It was only after a long, long time that I finally managed to break free from the pile of clan members pressing in on me. Those who had buried me so thoroughly seemed to have calmed down somewhat after quite a while—though some still hadn’t.
I barely escaped the heap and sank into a chair at the table, letting out a sigh as I lowered my gaze.
“Sniff…! Hic…! Sob….”
Lee Yujeong was sitting on the inn’s floor, crying and hiccuping alternately, clutching my leg tightly. The sight was so pitiful that I gently brushed her hair, which had a faint reddish tint.
“Yujeong, it’s okay now. You can stop crying.”
But her small shoulders kept trembling. She squeezed her eyes shut as if trying to hold back another wave of tears, then let out a strange whimper. She gripped my leg even tighter.
“It can’t be helped. Yujeong really gave us a hard time while you were gone. The clan lord has to understand that.”
Shin Jaeryong said with a satisfied smile, having just flipped someone onto the floor. I gave a bitter laugh and tilted my chin to the side.
“Enough already. I appreciate the warm welcome, but at this rate, someone’s going to die.”
Shin Jaeryong looked a bit embarrassed, then laughed and stood up. As the other clan members who had been piled on one by one got to their feet, someone finally appeared. At the very bottom lay Kim Hanbyul, slumped and exhausted. She had taken care to tidy herself up that morning, but now her hair was a mess. I probably looked just as disheveled.
After a moment, I watched Kim Hanbyul get up with watery eyes, then slowly scanned the room. Every single clan member had risen and surrounded me without exception. After checking their faces one by one, I quietly spoke.
“So, have you all calmed down a bit now?”
They shook their heads, clearly still unsettled.
Flustered, I hurried to continue.
“I imagine you have a lot of questions. What happened after we entered the black hole, how we came back, and so on.”
This time, they nodded eagerly.
“Same here. I want to hear in detail what happened while I was gone. First, does anyone know how many days have passed since Hanbyul and I disappeared into the black hole?”
“Three weeks and a bit more,” Jung Hayeon answered immediately.
“Three weeks… That’s an awkward amount of time.”
I paused to think, then clapped my hands twice to draw their attention.
“Alright then. I’ll start the story. Everyone, please take a seat anywhere.”
The clan members exchanged slightly dazed looks but soon began to scatter and sit down. Yujeong had quieted down but still clung to my leg, refusing to let go. I didn’t feel the need to force her off—honestly, it wasn’t unpleasant.
Before long, everyone was seated. I glanced at Kim Hanbyul beside me and slowly began.
“First of all…”
As expected, the explanation was quite long. By the time I finished, the sun had risen high in the sky. That was proof enough of how much we all had to say.
During the lengthy recounting, the clan members showed a variety of reactions, most of them bewildered. Understandably so—most still regarded Gehenna as the enemy. Not just an enemy, but a mortal foe they hated with a passion.
Faced with such a crowd, especially with Ko Yeonju and the women listening intently, I couldn’t possibly tell the whole truth. Imagine if I said, “Honestly, it seemed like I was overreacting. So we made up and had sex. And not just that—I even got her pregnant.” What kind of reaction would that get?
In the end, I had to omit or alter a lot.
I emphasized that after the dimensional shift, I was unconscious for a very long time, and that Gehenna had saved me when I was close to death. I explained that we couldn’t have faced Gehenna in that dimension and that we returned through some kind of deal.
Some clan members raised questions about this “deal,” but I brushed it off by saying Gehenna was deeply interested in Hwa-jeong’s power. In other words, despite being mere humans, we had somehow matched their strength, sparking their curiosity and leading to research and cooperation. This vague explanation covered the deal, why Gehenna saved me, and why I had spent so long in hell. (Kim Hanbyul coughed awkwardly a few times during this, but each time I muttered “Hush…” and she fell silent.)
I finished by saying that I had unintentionally helped hell and, in return, was allowed to come back with some compensation. After Kim Hanbyul unpacked the items I brought, the clan members seemed to accept the story to some extent.
Next, it was my turn to listen.
When I asked what had happened, the others immediately crowded around, eager to complain about how much they missed me and how hard things had been.
But frankly, that wasn’t what I wanted to hear. More precisely, I wanted to know how things had unfolded in the whole plain—the area around Atlanta—while I was gone.
I appreciated their warm welcome, but that could only last so long. I couldn’t live in this mood forever. Fortunately, Ko Yeonju and Jung Hayeon met my expectations.
To sum up, the situation around Atlanta was quite ambiguous.
