Nya Nya~ It's Mohanya Nya♥
3. Nya Nya~ It's Mohanya Nya♥
Out of nowhere, do you know what a semi-basement house is?
I'm not sure if it's unique to Korea, but it's basically a living space built in a place that's about half underground.
I grew up in an orphanage, so I've never lived in one. Only seen them in movies. You know, that famous movie where the protagonist's family lives in a semi-basement.
If you don't know, forget it.
"By the way, Boss Lady, you said Fantasia is an organization, right?"
Since I'd become the organization's fighting dog, I decided to speak casually. Formal speech makes you look weak. Eris didn't seem to mind casual talk either.
"Yeah! It's definitely an organization. We almost got disbanded tomorrow!"
"But don't organizations usually have offices?"
"Yeah! We had an office too!"
"Then why are we in a semi-basement now?"
Right. There was only one reason I'd brought up semi-basement houses.
Because the place Eris introduced as Fantasia's base was a semi-basement.
"W-well, because we don't have money… hehe."
Eris laughed while avoiding my eyes.
Was that really something to laugh off?
At least she had the decency to look away, so maybe she still had a conscience.
After giving the awkwardly smiling Eris a pitying look, I stepped inside. I'd heard semi-basement houses were full of mold, but thanks to good maintenance, there wasn't any sign of it.
Aside from being underground, it was a perfectly normal house. No problems living here. Was this the result of Siz's efforts?
Working three part-time jobs and still keeping a semi-basement this clean must've pushed her body to its limits. It was only natural.
"How the hell did things get this bad?"
While following Eris to the semi-basement, I'd asked for more information about Fantasia. What I learned was shocking.
"Fantasia was the top of the Four Great Organizations just seven years ago."
Now there were only three: the Murim Alliance, Carpediem, and the Esper Hunters.
But back then, Fantasia had made it four, and it was ranked first. Then seven years ago, its sudden downfall began.
The exact reason for the fall wasn't clear.
"Ah, that's…"
Eris's eyes grew sad. Maybe it was a painful memory.
"It was because of me."
What was that supposed to mean?
"Because of you, Boss Lady?"
"Yeah. I inherited the organization but didn't know how to do anything."
Eris let out a sigh.
"My mother, the former boss of Fantasia, was an incredible person. They called her a living grimoire. She could use every spell that existed in this world."
"So Fantasia was an organization of people who could use magic?"
I'd already guessed as much, so I asked to confirm. Eris nodded.
"Yeah. Fantasia monopolized all the magic in this world. Then the Murim Alliance's legend, the one called Tushin, appeared and wiped Fantasia out."
Tushin.
I'd heard that name by chance not long ago. The Murim Alliance had been praying for Tushin's return or something like that.
"After annihilating Fantasia, Tushin looked at me and my little sister, who were only thirteen at the time, and said:"
—These two don't know any magic at all. No harm in letting them live.
"Siz was spared for the same reason. That's how Tushin single-handedly destroyed Fantasia, which had seemed like it would stay number one forever, then disappeared without a trace."
"Sounds like some ridiculous legend."
How could someone wipe out all of Fantasia alone? And why spare Eris, her sister, and Siz just because they couldn't use magic?
…Wait, a little sister?
"You have a sister?"
"Ah, I had a twin sister. She's gone now. Died of illness."
Damn. I shouldn't have asked. Eris already looked sad, and now she looked even sadder.
Better drop the sister topic.
"So you inherited the organization at thirteen, and since you hadn't learned magic yet, Fantasia lost all its power?"
"Yeah. I tried to gather members and revive it somehow, but it was useless. No one wanted to follow someone with no power, and I didn't have any business sense either…"
It was half true that Eris had caused the fall.
But it couldn't be helped, could it? Handing an organization to a thirteen-year-old was ridiculous. There were things money alone couldn't fix.
"If I'd done better, it wouldn't have collapsed. I really am an idiot. No, I am an idiot. Because of me, you also ended up—"
"That's enough."
She was the type to be overly honest with her emotions and apologize too much. I'd noticed it even when we met as customers at the PC bang. Her feelings were simple, but the thoughts she carried were complicated.
So the right thing was to give her straightforward, simple encouragement.
After all, she was the boss I'd be serving from now on.
"Boss Lady, don't blame yourself for everything."
"But it really was because of me. How can it not be my fault…"
"You're a victim, Boss Lady. Fantasia fell because of Tushin. What happened to me wasn't your fault either—it was Carpediem's."
The real culprits were elsewhere. There was no need for the victims to blame themselves.
Of course, I also thought I'd lost the PC bang to Carpediem because I'd been lost in fantasy, but that didn't mean everything was my fault.
Carpediem was the bad one.
So I wanted Eris to understand that too.
"Tushin is the bad one. Sure, taking down Fantasia single-handedly sounds impressive, but from another angle, it's just mass murder. That's the bastard. Why would a thirteen-year-old like you be the bad guy?"
"B-but still…"
"But what? Have you ever killed anyone in your life?"
"No."
"Have you ever stolen money?"
