The Returner

Inside the NDF headquarters.

"Wait, why are we back here?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Well, where did you want to go, then?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"I thought I asked you to go straight to the meeting location?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"I"m not the one in a hurry, so why should I?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Choi Jeong-Hoon couldn"t retort to that - indeed it wasn"t Yi Ji-Hyuk who felt the urgency in this situation.

"Y-you are supposed to go there anyway, so wouldn"t going right away reduce the level of annoyance for yourself?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"I gotta feed Oh-Sik, though?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Oh….." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Now that he thought about it, the pet food stockpile for Oh-Sik leashed to the front yard had run out quite some time ago. If it was before, Choi Jeong-Hoon would"ve taken care of it, but what with things being so hectic lately, he was unable to spare enough mental power to mind that problem.

He kinda figured that Oh-Sik would be able to procure his own grub even if no one bought him pet food, too.

Seriously now, that dang Ogre could take care of own toilet needs all by himself anyway, so there was no way he"d not be able to find something to snack on if left alone.

‘The only problem would be with him potentially devouring all the pet dogs in the neighbourhood." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

It was already immensely insane to let a carnivorous monster basically roam free, even if Yi Ji-Hyuk had used violence and threats to train the creature properly.

Such a thing was only possible because Oh-Sik was blessed with an uncommonly high level of intelligence, that was what.

‘Orrrr, maybe it"s this guy who happens to be that d*mn terrifying." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

If you get technical about it, then this was the same as letting loose an adult lion in the middle of the road but using violence and psychological torment to train it so that it"d never harm any pa.s.sing human beings. But, if you wanted to a.n.a.lyse whether such a thing was physically possible or not….

Yi Ji-Hyuk, oblivious to whether Choi Jeong-Hoon was thinking of such things or not, strode gallantly forward and exited from the headquarters.

"By the way, we won"t have anything to add even if we go there, so Mister Choi Jeong-Hoon, you go with Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk alone." (Seo Ah-Young)

Fl.u.s.tered by Seo Ah-Young"s sudden declaration, Choi Jeong-Hoon hurriedly looked at her.

"It might be fine with other agents, but you"re the director of the NDF, so how can you not go to the meeting??" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"It"ll be fine." (Seo Ah-Young)

"What will?!" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"I already know that I"m just a figurehead, and they also know that. So, they probably won"t mind it." (Seo Ah-Young)

"…….."

Well, she"s right, but, uh…

…Is it okay for her to say something like that with her own mouth? (Choi Jeong-Hoon"s inner monologue)

"So, you do your best to appease that guy and get the negotiation done, okay?" (Seo Ah-Young)

Choi Jeong-Hoon inwardly wondered if it was fine to label the upcoming meeting in the Blue House as ‘negotiation", but he didn"t say anything and simply nodded his head.

Actually, he also preferred to not have Seo Ah-Young or the other NDF agents present during the meeting, as well. Because, just one more personnel present would mean he"d have to worry about one more thing.

"Well, then. We"ll be on our way." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Have a good trip." (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young waved her hand with a bright expression. But when Choi Jeong-Hoon exited from the office, her expression immediately transformed into a heavy frown as she plopped down on a chair.

"Are you happy now?" (Seo Ah-Young)

"Hah, thank you so much." (Park Seong-Chan)

Park Seong-Chan nodded his head and expressed his grat.i.tude. Even Jeong Hae-Min was doing the same thing, too.

"If we witness what"s about to happen there, some of us might vomit blood and get taken to an emergency ward, you know." (Jeong Hae-Min)

"I"ve already suffered through an intense ulcer, so no thank you." (Park Seong-Chan)

It was a well-known fact that the NDF agents suffered from a nasty bouts of gastritis after hearing of Yi Ji-Hyuk causing a scene earlier. No one knew what would happen this time, so why should any of these people go there?

It didn"t matter for Yi Ji-Hyuk regardless of what he did, but that was definitely not true for everyone else.

Once Yi Ji-Hyuk"s protection disappeared, they would immediately turn into helpless punching bags for those sitting in the positions of power.

"H-h-ng." (Erukana)

Erukana snorted and leisurely walked towards Yi Ji-Hyuk"s desk.

"You didn"t go with him?" (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min asked in confusion.

Unlike her, Erukana was not tied by the authorities of this world. Besides, she didn"t want to spend too much time away from Yi Ji-Hyuk"s side so it seemed rather obvious that she"d accompany him, but rather surprisingly, she remained behind for some reason.

"Of course I want to go with him." (Erukana)

"But?" (Jeong Hae-Min)

"But, a wife must prioritise the matters of family first rather than accompanying one"s husband all the time. Now, observe." (Erukana)

Erukana pointed at Yi Ji-Hyuk"s computer.

