While the main body was in motion, what was the alien's mind doing?

— Wow!

Flutter—

At the same time.
The reincarnated alien was enjoying the life of a turtledove.
In the past, he could only partially share the vision of animals through corpse control magic.
It had been a long time since he last achieved full control over a living body—like a spirit possessing a shaman—which made him incredibly excited.
The conscious pigeon was in an absolute picnic mood.

— These raspberries are really sweet.

Moreover, Esther's actions in guiding the body were so precise that they stayed just below the impact detection threshold.
Even the emergency alert, which had been pre-set just in case, remained silent.

And so, in the middle of autumn, an unexpected escape incident occurred.

He had only been swept along for a moment, yet the background had already changed.

"......"

How many minutes had passed?
Unlike the old one-room apartment that still used the same light cover from ten years ago, this room was decorated with the latest trendy foreign lamps.
This was a private space within Korea's Magic Tower, accessible only to those with a designated key.
Simply put, it was also the lounge that Seo Esther primarily used.

"Are you sure you used the skill correctly? Why isn't the fever going down?"
"I-I really did my best as a healer..."
"No, first of all, don't be scared. Just listen. I'm not trying to blame you. I'm just really frustrated."

Diligent in her studies from a young age, she was admitted to medical school.
Then, after the Dungeon Shock, her foundational knowledge became a springboard, leading her to awaken as a healer—a high-class professional in this newly emerging field.

Esther.
She was an S-rank hunter so wealthy that money was practically meaningless to her.
Thanks to that, she had always kept an exclusive healer by her side.

'Is he hiding his high fever because he's afraid of media attention?'

The key issue was privacy.
After much deliberation, Esther had decided to bring the industry professional here.
As long as they were inside this building, there was no need to worry about outsiders.
Moreover, it reduced the risk of anyone leaking information about Kim Giryeo.

Yet, despite all the emergency treatments, the results were far from satisfying.

'No matter how you look at it, he doesn't seem at ease at all.'

That familiar blond hair lay on the recliner sofa.
She had always thought of him as someone with a rather detached personality, but today, he looked even more hollow than usual, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Mr. Giryeo."

The fellow hunter remained silent.

"Mr. Giryeo, are you feeling any better?"

The guild master of Korea's Magic Tower called out to the man on the sofa.
However, he remained deep in thought—his magic had been disrupted due to being forcibly displaced from his residence.
Seeing his unresponsiveness, Esther's concern deepened.

'So taking a leave of absence wasn't for nothing, after all.'

For someone as sharp as him to be this weakened...
She wouldn't mind if her company's value were cut in half if it meant using that penalty as leverage to help him recover.
But the reason she felt this way was, in part, personal.

'Without this Awakened, the country's in trouble. There's no one left except that damn Jeong guy...'

Not even when the online game SOM, which she had dedicated her teenage years to, shut down did she feel this level of despair.
How was she supposed to endure a future without that hunter?

'Damn this world! It's always the wrong ones who survive!'

At that moment, the man on the recliner sofa suddenly spoke.

"...I... need to go home."

The magic, based on Kim Giryeo's memories, had finally triumphed over the error and produced a single phrase.

"Gasp."

This shell could mimic the real body owner's speech to some extent using the same principle. However, despite generating an appropriate response for the situation—

"Home? You don't mean that tiny one-room apartment, do you?"
"......"
"If you really want to go, I can send you there anytime. But once you're back in that cramped space, what exactly do you plan to do alone?"

The man was immediately met with a fiery rebuttal.
The dead rolled their three eyes.
And just as his thick eyelids drew the attention of his conversation partner—

"You're right."

Something completed that vague sentence.
It was no different from an automatic output of a thought that Kim Giryeo, in life, had always dwelled on.
Even if he returned home, there was nothing to do.
No one was there to welcome him.
Why had he always been so desperate to get back?
Was it simply because delivering packages had been so exhausting that he longed for the idea of home in a vague, abstract way?

'Oh crap!'

Esther had no idea that this was merely a repetitive echo of stored memories.
So she broke out in a cold sweat.