"No…"
"See? You're a good person. I've watched you long enough at the PC bang to know. All you did was play Lineage alone, trying your hardest not to bother anyone. You didn't do anything wrong. You're so kind it's hard to believe you're an organization boss."
"Is it okay for an organization boss to be kind…? I collapsed because I wasn't boss-like…"
"So what? Now you've got me."
Why had the Title Collector given me the Fighting Dog title of all things?
I didn't know. But if I was a dog crazy for fighting, then I had to charge in without hesitation and sink my teeth into the enemy's throat.
"If you can't do it, Boss Lady, then I'll do it for you. That's why I became your fighting dog."
"S-still, I don't want you doing bad things. You're a good person too, Hyun-woo…"
Good person.
Had anyone ever called me that before? I'd never even thought about it. Never heard it either. Partly because there was no reason to, and partly because I hadn't exactly lived a life of good deeds.
But maybe even someone like me could look like a good person to someone else. The feeling was strange.
Still, the person I'd started calling my boss wanted me to live kindly. If I was going to serve her as my boss, then I should follow that.
I grabbed Eris by the shoulders and spoke.
"Then let's do this. We're an organization, but we only crush the real bastards. Carpediem, who stole my PC bang, and the Murim Alliance, who destroyed Fantasia. We'll grow by taking them down. How's that?"
"Th-that sounds good! Honestly, I never wanted to make Fantasia the number one organization again anyway. I just want to restore it to something that wouldn't shame my parents, even if it's not as glorious as before."
"No, if we crush the Murim Alliance and Carpediem, Fantasia will be number one. The Esper Hunters are a closed group that only accepts espers anyway."
"I-is that true?! I thought you were saying you had no greed, so I had no idea you meant that…"
Idiot.
Eris really wasn't very bright. And that was a good thing for me.
At least idiots couldn't stab you in the back. Even if they tried, you'd see it coming from a mile away. How fortunate was that?
Of course, saying that out loud would be rude, so I kept it to myself.
"By the way, where's Siz? I'd like to meet her."
"Huh? Oh. Now that you mention it, Siz should be getting off work soon…"
The sun had already set and night had fallen. Neon signs were starting to glow in the darkness.
It was nighttime.
The fact that someone who should've been home by now wasn't showing up felt off. Maybe because of everything that had happened recently, I felt an urgent need to find her.
"Boss Lady! Where does Siz work?"
"Uh, well, her morning shift is at Happy SG convenience store, and her afternoon shift is at Hwangdang Meat, the barbecue place…"
Skip the morning job for now.
I pulled up Hwangdang Meat's location on my phone and shouted urgently.
"Boss Lady, wait here! I'll go find Siz!"
"Huh? I'll come with you!"
"No! You're weak and slow, Boss Lady."
"Th-that's true, but…"
Eris muttered bitterly. I felt bad, but it couldn't be helped. If Siz had gotten caught up in something dangerous, I needed to find her as fast as possible.
"…Okay! I'll wait here, so please find her!"
But Eris quickly made up her mind and spoke with determination. At least she made decisions fast, like a real boss.
"Of course. Don't worry and just wait."
I checked my phone and sprinted toward Hwangdang Meat. It wasn't far from Eris's house.
But the employees there just tilted their heads.
"Siz? She cleaned the grills early today and left…"
"She left already?"
Something was definitely wrong. I'd never met Siz in person, but from what I'd heard, she wasn't the type to be late without telling Eris.
Where should I go next? Should I check her morning job at Happy SG?
While I stood there confused, a voice called out from somewhere.
"Hey! You little puppy running around in circles like you gotta piss! Come here for a sec, nya!"
The sentence pattern sounded strangely familiar.
I turned toward the voice and saw a woman wearing a black eyepatch.
Pink hair. Pink eyes. A cat-like mouth. A long scar across her nose like she'd been cut with a blade.
She wore a red shirt, a loosely tied black tie, a black vest, and black gloves.
Even the weird heart shapes in her eyes.
"What the hell, is that a Mohanya cosplay?"
She looked exactly like the popular anime character Mohanya. It was uncanny how identical she was, but it had to be cosplay.
"Nya nya, you think this is cosplay? Too bad, it's not cosplay, nya. Mohanya is the real Mohanya, danyang!"
She even seemed mentally ill. Or maybe she'd gotten too deep into method acting.
"I'm busy, so move."
"Busy so move, nya? What's got you so busy? Where you rushing off to?"
"I'm looking for someone. I don't have time to play with you."
"You know where they are and you're looking, nya? From what I see, you got no clue, just spinning around like a puppy that needs to piss, nya."
She wasn't wrong.
But I should be running around searching the neighborhood instead of wasting time here. Tell her to shut up and move.
Just as I was about to say that, the self-proclaimed Mohanya grinned and spoke.
"But Mohanya likes dumb puppies like you, nya. Want me to teach you how to find someone, nya?"
"Why would you—"
Before I could finish asking why she'd tell me, a chill ran down my spine. I couldn't believe my eyes.
Title: ???
