I am back – Chapter 114

I’m getting nervous.

In Irrelaysia, I actually had a rather unique appearance.

I’ve never been told I was ugly or looked strange. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m not that bad-looking, or if it’s just the world being considerate of a hero from another realm.

However, while I’ve never heard anyone say I looked weird, I have been told I looked exotic.

It’s only natural. Most people in Irrelaysia resembled Europeans from this world. Even the other race, the elves, were similar.

There were other races, but since traveling by land was too dangerous in this world, it was hard to see them. Moreover, areas where various races mixed were usually trade hubs, which were typically far from battlefields.

Thus, the soldiers who saw my face for the first time on the battlefield would stare at me. Of course, that unfamiliar feeling completely disappeared once we started fighting together.

In contrast, here, my comrades stood out more than I did.

There are a lot of tourists in Seoul. The trend of mixed-race individuals is on the rise, and there are many cases of foreigners naturalizing to live here.

However, even so, the number of people from other races in Korea is still very small. Most are tourists from abroad, and obviously, they wouldn’t have much interaction in daily life.

It’s hard to find someone with a different skin color who speaks Korean as fluently as a native. No matter how much Korean’s status has risen, it still isn’t treated as a universal language like English, Spanish, or French.

Yet, the four people living in my house speak Korean as fluently as Koreans. Due to the nature of automatic translation, there’s even a possibility of using archaic words that Koreans wouldn’t usually use. All four of them are considered elites in Irrelaysia.

Moreover, their nationality isn’t from any other country but Korea. They aren’t mixed-race, nor is anyone among their parents Korean. It’s a rare kind of situation unless the whole family hasn’t naturalized.

While my older sister wouldn’t discriminate against her comrades… could they really adapt to the atmosphere?

I was also a bit worried from the perspective of my comrades. Since coming here, communicating with anyone other than the pastor at the church was my first experience, and also, my sister and I had a complicated relationship as mere acquaintances.

For various reasons, I couldn’t help but feel tense, even though I was the one that called for my sister.

“Well then, I’ll head in.”

I had taken my sister’s bag earlier. Hearing the clinking of glass bottles, it sounded like there were a few bottles of alcohol. Since the beer bottles were plastic, it meant she bought a few bottles of liquor contained in glass bottles.

My sister’s face was still a bit red.

I couldn’t help but wonder if she could drink all that.

…Well, now that I’ve come this far, I can’t back out.

My sister seemed to simply smile, as if to help ease my tension.

When my sister first saw this apartment, she was shocked, and she was similarly surprised when entering the lobby and after riding the elevator. It made sense; I was surprised too at first.

On the other hand, it seemed she somewhat understood that five people were living in one place. With this much space, it was true we could live comfortably. Perhaps the house itself was built with a large family in mind.

“…”

“…”

As I paused for a moment to think, my sister tilted her head.

Seeing her gaze made me feel foolish for pondering so much, so I chuckled and pressed the door lock password.

With a beep, I heard the sound of the lock releasing, and the door opened.

“Oh, you’re here!”

The first voice I heard was Pia’s.

I heard footsteps running, and Pia stood in front of us.

She wasn’t wearing the pajamas she usually wore. Of course, she was still in short shorts, but they were casual clothes that wouldn’t look out of place even in front of others.

A pair of loose shorts made of elastic with a baggy hoodie.

I was glad I contacted her beforehand. Otherwise, all my comrades would have almost shown up in their pajamas in front of my sister.

“Hello!”

Pia greeted us with a Korean-style greeting she had learned before. Well, maybe it should be called an Asian-style greeting.

As she politely bowed while greeting, my sister blinked in surprise.

Well, it was understandable.

Pia’s hair color was pink. Although that color was not common in Irrelaysia, it certainly wasn’t on Earth. To achieve such a color, one must bleach their hair completely before applying dye.

No, even if they did dye their hair, it wasn’t common for someone to go for such a vivid pink.

And finding someone whose looks suited such hair color might be even rarer.

“Ah, hello.”

Still, my sister was able to greet her properly.

I could hear the footsteps of others leisurely walking in behind Pia.

Kalia, Dana, Arna.

At least those three had hair colors that wouldn’t look out of place on Earth… well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a relief.

They were all foreigners, and if they ever appeared in a movie or drama, they would be considered stunning beauties.

“I’m Kalia, and I’m indebted to Siyun. Nice to meet you.”

Kalia introduced herself in a voice smooth enough to befit a noble.

It’s kind of a weird feeling, like seeing a friend use formal language with my family. Was Kalia feeling something similar when she saw me talking to her brother?

“Hello, I’m Dana.”

Dana greeted like Pia, in the Korean manner. It was her principle to make use of what she learned. And she probably knew that this way was the safest option here.

“I’m Arna. Nice to meet you.”

Even Arna, who usually speaks casually to humans, was using polite language now. It wouldn’t be polite to speak casually to someone they just met. In Irrelaysia, where the existence of elves is known, it might be acceptable, but it’d be tough to live an elven life on Earth while hiding their true identity.

“Oh, I’m Pia!”

And then Pia quickly added that she had forgotten to introduce herself.

“Hello.”

Surprisingly, my sister remained calm.

Her face was a bit flushed, possibly because the alcohol hadn’t completely worn off, but since she first met the most eye-catching Pia, she didn’t seem shocked by the relatively ordinary looks of the other three.

But soon, my sister’s gaze turned to me.

Naturally, if friends who “came up from the countryside” looked overtly foreign, it could be a bit shocking.

However, I averted my eyes.

If I start concocting various stories about those four here, contradictions could arise. After all, they were not from Earth.

So it would be better for each of them to introduce themselves.

If possible, in a place where all four were present.

“Ahem.”

For some reason, my throat felt dry. I felt the unbearable awkwardness rising,

“I-I’ll just leave this in the kitchen!”

I hurriedly said.

And then I regretted it.

Wait, does that mean I’m going back to the entrance? Obviously, we’d gather in the living room.

Right. Naturally, the sound of five people following behind me to the kitchen because I was walking was heard.

“W-Well, if you all sit in the living room and wait, I’ll prepare something and come out!”

“Oh, I’ll help.”

Dana smoothly followed me into the kitchen.

…Wait, is that being perceptive?

Rather, it seemed like she wanted to escape from the awkward situation herself.

Didn’t she just send that confident emoji earlier?

Well, that’s not important right now.

…For now, I should leave it to Kalia. Having dealt with various people in noble society, she would show unbeatable friendliness here as well.

I absolutely didn’t want to avoid awkwardness.

The situation of my comrades introducing themselves was simply better that way.

Besides, I trust my comrades. I could stake my life on it.

So…

…Um, to be honest, even if it wasn’t completely necessary, I needed a moment to gather my thoughts.

“What should I do? What should I do? Now that I want to talk, I don’t know what to say first. Does anyone have any ideas?”

…And apparently, I felt the same way.

Exactly.

How should I start the conversation?

…And at what point should I clean up my room?

I seriously pondered.