Once the cleanup was done, my possession points were nearing ten million. About a third of what Yerim had collected, with the rest owing to Sigma's efforts. If any of the monsters Sigma had captured had even a sliver of life left, I could have claimed the points entirely.
"Of course, I surpassed a hundred million!"
Yerim exclaimed proudly. With points doubled, receiving over a million points for each SS-class monster wasn't difficult. Even though S-class monsters were around one hundred thousand points each, with hundreds appearing one after another.
I had no idea there were so many monsters in the sea. It's a bit worrying about our neighborhood too.
It seemed there weren't any significant problems outside the water. Above all, having Noah, who could replenish mana and utilize healing and teleportation skills, was significant. Although my teacher's skill was released beyond the range due to my deep dive into the sea, it was sufficient for solo battles since only SS-class or lower monsters remained. It would have been easier if cooperation were possible.
"So, what happened?"
I reflexively looked at Sigma in response to Yerim's question. It was scary to think about revealing everything in front of Sigma, but surprisingly, Yoohyun stepped forward.
"I'll check out moon and surroundings. The bait range is wide. There might still be monsters that haven't arrived yet."
Yoohyun wrapped his arms around Sigma's neck, as if to say, "Come with me, sis." Sigma could have avoided it, but maybe she didn't mind being dragged along. After all, when would she have experienced such treatment again? Maybe she finds it amusing.
"Yerim, I really entered here with my own body."
"...Huh?"
Yerim looked surprised as she examined me.
"Although the grade seems higher, it's really, ahjussi's original body-"
"Ahjussi!"
I instinctively cringed at the sound of her angry voice.
"Right now, my Fear Resistance is S-grade, Yerim."
"Even without any gratitude, if it's really your body, isn't it okay in this dangerous place?"
"But I have five lives in return. And sticking with you guys in the battlefield is much safer than being separated."
Although I explained, furrowing her eyebrows, Yerim nodded.
"Of course, that's true. Still, it's fortunate that Han yoohyun is here. He wouldn't have made you endangered."
"Uh, yeah. That's true."
It's best not to talk about what happened in Akates City. Yoohyun was already struggling enough, and bringing up that incident again would serve no purpose. Yerim might worry for no reason. ...How should I explain having only three lives left? Maybe I should have just said five instead of three.
"Sigma is from another world, but when I, who entered with my real body, acknowledged Sigma as real, it seems there was a system error or something."
I explained as best as I could, not knowing the details. Along with mentioning that Seonghyeonjae is involved in the system side.
"There are two discs left to install, and ahjussi has five lives left, right?"
"T-"
"Three."
Yoohyun interjected abruptly.
"Three? What are you talking about?"
"Yoohyun."
"Park Yerim has the right to hear it."
With that, Yoohyun turned his gaze towards Yerim.
"Once, he died trying to save me."
"Ahjussi?"
"No, honestly, it was because I let my guard down, and Yoohyun-"
"Ahjussi, if it's our business, it's your fault."
"This time, it really is!"
I appealed, but Yerim didn't believe me. She urged Yoohyun to explain. Yoohyun briefly recounted what happened in Akates City to Yerim.
Due to Alpha's memories, he went berserk and got imprisoned, and I came to rescue him. And I got shot while saving him.
"I couldn't protect him."
Yoohyun said calmly, and I glanced at Yerim anxiously. She wouldn't blame Yoohyun. But since both of them are somewhat competitive when it comes to protecting me... some complaints might come out. Yerim, who had been staring at Yoohyun intently, sighed heavily.
"Oh, really."
Her voice clearly showed her displeasure.
"Um, Yerim."
"This time, it's real."
"...Yeah?"
"It's true that I didn't do anything wrong."
"T- that's...true?"
"I didn't do anything wrong."
"There's nothing I didn't do! Why did you go there alone? Wasn't the neighboring city noona Hyuna''s? And wouldn't Noah help if you got in touch? Right?"
"Of course."