"Shouldn"t it be obvious to you that as his faithful wife, I must find out what my husband does in his spare time?" (Erukana)

She then proceeded to boot up the computer, causing Jeong Hae-Min"s expression to form a deep frown.

This woman even knew how to operate a PC?

What kind of a demon king was more familiar with modern technology compared to a human living in the modern world?

"What do you want to check anyway?" (Jeong Hae-Min)

"Hidden folders? Web browser history? Or, maybe comments he left behind?" (Erukana)

"…Isn"t that, like, invasion of privacy?" (Jeong Hae-Min)

Even though she said that, Jeong Hae-Min still sneaked closer and closer to Erukana"s back.

"What do you mean, invasion of privacy? There"s no such thing between a husband and wife." (Erukana)

Although such an a.s.sertion didn"t have a leg to stand on as far as the law was concerned, it still felt rather logical at the same time.

Not too long afterwards, more people began gathering around Yi Ji-Hyuk"s computer next.

"Hey, why does it feel so chilly all of a sudden?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk lightly patted the head of Oh-Sik busy licking his foot before shuddering briefly. For some reason, he felt this chilly air creep down his backside. He wasn"t sure why, but he couldn"t shake off this feeling that something was going wrong somewhere.

Whimper….

Oh-Sik began rubbing against his leg, so Yi Ji-Hyuk cast out all the unnecessary thoughts from his head and happily rubbed the Ogre"s head.

"Have you been protecting my house well?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Woof!

"Well done. Don"t forget to eat on time, alright?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk glanced at the pile of pet food resembling a small hill and nodded his head.

"H-mm." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Feeding Oh-Sik pet food was fine and all, but since Ogres were carnivorous, shouldn"t he feed it some meat every now and then? This little guy did his best to help Yi Ji-Hyuk out in his own way, didn"t he?

It sure felt as if Yi Ji-Hyuk hadn"t been taking good care of the guy so far.

‘Wait, was I capable of thinking this way before??" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

If it was before, he"d not even care whether the demonic creatures he lorded over died or not. He must"ve changed a lot after coming back home, judging from the fact that he could think of such things now.

Maybe it was an obvious result arising from his fixed state being undone. The thing was, though, he had been living for so long without experiencing any personal changes, so when confronted by one, it felt rather awkward to him.

"In any case, it should be fine." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk waved his hand about to generate a Gate.

Whimper?

As Oh-Sik tilted his head while wondering what"s going here, Yi Ji-Hyuk extended his hand towards the Ogre and shot his tentacle out.

Kwduk!!

The tentacle dug into Oh-Sik"s body.

Kuwaaaaah!!

The dark Mana travelling through the tentacle reverted Oh-Sik into his original appearance in an instant.

Keu-ru-ruk.

No, it was a bit wrong to call this his original appearance now.

Compared to how he was back when he first stepped foot in this world, his current appearance was…..

"….Well, you"ve become even more uglier, haven"t you. Dayum." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Oh-Sik"s shoulders slumped in dejection.

His shoulders had indeed widened up through all the extra bulk. His height had gotten taller too, while muscles rippling on his body were not only intimidatingly firm, but more than powerful enough to cause one"s jaw to drop as soon as seeing them. Even then, he still somehow managed to maintain the overall look of an agile predator.

On the whole, he kinda looked incredibly powerful and also cool in some way, but…

"Euh, seriously man, you"re so ugly." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Oh-Sik pouted and dropped his head.

Sure, he might have gone past the level of an Ogre Lord and evolved into a completely new species by now, but those harsh words still managed to hurt him pretty painfully. He was already feeling unhappy about his own looks after the norms of this place had changed his sense of aesthetics, so why!

Woof, woof, roar!!

"Ng? You asking me why I turned you back?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Keu-ruk.

"Time to eat some meat." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Oh-Sik"s short ears twitched just then.

Buzzzz….

Yi Ji-Hyuk pointed at the resonating Gate and smirked deeply.

"I"ve connected this portal to a nice place. I"ll leave it open for a while, so gorge yourself and come home before sunset, okay?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Whimper~~.

Oh-Sik suddenly laid down flat on the ground and began rubbing his huge face against Yi Ji-Hyuk"s legs.

"Ahhh?! Stop it! Your drool"s getting on my pants!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Keu-ruk.

Oh-Sik pouted again, but Yi Ji-Hyuk lightly patted him on the head and pushed the Ogre into the Gate.

"Go and have fun." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Oh-Sik disappeared beyond the Gate looking clearly excited. Yi Ji-Hyuk chuckled to himself while watching that.

