This was the third time Seo Jun-Ho had gone to the Player Market since he’d returned. 

“It’s always bustling every time I come here.”

But that was why he liked it. He would come whenever he was worried or depressed, and the energy of the bustling people would make him feel better. When he saw people milling about, he felt like he also had to try even harder. 

“My, this is an interesting place.” It was the first time the Frost Queen had come here. She twirled around, taking in her surroundings. Suddenly, she pulled on his shirt. 

“Contractor! Contractor! Let’s go over there. There are so many peculiar items.”

“Magic tea? I wonder how it tastes. Let us retrieve a glass.”

“Eek! A stray cat! These beasts are everywhere…”

She was very excited.

“Hey. You always brag about Niflheim, so why are you so excited about a market?”

“...It can’t be helped.” She was worn out from flying around so much, and she sat down on his shoulder. “I spent most of my life inside the castle.”

“Huh? Wasn’t it suffocating?”

“Of course it was. If I had to describe it using your world’s language...A monarch’s life is 3D.” As a queen, she should have been able to do whatever she wanted, but the bitter smile on her face said otherwise. “Leading the kingdom is difficult, dangerous, and dauntless. This is the weight that a leader must carry.”

“...So that’s why it’s 3D.”

“You should understand. The more responsibilities you have, the more you must lower yourself.”

“Yeah.” Of course, he had never been a king or a leader of a country. But he had once carried the expectations of an entire world on his shoulders. “I think I get it. There were a lot of times I felt that back then.”

Sometimes, he felt like he couldn’t breathe like all his freedom had been snatched away. He had no privacy at all and couldn’t go out in public like he could now, which was why he had spent all his time at home unless he was clearing Gates.

‘It was unthinkable for me to go out to the convenience store in sweats like I do now.’

His home had been the only place where he could take off his mask and relax. It had been his only refuge.

“Though, I would assume that a monarch would have it much worse than I did.”

“I have never experienced freedom from the moment I was born. However, I have never once hated my life. I liked dedicating my life to my kingdom and people.”

He assumed that this was the difference between them. Seo Jun-Ho never wanted to live his life as Specter ever again. “So you were literally born to be a queen.”

“Fufu, I’ve heard that many times.” She laughed lightly. “But no matter how much you enjoy your life, there are times when you long for things that you cannot have.”

“Of course. I’ve felt that way many times.”

“I wanted to know what it was like to be carefree. I couldn’t experience it before I died, but I am enjoying my life here on Earth. Living like this is also nice.” 

At some point, they had arrived at the workshop. Seo Jun-Ho knocked on the door, and Kwon Palmo greeted him. 

“Why, if it isn’t Player Seo Jun-Ho!” His bulky muscles were drenched in sweat as if he had just put down his hammer. “Welcome. You should have called ahead!” 

He grinned, but it was scary enough to make the Frost Queen tremble. “C-contractor. A monster in the city…?”

“Chill, he’s a human.” 

“Did you come to meet Grandfather?”

“Yes. I came here to say goodbye.”

“I see.” When a Player came to say their farewells, it either meant that they were retiring, or that they were going to the 2nd floor. But there was no way that Seo Jun-Ho, who was currently the best Player on the 1st floor would be retiring. In that case, there was only one reason. “So you’re going to Frontier.”

“Yes. There’s no need to postpone it any longer.”

“Now that I think about it, I never got to thank you properly for Black Armor. I’m truly grateful. Its defense capabilities are amazing.”

“Hehe, is that so?” Kwon Palmo blushed. “Grandfather is upstairs, so you can head right up. Oh, do you want me to take a look at the armor? If there are a lot of defects, I’ll fix it while you two chat.”

“Really? I won’t refuse.” Seo Jun-Ho grinned. Black Armor had worn out a lot after the fight with Kis Bremen and Kal Signer. Even if Kwon Palmo hadn’t offered himself, he would have asked for it anyway. As such, Seo Jun-Ho placed Black Armor on the table. 

“Let’s see…” Kwon Palmo’s face went pale. He looked at the armor that might as well be rags. “...Who in the world did you fight?”

“Ehe.” There were too many to list them all—dark elf Rodomir, the 4 Heroes’ illusionary forms, the winter knights, Kal Signer, etc. All of them were opponents that were fully capable of killing him at any moment. If it hadn’t been for Kwon Palmo’s Black Armor, he would have died a long time ago. 

“Hmmm. This will take some time. About six hours, give or take.”

“I’m counting on you. I’ll be with Noya until then.”

“Yes, it’s a good thing that you came so early. I’ll finish by lunchtime.”

As Kwon Palmo began his work, Seo Jun-Ho went up the stairs and down a familiar hallway. He knocked on the door. 

“What?!” A voice barked. 

“Geez, you should be nicer to your only grandson.” When Seo Jun-Ho clicked his tongue, the door opened. Kwon Noya stared at Seo Jun-Ho who had randomly appeared at his door. 

“Why are you here?”

“What’s up? I came to play.”

“Hmph!” Noya snorted, but he stepped aside to let him in. “What do you want me to make this time?” he asked, taking a seat. 

“I didn’t come here for equipment. Though, I did ask Palmo to repair Black Armor.”

“Hm, if you didn’t come here for that… Are you going up?” he asked. The two of them knew each other very well.

“Bingo.”

