Chapter 9

“Huh? Huh? Why, why is that?”

I knew we were from the same company, but this was clearly excessive flattery.

When I spoke with a hint of caution, she smiled faintly.

Her smile was so dazzling that it was hard to look at directly.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about regarding the Returner Orzia from two days ago. Sorry to stop you on your way home.”

At the mention of Orzia, my eyes widened.

Because the nun I saw the day before yesterday was Orzia herself.

How did Baekseolhyang know about this?

I had already suspected she was no ordinary person, but this made me even more wary.

“Ah, here’s my business card. It should make sense once you see it.”

I took the business card she handed me.

Upon examining it, I saw the name “World Returner Association” and “Baekseolhyang” written on it.

This… it’s real.

The emblem of the Returner Association indicated that she was indeed a member of the World Returner Association.

“Are you a Returner?”

“Yes, that’s right. The reason I called you regarding Orzia is that she wants to talk to you. We’ll provide additional compensation, so is that okay?”

“Let’s go.”

By the way, it’s not because of the extra compensation.

Personally, I was also a bit concerned about the memory of Orzia venting her frustration.

—

World Returner Association, Korea Branch.

Arriving there, I was struck by the sheer size of the building, which made me realize the power of the Returner Association.

Just ten years ago, Returners were treated almost like human weapons.

They were strong, but they were individuals, and individuals can’t defeat a group.

Returners subduing Returners.

Ironically, at that time, Returners saw other Returners as enemies.

That’s why the government found it easy to handle them.

By treating them differently once they saw each other as enemies, they became the ultimate weapons.

In fact, at one point, the strength of a nation’s defense was evaluated based on how many Returners it had.

But now, with the establishment of the World Returner Association, the situation has changed significantly.

It started with Returners voicing their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs.

To the government, they were treated as weapons, and to civilians, they were troublemakers causing Dimensional Movement.

It was only natural for Returners, who just wanted to return home, to grow resentful.

Especially since they were pointing swords at each other, it must have been unbearable for them.

Returners with the will to change this began to unite.

Ironically, because the government had used them as weapons, Returners had many points of contact, making it easier for them to gather their opinions.

And thus, the World Returner Association was established.

At first, nations criticized the Returners they had treated as weapons, accusing them of trying to overthrow the world without atoning for their past actions.

But the abilities of the Returners were beyond what they had imagined.

From those who had reached the pinnacle of their dimension to those who had already taken over parts of the world using their vast knowledge.

Returners had infiltrated their lives far more deeply than the nations could have imagined.

If they had wanted to, overthrowing the world would have been a trivial matter.

Of course, they didn’t want to overthrow the world.

Having just returned to their homeland, and some having already experienced the destruction of their dimension, they had no desire to see their homeland destroyed.

So, they reached a peaceful agreement with the nations.

Not as masters and weapons, but as a symbiotic relationship where the nations and the Association helped each other.

At first, some nations, especially China, strongly opposed this.

China had treated Returners as nothing more than weapons, suppressing and controlling them in a manner befitting the Communist Party.

But the end came when a Returner, unable to bear China’s oppression, went berserk and destroyed more than half of Beijing, forcing them to stop their opposition.

If the World Returner Association hadn’t stepped in, not just Beijing but other major cities would have been wiped out.

Since that day, the World Returner Association has been officially recognized.

Because if you can’t control them, you have to cooperate with them.

After all, the only ones who can stop Returners are a few Hunters and other Returners.

It’s still true that Returners aren’t well-regarded among civilians.

But from the perspective of the government and high-ranking officials, Returners are people who must never be turned into enemies.

And now.

I was at the Korea Branch of the World Returner Association.

As if to prove that the business card Baekseolhyang showed me wasn’t fake, no one stopped her as she walked, and thanks to that, I could freely explore the interior of the building, which only Returners or Association staff could enter.

Yeah, honestly, it’s kind of exciting.

I’ve been interested in Returners since the incident with my sister and have been studying them ever since.

So, it’s only natural that I’m interested now that I’m inside the Returner Association building.

‘I thought I had let it all go when I dropped out of university.’

Maybe I still have more lingering feelings than I thought.

As I looked around with a distant gaze, I felt someone’s eyes on me and looked up.

At that moment, Baekseolhyang, who had just made eye contact with me, smiled naturally from behind her sunglasses.

“Interested in the Association?”

“Ah, yes, it was my major.”

“If you don’t mind, I can give you a tour of the building after we’re done. I’ve taken up your free time with our business, so it’s the least I can do.”

“Really?!”

As I stepped closer in surprise, Baekseolhyang flinched and slightly raised her sunglasses.

For some reason, her ears were slightly red.

“Of course. If you don’t mind, I can treat you to dinner too.”

“No, I can’t impose that much.”

It’s not polite to take too much.

When I politely declined, she smiled regretfully and started walking.

“…Maybe I should have just brought you to the Association.”

She muttered something to herself, but I didn’t hear it as I was busy looking around the Association.

The place I ended up in was a conference room.

A long round table was placed there, and a woman was sitting at it—a woman I also recognized.

“Orzia.”

The moment I called her name, Orzia’s gaze turned towards me from behind her eyepatch.

I last remembered her crying in sorrow, but now she seemed much more at ease.

As if she had accepted what she couldn’t before.

“You’re here.”

