Chapter 12: Righteous Warrior

I went outside to buy medicine for Ion. Not knowing the area well, I navigated using the map on my phone.

The city center was bustling with construction everywhere. New buildings going up, old ones being demolished, cracked roads being repaired, and sidewalks being repaved.

It felt like they were draining the socialist influence and filling it with capitalism.

After the ROK forces recaptured Pyongyang, most slogans and structures promoting the Kim dynasty and socialism were naturally demolished.

Especially blatant propaganda like the Party Founding Monument was almost entirely removed, while buildings like the Juche Tower were kept, just renamed to something like the Tower of Freedom.

Kim Il Sung Square, half-destroyed by shelling, was rebuilt and renamed Central Square. You know, the square always seen during North Korea’s military parades.

Apparently, the Pyongyang Reconstruction Government is currently using one of the surviving buildings, the Cabinet General Office Building.

Well, it still feels like a relatively normal city.

Anyway, while waiting for the crosswalk signal to change, a man across the street glared at me. Black hair, black eyes, ordinary-looking.

What is it? Doesn’t seem like he’s looking because he finds my eyes pretty.

Clear hostility and a slightly flustered expression. Then he suddenly starts waving his hands in the air.

Must be crazy. As they say, the world is wide and full of lunatics, right?

Wanting to quickly buy the medicine and porridge and head back, I walked past the man.

“One abalone porridge and one octopus kimchi porridge, that’ll be 42,000 won in total~”

Why is it so expensive…?

No matter how much the world has changed and prices have risen over time. Isn’t over 40,000 won for two bowls of porridge a bit much?

Grumbling, I headed home.

“Finally, I did it… I killed him! The Demon King!”

“Hero, we did it! We destroyed the great evil!”

“Is it over… I should go see my mother back home.”

“Everyone worked hard…”

We defeated him. The Demon King. The immense evil.

It’s been 10 years since I came to this other world. An ordinary person, I gained a unique ability and became a hero. And I led the hero party to defeat the Demon King.

There were many near-death crises. Drinking poisoned soup offered by disguised demons and having my insides melt, becoming a hedgehog bristling with arrows all over my body, having my limbs cut off, or my neck half-severed.

It’s terrifying just thinking about what would have happened without Saint Remi each time.

Besides the Saint, there was Mr. Embledon who blocked attacks with his giant shield, Erin the skilled elf archer, Marriott the wizard from the Gray Tower, and countless others who passed through our party.

All their faces flash by.

We suffered so much for the trivial reason of justice. Still, I believe it was a meaningful act.

We saved countless people and changed numerous destinies.

That night, the goddess who sent me here appeared.

-“Hero, I placed a heavy burden upon you, yet you have accomplished it splendidly. Thank you truly.”

“Yes.”

-“Is there anything you desire? I shall grant it as best I can.”

“I wish to return home. To the place where I was born and raised.”

-“Yes… Since you have achieved a great feat, it would not be proper to send you back empty-handed. I shall send you home with a small gift.”

-“I will speak to the priests, so do not worry and rest comfortably.”

The next day, I bid farewell to my party members. And I stood upon a giant magic circle.

Saint Remi tearfully asked if I really had to go, weakening my resolve, but I still wanted to return to where I originally belonged.

The wonders of modern civilization were unforgettable even after 10 years.

Above all, my parents are still there.

Yes, let’s go back. Home. To my longed-for home…

The home I returned to was… a mess. Though at a glance, it didn’t look drastically different from before.

The buildings I saw every day, the streets I saw every day, the cars on the roads I saw every day.

But it was subtly distorted.

A Gate opened in the middle of the city, and the TV showed a politician with long ears giving a speech. Occasionally, one could see non-humans, and road signs displayed the unfamiliar yet familiar place name, Pyongyang.

And my parents… had passed away.

Not by monsters, but by a criminal, a villain who had gained these abilities.

It felt like the sky was falling. I had vanquished evil in another world, yet I couldn’t prevent my own parents from falling victim to evil here.

Yes, defeating the Demon King wasn’t enough. All evil must be eliminated. That is, that is… the only way to prevent more victims like me from suffering because of evil.

Thus, as a vigilante, a so-called hero, I have continuously erased evil.

The slaughter-crazed monsters emerging from Gates.

The villains who gained these abilities and run rampant.

The malicious criminals who run rampant even without these abilities.

Having worked as a hero in another world, I couldn’t rest even after coming here and continued to act as a ‘hero’.

Fortunately, my abilities, my Holy Sword, and the Status Window still worked here.

As I frantically fought against evil, I became recognized as one of the top Powered Individuals in Korea. On the ‘This Ability Gallery’ forum, they say I’m the 3rd ranked hero in Korea or something.

That day, like any other, I was darting across the country to erase evil. After subjugating monsters crossing the Chinese border, I was briefly staying in Pyongyang.

I felt an unusual Killing Karma.

A Killing Karma like that of the Demon King. And a faint, indelible, metallic scent of blood that grew stronger with time.

Others probably couldn’t sense the Killing Karma or the smell of blood.

