The Branch Leader’s Umbrella
“Dusick-ah.”
“Yes?”
“Oh my, that gave me a scare. Take off your transformation.”
“Yes, unni!”
“Did you get the estimate for the entrance hall renovation?”
“Ah, right. Just a moment!”
While Dusick hurried off to her room for the estimate, a sudden thought struck me. If she took off the transformation, she’d be a girl—what room would she use? Were the Mains sharing it with her? Even if Keru was living with me in my room, Dusick would still be a woman after transformation, and although the Mains supposedly lacked lust or genitals, they were still male bodies. It just didn’t sit right.
Before I could finish thinking, Dusick returned carrying several documents that looked like estimates.
There were four places in total. One was suspiciously expensive, two were just average, and one was suspiciously cheap. Normally you’d pick the middle option. The most expensive could be a scam, and the cheapest might use poor materials or inexperienced workers. So the middle range… I grabbed the estimates from the three places excluding the cheapest one.
The work was supposed to take five days. That should be fine. I planned to bring these estimates tonight when I met Frilly. Since she was the one paying, it made sense to let her choose. Okay, next…
“Ah, by the way, Dusick-ah. What room do you use?”
While I was quietly watching Dusick, the moment I lifted my head our eyes met.
“A room?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you share with the Mains?”
…What?
“Where’s Keru?”
“Why?”
Keru, who had been crouching by the desk, came crawling out in a sleepy daze at my call. I smacked the back of his head sharply.
“Ouch!”
“You should be grateful this is only the first time I’ve hit you.”
“Why are you doing this?!”
No matter how I swung my paw, it couldn’t reach the back of his head. It stung and hurt, but since I couldn’t hit it with my foot I ended up lying halfway down and rubbing the spot with my hind paw. Still no luck, so he whimpered and struggled helplessly.
Ugh, that thoughtless brat—truly hopeless.
“Hey, even if it’s like that, you can’t let a pubescent girl use a room alone. Did you make the Mains share it?”
“No, even Dusick when she transforms will be a man… ouch!”
“This thoughtless brat—truly!”
Die, die.
I continued smacking the back of his head seven more times until I finally stopped. I never imagined it would actually happen.
“Dusick-ah, didn’t it feel uncomfortable?”
“It did! Every time I changed clothes too.”
“Keru, hit her more.”
“Aaaah!”
Thud, thud, thud. Three more hits and I finally stopped. What a heartless brat. A goldfish brat. Ah, that fits. Anyway, thoughtless brat.
“Dusick, from today on you’ll live in my room.”
Even though I was a man, only Keru and I knew that, and besides, I was in a woman’s body with no reproductive organs. At least it would be far better than sharing with the Mains.
“Eh? Really, unni? It’s okay?”
“Yeah. As long as you don’t mind.”
“There’s no way I’d mind! I love unni so much!”
Seeing Dusick jump up and down happily in her spot, I smacked the back of Keru’s head again.
Promise time was 7 o’clock.
The headquarters car was supposed to come picking us up. It wasn’t the branch leader’s car with the chairman, but the branch leader’s with knights? How could the association be so rich?
We were always busy cooking and eating at the base, but these guys… ugh. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I didn’t have a businessman’s mindset, but I only wanted to make money quickly and expand the base big time.
“Are you ready?”
“Unni, can I not go with you?”
“It’s fine. Just take off the transformation and come back.”
I wondered what kind of high-end meat restaurant required a dress code, but since I realized it was just because it suited me, it might be better to go with Dusick. Still, maybe I didn’t need to go that far.
But common sense was common sense, wasn’t it?
“Huu.”
Just touching my earrings triggered the transformation. No fancy incantations or glittering effects—just darkness sweeping from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and the change happened.
“Wow.”
“Pretty?”
“Yes.”
Dusick was staring at me with an unmistakably delighted, genuinely pretty expression. Honestly, she was pretty. Even in the mirror she looked like a beauty, especially that cold, dignified face.
Smile? It didn’t suit her.
If I stayed expressionless, those long lashes would subtly narrow.
Honestly, an expressionless face suited her best.
“Keru, after you come back from today, let’s make a few Mains tomorrow. We need to start moving soon too.”
It had been over a month since I became the Mother. Only a few days since I arrived at the base, but including the month I stayed at my home, it had already passed a month.
I hadn’t really done anything special since there was nothing obvious to do, but now that Keru knew the backstories of this world, I couldn’t stay still anymore.
“Okay. I’ll set it up.”
“Got it.”
At that moment the doorbell rang.
“She’s here, I guess. Well, I’ll be going.”
“Be careful.”
“Unni, be careful! Don’t drink the drink!”
Even Frilly was out of her mind. Maybe the drink or alcohol had something in it. Looking at Dusick’s thoughtfulness as she poured water from the water purifier into a thermos, I opened the creaky door with one hand holding the thermos. A middle-aged man stood in front of the door with a bewildered expression.
