Starting a Reversal in Life From the Time of Release

40 – First, I Must Survive (1)

Mari gathered the lights and forcefully covered me when she returned.

The container house had nothing, not even a floor, so we had set up a tent.

That’s why I had no choice but to lean my back against the tent.

“Mari…?”

“Today’s work is done, right? Now you can rest.”

“Uh… yeah. But why is that…?”

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Instead of answering, Mari crept up quietly.

As I looked at Mari climbing on top, a dry gulp involuntarily slid down my throat.

“I am the cell leader after all, can’t afford to lag behind Unni, right?”

She squinted her eyes, smiling slyly, then slowly pressed her lips against mine.

Even in the already hot container, the heat intensified as our act unfolded.

When the deed was done,

we were both drenched in sweat.

.

“Alright, cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Late August. I shared a drink with the people I had shared the same prison cell with.

I said I’d treat them, so any fancy place would do.

In the end, we gathered at a chicken joint that could be found in the neighborhood and clinked our beer glasses.

Of course, I’m not disregarding the chicken.

Chicken is as splendid a dish as s*x, some would say.

“It’s quite intriguing when we gather like this.”

Mr. Hwang laid his beer glass on the table first, opening his mouth.

The large beer glass was already more than half empty.

“Yeah, when people like us meet in a place like this, it’s… quite fascinating.”

Mr. Park laughed as he looked at the beer sloshing around inside his glass.

His gaze seemed distant, as if lost in a reminiscence.

“Oh, speaking of which, what happened? The false accusation.”

“Oh… that? The record has been erased.”

Mr. Park came to prison with a false accusation of s*xual harassment.

And because someone revealed that it was a false accusation, he was planning to file a lawsuit. But the woman who accused him ended up dead.

Not from illness, but her head was bitten off by a muzzled mastiff that had escaped from the gate.

I still vividly remember Mr. Park’s voice, filled with a sense of emptiness upon hearing the news.

“Sometimes it feels absurd and infuriating… but I think I deserved it. Just accepting it that way.”

He tried to swindle some money and ended up getting his head swindled.

When I heard those words, a memory came to mind of me unknowingly smiling.

“Yeah. That’s right. I got my head ripped off while trying to rip off some money.”

“Even thinking about it now, it’s ridiculously funny!”

Other people had similar thoughts and laughed together as a group.

I was also one of those people.

“Is there any big problem with everyone working?”

“No. Thanks to that, I’m doing well. I live well while receiving a salary.”

“That’s right. Although some people don’t look favorably upon it, it can’t be helped. The work itself is not that difficult because it’s quite flexible.”

“That’s true. We don’t have to go through the gate every day either.”

They were all part of small or medium-sized guilds and worked in the collection team there.

The collection team operates when the gate-hunting team moves and collects carcasses of magical creatures scattered within the gate.

So, it can be considered a holiday on days when there is no gate cleaning.

They chatted. Ate. Drank.

The atmosphere gradually became lively.

“Alright, let’s toast again!”

This time, Lee Ji-in, who was in the middle of eating chicken, raised his glass and everyone clinked glasses and drank.

Perhaps because they drank a lot of beer, a cheerful atmosphere started to spread among everyone.

Some people’s cheeks turned red, and some started to blush.

“By the way, I heard you’ve been busy lately?”

While chatting, Hwang Du-sik, who was sitting across from me, looked at me and asked.

“What do you mean by busy? It’s not that much… Why do you ask?”

“No. I heard that you haven’t been around for a few months, and now you’re stuck in the demilitarized zone.”

“How do you know that?”

If I were still in the guild, one would know.

But now, there is no one to spread the news.

As I tilted my head and asked, a sneer escaped from Hwang Du-sik’s lips.

“Well, there’s a lookout post there. It started from there and spread as a rumor. Even about having a lover.”

“Oh… I see.”

Come to think of it, I did ask about Mari when we gathered today.

I didn’t expect that it would all start from the lookout post as a rumor…

“It’s already easy to provoke, so it must be even more so for someone like you.”

“Provoking? Do you even know how to say such things?”

I was greatly surprised when the term ‘provoking’ came out of my former senior’s mouth.

In response, Hwang Doo-sik laughed and said I’m also a person nowadays.

“It’s quite amusing for someone risking their life hunting Leviathans.”

“…It’s fortunate that you find it amusing.”

“Well… anyway.”

He chewed on the chicken in front of him and spat out a chewed bone.

“And you should be cautious as well. There are rumors spreading that are not to be taken lightly.”

If Hwang Doo-sik says something is not to be taken lightly, it could mean something dangerous.

So, I put aside my amusement and asked.

“In what aspect?”

“It’s an unsubstantiated rumor, but… it seems that someone is gathering people for something. They seem to be focusing on people from that side.”

“If it’s people from that side, does that mean they are targeting the hunters?”

