Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

Yoo Hwashin.

 

This man’s body didn’t have many memories.

 

It had basic information about his home, workplace, and the place called Korea.

 

And, lastly, knowledge about heroes from about the last year.

 

The most important memories were all missing. His life experiences, his parents, his sorrows, his joys, his relationships.

 

What kind of person was Yoo Hwashin? What life did that man live before he took over this body? Elric, who entered this body, had no way of knowing.

 

And yet he found such a note. Did the person who wrote this know who Yoo Hwashin was? If not, maybe it was just meant for Elric.

 

“Well, coincidence is destiny too.”

 

Yoo Jian shouted from beyond the pile of gold coins taller than Hwashin.

 

“Yoo Hwashin, the prince is here.”

 

“Okay, I’m coming~”

 

Holding Pii in his arms and hastily shoving the note into his pocket, Hwashin walked towards the door.

 

“Where’s your brother?”

 

He thought the dongsaeng would be with him, but Rodi was alone. Rodi rubbed the back of his neck with a slightly awkward expression.

 

“He won’t come out of his room. It seems he’s in great shock. …My brother is really too kind to do such a thing. Of course, you might not see it that way, God.”

 

Well, that kind of reaction was normal.

 

“I see, then.”

 

Hwashin was no longer very interested in this dimension. He had gotten everything he needed to get. The kids had trained through the tunnels full of centipedes and the monster-filled desert, and they had gathered all the items.

 

‘When we get out of here, I’ll be able to see scenes I couldn’t see in the original.’

 

Hehehe. A mischievous smile spread across his face for the first time in a while. Rodi, seeing this smile, looked on in admiration as if it were sacred. Unit 1 members watching them still couldn’t understand the relationship between the two.

 

“Still, I think he’ll be okay as time passes. He’ll know the weight of the crime he committed too. …I’ll keep it short since you don’t seem to want to hear my story much, God.”

 

He soon smiled brightly. His blooming smile was as beautiful as a flower. Worry. Concern. Anxiety. All emotions were mixed, but the biggest was relief.

 

“Thanks to you, God, I think I can live my life a little too.”

 

Live his life. Hwashin didn’t understand what that meant. But one thing was certain.

 

A holographic window appeared before their eyes.

 

「 …Only then could Rodi reclaim his story. 」

 

「 Rodi didn’t lose his love, and his brother found what he wanted.

 

Both obtained what they desired.

 

Rodi was happy. He was satisfied that he could protect his loved ones without inheriting the throne.

 

His beloved wife, his beloved brother.

 

He was grateful for being able to protect them all.

 

Praise for the coming tomorrow. 」

 

At the same time, another window appeared before them, with entirely different content.

 

[ The crack in this dimension has been restored. ]

 

[ The story of this dimension is not over, but the roles of those who were brought here are now complete. ]

 

[ The prince of Albion will begin a new story in Albion’s King Part 2. ]

 

[ Four people who were pulled into the crack will return to their original world. ]

 

Hwaaah. A pure white line of light was drawn on the floor in an instant. Rodi’s eyes widened at the light that enveloped them. Before his outstretched hand could even reach them, the god and his servants disappeared without a trace.

 

“God…?”

 

***

 

Two hours. Two hours had passed since Ha Cheongwon arrived. Usually, it took an S-rank at most 1 hour to clear an S-rank gate. At the shortest, it could be around 10 minutes. For teams like Unit 1, it could be even shorter.

 

Finally, the C-rank hunter whose mouth had been twitching tapped Ha Cheongwon’s shoulder.

 

“…Um, just maybe. Could it be that they’ve di-“

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Perhaps the C-rank’s anxiety had rubbed off on him, Ha Cheongwon began to grow anxious. It was unlikely, but if an S-rank team were to be annihilated inside—

 

His mind went blank. Such a thing should never happen.

 

As Ha Cheongwon’s complexion gradually turned pale, a humming sound came from the gate. The C-rank hunter shouted towards Cheongwon.

 

“Mr. Cheongwon–!”

 

“Shh.”

 

Placing a finger on his lips, Ha Cheongwon’s previously deadpan eyes sparked with life. In that instant, the scene before him unfolded.

 

‘They’re coming.’

 

Ha Cheongwon stood up and adjusted his tie. The C-rank with him also jumped to their feet.

 

“Get ready. They’re returning.”

 

As soon as he finished saying that, a strong wind blew from the gate.

 

“Gah.”

 

The C-rank hunter, who had been rolling backward due to the wind, lifted their head to see three heroes, led by a robust young man, walking out of the gate.

 

“I thought we might teleport or something, but apparently not.”

 

“I thought walking was pretty cool, actually.”

 

“Hahaha, really?”

 

“Quiet.”

 

Yoo Hwashin waved his hand, his face showing no concern for the situation outside. Ha Cheongwon strode towards them.

 

The C-rank hunter braced themselves for a fight between S-rank hunters. They knew how much Cheongwon had been fuming.

 

“I was worried!”

 

…Oh. …Could it actually end on a warm note?

 

“Why do you insist on doing things you aren’t instructed to do? The same goes for all of you. Consider our position before you act. Have you not thought about the chaos it causes outside if a large number of S-rank heroes disappear? Chae Jaha, you too. Didn’t you say you wanted to save people? A lot of them? Then why do you go in there without knowing anything?”

 

Wow. he knew the original Ha Cheongwon was good at nagging, but he was even better at it than expected. Moreover, he couldn’t refute it. It was all correct…

 

“Sorry.”

