#185
The Earthlings of Another World (2)
The day after they arrived in Rohan.
Once Hesperon regained his senses, the four-person hero party arranged a private meeting in his hospital room that included the princess.
Wasn’t their ultimate goal to defeat the Undead King Hans?
In such a situation, it was essential to go through this process for information-gathering, especially since there were those who had been captured and then managed to escape from his stronghold.
Of course, it was a fact that the three of the six gathered were the same person, which no one else could know.
“…And that’s how we barely managed to escape from there. After that, it was nothing special. We moved south through a land swarming with monsters, and we were only saved from an impending encounter with a griffon by the Saint.”
Even though Hesperon had regained consciousness, Riley volunteered to explain the circumstances since he was still a patient.
Leaning back in bed, he decided to add something only when necessary, but her clear and gentle words needed no embellishment.
“Hmm, the Undying Castle. I had already observed that the Undead King’s stronghold was in the Northern Mountain Range, but since it’s a dangerous area, no one had seen it directly…”
When her story finally came to an end.
Heinrich, who had been listening with a heavy expression, closed his eyes as if recalling the scene in his mind and continued.
“Thank you for the valuable information. This will certainly be a great help in facing the Undead King.”
With that serious atmosphere, both Isea, who had a vague grasp of the situation, and Geos, who was leaning against the wall with his spear, felt the same.
Only Harley, who was dozing off, bobbed his head sleepily, seemingly unfazed by the lengthening conversation.
“…But there’s one point of confusion.”
However, at that moment, Geos, who had been quietly listening, opened his mouth with shining eyes.
He was showing an unusually proactive attitude unlike his usual quiet demeanor now that the topic of the Undead King was brought up.
“I don’t think you’ve clearly stated how you managed to escape from the Undead King’s castle. Especially considering it was possible even amid the interference of the Banshee Queen Olivia.”
“That was possible thanks to Hesperon’s special ability, as I mentioned earlier…”
“No, Your Highness. This isn’t something that should just be glossed over. It’s a means to neutralize the security that the Undead King must have carefully built. This is something we must clarify for the future.”
Geos Kalkin, who ordinarily spoke so little, was now flowing with words.
Heinrich, Isea, and even the dozing Harley all looked at him wide-eyed, astonished at this sudden verbal barrage.
“If that is a special ability, then how was it special enough to make it possible? Perhaps the specific conditions required for its activation are the key. Or maybe there’s potential to apply it to other techniques?”
He paused for a moment, then shifted his gaze from Riley to Hesperon, who was sitting upright in bed.
His eyes, no longer shrouded in gloom, burned intensely with an unmistakable fervor.
“Remember, we’re dealing with the Undead King Hans. The very Hans who destroyed this Rohan Principality and slaughtered countless people across the continent. We cannot afford to be picky about the means we use right now.”
“…Hmm.”
Riley, unable to refute, let out a quiet breath.
It was a little extreme, but it was undeniably a valid point.
In a typical situation, it would certainly be a claim well-supported by those around.
One unfortunate aspect, however, was that he was the only one completely oblivious to the situation here.
‘No, wait. This might actually be a good opportunity.’
To ask someone to share personal secrets for a greater cause… could it not apply to him as well!
Having been coveting his technique for some time, this was an excellent chance.
“Well, it’s not like it’s something I need to hide.”
After weighing the calculations back and forth, he made his judgment quickly.
Having been stared at, Hesperon calmly opened his mouth.
“Honestly, I don’t know much about this ability either. I’ve had it for barely two months.”
“What do you mean… Are you saying you went straight to the Northern Mountain Range right after you gained that ability and were then captured by the Undead King?”
“Ah, going there wasn’t my choice. It just happened to be the location I fell into. I’m from another world, you see!”
“…Another world?”
Geos winced at this sudden revelation.
At the same time, Isea also flinched slightly, but she only continued to watch him quietly without showing any other emotion.
“And the ability came from that process… so I really don’t have much to say.”
He finished saying this and shrugged lightly.
In fact, Hesperon had intended to go this route all along, so it was hardly a big secret.
He had no plans to go around blabbing about it, but then again, he wasn’t hiding it with great effort either.
‘It does feel a bit like bait though.’
While he was trying to gauge Geos’s reaction, Geos had been tilting his head, deep in thought ever since he heard the word “another world.”
“Geos, let’s move on from that issue for now. It won’t really mean much to hear complicated details right now anyway.”
“Ah! …Understood, Your Highness. To learn more about that kind of ability, we would need a bit more time.”
“I think it’s best to leave that to the great magician, Isea. She likely knows more than we do, doesn’t she?”
“Indeed, it seems I was too quick to judge.”
And with Heinrich’s intervention, the heated conversation that Geos was having began to cool down, signaling the end of their lengthy discussion.
“It’s gone longer than expected. I’ll pop by the garrison for a bit. You’re free to rest as there are no planned activities for today.”
“Bwahaha! I’m going to take a stroll outside and do some hunting! I’ve been feeling pent up anyway!”
As the people began to get up and head outside, not everyone was leaving.
Finally, as Isea cautiously left the hospital room after glancing around…
“Hesperon? Do you have a moment? I’d like to have a little chat with you.”
Isea, who had stayed until the end, looked at him with narrowed eyes and quietly smiled.
*
At the headquarters of the Global Returnees Association located in the United States.
Click— Click!
“Phew, finally done. Ugh!”
A man who finished uploading the newly added information stretched his weary body and slumped.
“Ugh— This job is never-ending.”
He was a part of the ‘Current World Status Team’ of the Returnees Association, collecting information from various places to update the status of each dimension.
