From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 285. Side Story – Heimdall Pt. 5

“Jun-Kyeong, why are you...?” Heimdall muttered blankly when he saw Lee Jun-Kyeong suddenly appear. Why was he here?

"Ah, well, that is..."

Saying that, Lee Jun-Kyeong pointed to his side. Where he pointed, Heimdall could see a boy and a girl walk forward.

"Long time no see."

“Hello, uncle!”

They were the two siblings, Park Jae-Hyun and Park Yu-Jin.

‘I’m going to go see the Park siblings.’

He was sure of it—Lee Jun-Kyeong had said that when he had left the house.

“You went to a Gate? Moreover, to a Gate like this??”

Heimdall wondered why the three of them were at a Gate that Athena and he had been clearing. Moreover, he had clearly spread his mana and swept through the entire gate in the beginning. He hadn’t felt anything, however.

‘Jun-Kyeong must have done it, then.’

It was clear that Lee Jun-Kyeong had hidden their presence. Although he didn’t know about anyone else, if Lee Jun-Kyeong decided to hide his presence, no matter how strong Heimdall himself was, he would never have been able to find him.

“We had some things we needed to test. I’ve become a Hunter anyway, so after hearing that there was a Gate causing people trouble, I decided to come. Just like...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong had an evil smirk.

“Just like Horus’ friend and Liu Bei’s benefactor should. Just. Like. A. Son. Of. Heimdall. Should. Don’t you think so?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was referring to what had happened at the Association when Heimdall and the others had blown the situation out of proportion.

“Uhm...”

Heimdall quickly turned his head to the side and pretended not to hear him.

“Well, anyways, I felt as though I needed to show a proper performance to match, at the very least. Should I be calling it a brilliant debut...?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s appearance seemed to have brightened slightly. It was only then that Heimdall was able to look at Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“But Athena is here, too?”

“Ah...” Athena couldn’t easily answer.

‘It’s still awkward between them.’

Athena and Lee Jun-Kyeong both knew what their relationship was: mother and son. However, the two were still not close. It was a difficult concept to accept. In the midst of the awkwardness, Heimdall questioned the Hunter, “No, but... it’s still a little strange, don’t you think? It’s not like you didn’t sense our battle; why are you only coming out now?”

“Oh, well...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong seemed to be hiding something.

Heimdall questioned him further, “Furthermore, what’s with this suspicious gate?”

Just as Heimdall was about to continue with his next question, Athena interjected and spoke to Lee Jun-Kyeong, “Have you...have you seen Lord Zeus?”

Athena still spoke politely and uncomfortably, stuttering as if she wasn’t comfortable with addressing Lee Jun-Kyeong just yet.

“Oh, Zeus? I haven’t seen him,” Lee Jun-Kyeong simply replied.

Athena quickly stood up and helped Heimdall up.

“It looks like Zeus isn’t here.”

“Huh...?”

“I think we should quickly go attack the remaining Gate.”

“Huh...??”

Heimdall was flustered by Athena’s sudden actions.

“O...okay.”

He held her offered hand tightly.

‘It’s really been a long time since I’ve held your hand.’

Athena took him by the hand and was leading him away. However, he still felt good about it because the hand he was clasping for the first time in such a long time felt so warm. Feeling Heimdall and Athena leaving the gate, Lee Jun-Kyeong turned to Park Jae-Hyun.

“It wasn’t awkward, right?” he asked.

“No, it was ridiculously awkward. We almost got caught.”

It wasn’t like they were reading from a grammar book or anything. Why had his speaking style been so awkward??! They had only been fortunate that it had been Heimdall. If it had been anyone else, they might have noticed Lee Jun-Kyeong's acting.

“First of all, the experiment can be considered a success.”

Their purpose had been the monsters of the special Gate. Originally, when they had entered, the monsters had been at a level that fit the known grade. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong and the Park siblings defeated those monsters and released the ones that Heimdall and Athena had fought later

“If the world is in danger, and the Hunters aren’t strong enough to fight, these things should be enough.”

They were monsters, but at the same time, not monsters. They were something that existed on the line between living and not living.

They were similar to artificial life forms, homunculi. They didn’t have a consciousness or a soul and felt no emotion or pain. They were things that could protect the humans on behalf of the Hunters if something that threatened the world appeared.

They were monsters created by Park Jae-Hyun and Park Yu-Jin.

“Well, because the atmosphere ended well, it was a success.”

They had used these creatures to stage the situation in this manner. They had already known that Athena and Heimdall would arrive at this gate sooner or later.

“Let’s collect them and go.”

“Understood.”

“Yeah.”

Park Jae-Hyun and Park Yu-Jin moved to collect the homunculi as Lee Jun-Kyeong moved alongside them. He smiled secretly, thinking about Heimdall.

‘Please grow some awareness.’

***

“Something is strange,” Heimdall muttered repeatedly the entire way to the final Gate.

