiers, people poured in.
Japan's vanguard hunters and the civilians swept up in the gate's creation.
"Kenji-kun!"
A nearby Japanese official tossed dignity aside, wailing as he charged forward.
"You're alive...!"
"Can we go home now?!"
Spotting our hunters' gear, the civilians collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably.
The disarmed vanguard hunters sighed in relief, faces haggard.
Attention!
"Save the touching reunions for Earth. We're busy."
My loud claps yanked every tear-streaked gaze to me.
"Mister, pack up quick. Time to see your daughter."
The interpreter, red-eyed in the corner watching the civilians, startled at my call and nodded vigorously.
"Let's go."
I issued the short order and turned.
Amid the Elf Queen and elders' graceful send-off, we exited the chamber.
Our steps back through the forest felt much lighter.
Leading dozens of rescued missing persons, we stood once more before the massive blue vortex.
"In we go."
I plunged into the gate without hesitation.
Vision flashed white.
Entry team return confirmed as of now!
Eyes open, the blaring announcement from Osaka control base assaulted my ears.
"Medics! Stretchers, now!"
Waiting medics rushed in, supporting civilians whose legs had given out.
Joy spread across the soldiers and staff encircling the base.
"Success!"
"Alliance forged! All missing persons returned safely!"
A roar shook the entire base.
Flashbulbs from dispatched reporters exploded blindingly.
Park Jin-cheol approached with a beaming, wrinkled grin.
Dodging the camera glare and his gaze, I squinted and muttered softly.
"Ah, finally off the clock."
The long, grueling interspecies diplomacy was over.