"…So, what’s happening in Los Angeles is all because of what the youngest did?"

"That’s right."

At 10 PM.

The sky over New York was pitch black, and Central Park HQ was enveloped in darkness—but not everywhere. The multipurpose room in the facility's basement was proof of that. All the members of the Dagger Team, including me, had gathered in the room, which could accommodate dozens of people.

And there, a bombshell named hidden facts intertwined with me had detonated.

Everyone wore genuinely perplexed expressions. It was understandable. It was undoubtedly hard to believe. But this world had seen countless cases where the laws of physics did not apply. Three of the ten people gathered here were the very results of that.

So, there was no need for lengthy persuasion. This was partly due to the fact that everyone in the Dagger Team had a thoroughly realistic perspective.

"If you say you don’t believe it, that doesn’t change the fact that it happened. Just knowing that the youngest is in control means we can afford to pay less attention to the situation in Los Angeles."

"…But when did everyone start calling me 'the youngest' instead of my name?"

"Oh, is that what you’re concerned about?"

It wasn’t that strange for them to call me that, was it? I could understand it. Perhaps it was due to a change in sentiment. Other than feeling a little bothered by it, it wasn’t really a matter worth thinking deeply about.

Anyway, there were quite a few reasons everyone had gathered here today, but if I had to pick one, it would be to discuss my return—though I should clarify that "return" here referred to going home, not resuming my position as an operator.

Of course, I had been with these people for several years, sharing all sorts of joys and sorrows while carrying out operations together. After having died once—though not truly dead—and returning, it felt irresponsible to just return after receiving a medal without saying a word.

So, that was it.

"For that reason, the youngest will be going home tomorrow. Of course, you can come back anytime you want, so don’t worry about it."

"I could say that myself."

"It’s sometimes more effective to speak quickly in a lighter atmosphere rather than taking a serious tone for important matters."

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, it was Lorentina who first opened her mouth while I hesitated.

I felt a bit flustered, but thinking about it, maybe that was indeed right. I didn’t want to burden everyone with this sort of thing. And thanks to her taking the lead, the mood didn’t become overly heavy. She also effectively conveyed the core point that I could come back.

And as a result—

"Congratulations."

"Eat lots of delicious food. If you have time, come by occasionally. It’s been quite a while since I had fresh seafood."

"Make sure to undergo decontamination before you come back."

"Uh, well…."

It was a rapid response that felt like there couldn’t be anyone else in the world who understood me this easily.

There was a reason for that. If I had only a one-way ticket and couldn’t come back anytime, it was likely this room would have turned into a sea of tears. I probably would have cried the most among them.

Moreover, with the synchronization of the second world line, the time ratio between the two worlds was fixed at 1:1. Of course, this could be modified flexibly, but the extreme situation where a week passed in my original world while a year passed here wouldn’t occur.

Additionally, if I wanted, I could contact them through chat. To be frank, since it was just a matter of crossing through a door, it was no different from living next door. In other words, it wasn’t a permanent farewell, which lightened the conversation.

Perhaps because of that,

"When I first heard the conclusion, I was uneasy, but it turns out this isn’t so serious after all."

"I’m quite curious about how the youngest’s house looks. Is it okay if I ask permission to visit?"

"Seeing you all jabbering nonsense suggests you still have plenty of energy left, but should I propose a return to Los Angeles to the upper brass?"

And then came the silence.

Of course, Owens wore a small smile, as if the remark had been a joke, and taking advantage of the quiet moment, he spoke.

"Yujin. You can come back when America is in good shape again. There are still bones lying around on the streets of New York that haven’t been cleared yet…."

"Come on, someone shut our squad leader up."

"It’s not wrong at all. There are still thousands of skeletons rolling around at places like LaGuardia Airport."

A burst of laughter erupted.

Of course, since I had actually seen that scene, I had nothing much to say. The fact that I had seen far worse was well-known—after all, the time I had joined Central Park HQ was during the summer, and at that time, Manhattan was… quite literally filled with the stench of decay, so much so that an oxygen mask was essential.

It was so terrible that some people suffocated due to hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gas. During that period, some had gone insane or made drastic decisions—though I had been lucky enough to catch Lorentina’s eye and been dragged to the shooting range instead.

