Chapter 121 – Coming Back Again

To stop a world-ending catastrophe, I went alone.

The immortal Demon King, who was annihilating the continent and even preparing to conquer other dimensions to elevate his own divinity.

With the holy sword I reclaimed, I defeated Gamigin.

In other words, I defeated a world-ending catastrophe.

And then, I returned to the place where I used to live.

I’m sure that’s how I got back, but…

-We apologize for causing concern to the public and are preparing financial support measures for the affected livestock farms…

On the TV, an orc resembling a wild boar, clad in a suit and tie, was holding a press conference.

“Sir, this is a no-fly zone, I’m telling you.”

“It’s instinctual flight, what do you want me to do about it, huh?”

Hearing a commotion, I looked over to see a gangster honeybee in a standoff with the police on the street.

“Sir. What era do you think this is, still pulling out a sashimi knife?”

“You call this a sashimi knife? Are you kiddin’ me? This ain’t no sashimi knife. Don’t you know this is like a ‘stinger’ to us honeybees? Huh?”

…

What in the world is this situation?

“Aigoo, I need to sell this quickly to help with my grandkid’s tuition.”

An old woman selling wild greens on the street muttered as she straightened her stiff back.

“I haven’t sold a single thing today, what am I to do.”

The grandmother said, as if for my benefit, looking at me with her compound eyes.

“Chirp.”

A grandmother. No, a praying mantis was selling lettuce and water parsley.

Though there were empty spots here and there, as she seemed to be munching on her own wares from time to time.

I can’t quite grasp the situation.

It’s just too absurd.

‘It’s probably a dream.’

Deciding it must be a dream, I opened my status window.

-Porter Lee Hyunbin LV. 68

-HP: 1,020

-Strength: 90

-Agility: 72

-Stamina: 72

-Magic: 31

-Luck: 50

-Skills: Domain Expansion(2), Inventory Storage(5), Freshness Preservation(3), Undefeated Bleaching(1), Undefeated Sterilization(1), Undefeated Cleansing(1), Skill Extraction(1), Domain Declaration(2)

Currently Extracted Skills: Shadowless Vision(4), Necromancy(1)

I leveled up quite a bit this time.

Thanks to that, my stats have increased tremendously.

-Hero Lee Hyunbin LV. 99​

-HP: 4,525

-Strength: 99

-Agility: 99

-Stamina: 99

-Magic: 51

-Luck: 55

​

-Skills: Close Quarters Combat(M), Phantom Step(5), Mago’s Eye Insight(5), Soul Breaker(5), Increased Leadership(3), Weapon Master(M), Savior Hero(M), Knight Order(3), Sacrifice(M), Thunderclap(M), Anti-Magic Shield(M), Curse Immunity(M), Status Resistance(M), Absolute Barrier(M), Rephilia Resode Form 0: Sword Formation(M), Banish Darkness(M),

​

My synchronization rate reached 77% after reclaiming the holy sword.

Thanks to that, I recovered a great deal of my power, and my Lightning Strike skill was upgraded to the transcendent skill, Thunderclap.

Looking at my status window, it’s clear I’ve retained my former powers.

I wanted to show off how overwhelmingly stronger I’d become upon my return, but the situation has turned strange.

Let’s think this through.

The old man said he would open the portal again in a week. But things went awry.

The reason was that the Demon King’s death had twisted the other world’s system, changing all the coordinates.

Even the old man probably hadn’t expected me to defeat the Demon King.

After all, the pacifist faction came to our dimension to survive, saying things like, “The Demon King is destroying the world. Heh heh.”

In any case, I belatedly took the portal back to where I originally lived.

And this is the mess I’ve returned to.

“With your beautiful blood donation, you can save your neighbors!”

A blood donation bus was parked on the street.

“Warm love is needed most in difficult times.”

The woman encouraging blood donations had a pale face.

Fangs were slightly visible on her lips.

She wasn’t human either; she looked like a vampire.

Just then, the door of the blood donation bus opened, and a child peeked out.

“Mom, is the food not here yet?”

“I told you to stay inside.”

“But I’m hungry.”

“Don’t worry, the world isn’t so cruel.”

As she said that, the mother vampire stared at me with an unnerving gaze.

***

I rolled up my sleeve, but when she tried to stick the needle in my neck, I gave her a piece of my mind.

“I could hit you.”

As I said that, I clenched my fist. Seeing my bicep twitch, the vampire flinched and changed the needle’s position.

“My apologies, I got confused.”

A child in the corner of the bus was watching, swallowing his saliva repeatedly.

These guys…

I didn’t come here to volunteer.

I need information.

“Excuse me, what year is it?”

Was my question strange?

