Ghost took a moment to think.

There was no real egg, no real paradise. That was reality.

But perhaps, just as Jae-hee said, the otherworldly bird had tried to fly until the very end, clinging to that futile hope. Maybe that was why it had done all this.

So what? Ghost clicked her tongue inwardly. Even if that were true, what difference does it make?

But while she dismissed the thought, the Boy was still lost in his. He contemplated the futile hope the great bird had died incubating, a truth now lost forever.

After a moment’s hesitation, Ghost pulled her worn notebook from her pocket. She’d left it with Hae-eun before the mission, so it had stayed dry during her swim in the ocean.

“‘Hope is the thing with feathers.’”

“…”

“‘It perches in the soul and sings a tune without words, never stopping.’”

Jae-hee mulled over the lines Ghost had recited, then asked cautiously, “The futile hope I’ll find for myself someday... will it be like that?”

“Who knows.”

Ghost shrugged, tucked the notebook back into her pocket, and pulled her cap down low, sinking into her seat.

“Find it first, then you can think about it.”

She settled in to get some sleep.

Jae-hee turned his gaze back to the window. The coast had already receded into the distance, and the dead bird’s corpse was no longer visible.

Suddenly, a voice from his childhood brushed past his ear.

—Let’s fly.

The voice of a girl, smiling brightly amid falling snow.

—Fly just one more time...

“...”

Futile hope, and a way to fly.

He felt like he understood, yet he didn’t. It was all still a confusing haze.

Jae-hee sat down next to Ghost. Leaning back in his seat, he closed his eyes.

The transport plane, heading west, was swallowed by the crimson sunset.

Their emergency mission during their leave was over.

It was time to head home.

***

[Mission Report]

[B-Rank] Daedalus: KIA

[B-Rank] Icarus: KIA

[A-Rank] Iljimae: Survived

[AA-Rank] Boy: Survived

[OLD S] Ghost: Survived

- 300,000 P.€

- 50,000 P.€ (Credit for unused outing permit)

- 1 Military-grade Gate Gear (To be delivered later)

***

It was the middle of the night by the time the transport plane returned to the prison cruise.

Hae-eun had her personal chef prepare dinner for Ghost and Jae-hee. They were served a salad with cheese and nuts, followed by pasta topped with grilled fish.

“This is delicious!”

Jae-hee slurped it down ravenously. Ghost, despite her apparent lack of appetite, handled her fork with clean precision, elegantly guiding the pasta to her mouth.

After finishing his meal, Jae-hee accepted a bowl of vanilla ice cream and had a sudden thought.

“You know, we’ve already met three of the New Five Heroes.”

“The other two... I wonder what they’re like. I’m curious!”

“...”

The New Five Heroes they’d met so far: Rain Man, Death-Medic, and Chosen One.

The thought of the remaining two seemed to sour Ghost’s appetite even further. 

She set her spoon down. “If you meet the other two... you’ll think Chosen One was a perfect gentleman by comparison.”

“Huh? A-are they that bad?”

“Chosen One is just a soldier who got consumed by his own gimmick but still fights for his country. But the other two...”

Ghost shook her head slowly. “They are genuine, humanity-bankrupt pieces of trash.”

“Whaa!”

“And as is often the case in this line of work, the more screwed up their personality... the better their abilities.”

Just then, Hae-eun walked in, holding her own bowl of ice cream. “What are you two talking about?”

“That you’re a very capable person.”

“Oh my, I suppose I am rather competent. Hehe.”

Seemingly pleased by the unexpected compliment, Hae-eun began eating her ice cream with a beaming smile.

Ghost snorted, and Jae-hee broke out in a cold sweat.

After dinner, the two passed through the quarantine station together and entered the main part of the ship.

Seeing the Bank, Clinic, and Workshop spread out along the corridor, Ghost glanced at Jae-hee.

“I don’t have any business here. You?” she asked.

“Ah, I was thinking of looking around a bit.”

“All right. Don’t stay out too late. Good work today.”

“Thank you, Master! Get some rest!”

As Jae-hee gave her a sharp, ninety-degree bow, Ghost waved a hand and headed down to the lower decks.

Jae-hee headed to the Bank first. He activated the kiosk and placed his newly issued Null Cuffs on the scanner.

My balance after Mission 4 was 1.51 million Paradise Credits. After that, the payments I received were...

Mission 5 payment: 1,000,000 P.€

Mission 6 payment: 300,000 P.€.

Unused outing permit Credit: 50,000 P.€.

In total...

[Current Balance: 2,860,000 P.€]

2.86 million!

“Wow, it’s almost three million already!”

He needed about eleven million Credits to get released, and he’d already saved up this much. And it hadn’t even been that long since he’d arrived!

Jae-hee grinned, pleased with the growing number, but his expression soon turned serious.

Maybe I should upgrade my gear a little more...

The memory of his struggle against the Rose Princess was still vivid.

Saving up diligently to get out quickly was important, but so was crafting the necessary tools and equipment for survival and using them at the right time.

After all, you had to be alive to get released.

Should I focus on saving to get out as fast as possible, or should I invest a little in my future safety?

After some deliberation, Jae-hee found himself leaning toward the latter.

I’ll keep saving as my priority, but I’ll spend a little on reinforcing my equipment. Just a few more trump cards...

He headed to the Clinic first.

Inside, he found Iljimae dressed in a patient’s gown, being shoved into a hospital room, wailing something like, “I don’t wanna be admitted!”

“We’re getting a lot of new patients lately...”

The Doctor, clicking her tongue, spotted Jae-hee and asked, “If it isn’t Boy. How was your trip out?”

“It was great! Though we did have to run a sudden mission at the end.”

