It's Too Clear

The place Yuseong headed to was Gwanghwamun.

There wasn’t any particular reason.

He just happened to think of Gyeongbok Palace when considering suitable tourist spots for foreigners… no, otherworlders.

However, this casual decision made without much thought ended up being the best choice.

“Wow!”

Alice let out an exclamation of wonder at the sight before her eyes.

Countless people walking the streets in clean, sophisticated clothes.

Numerous carriages running on well-maintained massive roads.

The huge gate built in an exotic style she had never seen in her life and enormous buildings that seemed to pierce the sky.

Everything was amazing and novel.

And she wasn’t the only one feeling these emotions.

‘…Am I really on Earth right now?’

This was so different from the Gwanghwamun he knew.

People carrying weapons as big as adult men and others walking around the streets in flashy armor that looked like it came from a game.

Some people jumping over roads to avoid waiting for traffic signals or flying through the sky, while others got out of cars and ran on foot when traffic was blocked.

Building billboards showing guild promotional videos and street vendors crowding the streets buying and selling monster-related items.

It was a surreal scene like watching a game or movie.

‘When I was in America, I was too busy hunting monsters to notice, but things have really changed.’

Though he had been keeping up with how the world was changing through web surfing, he had only experienced it fragmentarily through videos on screens. This was his first time coming outside to see it directly, so the shock Yuseong felt was no less than Alice’s.

Though he initially planned to just take her sightseeing for a bit before returning, before he knew it, Yuseong had become just as absorbed in looking at everything as Alice.

“Mr. Yuseong! Look at that! An incredibly huge carriage is moving!”

Alice, who had been making a fuss while looking at the bus, soon found something more interesting and pulled Yuseong’s hand.

Yuseong, who had been distracted by a Contractor casually walking through crowds with a gun slung over their shoulder, made an odd expression while looking at Alice pulling his hand.

Alice.

The client from his memorable first quest.

A clone of the great witch who single-handedly destroyed a kingdom.

A girl who was resurrected on Earth in a gynoid body using cutting-edge science and technology.

Having directly controlled her body, there was likely no one in the whole world who knew her better than him.

That’s what Yuseong thought until just moments ago.

‘…Want to go outside?’

‘I want to see what Mr. Yuseong’s world is like, what differences there are from my world, with my own eyes!’

‘Hmm, that might be a bit difficult, don’t you think? You haven’t had your new body for long, and we don’t know what problems might occur. It would be better to go outside after you’ve gotten used to your body first.’

‘I’ll tell you right away if anything feels strange! I’ve been feeling so cooped up being trapped inside.’

But that had been a misunderstanding.

Alice, who had gained a physical form that could interact with reality and become an active participant, showed a different side from when she was a passive observer unable to affect reality.

It was only natural.

After all, Alice was a human who could think for herself, not an NPC moving according to predetermined code.

When situations change, thoughts change, and when thoughts change, actions change.

Though this was something he clearly knew, seeing Alice, who had seemed like she would always be obedient, oppose his opinion and assert her own was as surprising as directly witnessing the changed city.

“…”

Alice, who had been chattering non-stop, suddenly closed her mouth.

Yuseong gave a bitter smile after turning his head to where her gaze was directed.

A food cart selling street food like tteokbokki, fried snacks, and chicken skewers.

Alice, who had been so spaced out it made one wonder if her functions were malfunctioning, only barely came to her senses after he waved his hand in front of her face.

“Want to eat?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“What do you mean fine? You looked like you were about to drool.”

“…I want to eat. But it’s impossible with this body.”

Whether Sophia’s gynoid had the ability to consume food, whether the gynoid could taste even if it could consume food, and whether those taste sensations would feed back to Alice even if it could taste – everything was unknown.

Though she didn’t know about gynoids, Alice knew about golems and made a deeply disappointed expression, judging that eating food would be impossible with this body.

“Don’t be too disappointed. I’ll try to find a way.”

“Really?”

“You’ve only had your body for less than a day, right? There’s plenty of room for improvement. I’ll ask Sophia to add sensory functions and try modifying the dark art too.”

“Mr. Yuseong…”

“Don’t look at me like that, it’s burdensome.”

Yuseong flicked Alice’s forehead with his finger as she clung to him, then frowned as he reflected on his actions.

His past self, his self before getting the goggles, would never have said such things.

But at some point, he had been gradually changing.

‘Is this a positive change, or a negative one?’

After pondering briefly, Yuseong decided to just accept this change.

Though he had come to feel and understand others’ emotions to some degree, he thought it hadn’t affected his way of thinking or values.

Just looking at the [I Don’t Think I’m the Protagonist No Matter How I Look at It] quest he had completed earlier, even while feeling emotions he could still think up all sorts of brutal methods and execute them without issue like before.

This level of change was acceptable.

“Even when watching videos, I thought Mr. Yuseong’s world was amazing. A city with so many buildings and people. I’ve never imagined such a sight even in dreams.”

