The Author's POV

"I wonder what will happen when I combine the two together."

Melissa cheerfully hummed as she mixed a couple of herbs in a small pot.

The situation would've frightened any normal person, and they would've frantically tried to find an escape from this strange planet, but…

Melissa was different.

Her attachment to earth was quite frankly nonexistent. Neither she nor her family liked each other.

Her staff didn't like her, and she didn't like them.

…maybe there were her friends there, but could she really even call them friends? Maybe? Well, it didn't matter.

At the end of the day, what Melissa cared for the most was research.

The way she presented herself made it seem as though she was troubled with all the work she was doing, which was true. There was no doubt that she was overworked, but it did not mean, however, that she disliked what she was doing.

In fact, she loved it.

Trying new things and proving her father wrong was a lifelong passion of hers that she would never trade for anything else.

Just thinking of his salty face...

"Yeah, I love research~"

The fact that she found herself on a new planet, with its new vegetation and surroundings, only served to arouse her excitement.

Thinking about all the different combinations she could make by extracting the essence of the different plants around her…

"Mhmhm~ Isn't this the best?"

Stirring the pot in front of her, Melissa's smile grew wider.

Rustle—!

The sound of rustling caught Melissa's attention. Her head snapped to the direction where the sound originated.

The space surrounding her started to distort, allowing her to get a clear sight of what lay beyond the barrier she set up.

"Who's there!?"

She raised her voice and stood up. A series of different cards and spheres appeared in her hand.

Mana circulated from out of her body, covering the area around her.

'Shit, how is it possible for my barrier to have been found out?'

It must be noted that she set up an extremely high barrier. It was something she had paid a lot of money for since she was planning to leave the human realm to collect samples of different plants.

Who would've thought it would come in so handy. In any case, Melissa's expression turned extremely solemn as she understood that for someone or something to have already seen through its camouflage, that person was extremely skilled.

"Hold on."

It was at that moment that Melissa heard a familiar voice coming from the distance as she lowered her hands a little.

Right then, Melissa was able to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure who was looking at her strangely.

"Kevin?"

Spotting the figure, Melissa immediately recognized him.

Well, it wasn't that hard. There weren't that many people as handsome as him.

Maybe Jin.

…and definitely not Ren.

Although he did seem to have become a lot more handsome than in the past.

Not that Melissa would openly admit it.

the faces he would make if she admitted

"Melissa, let me in."

her, Melissa

didn't answer immediately. Instead, she squinted her eyes

"Hmm…"

"Melissa?"

face tightened when she heard

nickname Ren uses whenever he talks with

"Eh?"

spread across Kevin's face

you doing? And what does that

do with

as her eyes

"…So?"

arms together, her foot began to tap on the

if the

she was not stupid

guard never

me within the next minute, I'll keep

impatient as she saw Kevin's struggling

"Ugh."

face grimaced as he

"P..pushhover.."

I didn't hear

leaned her body forward. Her hair fell toward her right

Kevin clenched his fists tightly before he glared in

okay? Ren's nickname for me

"…Sounds about right."

the cabin and pressed a button. Immediately after that, the barrier around her tent

of her tent, Melissa carefully observed

you have any idea about

that she wanted to know the

happy with the

to her father if she wasn't

the whole situation, and now that it

Melissa was in the midst of her thoughts, scratching the back of his head, Kevin apologetically

"…About that."

strange behavior, Melissa's head

smiled when he saw

you suddenly found yourself here, I think this might

***

Bang—

the floor, I felt an intense pain

think you're doing with all the banging

voice echoed out as I felt a kick on my ribs area and my body flew toward the other

Bang—

"Ukh."

I heavily gasped for air.

spite of this, as I heavily breathed for air, I made

up,

smash against the side

more and more

Bang—!

"Khhh."

unaware you are communicating with the person

"Akh!"

something grasp my hair, I was suddenly

eyes closed, I still felt a burning sensation in my

but compared to what I had experienced in the past, it wasn't anything

Thud—

against

I see you pull any shit like that again, I'll kill

an echoing sound of rock grating coming from the hallway,

was that the darkness returned and my eyes were once

on my cheeks. The sudden contact with the light had truly messed up

this sudden scenario confirmed one