The vampire answered as if I’d asked something odd.

“It’s 2035.”

“Huh?”

It was 2020 when I left. That means 15 years have passed.

This is what I gathered after giving the vampire some blood and digging for information.

While I was in the other world, 15 years had passed here, and during that time, it was an era of constant war due to recurring gates.

After both sides suffered losses, the different species and humans signed a peace treaty.

That part was fine.

“Ah, I think I’ve heard that name before.”

The vampire said, shamelessly tasting my collected blood.

“They said he went missing 15 years ago.”

I had hoped this was a completely different world. But she knew that an S-Rank supporter named Lee Hyunbin existed 15 years ago and that he had suddenly vanished.

She might not recognize me, but I was quite famous back then. It seems my story is still being told.

“The iron content is just right, this is good. Would you perhaps consider another bowl… I mean, donating more for your health… Ah, never mind.”

The clueless vampire backed away, smacking her lips as she saw my arm muscle twitch again.

Now that I had a grasp of the situation, I headed home.

The place where Katrinne and the three foreign brothers had stayed 15 years ago.

Only a week had passed for me, but 15 years had flown by here.

The old man had insisted his portal was legitimate and wouldn’t have problems.

I’ll deal with that geezer later.

I rang the doorbell of my house.

My home, which I had seen just a week ago, was now old and dilapidated.

It was a new house before.

It seemed it hadn’t been maintained, the lawn was a mess, and the color of the walls had faded.

I pressed the doorbell again, and a voice came from the intercom.

“Who is it. I was sleeping. You should know you have plucked. The lion’s nose hair.”

This guy still can’t speak Korean properly after 15 years.

“Who do you think I am?”

“Lee Ja-rang is asking. Do you have two lives?”

“I’m asking who you think I am.”

“Lee Ja-rang confirms. Your date of death.”

The door opened, and Lee Ja-rang, his face a mask of annoyance, walked into the yard puffing up his muscles to intimidate the intruder.

“Run away. You must run away now.”

As he said that and opened the gate, Lee Ja-rang saw me and fell on his butt.

“If you are a ghost, begone.”

Yeah, not going anywhere.

His instincts must have dulled after 15 years.

I lifted Lee Ja-rang and gave him a giant swing.

It would’ve been better if Jeon-guk and No-rae were here. Spinning just one person didn’t have the same flair.

After just a few spins, Lee Ja-rang’s eyes glazed over.

“What happened. The captain said he was going to find the holy sword.”

I got the gist of the story.

Olivier, who had lost contact with me, had only managed to tell our friends that I was fighting the Demon King’s army in a situation of overwhelming disadvantage.

Everyone thought I would return safely. But as one day, then two, then a year, then five years passed, they all realized something had gone wrong.

“Everyone went to the meeting for people who miss the captain.”

Wow. This is such a crazy cliché.

A super-strong protagonist goes off alone to fight a disaster. He returns to find that years have passed, and his heroines and friends have been waiting for him.

This is a classic, worn-out cliché ending.

“Then why didn’t you go?”

“What do you mean?”

“The meeting for people who miss me.”

“…”

“…”

Lee Ja-rang quickly shut the yard gate and tried to flee back inside the house.

I gave chase.

Lee Ja-rang cried out as he resisted.

Trying to close the door, Lee Ja-rang couldn’t resist my muscles and was forcibly pulled into an embrace.

*Crack.*

We shared a manly hug.

The sound of bones breaking was pleasant.

After making him miss me a great deal more, I got the location of the meeting from Lee Ja-rang.

As I walked the streets, I continued to see honeybees flying around and goblins running shops.

It was such an alien landscape to me. But the people walking on the street showed no signs of discomfort.

For some reason, I felt like I was the only one left alone in a different world. It was depressing.

Just a week ago, many people would stare when I walked down the street. But now, after 15 years, no one recognized me.

The meeting place was a café.

Everyone had changed so much. They all looked incredibly unfamiliar to me.

“It’s already been 15 years, Team Leader.”

The first to speak was Kim In-ho.

After 15 years, Kim In-ho was still as polite as ever.

“I know. *Munch, munch*. I miss Ajeossi.”

As expected, my Katrinne is the best.

It’s a bit off-putting that she’s saying it while stuffing her face, but to think she missed me that much.

“…”

But who is that?

“Without Ajeossi, I just don’t have an appetite these days.”

In a café meant for light refreshments, there was a bulky girl who had a mountain of sliced cakes piled up and was devouring them.

The Katrinne I knew ate a ton but was still slender. The girl speaking now had a massive belly.

‘Don’t tell me…’

Pregnant? Did she get married?

When the protagonist returns, it’s common for the heroine to be married to another man.