At first glance, one might think the effort put into it yielded little, but surprisingly, it was a project that received a lot of public support.
For those who hadn’t awakened yet, it provided pre-information about other worlds to boost their survival chances, while for those who had already returned, it served as a way to indirectly gain knowledge about their world, functioning like news.
In fact, ordinary people had no idea which dimension they would end up in until their transmission, meaning the likelihood of finding useful content among the hundreds of dimensions was rather low.
But despite that, knowing a little about an unfamiliar world was infinitely better than knowing nothing, right?
‘Should they land in a world they’ve been interested in, it would drastically shorten their adaptation period and significantly increase their survival chances.’
In fact, this effect was gradually reflected in the rising return rates recently.
‘Of course, from the working perspective, it’s vexing how frequently updates are needed due to time differences.’
Additionally, at the headquarters, collating information submitted from branches worldwide required cross-verifying data, meaning newly confirmed information would often be discarded not long after being organized.
Another bothersome aspect was that verifying the authenticity of information from dimensions that had been observed not long ago required considerable effort.
Since the information organized here spread worldwide, it needed meticulous checking to prevent false information from being mixed in.
However, it was inevitably difficult to verify information in dimensions with little pre-existing data and few knowledgeable individuals.
‘But this dimension was a bit less of an issue.’
He quietly nodded to himself as he reviewed the information he had just uploaded.
-New) Dimension of Auterica.
This place had also seen little returnees, but the few people who did come back often had consistent stories, allowing verification to proceed swiftly.
Since they returned around the same time, there were not significant discrepancies in the world situations they were aware of.
‘…They mentioned that the emergence of the Demon King has thrown the world into chaos.’
With monsters rampaging across the continent, several nations staggering under the pressure, and even minor countries that fell into ruin or were occupied by vampire demons taking advantage of the chaos, there was no need to elaborate further.
The Association’s estimated danger level was ‘quite high, caution advised.’
It was an environment where half-awakened returnees would likely choose to return in droves.
‘That wouldn’t be much of a concern for people on Earth. Anyway, time has slipped by. I should start getting ready to clock out.’
At any rate, his job was done here; the rest was up to those who would absorb the information.
In this way, the information that began at the headquarters of the Global Returnees Association spread rapidly across the world via the internet—
Translated swiftly into each language and made public by skilled workers, it became accessible to anyone willing to pay a nominal fee.
“Oh? Looks like the information is starting to trickle out. It seems there were quite a few Earthlings in Auterica after all.”
Among those examining the data was Seong-hyun Han, who was going about his usual daily routine in South Korea across the Pacific.
Having finished his workout and shower in the gym at his home, he found himself excited by materials he discovered while browsing the internet with a towel draped over his shoulder.
While there wasn’t much high-level information, the content was definitely richer than before, suggesting that the number of returnees hadn’t been low.
However, one thing that rankled him slightly was…
– The world is currently in chaos due to the invasion of the Demon King, ‘Undead King Hans’. All monsters are immersed in madness…
The name of the Undead King had indeed been exposed as ‘Hans’ to Earth.
Having somewhat given up already, he still held a glimmer of hope since he had been diligently promoting that name.
It seemed that those efforts had not been enough to reach even the Earthlings living in Auterica.
“Tsk, nothing can be done about it now.”
In this place, it was referred to as the Hahoe Mask, so there was no need to be attached to the Undead King’s name.
After all, that name existed only on paper, without any true substance.
‘Hmm, but surprisingly, the content isn’t bad. If I grasp this well, it would greatly assist in adapting. …I wish something like this had been available when I went.’
He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he skimmed through the information about Auterica.
– The largest faction dominating the religious sector of Auterica, the Holy Church Order’s saint ‘Heinrich Saint Landgard’ stands with his allies against the Undead King, thus avoiding immediate war. However, the precarious situation remains unchanged.
– Vampire demons have seized control of the country in the Talia Kingdom of the western Ion Continent. Although currently, there are no issues due to the strong control of their vampire sovereign, this situation is also unstable…
Most of the information was things he was already familiar with.
In fact, it was not surprising since he had been involved in many important events, making it natural to know.
‘What’s this?’
However, not all the information was useless—
Remarkably, there were pieces of information he had not yet grasped included in there.
– A coup erupted in the Calcos Tribal Alliance in southern Ion Continent. It has progressed so covertly that details remain unknown. However, since it is generally a region that is exclusive to outsiders, if it started from here…
‘A coup?’
He already knew the southern tribal alliance was chaotic and had plans to visit soon.
He had just kept putting it off due to various happenings recently.
‘But a coup, you say? So stealthy that the various intelligence organizations in Auterica couldn’t even catch a whiff?’
While the tribal alliance was indeed called an information blind spot, it was still unusual for no one to have noticed such a major incident.
It meant the perpetrators were likely very determined and had carefully planned their actions.
‘But those who were that thorough in blocking information wouldn’t have expected an Earthling to escape through dimensions. If they’re knowledgeable enough to be aware of such matters, they must be close to high-ranking figures.’
Anyway, he was thankful for acquiring useful information thanks to this development.
“Hmm… Southern region, coup. How can I take advantage of this? It would be great if I could understand the details better.”
Great events often accompany great karma.
Moreover, considering the southern region, Harley would surely have many insights to gain.
‘After all, it’s his hometown!’
Of course, it was something Harley had unilaterally decided to call his hometown.
Yet if he were to break the backs of anyone who objected, wouldn’t everyone eventually recognize his genuine intent?
Thus, the alluring scent of ripe information began to waft from the southern region, a place that had been postponed due to a lack of data.
