The Nanny's Name
The juice bottle in her hand was flung onto the bed.
It was a rough, violent gesture, like stripping someone to put them in a bathtub.
“I can do it myself! I can handle it alone!”
She shouted desperately, but it was no use.
The nanny quickly and expertly peeled off the jeans and T-shirt, then frowned at the sight of the panties and bra.
“Where did you get these indecent things!”
But when Chloe resisted with her whole body, the nanny gave up on removing the underwear. Instead, Chloe had to wear a dress dripping with layers of lace.
The dress looked like something a fairy-tale princess would wear. It was beautiful, but the endless layers of lace made it horribly heavy. She had barely taken a few steps before the weight made her shoulders feel like they were collapsing.
“Isn’t there anything else? This is too uncomfortable.”
“Something else? Really?”
Was that such a shocking statement?
The nanny repeated the same question several times, as if she couldn’t believe her ears. The way her thin eyebrows shot toward the center of her forehead was striking.
Chloe nodded, fingers brushing the dress that flared out like an umbrella in every direction.
As a child she had dreamed of wearing dresses like this, but not anymore.
She had a quest to survey the estate. There was no way she could wander around in something this impractical.
The nanny studied Chloe with careful eyes, then returned from the dressing room with the simplest gown she could find.
The navy dress looked far more modest and comfortable than the one she currently wore. It didn’t flare like an umbrella, nor was it drowning in foamy waves of lace.
“This is nice.”
When Chloe brightened, the nanny sighed and helped her change again. Even though the design looked simple, the construction made it impossible to wear alone, so Chloe needed assistance once more.
“You mustn’t complain about it later.”
“I won’t.”
“But My Lady, why have you been using such formal speech since this morning?”
“Huh?”
Basic Quest
Give a name to the nanny—the person who loves Chloe Grace more than anyone else in the world.
Upon completion, the number of activated areas will increase.
Even though the blue status window floated right in front of her eyes, the nanny showed no reaction. Chloe was certain only she could see it.
“Emma?”
Chloe blurted out the first name that came to mind. The nanny made a face like she had bitten into something bitter.
“What exactly are you looking at?”
The nanny stared at her strangely. She was standing directly in front of Chloe, yet the girl kept looking elsewhere and talking nonsense.
This name is already in use.
Damn. I knew it.
Then…
“Thelma?”
If this didn’t work, she was ready to settle for “Hey, you,” but—
The nanny’s name has been registered.
“Huh? Do you need something, My Lady?”
Thelma asked in a gentle voice while straightening Chloe’s dress. Her touch was meticulous and soft as she checked every inch of the fabric.
Regardless of Thelma’s actions, the status window kept updating.
Quest completed. The number of activated areas will now increase.
Please select only one location you wish to activate.
1. Convenience store that only carried food past its expiration date
2. Meat restaurant where you only scrubbed grill oil all day
3. Car wash where you washed cars until your arms nearly fell off
Chloe stared at the list that seemed to be mocking her and chose number one without hesitation. The convenience store had the greatest variety of goods and the most food.
“Number one!”
She whispered it like a mosquito, worried Thelma might hear. She feared speaking too softly would prevent the system from registering it, but the window responded at once.
You have selected the Convenience Store That Only Carried Expired Food as an activated area.
The places User Chloe Grace can visit have increased to two: your moldy semi-basement studio and the convenience store that only carried expired food. Congratulations.
Even while being congratulated, Chloe felt uneasy.
She swatted the blue window away with her palm and smiled brightly at Thelma.
“Thelma, I like this outfit. I mean… I like it.”
She still wasn’t used to speaking casually to someone older than her. But Thelma’s expression had brightened considerably, as if she felt much more at ease.
“It still looks a little plain. Would you like to add some accessories before you go out?”
Thelma brought the jewelry box over with enthusiasm and lifted the lid.
Chloe’s heart pounded with anticipation. In her entire life she had never owned even a silver ring, let alone gold.
Jewels!
But the small box contained far more empty space than actual pieces.
“Is this all?”
“These were all we could manage.”
A necklace with a round red ruby, a small-pearl necklace, and a gold chain set with a bean-sized diamond. That was it. No rings, no bracelets, no brooches.
She had expected a lord’s collection, but it seemed the phrase “dirt poor” was no exaggeration.
“It would be amazing if a jewelry store ever unlocks as an activated area.”
The moment Chloe muttered those words while staring at the mostly empty box, a blue quest window floated up without warning.
