Chapter 159

Selena’s guidance allowed Jun-sang to leave the Fairy Realm. He immediately began planning by examining a map. There were 21 national parks throughout the country. Of those, four were marine national parks, and with Gyeongju excluded, that left 16. One had already been created, so 15 remained.

Looking at the map, Jun-sang set a route beginning with Seoraksan, the northernmost point, and following the Baekdu-daegan mountain range to Odaesan, Sobaeksan, and Woraksan. With this plan, he would continue through the central provinces and Jeonbuk, finishing the inland installations with Juwangsan.

The problem was Hallasan in Jeju-do. In the past, he wouldn’t have even considered it, but now with a 20-minute wait period, he had to deliberate. Jun-sang quickly shook his head. He could run there, but flights were out of the question, and boats would take at least three or four hours, so it was simply not feasible.

There was another option. If he carried something like a boat in his inventory like his car, he could respond to a quest even if it activated out on the sea. But a boat, like a car, required a license. To get a license through theory and practical exams would take at least a month of studying. The cost was greater than the benefit. Of course, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get one in case of a future emergency, but if asked if it was an immediate necessity, he would have to say no.

After making a rough plan, Jun-sang came down from Bukhansan and immediately drove toward Seoraksan. Lyches was excited and making a fuss when they first started driving, but after a while, she seemed to get bored and began to doze off on the dashboard. Henes, too, was dozing in her seat, perhaps tired from the long hike or still not fully over her carsickness. Jun-sang was a little better off because he was driving, but with the two of them dozing next to him, he also couldn’t help but feel bored.

He endured it for a while but finally decided he had to do something. He turned on the DMB to listen to some music.

“Hmm?”

The first to react was Lyches, who was nodding off on the dashboard. She looked around, then flew up from the dashboard and stared mesmerized at the girl group video playing below.

“Why are there people inside this?”

He realized he hadn’t had a chance to watch TV in the guesthouse because of everything that had happened. Lyches’s words sounded like they came from someone who had time-traveled from the Joseon Dynasty. Jun-sang couldn’t help but laugh to himself. He never thought someone would actually say something like that. Although, to be accurate, she wasn’t a person but a fairy.

Unlike Henes when she first saw a TV, Lyches didn’t seem to have any aversion to the exposed bodies of the people on the screen. In fact, she even hummed and followed the dance moves of the girl group in the video with somewhat awkward movements. Henes woke up from her dazed state and smiled faintly at Lyches, who was awkwardly dancing alone in front of the screen.

“Did you wake up?”

“Yes. Was I asleep for a long time?”

“No.”

As they drove, with the music playing and making small talk, they noticed flowers and photos on the side of the road, with people waiting nervously in a tent next to them.

Henes was the first to react. “What is that?”

Jun-sang glanced at the roadside and replied, “I don’t know. Before, I would have thought it was an accident… but seeing the people waiting there, it’s probably where someone was taken away for the Tutorial.”

“…”

Now that he thought about it, it had been almost a month since the second mass disappearance. Considering the first disappearance, it was about time for the returnees to start showing up.

“Lyches, one moment.”

“Yes.”

Jun-sang asked for Lyches’s understanding, who was deep in the music, and changed the channel to listen to the news.

Just as he had thought. The news was already reporting on the second wave of returnees. The first returnee from the second disappearance was thought to be a German, although information was being controlled. Of course, there could be people from the Third World who weren’t exposed to the media in this way, but what was important was that returnees were starting to appear from the second group of missing people.

“I wonder if she’s doing a good job.”

He had left the work to Lim Seoyun, but he could clearly see that the government and various other interest groups were already busily trying to attract the returnees. Even the roadside they had just passed had several people who didn’t look like family members camping out with nervous expressions.

In any case.

Jun-sang drove the car straight to Seoraksan, climbed the mountain in a hurry, and only succeeded in creating a new Spirit Gate just as the sun was setting.

“Hoo… Hoo…”

Henes was breathing heavily, a thick haze clearly visible from her body even in the dim light. Lyches cast a series of spells, and Henes finally got up, still gasping for air.

Jun-sang looked around and said, “It’s better to stop here and rest for today.”

Henes quickly replied, “I’m okay. So…”

But Jun-sang shook his head and cut her off. “No need to overdo it. We can take our time.”

“Okay…”

Jun-sang looked around for a place to put out a container house, but it was difficult to find an open space big enough in the deep mountains.

Then again, there was no need to find a location. They could just follow the fairies who were chattering and returning to their home through the Spirit Gate.

“I guess we’ll have to stay in the Fairy Realm tonight. Is that okay?”

Lyches brightened up and replied as if she had been waiting for him to say that. “Of course! What do you mean ‘stay’? Don’t say such things. Come on, let’s go. I’ll treat you tonight.”

“…”

Jun-sang nodded at Lyches’s excitement, then scooped up Henes, who was still breathing hard.

