“Um, um……..”
“Me?”
“Yes!”
It was when Heis was staring intently through the crowd of fans inside the old building.
A woman standing beside him cautiously spoke up.
The only people Heis knew here were the one who brought him here and Roy somewhere in the distance.
Curious, he pointed to his own face with his index finger and asked, prompting the woman to nod vigorously.
“Who are you a fan of, oppa?”
“Oppa?”
“Yes. Oppa.”
His green eyes trembled intensely upon hearing that.
As far as he knew, the term ‘oppa’ was used by a woman to address a man older than herself.
On the Continent of As, most people called each other by name, but there were some regions where honorifics varied depending on age and gender.
“……Hwang Roy.”
Luckily, Heis was quick-witted. He instinctively sensed that asking why he was being called ‘oppa’ would only draw strange looks in this situation.
Instead, he said something appropriate for the moment.
“Oh? Me too! It’s really nice to meet you!”
Whether it was the right answer or not, the woman even extended her right hand to Heis.
As Heis awkwardly smiled and shook her hand, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the attention,
“I—”
“……Ris?”
The presence Heis longed to see as much as Roy appeared before his eyes.
A small, sky-blue turtle with wings, floating in the air.
“Is something there?”
But Ris was visible only to Heis.
The translucent turtle flapped its wings and nodded as if greeting him warmly.
“Truly…… the captain really is here.”
He had been doubtful until now.
After all, he had witnessed Roy’s heart pierced by a sword right before his eyes, and the small screen showing Hwang Roy gave off a very different vibe from the Roy he knew.
Roy, who always seemed bothered by the smallest things and wouldn’t even lift a finger if there were spirits around.
He showed fewer emotions than others, and Heis and their comrades often bet on who could make Roy laugh or get angry first.
Yet here was Roy, freely expressing a look Heis had never seen before, and in front of so many people at that.
“Ris, lead me. To where the captain is.”
Heis never believed anyone but Roy could summon the Spirit King of Fire, Mulkiber.
Roy was renowned throughout the Continent of As as ‘the first Spirit Summoner to successfully summon a Spirit King’ and ‘the unique Spirit King Summoner.’
This place was different from the Continent of As, but the fact that someone who looked like Roy and could summon a Spirit King existed here—how likely was that?
“Hey? Where are you going, you ridiculously handsome oppa!”
Despite the urgent voice from behind, Heis’s pace only quickened.
The night street adorned with dazzling neon signs was proof that this place was different from the Continent of As.
Though a fascinating spectacle unfolded before his eyes, Heis’s gaze remained fixed on Ris, unwilling to look away.
“Captain!”
When he finally spotted Roy’s figure standing far ahead, Heis’s voice trembled with emotion.
Though barely, tears welled up in his eyes. If he wasn’t mistaken, Roy also seemed to have tears at the corners of his eyes…
“Ugh…….”
“Beeeeep!” (Heis, great to see you!)
Before their emotional reunion could even begin, Heis had to catch Ber, who flew at him face-first.
Focused on Roy, Heis was too late to notice Ber rushing at him.
Ber lunged before Heis could plant his foot on the rooftop railing, and Heis’s body instantly toppled backward.
“Pfft!” (Ber, you reckless troublemaker!)
Earlier, Ris had been hiding because of the others, but now he silently appeared in midair and caught Heis before he fell.
“You really are Heis.”
Roy smiled brightly as he approached Heis.
“And the captain is real too.”
Heis, shaking Ber off his face and placing him on top of his head, spread his arms wide and embraced Roy warmly.
The two pressed their chests together, feeling each other’s presence for a long moment.
“I thought at least one of the comrades might come over.”
Heis was not the one Roy had expected.
Heis was the first comrade Roy had taken on the Continent of As.
Roy leaned back and thoroughly examined Heis’s face and body.
“Are you okay?”
According to Joel, most of Roy’s comrades had either been publicly executed by the empire or severely tortured and then imprisoned in remote places.
Heis was one of Roy’s closest aides—and also the strongest swordsman among Roy’s comrades.
So Heis’s torture must have been far beyond what Roy could imagine.
“Before coming here, I was basically half a corpse, but strangely, all my wounds vanished. No scars left either.”
Heis even spun once in front of Roy, as if to prove it.
“There used to be an iron chain, as thick as my wrist, pierced through here.”
He even pulled up his shirt to reveal muscles packed with defined abs.
“If you keep taking off your shirt like that here, you’ll get dragged to the police station. For a public decency offense.”
“Police station? Public decency offense?”
“Like the Security Force. Public decency offense means you get punished if you don’t wear clothes.”
“You’re saying you get punished for not wearing clothes?”
Heis’s eyes widened in disbelief. He hated wearing clothes, so whenever it got even a little warm, he’d go shirtless.
If he did that in the Republic of Korea, not only would he be exposed mercilessly on SNS, but he could even face legal punishment.
Roy was gradually getting used to life in this world by watching various YouTube videos every day.
