Chapter 124: A Slightly Late Summer Vacation (4)

As I walked with Do Sihee from the Warp Gate Terminal, I started to feel something strange about the direction we were heading.

“……”

“Sungchul-ssi?”

Do Sihee, who had been walking beside me, linking arms, shifted her gaze towards me as soon as I stopped, as if asking why.

“What’s wrong? Did you forget something?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

“Then what is it?”

To her, tilting her head as if she didn’t know the reason, I answered exactly what I saw and felt.

“Sihee-ssi, I’m asking just in case, but isn’t this the International Warp Gate Terminal?”

“Yes, so?”

“……”

Do Sihee asked me back with an expression as if asking ‘what about it?’.

I immediately figured out why she was reacting like this.

Come to think of it, for Do Sihee, domestic or international probably wouldn’t feel any different in terms of distance.

The strange feeling I got whenever there was a difference in perception like this was an unavoidable difference in status.

Of course, I had somewhat anticipated the suggestion to go abroad from the moment we moved to the terminal where the long-distance warp gates were concentrated, but…

The problem wasn’t the fact that we were going abroad, but something else entirely.

“Sihee-ssi, you might be disappointed if I say this, but…”

“…Do you perhaps not like going abroad?”

“Since I didn’t expect to go abroad, I couldn’t get a passport. What should I do?”

It was the fact that I had received the contact just the day before, and on a weekend too, so I didn’t have the time to get a passport issued.

If it were my past life, maybe, but in this life, having never been abroad since birth, I lived the life of a 100% pure Korean, so of course, I didn’t have the time to get a passport issued.

Furthermore, to enter some countries, there was also the possibility that a visa would be required.

I momentarily wondered what on earth she believed in to try and take me abroad.

“It’s fine.”

“Huh?”

“As someone from Dokyung Group and an A-class Hunter, I can get an international H-1 visa. Sungchul-ssi and Eunbyul can enter with an H-2 visa as my escorts. You won’t even need passports.”

“An H-1 visa?”

“It’s an international visa given to capable Hunters belonging to internationally trusted companies or organizations. Dokyung Group is on the list of internationally trusted companies. My Hunter affiliation, the Ariel Foundation, is the same. And since I recently became an A-class Hunter, I fully qualify for the H-1 visa. If you think about it, this is also a gift Sungchul-ssi gave me.”

It wasn’t strange that I didn’t know. If it weren’t for Do Sihee, I probably would have lived my whole life without even knowing this visa existed.

“If that’s the case, then it’s fine.”

“I thought you’d at least ask which country we’re going to, aren’t you curious about that?”

“If I’m going somewhere with Sihee-ssi, wouldn’t even the South Pole feel warm?”

“…Th-that’s great! Of course, you should think that way!”

Do Sihee, who probably would have wagged her tail enthusiastically if she had one, clung to my shoulder with a happy expression.

Maybe a play where I actually attach a tail to her back next time would be nice.

While having a slightly lewd thought in my mind, I felt a strange gaze from behind me as I walked with her.

As soon as I turned my head back, I made eye contact with Eunbyul, who was following behind us carrying luggage.

“What is it, Kim Sungchul-nim?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Her eyes were still completely unreadable.

After passing through the long-distance warp gate with Sihee and Eunbyul, we arrived somewhere in a rather warm southern country.

Unlike my worries, where I had prepared to take out my ID from my pocket just in case, Do Sihee showed something to the gate attendant, and the three of us passed through the warp gate to go abroad so easily.

Likewise, we passed through the immigration check of the arrival area without any problems.

In my previous life, traveling abroad required taking a plane for several hours or involved quite cumbersome pre-departure procedures.

With the warp gate and Do Sihee’s international visa, we could arrive in another country beyond the warp gate in the blink of an eye.

Feeling like it was about time to ask, I brought up the topic of the country we arrived in.

“Judging by the weather and the people on the street, it seems like somewhere in Southeast Asia.”

“That’s right. It’s an island nation belonging to Southeast Asia, after all.”

“If it’s an island nation in Southeast Asia, is it the Philippines or Indonesia?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s Indonesia.”

Hearing my words, Do Sihee nodded and replied, as if confirming the correct answer.

I’m glad it’s at least closer than France.

Wait a minute, but didn’t you clearly say when we were leaving that we were going to Dokyung Group’s private beach?

“Didn’t you say we were going to Dokyung Group’s private beach?”

“Of course. That’s why we came to Indonesia.”