“J-Jun-sang?”

Henes called his name in a flustered voice, but Jun-sang pretended not to hear her, holding her and following Lyches back into the Fairy Realm.

As they entered the Spirit Gate, the dusky forest scene quickly changed to a landscape that looked like a child’s messy drawing. Lyches had already changed into a mature woman’s form and led the two to her residence.

“You must be tired. Let’s start with a bath. I’ve put a lot of effort into making a warm hot spring. A bath there will make your skin really smooth.”

“…”

Jun-sang simply nodded silently, but Lyches, undeterred by his lack of reaction, twisted her body and spoke again. “I-if it’s okay, I can help you with your bath…”

Henes, who was being held by Jun-sang, couldn’t hold back and let out a shriek. “Your Majesty!”

“Yes.”

“H-how can you say s-such a thing!”

Henes was flustered, her face completely red as she shouted, but she had completely forgotten in that moment that she, herself, had once tried to barge into Jun-sang’s bathroom.

With a bit of commotion, Jun-sang and Henes were led to the queen’s bedroom, a place they had been to before. It was supposed to be a place used by the current queen, Lysis, but she preferred the wide-open forest to such a closed-off space and had made a new residence there.

Lyches was in a good mood, humming the music she had heard from the DMB as she guided them. But as soon as Jun-sang put Henes down on the bed, he said, “Is the analysis done?”

“I-I don’t know. It’s probably finished by now, isn’t it?”

“I want to check before we wash up.”

“Okay…”

Lyches pouted, then disappeared for a moment and reappeared in front of Jun-sang.

“Here you go.”

She fiddled with the metal plate for a moment and then returned it to Jun-sang.

“The analysis is complete. You said you wanted to eavesdrop?”

“Yes.”

As Jun-sang nodded, Lyches spoke again. “You could modify the magic circle in it and use it, but I think it would be better to create a new eavesdropping device altogether.”

“Why?”

“For one, its size and shape are too noticeable, making it inconvenient to carry around, and the magic circle itself is too crude to add new features.”

“That’s true.”

When Jun-sang showed that he was convinced, Lyches spoke cautiously again. “If there’s a specific shape you want, please tell me. I’ll try my best to make it.”

“Hmm…”

For easy carrying, an accessory would be best. But he already had rings and a necklace, so he thought a bracelet, like a portable interface, might be a good idea.

“A bracelet would be good. Is that possible?”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s do that.”

“You can count on me.”

After the conversation was over, Lyches’s serious expression vanished, and she smiled brightly, leading them to the hot spring.

When Henes saw the milky-white hot spring filled with white steam, she let out an audible gasp.

“Ah…”

“How is it?”

“It’s amazing.”

“Right?”

Henes smiled slightly at Lyches, who was standing with her hands on her hips, looking proud, and then looked back at Jun-sang. But his expression was not so bright. In fact, it was rigid.

“Jun-sang?”

Henes asked with a tense expression, wondering what was wrong. Jun-sang quietly said to her, “It’s a quest.”

“…”

At his words, Henes’s expression also hardened.

A new quest has arrived.

– You will be sent to the location for the quest in 20 minutes. Please move to a safe location. (Time remaining: 19 minutes, 27 seconds)

Jun-sang first dismissed the message that had appeared in front of his eyes. When the wait time was extended to 20 minutes, he felt like he could do a lot in that time. But now that the situation was here, it felt too subtle to do anything.

“Let’s go to the room first.”

“Okay.”

Jun-sang went back to the bedroom and began to prepare by packing his equipment. Honestly, he had had a bit of hope when they entered the Fairy Realm. The hope that he might be able to avoid a quest activation if he was in a different world than Earth. But, unfortunately, that hope did not come true.

“Lyches.”

“Yes?”

“Is there a map that shows the current locations of the Spirit Gates?”

“Hmm… just a moment.”

Lyches called Sella and said a few words. Before long, a map of rather poor quality was handed to Jun-sang. It looked more like a child’s scribble than a proper map, but it had a simple map of the planet named Hiddix, where Henes lived, and the approximate locations of the currently open Spirit Gates.

Jun-sang quickly looked at it and then handed the map to Henes. She looked at it for a moment and then gasped.

“Ah!”

He looked at her, wondering what was wrong. She spoke in a cautious voice, “The Forest of the Forbidden… that is, a Spirit Gate is already open near Ybelua… I was a little surprised.”

“…”

Ybelua. That was the name of Henes’s hometown. Henes looked at Jun-sang with a somewhat uneasy expression. And she regretted speaking. What if she had said something she shouldn’t have? What if he sent her back?

But Jun-sang spoke as if it were no big deal. “That’s good. Then let’s visit it after this quest is over.”

“…”

Henes unconsciously smiled brightly. She had read his intention not to part with her in his words.