Starting a Reversal in Life From the Time of Release - Starting a Reversal in Life From the Time of Release chapter 53

53 – The North Is a Reversed World (1)

Someone once said that there is an end to suffering.

Today, for some reason, those words resonated with me deeply.

“Ahem…!”

I coughed to relieve my dry throat.

Mana was almost depleted, and I could barely move my limbs.

If we were a few seconds later, it would have surely been a disaster.

“Is everyone okay?”

“Yes. I thought I was going to die… We barely made it.”

“Thanks to you.”

The three of them sighed and mixed their words from a distance.

Beside them was the severed head of a snake, its eyes closed and its breath gone.

“Hmm…”

As I relaxed, a thought crossed my mind.

Though I couldn’t let my guard down completely, the feeling of having passed a difficult situation relaxed my shoulders.

“Something feels strange…”

Had it been so long since I fought desperately like this?

Or was it because it was an unimaginable snake?

I’m not sure of the exact reason, but it felt awkward, like something sticky was clinging to my hand.

“Shifu, are you alright?”

Mari, who was chewing on a small mountain strawberry, approached and asked.

It was a fruit grown by Seo Haneul.

“Yes, I’m fine. But Mari, are you okay? Everyone else is injured.”

“It’s fine for us because this is a daily occurrence. Thanks to the fruits Haneul gave us, we’re recovering.”

“But still, we should retreat to the back and get treatment first.”

Mari’s gaze turned to Seo Haneul’s arm, which was hanging loosely.

Though he had a smile on his face as he looked at us, it was clear that his condition was serious.

We needed to go to the hospital and receive proper treatment and correction.

Since the news of Seo Haneul’s injury spread,

The knights who were subduing demons with great vigor faltered.

They all had to stop their advance and take a break, but not a single person complained.

They didn’t pay for it, but it was because it was so cruel.

“Is this really a matsu? The knife… isn’t in it!”

In the meantime, the craftsmen who had come to find the snake’s body in the workshop were sweating cold.

They had no idea how to process the snake.

“You have to pay for it, at least as much as this matsu.”

If it were a different matsu, it wouldn’t be a big deal to let it go, but this was the matsu that was hunted at the risk of their lives.

This was the will of Princess Yushifu and also the will of the Laurana Knights who were commanding on their behalf.

The knights of Dakia also paid tribute to those who had hunted the giant snake.

The craftsmen silently nodded in agreement.

The blue gemstone on Laurana’s necklace glinted in the sunlight.

“Well… that’s only natural. It would be more of a problem to just give away a matsu like this. But what happened to those hunters?”

“Four of them, including the princess, have gone to a place called a hospital. I heard they were transported by something called an airplane…”

“I see. I understand.”

The craftsman raised his finger as if to indicate his understanding.

It was because he remembered hearing the news a few days ago about an airplane taking off.

“Then can they stay here for a while until those people come? As soon as the deal is done, we can load the matsu and leave.”

“Feel free to do as you wish, as long as you follow the procedures.”

“Of course. We can’t just take it without the owner’s permission.”

When one of the craftsmen responded, the others behind him also nodded in agreement.

It seemed that merchants were the same everywhere.

Laurana let out a short sigh and called over a nearby knight.

“They say they want to stay here for a few days. These are the people who were prearranged, so find them a suitable place.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The knight, with blood on his armor, bowed politely and then turned his back.

Laurana briefly looked at his back and then turned her gaze towards the craftsmen.

“Follow that knight. He will help you find a suitable place.”

“Thank you.”

After the craftsmen expressed their gratitude and left, Laurana sighed as she looked at the sky.

It was a relief that Princess Yushifu and the others were not injured, but her heart was still heavy.

The image of Seo Haneul, who would occasionally bring her delicious fruits, remained in her mind.

However, Seo Ha-neul eventually recovered safely and returned to Baekdu Mountain.

The other three people who were with her were also slightly injured.

They also underwent simple tests and received treatment while they were at the hospital.

All of these incidents were detailed in the report prepared by Park Sang-hoo.

“…I see.”

Park Sang-hoo sighed as he set down the long report.

At first, he couldn’t sleep when one of the main characters was injured.

In the end, he was very pleased to have North Korea’s recovery right in front of him.

“Anyway… in a few days, North Korean territory will be completely restored, right?”

“Yes. Hunters and guilds guarding each region have conveyed such news.”

When Park Sang-hoo asked, the deputy answered.