 

Hwashin had nothing else to say. Surprised by the sudden apology, Cheongwon stopped his tirade and ran his hand through his hair.

 

‘I didn’t expect him to apologize right away.’

 

Biting his lips hard at the polite attitude, Ha Cheongwon finally turned around and said,

 

“Anyway. You’ll have to explain everything properly.”

 

***

 

“…Did that really happen inside?”

 

Ha Cheongwon’s expression darkened as he listened to their explanation.

 

“…Another dimension. It’s not an absurd story. It does clarify the origins of the monsters we’ve never seen before. But that wasn’t the main point. If you resolve the issues in that other dimension, it’s possible to return. Once you get used to awakened beings, heroes, and gates, you can somewhat grasp this idea. In fact, there are papers dealing with such hypotheses when you dig into the data. But how did you know about this, Mr. Yoo Hwashin?”

 

At Ha Cheongwon’s words, Unit 1’s gazes also turned to him.

 

“Even if everything you said is true, it doesn’t explain why you knew about it. Rather, the initial flustered reactions of the others seem more understandable.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

It was a reasonable suspicion, wasn’t it?

 

Scratching his cheek, Hwashin answered.

 

“It’s related to Pii and my abilities.”

 

“…Pii? Do you mean that weasel? …Indeed, you did say it came from the gate.”

 

Because of that, Pii was the only animal freely roaming the training center. Hwashin lifted Pii high.

 

Pii!

Pii’s body stretched in the air with a quite brave expression.

 

“Pii came from the dimension. Since then, I’ve occasionally peeked inside the gates.”

 

“What?”

 

Jeong Mueum’s jaw dropped in shock. Of course, it was a lie. Everything he said from now on would be a lie. He couldn’t say he read it in a book, could he?

 

– True enough.

 

With Dragon’s rare agreement, Hwashin continued speaking smoothly.

 

“At that time, I saw something like another world. So I thought there was another world inside, and monsters were coming to us because of problems there.”

 

“…So you were somewhat expecting this kind of thing to happen.”

 

“Something like that.”

 

“Then why did you ask us to find the princess?”

 

Cha Jaeha asked sharply. Good job, protagonist. Ah, no. Why did he have to ask?

 

Despite his inner thoughts, Yoo Hwashin patted Pii with a relaxed smile.

 

“That was because of my ability.”

 

“Your ability?”

 

“Sometimes when I go to places full of mana, I can see the flow of that world. Mana is the force that forms the world. That’s why I quickly picked out items in the warehouse too. As for being treated like a god, as I explained, I went along with it because the prince misunderstood.”

 

That damn ability.

 

Cha Jaeha sighed briefly. Manipulating mana. He knew that much.

 

But was that really all? There was something that couldn’t be explained just by that. Not doubting him meant that—

 

“If hyung says so, then it must be true.”

 

…You were no different from a fanatic.

 

“But Yoo Hwashin’s ability will be crucial from now on. Once a gate like this appears, it could happen again.”

 

“With Mr. Yoo Hwashin’s ability… I understand to some extent. But please, inform us next time before you act.”

 

‘Are these guys all fanatics?’

 

Cha Jaeha was dumbfounded by this situation. Hwashin smiled brightly with a face that said ‘Problem solved?’.

 

“What are we going to do with the items we brought back?”

 

Hwashin naturally changed the subject. There was nothing to gain from digging deeper into this. It was better to divert attention elsewhere. Jeong Mueum looked down at the badge on his chest.

 

“We should have San Ihyeong appraise them. She’s always the one who appraises the byproducts from the gate.”

 

“This is the first time we’ve brought back finished products from inside a gate, so Ihyeong noona will be really surprised. If we sell these, wouldn’t they be super expensive?”

 

“Well, they could be. You know, in those fantasy novels, hunters would appear and items would sell for hundreds of billions.”

 

Mueum said, looking like a young boy for the first time in a while. Ha Cheongwon also got up as if he had expected this.

 

“San Ihyeong is currently waiting in the appraisal room. She’s in the secure area, so let’s head there.”

 

“Oh~ You’re well prepared.”

 

“…Well, she’s my direct superior now.”

 

It seemed Ha Cheongwon had fully joined Unit 2 now.

 

Well, from now on, gate research needed to progress quickly. The synergy between San Ihyeong and Ha Cheongwon was needed in this situation. The points that changed due to their research results were quite important too.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

In the office they arrived at, there was another visitor that even Ha Cheongwon hadn’t anticipated.

 

“Hello~”

 

“….Hello.”

 

Ha Cheongwon greeted awkwardly. The one who greeted cheerfully was too short for Hwashin to see their face, but Hwashin soon realized who it was. He slightly bent his waist and leaned to the side.

 

“Hello to the members of Unit 1 as well.”

 

Yoo Jian and Jeong Mueum also greeted politely, probably this was their first time actually talking to them. It had been a while since Hwashin had seen the members behaving normally.

 

“Hello, Mr. Yoo Hwashin.”

 

“Hello.”

 

SH3 Unit. Jin and Theo from the Overseas Cooperation Department.

 

Hwashin, who had been observing the other members, greeted Jin politely when he was specifically addressed.

 

Was this what it felt like when two fake people met?

 

In any case, Hwashin had thought he needed to meet these people at least once.

 

“Meeting you right away like this, it must be fate between us.”

 

“Hahaha. Is that so?”

 

Yeah. Then, which one of these was Freak’s spy?