I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 573

"...It'll be about 1 year and 6 months soon…"

The murky view of the Seoul night sky in late November was visible through the large glass window. It looked like it was about to rain any moment. It would probably rain soon. It's the kind of rain that comes at the beginning of autumn and winter, and even though it’s hard to describe, it truly felt nostalgic.

A mineral-like and graceful UI spun on my right wrist. It synced with my thoughts and informed me about the weather changes and temperature fluctuations for the next week or so.

It looked like there would be intermittent rain for the next day or two, and then it would completely clear up, after which the temperature would sharply drop. It was truly the perfect weather to mark the beginning of winter.

'...It's already the second winter.'

Time flies so fast.

I was talking about the weather as a way to ease into it, but what I really wanted to say was this. When I first came back to this world, I wasn't even sure if I would be able to settle down here, but now, here I am, looking at the scenery of Seoul from a place like this.

I’ve thought about it here and there, but I’ve been really lucky. Thanks to meeting good people, I was able to build a solid foundation, and I’ve made good disciples and friends. Of course, now there’s so much piled up that there’s an overwhelming amount of work, but… well, that’s something I can’t help.

Also, learning most of the secrets tied to this world has been really helpful for keeping my mental stability. I’ve built enough psychological foundation not to be affected by the mental shock that would come from knowing such information.

And there were also things I gained that I never expected.

"…"

On the table was a bottle of nail polish for pedicure.

Naturally, it wasn't mine. You could probably guess, but it was for our Mecha youngest. Specifically, it was something I had tried to get done the other day—though calling it a procedure might be a stretch. It was something like that, but it was left behind when I tried and failed, retreating back to the other world in an embarrassing and ugly way.

I never thought I’d have three children when I wasn’t even considering marriage. And now, in about three weeks, I was expecting another mini Mecha Eugene. So, should I count it as four?

So many bizarre things have happened. This body, strictly speaking, isn't the original me… but no. To be frank, my parents said that, in their memory, the original me and my body’s current appearance share some resemblance. So, it might not be completely different.

Anyway, as I was staring at the sky and lost in these thoughts—

—Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Oh, I can hear Eugene making a fuss all by himself in the room! He’s so pathetic!"

"We’re here, Eugene!"

"...Oh, for crying out loud."

They’re really something else.

Who else could break my mood like that in less than a second? Including them, how many people can manage that? I just chuckled and opened the door. A voice seemed to be telling me to snap out of my little reverie.

No need to go to the front door. Just glancing in that direction was enough for the door lock linked with the gears to open. The sound of plastic squeaking and rubbing echoed through the room.

What did they bring this time?

"The time has finally come."

"I was actually expecting this, you know?"

"Don’t even say it."

Expectation, huh. Well, I couldn’t deny it.

The reason was simple. Though the location had changed compared to last year, these two had clearly planned to make "staying at my house just before departure" some sort of... annual event. Maybe next year or the year after, something similar would happen around this time.

Thinking about that, I called them into the room. Mina and Yerin, who had brought a mountain of meat, struggled to place it on the table, and I heard a loud thud.

As I looked down at the pile, one of them spoke.

"We’ve brought three times more than what we have at Yerin’s house, so don’t worry."

"Well, that’s true. But you guys should be careful. If you eat too much, you might suffer from indigestion tomorrow, or even on departure day."

"Heh, so I guess the rest is for you, Eugene? Oh no!"

"I was already planning to eat it all anyway."

Regardless of the Awakened ones’ appetite, I wouldn’t be home for the next four weeks. With that in mind, putting that much food in the fridge… would probably make it unappetizing by the time I came back. Even if I froze it, it would probably end up the same. So, I guess I should eat it all now.

It’s not that I wanted to eat it all, no, of course not.

As I was looking around, Dice spoke up.

"By the way, the ventilation system from the after-party we had after the Final Championship—I really liked it. I guess it’s difficult to get that here, right?"

"Ah, that…"

As I thought about when that was, I couldn’t help but laugh a little.

Dice’s confused expression popped up, but I had something to say too.

"You must not know yet since you just moved in, but there’s actually a space here that’s even more perfect than my own house. So, you don’t have to worry about it."

"Eh… Then, I’ll leave everything to you, Eugene."

"At least the luggage… No, just hang everything here."

"Umm, okay."

Both of them had one item each, but still couldn’t carry everything, so where would they hang it? Naturally, it was my tail.

I turned around and wiggled my tail, and instead of hanging the items there, they began to mess with my tail.

"Who’s messing with my tail!?"

"Uwah...!"

"Kyaa!"

After receiving a tail flick from me, the two of them finally started listening.

What am I supposed to do with them? I thought to myself as I walked slightly away in the living room and opened the double doors to step outside. Naturally, on the other side of the door was a balcony terrace, and because it was raining, it was covered with a special material that blocked the view outside.

Even so, the outside was still clearly visible, and ventilation wasn’t an issue either.

This was my home’s terrace, and through a separate passage that connected it, staff members who stayed here regularly managed the internal facilities and stocked supplies, so there was no need to worry about that.

The temperature on the balcony, despite being exposed to the November weather, was surprisingly warm, and everyone, thanks to that, was able to come outside without much concern. I poured charcoal into the well-maintained BBQ grill, leaving the two behind, who were preparing bowls and instant rice.

"...We actually prepared this for you, Eugene."

"Things don’t always go as planned, right? There’s always going to be situations where things go off course. Normally, there’s the person who eats the meat and the one who cooks it, right? I’m the latter, so you just prepare things."

"We’re already doing that."

While pretending to light the fire, I secretly tested the BBQ grill's resilience with my Icarus Gear.

