The Returnee Is Having a Hard Time With His Younger Sister chapter 1

1 – Homecoming (1)

One day in December, with the cold dry wind blowing steadily.

A male student, on his way home from school, suddenly lost consciousness as an unidentified light poured down from above his head.

After some time, when he regained consciousness, the world that unfolded before his eyes was completely different from the one he had been living in.

A world with a medieval backdrop, where there were kings and princesses, mana and magic, and an evil demon king threatening the world.

He had become what is commonly called a “transmigrator” into another world.

He was briefly perplexed.

Perhaps due to his age as a middle school student. He had always had fantasies of escaping from everyday life and experiencing something mysterious. He had dreams. He had strong desires.

Naturally, he began to imagine a lively adventure.

A king wearing a fancy crown, promising marriage to a princess in exchange for defeating the demon king, and wielding an incredible talent he never even knew he had to literally slaughter wicked beings, all while envisioning a beautiful future.

He would overcome some trials with his trusty comrades, sharing friendship and love, and after defeating the demon king through numerous hardships, he would receive cheers from the kingdom’s citizens and kiss the princess.

A future that could be described as nothing short of a cliche─

As if mocking him for his thoughts, misfortunes struck him one after another.

First of all, he strangely had a body that could not use mana.

This, too, was a very cliche element in a way, but upon hearing that all previous transmigrators possessed tremendous talent in mana, he couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong.

And there was no princess to promise marriage to.

It’s not that princesses didn’t exist. It’s just that, without exception, they were all of old age, and they all married princes from neighboring kingdoms. Seeing the old and decrepit king, this was also an unsurprising occurrence…

In addition, there were various other problems, such as the fact that the entire continent had been pushed to the brink of destruction, the absence of other races like dwarves or elves, and the absence of a holy sword symbolizing a hero.

Among these, the biggest misfortune was that he had to cultivate his skills alone and face the demon king alone.

Not only the kingdom he was summoned to, but most nations had already exhausted all their talents in preventing their own downfall, and the remaining forces were only a handful, not even enough to fill a handful of sand.

He heard that Swordmasters, Archmages, and the like had all been defeated by a demon king even stronger than them, and he nearly collapsed right then and there.

He wasn’t allowed to have a party like those with a saint, a mage, a thief, and a porter, overflowing with friendship and love.

He, who had never even tried to fight and braved a physical confrontation with someone, had to seek out a sword equivalent to a holy sword alone, polish his swordsmanship alone, defeat the demon king’s minions alone, and cultivate his skills, even surpassing a Swordmaster who had spent his whole life swinging a sword, and kill a demon king whom even they couldn’t defeat.

Shockingly, even if he were to kill the demon king, he couldn’t return to his original world. Since all the mages capable of opening dimensional portals had died and disappeared, it was only natural that he would be trapped there.

“You being summoned here is like a miracle! There is no doubt that God is blessing us!” The elderly king said with a smile that seemed very pleased.

Wide-eyed in disbelief, he was thrown out of the desolate castle after receiving only verbal swordsmanship instructions from a worn-out knight who no longer possessed the strength to even lift a sword.

“With the fate of the world in your hands, hero─” with those words, he was cast away.

However, as they say, “even in misfortune, there is some luck,” and it found its way to him, facing a crisis he had never experienced before.

It was his ability to handle a sword, no matter how powerful, immense, or any adjective you could attach to it, and it still wouldn’t be enough.

This must be a blessing from the gods. With just an old sword in hand, he felled all enemies standing in his way.

Less than a year after picking up the sword, he was convinced that there was no one in this world that he could only defeat with his swordsmanship.

And the weight of those he had killed crushed him.

After two years, he could only climb mountains with his swordsmanship.

And the nightmares haunted him more often.

After three years, he could traverse the sky with a single sword.

And he cut off his emotions.

After five years, he was certain that he could cut the world in half by himself.

And as soon as he obtained that enlightenment, the demon king’s head fell. It didn’t matter where he was, just his thoughts alone could kill him.

And so, the world on the verge of destruction finally welcomed peace─

Of course, he couldn’t return home.

Passing through the decaying city gate, where it was clear that it couldn’t fulfill its original role, he walked along the main street filled with old people, receiving the blessings of the people while his emotions remained calm.

The king asked for a reward. He promised that he would grant anything within his power. However, he knew very well the current situation of the kingdom and the continent, and he only asked for a small room within the palace.

Even the manpower to manage the palace was lacking, and in the dusty room, he closed his eyes.

Obtaining enlightenment by killing the demon king, he gained a clue to dimensional understanding. If there was no more meaning in cutting, then… a feeling as if something was catching or slipping away.

He wondered if there was any meaning in returning home after gaining enlightenment about dimensions, but…

All that remained for him, who had cut off his emotions, was a desire for greater achievements and the remnants of a vague feeling of wanting to escape from this suffocating place.

And so, he resumed his swordsmanship training. Of course, in his mind. It had been a long time since he moved his body to practice swordsmanship.

After one year, two years, three years, four years…

And so, after killing the demon king and another five years passed.

He was finally able to transcend time and space.

* * *

On a cold December day, with a chilly wind blowing.

Under the faint moonlight that illuminates the dark world, a corner of an alley suddenly tore apart without warning.

Beyond the torn space was a medieval-style room, lavishly decorated but emitting a gloomy atmosphere for some reason.

After a while, a man leaped over from there.

Not long after, the torn space closed, and the alley returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

Sighing deeply, a white breath escaped his mouth and dispersed in all directions.

The man scanned his surroundings.

There were the old, peeling signs, the dizzying wires overhead, and the discarded cigarette butts on the ground. Although it was a once popular alley now deserted and lonely, this was the hometown he had dreamed of.

It had been just a few years ago, but the excitement had already faded. He simply stood there, taking in the scene around him.

Suddenly, he was overcome with the urge to walk.

The crisp sensation of the cold asphalt under his feet, the cutting wind of winter against his skin, and the long hair flowing in the breeze, all felt so familiar. The air was thick and heavy with smoke.

As he walked, he suddenly encountered two people.

One of them, he couldn’t help but wonder, what kind of uniform was that? After a moment of consideration, he realized it was similar to the police uniform.

“Excuse me, sir,” one of them said.

“I am Park Byeong-hun, a detective from the Korean Intelligence Police.”

He then produced something from within his coat, showing it to him. It seemed to be some sort of identification.

“We were dispatched here after detecting a dimensional disturbance nearby…”

Park Byeong-hun took a moment to assess the stranger before him. He then recalled the manual on dimensional travelers that he had in his memory.

It was a small-scale dimensional disturbance, and the man before him was most likely a dimensional traveler. The outdated clothing he wore, created with a technology that didn’t seem to belong in this modern world, and the unknown aura that emanated from him all pointed to it.

Park Byeong-hun concluded that the man before him was most likely a dimensional traveler. He then gave a signal to the officer next to him. The officer quickly produced something from his bag and showed it to the man.

The man looked at the object in curiosity. He was perplexed. What was going on on Earth?

From what they were saying, it seemed that something had changed on Earth while he was away in another world. Dimensional disturbances, the Korean Intelligence Police? None of these terms were familiar to him.

The police officers before him might be strange individuals, but their aura was not that of ordinary people. If they were ordinary people, they would have broken various world records in various sports.

In fact, they were called “dimension travelers” based on their expression.

It was clear that they had detected his dimensional jump and had come to investigate.

He had no doubt that this was the world he had originally lived in. But what should he do now?

He was a man who had returned to his hometown after ten years, not knowing what had changed during his absence. He didn’t even know if the world and Earth had progressed at the same pace.

He needed information.