Noah nodded. Yerim pointed at herself and me. Yeah, even I! She said, referring to herself. Well, there's really nothing to say about that part.
"...Sorry."
"You should apologize to Yoohyun, not me."
"Sorry, Yoohyun."
"No, Hyung. You already apologized to me, Park Yerim."
"Hey, Han Yoohyun."
Yerim spoke with a serious expression.
"It must have been tough."
"...."
"You must have been in a lot of pain."
"...Yeah, I was in pain."
"I know that feeling too. It felt like my breath was being cut off."
Yoohyun, who had been hesitating for a moment, spoke up.
"Me too..."
"Should I block your ears, Ahjussi?"
"...I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was going to die."
"I don't even know where it hurts, but everything hurts, and my head feels fuzzy. Like that."
Yoohyun nodded, and Yerim smiled.
"You did well, Han Yoohyun. Come here, I'll give you a hug."
Wow, our Yerim is hugging Yoohyun...
"What are you doing, Ahjussi? You're not hugging your younger brother."
"Huh? Me?"
"Of course. If I hug you, does that comfort you? It's a punishment game. And we both have to do it."
That's about it. Yoohyun and even Noah nodded in agreement. The timing was perfect for them to hug each other.
"Yeah, Yoohyun. Come here."
I wouldn't refuse to hug him, but of course. After hugging my brother, I gestured to Yerim too.
"Yerim, come here."
Yerim stepped forward as if she had been waiting. She really grew up a lot. She might actually be this tall in a few years.
"You've been through a lot too, Yerim."
"I've been doing fine."
She smiled as if she was going to show me around the city. I glanced at Noah, who was standing a bit away this time. He quickly avoided eye contact.
"Noah, come here."
Why is he hesitating alone? Noah, you've been through a lot too. You've worked hard. Just then, Moon hyuna and Sigma returned. Their clothes were stained with the blood of the monsters that had been fought or newly popped up.
"Should I hug Hyuna too?"
"Huh? Like a group hug? Sure, come here, Hyuna!"
Moon Hyuna spread his arms wide. She really is tall.
"Hyuna, you've worked hard too."
"You'll have to work hard in the future too. I have a lot to do, so it's good."
She smiled. Then she looked at Sigma. Both Moon Hyuna and I smiled and reached out our arms.
"Our moon."
"Moon, come here."
"...I don't know why you suddenly want this, but okay."
"Sigma, you've worked hard too."
"Because you're cuter than any squirrel! Isn't it cute compared to that jerk, Sung Hyunjae?"
Comparing it to Sung Hyunjae made it feel particularly young. I hugged Sigma, who looked puzzled.
"Oh, by the way, if you originally came into your body, then you're twenty-five now, right?"
Yerim looked at Yoohyun with an excited expression.
"Han Yoohyun, how old are you?"
"What about you, Park Yerim?"
"Me? I'm a whole year older than you!"
So she's twenty-six. Yerim raised the corner of her mouth with a teasing expression.
"I'm older than you, Han Yoohyun!"
"I'm also twenty-six."
"What? Oh, why do we have to be the same age! But still, my birthday is earlier than yours. Mine is April 11th, yours is December 25th, there's more than six months apart, so technically, I'm the older sister!"
Ignoring Yerim demanded to be called 'Noona,' they aimed his arrow at me this time.
"Ahjussi I'm your Noona now."
"Yerim, I'm Yoohyun's hyung So technically, I'm five years older than my little brother, who is thirty-"
"Where's that coming from? You're just twenty-five. Right now, you're the dongsaeng."
"Right, Yoojin-ssi's calculation is messed up. It's obvious that I'm twenty-five because I still have the same body."
"Hyuna, you sided with me last time!"
"That was fun, so I didn't shut my mouth then, did I?"
"Haha, Maknae" Mocking, Moon Hyuna laughed, and Sigma looked at me with a knowing smirk.
"You deceived us, C-class."
"No, it's not that. But why am I the youngest when Noah is here too!"