“Well, yeah. It’s primarily aimed at superhumans and hunters who have had their licenses suspended. So, you should be careful too. I don’t know why they are gathering people, but it seems like they are gathering hunters. There could be multiple.”

Someone is gathering criminals.

It’s a rumor, but it doesn’t seem to be a simple rumor.

Because Hwang Doo-sik spoke with seriousness, it felt even more so.

“I understand. I will accompany you for the time being, Soo-yul.”

“Yes. Be careful.”

“Thank you for letting me know. Then.”

Click. The next day. I immediately called Seo Ha-neul and told her about what happened yesterday.

It was because of Mari’s expression that losing a useful servant is a loss of property.

Mari always accompanied me, so it wasn’t a big concern, and as long as the two of us were careful, it would be fine.

“It’s the same whether it’s here or there.”

Mari, who was listening to the conversation by my side, chuckled and said.

She said that because the conflict between this side and that side was so familiar.

“Yeah. People are the same everywhere.”

“Because they are human. There may be small differences, but there won’t be much of a big one.”

“People are ultimately just people.

Today, this obvious statement felt remarkably heavy.

“Yeah. Shouldn’t we contact the Chief of the Guard too? If we leave him alone, things might get noisy…”

The Chief of the Guard has been staying in the unarmed zone container house for a few weeks now. It’s all because of the gate research, needless to say. But in this situation, if we were to run into the Chief of the Guard…

I nodded and stood up from my seat.

“Is it okay to go now?”

“There’s nothing to stop us. Let’s go.”

Mari replied confidently, taking my hand and pulling me.

I was the one who suggested moving, but Mari was already leading the way.

We quickly got into the Jeep in the parking lot and headed for the unarmed zone. We’ve just departed, so we should be able to reach the checkpoint by evening.

I sat in the passenger seat, and Mari took the driver’s seat.

Originally, I should have been the one driving, and I intended to, but it ended up like this. Mari had a taste for driving, and I wasn’t too keen on assigning traditional male roles in our relationship. I did feel somewhat sorry, but Mari’s sense of burden made it unavoidable.

At first, she was fascinated by driving. But as we went further, her expressions revealed a growing sense of guilt. That’s the only way she could feel relieved from my point of view.

As the sun set and the moon rose, in the evening, we arrived at the checkpoint. After making the entrance report, Mari and I transferred to the unarmed zone.

The path protected by barbed wire was quite long. It meant that the development work was proceeding smoothly.

“We made it safely.”

Mari, who had been walking, mumbled with a low voice.

Her eyes were fixed on the container house standing in front of us.

“Yeah, it seems there’s no apparent issue from the outside.”

“Alright then. Let’s go in.”

Mari and I knocked on the wooden wall to signal our presence to those inside, so they wouldn’t be on alert.”

It seems that there is a gate at the entrance of the house.

“Are you there? Coming.”

Knock. As I tapped on the door from outside, a voice was soon heard from within.

It was a faint, echoing voice, as if an eerie echo was ringing in the distance.

[Oh. Have you come?]

“Yes. I’ll come in for a moment.”

[Please do. The door is open.]

As soon as we got permission, we turned back to the entrance and pushed open the door.

Though desolate, the extremely dim interior greeted us.

While Mari went inside, I locked the door and walked towards the wooden counter.

The clairvoyant who had been performing magic at the gate smiled as if welcoming us.

“What brings you here today? Have you come to set foot on the homeland ground?”

“No. I came because I have something to tell you.”

As Mari asked with a stern expression, the clairvoyant also suppressed his laughter.

The moment he folded his palms, the elaborate magic circle above him turned to dust and scattered.

It was a beautiful sight, akin to fireflies moving in groups.

“It’s a serious matter. What is it?”

“In this world, as you well know, there are many people like the Seekers.”

“I see. I have not met them personally, but I have observed them closely.”

Observed? As I raised my head in surprise behind Mari, the clairvoyant chuckled mischievously.

“Well, since I rarely get to visit other worlds, I can’t just cling to the cracks. I have to observe the air and see what kind of humans come. Of course, I’ve never left my peculiar iron tube, so rest assured.”

He had merely spied with magic.

The clairvoyant replied in a fluster, as if a child caught doing something they shouldn’t have.

So Mari sighed, as if expecting this.

“Well, please refrain from doing that. Don’t get caught, you know? Hunters are sensitive to mana waves that spread when magic is cast.”

Specifically, the senses of some high-strung hunters are sharp.

However, Mari replied, as if evading the issue by suggesting that all hunters are like that.

Perhaps it was to instill a sense of crisis.

“Understood. I will be cautious.”

The innkeeper replied with a perplexed expression, “The effect of the emblem was quite good.”

“Alright. Why have you come for real?” he asked.

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Mari waited as the innkeeper cleared his throat and inquired, “Lately, the movements of hunters seem suspicious. So, it seems we need to prepare for security measures.”