It’s a shame I have to consider Katrinne a heroine in the first place, seeing as there are no other women around me.

“But Seo-yeon, haven’t you gained a bit too much weight?”

“Hm, a little?”

What, so she’s not married.

I practically raised her like a daughter, so I didn’t want her getting married without my permission.

I guess that’s a relief, but seeing Katrinne as huge as a mountain made my heart feel small.

“It’s my fault…”

Olivier, her hair cut short, blamed herself.

Because the connection with the Olivier I took with me for scouting was severed, she couldn’t contact the people here.

That’s why all this happened.

At least she knows it’s her fault.

“If only I had accepted his confession back then…”

What is she talking about?

“That person? No way. He used to go on dates with me all the time…”

The one who chimed in this time was Seo Hyun-ji.

She must be thirty-nine by now, but does she think she’s an elf or something? Her face hasn’t changed a bit after 15 years.

…Maybe her makeup is a little thicker?

But what are they all talking about?

“That person. He used to take me on dates to the park every weekend.”

Ah, we did go. To catch honeybees and praying mantises.

Seo Hyun-ji’s fire was perfect for roasting those things.

“Without Team Leader, I’ve felt a sense of deprivation for the last 15 years.”

Kim Tae-yang, his hair still blond and now with a matching blond beard, muttered.

I didn’t expect him to miss me. Did getting hit too much mess with his head?

“Still, you’re doing well these days after switching to a tanker.”

“Hoo… Getting hit by others just doesn’t feel the same. That feeling when the blow lands, like my ancestors are beckoning to me from the riverbank. I just don’t get that vibe.”

Watching Kim Tae-yang lament his own depravity was pitiful.

It felt like I had ruined him.

Still, it’s a relief that he’s doing well for himself.

It seems everyone is healthy and doing fine.

That’s a relief.

Honestly, it’s a shame. I couldn’t bear to see the Demon King use all sorts of tricks to cross over to the modern world and threaten my people.

That was the only reason I went to get the holy sword.

War begins when one side thinks it can win.

If you possess overwhelming military power, the opponent won’t dare to start a war.

Because they know they’ll suffer greater losses.

‘Was I wrong?’

With a bitter heart, I turned to leave, but my chair caught on something, and I fell to the floor with a crash.

Thanks to that, everyone unintentionally looked at me.

“Uh…?”

“Uh…!”

They all recognized me at a glance.

For me, it had only been a week, but for them, 15 years had passed.

And yet, they recognized me instantly.

“T-Team Leader…!”

Kim In-ho and Kim Tae-yang stood up from their seats in disbelief.

“W-what is this. You? Wh-what. Why now…! No, but why haven’t you aged a day? I’m now…”

Seo Hyun-ji was rambling, not even knowing what she was saying.

Olivier, who had just been spouting strange things about me, just stood there with her mouth agape in shock.

“Ajeossi…”

Katrinne, now the size of a mountain, looked at me, her eyes welling up with tears. Unable to hold back, she broke down into sobs and rushed towards me.

*Thud.*

The heavy impact felt like a minotaur had body-slammed me.

Wow…

I’m going to have to put Katrinne on a seriously intense workout plan to get her back to her original size.

This is a bit much. I can’t even wrap my arms around her anymore.

“Ajeossi… Welcome back…”

Katrinne looked up at me, tears and snot streaming down her face.

Her expression was so dumbfounded that a bitter smile escaped my lips.

“I’m home.”

Like the end of any story.

I whispered to my comrades in the kindest voice I could muster.

My team members started to clap.

Everyone in the café, moved by the scene, stood up and joined in the applause.

*ROOOOAAAR!*

Just then, outside the café window, a giant monster shrieked and flapped its wings.

“A-a Wyvern…!”

The massive wyvern I had once defeated. It was outside, trampling and rampaging through the people.

“Let’s go, everyone.”

I drew my holy sword. They may be a bit older, but my team members who still follow me are here.

***

“My lord, the captain is smiling.”

At Lee Jeon-guk’s words, Katrinne glanced over at the bed.

Hyunbin was sleeping soundly.

“Let him be. He must be having a good dream.”

“Really, if it weren’t for you, my lord, the captain would have become lost in time and space.”

“That’s why I told him not to go.”

The two left the room so that Hyunbin, whom they had just met after ten days, could rest peacefully.

“…”

Hyunbin, who had been sleeping well, was unwittingly woken by the sound of their conversation.

He rubbed his face with his hands repeatedly, trying to deny the reality of the dream he just had.

The clichés embedded in people’s minds are good for nothing.

Thinking this, Hyunbin sighed.

One way or another, he was back.

Hyunbin recalled his memories from before he fell asleep.