I couldn’t help but cry. I had somehow encountered a friend upon falling into this world for no reason at all. I wouldn't be so happy to see her if we weren't close, but Sora and I had a special relationship.

I had yet to decide what kind of relationship we had, but the people staring at us right now probably had an idea as to what type of relationship we shared.

Of course, I couldn't define it myself, and I didn't want them to define it either.

It'd be more exciting if the relationship were to remain kind of mysterious, but it was undeniable that we cared about each other. I looked at Han Sora as if I were looking at a lover, a close friend, a family member, or perhaps a partner.

‘I’m actually really happy to see her.’

“Sora noona…” I mumbled.

“

Ah…

yeah

…

Ki… yeah…” Han Sora muttered.

“Sora noona.

Heuk…

” I cried.

Han Sora instinctively hugged me tight as well. It was like she was telling me that she wasn’t going to leave my side no matter what.

‘You’re happy to see me too, right?’

“You two know each other?”

“What the heck…”

“Really?”

“W-What… do we do… now? Hey, someone bring Woo Hyo-Yeol here!”

'Why the hell are you trying to bring Woo Hyo-Yeol here? You really want to cause drama in a situation like this?'

Everyone, except the one guy who made the useless comment, had already forgotten the small incident not too long ago. The Viking woman was no longer under pressure, but it seemed like she didn’t want to talk to Han Sora or fight with her.

As someone who had just left Earth, she definitely knew that it was difficult to find someone with whom one was acquainted in the past. Regardless of what had happened earlier, the Viking woman had no intentions of ruining this touching reunion.

“Sora noona… I knew it… it really was you,” I said.

“…”

“It really was you, noona…” I repeated.

“

Ah…

yeah… I-I…” Han Sora stuttered.

‘Damn it, she’s having a meltdown.’

I was sure she was having all sorts of thoughts at the moment. Not only was she not expecting to see me at the academy, but she was older than me now, so I understood why she was confused.

‘Looks like she’s having a hard time adapting because it’s been too long since we did something like this. However, didn't I help her debut during the Park Mijin incident?’

“I…

heuk… kgh…

I… K-Ki-Youuung…” Han Sora cried. Since she had no idea how to respond, she decided to cry first.

'

Looks like she hasn’t forgotten the things I taught her.'

“Noona…” I mumbled.

“Ki-Youuuung… heuk…” Han Sora muttered, and huge tears rolled down her eyes. The guy who kept telling people to call Woo Hyo-Yeol stayed quiet. He realized that it was no longer the right time for him to make an appearance. 𝐫𝖆NỐＢÊŠ

“

Um…

Sora unni…”

“Sora noona… do you know him?”

“Who is that guy?”

“Sora unni…”

Han Sora’s followers cast worried gazes at me, and I knew what they were thinking.

Han Sora was everyone’s idol, but she was suddenly hugging and crying with a friend who appeared from out of nowhere. They couldn’t really understand it, but I was sure that the sight felt strange.

I believed that they felt like I was taking her away from them.

They probably thought that they were special, as they fought together with her in the tutorial dungeon, but that wasn’t the case at all.

‘I’m more important than them.’

Christian—the guy calling her noona—looked downcast. He looked like he had lost everything.

“K-Ki-Young, it’s kind of embarrassing for us to stay here, so how about… we go somewhere else… and talk…” Han Sora suggested.

“You’re right, noona. I’m sorry. I was just really…” I trailed off before explaining, “I couldn’t calm myself down…

heuk

… I never imagined that I’d see you again, noona…”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize… I-I feel… the same way… Ki-Youuung… Let’s go somewhere else first since there are other people here…” Han Sora said.

‘What are you looking at, damn it?’

I stepped back and looked around. I saw Han Sora’s followers staring at us awkwardly with trembling eyes.

“W-Who…” I asked.

“

Ah

… from the tutorial dungeon… A-Actually, let’s talk elsewhere, Ki-Young…” Han Sora said.

“

Ah

, it’s fine. If they’re your friends, they’re my friends as well… so I’d like to meet them,” I told her.

‘How come you don’t want to introduce them to me?’

“Let’s not do that…”

It felt like she was saying "Sub Guild Master, please," but I couldn't help but find that odd.

'I guess she's always been an odd one.'

“Hello,” I greeted.

“

Ah

… hello.”

“Noona, introduce me to them,” I requested.

“

Ah…

sure… So, this is…”

Han Sora picked out a few people and introduced them to me, but I wasn’t really listening. There was no reason for me to memorize their names, and if I really needed to interact with them, I could just use Mind’s Eye.

“And this is… Lee Ki-Young… I-I don’t really know how to introduce him…” Han Sora stuttered. Han Sora’s cheeks turned red, allowing people to know what kind of relationship we had without her explaining the details.

‘We've slept on the same bed before.’

Although Ha-Yan was in the middle, we were comrades who ate, slept, and lived in the same house. In some ways, we were a family. Moreover, Han Sora played a huge role in Jung Ha-Yan’s family living plan.

“S-Shall we go… talk… elsewhere, K-Ki-Young?” Han Sora stuttered.

