A Lazy Morning After the Fight
After the battle ended, I found that nothing felt like a priority anymore.
We had won, and I even arranged a proper meal for the Main to celebrate, then returned to the hotel. Declaring today a day off from the very morning, I curled up in bed and refused to get out of it all day.
My back was killing me.
I tucked the blanket around Cabe, who was sleeping curled up like she was cold, climbed out of bed, and let out a long, stretching yawn while flipping on the television.
It had been a fight just last night, so surely some news should be airing by now.
“Approximately thirteen months after the Mogumogu-dan’s attack resumed, it was repelled thanks to the magical girls’ dazzling performance. No human casualties or property damage occurred thanks to the Two-sided Barrier—”
The news kept rolling out stories about some of the spectators getting hurt. But on the screen, it wasn’t the magical girls at all. It was only me.
The video showed me calling Dusick over and giving her instructions. It had to be the same moment I told her to protect me while moving Cabe’s location to avoid Frilly.
Then there was the part where I scooped Cabe up and dashed away. Had that even happened? When?
I was seen casually tossing an arrow aside. Ah, right—that was when I summoned the second magical girl to retreat.
But why was only my face showing?
“It’s because we’re a little late. There’s no one to leave the baby with, so we had to bring her this far. The mother must be so anxious. As a mother myself, I feel the same way. I was even wondering if there’s any way to handle it through the welfare system.”
That made sense. I was paying taxes for it.
But the screen clearly showed Cabe.
“Even if she’s an evil organization, I still want to root for her. She’s so beautiful, and being a mother feels so familiar. I was genuinely moved by how she was taking care of her daughter even during the broadcast.”
Huh?
“Aigoo, the mother must be suffering so much that she’d do something like this. She looks young, but she’s still trying her best to survive. I don’t think it’s fair to insult her.”
Mother…?
Mother…?
It only took me a moment to realize every single one of those words was referring to me.
No way. Even if it was me, the Mogumogu-dan is still the enemy of humanity. This positive vibe was way too friendly.
Was I the only one thinking that?
“Yeah, that’s why.”
“That’s thanks to that broadcast. Cabe’s caring for the baby actually made people like her more.”
I personally love jajangmyeon and jjampong for delivery.
Chicken isn’t bad either, but since I prefer noodles, that’s just how it ended up.
For that reason, lunch today would be jjampong.
“What are you doing right now?”
“That? I guess old habits are hard to break.”
Dusick ordered a double portion of fried rice.
After that, she used the jjampong broth from the shared pot and the remaining jajangmyeon from the container to scoop it all into a separate bowl.
“So, if you eat the fried rice, that’s one meal. Mixing the jajangmyeon and rice together makes two. And reheating the leftover jjampong broth makes three. One order covers all three meals. This is the living point.”
“…I’ll buy it for you often, so just eat it. Why are you going to that much trouble?”
“It’s already a habit, so it’s fine.”
I wonder what kind of situation the Mogumogu-dan was in before I showed up.
If Keru had been here, he would have smacked me on the back of the head. Too bad he’s not here right now.
Frilly had asked me to investigate the true identity of Cabe—the legendary high-ranking wolf monster Shinsallang from the Underworld. That’s why I went to the Underworld. This time I was definitely coming back with something.
“Yeah, anyway. Dusick.”
“Ne?”
“What’s a ‘gaju’?”
“Ah, the gaju…”
“There was a post somewhere about ‘the gaju taking the train.’ What exactly is a gaju? Is it like galaxy shareholder or something? I don’t do stocks.”
“No, it’s not a bad meaning…”
Dusick’s chopsticks picked up a piece of cucumber.
My own chopsticks snatched the cucumber right out of hers.
“It’s an internet community. They call it a gallery.”
Is cucumber really that good?
If only it was onion. That would be even healthier for the body.
Dusick threaded an onion slice between her chopsticks.
“There’s a theme in that gallery. Something about what your sister saw yesterday… A, I hate onions!”
“Eat onions!”
“Can’t I eat cucumber?”
“Onions are better for the body. Eat them.”
I pushed the onions toward Dusick after making a disgusted face.
“Right. So what was it that I saw?”
“Anyway, yesterday’s gallery was the one themed around the magical girls. The person with the most shares or the biggest stake in that gallery is called the gaju.”
