Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: I Already Know Without You Telling Me
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Knock, knock.
"Miss Ha-yul. You're running a bit late getting up today, aren't you?"
It wasn't exactly puberty, but since it was still a woman's room, the man—Bell—knocked as carefully as possible. Hearing his voice, a rustling sound began to come from inside the room.
"......"
But the rustling didn't last long. Normally, she'd say come in by now, or the room's owner would come out grumbling... but today, there was an oddly complete lack of response.
'It's that time of the month.'
Recalling the time he'd accidentally bothered Ha-yul during her period and ended up a bloody mess, Bell cautiously opened the door.
"Miss Ha-yul...?"
Had she already gotten up? The room light was on, and the bed was neatly made. So had she gone out before he arrived? The answer lay right there on the bed: a 139cm pint-sized woman sprawled out spread-eagled.
"Uuuughhh...."
The woman—Ha-yul—made a soul-draining groan, lying there like a zombie with no will to live, staring blankly at the ceiling with dead eyes while letting out strange "grrr" noises.
"Good grief, if you're awake, at least say something."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Bell carefully approached Ha-yul's side.
"Ah, so it's that day today."
Only after seeing the glowing screen of the phone lying beyond her right hand did he finally realize why she was like this. Time flies, he chuckled with a haha.
"You're loaded with cash, and you're throwing a fit over just getting picked?"
"Shut up...."
And no wonder—on Ha-yul's phone screen was the gacha results screen from a certain game that had gone into maintenance at midnight.
"By the way, Miss Ha-yul, wasn't this one a guaranteed pull?"
He remembered that in the last gacha, she'd gritted her teeth and tried to snag the new limited magical girl without spending a dime, only to get her past self—Seriel—again. So this time should've been a sure thing for Robelia. How'd Seriel pop up again? The answer was simple.
"Robelia came out on the first pull, so I figured I could breakthrough once...."
Human greed is a scary thing. She should've cashed out when she got lucky, but no, unsatisfied, she got greedy and blew through all her hard-earned resources. Bell eyed the greedy girl before him.
"Hmm."
Bell quietly pulled out his own phone from his pocket, fiddled with it this way and that... then smirked satisfactorily at Ha-yul.
"Can't even do something this easy."
On Bell's raised phone screen was the gacha results from Magical Girl Raiser, just like Ha-yul's. The difference? In one 10-pull, there were two copies of the Robelia image she'd been aiming for.
"Loser♥"
This was about five seconds before the near-dead Ha-yul let out a banshee wail and shot up.
A little later.
"Jeez, you always bring the rod down on me."
Instead of jogging, I'd finished my morning workout by beating up a sandbag named Bell... and now, staring at the breakfast table that had become part of my daily routine, I spoke up.
"Oh yeah, didn't you say you had something to do today?"
Last night before bed, I recalled him saying he had plans, so magic lessons would be off for the day.
"...Did it ever occur to you that Miss Ha-yul might be coming along for that errand?"
"Nope."
"What a brag."
Bell sighed in disbelief but sat across from me and ate anyway.
"Anyway, you'll need to come with me somewhere a bit far today."
Today's gonna be busy, so eat a hearty breakfast, he said, plopping an extra bowl of rice in front of me while I was still eating.
"Whew...."
In the end, I'd unwittingly scarfed down two bowls for breakfast, rubbing my still-protruding belly... and followed Bell, who was dressed in a suit from the morning, to our destination. What a sight it was.
【Everything Emporium】
A deserted alley near Gangnam Station in Seoul. I was surprised there was even a spot without people in Gangnam, but that weathered sign looking at least 60 years old was especially striking.
"Oh, this place is pretty decent."
"......"
"Miss Ha-yul, what do you think of this?"
"No clue even if you show me."
"Ah, this one's good too."
No idea where the shopkeeper was, but Bell wandered the rundown everything emporium like he owned the place, poking at this and that.
"Hmm... this'll do for today. Miss Ha-yul, let's check out."
So I followed Bell, who came back with a cheap jar so dusty it made me want to cough just looking at it, and had to do a double-take yet again.
"...A kiosk?"
In the back corner of what screamed "cash only" stood a modern kiosk, bold as brass.
Was this cognitive dissonance? It made my head spin. Why the hell was there a kiosk in a dump like this? No staff or people in sight after looking around—what was this guy even after?
Beep.
The answer came quicker than expected.
Rumble.
Bell scanned the long item list on the kiosk for the jar we'd just grabbed and completed payment. Then, like some high-tech packaging service, the display case next to it slid open, revealing space big enough for one or two people.
"After you."
After you. Meaning, we were the ones going in, not some product.
"You should transform about now."
I glared at Bell, who held the jar in one hand and draped the other casually over my shoulder... but eventually sighed and opened my mouth.
"—Transformation."
That's when I shot another light glare at Bell, who smiled softly as I transformed obediently without knowing what was going on.
Vrrr...!
With a space-warping hum, the display case slid shut behind us, and a passageway appeared on the back wall.
"This is..."
"What do you think? First time coming through the official entrance, right?"
Stepping through the mirror-like portal to another world revealed a place similar to the back world beyond our hideout's boundary, but with a very different vibe.
"Dimensional Fixed Boundary Inversion Passage—or most just call it the back world for short. Surprisingly, there are quite a few around different areas. Especially in Gangnam, home of the Villain Alliance headquarters."
Meaning those high-rises in the distance included the building I'd sliced last time.
"So, just slice that one too?"
I drew my sword from thin air, posed, and asked—regardless of whether the nearby villains freaked out.
Bonk!
"Of course not."
I grumbled as I returned the sword to the void, after Bell lightly bonked my head with his fist.
"You're overreacting to a little joke, seriously."
"Joke twice and you'll have nothing left. Haha."
If it bugs you that much, explain properly from the start before dragging me here. Sure, a few villains screamed and fainted, but hey, not my fault.
"This script involves partnering with another organization."
"Sounds like a lot of work."
"Yep. Time to get moving in earnest."
As I walked slowly behind Bell, who led the way...
"Oh yeah, what's with the jar?"
"This? It's my hobby."
He'd been clutching the old jar like it was precious since earlier, so I asked.
He said he had a hobby of collecting antiques, and entering through this entrance required buying one item from that emporium—a spot he frequented often.
"All sorts of junk from the back world piles up there, so rare treasures slip in sometimes."
"Hmm... I see."
"You'll have fun browsing it thoroughly later, Miss Robelia."
His voice sounded genuinely excited, unlike him—made me think it really was fun. Maybe tag along next time. As I pondered...
"The Villain Alliance is exactly what it sounds like: a coalition of all sorts of villain groups. So, plenty of decent partner orgs when interests align."
Along with the tap of fingers on my shoulder, Bell pointed somewhere and spoke.
"Today's appointment is right there. See it?"
Turning to the adjacent building, I spotted their nameplate embedded like it was near the real Gangnam Station beyond the boundary.
【Zoo】
Hmm. No explanation needed to guess what they did.
"Name screams 'tons of fur.'"
"Haha. Sharp senses."
Villain group straight-up named Zoo... No need to peek inside to imagine what's there. I made a sour face but asked anyway.
"So, what's my job?"
"Obvious, isn't it?"
Maybe from living together, I could guess what he'd say just from his expression. When he grinned like some manga final boss, there was only one option.
"Show of force♥"
Yeah, knew it.