I can’t remember the name.

All that comes to mind is that I belonged to a famous mercenary company and swept through countless battlefields.

Because the storm of war had raged across the continent for quite a long time, orphans like myself were a dime a dozen.

Because of that, I considered it a blessing.

Every member of the mercenary company was my father, my mother, my older brother, and my older sister.

I especially loved their refreshing personalities, as they would speak their minds without hesitation, unlike nobles.

When I was invited to a kingdom in the past, a purple-haired mage kept nagging me, telling me not to do this and not to do that!

Ah, come to think of it, didn’t that blonde knight sister also threaten to draw her sword at every opportunity and make anyone pay for their rudeness with an arm?

…Wait?

But didn’t I also fight against those two several times during the war?

It was hard to distinguish what came first and what came later in my memories.

It felt like I had memories of fighting alongside those two sisters as well… or maybe my imagination was just overlapping…….

As the scenes continued, a tower towering above the ground suddenly appeared.

Ah, right!

I made a contract, didn’t I?

But… what exactly was the contract?

The memories that were regenerating without me knowing suddenly ended with a sensation of being sucked somewhere.

* * *

The green-haired woman raised a hand and gave a light salute.

“Yo, Boss! Thanks for summoning me!”

Shin Jungho nodded slowly.

Lord, Your Highness, and now Boss.

At least the title itself had transformed into something quite modern.

Moreover, her way of speaking was extremely friendly despite it being their first meeting, making him think her disposition might be the exact opposite of his own.

“You rascal! Have you still not discarded that insolent tone!”

“…I distinctly recall repeatedly telling you not to spout such uncouth habits in front of His Highness?”

Lea and Maya suddenly exuded a menacing aura.

At that, the green-haired woman hastily hid behind him.

“Ugh! Boss, do something about these scary sisters!”

Seeing that, Lea and Maya grew even more incensed.

“How can a servant hide behind their Lord!”

“You are far too close to His Highness! How dare you make physical contact!”

Seeing the three’s reactions, Shin Jungho realized they were acquainted with one another.

Wait, wasn’t it steampunk?

Then what on earth is that huge wrench she’s holding?

“First, everyone calm down, and let me hear her out.”

Both wore faces full of complaints, but they followed his words well.

Listening to her story, seeing the green-haired woman brought up new memories once again.

However, it wasn’t related to the Tower; only parts concerning the connection between the three surfaced.

He could let it slide up to the second time.

But if the third was also a figure from the same world and era, it meant the rest would likely be similar, right?

Of course, whether a fourth summoned being would appear was questionable.

Anyway, this time it wasn’t a young girl form; she was around Lea’s age and even possessed memories of the Tower.

Was it the effect of the enhanced Summoning Stone?

Or because he had cleared the Tower up to the 51st floor?

Or perhaps it depended on the summoned being?

Whatever the case, the important thing right now was measuring her combat power.

“You said you’re a Combat Alchemist?”

“Yeah, yeah! Shortened to Tactician!”

That doesn’t seem to mean that at all?

“‘Com-Alch’ and ‘Bat-Alch’ are hard to figure out the meaning of!”

If you put it that way, Tactician is the same, though.

The green-haired woman had a unique occupation: an alchemist, not a mage or a swordsman.

The difference was that she directly went to the front lines to fight in wars.

Normally, she would be fervently brewing various potions, and when the mercenary company joined a war, she would pack them up and play a major role in battle.

The wrench-like thing in her hand was actually a custom-made clamp (?) used to secure a potion at the end and throw it.

In particular, the body was connected by a string, allowing it to bend freely, and when throwing, it extended long like a sling, drastically increasing the impact zone.

Her most confident potion was the Explosion Potion.

By relentlessly pouring out attacks that rivaled 4th-circle fire magic, the enemy forces had no choice but to fear her presence more than anyone else’s.

Her epithet was the Tyrant of Explosive Flames.

Guangdao Scholar Demon.

And on top of that, Bak-bak?

Still, it seems only people who were quite remarkable in their time came over.

At this point, a curious question arose.

Why were they female three times in a row?

To this, Bak-bak offered a clear answer.

“Isn’t that obvious? Men always do reckless things and die early, right? They probably all kicked the bucket before making a contract with the Tower.”

…Not always, though.

Anyway, as a member of the male gender, he had no room to refute.

…Is that really why only female summoned beings appear?

It was so convincing that he decided to bury the issue at that.

Now, all that was left was deciding Bak-bak’s name!

But who was he?

Having already considered male, female, animal, insect, fish, and inanimate forms, he had divided the patterns into three for each type, selected five names for each, and prepared over 100 names in total.

It was literally a “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I prepared everything” kind of feeling?

It meant he hadn’t just been pulling gacha this whole time!

For the female form, there were three types: knight, mage, and support, and he had picked out eight names for each.

Should I say he put in more candidates than others because he had a feeling a female form would appear?

Bak-bak was in the support line, so if we were to pick a suitable name from there…….

“How about Clara?”

“Yeah, sounds good! Call me Clara from now on, Boss!”

An incredibly cheerful acceptance.

Given her attitude, wouldn’t she have been fine with Bak-bak or Yongyong?

It was of Latin origin, meaning bright, clear, or shining, and was widely used across Europe, so it seemed safe enough to put in the candidate pool.

He just said it as a test, but since she liked it… it’s decided, right?

“Lord, if you have now accepted Clara as a true vassal, Maya and I have some things we would like to say to Clara for a moment.”

“Your Highness, please grant us an hour—no, just 30 minutes—alone with her in the Dimensional Room.”

…You three aren’t going in there to play rock-paper-scissors, are you?

“Boss? You’re not gonna sell me off, are you?”