“Huh?”

“Indonesia has so many large and small islands, so it wouldn’t be strange if one or two of them belonged to Dokyung Group, right?”

“……”

It was a moment when my poor imagination felt pathetic, having pictured a villa fenced off somewhere on the East Sea coast when she said ‘private beach’.

Then again, if we were going to go like that, we wouldn’t have taken the warp gate abroad in the first place.

“We already have the transportation to get to the island waiting. This way, Sungchul-ssi.”

Led by Do Sihee’s hand after she said that, we arrived at a helicopter parking lot set up on one side of the Indonesian Warp Gate Terminal.

While Do Sihee and I were dawdling, Eunbyul, who had arrived earlier, was already sitting in the front seat of the helicopter, looking ready for takeoff.

“Preparation for takeoff is complete, Do Sihee-nim, Kim Sungchul-nim.”

The maid wearing UV-blocking sunglasses looked at us and said.

“You don’t mean the guide needed to enter the private beach is…”

“Our Eunbyul also has a rotorcraft pilot license.”

Does one need to meet at least those qualifications to become a maid for the Dokyung Group’s young lady?

Trying hard to calm my flustered heart, I got onto the helicopter with Do Sihee.

After confirming that Do Sihee and I had fastened our seatbelts and put on headphones, Eunbyul looked back at the rear seats and delivered her final words.

“We will now take off.”

…This is the first time I’ve ridden in a helicopter piloted by an active-duty maid.

“Ughhhh~!”

As soon as we got off the helicopter, Do Sihee stretched languidly, letting out a groan as she stretched her body.

“Long flights are tough, aren’t they? You must have been tired too, Sungchul-ssi?”

“I’m fine, this much is okay.”

Enduring a flight of just over an hour wasn’t that difficult, and the noise was mostly blocked by the headphones worn over my ears, so it was relatively comfortable.

In my previous world, even to the closest country I had to brace myself for a two or three-hour flight, so this is practically paradise compared to that.

I thought the one who did the most work, helicopter pilot Eunbyul, would surely be the most tired.

“Thank you for enduring the long flight, Do Sihee-nim, Kim Sungchul-nim.”

As if this was nothing to her, she greeted us and then calmly started carrying the luggage down to the villa.

She still had a completely unreadable expression on her face.

As I quietly watched her back carrying the luggage inside, I shifted my gaze to the entire villa.

Naturally, a single exclamation burst from my mouth.

“Wow…”

When I heard it was a villa on a deserted island, I had casually imagined a small cabin-like house at first.

But faced with the reality, it wasn’t just proper; no, it was a three-story wooden house, wider than I imagined, standing before us.

Only after confirming that all the necessary facilities, like a helicopter landing pad and a pier, were present on this small island could I finally grasp how powerful Dokyung Group was.

“What are you standing there staring at?”

“No, I just never imagined it would be such a large villa…”

“This is considered small, you know. They said there were limitations in bringing in materials because it’s an island. Except for the materials used for the foundation, most of it is a wooden house processed from the island’s trees on-site.”

“……”

“Actually, there’s a beach with an even better and larger villa than this one, but unfortunately, it seems my older sister booked that one first.”

“Is Sihee-ssi’s older sister also affiliated with the Foundation?”

“As the successor of Dokyung Group, she’s naturally affiliated with the Foundation… Wait, are you that curious about it?”

“No, if Sihee-ssi is uncomfortable, you don’t need to answer.”

Noticing her reaction turn sour as soon as I asked deeply about her older sister, I quickly changed the subject.

She didn’t seem to pay much attention to me meeting other women, but she seemed strangely wary when I showed interest in another Hunter from the Foundation.

It seemed to apply even to her own older sister.

Well, meeting Do Sihee in the first place was already a miracle born from repeated coincidences, but…

…it probably won’t happen that I’d form a connection with her older sister.

“There’s still a lot of the day left, so how about we eat first and then go into the sea?”

“I think that sounds good too.”

“Eunbyul, please prepare lunch.”

As unbelievable as it seemed, it appeared there was only one servant to attend to her and me for the entire 2 nights and 3 days; Do Sihee was ordering Eunbyul to prepare the meal right after she piloted the helicopter.

Just as I was about to ask if it was okay to give the maid, who had just piloted the helicopter, more work, the familiar voice of the maid could be heard from inside the villa.

“I am already preparing. Please wait 25 minutes.”

Indeed, the women in this world were quite tough.