By the time we finished tidying up, my total points had nearly reached ten million. About a third came from picking up leftovers near Yerim, and the rest was thanks to Sigma. If any of the monsters Sigma defeated had even a scratch from my bombs, I could claim all the points.
"Of course, I surpassed a hundred million!" Yerim said proudly. With double points applied, she earned over a million points for each SS-class monster, so reaching a hundred million wouldn't have been difficult. S-class monsters were worth around a hundred thousand points each, and hundreds of them appeared one after another.
I had no idea there were so many monsters underwater. I'm a bit worried about our own area now.
It seemed there were no significant issues above water either. Most importantly, Noah was backing us up—not only replenishing mana but also providing support, healing, and even teleportation skills. When I dove deep into the sea, the Teacher's skill range was exceeded and deactivated, but since only monsters below SS-class remained, solo combat was sufficient. It would have been easier if we could have cooperated, though.
"So, what happened?" Yerim asked.
At her question, I instinctively looked at Sigma. Just as I thought it would be difficult to explain everything in front of him, Moon Hyuna stepped in.
"I'll go check around with our Moonie here. That bait had a wide range, right? There might be monsters that haven't arrived yet."
"You'll follow me, right, Moonie?" Moon Hyuna said, wrapping her arm around Sigma's neck. He could have avoided it, but perhaps he didn't mind being dragged along. Well, when else would he get treated like that? He might even find it somewhat amusing.
"Yerim, I came here in my real body," I said.
"...What?" Yerim looked at me in surprise.
"Your rank seems higher too. Is that really your original body?" she asked.
"Yeah. I couldn't bring Grace here, but instead, my rank is—"
"Uncle!" she shouted angrily, causing me to flinch unwittingly.
"My Fear Resistance is S-class now, Yerim," I said cautiously.
"So without Grace, you brought your real body into this dangerous place and said you'd be fine!"
"But I have five lives. And it's much safer to be by your side on the battlefield than to be separated."
At my words, Yerim frowned but nodded.
"Well, that's true. Still, it's a relief that Han Yoohyun is here. He wouldn't have let you be in danger."
"Uh, yeah. That's right," I agreed.
It's probably best not to mention what happened in Akates City. Yoohyun already had a hard time; bringing it up again wouldn't help, and it might make Yerim worry unnecessarily. ...How should I explain that I only have three lives left? Maybe I should have just said I had three instead of five.
"Sigma is from another world, but when I, in my real body, acknowledged that Sigma was real, it seems to have caused some kind of system error," I explained as much as I knew, mentioning that Seong Hyunjae was also involved with the system.
"So we have two discs left to install, and Uncle has five lives remaining, right?" Yerim summarized.
"Well—"
"Three," Yoohyun suddenly interjected.
"What do you mean, three?" she asked.
"Yoohyun," I said, trying to stop him.
"Park Yerim deserves to know," Yoohyun said firmly, turning his gaze to Yerim.
"While trying to save me, my brother died once," he said.
"Uncle did?" Yerim looked shocked.
"No, honestly, it was because I let my guard down, and Yoohyun—"
"Uncle always blames himself whenever it concerns us," she said, cutting me off.
"This time, it's true!" I protested, but Yerim didn't believe me. She insisted she couldn't trust me on this and urged Yoohyun to explain.
Yoohyun briefly told her about what happened in Akates. That he had gone berserk due to Alpha's memories and was confined, and that I had come to rescue him. And that I was shot while saving him.
"I couldn't protect my brother," Yoohyun said calmly.
I glanced at Yerim nervously. Surely she wouldn't blame Yoohyun. But since both of them sometimes competed to protect me... Maybe she'd have a few stern words. Yerim stared intently at Yoohyun before letting out a deep sigh.
"Ah, seriously."
Her voice clearly showed she was upset.
"Hey, Yerim," I began cautiously.
"This time, it's really Uncle's fault," she said.
"...Huh?"
"Your brother didn't do anything wrong," she told Yoohyun.
"What do you mean he didn't? Why did you go there alone? Isn't the neighboring city Moon Hyuna's place? And if you'd contacted Noah oppa, he would've helped, right?"
"Of course," Noah nodded.
"I would have too!" Yerim pointed to herself. Yeah, I really have no excuse there.
"...I'm sorry," I said, admitting my fault.
"You should apologize to Han Yoohyun, not me," she replied.
