Going down the stairway landing, we arrived at a place where survivors were gathered.
"It's the Iron Head! Someone's hurt!"
"Help carry them over here."
Several people ran over and helped support each other as they assisted Bang Cheolsu and his group who had followed us. Perhaps because they had a good system in place, the people moved in an orderly fashion.
Or maybe it was to look good in front of the Iron Head?
"Dokja-ssi?"
Amidst this, someone called for Kim Dokja, followed by familiar faces running towards us.
"My goodness. Dokja-ssi! Kim Dokja-ssi!"
"Yoo Sangah-ssi."
"What a relief. Really, truly a relief!"
Yoo Sangah had a look of not knowing what to do.
So flustered by Yoo Sangah's demeanor, Kim Dokja awkwardly shook her hand.
Then, a 'thud—' sound was heard, and something latched onto Kim Dokja's leg.
"You were alive."
Soon, Kim Dokja patted Lee Gilyoung's head and asked.
"Have you been well?"
Lee Gilyoung nodded. Perhaps having gone a bit hungry, his cheeks looked slightly thinner.
"I knew you were alive, Dokja-ssi. Haa......."
Finally, Lee Hyunsung, who had come looking for Kim Dokja, spoke with relief.
"I'm truly sorry. For leaving you behind back then."
"It was an unavoidable situation."
"Phew, it's a huge relief that what Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi said was right."
At the sudden mention of Yoo Joonghyuk's name, Kim Dokja made a questioning expression. Lee Hyunsung, sensing this for a moment, spoke.
"Well, Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi said that Kim Dokja-ssi would probably be alive..."
"...…Where is Yoo Joonghyuk now?"
"About that...."
"Everyone, move aside!"
At the very moment Lee Hyunsung was about to answer Kim Dokja's question, a group suddenly pushed through the surrounding people and approached us.
Three or four men, each armed with tools like hammers or pipes, began to surround me and the party members near me, as if staging a protest.
And at the center, a man with a familiar face.
"Y-you, you......!"
Han Myung-Oh, who had abandoned Kim Dokja on the Even-Numbered Legs and run away, looked at Kim Dokja with an expression as if he'd seen a ghost, then soon pointed accusingly at Kim Dokja and shouted.
"T-throw him out. That guy is pure evil! He's the kind who shouldn't be here!"
As if a thief feels the pinch, perhaps thinking the Kim Dokja he abandoned would seek revenge, Han Myung-Oh began to act out.
However, the men just exchanged glances and didn't move easily.
Then, a man pushed through the crowd towards us, grabbed Han Myung-Oh's shoulder, and spoke.
"Haha, Han-hyung. Everyone should get along, why are you acting like this."
"Ah, w-well, that's."
At the man's words, Han Myung-Oh, sensing the mood, quieted down.
"You must be the new arrivals today."
A man with a slender build, Cheon Inho, looked at us and asked.
"Nice to meet you. May I ask your names?"
"I'm Kim Dokja."
"Kim Dokja-ssi. I see.... And you are?"
"Kang Yuseong."
"I see, Kang Yuseong-ssi. I'm Cheon Inho."
"And so?"
At my reply, Cheon Inho was momentarily taken aback but soon put on a friendly smile and spoke.
"By the way, that bag is..."
Cheon Inho looked at the bag I had taken back from Kim Dokja earlier, which was now full of candies (the transformed food supplies), and asked.
"Ah~ this? Just ignore it. I'm not giving you any of it anyway, so you'd better not eye it, or you'll end up like those guys over there."
When I pointed at Bang Cheolsu and said that, Cheon Inho was slightly flustered, replied he understood, and hurriedly left the spot. Simultaneously, the Iron Head also withdrew.
"Phew... they're finally gone..."
"Um.... Even so, was it necessary to go that far?"
Yoo Sangah cautiously asked me.
Frankly, I know I went a bit overboard too, but....
"Well... that may be, but this is also reaching its limit soon..."
At my words, everyone looked puzzled. I decided to show them with actions rather than explanations and soon dumped the candies in a suitable spot.
About 3 seconds passed like that, then
Pop!
With that sound, the candy turned back into food.
Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!
Even just the candies I brought amounted to hundreds per bag, and all of those candies simultaneously returned to food with a 'Pop!' sound.
Occasionally, some turned into drinks, cigarettes, or various other miscellaneous items, but since I just grabbed whatever I could find in the first place, I guess that's natural?
In an instant, as the candies transformed into food, the party members looked at me with surprised expressions, and I shrugged my shoulders.