[Tailor: The monster you mentioned is still rampaging even now.]

At the message window floating before my eyes, I replied with a lingering worry.

[Chef: Are people okay? Especially in Gyeonggi Province—it’s close to Seoul.]

[Tailor: Honestly, once that monster started rampaging, the other monsters inside Seoul did show signs of trying to move outside.]

At that—

I couldn’t help widening my eyes in shock.

But.

[Tailor: Fortunately, the Architect who joined the unit recently had already installed defensive facilities around Seoul’s outskirts to some extent.]

Ah.

Now that I thought about it, I remembered seeing that proposal come up.

An Architect from Gyeonggi Province, worried that people in Gyeonggi might get harmed by Seoul’s monsters, had set up defensive facilities just in case.

[Tailor: Thanks to blocking them using those defenses, you can say there’s been almost no damage. Right now we’ve also dispatched reinforcements and are standing guard together with the Association’s forces, so I don’t think there’ll be any big problem.]

I see.

“Hoo...!”

Thankfully.

It didn’t look like the aftermath of what happened in Seoul was going to cause major damage to other people.

I let out a breath of relief.

[Berserker: From our standpoint, it’s actually a gain.]

And then.

[Berserker: The monsters inside Seoul were a potential risk. We never knew when they’d leave their territory and come out...]

[Shooting Squad Leader: But with all those powerful monsters that were overflowing in Seoul tearing each other apart... it’s no different from us subjugating the monsters in Seoul without lifting a finger. We see this as good news.]

Because that monster was rampaging in Seoul, the monsters that had been overflowing inside were rapidly being culled.

We’d only put it off because we expected the conquest would be too difficult—

Seoul should still be packed with usable facilities even now.

Meaning the difficulty of taking Seoul ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) was dropping sharply.

Contrary to how tense I’d been, it was closer to a welcome development.

[Magic Boy: That’s how things are on our end.]

But.

The problem was...

[Magic Boy: What about you? Are you okay?]

Not over there—

on my side.

[Berserker: Sergeant Shin. As soon as you learn your exact location, report it right away.]

[Shooting Squad Leader: We’ll have enough mana to activate Bimana soon. In the meantime, we also raised the equipment’s level, so it’ll run longer this time. The moment you tell us the location—]

[Chef: No, no—no.]

Messages packed with the unit’s concern flooded the screen, but I politely declined that concern.

[Chef: I’ll handle my problem myself. You focus on the situation over there.]

[Tailor: What? But...!]

[Chef: First, conquering other regions and bringing people in is the most urgent thing. In the middle of that, we can’t waste a valuable asset like Bimana.]

Despite their worry, I declared firmly as the leader of this group.

[Chef: I’ll solve my problem on my own.]

[Berserker: Sergeant Shin...]

[Chef: You’ve got people like Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok and Captain Jo Jun, so there won’t be any issues with regional conquest even without me. If anything comes up, leave it to Lieutenant General Kim. And if it still feels like something might happen... work with the people holding a base in the Chungcheong area. Cooperate with the Religious Organizations Coalition. They showed goodwill toward me, so as long as there isn’t a major problem, they’ll cooperate.]

Thankfully, as the result of a long time of effort, the Legion had grown fairly strong.

In the past, I would’ve been pretty worried.

I might’ve gotten desperate to return immediately for the unit.

But—

‘I have to learn to delegate, too.’

As long as Lieutenant General Kim’s card—[Meeting Expectations]—existed, then unless some extreme case happened where something bizarre like an [Outside Existence] intervened, the Legion could handle most problems on its own.

After all, Lieutenant General Kim using that skill was, frankly, an even better commander than me.

[Magic Boy: You... are you really okay?]

At Minjae’s worried question, I answered with confidence.

[Chef: Of course. Just wait a little. I’ll be back soon.]

[Magic Boy: That means—]

[Chef: Is this the first time I’ve gotten caught in an unexpected situation? There’s always a way.]

Then—

[Berserker: As expected of Sergeant Shin...! You already have a solution, don’t you!]

[Shooting Squad Leader: Well, if it’s Sergeant Shin, we don’t need to worry too much. Still, return as soon as you can.]

[Magic Boy: ...Then I’ll trust you and wait.]

[Tailor: Haa... You have to come back before it gets too late.]

Thankfully, replies came back from unit members who trusted me.

‘If I leave it to them, the unit will be fine.’

And so, with a relieved smile, I closed the guild messages.

‘There’s always a way, huh....’

And then...

“...All right, I’ve talked big like that, but.”

Blankly, I looked at the scenery around me that had been hidden behind the guild messages.

What I could see around me was—

“How the hell do I get back, damn it.”

Buildings that didn’t look like Korea at all.

Exotic architecture.

***

Dozens of minutes earlier, before I exchanged those guild messages.

“What the hell is this place...!”

When I suddenly opened my eyes, what I saw was a small signboard.

The signboard itself showing up wasn’t the problem.

But if there was a problem—

‘It’s not Korean.’

That language.

‘Chinese characters....’

Not Korean—Chinese characters.

If this were somewhere like a Chinatown, that would’ve been a relief, but the number of signboards in front of me wasn’t something I could wave off as “Chinatown.”

‘Another country.’

And.

While I was still rattled by that fact—

{Lower your body for a moment, Legion Commander!}

“...!?”