Adding a few extra measures, it seemed like there wouldn’t be any big issues, so the moment they turned their backs, I sprayed a chemical napalm precursor into the grill.

I figured it would catch fire just fine.

I pushed the embers into the moist charcoal—

—Fwoosh!

"Uwaah!"

"Eugene, are you okay!?"

"Of course, there’s no problem. Do I look like I’m getting burned?"

"Well, now that you mention it… but still, be careful."

I nodded and checked inside the BBQ grill, which was spitting out an immense amount of heat.

If it were in the other world, I could show off the skill of holding charcoal barehanded and lighting it, but unfortunately, that wasn’t possible here.

As the charcoal burned white in an instant, I added—

"Well, now that we’re here, should we do a stream like last time?"

"That sounds fun. I’ll bring the drone cam!"

As Harmony sped off, I could hear Dice mumbling, looking a bit lost in thought.

"So, Eugene, is that why you were able to endure the napalm grenade back then?"

"Why are you taking that joke so seriously?"

And so, Dice began to stack up today’s "stacks" of bravado.

It was just another ordinary day.

[Streaming Announcement]

"Long time no see, everyone. Hope you’ve been well. The time has finally come... there’s not much time left until departure. Of course, considering we’re leaving a bit earlier than last year, it’s a little unexpected, but oh well. Let’s just move on."

"Hi, hi, this is Harmony. Today, I’m here to enjoy D-2 of the departure with Dice and Eugene!"

"Hello, it’s Dice!"

• Wow, the core crew is here, hahaha
• What’s going on??? Trying to tease the viewers???
• For those still undecided on dinner, looks like they’re trying to force-feed them some meat, hahaha
• What is this, a camping setup??
• No, this is Byam’s house balcony, not a camping site, hahaha

It wasn’t a broadcast I hadn’t done in a while, but it had been a long time since I’d done a "camping stream." Within minutes of starting the broadcast, millions of users flocked in. It was likely that, in a few minutes, the average number would hit 1.8 million. Considering that, Icarus must be watching for my streaming timing carefully, as the server might be under pressure.

Even so, it felt quite nostalgic. The reason was simple: last year, around this time, my true identity hadn’t been revealed yet. I hadn’t shown my face.

At the time, I had about 400,000 viewers. While that wasn’t small, now that the three of us were being watched by about 1.8 million, it felt a little… strange.

I continued thinking about the time when I first revealed myself. Back then, I was streaming without my face shown, and people only knew me through my voice and gameplay. Now, a year later, I was no longer hiding anything, and the number of viewers had grown exponentially. It felt surreal to see so many people watching us.

"Come to think of it, around this time last year... I hadn’t even revealed my face yet. Now, it’s almost been a year since I showed my face. It feels quite nostalgic when I think about it."

"I almost collapsed when I first met you, Eugene."

"I did collapse."

"Stop saying weird things and just eat already."

• Hahaha, that moment was hilarious.
• Looking back, it’s so ridiculous, haha.
• The moment when all those artists who used to draw innocent fan art suddenly became creators of mature content, hahaha.
• Fact: If Byam hadn’t noticed it back then, things could’ve gone out of hand.
• Byam doesn’t seem to care much about the explicit art, huh? Hahaha.

I shoved pieces of grilled meat into Harmony and Dice’s mouths to stop them from talking nonsense.

I glanced at the chat, which was skyrocketing at the speed of a bullet. It was true. Frankly, this body of mine isn’t entirely "me," but that doesn’t mean I mind things like seeing suggestive illustrations. Honestly, I wasn’t particularly bothered by it back then either. After returning to this world, I did take some legal action, but that was the end of it as long as no further steps were taken.

But, thinking about it now, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic as I spent another year in this place. Looking ahead to next year, I wonder what might happen.

"Anyway, the main topic today is remembering the past. Now that Harmony and Dice know how we met, there won’t be any awkward silences, right?"

"Wait, why is it that everyone Eugene’s met, except Mina, has been someone Eugene sent to the grave at some point?"

"Well, there’s that saying, you know? 'Fighting brings people closer.'"

"If it wasn’t for the game, we’d never have become friends."

• Hahaha, that’s true.
• Dice (got beaten by Eugene)/Kato (got beaten by Eugene multiple times)/and others...
• So does that mean Byam got beaten by Logan and Lorentina?
• What are you talking about, hahaha.
• Come to think of it, Harmony was the only one who was treated gently when we met, hahaha.

Well, that’s true.

It wasn’t really a wrong statement, which made it sting even more. Thinking about it, maybe it would have been better to just call Harmony and Dice. Also, since I would be meeting other people soon anyway, there was no need to have too many people here.

While still thinking about that, the conversation continued, and eventually, Harmony and Dice, now college students, started their girls' talk. Strictly speaking, I couldn’t really join in on such a deep conversation, so I just focused on grilling the meat.

Meanwhile, I rummaged through a bag, not knowing what was inside. Naturally, it was full of alcohol. Not the typical kind like soju, but rather high-end bottles that seemed to have come directly from a top-tier bar.

Since we were having dinner, I guessed we’d only open them when I finished grilling and sat down.

While thinking that, I continued to dig through and, for the first time, felt an unfamiliar sensation in my tail. As soon as I pulled it out—

"-Ah, that’s...!"

"…So, you two really wanted to see me suffer like this?"

"Eh, no! I didn’t say anything!"

"You traitors!"

• Hahaha, they brought the One Chip Challenge again!
• Dice must have really remembered the pain from last year, haha.
• Did you bring this again? Hahaha.
• Crazy people, haha.

The visual of the skull-shaped chip and the flames was unforgettable. The pain it caused instantly flashed in my mind. The little devils had brought the One Chip Challenge back once again.

I really couldn’t believe it.