It seemed true that she wanted to talk to me.

As I pulled out a chair and sat down, Orzia glanced at Baekseolhyang, who naturally sat next to me.

Baekseolhyang seemed a bit uncomfortable.

“Orzia is currently under suspicion of using Dimensional Beings. Moreover, since Auslepse deals a lot with mental powers, we can’t leave Ha-chan alone with her. Please understand.”

When Baekseolhyang spoke politely, Orzia nodded.

She seemed to be aware that she had caused trouble and acknowledged it.

“So, what’s the reason you wanted to talk to me?”

“…I still don’t have anyone in this world I can trust.”

Orzia looked out the window with a troubled expression.

Outside, the streets of South Korea in 2030 were visible, and she seemed unfamiliar with the sight.

“You’re the longest-recorded Dimensional Movement case.”

And I answered as if I knew the reason.

Among the contents listed in Category Fantasy #14, one was that Seya and Orzia were the oldest recorded victims of Dimensional Movement in Korea.

According to Seya, they were caught in Dimensional Movement during the 1800s, the Joseon Dynasty.

In other words, they were the oldest recorded victims of Dimensional Movement in Korea.

‘The time difference between Serlintium and Earth is too vast.’

That’s probably why they struggled so much to return.

Dimensional Movement isn’t easy to begin with, but the larger the time difference between dimensions, the harder it becomes.

That’s why, even though she followed Seya immediately, she could only return long after his death.

That’s why it must have been even harder for her to accept Seya’s death.

He might have waited for her until the very end.

“I don’t know much about this world. The civilization, the people I remember, nothing is here.”

“So, you couldn’t trust the Returner Association.”

“Yes, I know Seya’s records exist, but I wanted to talk to someone I could trust more.”

Is that me?

“The words you said to me when we first met were kind from start to finish.”

It wasn’t that grand, but I scratched my cheek.

All I did was answer her questions, but she seemed to value that greatly.

“Alright. Then let’s talk through me first. If you have any questions, I’ll answer them as best as I can.”

Having returned only to find everything she remembered gone must have been nothing but confusing for her.

This world without Seya must feel like just another world to her.

So, I started talking calmly with Orzia.

She seemed to have heard about the current era from someone in the Returner Association, but she went through the process of confirming it with me.

“Really, so much has changed.”

She seemed troubled but accepted the facts readily.

Then, Orzia let out a small sigh and placed her hands politely on the table.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think the children I brought would cause this much trouble in my homeland.”

She apologized directly to me and Baekseolhyang.

To me, the apology didn’t mean much.

The Dimensional Beings she brought only appeared in front of people to confirm their presence or caused some property damage due to their size.

There were no reported casualties caused by Dimensional Beings.

In fact, even the Hunters reported that the Dimensional Beings didn’t try to fight but only avoided combat.

From that alone, it was clear that Orzia had used Dimensional Beings to find the Returner Seya, not to harm anyone.

‘From her perspective, born in the Joseon Dynasty, it’s only natural that she would think she couldn’t find Seya without borrowing the power of Dimensional Beings.’

In the Joseon Dynasty, there were more forests and fields than places where people lived.

Originally, they were all lumped together as Dimensional Beings, but in that world, they might have been like dogs or other animals.

So, aside from scaring some people, there wasn’t much of a problem.

The only remaining issue was the property damage.

“It’s okay. That’s why the Returner Association exists.”

The Returner Association had already compensated for all damages, including psychological compensation, so there were no issues.

Some even expressed envy on certain websites about receiving psychological compensation, so Orzia wouldn’t be the subject of public criticism.

“Thank you.”

When Orzia bowed politely, Baekseolhyang simply smiled faintly, as if it were a given.

“Then, can I talk a bit about my story now?”

When I nodded, she hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Soon, Serlintium will wage a Dimensional War.”

This was another headache-inducing topic.

Baekseolhyang seemed to have expected it and remained calm, but I was wide-eyed.

Dimensional War.

It’s on a completely different scale from natural disasters caused by Dimensional Gates or small groups invading.

It means an entire dimension is attacking this dimension.

“The land of Serlintium is dying. That’s why we tried to escape from that world.”

“They want to take our land.”

“…Yes, since we’ve connected the world lines, they plan to come through them. I also want to apologize for this. I was so focused on finding Seya that I didn’t take any measures before coming here.”

Orzia hung her head as if guilty.

They just wanted to return, but they ended up triggering a Dimensional War, so she felt guilty.

But this wasn’t a problem I could solve.

Fortunately, I had an expert on the matter right next to me.

“Then, if we cut the connected world lines, that should do it.”

As evidence, Baekseolhyang, who had been calm the whole time, smiled brightly.

As she leaned slightly on the table, two soft masses of overwhelming size were placed on the table.

For a moment, my gaze was captivated, but I forced myself to look away.

It’s a serious conversation, but my male instincts took over.

Fortunately, Baekseolhyang didn’t notice and continued talking with Orzia.

“Is that possible?”

“Of course. That’s part of what the Returner Association is for.”

When Orzia asked straightforwardly, she nodded lightly.

“Even if Serlintium were to invade with a Dimensional War right now.”

And a chilling smile that made my knees weak appeared on her face.

“It’s not really a big danger.”

Not arrogance, but confidence.

She didn’t think Serlintium’s forces were any match for them.