Chapter 13

“By the way, I heard Domi Oppa got a job?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Congratulations! Finally escaping unemployment. Buy me lots of songs with your salary.”

“Even if I don’t buy them, her, no, her oppa will give them to me.”

It’s tough having a virtual younger brother like Ayu.

“So, what kind of job is it?”

“Hunter-related work.”

“Right. Yoo Ah unnie, did you know? The chairman of oppa’s company is that Iron-Blooded Empress.”

At that, Ayu chimed in as if she knew the story.

Mentioning Baekseolhyang as the Iron-Blooded Empress, she sighed deeply, clearly showing her disdain.

“Of all people, that woman is the chairman. I wish I could just tell oppa to quit.”

I wonder what happened between her and Baekseolhyang to make her dislike her so much.

Watching Ayu grumble, I suddenly remembered something.

‘Baekseolhyang is someone ordinary people wouldn’t know.’

Even I, who is very interested in Returners, didn’t know about Baekseolhyang.

If she knows her so well, how would it sound to Yoo Ah, who is also a Returner?

“How do you know Baekseolhyang, Sora?”

Ayu, who had introduced herself as Shin Sora to Ggotbi, seemed to realize her mistake and stiffened.

“Ah.”

As I wondered how to explain this, Ggotbi blinked once and then widened her eyes as if she had figured something out.

“Are you a Returner, Sora?”

“Ah, haha, yes, yes.”

Yoo Ah avoided eye contact and answered like that.

“No wonder. I had a feeling when talking to Sora.”

“What kind of feeling?”

Do Returners have a sense for each other?

As someone very interested in Returners, I casually asked, and Ggotbi smiled faintly.

“It’s hard to be sure, but Returners have behaviors that don’t match their age. The years they’ve lived in that world show sometimes.”

So, they’re like old souls.

Understanding, I looked at Ayu and got a poke in the side.

Why are you hitting me?

“Ayu’s younger sister is a Returner. No wonder Ayu said she likes me because she finds it cute to change the perception of Returners.”

“Ehehe.”

Why are you laughing at that?

Is it because she’s happy her favorite idol is praising her?

“…By the way, what kind of person is Ayu to you, Sora?”

At that moment, Ggotbi slyly asked Ayu.

Knowing the situation, I understood what that question meant, but Ayu excitedly chattered.

“She’s a good person! Very kind, does pretty things, and is cute.”

While saying this, Ayu kept looking at me.

Her praising herself while poking her cheek with her finger annoyed me, so I stole the meat she was about to eat and got hit.

“Uh, really?”

Maybe it was because her younger sister was so enthusiastically praising her.

Ggotbi seemed momentarily flustered.

I don’t know what she’s trying to do, but seeing Ggotbi fiddling with her phone, I realized something.

Since I’ve already cooperated with Ayu, I’m now an accomplice with this girl.

I got up, using the excuse of going to the restroom.

Then I texted Ayu to come out.

“What kind of conversation are you two having alone?”

As Ayu came out, smiling brightly, I sighed lightly.

She must be really excited to meet her favorite idol.

“Ayu, Yoo Ah is Ggotbi.”

“Uh-huh, right?”

Ayu seemed to come to her senses a bit, her tension slightly dropping.

“If you plan to never see Ggotbi again, it doesn’t matter.”

Ggotbi and Ayu are close friends in the game.

There’s no need to bring online matters into reality, but this isn’t a relationship to deceive.

“You can’t just treat Ggotbi as Yoo Ah.”

Today, Ggotbi came to meet Ayu, not just me.

Not as Ayu’s younger sister.

And it’s the same for Ayu.

She came here to meet Ggotbi, not the idol Yoo Ah.

“Let’s stop here. I’ll apologize with you.”

“…Yeah, I got too excited.”

Ayu nodded, agreeing with my words.

She made a mistake in the heat of the moment, but she’s a good kid who usually admits her faults.

That’s why I’ve had a good relationship with Ayu until now.

“Alright, let’s go in.”

As I smiled and patted Ayu’s head, she smiled back at me.

Creak-

As I opened the door and entered, Ggotbi, who was looking at her phone, raised her head.

She made eye contact with me, then put her phone away and spoke.

“Welcome back.”

“Yeah, I met Sora and came together.”

Ayu awkwardly smiled and sat down with me.

“Um, Yoo Ah unnie.”

And as I advised, Ayu was about to tell the truth.

“Sora.”

At that moment, Ggotbi spoke first.

Seeing her, Ayu widened her eyes, and Ggotbi looked at her as if she had made a decision.

“Can I ask you for one favor?”

“Huh? Uh-huh.”

Ayu was momentarily flustered by the sudden request, and Ggotbi slightly lowered her eyes.

Seeing that, I immediately realized what Ggotbi was about to say.

‘Ah, we’re screwed.’

“I like Ayu. Can you, as her younger sister, help me?”

As expected, silence fell at Ggotbi’s words.

Ayu looked stunned, and I just averted my gaze.

Does Ggotbi know?

Who she just confessed to?

Probably not.

If she knew, she would have put on sunglasses or a mask and run out immediately.

“Uh, well.”

Ayu, also caught off guard, rolled her eyes around.

Then she looked at me and seemed to realize something.

This kid must have figured out I knew from the start.

“…Is it okay?”

Seeing Ayu’s flustered expression, Ggotbi asked, and Ayu didn’t know what to do.

What timing.

Confessing right when Ayu was about to reveal her identity.

With this much misalignment, it must be fate.