“Weren’t there cities like this in your world?”

“Well… I heard rumors that the Empire’s capital was so beautiful it was called the city of gods, but I never saw it myself…”

Yuseong, who had been walking while making small talk, suddenly stopped just like Alice had earlier.

Alice followed Yuseong’s gaze and burst out laughing.

“Do you need some equipment?”

“No, nothing like that, just found it interesting. Until recently, you couldn’t see sights like this in our world.”

“Ah, that’s right, you said your world was originally a peaceful one without monsters, didn’t you?”

“We didn’t have monsters, but it wasn’t peaceful. Still, it wasn’t dangerous enough for things like that to be bought and sold on the streets. At least not in this country. Mind if we take a look?”

“Of course not.”

A stall displaying various weapons, armor, and all sorts of miscellaneous items.

The owner, who had been watching with eagle eyes worried someone might steal something, was startled upon seeing Yuseong approach, or more precisely, upon seeing Alice.

A beautiful girl with gray hair and golden eyes.

The man, belatedly coming to his senses, greeted the customer with a sincere smile rather than a business smile.

“Looking for anything in particular?”

“Just browsing.”

“Browse away! Take your time, haha.”

Yuseong carefully examined the displayed items, leaving behind the strangely friendly owner.

There were items made from ordinary materials, items made from monster materials, and items made from combining both.

‘Items made from ordinary materials have higher quality here, while items made from monster materials are better quality from other worlds. Mixed ones are neither here nor there.’

One thing was clear – there were no items of a grade that would interest him.

The highest grade item was a D- rank blade made by grinding monster teeth for the edge.

While others might find it useful, as a user, he had no need for such items.

‘So this is the limit of what can be obtained on Earth after all.’

The only Earth items worth using were modern weapons – weapons and artifacts from other worlds were far superior.

Yuseong’s gaze stopped on one item as he scanned through them.

An ordinary blue flower-shaped hairpin with nothing special about it.

Looking back and forth between Alice and the hairpin, Yuseong spoke to the owner.

“How much is this?”

“5,000 won.”

Yuseong took out a 10,000 won bill from his wallet and handed it to the owner, then picked up an identically shaped hairpin in a different color and held it out to Alice.

“Why are you giving this to me…”

“Thought it would suit you.”

“Ah…”

An indigo hairpin.

After staring at the hairpin for a while, Alice spoke with a rare serious expression instead of her usual goofy smile.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Just 10,000 won.”

“The price isn’t what’s important. What’s important is that it’s a gift from you, Mr. Yuseong. No, not just the hairpin – I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me until now.”

“…Why are you suddenly getting sentimental?”

“It’s not sudden. If anything, it’s too late. I’ve been taking all your help for granted until now, but I shouldn’t have.”

Saving her from monsters, helping her learn who she was, defeating the mad witch who was after her body, helping her survive.

She had received several enormous favors that would be impossible to repay even just one of.

It was startling that she had only realized this now.

“I have a sense of propriety too. Please give me any task. Though it won’t be enough to repay the favors I’ve received, I want to be of at least some help.”

“…”

Yuseong said nothing.

Not because he was moved.

Rather, the opposite.

‘Isn’t that obvious?’

Did she think he had been helping without expecting anything in return?

Yuseong, who had been planning to use Alice as a part for his ultimate weapon using the dragon heart for quite some time already, could only be taken aback by Alice’s words suggesting she hadn’t been planning to do as he said until now.

Wearing a disgruntled expression, Yuseong belatedly came to his senses under Alice’s steady gaze and cleared his throat before speaking.

“Well, I didn’t really help expecting anything in return, but if you want to help, I’d appreciate it. I’ll be counting on you.”

“Yes!”

Yuseong gave an awkward smile to Alice who was smiling with pure innocence, then turned his eyes toward the items displayed at the stall.

He was planning to move somewhere else quickly, if only to escape the burden of people’s gazes.

‘It would take time to appraise each one, so using Eye of Truth…’

Though not as accurate as appraisal, using Eye of Truth would let him roughly estimate grades by gauging the quality and quantity of energy items contained.

“Ugh!”

“Mr. Yuseong?”

“My, my eyes…”

“Your eyes? What’s wrong with your eyes?”

Though a worried Alice came closer to support him, Yuseong was in such shock he could barely maintain his posture.

This was because an intense light had flashed bright enough to blind him the moment he used Eye of Truth.

Would it feel like this to look directly at the sun?

Clutching his eyes and letting out faint groans, Yuseong soon realized what had happened.

‘Spirit power.’

Eye of Truth uses spirit power as its driving force.

And that spirit power had suddenly increased dozens of times, so naturally Eye of Truth which relied on it couldn’t remain normal.

“…It’s too clear.”

Opening his eyes, Yuseong muttered helplessly while looking at the brilliantly shining world.