'Damn it! Did I just say something insensitive? Am I acting too out of touch as a privileged rich kid? No, but still—he's an S-rank hunter, and yet he insists on living in a place like that...!'

Considering the real reason why the magician's consciousness had temporarily vacated, her worries were quite unfounded.

But what was said could not be taken back.

"A-Anyway! The potion you just drank probably hasn't kicked in yet, so just rest for five more minutes before heading home. I was just worried, and I ended up saying something weird without thinking..."

Mumble, mumble.

Instead of retracting her previous words, Esther chose to cover them up with a stream of other remarks.
Meanwhile, she busied herself with another action.

— Tap.

A quantum computer.
Airplanes.
Psychics.

In this cutting-edge era, her chosen method seemed rather out of place.

She retrieved some ice from the fridge in the Magic Tower's lounge, wrapped it in a cold cloth, and gently pressed it against his forehead.

"How does that feel? A bit cooler?"

Since all her skills had failed, she had resorted to the most primitive method to lower his temperature.
And at the exact moment the coldness touched his skin—

The shell lying on the recliner sofa had a thought.

The dead having thoughts?
It might sound contradictory, but in truth, it was merely stored memories being stimulated into form.

"......"

A dark room.
A door with slivers of light seeping through.
And somewhere in the distance, the faint voices of children.

Then, a series of unknown images flashed through his mind.

In truth, the real Kim Giryeo had never received this kind of care while he was alive.
Not even once.
The orphanage that raised him wasn't abusive, but it was strictly by the book.
Whenever a child caught a cold, they were isolated immediately, with no exceptions.

And so, this body held only memories of being left alone in a quiet room whenever it was sick.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Now, there was a woman repeatedly lifting and placing an ice pack on his forehead.
She was carefully adjusting it so it wouldn't get too cold.

"......"
"......"

Something within the three-eyed being simply stared at her hands in silence.
But Esther, unaware that his gaze held no real meaning, grew tense, wondering if she had somehow made him uncomfortable.

"Maybe I was being too nosy? Should we stop wasting time and just head straight home?"

Besides, there wasn't much else she could do anyway.

— Vroom.

The unexpected soul departure incident had only lasted a moment.
Esther had her secretary drive the company's official vehicle and sent him off.

"Oh, right. Hunter Kim Giryeo, did you know?"

Of course, the ride to his one-room apartment was a long one.

"Gu Seo-hyung. I've been in contact with him from time to time. Apparently, he's been practicing his skills so much it's making him sick."

Small talk naturally filled the space.

"Middle school classmates, right? Watching you rise to S-rank must sting a little. He probably wants to catch up quickly..."
"......"
"But honestly, even if he says that, I think that Enchanter is pushing himself because of you."
"......"
"For the record, Jeong Ha-seong and I feel the same way."

The shell, still wearing the guise of a blond man, turned to look out the window—just as the real body's habits would dictate.

"Honestly, you've helped us so much."

And yet, what was this now?

— Whoosh.

It seemed there weren't many companies advertising today.
A distant giant billboard was broadcasting a mundane news segment with little profitability.
A replay of a past disaster rescue mission led by a certain blond-haired marksman—back during [Inevitable Malice].

"I just want to return the favor. So don't feel too burdened about today."
"......"
"I'm not worrying about you in some over-the-top, special way... If anything, this all started because of you in the first place."

The noise of the road filled the silence.

As Kim Giryeo's artificial shell remained silent due to technical limitations, the conversation soon fizzled out.

And as time dragged on in that quiet state, the company vehicle eventually reached its destination.

'Ugh, what a hole-in-the-wall excuse for a home.'

For someone who had never known anything but wealth, the cramped space was deeply uncomfortable.
But would complaining to a still-feverish patient do any good?

'Just hold it in. Hold it in.'

Like a responsible adult and an awakened being, Esther controlled her emotions.
There were no interruptions as they entered the small one-room apartment.

— Creak.
— Splash.

The marksman's body instinctively carried out his usual homecoming routine.