“…You’re the one who broke the Precure.”
“Ah, yes…”
The bewildered expression quickly changed to “Ah, I see…”—the look of someone who had accepted it. I roughly understood what kind of impression Precure had left on him…
“You’re the Mother?”
“Yes.”
“Then, please follow me.”
“Yes, thank you.”
When I stepped out onto the building entrance after the stairs, a large Korean-made car was parked there. Completely black. Even the emblem on the hood. No way, that’s the branch leader’s car? Even the president of the company I used to work for didn’t drive something that expensive.
“Then, shall we board?”
“Thank you.”
It was fortunate the transformation form had a skirt. I climbed into the back seat where the driver opened the door, carefully sat down holding the thermos.
“Then, we’ll depart.”
“Yes, please take good care of the driving.”
The car started sliding forward soundlessly. This was my first time riding in a car like this. The engine noise was almost silent and there was almost no vibration.
“Driver-nim.”
“You can speak comfortably, Mother.”
“Even so, it doesn’t feel right. There’s a certain protocol. Anyway, driver-nim.”
“Yes.”
“How long until we get there?”
“We have to go to Seoul Station, and since the traffic is heavy it’ll probably take about an hour.”
By the time we arrived it would be around 8 o’clock. I was guessing they wanted a time slot after the early evening dinner rush when it wasn’t crowded.
“Seoul Station, then which restaurant?”
“It’s a Korean beef bulgogi place. Even though it’s a bit far from Gwangmyeong, it’s a place our association magical girls go for gatherings.”
“I see.”
So that was it. I had to earn money quickly. Magical girls had bulgogi for gatherings while our side barely had soju or beer at samgyeopsal restaurants.
As the boss, my stomach was really sore. Employee welfare was the quickest way to boost morale, but right now we were in a losing battle.
“You don’t hate the Mogumogu-dan?”
“Um…”
The driver glanced at the rear-view mirror. His hand tightened on the thermos he was holding. Of course, if Mogumogu-dan was an evil organization and he had a good reputation, that would be strange.
Even if he said he hated it or disliked it, I had to remember not to blame the driver-nim.
“Actually, I don’t have any particular feelings.”
“Eh?”
It was actually me who was startled.
“They say it’s an evil organization. They’ve killed people and caused some families to go bankrupt when buildings collapsed. But I’ve never been affected, and no one close to me has either.”
“Is that so?”
Well, it was natural. If you hadn’t been harmed yourself, it didn’t really matter, did it? The driver-nim wasn’t strange; if he was just a normal human, it was only natural.
Rain began to fall. There had been no mention of rain today, but the raindrops hitting the roof were quite heavy. From the sound alone you could tell they were thick.
“We’re arriving soon.”
Time had passed so quickly. The car had quietly entered the large bulgogi restaurant’s parking lot. It stopped soundlessly just like when we left, and as I was about to get out—
“You’ve arrived, Mother.”
“Fr, Frilly? No, Branch Leader Park Seona…?”
Frilly, that is Park Seona, personally opened the back seat door with an umbrella in her hand.
“Thank you for coming all this way. I was worried because you’ve been traveling for so long.”
“Ah, aha. Yes. The traffic was a bit bad.”
When I glanced at the clock, it was 7:45. Coming here from Gwangmyeong in 45 minutes during rush hour—that’s fast. I couldn’t figure out why she said it took long. If she said so, then it was her own doing.
Following Park Seona’s guidance, we entered the restaurant. On the first floor there were still many customers bustling around. From all directions came the smoky smell of grilling meat, the sizzling sounds of delicious food, and the cheerful clinking of glasses in toasts.
Where were the seats?
“Hey, isn’t that the girl from the Mogumogu-dan? The one whose tongue got bitten?”
“Yeah, the one from Mogumogu-dan…”
“The girl whose tongue got bitten on the broadcast?”
“She’s pretty…”
Except for the unpleasant remark that slipped in, most people seemed to recognize me. Of course. A woman dressed in that kind of uniform wasn’t common, and the design wasn’t ordinary either, so anyone who had seen the broadcast once would recognize me.
With my neck stretched out, I looked around for a seat. Park Seona smiled awkwardly and pointed up the stairs with her arm.
“A table has been prepared on the second floor. Let’s go.”
“Ah, yes.”
Normally the host would go up the stairs first, wouldn’t they? Why was she coming right behind me without even giving me space…
When I got to the second floor, there was no one there.
Absolutely no one. The second floor was empty, with pink lighting and all the surrounding tables pushed aside. There was only one table left in the center of the second-floor business, and not a single thing else.
Plus, thanks to some spell, the noisy sounds from the first floor had completely vanished. It was perfectly quiet, with gentle classical music playing softly.
It was a meat restaurant, yet…