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“No, it’s just...” Heimdall thought deeply before replying, “Whether it's Jun-Kyeong having entered the gate, or the strangely powerful monsters...there had definitely not been any signs of battle there.”

If Lee Jun-Kyeong had entered the gate first, then it would have been more than normal for everything to have been finished already. But, even if he hadn’t wanted to show any strength whatsoever to any outsiders, there had been absolutely no signs of battle there.

“Then did he not fight the monsters at all?”

To think that he would have left such terrifyingly strong monsters alone—that wasn’t like Lee Jun-Kyeong at all. Furthermore, he should have sensed the two of them from the very beginning.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind,” Athena said.

“Huh?”

“I like it though...”

Heimdall trembled at Athena's entirely unexpected comment. To say that she had liked it all of a sudden.

“It just felt like I remembered liking things like that.”

“Pardon??”

“Don’t worry about it,” Athena said, shaking her head as Heimdall got lost in thought once again.

Although he didn’t know exactly what she had liked, he had liked it too. He really didn’t know how long it had been since he had stood by her side and properly raided a gate.

‘I don’t know how other people’s dates go, but this was what we considered a date for us.’

During their previous lives, where every day had been a series of battles, there had been no time for them to enjoy a proper date. Their daily routine had just been to kill monsters every day. Before they knew it, those hunts had become a sort of date to them.

‘Is there really anything special about going on dates? Everything is a date when you’re with someone you like,’ Heimdall thought as he shook his head.

A smile suddenly appeared on his lips as memories of the past came to mind. Those days had been difficult, but they had also been enjoyable because they had been together.

‘I...’

He looked over at Athena.

‘I really am in love with you.’

There had been another reason why Heimdall had been unable to approach Athena and confess actively. Her feelings for him were different from his own.

Their different memories definitely played a part, but he also had his own doubts. Heimdall had wondered if his love for Athena may have faded over the years, and that was why he had chosen to just watch at first.

He had talked to Athena whenever they happened to meet, trying to confirm their feelings for each other. He had realized it a while ago, however.

‘I’ve always loved you.’

He had been happy every time he saw her. He always wanted to be with her. That was why he had gone to Jeong In-Chang.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Uh... ah!”

At Athena’s quiet voice, Heimdall, embarrassed, quickly turned his head away.

‘Her voice is a little warmer, isn’t it?’

Unlike how she was usually, he felt as though Athena’s voice had gotten a little warmer.

“This should be the last one. Zeus should be here.”

“I hope so. But, by the way...” Heimdall asked a question once again, “Something really is strange. When we told Jun-Kyeong that Zeus had disappeared, that brat’s reaction was...”

Although he was reminded of something strange about the situation once more, he had no choice but to just move forward as Athena pushed him from behind.

“Hurry!”

The two stood before the Gate, both looking at it at the same time. To be honest, there was a reason why they couldn’t easily take the next step forward.

“This is...”

“Yes, it is.”

Ironically, the last remaining gate was a place they both knew. Although their memories were wildly different, this much was still the same.

“Are you going to be okay?” Heimdall asked in a worried tone.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.” Athena nodded.

The gate they were in front of now was where the two had first met in the previous timeline.

‘Athena, this is where you entered Andlangr.’

Of course, the situation inside was most likely different, but for some reason, the location and the mana emanating from the Gate made him think that it was the same place that he had stood in front of dozens of times over. Heimdall smiled slightly bitterly as he headed into the gate.

Zzzt.

***

"Hmm."

Heimdall fell silent for a brief moment after entering the Gate. This Gate wasn’t special like the previous one had been.

“This place...”

“It really is the same.”

However, it was just as Athena had said. This was a place that made him feel nostalgic as soon as he entered. Although it may have been a bad memory for Athena, it was a place with good memories for him. After all, it was the gate where he had met Athena. This gate had the same structure, mana, and even the same monsters as that special gate

“Huff.”

The gate that Athena had spent her Andlangr in had originally been a powerful gate, equivalent to that of an A+-Grade Gate.

“...”

Heimdall continued to look around as if feeling nostalgic. “How could this be...?”

However, he also felt doubtful. This was exactly the same Gate as before.

‘Athena never entered this Gate in this timeline.’

So, he knew that it was possible, but even so, time and various other circumstances had changed. It wasn’t as if this Gate had been preserved like this all this time. Heimdall had heard that the Gate had just appeared.

“How fascinating,” Heimdall said as he looked around.

He felt another presence again. Although he was lost in nostalgia, he didn’t forget their purpose. They had to find Zeus.

“...!”

Athena raised her gaze.

“He’s here!” Heimdall then said.

They couldn’t exactly know for sure that Zeus was here. However, signs of life, human life, could clearly be felt inside the Gate. Athena tried to investigate how much mana that lifeform had, but Heimdall said as he laughed, “There’s no need for that.”

Rumble!

As the sky and the heavens fell, currents flashed across the sky and collided.

“He’s here.”

It was clear that Zeus was here.