At the sound behind me, I ducked fast.

Then—

“$^%^!@#!@$#&......!”

Luca, riding on my back, thrust a hand forward and muttered in a bizarre, incomprehensible language.

And only then did I understand what it was trying to do.

‘That hole...!’

That unidentified hole that had flung us here.

The energy leaking from its outstretched hand touched that hole, and—

KWAaaaaaak...!

The hole that was about to close and vanish—

it barely forced it shut.

Then—

Sssshk....

The hole that had been rippling in black, as if its color were draining away, turned an ashen gray.

{...I applied emergency measures, but.}

And, seeing that, Luca muttered in a small voice.

{It seems... we’ve ended up in a not-so-good situation, Legion Commander.}

***

And what happened after that—

was exactly what was happening now.

‘At least it’s a good thing the guild messages still work.’

When I crossed the barrier and headed toward Gyeonggi Province, even guild messages were disabled.

Back then, you could say I crossed the barrier intentionally.

But now, it was an unwanted relocation.

The ‘System’ probably reflected that difference.

“...So.”

And then, once I finished communicating with the unit members, Ariella looked at me and asked.

“Who is that little kid, my lord?”

“Ah.”

Where her gaze was fixed—

was the figure of a very small child.

Come to think of it, I still hadn’t properly explained it.

“It’s someone you know. That doctor.”

“...What?”

“This is its main body, apparently.”

At those words, Ariella—and even a few unit members—widened their eyes in shock.

“...Even if we set aside how that monster’s main body can look that frail.” 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Ariella frowned and said,

“Is it really okay to bring along the one we fought like this?”

“......”

As if you have room to talk....

The words rose to my throat, but I swallowed them.

Thinking about it, Ariella had lost many retainers to the sunlight that thing fired.

It was easy enough to understand being angry.

‘Whatever the case, it doesn’t oppose what I do.’

That was minor complaining at worst.

On the other hand, what was a little unexpected was—

“...I figured that might be the case.”

“Huh?”

The people calmly nodding.

It was Jeong Sua and a few unit members.

{...I’m the one who caused your injuries, but.}

It seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised by how calmly they took it.

Luca brought it up cautiously, but—

“Living in this world, you get into fights all the time, and injuries are routine. That’s a small matter. What’s more important is...”

As she said that, Jeong Sua looked at me.

“What the Benefactor wants... that’s what matters.”

“...?”

Come to think of it, Jeong Sua had said it before, right in front of Ariella.

That running away and leaving that doctor behind wasn’t what I would want.

“At least from our standpoint, you were someone we had to be wary of. And if you ask whether we liked you or not, it’s not like we were fond of you. But... we knew the Benefactor’s thinking would be different from ours.”

At the time, I’d let it pass.

But now that I thought about it—

“Things ended up turning into a fight, but we didn’t think that kind of ending was what the Benefactor wanted.”

Even if the relationship with it had collapsed once because of that “missing part.”

“Considering the Benefactor’s temperament... we thought you would find it a waste to leave capable talent behind.”

“...You know me too well.”

Even so, the fact I’d wanted to bring it into the unit.

Wasn’t it possible she’d noticed that, too...?

{Can you accept that as enough?}

“I’m not sure. It’s true I’m not particularly fond of it, but if the Benefactor decided to accept it, then we follow.”

That was why they’d taken on risk and sent me down into that underground.

“And besides... the ones the Benefactor accepted have ended up blending into the unit well, most of the time. My master as well, and the martial-arts instructors as well... except that queen.”

“...Insolent. You always have to add one more unnecessary remark.”

...It really hits me again.

Sometimes the unit members’ thinking runs deeper than I expect.

Without that one’s help, the situation right now might’ve looked very different.

I was grateful for that.

“Anyway, you said you’re a doctor, right?”

{For now, yes.}

“Then could you help treat our unit members? As you can see, everyone’s pretty badly hurt.”

{...Of course. Since it happened because of me, I’ll take responsibility and make sure none of you are left with any aftereffects.}

With that, Luca began treatment.

‘The injuries were bad, so I was worried.’

If I feed them [Healthy Meal], I have to consume my own health.

I’d been thinking about what to do—

but if it treats them, there shouldn’t be a big problem.

And then—

‘...I’m glad they understood better than I expected.’

Maybe it was possible because Jeong Sua and that royal guard were especially loyal to me, but it felt like there was hope that even if I brought it into the Legion, it could blend in.

Yeah.

It looked like the unit members’ injuries would be resolved soon, and recruiting that doctor didn’t seem like it would be a big issue.

The problem was—

‘Where the hell are we, and how do we get back...’

It was this region we were stuck in.

“I picked this up nearby.”

A moment later, Ariella—who had gone to look around—returned holding a signboard.

“Based on what I have in my memory, I can’t read it. Is there anyone who can read these letters?”

Then, among the unit members receiving treatment through Luca, Jeong Sua lifted her head, looked at the signboard, and said,

“...I don’t know it well, but I think I can read it roughly.”

“Oh? You can? Then what country’s language is it?”

And at the words that came out of her mouth, I could only let out a deep sigh.

“Chinese characters... no, more precisely.”

The place we were in now wasn’t Gangwon Province, or Seoul—

it wasn’t even—

“It looks like Chinese.”

...the country I’d been in.

Not even the Republic of Korea.