"A water-affinity awakened, and yet you use the sink like a regular person?"

The sharp-eyed woman voiced her unexpected disappointment but didn't push further.

'He's still burning up. I swear, I'm so worried I could do a backflip.'

Sigh...

She simply checked on her fellow hunter's condition, then quickly guided him toward the bed in case he got dizzy and collapsed.
At least his fever had gone down a little compared to before.
A mix of careful nursing and fresh air had helped.

"Since you've got a door lock, I'll just let myself out. Oh, and if you're planning to sleep, I'll turn off the lights for you."

But right at that moment—

— Tap.

The man, lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling light, finally parted his dry lips.

What the hell?
What's going on?

'I'm sensing an impact on my body right now.'

I had only been soaring through the vast sky, sightseeing, for a few short hours.
As a grand mage, I had just received a warning.

So even though I was still midair, I immediately severed my connection with the dead pigeon I had been using as a vessel.
I needed to shift my consciousness quickly—back to my real body, the SS-ranked awakened one.

'What happened all of a sudden?'

This kind of consciousness transfer was something I had done countless times, even in my past life.
Magic flows as naturally as water.

I returned to Kim Giryeo's body and immediately opened my eyes to assess the situation.

"Giryeo! Giryeo!"

Snap!

What in the actual hell was going on?!

The moment I arrived back in my real body, an unimaginable sight greeted me—

Esther, the guild master of Korea's Tower, was smacking my arm repeatedly.

And that—that—was the exact cause of the impact I had felt while flying.

'What the hell? Why is she in my apartment?!'

The bigger problem was her presence.
As a magician, I had definitely cast a spell before leaving—something along the lines of "Do not let any guests in carelessly."

Did I mess up again because it was my first time using a spell on Earth?

Just as I was nearing resignation, the S-rank curse magician, who had been hitting me, finally spoke.

"Hah... Haa...! Thank goodness. I thought you had fainted from the high fever..."
"...What?"

She started off rambling, but soon explained further.

"No, I mean... You said something to me right before you closed your eyes."
"...What did I say?"

Even that statement was hard to understand.

"You told me to pass on your thanks."
"To whom?"
"That's exactly what I was wondering! I asked again, but then you suddenly closed your eyes and went silent. You scared me—"
"......"
"Anyway, who were you asking me to thank? Were you talking about Seo-hyung?"

She kept insisting on this.

"...Wait, so you're saying I said that and then passed out?"

I knew for a fact that this body wasn't in a state to carry on a proper conversation.

"Hunter Kim Giryeo?"

However, as the conversation with Esther was momentarily cut off, I started thinking deeply.
And suddenly, a realization struck me.

No way...

But no matter how much this body relied on the original owner's memories, how could such a simple spell achieve such a high level of intelligence?

This is strange... This is completely unexpected.

It was an unthinkable situation, but what had happened, had happened.
I needed to understand the situation and take control of it.
First, I had to calm down the startled curse magician and send her home. Then, I'd need to undo the security spell I had set up.

Soul

To explain the decision I was making now, I had to revisit the concept of the soul.
A soul was originally meant to return to nature upon death.
However, the intervention of an Alphaurian had changed things.

To be precise, Kim Giryeo's body had not decayed.
Instead, it had been maintained and preserved by someone's magic.

But once again, in this universe, a soul is...
A delicate fusion of material existence and personal growth.

The heart, the brain, and more—
This body, now in the form of a blonde man, still carried traces of its original owner's life and development.
And within these proteins, there remained infinitesimal fragments of memory, what one might call soul remnants.

By now, 99.98% of someone's soul would have dispersed after death.
Yet somehow, I had accidentally grasped even this remaining 0.02%.

And all I really wanted... was for it to finally rest in peace, free from all complications.

"...Telling someone to pass on my thanks, huh."

Honestly, I had no idea why I was doing something so meaningless.
But once an uneasy feeling had taken root, I didn't want to recklessly rely on automatic management magic anymore.

"What a ridiculous sentence."

Then again, I had reincarnated precisely to indulge in my own stubbornness.