Chapter 2: Homecoming

“This is Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul.”

“Approximately 5 hours have passed since the dimensional anomaly phenomenon, commonly known as a Gate, appeared.”

“This dimensional anomaly, which formed 50 meters above the Statue of King Sejong, is the first in about 3 months since the last occurrence.”

“Dimensional scholars assessed that ‘this Gate is highly likely to contain intelligent beings rather than non-sentient monsters.'”

“However, they did not rule out the possibility entirely, stating, ‘The possibility of monsters cannot be completely excluded.'”

“Meanwhile, the government, emphasizing that citizen safety is paramount, has sealed off the Gwanghwamun Square area.”

“The Dimensional Anomaly Response Unit has been dispatched and is controlling the scene.”

“This has been JBC reporter Oh Daegi.”

A Gate, officially termed a Dimensional Anomaly Phenomenon, appeared 50 meters above the Statue of King Sejong in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul.

The Gwanghwamun Square area was closed off, and a dedicated unit was controlling the scene.

And the citizens… were surprisingly calm.

It had been 10 years since the first Gate opened.

And the things that emerged from the Gates… were not the merciless ‘monsters’ that devoured people, as depicted in various fictional works.

Most were small, cute creatures or inanimate objects.

Those that posed no threat to humans were mostly revealed to the public under the name ‘Dimensional Exhibition’.

Some were ‘Returnees,’ individuals who had disappeared from this world and suddenly returned, or claimed to have returned.

And a very small fraction were dangerous ‘monsters’ that attacked people.

Fortunately, monsters were also living beings.

Most monsters were neutralized by the gunfire of dispatched police officers.

Those that weren’t were eliminated by the suppression efforts of the Dimensional Anomaly Response Special Unit, aka ChaTeuk.

Of course, there were monsters that couldn’t be stopped that way.

Monsters with skin impenetrable by bullets and immense strength.

But don’t forget what kind of nation this is.

A nation preparing for war for decades.

An early monster known as the ‘Steel Snail’ appeared during the initial Gate period.

It crawled slowly, possessing skin as hard as steel and powerful tentacles.

The Steel Snail was immediately met by a tank shell from the dispatched 1st Armored Brigade, and its form was literally erased.

Property damage was significant, but due to the Steel Snail’s slow speed, there were few casualties.

-Bzzt! Crackle!

“Just as I’m speaking, the dimensional fluctuations have intensified!”

The reporter speaks rapidly.

“Evacuate everyone! Tell them all to fall back!”

A person who appears to be the ChaTeuk commander shouts.

And what emerged from the Gate was…

“A person?”

To be precise, it was an Elf.

A flying Elf.

As the World Tree finished its last words, my consciousness faded.

It felt like falling into a distant world.

And soon, I could see again.

Familiar buildings, roads, and the scent of modern civilization.

Yes, I had returned.

‘But why do the buildings seem a bit low?’

Aha.

“It means I’m high up AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

The roaring sound of wind struck my ears.

The ground was getting closer.

‘Of course, I trust the World Tree.’

‘Would the omniscient, omnipotent World Tree just let me crash onto the ground?’

‘Surely not.’

‘Right?’

-CRASH!

“Aghhh…”

I kissed the concrete floor, feeling the full force of gravitational acceleration with my entire body.

It was fortunate my body was sturdy; otherwise, I might have become minced meat the moment I arrived in my homeland.

[Kuh… Hhhp…]

‘It sounds like the World Tree is laughing at me, but it must be my imagination.’

[Pfft… Puhahat… I apologize, child. But it was just too funny, what could I do?]

‘I was right.’

‘My faith in the World Tree is rapidly vanishing.’

[However, child, the me planted in this world is too young. I am sorry for hurting you.]

Putting aside the conversation with the unreliable World Tree, I looked around.

Heavily armed soldiers surrounded the area warily.

And…

‘A barrier?’

A rather crude, flimsy barrier encircled me.

‘Barriers like this didn’t exist in the world I lived in.’

‘Did the World Tree make a mistake and send me to a different world?’

“Welcome to this world. Are you capable of communication?”

A man who looked like the commander of the troops shouted at me through a loudspeaker.

“If you can communicate, please raise both hands and step forward!”

I nodded.

Unsure if words would work, I responded with a gesture instead.

Of course, I wasn’t naively obeying them.

Listening to potential enemies without a clear assessment of the situation is a fatal mistake.

But I had no choice.

Elves draw mana from the World Tree to use magic.

Ever since those shorties (Dwarves) burned the World Tree, I haven’t been able to use magic either.

“Come this way, please. Are you a Returnee?”

“If a Returnee means someone who originated here and has come back. Then yes.”

“I see. Please accompany us for detailed identity verification and confirmation.”

Under the escort—or rather, surveillance—of the wary soldiers, I was loaded into an armored vehicle-like transport and taken somewhere.

The vehicle’s structure was strange.

The driver’s seat was obscured from view.

I sat in a separated section, and behind me were four heavily armed soldiers.

