Chapter 186

Chapter 186
## Chapter 186

Earthlings of Another World (3)

“To begin, allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Isea. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

They were now alone within the confines of the medical room.

She offered this greeting while maintaining her customary detached demeanor.

“Ah, I go by Hesper…”

“Hold on a moment. Would it be possible for you to utilize your actual name rather than that pseudonym?”

“My true name… you mean?”

“It feels somewhat absurd to insist on such protocols in a completely different realm, but… given that this is my initial encounter with a fellow countryman, I wish for us to introduce ourselves properly. You can view it merely as a formal courtesy.”

Hesperon gave a nod of assent, recognizing the intent behind her direct approach.

“As I suspected, you are the individual from Earth whom Riley mentioned. The truth is, a suspicion crossed my mind the moment I caught wind of your name.”

“Ah, so you are from Korea as well?”

“Yes! My name is Ha Seung-hoon. I was a resident of Seoul before arriving in this realm just under two months back. Ahaha!”

To clarify, this chosen moniker was far from a random fabrication.

It represented a legitimately manufactured identity forged through the networks of Heterosis, an entity that had risen to prominence within the criminal underground of Seoul—an identity so seamless it was registered within official government records.

Managing these minor administrative details was a simple task when one wielded sufficient authority and leverage.

“More than eight years have slipped by since my own arrival here. A great deal has transpired… Truly, I must extend my gratitude once more. The period following Riley’s abduction was incredibly difficult.”

“Please, think nothing of it. I am the one who benefited greatly from the arrangement. Had it not been for Riley, I might have remained confined in that location indefinitely, completely oblivious!”

With their proper introductions concluded, the conversation between the two quickly grew lively.

The initial barrier of reserve displayed by Isea dissolved entirely as the dialogue progressed.

She was, after all, someone who had been pulled into an alternate reality during her youth and had survived there for over eight years.

Even with Riley’s companionship to lean on, an undercurrent of yearning for her homeland was inevitable.

Encountering a fellow traveler from Earth—and from Korea specifically—naturally brought a surge of genuine joy.

Furthermore, her perception of him was already highly favorable due to the assistance he had rendered.

“So, you are currently twenty years of age, Hesperon?”

The dialogue naturally shifted toward their respective ages.

In truth, extracting details regarding Hesperon’s background was one of her primary objectives from the outset, but she had not anticipated the inquiry that followed.

“Correct. That reminds me, what is your age, Isea? You possess a remarkably youthful appearance, yet if Riley addresses you as ‘sister’, you must be past twenty at least… Wait. You mentioned arriving here eight years ago…”

Isea paused, caught off guard as he blinked in confusion and tilted his head.

A sudden wave of uncertainty hit her regarding how she ought to present her age.

She had entered this world at eighteen, making her twenty-six years old in chronological terms after the passage of eight years.

She was indisputably his senior.

Conversely, if she were to step back onto Earth, her status would revert to that of an eighteen-year-old on the verge of nineteen.

Should their paths cross on Earth in the future, would maintaining her status as the elder still hold weight?

“Tw…”

“Tw?”

“Twenty-six.”

After a brief furrow of her brow and a moment of internal debate, she dismissed the hesitation as trivial and spoke with certainty.

Presenting herself as an ‘eighteen-year-old in her ninth year’ was out of the question!

Age, fundamentally, was a reflection of ‘time spent living,’ and any future complications could be dealt with when the time came.

Furthermore, since she was poised to act as his instructor, she preferred to avoid unnecessary ambiguity.

“Ahaha! That is dynamic! It makes perfect sense now why you look so young—you are effectively a ninth-year high schooler!”

Deducing her age at the time of her transition from her response, Hesperon burst into a relaxed laugh.

It was an incredibly informal reaction, illustrating just how quickly the tension between them had evaporated.

“Ahem. Hesperon?”

Isea cleared her throat, casting a pointed look in his direction.

While he maintained polite honorifics out of respect for her seniority, an undercurrent of irritation rippled through her.

“Ah—my apologies. I was merely caught off guard. To be fair, when Riley described you as a charming and endearing older sister, I thought it aligned perfectly, and she was entirely correct!”

“Hesperon…?”

It appeared his level of comfort with her had surpassed her expectations.

He continued to chuckle, treating the matter as a jest even after she attempted to steer the tone twice.

“But in all honesty, you bear a closer resemblance to a middle school student than a high schooler…”

“…Be quiet!”

