The green leaves had turned colorful and fallen to the ground before I even realized it. Surely, they must have changed slowly day by day, but when I finally paid attention, the ground was already covered with fallen leaves.
The weather had also shifted, feeling closer to “cold” than “chilly,” and even in the afternoon sun, the drop in temperature was unmistakable.
It was the kind of weather that made me wonder if a coat meant for autumn was no longer enough. Come to think of it, back in that other world, it was never cold enough to make winters unbearable.
If the winters there had been anything like Korea’s, we would have never been able to launch any attacks during the season.
With only five people, lighting a fire in the middle of a field at night would have immediately given away our position to the enemy.
At least we had magic to keep ourselves warm. But even so, I couldn’t imagine surviving a Korean winter without a fire, especially in the middle of an open field or deep in the mountains or forests.
Regardless of the growing chill in the air, autumn has always been a season that stirs up thoughts. Maybe it’s because of the sight of mountains shedding their vibrant colors and becoming bare.
Or maybe it’s because the dry, fallen leaves and stark, skeletal branches are so vividly visible.
Still, there’s one thing I’m grateful for, I’m not alone.
I get to see my sister six days a week. Once a month, we do volunteer work together, so that week, I see her every day. Occasionally, we make plans to meet up for meals, too.
Ga-young, who joined us as a part-timer, was quickly adapting as well. Any awkwardness had mostly disappeared.
The house was always lively. With five of us living there, it always felt warm when I came home. Even my strange habits had improved drastically over the past few weeks.
Although I still had episodes late at night, I no longer reached for a knife. Whenever I curled up in the living room, Arna would always come out and stand firm in front of me.
It seemed Arna hadn’t shared my peculiar habits with the other party members yet. Kalia, Fia, Dana, and Arna everyone had adapted pretty well to this world.
“…The weather is just impossible to get used to.”
Or maybe not entirely. Kalia, already wearing a rather thick coat, grumbled.
“If you’re already like this, it’s going to be a problem. It’ll get much colder from here.”
“…Colder than this?”
“Not just colder way colder. It’ll snow heavily, and when it gets truly cold, the wind will feel like it’s stabbing you.”
And there are even colder places in this world. Head north to Gyeonggi or Gangwon Province, and it’ll be much worse.
North Korea is said to be colder still, and I’ve heard that in Antarctica, even viruses can’t survive because it’s so freezing.
“So, you’re saying it gets this cold here and yet, it gets that hot in summer?”
Of course, Kalia hadn’t experienced a Korean summer yet. She had only heard about it from me. But her shock was understandable.
To think of a place where the freezing cold can shift to a sweltering heat it must sound unbelievable to someone experiencing it for the first time.
Even U.S. soldiers had joked that Korean summers were as hot as California and winters were as cold as Alaska. Sure, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s not entirely untrue.
“Still, it has its charm. You get to enjoy things that only summer can offer, and things that only winter can bring.”
“If summer is that hot and winter is that cold, doesn’t the weather make it impossible to enjoy anything at all?”
“Well, I guess people still find ways to enjoy themselves.”
Not that I would know. Summer and winter are vacation periods, and I didn’t really go anywhere during school breaks.
Oh, except that one time after college entrance exams, when our class went to an amusement park.
“Then why don’t we go together?”
Noticing my expression, Kalia suddenly blurted out the suggestion.
“Hmm?”
“I was thinking, since we’re already in this world, why not fully experience how people live here? Winter is coming soon, so why not enjoy the things people typically do in winter? You could even bring along your ‘sister.’”
“Ah…”
Now that I thought about it, I’d never gone on a proper trip with my sister while living here. And, of course, I’d never gone traveling with my comrades back in Irellexia either.
“Do you think… we should?”
“Hmm. Of course, we don’t have the means to contribute anything right now, so we’d have to rely on you. But I swear, if we ever find a way back to our world, I’ll make sure to repay you.”
“Oh, no, that’s not necessary. It’s not like it’s money I could spend all by myself anyway.”
“…It would’ve been nice if the nobles of Irellexia shared your mindset. But still, that’s beside the point. We’re the ones staying here and imposing on you, after all.”
“Still, you all help around the house all the time.”
“That’s just us cleaning up the messes we make while living here. We prepare meals because we need to eat, too. Making sure we don’t inconvenience you, who’s providing us shelter, is just common courtesy.”
Kalia was unyielding.
Perhaps this was another one of her habits from living as a noble. Among nobles, even acts of goodwill were often repaid in kind—it was simply expected.
Of course, I didn’t think Kalia was being calculating about her relationship with me. She probably just considered this the bare minimum of proper manners.
“…Let’s talk about that later.”
Even so, I didn’t want anything in return from my comrades. Just having them here with me was already enough. They had been a tremendous source of emotional support for me, more than they probably realized.
To the point where I wasn’t sure how I’d get by after they eventually left.
Since that day, I hadn’t spoken with the goddess. Probably because there was no way to initiate contact for now.
Although she had mentioned that her power could be used multiple times, if it were something she could wield freely, I figured she would have already facilitated a few round trips.
Dana would likely have figured out how to use her magic for that by now, too.
“There’s a lot to buy.”
When I showed Kalia the list on my smartphone, she nodded.
Of course, the list had been written by Dana, who had become almost as fluent in Korean as a native.
She had taken a liking to fiddling with the smartphone keyboard and had enthusiastically typed out an extensive list.
Even though food delivery is convenient, you can only eat out so many times.
Restaurant meals tend to be more stimulating in flavor than home-cooked food, so eating them too often can get tiring.
Plus, it wasn’t practical to assume that the dishes would suit the palates of my four comrades, who were used to simpler meals.
When you crave the food from your homeland, you just have to have it.
One of the things I missed most while in Irellexia was not being able to eat the foods I was used to.
That’s why I now often went grocery shopping during my free time.
I mostly bought ingredients. Occasionally, I’d pick up clothes or… feminine products.
My comrades had no hesitation about picking out feminine products in front of me.
They claimed it was the most convenient thing they’d come across since arriving in this world. I understood why they needed them, but…
Their complete lack of embarrassment when choosing them in front of me was a bit startling.
Was it because they thought we were close enough that there was no need for secrets between us? Or because they had accepted me as a woman now?
Either way, I knew it was a good thing.
I really did.
But still… it was embarrassing.
Not just watching them pick out such items, but also when they saw me buying them.
I wasn’t even sure why it embarrassed me.
It’s not like we hadn’t seen far more embarrassing things on the battlefield. In the chaos of war, there was no time for men and women to separate and handle things discreetly.
Not that we intentionally revealed anything to one another, but we had at least communicated and coordinated.
Well, even on the battlefield, when we had to change clothes, we would at least turn our backs to one another.
There was a mutual effort to respect privacy, after all. It wasn’t about being male or female it was a matter of basic human decency.
“Is something wrong?”
Lost in thought, I was startled when Kalia spoke up.
“Oh, no, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about whether there’s anything else we need to buy.”
It felt a bit awkward to admit the real reason I’d been mulling things over, so I left it at that.
“Hmmm…”
Kalia seemed to notice that something was on my mind, judging by the way her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were suspicious. But thankfully, she didn’t press further.
“Anyway, we’ve got a lot to buy, so let’s hurry up and go.”
Feeling embarrassed, I tried to brush it off and urged her along. Kalia let out a small laugh at my flustered tone.