As expected, the expedition team hadn’t entered the city immediately after discovering it. They had been carrying out basic cleanup operations to make the city somewhat habitable, and that cleaning had dragged on for over three weeks.
Logically, that made no sense. The tough part of the conquest was over. Any user would want to clear the area quickly and start operating. Yet the basic cleanup was still sluggish? That meant something had gone wrong.
What could the problem be? I pondered quietly.
Previously, the Northern Continent was divided into power zones: East and South were the two strongest, North was the middle power, and West was the weakest. But after the Steel Mountain Range conquest, the balance shifted. Just before Atlanta, the summoning ritual of Gehenna dealt a massive blow to the East. The Eastern commander-in-chief, Jo Seongho, and nearly 2,000 others, including major clans, were casualties. (I couldn’t help but shudder at this—during the first Gehenna summoning, about 1,800 users died as sacrifices.)
The East had been called the second strongest despite lacking top-tier users, thanks to its large user base. But losing half its main force, including the commander, overnight dropped it below middle power. They had been greedy at the end and got a serious backstab. And that wasn’t all. Their actions from the start of this conquest had already earned them the enmity of the West, South, and North.
So, the East had only one way out: to secure a foothold in the newly discovered Atlanta.
That was likely where the problem arose—more precisely, a problem related to Atlanta’s structure.
“…So that’s roughly how it is.”
After hearing all this, I let out a long sigh. I wanted to hear more, but even this was enough for me to need time to process. Besides, my stomach was starting to growl.
“Oh, by the way, there’s a third summit meeting in three days, hosted by the Low Road of Istanbul. I’ve been invited and told them I’d attend.”
At that moment, Ko Yeonju spoke as if she’d just remembered.
“Third? Summit?”
I asked, puzzled, and she smiled bitterly.
“Yes. Compared to the first and second, this one is much larger in scale. It’s expected to completely resolve the chaotic situation in Atlanta. Many users have high hopes for it.”
“A complete resolution… under Han Soyoung’s leadership… The Low Road of Istanbul must have risen in status.”
“Absolutely. They suffered the least damage in this conquest but claimed the greatest success. Plus, with the East in such a state, they’re riding a wave of complete ascendancy.”
“Hmm.”
There was a trace of self-mockery in Ko Yeonju’s tone. The clan members listening looked somewhat subdued.
Throughout the conversation, I had a strange feeling. Even without pinpointing it, I sensed the mercenary group’s situation wasn’t good. Internal factors were the biggest cause, but I couldn’t rule out external ones. In other words, someone with malicious intent might be stirring things up.
Only then did Heo Junyoung’s words about “running around everywhere” and “there are some damn annoying brats” start to make sense. With the external situation worsening and internal discord growing, it must have been truly frustrating.
At the same time, I could understand how the clan members felt. Even after making the greatest contribution during the raid, they had to endure a slump afterward. Though it was only three weeks, it was right after the raid, so feeling down was inevitable.
“If my guess is right, I have a pretty good idea who it might have been… Anyway, they’ve come back at just the right time. That’s a relief.”
With that thought, I stretched as hard as I could. Clasping my hands together, I raised them high above my head, and a refreshing sensation swept through my entire body. Then, I quietly spoke.
“I feel like there’s more to hear… but alright. I’ve listened carefully.”
“Suhyun. Then…”
“Yes. Let’s start with a meal first.”
“…What?”
At the mention of eating, Jeong Ha-yeon responded with a hesitant voice. I glanced around and gently rubbed my stomach.
“It’s well past morning already. Doesn’t anyone feel like eating?”
“Well, yes… but what about what comes next…?”
“What comes next? Oh, the summit? Isn’t it in three days?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Then what’s the problem? Three days should be plenty.”
“…”
I deliberately emphasized the words “I think.”
“…!”
At that, a strange light slowly began to flicker across Jeong Ha-yeon’s previously blank expression. Not just her, but every clan member looked at me with a curious, almost mischievous gaze. It felt a little odd, but one thing was clear—it wasn’t an unpleasant look.
“Thank you all for your hard work.”
For now, that was all I could say.
Honestly, I had a good idea what the clan wanted to hear, but I didn’t say it out loud. There was no need to put it into words. I would show them through my actions what they truly wanted.
Yes. Now that I’m back, the mercenaries’ slump is over. Here in Atlanta, we will once again take flight like we did in Monica…
“No.”
We will spread our wings even wider than before.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
The king’s return is not yet complete. Heh heh.