“So, where are we going now?”

Amidst the silence, a voice came from the passenger seat.

“Communication with intelligent beings emerging from dimensional anomalies is forbidden in principle. That is, until your identity and nature are confirmed.”

“Hah… Treated like a criminal, huh. Well, I’m used to it, but receiving this treatment even in my homeland doesn’t feel good.”

As my displeasure became evident, I could see the soldiers in the vehicle tensing up.

Earlier, curious about how sturdy the wall blocking the driver’s seat was, I tapped it a few times, and they flinched…

It was quite amusing.

“It’s the principle, so we ask for your understanding.”

“If you insist.”

With that, silence filled the vehicle again.

‘Well, I understand their position. They don’t know what kind of trouble a Returnee might cause, or rather, they don’t know if I’m a confirmed Returnee or something else entirely.’

The way Elves look at Beastkin is ‘disgust’.

The way they look at Dwarves is ‘hatred’.

And the way they look at humans… is ‘contempt’.

Of course, I am trying hard not to feel contempt for my own people here.

Although I did entertain myself by tapping various things and observing their pathetic reactions along the way, anyway, I’m trying.

I killed time flipping through TV channels.

I could feel that I had indeed returned to modern civilization, whether it was my original world or not.

“A spokesperson for the Dimensional Management Bureau stated that it is certain a humanoid intelligent being emerged from this Gate,

and details regarding Returnee status and further results will be released after the investigation concludes.”

“Meanwhile, the Korean Elf Association greeted the potential new kin, stating there’s a high possibility that the being from this dimensional anomaly is one of our Elven brethren…”

“Stirring a man’s heart, Nongshim~ Shin Ramyun~”

“Police have booked five YouTubers for illegally broadcasting the Gate scene and are conducting investigations without detention…”

‘Dimensional Transit Resident Settlement Support Center’.

That’s the building I’m currently in.

Probably some government agency to help Returnees settle.

The first thing I did upon arrival was fill out a simple questionnaire.

The contents were nothing special.

Whether I was a Returnee, my original identity in this world (name, age, address, family relations), and my name, age, occupation, etc., in the other world.

Other than that, it asked about diseases or criminal records.

My body was healthy.

When I checked the box for criminal records, the person who seemed to be the official flinched.

When I looked him in the eye and gave a small smile, he subtly avoided my gaze, which was quite cute.

I turned my eyes back to the TV.

Modern civilization is truly great.

In the world I was in, the best they had was radio.

Even that hadn’t been invented and commercialized for very long.

When I was just born, the societal civilization was roughly equivalent to Earth’s Middle Ages to Early Modern period.

The steam engine was invented around the time I became an adult, and the Industrial Revolution occurred during my military service.

I went from fighting on horseback to heading to the battlefield on steam trains, and after reaching a high rank, I traveled in diesel vehicles.

You could call me living history.

‘More importantly, the Korean Elf Association? Does that mean there are that many Elves here?’

And something I saw while flipping channels – a disgusting Beastkin appeared on TV.

The moment I saw it, I almost threw the remote, but I barely managed to hold back, relying on the modern human sensibilities buried in my past.

It wasn’t that I suppressed my hatred for Beastkin.

How could I give up watching TV after so long?

As a substitute, I grabbed a nearby plastic bottle and threw it hard.

With a sudden bang, a man holding a pistol entered and shouted.

“What happened!”

“Ah… It’s nothing.”

“Why did you throw the plastic bottle?”

“Because a filthy Beastkin appeared on TV.”

The man looked at me with incomprehension, repeatedly warned me not to cause a disturbance, and left.

It’s a small room, but with a bed, sofa, TV, refrigerator, air conditioner, etc., it has everything necessary.

While not luxurious, it’s not uncomfortable for a temporary stay.

But how long are they going to keep me waiting?

It’s getting boring.

-Knock knock.

“Ms. Yakovlena El Fride? Please come out.”

I followed the man who had come earlier to a room labeled ‘Investigation Room 1’.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Yakovlena El Fride. I am Park Jeonghun, the Dimensional Transit Resident officer in charge of the investigation.”

“Fride.”

“Pardon?”

“Call me Fride, comfortably. I prefer it that way too.”

“Yes… Then, we will now begin investigating the reason for Ms. Fride’s dimensional transit and your activities in the previous dimension. It’s a light investigation, so please bear with us.”

The investigation room had walls that looked like they couldn’t be pierced even by bullets, soundproofing magic, and barriers cast on it.

And…

“Ah, and I should mention beforehand, we are using a lie detector, so we would appreciate it if you answered truthfully.”

“That’s not just a lie detector, is it? This… is detection magic. Quite advanced, too.”

“You checked on the questionnaire that you can use magic, so you noticed right away, as expected.”

‘This guy is treating me too much like a criminal. It’s sorrowful, even having come back to my homeland. Unfair too…’

‘Well, of course, having been tried and found guilty, technically I am a criminal.’

“Then, let’s begin in earnest.”