Within her mind, Isea firmly appended a specific trait to Hesperon’s mental file.

The individual possessed absolutely no situational awareness.

—

Deep within a shadowed recess of the Immortal Fortress,

“Fled? The newcomer… from this location? And the princess accompanied him?”

Andrew Weber, another displaced Earthling residing within Auterica, murmured in sheer disbelief.

Occupied by his routine obligations, the intelligence had reached him late, and the revelation was staggering.

“By what means?”

He could surmise the method.

It undoubtedly involved the deployment of his distinct unique skill; no alternative explanation existed.

Yet, the notion that a novice who had inhabited this realm for less than two months could orchestrate such an escape was staggering.

“…His competence surpassed my estimates.”

Due to the chaotic nature of events following the newcomer’s capture, a proper meeting had never materialized, leaving Andrew entirely unprepared for such a demonstration of capability.

Moreover, the newcomer had clearly taken precautionary measures, as his presence was no longer discernible via Andrew’s own “Trajectory Observation”.

‘Stratingly, the forces of the Immortal King show no indications of launching a pursuit.’

Was the loss negligible because the Crown Prince remained in their custody?

Perhaps the Immortal King merely viewed the entire episode as a source of mild entertainment.

“Hah—the luck of that individual is extraordinary. Initially, I felt a pang of pity for him.”

Now that the escape was a reality, the princess was no longer a mere captive.

She represented an invaluable political tie, standing as the foremost prospect for the imperial succession.

Beyond the act of preservation, the tribulations endured during their flight provided the classic foundation for romantic attachments to develop between a man and a woman.

It was a scenario he found impossible not to covet.

‘Tsk, while I remain confined alongside lunatics and the restless dead.’

Andrew clicked his tongue, dismissing the thought with a shake of his head.

In the past, resentment might have overwhelmed him.

Witnessing a peer successfully break free to engage in a romantic saga while he remained shackled to grueling tasks would have embittered him.

However, envy was no longer necessary.

The moment he had anticipated for so long had finally arrived.

『Karma Shop』

『Return (1,000,000) (Available)』

『Unique Skill Enhancement (700,000)』

『Status Enhancement – View Details』

『Karma Balance – 1,000,028』

“Heh… Hehehe—!”

The volume of dark enterprises he had assisted with as a operative for the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance was substantial.

The most prominent and devastating of these actions was his role in breaching the abyss, which permitted ‘madness’ to wash across the continent.

At the time, the immediate dividend of Karma was modest, allowing him only to elevate his unique skill to its fourth manifestation. Yet, as the compounding devastation intensified over the years, his back-end Karma rewards surged accordingly.

Coupled with the continuous residual payouts from historical plots and his recent period of intense servitude under Olivia…

‘Nine years… an exhausting duration.’

It was entirely logical that his patience was finally bearing fruit.

After a prolonged period of snickering, he surveyed his surroundings with an unburdened consciousness.

With a definitive exit strategy secured, the Immortal Fortress—which had consistently acted as a source of dread—now resembled nothing more than a macabre attraction he was visiting.

He drifted through the corridors of the stronghold, conducting a solitary valedictory tour.

He navigated from the primary residential sector, dense with crazed zealots, to the apex of the towering spire.

He left a personal token of his presence in every accessible location.

-Andrew Weber was here.

“Whew. That concludes the tour, I believe.”

A gratified smirk crossed his features as he inspected the crude, angular English letters etched into a section of the masonry.

The place was abominable, but the realization that he would never gaze upon it again comforted him.

[Andrew…? Your assigned duties have concluded, yet you linger…? You are well aware that leisure is unearned until your targets are achieved…]

Abruptly, Olivia materialized before him, shifting into view with the suddenness of an apparition.

“Gasp!”

Andrew swallowed hard.

He flinched at her manifestation, his eyes instinctively dropping toward the floor.

Though he was theoretically liberated from his terror, facing her directly still triggered an involuntary sensation of dread.

‘Hold on, this is the absolute end regardless, is it not? What measures can she possibly take against me now?!’

His original inclination was to unleash a torrent of vitriol and mockery before departing, but a sudden wave of caution warned him that acting recklessly in her immediate vicinity might result in him being dismantled before the escape sequence completed.

She had abstained from terminating him previously due to his demonstrated utility, ensuring his survival until the departure, yet…

‘…I prefer to arrive home intact.’

Even so, departing in absolute silence felt excessively cowardly.