Special Quest
Raise the territory residents’ favorability toward you to 1.
Success reward: One desired location will be designated as an activated area.
Favorability 1? Isn’t this too easy?
It seemed far too simple a condition for unlocking a jewelry store. She was smiling cheerfully, thinking it would be as easy as lying down and eating rice cakes, when the window sparkled and changed.
Current favorability of territory residents toward Chloe Grace: -189,500.
“What the hell is this!”
“That’s exactly why I told you not to wear that dress.”
Thelma grumbled, assuming Chloe’s complaint was about the navy gown.
“It’s not the clothes. I was just thinking about something else.”
Thelma gave her a suspicious glance, then stood up, brushing the front of the dress.
“I’ll go check whether the carriage is ready. You truly like that dress, right?”
Her eyes were still doubtful. She hadn’t quite given up; the bundle of discarded lace still hung over her arm.
“Yeah. I like it a lot.”
Who on earth would wear a dress with lace dangling all the way to the armpits?
Chloe shook her head, glancing at the gown that looked ready to bury her in frills.
The original owner of this body might have been pretty, but her fashion sense had been truly terrible.
After Thelma left and Chloe confirmed the door was shut, she decided to call the status window again.
“Status window, open!”
Nothing happened. The room stayed silent. She tried once more.
“Open! Status window!”
“Open sesame, status window!”
“Would you open the blue window, please?”
“Status window, open, I beg you.”
“Sesame, perilla, blue status window.”
She tried everything from casual English to polite requests, but there was no response at all.
“What exactly am I supposed to do?”
Grumbling, she turned toward the gray door that occupied part of the wall like a framed picture.
“Guess I’ll start there.”
Chloe checked the bedroom door one last time, then approached the front entrance.
She never imagined her heart would race this much just by walking up to an old, shabby door. Life really was unpredictable.
Maybe she was still dreaming. With that hazy thought, she entered the password again.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The keypad sounded unusually loud in the quiet room. Chloe glanced around like a guilty thief before grasping the cold metal handle.
The chill of the metal against her palm made everything feel real.
Fear and excitement tangled together inside her chest.
“Huu…”
With a deep sigh she pulled the handle, and the moldy semi-basement studio appeared before her.
The soft fabric of the dress brushed against her ankles with every step.
Standing in the middle of the damp studio wearing a long navy gown that reached her ankles felt incredibly surreal.
Still, the priority was to check the newly activated area.
“Let’s go.”
Chloe turned her back on the door connected to the impoverished estate and grabbed the handle of the door leading outward.
Would you like to move to an activated area?
“Yes!”
She answered instantly, afraid the window might vanish.
Moving to the activated area: Convenience Store That Only Carried Expired Food.
Perfect!
She could finally step outside.
When her only wish had been to roll around in bed all day, she never wanted to leave the room. But the thought of being unable to leave no matter how much she wanted to made the situation feel completely different.
Chloe licked her dry lips, then pushed the door open with all her strength.
“Huh?”
The stairs leading up to ground level should have appeared first.
Instead, bright daylight greeted her. It felt similar to the moment she had first opened her eyes on the other side.
“Does climbing these stairs mean you die?”
It looked exactly like the heavenly staircase that appeared in movies and dramas.
The top was shrouded in thick fog, making it impossible to see what lay beyond.
Chloe hesitated briefly, then climbed the stairs with determination. She lifted the long, rustling skirt with both hands so it wouldn’t drag.
Her heartbeat quickened the closer she came to the fog.
She stopped one step short, but all she saw was still the hazy mist.
“This is kind of scary.”
Her voice trembled as she stared into the uncertain path ahead.
“Huu…”
She took a deep breath and stepped onto the final stair. The dense fog that had blocked her view split apart left and right as if by magic.
And there—barely ten meters away, as if space itself had been warped—stood the convenience store she used to commute to every day.
Normally it would have taken a full ten minutes of nonstop walking to reach it.
“Something really did happen.”
The path from the door to the store was hazy and blurred, as though wrapped in fog.
Sudden fear gripped her.
If she walked into that fog, she might never find her way back.
Taking even one step forward felt impossibly difficult.
While Chloe stood frozen, a familiar ding sounded and the status window appeared again.
Are you a scaredy-cat? Please don’t worry. There are absolutely no other living beings in this space besides you, User.
“No one else? What happened to the other people? Did they all disappear? Did the Earth really get destroyed?”