As I pondered this, Ayu started tapping my leg under the table.

Do something!

Her intention was clear, so I sighed.

“Just tell her.”

We’ve come this far.

It’s better to tell the truth and end it than let the situation get more tangled.

There’s a saying that it’s better to be the first to get hit for a reason.

“Unnie, no.”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Just as Ayu was about to speak, Ggotbi’s phone suddenly rang.

Startled by the untimely siren sound, Ggotbi stood up.

“A Dimensional Gate is about to open nearby. Sorry, I have to go. Domi Oppa, let me know how much I owe!”

Blackstar Yoo Ah also works as a Hunter.

That’s why, even though it’s not an evacuation point, her phone alerts her to more distant points.

‘Idol work and Hunter work.’

She’s busy.

Even with ten bodies, it wouldn’t be enough for how hard she’s working.

‘The Dimensional Gate phenomenon is a problem, but.’

The fact that my phone didn’t ring means it’s not that dangerous.

The surrounding Hunters can handle it.

But Ggotbi’s face lit up as soon as she heard the alarm.

‘Clearly.’

Even when setting up the meeting with Ayu and me, she kept working.

I didn’t know what kind of work it was before, but now that I know she’s Blackstar Yoo Ah, I understand.

‘She’s famous for being diligent and sincere.’

Blackstar Yoo Ah, who is she?

A goddess in the idol world who handles murderous schedules daily without ever losing her smile to fans.

The problem is that while doing idol work, if a Dimensional Gate phenomenon occurs, she’s the first to rush to the scene, a goddess of the battlefield.

That’s why she’s called the nation’s younger sister in Korea.

Fans worry if she even sleeps properly, and whenever her broadcast is on, comments like ‘Unnie, rest!’ flood endlessly. She’s considered the hardest-working person in the world by the entire nation.

That’s why she’s loved and supported by everyone.

But from my perspective as a friend through the game, this seems quite unstable.

‘It’s more than just being tired.’

Even Returners are human.

Physical limits clearly exist, and fatigue will accumulate.

“Ayu, what do you think?”

“Blackstar Yoo Ah is a goddess.”

“Not that. As Ggotbi.”

“She works too much. It looks pretty, but. I always worry as a fan.”

Seeing Ayu say she sends red ginseng as a gift daily, I nodded.

Even ordinary fans see that Ggotbi is handling an abnormally large amount of work.

Clearly, Ggotbi must be rolling in money.

With idol work and Hunter work, money isn’t the issue.

‘Is there another reason?’

I can’t tell what she’s working so hard for.

But as her friend, it seems self-sacrificial.

“Ayu, you’re done eating, right?”

As I got up, Ayu also seemed to realize what I was planning and stood up.

Ggotbi had already gone outside and started the car.

“If our guild member Ggotbi is struggling.”

“We should be the first to run and help.”

As I spoke, Ayu smiled and answered.

Our guild is really close-knit.

Plus, we need to clear up Ggotbi’s misunderstanding about Ayu’s gender today.

“Then let’s go help our guild member.”

Our chase after Ggotbi began.

Blackstar member Yoo Ah.

Originally an idol trainee, she was caught in a Dimensional Movement and ended up in a fantasy world, Elisis.

A world where demons and humans were at war.

In the human world, a hero emerged, fighting desperately to defeat the Demon King.

But that was just a hopeful story.

The demons were being forced into war by the warmongering Demon King.

Humans were in a war where only the nobles profited from producing war supplies.

Thus, war was a place where only lamentations could be heard.

There, she wandered aimlessly.

For the first few days, she tried to return to Earth, but it wasn’t easy.

So, to survive, she became a minstrel using her beautiful voice.

As an idol trainee, Yoo Ah was perfect as a minstrel.

Her voice comforted many and became a paradise for those weary from war.

In the process, she even met the hero.

His childhood friend and girlfriend, Bianca, loved her voice, and they became very close friends.

Even a noble recommended her to the royal family as a saint.

But in the chaos of war, some were unhappy with her voice reaching the world.

Because she sang with a modern sensibility that war only made everyone sick.

Thus, a wind of opposition to the war blew among the citizens who were supposed to support the war.

To the human nobles selling war supplies at high prices, she quickly became a thorn in their side.

A thorn is bound to be removed.

And that day, she experienced the most horrific thing.

After being kidnapped and tortured, she lost her voice forever.

That day, she went half mad.

She had chosen to be a minstrel just to survive.

Why was the world so desperate to kill her? She screamed, but no voice came out.

But ironically, she met a new connection then.

Her connection was a retired soldier.

He had also lost his voice in the war, but strangely, he could speak by touching his mana-destroyed vocal cords one by one.

At first, it seemed absurd, but she desperately learned.

All she had was her voice, and without it, she couldn’t live.

And after a few years, she gained an even more beautiful voice.

The problem was that wasn’t the only thing she gained.

Realizing how to imbue her voice with mana, she could influence everything with her voice.

That was.

The birth of Elisis’s first Voice Mage.

But that was also the beginning of another tragedy.

‘Useless thoughts.’

Lost in thoughts of the past, she shook her head.

The disaster her power brought is a thing of the past.

‘I’m okay now.’

No need to awaken the past sleeping in her mind.

Now, the Dimensional Gate comes first.

She was now in front of an abandoned building where a Dimensional Gate had appeared.

It was lucky the Dimensional Gate appeared in an abandoned building.

At least no one would get hurt.

‘Just do Hunter work today.’