Chapter 203
Chapter 203. Return (3)
“Minister. That’s a matter requiring internal review…”
“Review? Will it change anything? Are you telling me to refuse a request from the hero who accomplished the most important task in this expedition?”
“…….”
The secretary, who conveyed concerns to Jo Du-jin, immediately bowed his head.
He knew that when Jo Du-jin took such a firm stance, he would never back down.
“We’ve already made a huge mistake from the start of this expedition.”
The issues began from the moment they boarded the train due to the Hero Department’s poor management.
Minister Jo Du-jin was not free from that responsibility either.
“Drimium is something useless when stored in a warehouse. If someone capable of handling it appears, I would be willing to hand it over at any time.”
“Is Yoo Ji-han really able to utilize Drimium?”
“I’m not certain. But he has this.”
—Huh?
When Yoo Ji-han pointed at the Sylph with his hand.
The Sylph spun in a loop midair.
Jo Du-jin looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Are you saying a spirit is able to handle Drimium?”
“It seems so.”
“I’ve already had contact with other spirits before.”
“The Sylph is quite a special friend among spirits.”
—Ahem! I’m a bit special!
Jo Du-jin smiled at the Sylph’s self-important tone.
“I don’t recall the Sylph talking in the movie.”
“Perhaps the detailed circumstances will come out in the sequel.”
“Oh! I’m looking forward to it.”
“When can I receive Drimium?”
“I’ll contact you separately soon.”
Afterward, Jo Du-jin spoke with his secretary about opening the warehouse.
It seemed that items like Drimium were managed with high levels of security.
There appeared to be procedural issues involved in retrieving the items.
“Oh, I’ll attach a few conditions to handing over Drimium.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“First, 꿀잼 must show me the results of using Drimium within one year. If that doesn’t happen, they must return the items to the Hero Department. It’s a strict condition, but I think this way there won’t be any complaints afterward. Will that be okay?”
“Absolutely no problem.”
The condition to return Drimium if it remained in its unprocessed state a year from now.
Yoo Ji-han agreed without hesitation.
After all, if it was deemed an unusable item, there was no reason to keep it.
“And you must hand over the people from another world that you captured.”
“Understood. That was our intention for bringing them alive from the start.”
“…… Were you thinking of the Hero Department from the beginning?”
“More accurately, I was thinking of the citizens. Aside from officials like us, nobody knows the full situation, so it was necessary to make their existence known to the world.”
“Very well done.”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Jo Du-jin clapped his hands in admiration.
Yoo Ji-han, at that moment, recalled the events at the border of dimensions and clenched his fist.
“Cough! Please show mercy to the person from another world named Jerry.”
“Why?”
“If it weren’t for her, the battle would have been even tougher.”
“I understand.”
Yoo Ji-han, having mentioned Jerry, felt a bit relieved.
With this, Jerry would surely avoid facing execution at the very least.
“In the future, I’d like you to invite the Yoo Ji-han party to various events, so I hope you can attend then.”
“As long as it doesn’t overlap with important dates, that would be fine. And I left out one thing.”
“What is it?”
“I hope a proper reward is provided to the healer Lee Dong-gil, who stayed with us until the end.”
“Understood.”
“I-I don’t need it, though….”
“Take it when it’s offered.”
Only after determining the reward for Lee Dong-gil did Jo Du-jin leave the treatment room.
Yoo Ji-han and his party remained there, undergoing several checks and treatments.
Fortunately, no one had any major health issues.
The reason they were sent to the treatment room from the beginning was probably that Jo Du-jin was waiting for them.
“Yoo Ji-han, you don’t seem nervous in front of the minister.”
“Was I supposed to be nervous?”
“No, usually heroes tend to be quite flustered the first time they meet him. After all, he’s a hero renowned for being in textbooks. But you boldly requested Drimium.”
“Respect aside, I should take what I’m entitled to.”
“Haha….”
Yang Ji-cheol chuckled awkwardly.
The party that was first discovered while hunting a Giant Monster and advised to rank up.
Now they had performed well enough to earn the notable recognition of the Hero Department Minister.
For Yang Ji-cheol, it was hard to believe.
‘If things go well, they might even receive a rank up without conditions.’
For parties that achieved significant results, skipping a variety of procedures to instantly raise their rank had historically been an exceptional occurrence.
That might soon apply to Yoo Ji-han’s party.
*
“Whoa.”
Yoo Ji-han, with a white towel around his neck, exited the bathroom.
Wet hair and a thoroughly refreshed voice.
The Sylph, who had entered the bathroom with him, shouted.
—Yoo Ji-han is dirty!
“How come you’re not even a bit dusty?”
—Hehe!
The black grime and debris going down the bathroom drain were a clear indicator of Yoo Ji-han’s efforts over time.
It had been ages since he felt like this, as he hadn’t been able to wash properly during the expedition.
In contrast, the Sylph’s round body was spotless, without a speck of dust.
Spirits maintain a clean status 24/7.
Thud.
As Yoo Ji-han plopped down on the sofa, the Sylph landed beside him.
“Today was quite a hassle, huh?”
—Yeah! It was noisy!
Yoo Ji-han gazed out the now-darkened window, recalling his experiences at the Hero Department.
The moment he followed Yang Ji-cheol out after completing his treatment and brief investigation.
The reporters who had been waiting in front of the Hero Department rushed toward him and his party members.
It was really his first experience receiving such attention from the press.
