"I'm back."

Youzi Lu pushed open the front door of the coffee shop and wearily sat on a high stool in front of the counter.

Normally, at this time, both the front door of the shop and the iron shutter outside should be closed, but today they were generously left open.

He reached his hand over the counter, took a cup from behind it, and filled it with tap water.

Although it's not healthy to drink tap water, it probably doesn't matter in his current state.

"You're back?"

Qianxiao's voice came from behind, and he turned his head to see Qianxiao, dressed as a waitress, wearily getting up from the sofa.

She scratched her fiery red hair, rubbed her eyes, and looked at Youzi Lu.

"How did it go?"

Youzi Lu didn't answer her, but took out a hexagonal object from his pocket and placed it on the counter.

It was the "Heaven's Evolution Core," the energy source buried deep inside his body as a modified human.

Now the core had been dug out and placed on the counter, indicating that the person who possessed it was dead.

"Did you take care of it?"

Qianxiao stared at the core and looked relieved.

It wasn't the expression you would make when seeing something that represents someone's death, but from Qianxiao's mood, she didn't want to see the shop owner being defeated again.

She remembered the junior brothers who had attacked them a long time ago.

The junior brothers lying on the ground on the cold summit and the shop owner with blood-soaked fists.

"Did you do it?"

"No, he did it himself."

"I see..."

Qianxiao walked over and sat down next to Youzi Lu.

She propped her chin up with her hand and looked meaningfully at Youzi Lu, her mouth involuntarily curling upwards.

"I thought he would be as easy to deal with as the previous junior brothers, but it turns out he's much tougher."

"I originally thought this would be the most challenging."

Youzi Lu took a sip from his glass and seemed to realize something.

"I even specifically checked his grave, and maybe it was because I went to see his grave... that attracted the attention of the 'Alumni Association'."

Youzi Lu referred to the hostile organization by that name, which was composed of his former comrades. To him, it was like an alumni association.

"If I hadn't gone to check his grave, maybe that kid's peace wouldn't have been disturbed."

"But because of that, I got to meet my lovely junior brother whom I haven't seen in a long time, right?"

Qianxiao propped up her chin and looked at the modified core on the counter. Although she had only seen this junior brother twice, she could clearly feel the difference between the two times they met.

The first one seemed to know the limits of his life, with clear aggression in his actions.

The latter looked a bit more relaxed, but she could feel the realization that came from overcoming a great obstacle.

Although they had only exchanged a few words, she couldn't know what kind of realization he had, but if she could see it with her own eyes, it must be something brilliant.

Lost in her thoughts, Qianxiao didn't notice that Youzi Lu was staring at her face with a serious expression.

"Although I'm not sure, maybe it was Qianxiao leading me here, right?"

That's what Xiao Xin, no, now called Rip, said.

"I think it may be the effect of the item that connects with people from another world, and maybe it's because I am these bones that I was contacted, but..."

Before leaving, Rip intentionally left that question unanswered and said to Youzi Lu.

"I think he summoned me because Qianxiao wanted to summon you, senior."

Recalling the words his junior brother said before leaving, Youzi Lu reached out and touched Qianxiao's fiery red short hair on her head.

Is that right... if it weren't for this girl, would I be dead by now?

"Huh!?"

First being startled, and then showing a very enjoyable expression, Qianxiao curiously looked at Youzi Lu's hand on her head.

"By the way, didn't you invite him to stay for dinner?""Well, he said he wanted to go back to the original place," said You Zi Lu, enjoying the smooth touch in his hand.

"He said it like this –"

【I am no longer an inhabitant of this world.】

In a distant inland city, in the suburban residential area.

A pale blue magic circle suddenly appeared in front of a house, emitting a beam of light that shot up into the sky within the circle.

Then the light slowly faded, and in the place where the magic circle disappeared, a young man holding a bag half knelt on the ground.

He stood up, looked around to confirm his body, and took a deep breath.

"I never expected the teleportation magic to actually succeed..."

Rip scratched his head and looked at the bag in his hand.

"The problem is how to hand over this thing."

If the contents were poured out, he would be immediately arrested.

