I dodged the monster’s attacks several times, swinging my axe this way and that.
Though my body was quite exhausted, it was an old habit from before that came out without thinking.
‘As expected, killing with melee combat is just more fun if possible.’
Finding amusement in the midst of this chaos.
If Ban Eunhyeol knew, he’d probably be horrified, but since I could easily kill it in hand-to-hand combat, summoning a corpse wouldn’t sit well with my pride.
“Krwaaar!”
The wooden monster, making a roar like a wild beast, finally split completely in two and fell beside me.
I landed softly on the ground and put my axe back into my inventory.
The moment my foot touched the ground, my body staggered, but I quickly regained my balance.
Thud~!
At just the right timing, the Four Heavenly Kings also managed to bring down the main body.
Apparently, there was quite a difference in strength between the fake and the real one.
Watching the scenery around me transform into a karaoke room, I let out a deep sigh.
Normally, I don’t get tired easily, but maybe because I had been pushing my body hard on purpose lately, I just wanted to sit down and rest somewhere.
“Bisharp.”
As soon as I confirmed we had returned from the gate to the Coin Karaoke where we’d been hanging out, I called Bisharp over.
“I’m going to head home first. Sorry, but you guys play among yourselves today.”
“You look really tired. Go inside and get some rest.”
Eunbada kindly opened the door and saw me off.
Everyone looked disappointed but didn’t dare stop me.
“Come with me.”
Instead of holding me back, Ban Eunhyeol seemed to have decided to escort me.
Suddenly, he jumped up and swept me up in a princess carry.
“Wow! That’s so cool!”
“Oh, Ban Eunhyeol, that was pretty awesome this time, huh?”
“Yeah, carrying her gently like that is better. She looks like she’s about to collapse any second. Eunhyeol, be careful and see her off.”
My friends said one by one with surprised expressions when they saw us.
Jiganghan silently gave a thumbs-up.
I don’t know how many shocked stares we had to endure passing through the narrow hallway of the Coin Karaoke.
Embarrassed, I covered my face and whispered so only Ban Eunhyeol could hear,
“I can walk……”
“I know. Just let it be like this.”
Even if I said I could walk, Ban Eunhyeol was immovable.
He showed no intention of putting me down.
Period.
Only after we moved to the rooftop of the Coin Karaoke did Ban Eunhyeol put me onto Bisharp’s back after he returned to his main body.
Then, he climbed on Bisharp’s back as well.
“You’re coming too?”
“You look like you’ll fall asleep on the way home. What if you fall off while sleeping?”
“Fine, do whatever you want.”
Lying face down on Bisharp’s broad and comfortable back, I buried my face there. I was truly on the verge of passing out, just as Ban Eunhyeol said, exhausted.
“Sleep. I’ll wake you when we get there.”
Since the distance from here to my house wasn’t far, we’d probably arrive before I even fell asleep, but I answered okay and closed my eyes.
“Sleep?”
Sure enough, I arrived home before I could even fall asleep.
Ban Eunhyeol gently shook my body and woke me.
“No……”
Speaking with a voice heavy with fatigue, I barely sat up, and my room’s window came into view.
Bisharp moved his body close to my window so I could get in.
“You must have come in here a lot, huh?”
“There’s no place more convenient than this when sneaking out silently.”
Ban Eunhyeol smiled faintly, looking between me and Bisharp who seemed quite used to this situation.
“Get some sleep as soon as you get in. You really look like you can finally have that dream tonight.”
“Because I look tired?”
“Yeah, if you keep tossing and turning here, you won’t fall asleep but pass out.”
Ban Eunhyeol grumbled as if displeased with my suffering but helped me get safely inside the room.
“Well then, sleep. I’m leaving.”
“Yeah. Bisharp, make sure to take him back to the karaoke room after this.”
[Yes, Master.]
Bisharp, who carried me, left to take Ban Eunhyeol back to the karaoke, and I collapsed onto my bed without delay.
[Call me! I could’ve flown here faster.]
“You’re fast but keep getting distracted along the way.”
While closing my eyes, Red appeared beside me and said gruffly.
But when I immediately pointed out Red’s chronic flaw, he had no comeback.