Han Sora seemed like she wanted to get out of here as fast as possible, but Christian, her first follower, looked displeased. He chimed in, sounding worried that Han Sora and I were going to disappear.

“Sora noona, regarding the preparations for the mock battle…”

‘Yeah, I’m sure you guys can prepare for it in this kind of situation…’

“Christian, I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ll be able to do it today… I’m sorry. The timing… is kind of bad… You understand, right?” Han Sora asked.

‘Why is he acting like he’s really close to Sora noona? That brat.’

“

Ah…

come to think of it, you came here because of the mock battle, right? Was I… interrupting?” I asked.

“No, you weren’t interrupting anything… Ki-Young. It’s nothing like that… but let’s hurry and—”

“I’m sorry if I was interrupting. I’m okay, so how about we meet up later? Your party members are waiting for you…” I suggested.

“Sora noona, let’s do what he says—”

“Christian!” Han Sora yelled.

“Y-Yes?” Christian stuttered.

“I asked you to be understanding!” Han Sora yelled.

“

Ah!

”

'That’s what I’m talking about.'

It seemed like she was getting worked up for no reason, but things like this ought to be dealt with quickly and as soon as possible.

“How could you talk about preparing for the mock battle at a time like this? Was the commotion you caused earlier not enough? Do you have to put me in such a difficult situation? He’s like my younger brother, and we haven’t met each other in a long time, so I want to talk to him for now.

"Why is that so hard to understand?! The mock battle? If you were in my situation… would you be able to think about something like that?” Han Sora complained.

“N-Noona…” Christian stammered.

“I’m really disappointed in you today,” Han Sora added.

“...”

“Sorry, Ki-Young. Let’s go talk elsewhere,” Han Sora said.

'Did you hear that, you jerk? She’s not your noona. She’s mine.'

“Noona… what about…” I pointed.

“Don’t worry about him, Ki-Young. Let’s hurry inside,” Han Sora said hurriedly.

Han Sora grabbed my arm and pulled me away. After explaining the situation to the speechless Lim Cheong-Ha, I was dragged out of the cafeteria. Han Sora looked very anxious, but she calmed down a bit once we were out of the cafeteria.

She was starting to come back to her senses.

The moment she closed the door to this room, she said, “He's acting that way, but he’s a nice kid, sir.”

“...”

“You won’t harass him, right?” Han Sora asked.

‘What the hell is she talking about?’

“Why would I do that?” I questioned.

“

Ah

… I-I was just worried that he made you upset,” Han Sora answered.

“I’m not really upset… Actually, I was kind of upset, but I’m not a psychopath who harms someone just because I’m a little upset. There are times when I just laugh it off. Anyway, it’s nice seeing you again after so long, Miss Sora,” I said.

“M-Me too!” Han Sora shouted.

'She doesn’t look happy to see me, though.'

“I never imagined that I’d suddenly fall into this place. I wanted to find you, but I had no idea how to do it, and… I also knew that you were doing fine.

"I knew you’d graduate with a high score, but your score was

really

high. What did you do?

Ah!

The tutorial here is really strange, and there's the so-called GENIUS as well.

"It’s different from ours, but I can tell that they've put a lot of thought into it,” Han Sora explained. She wasn't the type to talk a lot, so I felt like she was actually happy to see me again.

“I received a message from the God of Sunset asking me to find you as soon as possible, along with some coins. Is that the guild master?” Han Sora asked.

“Yes, it’s Hyun-Sung,” I answered.

“That’s what I thought after seeing his nickname. Have you figured out why we were summoned here?” Han Sora asked.

“Yes, I’ll explain that to you,” I answered.

“And about Miss Jung Ha-Yan…” Han Sora paused.

“...”

“

Ah…

”

“...”

“

Ah!

M-Miss Jung Ha-Yan…” Han Sora's eyes widened as if she had remembered something she had forgotten for a long time.

‘She really must’ve forgotten about her.’

She had long been dreaming of this freedom, and I was sure that she had been enjoying her life until now. She definitely felt like she had cheats on whenever she was around her followers who believed in her.

She had completely forgotten about Jung Ha-Yan, as she was no longer under the constant pressure of being around her.

‘Ha-Yan will definitely be sad to know this.’

Han Sora was aware of that as well.

“

Ahh…

What… what should I…” Han Sora mumbled.

“...”

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan… What do we do? Do you think she’s been eating on time? I’m sure she’s struggling, and she must be feeling lonely right now… What if she’s been crying all this while?

"I don’t think she joined an academy!

Ah!

The dolls that look like you… they're all on me right now!” Han Sora revealed.

“...”

'Is this something to cry about? You looked like you had completely forgotten about her and had been enjoying your life until now…'

“What do we do about… Miss Jung Ha-Yan? Do you know where she is? She’s doing fine, right? Right?” Han Sora questioned.

“...”

“She was really happy when she was told that the three of us would head to Rohen. She’s probably having a hard time right now, and I didn’t even think about that… Han Sora, you dummy… how… how could you do this?” Han Sora blamed herself.

Han Sora was suddenly suffering from separation anxiety.

“We have to hurry and find Miss Jung Ha-Yan!” Han Sora exclaimed.