After all, the bag contained neatly arranged human skeletons, with some spinal bones and rib bones completely crushed.

How should he explain it to Jing-jie... why something originally in a graveyard would now be in his hands...

But the bag of bones in his hand and the teleportation magic just now... has already proved that he is not a human in this world.

Originally, the teleportation magic was a spell that he couldn't possibly perform at his level. Even the chanting speed of the 【Firebrand's Aura】 he used to increase his reaction speed in battles against mecha knights couldn't be chanted that quickly.

It is probably because there is a magic circuit brought back from another world in his body, and the magical density of this world is higher than that of the Varola Mainland world...

All of this indicates that his current body was given to him after he crossed over to Varola Mainland.

Of course, thanks to this body being able to perform magic and being much stronger than the people in this world, he could easily defeat the cyborgs who theoretically should be much stronger than humans.

But this also means that he cannot stay in this world for long.

Rip looked up at the edge of the sky, where a wall of fog was advancing towards him at a visible speed in the distant sky.

After the fog wall reaches his side, he will probably be sent back to his original world.

He first noticed this when he had dinner with his family after displaying the Flame Fingers spell.

If he was still a human in this world, there would be no reason for the spell to be successfully cast.

But not only did it succeed, the effect was even several times stronger than in Varola.

Since then, Rip gradually realized that his body couldn't stay in this world for long.

It was only until he saw the person revealed under the mecha knight and the subsequent transformation into a skeleton that he truly confirmed this.

Because he realized that time was running out, Rip took a risk and used the teleportation magic that he absolutely couldn't have cast successfully in Varola to return to his home.

"Are you going back?"

A woman suddenly said next to him, walking up to Rip's side.

It was Rip's childhood friend.

"Well, almost."

He nodded and showed her the bag in his hand.

"It's almost done once I put the contents back into this bag."

"Is that so?"

The childhood friend pointed at her own cheek with her finger and thought for a moment.

"Then I'll go with you. It won't be too far, right?"

"It's not that far."

"Let's go then."

Saying that, the two of them embarked on their way to the cemetery.

The two people who hadn't spoken to each other for several years didn't know what to say to each other, so they remained silent.

"By the way..."

The person who first broke the silence was the woman.

"Are you now an adventurer over there?"

"Well, yes."

"Is what Xiao Luli said true?"

"Basically."

Rip touched his chin with his hand.

"Just don't know how much she actually knows..."

"There's something you don't want her to know, right?"

Saying that, the childhood friend smiled mischievously, just as she remembered her.Even if feeling awkward, they would not show a shaken expression, but they wouldn't miss anything either.

"After all, there are many adult-only parts in my story... Luli probably wasn't of legal age when she saw those..."

"Ah? Are you saying it's a gathering of beauties in a brothel?!"

"It's not that kind of adult-only! Well, the part about a group of beauties is true."

"Ah? What kind of beauties?!"

"You haven't changed your sexual orientation, have you... You're really excited to hear about beauties."

"What nonsense are you talking about! I'm just here as your childhood friend to check on your growth these past few years."

"Don't act like a typical childhood friend just now!"

Playfully bantering like they haven't spent five years apart, the two happily conversed.

Arriving at the cemetery, the woman who can no longer be called a girl watched the man in front of her carefully place the bag into the slightly opened tomb.

"I guess this is the end."

Saying so, Rip put the brick back into place and stood up, clapping his hands.

The woman, his childhood friend, crossed her arms and stared at his face.

"You're finally going back?"

"Yeah."

Rip nodded and smiled.

"I'm happy to see you again, but I hope we never see each other again."

"Never?"

"That world over there can only be visited after death. I don't want to see you there."

"Is that so?"

Isn't it because he doesn't want to see her again? Isn't it because despite having joyful conversations, he still holds resentment against her?

The woman couldn't speak, she could only force a smile.

"You care about many things, but the people involved don't."

As if seeing through her thoughts, Rip reached out and patted her head, then walked toward a misty barrier that had moved closer to him.

When he came to his senses, he found himself standing in the familiar study room inside the castle.

"What's wrong with you?"

Next to him was a petite maid holding a tray.

"Nothing."

Rip shook his head and sat back down on the sofa.