Still, the smell of gunpowder was much more pleasant than the stench of decay.

Anyway, that was enough of the unpleasant talk.

The reason for the lively atmosphere was that the day wasn’t quite over yet.

So, as for what that meant,

Knock, knock, knock!

"They’ve arrived."

"Let’s turn on the ventilator."

At that moment, the door opened, and a cart rolled in… carrying an alarming amount of food and drinks. A portable barbecue grill machine had also been set up in the room.

Since I hadn’t even taken off my dress uniform and medal yet, I stared blankly at the scene, when Lorentina patted my back and added,

"Take off your clothes. This is a party prepared for the youngest, so you can’t just stand there."

"Uh, um…."

After a brief moment of confusion, I smiled broadly and said,

"Thank you all so much!"

Of course, I didn’t look for a reaction. If I had heard the follow-up, my face would have turned as red as a beet.

Even now, my face was heating up, so it seemed it was already too late.

With a loud bang, Yujin hurriedly dashed out of the room, leaving the nine others laughing at the scene.

"That’s why they call her the youngest."

"She’s cute."

The Dagger Team.

There was a reason they adored Yujin so much.

It was the moment when the meat party to bid farewell to the youngest began.

"Ugh, get away…!"

"Ugh…."

The soft touch of a warm palm pressing down on my face jolted me awake.

It felt like a cold breeze was boring a hole in my head, blowing directly into my brain. I was lying on the floor of a room that only had a mattress, having fallen asleep while hugging Logan. My mind was truly hazy. The air was filled with the smell of alcohol. Yet, in comparison, my hangover wasn’t that severe.

Maybe I had become loose the moment I drank a few glasses of alcohol.

Not only was my arm wrapped around him, but my tail was also wrapped around his leg and waist. I hurriedly shook myself awake and stood up from the mattress. As I released my tail, Logan, who had been groaning, finally exhaled deeply and fell back into sleep.

"…Did I keep you up?"

"I could sleep even if thrown into Antarctica, so don’t worry."

With that, Logan fell back asleep.

The room, which had been a complete mess until yesterday, was now neatly cleaned. It seemed the robots had come in while I was asleep and cleared away all the useless items. Still, a few bottles of unfinished alcohol remained. It appeared they had deemed that they didn’t need to clear those away.

Time had crossed over from morning to afternoon. Everyone was gradually waking up one by one. As the ventilation system kicked in, the musty air inside was completely eliminated, replaced by the incoming cold air from outside. It was perfect for shaking off the drowsiness of the morning.

As I stared blankly at the ceiling, I felt the Icarus Gear on my left hand vibrate, sending me a message.

Notification: The 'Check Before Return' application has been installed.

I smiled as I confirmed it.

It seemed that I could now return home whenever I wanted without needing to contact those two. Indeed, that was correct.

The method was quite simple. It worked by designating two coordinates to connect. Both could be assigned to specific doors. For instance, if I designated this room as Point Alpha and the door of my house as Point Bravo, I could step through Point Alpha and emerge at Point Bravo.

Furthermore, by activating the sensor and grid functions, the Fizzler attached to the door could only disassemble specific objects. If no particular settings were applied, it would primarily disassemble harmful substances. For example, it could disassemble cancerous or aging cells that might exist in my body, or bacteria that clung to or resided within me.

What incredible technology.

As I sat in the chair staring at the ceiling, Chester sat down across from me.

In the original world, he had fallen while rappelling during training and ended up in the hospital with a broken leg. Seeing him here like this felt truly strange. Beside him was Specter, who had also awakened at some point.

She opened her mouth first to ask,

"When are you going back?"

"I can return whenever I want. I could even go right now if I wanted."

"I see."

At that remark, everyone began to stir.

Even Logan, who had been sleeping, managed to understand what was happening, sitting up on the mattress and leaning against the sofa. When I saw the reason behind this, it was quite amusing.

"Since the youngest probably wouldn’t want to wait until the alcohol wears off in a place like this."

"Eh? What are you saying…."

"Just be quiet."

With a pop, I suddenly found myself in Lorentina’s embrace.

She stroked my head and added,

"Make sure to visit often. I hope to invite you to the beach in Virginia this summer."

