I am back – Chapter 72

The blue leaves that used to be green had quietly turned colors and fell down without me noticing.

Surely, they must have changed slowly, day by day, but by the time I came to my senses, the ground was already piled with fallen leaves. The weather had shifted from “chilly” to “cold,” and even in the afternoon with the sun shining, I could feel a definite drop in temperature.

Wasn’t it about time for a thicker fall coat? That’s the kind of weather I was sensing.

Now that I think about it, it wasn’t cold enough to endure winter over there. If the weather truly resembled a Korean winter, we would have never been able to advance during that season. Five people making a fire in the middle of a plain at midnight would surely get surrounded by enemies right away.

While there was magic to keep us warm… I still couldn’t imagine spending winter on a plain, or in the mountains or forests, without any fire.

Autumn, meanwhile, was a season that particularly stirred up many thoughts for me.

Maybe it was because I was witnessing the mountains that had been painted with vibrant colors now shedding their leaves. The withering leaves and bare branches were strikingly visible to my eyes.

But one thing I was thankful for was that I wasn’t alone.

I could see my sister six times a week. Once a month, we did volunteer work together, so that felt like seeing her every day.

Sometimes, we would make plans to meet up and eat out too.

Ga-young, who joined us as a part-time worker, was adjusting quickly. The awkwardness had almost completely disappeared.

The house was always bustling with activity. A house where five of us lived felt warm whenever I returned.

My strange habits had improved significantly in just a few weeks.

I still had those fits in the middle of the night, but now I didn’t search for a knife. Whenever I curled up in the living room, Arna would come out and stand in front of me.

It seemed that Arna hadn’t informed the other party members about my quirks yet.

Kalia, Pia, Dana, and Arna had also adapted quite a bit to this world.

“…I absolutely can’t adapt to the weather.”

No, it seemed that complete adaptation was still a far-off goal.

Kalia, already clad in a fairly thick coat, complained.

“It’s already bad. It’ll get a lot colder from here on out.”

“…Colder than now?”

“Not just colder, but a lot colder. It’ll snow heavily, and when it really gets cold, the wind will feel painful.”

Moreover, there were many places in this world that were colder than here. If we went up to Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do, it would be much colder. North Korea would be even chillier, and I’d heard Antarctica was cold enough that even cold viruses couldn’t survive.

“Even when it’s this cold, it still gets that hot in the summer?”

Of course, Kalia had yet to properly experience the summer of our country. She had only heard what I said. But it was still understandable that she was shocked. The idea that a place that would freeze your skin off could turn into a land of heat stroke was an absurdity for someone encountering it for the first time.

Even that American soldier had been astonished when I told him that summers here were as hot as California and winters like Alaska. Well, that description might have been a bit exaggerated.

“Still, there’s a certain charm in it. You can enjoy both the summer and winter things.”

“If summer is that hot and winter that cold, isn’t the weather a bit too much to enjoy all those things?”

“…Well, it seems people enjoy themselves regardless.”

I wouldn’t know since I hadn’t experienced it myself. Summer and winter were vacation times, and school didn’t have trips planned anywhere either. Ah, I did go to an amusement park after the college entrance exam when my class made plans.

“Then, what if we go together?”

Seeing my expression, Kalia suddenly spoke up.

“Hmm?”

“I thought it would be nice to experience how people live here now that we’re in this world. Since winter is coming soon, how about enjoying the activities held during that winter? With your ‘sister’ as well.”

“Ah…”

Thinking back, I realized I had never gone anywhere far with my sister when I lived here. Naturally, I had never ventured out in Irrelaysia with my comrades either.

“Should we…?”

“Um. Of course, we don’t have anything to contribute right now, so I’d have to rely on you… But I swear I’ll repay you once we find a way to return to that side.”

“Ah, no need for that. I can’t use all the money on my own anyway.”

“If only the nobles of Irrelaysia thought like you. But that’s that, and this is this. It’s us who are barging in and being indebted to you.”

“No, but still, I help out with house chores regularly.”

“That’s just cleaning up the mess we create by living here. We prepare meals because we have to eat. It’s only common sense to ensure you’re not inconvenienced while preparing accommodations for us.”

Kalia was stubborn.

Perhaps this was just a habit of hers from living as a noble. Among nobles, it was only natural for someone to repay another’s kindness in some manner, however small.

Of course, I didn’t think Kalia had such calculative thoughts regarding me. She probably just deemed it a minimum courtesy, so she said so.

“…For now, let’s talk about that later.”

Still, I didn’t want to feel like I was indebted to my comrades.

Right now, just being together was already helpful. Especially mentally, it was providing tremendous support.

I didn’t even know how I’d manage after my comrades went back one day.

Since that day, I hadn’t had a conversation with the Goddess separately. It was probably because there was no way to communicate with her in that situation. The Goddess had mentioned using her power multiple times, but if she could use it that often, she would have already made the trip several times. Dana likely had already found a way to use magic too.

“I have a lot to buy.”

As I showed Kalia the smartphone list, she nodded.

Naturally, this list was written by me, now able to read and write Korean almost as well as a Korean person. It seemed she had enjoyed tapping on the smartphone keyboard, as she had taken quite some time scribbling down a long list.

No matter how convenient food delivery is, it only works for one or two occasions. It tends to get tiresome quickly since the flavors are often more stimulating than home-cooked meals. Additionally, it might not fit the four people who had been eating relatively plain meals. When I craved home food, I had to have it.

What I had missed the most while in Irrelaysia was hardly being able to eat the food I normally enjoyed.

So, I was doing my shopping during the spare time I occasionally had.

I mainly purchased food ingredients. Occasionally, I needed clothes or… um, women’s products.

My comrades had no qualms about choosing women’s products in front of me. They said that after coming to this side, it was the most comfortable thing for them to buy. I could understand that, but…

Was it because they thought there was nothing to hide from me that they showed no trace of embarrassment while selecting in front of me? Or maybe it was because they accepted that I had become a woman?

Of course, I understood that both reasons were good.

I knew that, but… still, it was a bit embarrassing.

It wasn’t just embarrassing to watch my comrades buy things; it was also embarrassing to show what I bought.

I didn’t quite understand why that was.

After all, when we were traipsing around battlefields together, I had already shown myself in even worse situations. There was no luxury of separating actions based on being male or female in a battlefield. Well, that doesn’t mean we flaunted everything in front of each other, but… at least we had to talk and move together.

Even so, in battlefields, when it came to changing clothes, we would show our backs to each other while changing. We respected privacy to an extent. That wasn’t really about male or female issues but about minimal respect for human rights.

“Is something wrong?”

As I got lost in thought, Kalia asked.

“Oh, no, just thinking if there was anything else I needed to buy.”

It felt a bit awkward to reveal that I was struggling to come up with that reason, so I just said that.

“Hmm.”

Regardless, it seemed Kalia realized I was pondering over something since she narrowed her eyes briefly, looking at me like someone suspicious, but thankfully, she didn’t pursue it further.

“Ah, anyway. I have a lot to buy, so let’s go quickly.”

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I rushed forward, causing Kalia to chuckle softly.