“You sure are fast,” Kwon Noya said, amazed. Seo Jun-Ho had only opened his eyes a few months ago, but he had already reached level 30 and was saying that he would be going up to the 2nd floor. “I’ve been keeping up with the news. I saw that you’ve been busy.”

“I have to work hard to save my friends.”

Kwon Noya’s eyes darkened at those words. He silently brewed a cup of tea and passed it over.

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“Definitely,” Jun-Ho answered resolutely. If he kept going like this, he would be able to save his friends eventually. 

“That’s all that matters.” Kwon Noya didn’t say anything else as he sipped his tea. He trusted him. “If you get any good materials, come down from time to time. I’ll make you something good.”

“Of course. Who else would make my weapons?” There was no one as skilled as Kwon Noya. “Also, Palmo’s a lot more talented than I thought. Black Armor impressed me.”

“Well, it’s good that you liked it,” he mumbled. There was no one who didn’t like to brag about their children or their grandchildren. Kwon Noya looked happier to listen to compliments about his grandson than about himself.  “Is there anything you need? I have a couple of leftover items. They’re only Rare-grade, but they might be useful.” Kwon Noya was weak to compliments for his grandson. 

“‘Only Rare, you say… You better not go around saying things like that.” The items were from the Kwon workshop, after all. There had been an uproar when Black Armor had been revealed as well. “Thanks, though. I’ll make good use of this.”

“I believe in you.” Noya stood up and patted him on his shoulder before he hugged him. Even though the old man was much shorter than Seo Jun-Ho, his hug was enough to touch his heart. 

“I’ll be back. Stay healthy.”

“I will. Whether you come back alone, or with four others, I’ll be waiting.” He finally let go and smiled. “Well, I’ll just study Go while you’re gone.”

Seo Jun-Ho returned the smile. “Really? You should give up. You suck at Go.”

“What did you say?!”

That day, Seo Jun-Ho had to play Go for seven hours straight. Of course, Seo Jun-Ho won every single game. 

***

Seo Jun-Ho returned to the Association with his newly-fixed Black Armor and headed straight for the secretary's office and to Cha Si-Eun’s cubicle. She was typing on her keyboard while she was talking on the phone. 

“Yes, hello? Oh… Do you believe that you’re being defamed? Just a second. What was the name of the guild again? Tiger Moth? That’s a really nice name. Please call us again once you sue us.” She hung up and quickly wrote something down on a post-it stuck on her cubicle wall.

<Guilds to bring to Jun-Ho-nim>

The Brave Ones

Figmore Clan

…

Tiger Moth

They were all Guilds that had sponsored Seo Jun-Ho, requested and received refunds, and were subsequently humiliated in public. She had written down the ones that had called to complain that they had hurt their reputations. 

“Jun-Ho-nim told me to bring him all the people that had accused him of defamation…” She finished writing and smiled as she read it over. 

Seo Jun-Ho looked over her shoulder. “You’re doing very well. So those are all the people who complained?”

“Yes, it’s so ridiculous how… Eek!” She yelped adorably in surprise and leaped out of her seat. She covered her reddening face as people started to stare. “W-when did you arrive?”

“Hm... ‘Hello? Do you believe that you’re being defamed’? From there.”

“Ack, so you were here from the very beginning…”

“You’re good at talking.” Seo Jun-Ho smiled and plucked the post-it from her cubicle and put it in his pocket. “I’ll take care of these guys before I go, so don’t worry.”

“Really? Thank you!” She brightened. They had been calling her nonstop. She realized something and tilted her head. “By that, you mean…”

“I’m going to the 2nd floor.”

“I see…”

“You don’t seem very surprised.” 

It was to be expected. She had expected this to happen and had already turned in her resignation letter as a result. 

“I hope you find a better boss once I go up,” he said softly. 

She chuckled. “I don’t think I’ll find a boss who’s better than you.” In the last few years that she had been a secretary, none of her former bosses had made her quite as comfortable as Seo Jun-Ho had done.

“I’m honored. I don’t think I’ll be able to find a secretary like you either.”

“Thank you. So did you come here to say goodbye?”

“Yeah… I think this is the last time we’ll see each other.” He scratched his head before pulling a small frame out of his pocket. “This is a gift.”

“Oh, I don’t remember us taking a picture… Huh? This is…?” Her eyes widened when she saw its contents, and her hands started to tremble. “J-Jun-Ho-nim, is this…”

“It’s real. It was made fresh this morning.” He smiled and nodded for her to take it. 

The frame contained a plain piece of paper with a single sentence on it. 

- May you find success in all that you do. From Specter.

It was plain and the way it was written seemed unfeeling, but she still clutched it to her chest and even bowed several times. “Thank you so much! Really!”

It was a bit embarrassing to give his own autograph as a gift, but he had wanted to give it to her nonetheless. How could he not do this when he knew how much she admired Specter?

“Thank you for your hard work.” Thanks to her help, he had been able to focus wholly on training and hunting. He chuckled and held out his hand. This was a beautiful farewell.

‘I probably won’t ever see her again.’ 

She would remain on Earth while he would have to go up to the 2nd floor. It would be nice if she could continue to be his secretary, but it was impossible. 

“Secretary Cha—no, Miss Cha Si-Eun. You’ll do well no matter where you go.”

“You too. I’ll be cheering you on.” 

She watched him leave. 

“If I ever get the chance…”

She wanted to stand by his side as a teammate, not a secretary. After all, Seo Jun-Ho was the second Player that she respected most.