‘Contacts haven’t stopped coming in from friends either.’
His phone buzzed with countless calls and messages.
The same went for Min Yu-ri and Kim Si-hu.
Reluctantly, the three had no choice but to turn off their phones.
“I wonder if my aunt has seen it.”
—What?
“The movie.”
How might his suddenly famous nephew be perceived by his aunt?
The news of their return from the expedition must have been conveyed.
Yoo Ji-han felt he should meet her in person soon to discuss things.
‘The remaining battles should wrap up soon.’
The skirmishes with the remnants of the IUPC and the remaining expeditionary force were still ongoing.
Thanks to communication, updates were sent in real-time.
There were frequent reports that the expeditionary force was gaining the upper hand swiftly.
It seemed likely that all battles would conclude within two to three days.
“Sylph, now that we have some free time, I’d like to ask you something.”
—Ask whatever.
“You can show me another person’s memories by consuming a Magic Stone, right?”
—Correct.
“Is that your unique skill?”
—No. It’s utilizing Yoo Ji-han’s power.
“I see…”
Yoo Ji-han slowly stroked his chin.
The Sylph’s ability had provided critical information throughout the expedition.
While he had felt this intuitively, it was apparent that it was not an inherent capability of the Sylph but rather derived from sampling.
‘It doesn’t quite align with the nature of a wind spirit.’
Reading someone’s memories and air as an attribute don’t connect much at all.
So how exactly does the Sylph understand and utilize sampling?
—I don’t know!
He couldn’t get to that point.
—How does Yoo Ji-han move his body?
“I just move.”
—Me too.
“……Is that so?”
If one delves deeply into how humans move, there’s the process of the brain sending commands to the motor organs, among many other factors.
Yet not everyone in the world moves their bodies with all those complicated elements considered.
You can do it without needing to understand the detailed principles.
The act of the Sylph showing another person’s memories was not too different from that.
‘Maybe it’s because we’re bound by a contract.’
The contract with a spirit lasts until the contractor dies unless severed directly.
The unique skill held by the contractor seemed intricately connected to that.
“Anyway, thanks for your hard work.”
—Did I do well?
“You did great.”
—Hehe!
The Sylph rolled around happily on the sofa.
“I hope Chilla wakes up soon.”
Min Yu-ri had informed him that she had taken care of Chilla at the Hero Department for a while and then went to the hospital where her brother was.
Her parents were waiting at the hospital.
In addition, Jung Young-wook, who hadn’t woken up, was still receiving treatment at the Hero Department.
——I don’t think we’ll see him again now.
Kim Si-hu headed straight home without seeing Jung Young-wook.
It was essentially a declaration of severing ties.
‘Should I inform Jae-kyung?’
It wasn’t something easy to overlook that Jung Young-wook had publicly humiliated Kim Si-hu.
Yoo Ji-han had an obligation to protect his party members.
In that sense, if he informed Park Jae-kyung about the specifics,
There would undoubtedly be a suitable punishment within the Dice.
‘I should also get Si-hu’s opinion.’
It didn’t seem like something to decide alone.
Yoo Ji-han decided to set aside thoughts on that issue for a moment.
“Sylph, are you not going back to the spirit world?”
—It’s boring there! I’m more comfortable here.
The Sylph had remained by Yoo Ji-han’s side throughout the expedition from the beginning until now.
Initially, it was Yoo Ji-han’s intention to increase intimacy with the being.
But now, the Sylph didn’t want to go to the spirit world.
Even if the recovery of magic power was slow, it wished to remain in reality.
“Thinking about it, you were inside Si-hu’s staff until you made a contract with me.”
—Right!
“Why was that?”
—Being in that staff brings back moments spent with Erna.
Erna refers to Erna Hass, Si-hu’s mother.
Despite the contract relationship completely ending with her death,
The Sylph had spent years lingering over her relic, the staff, missing her.
“You could have contracted with Si-hu, her son.”
—Si-hu can’t be my contractor.
“Why not?”
—It’s just how it’s been decided!
Despite being the son of a previous contractor, the Sylph stated it couldn’t contract with Kim Si-hu.
Well, if that were possible, every spirit master could pass their spirits onto their children.
“Then why did you contract with me?”
—Yoo Ji-han is special. Perhaps even more than Erna.
“Is it because of my unique skill?”
—Well, maybe?
“……?”
—I don’t really know either! Hehe!
Erna Hass, who was known as the third princess of the Siron Kingdom in the world called Grudia.
Although he didn’t know the details, it was clear that she had a very remarkable bloodline.
‘Am I more special than that elf?’
The Sylph’s words were utterly incomprehensible.
Seeing the Sylph struggle to explain further,
It seemed the criteria for a contract with a spirit might not be race or status but something far deeper.
—Oh! Mumu and Aqua might know how this feels!
“Doha’s spirit and the water spirit we saw last time, right?”
—Yeah! I think I sensed it when we first met.
Yoo Ji-han recalled Lee Dong-gil, who left for another world via a captain.
The Rank 1 Hero who had first connected with him through the link of a spirit and provided numerous assistance.
The fact that the Sylph had not easily exhausted itself in this expedition as before,
Was primarily due to the training gained from Lee Dong-gil.
‘Having owed a great favor… I can’t stay idle.’
Yoo Ji-han vowed to find the missing Lee Dong-gil.
Even if it meant leaving Earth to directly seek him out in another world.