"Is it really that much fun, I wonder…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Excuse me…." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Ehng?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"W-where did you just send that guy to?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Hmm, I wonder. Out of all the places I"ve looked at, I sent him to a world where it shouldn"t be too dangerous for an Ogre, so…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Where it won"t be dangerous for an Ogre?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Yeah." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….But, can you honestly call that guy an Ogre now?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"…………"

Yi Ji-Hyuk shut his mouth.

Y-yeah, well, he is an Ogre, alright. He sure is, but….

Mm, how should I put this?

He belongs to the species of Ogres, so….

….Super Ogre? Greater Ogre? (Yi Ji-Hyuk"s inner monologue)

Oh-Sik had been constantly exposed to Yi Ji-Hyuk"s dark Mana for a long time and had changed far too much as a result. He might be an Ogre, but he couldn"t be considered as one currently.

"Did I send a potential demon king to an innocent little world just now?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk prayed that Oh-Sik was smart enough to eat only a moderate amount, then turned around to leave.

"In any case, let"s get going." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"How can you ignore the fact that you just dropped a nuclear warhead on an innocent dimension?!" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Well, that"s how life is." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Choi Jeong-Hoon shook his head helplessly. Whatever the case might have been, it didn"t change the fact that he too was in a hurry right now.

"Besides, Oh-Sik devouring the folks in that dimension would prove to be a lot more advantageous thing for them anyway, so it"s fine." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Yes, yes, I get it. Let"s get going." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon opened the door to his car.

"Wow, hasn"t it been a long time since I got into your car?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….This will be your first time." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Ng? But, I did ride in it before, didn"t I?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"I had to sc.r.a.p that one." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Ah…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"This new one is simply the same model as the old one. Nothing more." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon barely managed to hold back the flood of his tears after remembering his favoured chariot that had to be consigned to the sc.r.a.p heap because the insurance company refused to pay. He should"ve insured it from monster damages from the get-go.

"How unfortunate." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….Let us get going." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon figured that discussing this matter any more than this might truly unleash the flood, so he quickly climbed into the driver"s seat. After confirming that Yi Ji-Hyuk had entered the pa.s.senger"s, he turned the ignition on and drove away.

"Okay, so where are we going now?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"For now, let"s head to the Blue House." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"By the way, do they usually hold meetings like this in the Blue House?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Not normally, no. However, this matter requires the President"s partic.i.p.ation, that"s why." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Mm….." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk chose not to voice his opinion about it this time. He should just let things be when he didn"t know much about the subject matter to begin with.

Meanwhile, Choi Jeong-Hoon"s head was already filling up with complicated thoughts.

‘How should I deal with matters this time?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Since the request did come in, the odds of being dispatched were pretty high. The President wouldn"t say no when thinking about his own political achievements, too. His desire was problematic, but not knowing fully what might happen if Pyongyang were to be destroyed, leading to the collapse of North Korea"s systems, now that presented a serious problem.

Didn"t matter from which angle he looked at this, Choi Jeong-Hoon just knew that protecting Pyongyang was the right call to make. Even if they wanted to unite the two Koreas, the process had to be gradual; a sudden absorption of a collapsed regime would only lead to the situation of needing to deal with twice the amount of Gates, while the economy would go through h.e.l.l, too.

‘So, we need to defend them, but…." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

That left the lone issue with the dude sitting next to him.

Yi Ji-Hyuk willingly doing what was asked of him so far sure was a relief, but something told Choi Jeong-Hoon that when the issue of going to North Korea to stop the monsters was brought up, he"d suddenly start playing hard to get.

Without a doubt, he"d throw a tantrum and try to rip the other party for all their worth. Choi Jeong-Hoon couldn"t even imagine just how much that might be.

Only that, he was certain of wanting to kill himself after getting caught in the middle of the two parties.

"Groan…." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

The rather horrible image made Choi Jeong-Hoon groan helplessly, prompting Yi Ji-Hyuk to ask him.

"What"s wrong?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"No, it"s nothing." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Looks like you"re worried about something, though?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

You"re the one I"m worried about!!

Yes, you!! (Choi Jeong-Hoon"s inner monologue)

Just before he could open his mouth, several black saloons suddenly appeared out of nowhere and gathered around his car.

"Mm?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

These saloons then surrounded them, forcing them towards the unoccupied side lane of the road.

Choi Jeong-Hoon"s glare grew super-sharp just then.

"What"s this?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

These were the actions of people that clearly knew who was riding in the car. However, if they really knew, they must"ve also understood that such actions would lead to a rather obvious end result, so what were they thinking here, exactly?

Eventually, he had to park his car by the side of the road. The doors of the black sedans opened in sync and a crowd of men emerged from them.

< 295.="" who="" the="" h.e.l.l="" is="" rhee="" ji-hyuk?="" -5=""> Fin.