27. Commander.

Between unpleasantness and awkwardness.

That’s exactly the relationship between Sora and Sarang.

 

 

No, if I had to pick, the scale would lean more towards unpleasantness.

 

 

She’s not just some woman I pass by, and she’s someone that Yu-Eun is quite fond of, so if I had my way, I wouldn’t want to face her like this.

 

 

 

 

 

“I’m going to jump to the world where Eun-i is in a week, do you want to come with me?”

“Huh?”

 

 

After staring blankly for a while, words she didn’t expect at all popped out of her mouth.

 

 

Sora continued, with her arms crossed.

 

 

“The preparations are almost finished. The coordinate specification is complete, and opening the gate will be done in four days. All that’s left is to go over there and bring Eun-i back…”

 

 

She said that and sighed softly.

 

 

“Haa… It’s been a while. Almost four months, huh.”

 

Funnily enough, the time she spent with Yu-Eun and the time she was forcibly separated from Yu-Eun are almost the same.

 

 

In other words, it’s only been about 8-9 months since the infamous troublemaker adventurer ‘Yu-Eun’ appeared in this world.

 

 

In the meantime, the world has changed so much.

 

 

D10, which moved for international protection and managed dungeons and adventurers, has greatly reduced its power, and a new chairman named Agnes has appeared, making it a semi-dictatorial organization. Japan, one of the advanced dungeon countries, has suffered two major blows, and its overall national power has plummeted.

 

 

In particular, a B-class dungeon appeared in Tokyo, one of the most important cities and the capital. They defended quite well in the dungeon defense, so there was no damage such as Tokyo itself collapsing, but afterwards, due to the backflow phenomenon of that dungeon – which is written as backflow but read as Yu-Eun’s invasion – they suffered enormous damage, handed over a part of Tokyo, ‘Tokyo City’, to Harem Palace, and allowed the Korean army to be stationed there, making it difficult to speak loudly.

 

 

Later, after Yu-Eun disappeared, they needlessly provoked Harem Palace and were hit with a nuclear bombing disaster. Afterwards, they received radiation purification thanks to Sora’s skill, but they had already suffered enormous economic and human damage, and the people’s mental state was greatly affected, effectively falling into an irreversible colony.

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t just Japan that was in such a state, China was similar as well.

It’s a bit different in that it was entirely due to Harem Palace, not dungeons.

 

 

China took advantage of the gap when Yu-Eun was gone and did something close to a declaration of war on Harem Palace, and even established a very unpleasant plan to steam even North Korea and South Korea together. As part of this, they mobilized the army group in the Manchuria region, which properly touched off Gung, who was already on edge because Yu-Eun was gone, and eventually hundreds of thousands of soldiers were massacred by Im Seo-hyun, who had awakened(?), after receiving the seed of Bojinia.

 

 

Since then, Gung has been robbed of the right to indiscriminately conscript personnel from China’s four major directly controlled municipalities for a month, and tens of thousands of slaves are being conscripted in real time.

 

 

It’s already hopeless enough up to this point, but with hundreds of thousands of People’s Liberation Army soldiers having disappeared, there was no way that other ethnic minorities or warlords with ambitions would stay still.

 

 

On the surface, it’s still one China, but it’s the established theory in academia that it will soon be divided along with a civil war.

 

If the two axes of Northeast Asia collapse like this, then of course, the remaining one country, Korea, will inevitably rise relatively.

 

 

Although it was incurring worldwide criticism and even trade sanctions for supporting Harem Palace, thanks to this, it was receiving cooperation from Harem Palace’s excellent technology (specifically, Heuk Heuk-i’s) and resources, and was showing a leap-like development, especially in military technology.

 

 

In addition, through actions such as possessing nuclear weapons and stationing troops in Japan, it was gradually solidifying its position as a great power, like imperialism before the two world wars, even though it had no intention of doing so, and its geographical conditions were very favorable for the future.

 

If China splits in this situation, then North Korea is practically up for grabs.

For Korea, which even has nuclear weapons, it was an opportunity to advance north and recover its territory, and the only country that could interfere with this was Russia. If Russia decides to intervene in North Korea, the United States would have to intervene unconditionally, regardless of the relationship between the United States and Korea.

 

If Japan were alive and able to properly serve as a forward base and defense line to some extent, it could abandon the Korean Peninsula, where relations have reached their worst, and concentrate its resources and military power on Japan to turn it into a military base.

 

 

However, the current Japan has not even recovered from the damage of the Tokyo Double Disaster (Tokyo Defense War, Tokyo Backflow Incident), and has even been hit by a nuclear reactor bombing, resulting in a stock market crash, domino collapse, and a series of disasters that are difficult to list one by one.

 

 

Decisively, the Korean army is stationed in Tokyo.

 

 

It would take too much time and resources to solve all of this and give it the role of defending against the southward advance of China and Russia, so it was inappropriate to use Japan as a defense line. In that case, the only option was to restore relations with Korea and intervene in Northeast Asia.

 

However, as Korea has allied with Harem Palace and has nuclear weapons, it is uncertain whether it will be easily dragged along by the United States’ intentions as before. Rather, it may be possible to push the United States out of Northeast Asia through negotiations with Russia regarding the reunification of the North and to check Japan and China, and to take steps to become the hegemonic power in Northeast Asia altogether.

 

 

In that case, Russia would be happy because the power of the United States would disappear from Northeast Asia, and Korea would be happy because it would be in a position to pull down Japan and China from the position of an ordinary(?) regional power and even aim for the recovery of lost territory.

 

 

Of course, it is uncertain whether Russia + Korea alone can drive out the United States.