As it was a matter happening at a national level, support was provided to the dispatched hunters.

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Of course, most of them were not of a very high rank.

Even hunters of Class C and above, commonly referred to as mid-level, set foot on North Korean soil.

However, they moved forward because they were interested in what would happen in the future, rather than the support funds.

This was because of the whispered rumors spreading.

[Precisely because there is no one who wants to immigrate to North Korean land. Moreover, they completely blocked anyone from buying the land. Because there are already people who will live there.]

The people who would live there were none other than the people from the continent beyond the Gate.

And all of those people from the continent were women.

President Park Sang-hoo was aware of such rumors spreading, but he simply let it be.

If he had tried to stop the rumors, he could have stopped them from the beginning.

But the possibility of hunters or men who were interested in moving being more likely increased the more the rumors spread.

“Were there no contacts from the other side?”

Of course, the “other side” referred to the representative from the continent.

The aide knew that too, so he answered without any surprise.

“Even so, there was a contact that they want to meet officially soon.”

“Well… it seems they want to coordinate the timing of the joint declaration. Please contact them and ask for the desired date as soon as possible.”

He, too, had tasks to do as the President, and the investigation team was relatively idle.

However, even though they were idle, it was not appropriate to force them to accommodate his own schedule.

That would be a great disrespect.

“Yes. I will contact you immediately to coordinate.”

The aide nodded lightly and left the office.

Once again, it was time to wrestle with the documents that had flown onto the desk.

It was over.

In an instant, that one word flashed in my mind like a beacon.

We were in Shinju City, Pyeonganbuk-do, where we cut off the last remaining lifeline.

It was a horse very similar to Gazelle.

“What about other places?”

I asked the person in charge of the transportation unit.

If there is a force pushing in like us, there is also a force maintaining the pushed area.

And the person in charge of the transportation unit was also responsible for communicating with them.

The person in charge, with the rank insignia of a lieutenant on their collar, replied.

“Fortunately, everything is fine. They say it is being maintained stably.”

“…I’m really relieved.”

As we push forward, gates explode even then.

Using the technology of ‘gait’, we can stop the gates that occur from the North Korean side, but we deliberately kept that fact a secret.

It was because of the anxiety that things might go wrong.

And we had our own way of managing the gates here.

“So… can I consider it all finished?”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

The lieutenant replied in a stiff voice.

Although it was a relatively safe mission, I felt that they had followed me here risking their lives.

Maybe they would excel when they returned to the unit?

That thought came to me.

“To the lieutenant and everyone who came with me, please convey my sincere thanks.”

“I will do so.”

I wanted to have a drinking party, but there wasn’t a single place that could cater to that.

There were only ruined cities left.

“Well then, I will go.”

“Ah, yes.”

The lieutenant saluted as if he had nothing more to say, and returned to where the soldiers had gathered.

It was so natural to see someone younger than me salute.

Furthermore, the fact that he didn’t show any dislike made it even more surprising.

Although someone who wasn’t an awakened individual might feel hesitant about dealing with someone like me, it seemed like it wasn’t necessarily the case.

“Is it all over now?”

Mary, who had been standing far away, approached and asked.

She had been waiting until the conversation with the lieutenant was over.

“Yeah. We just have to hold on until things stabilize and then we can go home. The combat rations that we’ve been tired of eating are also finished.”

“They were boring? I found them delicious. Efficient and with a wide variety.”

It’s terrible to imagine eating potatoes and porridge every day in the military camp.

Mary said that, shaking her head.

She also mentioned that the stews they provided were quite lacking compared to the combat rations.

“Yeah… They’re probably tastier than that.”

It’s not like I’m ignoring potatoes, stews, or bread.

But, they can probably get boring easier compared to combat rations.

“Right? That’s why I asked them to develop combat rations.”

“To eat over there? But the wrappers and waste from combat rations are a bit… troublesome.”

It felt a little uncomfortable to have the wrappers of combat rations, like a non-environmentally friendly waste, spreading around in the ecologically-friendly continent.

So, without realizing it, I murmured,

“That’s why I’m pestering the magicians.”

In the end, only the poor magicians suffer from it.

Just as engineering students are sent to the battlefield on Earth, magicians are being sent away in the continent.

Mary looked at me and smiled, then said with an exasperated expression,

“Right. By the way, the work isn’t completely done yet, right?”

“Why?”

Thinking about what else could be left, I tilted my head, and Mary answered.

“The official announcement. You know?”