“You can’t even take off your clothes freely. What a weird place.”
Heis shrugged and lowered his shirt, carefully studying Roy just like Roy had done moments before.
“By the way, captain, your outfit is really strange. This place seems more civilized than the Continent of As.”
The smartphone the first man they met held was a type they’d never seen on the Continent of As.
And the fabric quality of the clothes was excellent.
Roy’s large hand stroked the surface of the hoodie he was wearing, as gently as petting a dog’s fur.
“It feels even better than silk. Thick and looks really warm.”
The hoodie was fascinating in its unfamiliarity.
Given their long-awaited reunion, they should have had time to chat leisurely.
But Roy had more pressing questions for Heis.
“Where did you get those clothes? How did you know I was here? Did you meet anyone on your way from the Continent of As to here?”
When Roy first fell to Earth, he encountered Kim Chan.
If Kim Chan had harbored even a bit of ill will toward Roy, Roy wouldn’t be a Hunter Idol now but locked up in the Association’s research lab.
Heis was currently wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and sports shorts that didn’t suit his build, and slippers with stripes on his feet. A mismatched outfit.
This proved that Heis had encountered at least several people.
Moreover, Ris found Heis right in front of the building where Bada Entertainment was located.
“Ask one thing at a time. Captain, you’ve gotten chatty since you came here.”
Unlike in the past, Heis was fascinated by how Roy kept talking nonstop, unaware of Roy’s burning anxiety.
Roy lightly tapped Heis’s arm with his fist. It didn’t hurt, but Heis screamed exaggeratedly.
“Aaah! Why are you hitting me all of a sudden!”
This place was different from the Continent of As.
There, information was spread only by word of mouth from eyewitnesses or through expensive Video Stones to record what one had seen.
But in the Republic of Korea, anyone—young or old—could record videos with just a smartphone.
“Stop beating around the bush and answer my questions quickly.”
Roy’s serious expression forced Heis to start explaining what had happened since he fell here.
“1… That’s how it happened. That person seemed to completely believe what I said? You know how good I am at talking.”
Heis was famous for his swordsmanship on the continent, but among their comrades, he was famous for his eloquence.
For some reason, when he spoke with a sly smile, his words carried double the persuasion.
“Is that all for the emotional reunion…?”
Heis, looking sulky, tapped the rooftop floor with the sole of his foot for no reason.
Roy and Heis were only one year apart in age, yet Roy had always treated Heis like a much younger brother.
Sometimes, even more immature than Alyssa.
“Don’t sulk over silly things. Here, eat this first.”
“What is it?”
“A gift for our reunion.”
Roy’s sharp hearing didn’t miss Heis’s whisper.
He took the shopping bag Aqua was holding and tossed it to Heis.
“Poruru!” (That’s really delicious!)
Aqua, who had been quiet until then, wagged her tail excitedly.
It was a shopping bag bearing the logo of a famous bakery.
During practice, Roy had heard from Ris that there were traces of the Continent of As here.
‘……It’s Heis, the contractor. The trace I found.’
But not long after, Ris informed Roy that he had actually met Heis himself.
‘What?’
‘Roy hyung, what’s wrong? Was practice too hard?’
Without realizing it, Roy suddenly jumped up from the floor and shouted.
Seeing Han Jihoo’s startled expression, Roy finally pulled himself together.
‘I’ll just take a short walk with the spirits!’
Knowing Heis had come here, Roy couldn’t just sit still. Even though he knew the members would worry, he left the practice room.
He even carried the cake he’d saved to eat after practice.
“A gift?”
Heis’s eyes sparkled at the word ‘gift,’ though if he had dog ears, they would have drooped from his earlier sulking.
Roy was generally indifferent to others. Despite having spent years as comrades, he had no memory of ever receiving a gift from Roy before.
“What is this?”
“Something you like to eat.”
Heis couldn’t resist delicious food.
Since he’d heard news about Roy and rushed here, it was clear he hadn’t tasted proper food from this world yet.
“……Crazy.”
Following Roy’s instructions, Heis scooped a bite of cake from the transparent cup with a spoon.
His face melted in a blissful haze.
“I’ve never eaten anything this delicious in my life……”
Roy had expected Heis to like it. Although Roy had enjoyed many delicacies on the Continent of As, the food here was on another level.
Even the desserts were far more sophisticated, sweet, and bursting with various flavors.
Bright red strawberries covered in fresh cream disappeared into Heis’s mouth.
A palm-sized cake vanished in just a few blinks.
“Roy hyung, didn’t you say you were going out for a walk? Hm? Who’s that person?”
While the two shared their touching reunion over strawberry cream cake, a familiar voice came from behind, making Roy turn his head sharply.
“Piii……” (You sneaked up way too secretly.)
Ris whined pitifully as if making an excuse.
The other spirits were already gathered around containers holding more cake, devouring it in a trance.
Solum’s and Ber’s fur was covered in white fresh cream.