 

 

Anyway, Korea’s prospects were quite bright in that it had a card in its hand that could sway the balance of power between the two great powers, and unlike before, it could use it on its own.

 

 

Compared to the situation in the same month last year, it’s almost like a cataclysmic change.

Would you easily believe that these huge changes all happened in less than a year?

 

 

‘He’ll be surprised when that guy comes.’

 

Sora smiled, somehow thinking of Yu-Eun’s surprised face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“…Is it okay? If I go.”

 

 

Sarang asked.

There aren’t many people who don’t know that she and Yu-Eun are in a relationship, but still, the official wives are Sora, Yuna, and Sonya. But she had strong doubts about whether she, who is definitely in an affair, could go to such a place.

 

 

“Before that, do you even want to go? Nana and Yuna are tied up with skills, but… you’re not. I think you can escape on your own.”

“Escape?”

“That’s right. To be honest, he’s not a very attractive guy. He’s a human being who’s not even enough to be called a personality failure, so I’m wondering if it has to be him.”

“….”

That’s certainly true.

Han Sarang isn’t Yu-Eun’s maid, and she’s not bound by his skills.

A completely free person.

 

If she has the will to do so, she can get out of Yu-Eun’s life at any time.

And that’s much more natural and easier to understand.

 

 

Isn’t it just a relationship where they’ve had sex a few times?

Is she obsessed with her first man because she’s a virgin?

There’s a limit to that. If that first man is a piece of human garbage, then the affection she has will drop sharply.

 

 

But Han Sarang is sticking around as if it’s nothing.

It’s a truly difficult sight to understand.

 

 

“Hmm….”

 

 

Han Sarang fidgeted, lost in thought.

Even she thought that she wasn’t in a normal state.

 

No matter how much she pursues the greatest happiness for the greatest number, and from that perspective, Yu-Eun’s existence is beneficial, isn’t it too much to think about Yu-Eun’s actions?

 

 

“And that guy, he’s going to keep increasing the number of women indefinitely in the future, are you confident you can handle that? I’m not trying to be territorial, I’m really saying this for your sake.”

“Well, to be honest… I’m a little doubtful too… but I still want to go. By his side.”

“….”

 

Sora made a somewhat dumbfounded face at her answer.

A look that really said she didn’t understand.

 

 

“And….”

 

 

Han Sarang’s words continued.

And Sora couldn’t say anything more.

 

 

“Anyway, I don’t think that person will let me go.”

“That’s….”

 

 

Because it was too close to the correct answer.

 

 

“…Now that I say it, I’m too shameless.”

Han Sarang turned her head slightly.

She still wants to meet her husband, even though she’s the wife.

Normally, she wouldn’t be able to say anything even if she was hit in the head with an axe.

 

‘She’s really abnormal.’

 

 

That’s why she thinks it’s an absurd situation.

But apart from that question, she was strangely drawn to Yu-Eun.

 

She doesn’t know the reason.

Is this just an obsession with her first man, or is it just a kind of misunderstanding, or is it really her taste deep in her subconscious that she likes a human like Yu-Eun?

 

 

Anyway, she wants to be by his side.

And she wants to see his face.

 

 

Reunion after 4 months.

 

Even though she won’t be able to do cute things like being hugged or holding hands in that place where the wives are together, she still wants to see his face.

 

‘What kind of expression will he make when he finds out that I also got a hidden job and opened my stats?’

 

 

Yu-Eun’s face, which she was curious about without even realizing it.

She smiled slightly without realizing it.

 

 

 

 

“Well, I’m shameless. What can I do? It’s my fault for being caught by that guy. No, no, it’s all because of the skill, so it’s that guy’s fault. That son of a bitch.”

 

 

Sora muttered with a distorted face, cursing Yu-Eun.

There was some sincerity in it, but it was roughly interpreted as saying that she wanted to see him soon.

 

 

“Anyway, I understand. You want to go, right? I’ll tell him, so get ready. Tell the military in advance too.”

“Thank you. For being so considerate…”

“….”

 

 

Sora stared at her blankly for a while.

 

 

“Do you know that your image has changed a lot?”

“Yes?”

 

 

She said as she stood up.

 

 

“When I first met you, I thought you were a crazy bitch, but now I see that you’re just a woman through and through.”

“….”

“As expected, whether it’s a man or a woman, once they taste the opposite sex, they change drastically.”

“What does that mean….”

“It’s not an insult, so just take it as it is.”

 

With those words, Sora left the room.

 

“Hoo….”

 

 

Was she nervous?

Han Sarang exhaled.

 

 

“Certainly….”

 

 

And then a murmur.

 

 

“I have changed.”

 

Even she thought that she had changed so much that she couldn’t compare to before she met Yu-Eun.

Her values, what she values, everything has changed.

 

Can this be called growth?

Did she grow up properly?

 

 

She had all sorts of worries, but she lay down for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

+++

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Through this ceremony today, I appoint Lieutenant Colonel Han Sarang as ‘Colonel’.”

 

Clap clap clap clap.

 

 

Three days later.

Han Sarang, who came out of the hospital room, finally became a Colonel.

 

Originally, the situation wasn’t so urgent that it had to be done so quickly, but there were many people inside the dungeon who were hindering and jealous of her promotion, such as the assassination case, so it was processed as a special promotion again.

 

The President’s influence was at play in this, and he actually showed his face at the ceremony to appoint Han Sarang as Colonel.

 

 

“Congratulations, Colonel Han Sarang.”

“Thank you, but it’s too much of a rank for me.”

“You’re already doing a good job.”

 

The President congratulated her like that and subtly brought up a topic.

 

 

“You’ve already become a Colonel, isn’t it time for you to come to the Blue House once?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

 

The President just smiled at her words, tilting her head.