"I'm sorry, Yoohyun," I said, turning to my brother.
"It's okay, hyung. You already apologized to me, Park Yerim," Yoohyun said.
"Hey, Han Yoohyun," Yerim said, her expression serious.
"It must have been hard," she said softly.
"..."
"It must have hurt a lot."
"...It did," he admitted.
"I kind of know how that feels. It's suffocating," she continued.
After a moment's hesitation, Yoohyun spoke.
"Me too..."
"Uncle, should I cover your ears?" she offered playfully.
"...I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die," Yoohyun confessed.
"You don't even know where it hurts, but everything hurts, and your mind feels blank. Isn't that right?" Yerim said.
Yoohyun nodded, and Yerim smiled gently.
"You did well, Han Yoohyun. Let me give you a hug."
Wow, our Yerim is hugging Yoohyun...
"What are you doing, Uncle? Aren't you going to hug your brother?" she said to me.
"Huh? Me?" I responded, a bit flustered.
"Of course! If I hug him, is that comforting? It'd be like a punishment game—for both of us."
Is it that bad? Even Noah seemed to agree, judging by his expression. The atmosphere was good just now; it was the perfect timing for the two of them to hug.
"Alright, Yoohyun. Come here," I said.
Not that I wouldn't hug him, of course. After hugging my brother and patting him on the back, I gestured to Yerim as well.
"Yerim, you come here too."
Yerim stepped forward eagerly, as if she'd been waiting. Even if this isn't the real world, she's grown a lot. In a few years, she'll actually be this tall.
"Our Yerim, you've worked hard too," I said.
"I've been doing well," she replied, smiling as she offered to show me around the city. This time, I looked over at Noah, who was standing a bit apart. When our eyes met, he averted his gaze slightly.
"Noah-ssi," I called.
"Yes?" he replied.
"Come quickly," I beckoned.
Don't think you can skip out alone. Our Noah has worked hard too. You've done a lot. Just then, Moon Hyuna and Sigma returned. Judging by the monster blood splattered on their clothes, there must have been some fighting.
"Should I give you a hug too, Hyuna-ssi?" I asked.
"Huh? Are we doing free hugs? Come on, Director Han!" Moon Hyuna opened her arms wide. She really is tall.
"You've worked hard too, Hyuna-ssi," I said.
"I'll have to keep working hard. I like having a lot I can do," she replied with a smile, saying it was nothing.
Next, I looked at Sigma. Moon Hyuna and I simultaneously smiled and opened our arms.
"Our Moonie."
"Moonie, come here," Hyuna called.
"...I don't know why you're suddenly acting like this," Sigma said, a bit bewildered.
"You've worked hard too, Sigma-ssi," I told him.
"You're cuter than any sly fox! Especially when compared to that Seong Hyunjae guy; isn't he really cute?" Moon Hyuna said enthusiastically.
Indeed, when compared to Seong Hyunjae, he did seem particularly young. We hugged the still unconvinced Sigma.
"By the way, Uncle, since you came in your original body, you're twenty-five now, right?" Yerim asked, looking at Yoohyun with an expectant expression.
"Han Yoohyun, how old are you?" she inquired.
"What about you, Park Yerim?" Yoohyun retorted.
"Me? I'm a whole year older than Uncle!" she declared proudly.
So she's twenty-six. Yerim smiled smugly.
"I'm older than Uncle, so I'm your noona, Han Yoohyun!"
"I'm twenty-six too," Yoohyun said.
"What? Why are we the same age! But my birthday is earlier than yours. I'm April 11th, you're December 25th. That's over half a year difference, so I'm your noona!"
"Call me noona, Han Yoohyun!" Yerim shouted, but Yoohyun completely ignored her. Then she turned her sights on me.
"Uncle, I'm your noona right now," she insisted.
"Yerim, I'm Yoohyun's hyung. So technically, I'm five years older than my younger brother—thirty-one—"
"What are you talking about? You're twenty-five. Right now, you're Han Yoohyun's younger brother," she countered.
"That's right, Director Han. Your math is off. You're twenty-five since your body is the same," Moon Hyuna agreed.
"Hyuna-ssi, you sided with me last time!" I protested.
"That was because it was fun, not because I was taking sides," she laughed.
"Director Han is the youngest!" she declared, laughing. Beyond her, Sigma was gazing steadily at me.
"So you were lying, C-class," he said quietly.
