One Day, a Villain Fell into My Wardrobe

18

After the meal, the routine continued as usual. In the morning, he managed the vegetable garden and took care of the household chores and the pension management in between.

However, Apophis disappeared after saying he had something to do after breakfast. Thanks to that, today, only Set was following behind Yeon Ji-ho.

“Set, do you have something to say today?”

Yeon Ji-ho asked this after finishing all the work in the vegetable garden. Although Set was following him as usual, today he seemed to be in some kind of trouble.

When Yeon Ji-ho asked first, Set’s face brightened. He swallowed hard and finally spoke the words he had been holding back.

“Actually, I’ve decided to leave with Apophis in three days. And then I’ll go back…”

“Really? Wow, that’s great!”

Set’s words were abruptly cut off. He couldn’t continue what he was going to say and had to close his mouth. Yeon Ji-ho wrapped his hands around Set’s and said with a brightened face.

“You’ve really had a hard time here. I’m glad you can go back.”

“…I haven’t had a hard time.”

“Still, you must have missed your hometown. When you go back, you’ll eat a lot of delicious food. I have no idea what you eat in your world, so I’ve only been cooking according to my taste.”

“…The dishes you made were tastier than what I used to eat.”

Yeon Ji-ho took Set’s words as a pleasant joke. Of course, he had done his best to ensure that Set was comfortable during his stay, but there must have been limits. After all, this wasn’t his hometown.

“Ji-ho, are you… happy that I’m going back?”

“Of course, I am. Weren’t you surprised to suddenly be dropped here, Set?”

“I wasn’t surprised.”

At Set’s firm denial, Yeon Ji-ho paused for a moment. Indeed, Set had shown more of a curious and fascinated demeanor than one of surprise during his time here.

“So you’re leaving in three days?”

“…Yeah.”

“Then I should prepare some things for you to take back. I’ll just go to the storage for a moment.”

Meanwhile, as Yeon Ji-ho acted as if he would send him off at any moment, Set couldn’t say anything and bit down hard on the inside of his mouth. Following behind Yeon Ji-ho, he clenched his fist so tightly that it left marks on his palm.

“Ji-ho.”

“Yes?”

“After I go… once I’ve taken care of the urgent matters…”

“Were there urgent matters? Ah, so that’s why you’re leaving in such a hurry.”

Yeon Ji-ho’s steps quickened a bit. He seemed filled with thoughts of preparing the luggage so that Set could leave as soon as tomorrow.

Set, who had already missed two opportunities to speak, was just mouthing words.

“Um, I’d like to go to the storage alone for a bit. Could you stay with Apophis for a moment? It’s quite cramped inside, so it’s hard for both of us to go in.”

Set had a lot to say but looked at Yeon Ji-ho with a face that couldn’t do anything, and finally nodded his head with difficulty in silence. Yeon Ji-ho quickly turned and started running toward the storage behind the house.

Left alone, Set raised his hand and roughly rubbed his face. While repeatedly splashing water on his dry skin, he muttered to himself.

“I need to tell him I’ll come back. That I won’t be leaving, that I’ll be back soon.”

But if Ji-ho were to ask, “Why?”

Just imagining that scene made his heart ache, and he squeezed his eyes shut. How should he answer the question of why?

The unanswerable question clawed at Set’s heart. The thought of leaving this place with nothing to bind him here made his vision go dark.

***

“……”

Leaving Set alone, Yeon Ji-ho rushed into the storage, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily. He silently looked down at the floor.

“Ah.”

Oh no, the storage’s fire is broken.

Yeon Ji-ho sighed deeply in the dark storage, except for the sunlight coming in through the open door. In fact, there was no reason for him to rush to the storage right now. It was just that…

His heart had dropped at the news of Set leaving. He had come here to escape being found out.

Set had asked him if he was happy that he was leaving. Alone, Yeon Ji-ho wiped the smile off his face and whispered gloomily.

“I’m not happy at all.”

But how could he say such a thing in front of someone who had to leave?

He didn’t want to show it. He didn’t want to reveal it. Since Yeon Ji-ho had unconsciously stopped thinking about parting with Set, he didn’t want to bring up the empty space that would arise after he left and burden Set with it.