This stood as his ultimate opportunity, a moment that would never repeat, and allowing it to pass unexploited would leave him burdened with permanent dissatisfaction.

‘Very well. A brief parting shot, followed by an immediate exit. Something calculated to leave her stunned before she can react. That should suffice.’

Inhaling deeply, he steeled his resolve.

Bracing his body for an instantaneous flight response, he raised his gaze to confront Olivia once more.

[Andrew…? Do you fail to perceive my voice…? Perhaps I should remove those redundant organs and project my consciousness directly into your mind…?]

She gazed down at him with an expression of profound disdain, her words delivered in a soft whisper.

The urge to shrink back nearly claimed him, but he clenched his teeth, resisting the pressure, and delivered a loud proclamation.

“You…!”

[…You?]

“Enduring your company was revolting, and I hope our paths never cross again! Serving under Siana was an infinitely superior experience—you cannot begin to measure up to her! Furthermore, your constant condescension is utterly infuriating!”

Though his voice faltered slightly due to the underlying adrenaline, he successfully articulated his defiance.

He had tempered the severity of the insult out of residual fear, seeking to maintain a slight buffer, but the unprecedented insubordination was sufficient to catch Olivia entirely off guard.

Moreover, invoking the name of Siana, with whom she maintained a fierce rivalry…

Crackle—!

The ambient temperature plummeted instantly to sub-zero levels, and the surrounding magical currents began to violently churn.

[Has the influence of dark sorcery completely unhinged your mind…?]

As Olivia began to speak, her countenance twisting into an ominous expression, Andrew seized the moment.

“Hahaha! I am departing! I dare you to track me down!”

Buoyed by the sheer audacity of the moment, Andrew offered a booming laugh as his final declaration.

And with that,

His form vanished entirely from the Immortal Fortress.

[Ah…?]

Olivia remained behind in the vacuum, her fury denied an object.

Regaining her composure, she immediately initiated a sweep of the perimeter, deploying phantoms to scour the architecture…

Yet, as to be expected, every trace of his existence had evaporated, his essence already transitioning across the dimensional void toward Earth.

—

Los Angeles, United States of America.

“Ha! Hahaha! Ah—the relief is incredible! It lacked a bit of flourish, but the outcome is magnificent! Hahaha!”

Materializing within the subterranean level of the dwelling from which he had originally vanished, Andrew found himself unable to suppress his euphoria, entirely consumed by the realization of his return.

The mental image of Olivia’s incandescent rage—a being who had perpetually dominated him with her suffocating presence—provoked continuous bursts of laughter.

The contemplation of her fruitless, prolonged search before ultimately conceding defeat brought immense gratification.

She possessed knowledge of his extra-dimensional origins, meaning she would eventually deduce the reality of the situation, but she would likely persist in her efforts for a time, driven by uncertainty.

“Haha… Ha… Huh?”

However, the mirth that had seemed inexhaustible died away abruptly.

A sudden, jarring sensation disrupted his celebration.

“Hmm… What is the meaning of this? Is this the behavior of a compliance mechanism?”

The binding restriction implanted by the Immortal King remained distinctly operational within his consciousness.

Perplexingly, its pressure felt significantly more pronounced than it ever had during his tenure in Auterica.

‘No, that is impossible.’

A strained smile formed on his face as he reached up to wipe away the cold perspiration beginning to bead on his forehead.

He reasoned that this must simply be the inherent nature of such lingering enchantments.

It was a disconcerting development, yet he rationalized that it carried little practical weight since the author of the command was anchored in an entirely different reality…

[Oh—so you have transitioned back to Earth, Andrew Weber?]

In that precise moment,

The exact cadence he believed he had left behind forever reverberated clearly inside his mind.

“Ah?”

His internal composure disintegrated, leaving him rooted to the spot, the unnatural smile frozen on his features.

An icy dread began to saturate his expression.

“Uh, uh? Hold on… just a moment…! This violates the parameters! This—this was not part of the arrangement…!”

[Andrew Weber.]

“Ah—.”

His protests were instantly silenced by the weight of a single declaration, bearing the absolute authority of his master.

The binding mechanism manifested with undeniable efficacy.

[Hehehe—I required an agent on the ground, and your arrival is exquisitely timed. Welcome back to Earth.]

Thus, while Andrew Weber had successfully executed his flight from that distant purgatory…

The tranquility he had envisioned across the void was nowhere to be found.