Clara’s eyes even welled up with tears as she wore a thoroughly terrified expression.

Shin Jungho let out a light sigh and drove the point home.

“If anyone has complaints about Clara’s attitude and way of speaking from now on, their smartphone will be confiscated for a week.”

The problem was perfectly resolved.

* * *

For Xiaolong, these days felt like a year passing by every single day.

He had revealed his situation to Shin Jungho without hiding anything at the Jeonjeon Cafe.

However, without hearing any definitive answer, he was simply burning with anxiety.

Was it pointless to tell him?

Should he have just asked the Superhuman Management Agency for help?

But they were just ordinary civil servants, weren’t they?

Would Korean civil servants actually take action against China?

These worries gnawed at his mind endlessly, dozens and hundreds of times a day.

Moreover, that wasn’t the only thing complicating his thoughts.

A secluded alley in the bustling streets of Seoul, where brilliant neon lights spewed dazzling colors.

As Xiaolong took a seat and waited, Taiyang soon appeared with a peculiar smile.

“Wow, so you’ve been operating here?”

Xiaolong asked back with a completely emotionless face.

“Why are you following me?”

Taiyang feigned ignorance.

“Huh? Following you? What do you mean?”

It was just a few days ago that Taiyang had started hovering around him.

Was it to monitor him?

Or did he have another objective?

In any case, it was clear he wasn’t approaching with good intentions.

It was also suspicious how his secretary was absent only at times like this.

However, not being stupid enough to be unaware of the shifting currents, Xiaolong decided to hold his tongue.

“Right… do your best.”

“Haha, why so on edge? We’re the only allies in the middle of this enemy territory.”

Xiaolong left without a word.

Taiyang watched his retreating back, his smile vanishing completely.

“Hmm, his detection range is greater than I thought? I thought I wouldn’t get caught this time.”

The reason Taiyang had been lingering near Xiaolong these past few days was to accurately gauge the range of his detection skill.

Knowing that would allow him to strike the moment the opponent set foot in an easy hunting ground.

The secretaries acting as monitors had already been bought off with money.

Especially since Wang Wei, the most powerful superhuman in Shanghai, was backing him.

Ordinary people like them couldn’t possibly have any pride to uphold against money and actual military force.

“Still… looks like it’ll work out.”

In a clash of spears, the one who strikes first is always at an advantage.

As long as the opportunity presented itself, he was confident he could drive that spear straight into his opponent’s heart.

Afterward, like Iron Heart had done, he just needed to appropriately dismember the corpse.

Then, using that as leverage, he could pressure the Seoul superhumans or Korea’s Superhuman Management Agency. By sacrificing one body, he stood to reap tremendous gains.

“…Just wait and see?”

The day one of the two Shanghai superhumans would disappear.

Was drawing closer and closer.

* * *

A residential-commercial complex on the outskirts of Shanghai, China.

Shaped like a square, much like a traditional Chinese Siheyuan courtyard, with a large garden in the center, the building’s intent to absolutely prevent any external intrusion was plain to see.

To the public, it was known as Heaven, a paradise where everything could be resolved within.

In reality, however, it was a camp where the families, lovers, and precious acquaintances of Shanghai’s superhumans were confined.

Most economic activities were possible inside the building.

However, there was one crucial impossibility.

A fatal restriction existed: they could absolutely never step outside the building.

People all rejoiced, thinking they were enjoying the benefits of their superhuman acquaintances.

But that was merely a facade created through strict media control.

Of course, aside from not being able to go outside, considerable freedom was guaranteed, so many people actually lived more abundantly than before.

Going out was also possible under surveillance if an application was approved.

It was just that the frequency was extremely rare.

To effectively control the people, China built this Heaven at the very edge of the Shanghai Tower’s domain and deployed numerous superhumans to monitor their every move.

The more important the superhuman, the higher the floor their family was placed on.

Therefore, Xiaolong’s younger sister, Huiying, was currently staying on the 35th floor, which could be considered an upper level.

A 500-square-foot two-room apartment, quite spacious for living alone.

The home appliances and furniture were also quite expensive Chinese-made products.

This level of luxury was something one could only enjoy after graduating from a top-tier four-year university and working at a large corporation for three to four years.

She was enjoying it simply because she was the family of a prominent superhuman, so it could be considered a stroke of luck.

“Yeah, I’m fine, so just take good care of your health, brother.”

– Call me right away if anything happens.

“What could possibly happen here? I’m only worried about you, brother.”

– …Alright, I’m hanging up.

That was why, when he told her he was secretly planning to rescue her, she had persuaded him not to.

Although she was confined, her daily life wasn’t difficult, and if Xiaolong himself was purged while attempting it, everything would be over.

But at the same time, she understood his feelings.

Not long ago, a superhuman monitoring Heaven and an ordinary civilian had hit it off and run away together.

However, the couple was caught soon after, and the Chinese authorities made an example of them by tying them up in the central square and executing them by firing squad.

Just seeing their bloodied state before the execution was more than enough to guess what kind of torture they must have endured.

Moreover, for the Shanghai superhumans, failing to climb higher meant being eliminated in an instant.

And the treatment received by the families and acquaintances of eliminated superhumans plummeted accordingly.

In many ways, it felt like this Heaven was a place where deeply unjust daily life ran rampant.

“…Will a prince really come to rescue me from here?”

Huiying muttered to herself with a hint of complaint as she looked down at the park.

Even if she wanted to look at the night sky to soothe her melancholy heart.

Because Heaven was covered by a massive ceiling that allowed no external intrusion whatsoever.

All she could see was the central garden.

…If you’re really in heaven, does that mean you’d never get to see the stars?