“Let’s just pack up…”

Yeon Ji-ho began rummaging through the storage with only the faint light coming in from outside. In truth, he had never been to that world, so he didn’t know what was needed. He just planned to pack things that would be convenient to carry around.

While packing various items into a large hiking backpack, Yeon Ji-ho picked up a hiking stick that his father used and accidentally dropped it on the floor. There was a hint of irritation in his touch.

“…If I go now, I won’t be able to see him again.”

It was an obvious statement. It was still hard to believe that someone he had only thought of as a character in a novel was now right in front of him, and it was unlikely that such a thing would happen twice.

After struggling for a while in the storage, Yeon Ji-ho finally filled the hiking backpack and returned home. In the living room, neither Apophis nor Set was anywhere to be found.

Listening closely, he thought he could hear voices coming from his room. Setting down the backpack, Yeon Ji-ho quietly approached that direction.

-…I couldn’t do it.

-Your Highness, it seems that this way… Perhaps he…

At that moment.

The door Yeon Ji-ho had been pressing his ear against swung open abruptly. When he awkwardly smiled and looked up, he met Set’s indifferent gaze looking down at him from inside.

“Oh, haha. I saw you both in my room. What were you doing here?”

“…The gate is in this room, so I had no choice. I’m sorry for coming in without permission, Ji-ho.”

Hearing Set’s apology from behind, Apophis looked shocked, but Yeon Ji-ho couldn’t see it. Thanks to Set blocking the doorway.

“Are you going to use that gate to leave?”

“Yes.”

“You mentioned before that it was a one-way gate, right? So you can’t go back…”

“If it were just Your Highness alone, it would have been impossible, but since I’m here, it is possible. I’m a wizard, after all.”

Apophis stepped forward and spoke. Set stepped aside as if to invite Ji-ho in, and only then did Yeon Ji-ho see the entire scene inside the room.

The wardrobe was wide open, revealing everything inside. There were framed photos of his deceased parents… and a glowing blue gate.

“Are you working on changing the one-way gate to a two-way one?”

“That’s right. However… there are some problems at the moment…”

Apophis glanced at Set as he spoke. There were many pressing issues that prevented them from leaving right now. There were things Set couldn’t say to Yeon Ji-ho as well.

“Problems? What kind of problems?”

“The gate isn’t functioning at all.”

“What? Isn’t that a pretty big problem?”

“…Actually, that’s correct. It’s uncertain whether we can leave within three days.”

Apophis began to mumble while resting his chin on his hand. It seemed more like a habit of talking to himself when solving problems rather than speaking to someone.

“Clearly, the gate that worked when Your Highness and I came here is now completely unresponsive, so there might have been something that could serve as a coordinate… But nothing that looks like a coordinate is visible.”

“Have you scanned the area?”

“Of course, Your Highness. I’ve completed all the basic scans. However, nothing that could be set as a coordinate was visible.”

Set wasn’t a wizard, but he had a good understanding of the theoretical aspects of magic. In his world, wars were mostly fought with magic and swords, so he had to know.

Yeon Ji-ho quietly kept his mouth shut and listened to the conversation between the two. Set, who also seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, suddenly spoke.

“…What are the chances that a person is the coordinate?”

“Eh? That can’t be. There’s no basis for that, is there?”

“Apophis, do you remember when you came here? You were in the wardrobe, and I had to use my sword to open the door for you to jump out.”

“…! That’s right. I couldn’t open it from the inside by myself. Wait, Your Highness. If that’s the case, then this gate…”

Set nodded. He had also been suspecting the same thing.

“It’s a designated gate.”

“Can I ask what that is?”

Yeon Ji-ho, who had been listening, finally spoke up. Set and Apophis turned their heads toward him simultaneously. Set was the first to speak.

“It’s a gate that cannot be reached unless someone designated opens it.”

“Oh… then wait a minute, since Apophis opened it for you…”

“No, Ji-ho, you were also there at that moment.”

Ji-ho fell silent. The atmosphere was flowing strangely.

“…It seems that the coordinate for this gate is you, Ji-ho.”