“I heard. The Flying Father-Son duo is dead, and Iljimae is suffering from severe exhaustion. Are you and Ghost okay?”

“We’re not in bad enough shape to need an examination.”

“You’re welcome to lie down here anytime you want. The hospital fees are a bit steep, though.”

The Doctor stretched languidly. “Hah, I wish I could check myself in and get some rest.”

“You seem tired.”

“I don’t know why they keep working me to death... Ah, so what brings you here?”

Jae-hee stated his purpose. “I’d like to request another Refill Injector.”

“Weren’t you about to die from the side effects last time?”

“But it was definitely effective.”

Jae-hee nodded. “After facing the Rose Princess on the last mission, my perspective changed a little. I realized I need to ‘invest’ in my life, too.”

“Oh?”

“So, please make one Refill Injector for me. It’d be great if you could have it ready for me to pick up before my next deployment, just like last time.”

“Got it. The price is ten thousand Credits.”

Jae-hee paid at the counter.

The Doctor stroked her chin. “Besides the Refill Injector, I’ve thought of a few other tools that might be helpful for you.”

“Huh, really?”

“Yeah. I’ll develop a few more prototypes.”

“I’m counting on you, Doctor!”

Next, Jae-hee headed to the Workshop.

“Ah, my dear neighbor Boy!”

Grease Gal, who was in the middle of treating the Foghowler leather, waved at him.

“I’ve just been mendin’ your windbreaker.”

Jae-hee’s windbreaker had been damaged in the fight with the Rose Princess. Considering it had blocked a direct attack from a Gate Lord, it was in remarkably good condition.

“I’ll have the repairs finished before your next deployment.”

“Thank you. I’m leaving it in your hands.”

Jae-hee hesitated for a moment before continuing. “And... I’d like to have a new piece of equipment made.”

“Oh!”

Her face brightening, Grease Gal set down the leather she was holding and grinned.

“That’s a joyous occasion for me, yessiree. What kinda gear would you like to make?”

“Uhm, well...”

What kind of equipment should he get?

After a moment of thought, Jae-hee answered honestly.

“I’m not exactly sure what I need right now. But... after the Gangnam Station mission, I definitely feel like I need something more.”

He was keenly aware of his own shortcomings.

But as for what he needed most to fill that gap, the Boy still wasn’t sure.

“Hmm. I see.”

Grease Gal smiled a slow, knowing smile. “To be honest, most of what you feel you’re lackin’ is somethin’ ‘time’ will solve, but well...”

“Time?”

“Yuppers. I believe you simply need time to mature. But in any case, it seems you need more equipment for immediate use.”

Grease Gal made a thoughtful sound, then asked casually, “How ‘bout getting yourself a ranged secondary weapon?”

“A secondary weapon!”

“Yessirree. Since you still seem to have some reservations about commissioning a major piece of equipment, let’s start with some lighter secondary gear.”

Pulling up Jae-hee’s equipment list on her computer monitor, Grease Gal let out a small “Ah.”

“You still don’t use your shortsword much, do you?” she asked.

“Ah, no.”

He still hadn’t properly learned how to handle a shortsword, so his Mountain Child hadn’t seen much action in battle.

“In that case, how about a launching device that would allow you to shoot the shortsword as a projectile?”

“A launching device?”

“Yes. To put it simply, it would be like a single-shot pistol that uses the shortsword as a bullet.”

Grease Gal quickly sketched out a drawing.

It depicted the shortsword being fitted into the muzzle of a device and fired with a BANG~! (The “BANG~!” was a sound effect she’d written herself.)

“This shortsword is also a Gate Gear made from a Gate Lord’s fang, so as long as it’s launched with sufficient force, it can exert considerable power. It would be good for surprise attacks, too.”

“Ooh, that sounds great...”

Jae-hee pointed at the drawing of the pistol-like auxiliary device and asked, “Instead of carrying this device separately, could you make it in the form of a sheath? So I could normally carry the shortsword in it, and then when I need to shoot it, I could... somehow make it work?”

“That’s possible! In fact, that sounds like an even better idea!”

Excited, Grease Gal redrew the sketch.

Normally, the shortsword would be stored in the sheath. When the situation called for it, he would draw the shortsword, flip it around, and insert the handle into the sheath. Then, pulling a trigger on the sheath would fire it. BANG!

“A shortsword launcher that can also be used as a sheath...”

“That sounds amazing!”

“This is going to be another interesting piece. I’ll do my best to make it pretty and nice.”

After the initial sketch was done, Grease Gal tapped on her calculator and said, “The production cost... will be just fifty thousand Credits.”

“Gah!”

“It has a few gimmicks, so this is the minimum cost I gotta ask.”

The equipment he’d commissioned before had been cheap because he had either brought the Core materials himself or had a Gate Gear Production Voucher.

From now on, he would have to pay the full price.

Well, it’s a good deal... and Grease Gal’s gear is always top-notch...

Jae-hee squeezed his eyes shut and made the payment. Ting!

“Thank ye for the business, as always~!”

After leaving the Workshop with Grease Gal’s farewell, Jae-hee calculated his expenses for the day.

Ten thousand at the Clinic, fifty thousand at the Workshop.

After that spending spree, he had 2.8 million Credits left.

“...”

Seeing how modest his spending had been, Jae-hee seriously wondered if he should’ve gone wilder.

Maybe like, a million...?

“Ack, what the heck am I thinking!”

Jae-hee lightly slapped his own cheeks.

He had to maintain a good balance between necessary expenses and savings.

To achieve both goals of survival and release!

“Okay, okay! I can do it! Make life work!”

After cheering himself on for no particular reason, Jae-hee trotted over to the elevator.

It was time to head to Deck 1—back to his original cell after a long time away.

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