"Of course. Or you could come visit our house."

"Let’s consider that once America is back to normal. May God’s blessing always be with you, youngest."

I was released from her embrace.

Next up was Logan.

"I’d like to ask for a proper mattress when you come back next time. I’ve been having some back pain since I switched beds."

"Sure, I’ll bring you the best one I can find."

"Just kidding. Let’s meet again when we’re not in a hurry."

Then came Rapier.

There was always a subtle fragrance of perfume coming from her embrace.

"Since we can meet again, there’s no need for any grand speeches. Let’s meet in a better New York next time."

"Absolutely."

Next up were the mainstay men of the Dagger Team.

Without any hesitation, they all hugged me warmly. Fortunately, since I wasn’t particularly short, I could hug them without too much difficulty.

Of course, what they said varied from person to person.

"I hope you can bring back a decent fishing rod when you come back."

"Haha, of course, that’s not a problem."

"Monsieur Montecristo Especial No. 2, please bring back a solid twenty boxes. A decent humidor too."

"Dude, are you planning to turn your lungs into coal? With such a bad master, you’d better fast and pray in front of the Icarus Gear while breaking down tar and nicotine."

"Shut up."

Montecristo Especial? I wondered what that was, and then realized it was a Cuban cigar.

I suppose it wasn’t an easy time to obtain such luxuries. I wore a look of disbelief for a moment, then laughed and nodded. It wasn’t a big deal to do that. After all, if I opened my wallet, I could handle that kind of expense—likely more than enough money, to be honest.

Anyway, I ended up receiving quite a few requests for various errands. Of course, everyone insisted that they would give me the money to buy them, but asking me to take bills whose serial numbers may not even match was ridiculous. So when I said I’d buy everything with my own money, they all tried to dissuade me, but once I showed them my bank account, they fell silent.

Even though it was marked in won, I also displayed the dollar conversion result beside it.

"You’re going to bring back a pile of gifts, huh? I can’t wait for that."

"I’ll probably come back after about a week?"

"Haha, I’m definitely looking forward to that."

Of course, those gifts would undoubtedly be trivial compared to the things that lay ahead.

As I checked my text messages, I noticed that Dice and Harmony were excitedly throwing a tantrum, making things all the more urgent.

Now was the time to head back to Los Angeles.

"Well then, I’ll be going. See you in a week."

"It doesn’t feel like you’re going far at all. It’s quite a strange feeling."

Ignoring the various comments that followed from behind, I activated the application I had previously laid out.

Designating the multipurpose room door as Point Alpha and the front door of my house as Point Bravo, I clicked the activation button. Simultaneously, a hologram spread around Point Alpha as a voice echoed through the air instructing the door to open. At the same time, a Fizzler object formed above the door.

After about ten seconds, all the chaos subsided. The gate formation time was 30 seconds.

Carefully gripping the doorknob, I opened it.

Clank!

"A single-family home?"

"It looks cozy. The floor is all marble."

"Is there anything like a morning recovery drink in the fridge? My stomach's a bit upset from drinking yesterday."

"You fools. Yujin, hurry up and go back. We'll be blocking for you."

Of course, as they caught a glimpse of my house, they each threw out comments as if they were mothers-in-law… or like ducks quacking.

I burst into laughter as I stepped through the gate. Naturally, everyone on the other side waved goodbye with smiles.

Notification: Fizzler activated. Harmful substances disassembled. World line crossing confirmed.

Notification: Door closed. Gate operation terminated.

And then the door shut.

In an instant, the silence of my house was revealed. The clock indicated that about four days had passed since I crossed into my previous world.

I wondered if the time was not the same between the United States in the world I had been in and this one, as it was just afternoon in Korea. That was quite convenient.

As I took off my shoes and tossed my clothes into the laundry basket, I realized I had forgotten to bring back my uniform, but if necessary, I could just wash up, take a nap, and grab it again later.

So, for now….

"Ugh."

I needed to drink something sweet for my hangover.

Thus, my visit with the Dagger Team ended with a hangover.

It had been a delightful time.

And—

Streamer 'Eugene' // ON AIR

"The snake tail has appeared!"

"I’m back, my fix!"

The cheers of the withdrawal-suffering junkies slammed into Tricky all at once.