“I’m going to sleep. Tell my parents I said hi.”
Since I entered through the window and not the front door, they would definitely be surprised.
I made sure Sahin and Red knew that I’d come in through the window, then quickly fell into a deep sleep.
***
‘Huh?’
As soon as I opened my eyes, I looked around dazedly.
This was my original home, the one I hadn’t seen in my dreams despite sleeping every day.
Unlike before, it looked a bit more tidy; apparently, Idanha had been paying some attention to cleaning.
‘Maybe living here permanently changed her attitude a bit.’
Idanha wasn’t home.
I sat down and decided to wait for her, plopping down on the sofa after a long time.
I pondered what I should say when she came, and before I knew it, time had passed quickly.
Beep beep beep—
After the sound of the door lock unlocking, I calmly got up and walked to the entrance.
“Wh-what are you doing here?”
She must have thought she’d never see me again, so she was very shocked to find me here.
Idanha didn’t even take off her shoes and stood by the shoe rack staring at me, rubbing her eyes as if she couldn’t believe it.
“This is a dream. I came because I have something to tell you.”
“You can now freely cross dimensions in dreams?”
“That’s what happened.”
Since I didn’t know when I might wake up, I decided to get straight to the point.
I calmly explained what would happen to the dimension where Idanha had been living.
The more she heard, the more her expression twisted.
Judging by her reaction, I felt relieved that she would probably be able to swap bodies safely.
‘Well, many people will die or get hurt, so she can’t keep being stubborn forever.’
If we just swapped bodies, we could live in the dimensions we each wanted, so it wouldn’t be a loss for Idanha either.
Period.
She’d be able to live comfortably enjoying what I’d built.
Although going back to my original body would make modeling a bit difficult.
But unlike I thought, Idanha was even more selfish than I imagined, scrambling to secure her own interests.
“So, what’s the connection between that dimension falling apart and you coming here?”
Idanha asked, crossing her arms, and a bad premonition brushed down my spine.
I calmly explained to Idanha.
We have to swap.
Then the gate in that dimension will disappear, and there won’t be an S-rank gate appearing anymore.
Idanha was silent for a moment, then covered her face with her hands.
“I was just starting to live happily, and now this…”
She seemed to really like living in my body.
“There’s no time.”
Though she wanted some time to think, I pushed for an answer so I wouldn’t give her any room to hesitate.
I didn’t tell her that people would come back to life if I returned to this dimension on purpose.
I had to say everyone would die to make her agree to swap bodies easily.
Even if she didn’t swap bodies, if I came here after the S-rank gate exploded, I would forcibly swap bodies anyway.
Eventually, she’d have to swap bodies forcibly, so I asked her to do it sooner rather than later.
If it’s a body that will change anyway, swapping a bit earlier isn’t a big deal.
That was my way of thinking.
Period.
But suddenly, as if she had noticed something, Idanha looked at the empty air and burst out laughing.
“What’s this? You said everything would be restored if you returned here at that time?”
“Huh?”
Idanha knew a part I hadn’t told her.
“Yes, you’re forced to come back to this dimension, but I don’t have to go back to that dimension.”
Period.
Damn!
This cursed system must have shown all the parts it didn’t tell Idanha through her status screen.
‘So they’re telling us to know everything fairly and make a decision? Even if they can’t help, they won’t interfere?’
I couldn’t let Idanha see that I deliberately hid that part, so I just chewed on my status screen repeatedly inside.
“Of course, it’s true you won’t go back to that dimension, but our bodies will probably be swapped here. Can you live well in this world with this body and nothing else?”
I deliberately took a hard stance.
Kang Yedam said that right after I disappeared, Idanha didn’t appear in the other dimension, so maybe Tanaji chose not to return despite the body swap.
If that’s the case, it would definitely be quite difficult for Idanha to adapt and live well in this dimension with her original body and no resources.
Until now, she’d been living comfortably using the money I’d earned in my house, but if I took back my body, she wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.
My strong approach seemed to work; Idanha bit her lips and fell into deep thought.
I patiently waited for her decision.
Because I thought there was only one choice in this situation anyway.
But my expectations were completely wrong.
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