I searched for the source of the Killing Karma. An elf with blonde hair and green eyes. Sharp features were characteristic.

“Status Window.”

I whispered quietly.

“Show me that elf.”

「Yakovlena El Fride」
Race: Elf
Gender: Female
Killing Karma: □□
.
.
.

It’s unreadable?

This was the Status Window that had even shown the Demon King’s Killing Karma. I moved my hand to search for detailed information.

「Measurement Impossible, Exceeds Measurement Limit.」

What in the world is this elf? Did she kill people on a national scale or something?

Is that evil? But among the major criminals I’ve memorized, there was no elf with such an appearance.

“More details.”

「’Yakovlena El Fride’s Killing Karma」
Direct Killing Acts – Shooting, Strangulation, Dismemberment, etc.
Approx. 7 million+
Indirect Killing Acts – Orders, Command, etc.
Approx. 150 million+

That is too evil. As much as the Demon King I fought, no, a monster worse than the Demon King.

I immediately called the Vigilante Corps headquarters and asked. If an elf with blonde hair and green eyes was on the villain list.

The answer was ‘no’.

In that case, unfortunately, immediate action is impossible.

The government established a policy not to punish crimes committed in the respective worlds, considering the characteristics of Returnees or Otherworlders.

It means that even if such a demon roams around, there’s no legal problem. Conversely, if I were to kill that elf immediately, problems would arise.

For the time being, I will watch that elf from nearby.

Until she reveals the hidden evil nature. The moment she reveals even a little bit…

I will erase her thoroughly.

At that moment, Fride…

‘Is someone talking bad about me? My ears are itching.’

“Ion, I’m back.”

“General… nim… Euugh…”

Ion, sprawled on the floor, looked like an invertebrate.

“Why did you drink so much… Hurry up and take your medicine.”

“Yehes…”

After taking the medicine, Ion quickly finished the porridge I bought as well.

“It tastes better because the General bought it for me…”

“Just rest. You’ll feel better after getting some sleep.”

“Yeeees… I love you…”

“Go sleep.”

“Hiiing…”

Ion crawled into the bedroom like an earthworm.

Having nothing else to do, I sat on the sofa and turned on the TV.

Even while I was gone, and after I arrived here, the frantically spinning world didn’t stop.

The Gate I cleared yesterday was also on the news.

-“The Gate that appeared near Pyongyang was handled by the dispatched Vigilantes and Defense Forces…”

-“Dimensional Studies authorities state that the average danger level of monsters emerging from recently opened Gates is increasing…”

-“The National Assembly has approved the so-called ‘Vigilante Privatization’… Meanwhile, some raise concerns about vigilantes becoming corporate property…”

Oh, should I quit the Vigilante Corps too? Seems like working independently would earn more money than being in the corps.

-“Asia Dimensional New Materials has succeeded in commercializing the technology to extract mana from mana sacs just one year after its development.

Officials state that mana extraction and refinement technology will bring about the 5th Industrial Revolution…”

Should I buy stocks in that company?

Maybe because I didn’t sleep properly last night from drawing, drowsiness washed over me. Right, since Ion is sleeping anyway, I should sleep too.

Ion’s bed was quite spacious, so I slipped in beside her and sought sleep.

Well, Ion was the one who flirted first and suggested living together, so it should be fine, right?

I fell asleep thinking such things.

“Augh…”

Waking up after taking the hangover cure definitely felt better.

Maybe even more so because the General bought the medicine herself…♡

More importantly, my body feels a bit constricted. Turning my head sideways.

General…?

The General, wearing loose clothing, was sleeping while hugging me.

“Et… Eut…”

Words fail me.

The General is lying next to me. I can feel the General’s breath… It’s warm…

Right. Let’s just stay like this a little longer.

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but there was no way I could sleep in this situation. In the end, I watched the General’s face up close with my eyes wide open.

For hours, unable to move my body.

“What are you staring at so intently, it’s embarrassing…”

“Kyaak! …Are you awake?”

“Yes, something small and cute is perfect for hugging.”

“Hugging!! Kyaaa… Isn’t it too soon…!”

“Hmph, don’t get any strange ideas. Shall we go get dinner?”

Right, since I slept, or rather, since I was watching the General’s face, it’s already time for dinner.

“Is there anything you want to eat? Eating out is fine, ordering delivery is okay too. Ah, I’ll pay.”

“No!!! I want to pay!!”

“If you insist.”

“Omnyomnyom Delicious.”

“Right?”

The place Ion brought me to was a restaurant specializing in German cuisine. She brought me here saying it tasted like home.

This place is truly top-notch.

Bread that melts in your mouth, savory sausages bursting with umami, and tender pork ribs where the bones just fall out.

It’s art.

On the way back after a satisfying meal, I feel a gaze from somewhere.

My senses, honed by life-and-death struggles on the battlefield, send a warning.

Someone, someone is following us.

Shall I check what kind of gutsy fellow it is?

“Ion, this way for a moment.”

“Yes?”

Ion and I turned into a deserted alleyway.