Noah looks young, doesn't he? Even if not quite in his teens like his body, he doesn't seem much different from me. With the sudden attention on him, Noah widened his eyes and said,
"I'm, well, Mu is thirty-five, Yoojin-ssi..."
...Good grief. This was beyond Sung Hyun-ae.
---
I was worried that the same thing would happen as with Akates when Sigma entered the city, but Yerim assured me it's fine. Besides, Drosia's mana hole was underwater. Since monsters would emerge anyway, dealing with them from the sea sounded easier, as Yerim explained. We headed to the Drosia Sea.
"The city's interior is warm. The spirits help maintain the temperature."
As she said, the air changed distinctly once we crossed the defensive barrier. The temperature and humidity were just right for living. It seemed spirits could do this with ease if they were numerous enough.
-Irin can do it too if she's bigger!
Iris said, Half-hidden under Yoohyun's sleeve.
"Since she's a fire spirit, can't she only raise the temperature?"
- Hyung, if Irin grows bigger, she can control the heat itself. By absorbing the surrounding heat, she can make it colder!
Is that so? Well, the water and ice spirits here also absorb the external cold to raise the internal temperature, Yerim said.
- She's a real fire spirit!
- Show us, show us.
- I want to see too!
The water and ice spirits clamored around, and Irin slipped into Yoohyun's clothes. Yerim waved her hand towards the gathering spirits.
"Don't bother them, go away."
- We're not bothering!
- Bring her out, bring her out.
- I want to see too!
As the water and ice spirits circled around, Irin sneaked into Yoohyun's clothes and disappeared.
"Don't bother them, go away."
"We're not bothering!"
"It's just fascinating."
"We want to make contracts too!"
This time, the fire spirits were excited, expressing their envy. It would be nice if Yoohyun could contract with the spirits and take them outside, but I'm not sure if that's possible.
I stored everything from my hat, scarf, gloves, and cardigan in my inventory. Others also took off their outerwear. Yoohyun wouldn't feel the heat, but why bother wearing winter clothes among those dressed for spring?
The scenery of Drosia City resembled a southern resort. While outside, the frozen land was swept by cold, the city was vibrant with colorful buildings. Pretty houses with vivid blue roofs lined both sides of the large river, and flowers bloomed everywhere.
"Monsters appear less frequently here."
As more monsters emerge from the sea, they focus on landscaping more than other cities. They probably didn't feel like meticulously decorating their homes and surroundings every night, only to suffer damages.
After driving along the main road for a while, the Drosia Defense Office finally came into view.
"...It's a lake."
"The waterfall looks impressive."
Can that be called a waterfall? Water was pouring from the sky into a large lake. Behind the waterfall, the Defense Office building was situated. Unlike elsewhere, it had many windows and a clear eco-friendly design.
- Bridge!
- Bridge!
The spirits shouted, and an ice bridge formed across the lake to the entrance of the Defense Office. There was a normal bridge over there too. As we crossed the ice bridge, guards from Drosia, Medsang, and Rancher welcomed us.
We ate well, rested deeply, and the next morning.
"Piece!"
-Meow!
Piece flew over from the other side of the sky. Oh, my child, how did you find me? You came on your own. Impressive! Flapping wings and wagging tail, Piece nestled into my arms.
"Our Piece, you've grown wings! Did you enter a monster with wings? Are you injured?"
-Meow! Meow!
"Yeah, yeah. Well done. Sorry, Dad couldn't find you."
With this, I found all my companions, except for one. I know the whereabouts, but I haven't met them yet. Not once until now.
"Does Guild Leader Sung Hyeonjae need to stay on the system side?"
Moreover, no quests came since yesterday. It should be fine. While petting Piece, I looked around at my companions.
"Let's go finish installing the discs."
There are two left. Once we finish installing them, whether from newcomers or from hyunjae, we might hear more detailed stories. Then, Yerim raised her hand with a troubled expression.
"Ahjussi, I think it might be a bit difficult for me to go."
---