"No, that's—not exactly. But why am I the youngest when Noah-ssi is here too?" I asked in exasperation.
Noah looks young too. Maybe not as young as his original body in his teens, but he shouldn't be much different from me. Under the sudden gazes, Noah's eyes widened as he said,
"I'm—Myu is thirty-five years old, Yoojin-ssi."
...Goodness. He's as youthful-looking as Seong Hyunjae.
---
I was worried that if Sigma entered the city, something like what happened in Akates might occur again, but Yerim assured me it would be fine. Above all, Drosia's Mana Hall was underwater. Yerim said that if monsters appeared, it would be easier to deal with them underwater anyway, so we headed to Drosia City.
"It's warm inside the city. The spirits help maintain the temperature," she explained.
Just as she said, once we crossed the protective barrier, the air changed dramatically. The temperature and humidity were just right for comfortable living. So this is possible if there are a lot of spirits.
'Ryn can do this too when she grows up!' said Ryn, half-hidden under Yoohyun's sleeve.
"You're a fire spirit, so you can only raise the temperature, right?" I asked.
"Hyung, when Ryn grows up, she'll be able to control the heat itself. If she absorbs the heat around her, she can make it cold too!" Yoohyun explained.
Is that how it works? Well, the water and ice spirits here absorb the cold from outside to raise the internal temperature.
"A real fire spirit!"
"Show us, show us!"
"We saw you transform earlier!"
"I want to see too!"
As the water and ice spirits chattered excitedly around us, Ryn hid further into Yoohyun's clothes. Yerim waved her hand at the gathering spirits.
"Don't bother her and go away," she said.
"We're not bothering her!"
"We're just curious!"
"We want to make a contract too!"
They were noisy, saying they envied the fire spirit. It would be nice if Yerim could make a contract with a spirit and take it outside, but I wasn't sure if that was possible.
I took off my hat, scarf, gloves, and cardigan and put them into my inventory. The others also took off their outerwear. Yoohyun wouldn't feel hot, but wearing winter clothes among people dressed for spring would be odd.
The scenery of Drosia City was like a southern resort. Outside, the frozen land was gripped by a cold wave, but the city was colorful and bright. On both sides of a large river, rows of pretty houses with vivid blue roofs stood, and flowers were in full bloom.
"Monsters appear less frequently here," Yerim said.
Because they appeared more often from the sea, they tended to pay more attention to landscaping compared to other cities. If they suffered damage every night, they wouldn't feel like putting effort into decorating their homes and surroundings.
After driving along the main road for a while, we finally arrived at the Drosia Defense Agency.
"...It's a lake," I remarked.
"The waterfall is impressive," someone commented.
Could that even be called a waterfall? In the middle of the large lake, water was pouring down—from the sky. Spirits were sliding down a waterfall cascading from mid-air, and behind it stood the Defense Agency building. Unlike other places, it had many windows and was open and nature-friendly.
"A bridge!"
"A bridge!" the spirits shouted, and an ice bridge formed across the lake to the entrance of the Defense Agency. There's a normal bridge over there too. As we crossed the ice bridge, the Drosia guards and the Medsang and Lanchea guards who had arrived earlier greeted us.
We ate well, rested thoroughly, and the next morning—
"Peace!"
"Kiyang!"
Peace flew in from across the sky. Oh, my boy, I wondered how we'd find him, but he came to us on his own. How admirable! Flapping his wings and tail energetically, Peace leaped into my arms.
"Our Peace, you've got wings now! Did you enter a monster with wings? Are you hurt anywhere?" I asked.
"Kkuong! Kkyang!" he responded enthusiastically.
"Yes, yes. You did well. I'm sorry Dad couldn't come find you," I said, stroking his fur.
I couldn't say we'd found everyone in our group just yet; there was still one person left. I wasn't unaware of his whereabouts, but we hadn't actually met. Not even once so far.
'Does the Sesung Guild Leader have to stay on the system side continuously?' I wondered.
Moreover, there hadn't been any quests since yesterday. I hope he's okay. As I petted Peace, I looked around at our group.
"Let's go install the remaining discs," I suggested.
There were two left. If we finished installing them, perhaps we'd be able to get more detailed information from Newcomer or Seong Hyunjae. Just then, Yerim raised her hand with a troubled expression.
"Uncle, I think it'll be hard for me to follow you," she said.