“What? I’m not a magical girl. What if the gaju in the magical girl gallery suddenly becomes me?”
“That doesn’t really matter.”
Slurp. I ate the noodles, chewing them while sipping the jjampong broth.
“Kyaaaa…”
“You sound just like an older brother.”
Well, I was an older brother originally.
But after nearly dying because of Eve last time, I’ve been careful with my words ever since.
“If I keep talking, the truth is that the gaju was actually Cabe. But isn’t that weird? No matter how you look at it, she’s not a minor, yet treating the baby as the gaju is strange.”
“That makes sense.”
“Originally the magical girl gallery was split between the Eve faction and the Aquamarine faction. After Aquamarine-unni got completely crushed by Eve-unni, the Aquamarine faction disappeared and the Eve faction took everything.”
What?
Dusick kept dropping more and more confusing comments.
“After that, when Mother-unni suddenly appeared like a meteor, the Momumdan—”
“Momumdan?”
“Ah, no. Motherdan.”
I had no idea what Momumdan or Motherdan even meant.
“So now Mother-unni and Cabe have completely taken over the magical girl gallery…”
“Stop it. Let’s eat already.”
The interest had died.
“There’s Eve-unni there too. She sometimes posts sample photos and sells them.”
“What?”
“She also sells photos of you stepping on Keru while barefoot. Sales are at record levels.”
This crazy woman.
Taking photos of me is fine.
Selling them is also fine.
But shouldn’t the minimum royalty be at least half?
Dusick took a photo of the community’s address on my phone.
Her phone screen was so small that staring at it made my eyes hurt. There was no choice.
“Here.”
“Thanks.”
“Then I’ll clear the table and go.”
“Yeah.”
While Dusick carried the empty bowls down to the hotel lobby, I stared at my phone.
The first post that caught my eye was:
「Your Mother’s beauty is one-shot lol lol lol lol lol. If she does a double date with Eve, she gets absolutely crushed. What’s with the gaju?」
This guy?
It wasn’t exactly wrong, but I wanted to show off that I had the Rocket Punch as my ultimate skill.
I hadn’t meant for Frilly to read it directly and get crushed in return. How do I even fix that?
Mostly the posts were just “you’re pretty” compliments. One suggested I should appear on a variety show and bite my tongue for an extra laugh.
That would never happen.
Among them, one post stood out even more.
「Mother Additional Photo Sample」
When I clicked it, the photos were of me.
Strange.
One of them was the same as the broadcast—me giving instructions to Dusick. But the one labeled “sample” was different. It was a photo taken from a perfect 45-degree angle, straight down at me, with a big “SAMPLE” stamp across my face.
It was definitely that exaggerated angle thing.
It was pretty, but who could have taken it… Hmm.
“Oh, that’s Eve-unni.”
“You brought the bowls?”
“Yeah, it’s from Eve-unni.”
“This? The photo sample?”
“Yes. Look at the nickname.”
M.P.E…
“Isn’t this the abbreviation for Magical Princess Eve?”
“Yes. It’s not Magical, it’s Miracle.”
Wow, I felt really dumb.
“Does Eve run a community too?”
“Yeah. She probably thinks you’d never guess it was her.”
“Why?”
“When I asked her if she runs a community before, she said she doesn’t use the internet much.”
“If she doesn’t use the internet, how could she even know what a community is to answer?”
“Right? Anyway, I don’t claim to know her, but a lot of people who do run communities probably know. If anyone posts anything bad about Eve-unni, it gets deleted instantly.”
On top of that, she used a weird nickname.
Advertising herself like that was basically the same as directly promoting.
Was the kid lacking in some way?
“You should post an authentication shot too. It’ll jump straight to best-seller.”
“Really? Cabe, want to take a photo with Mom?”
“Yeah!”
I took a photo with Cabe, who was laughing happily beside me.
I should have wiped the chopstick grease from my lips before taking the picture. No, it was cute. I was supposed to be the mother.
“Um…”
“Hmm. That’s weird.”
The photo got good reactions. But they were in a completely different direction.
「Feed the kid something good」
「What the hell is this? Real gaju?」
「Jajangmyeon lol lol lol lol lol. Is this the food you gave the little girl who suffered yesterday?」
「Anyone remembering the donation account?」
「What is that white thing stuck to the corner of the gaju’s mouth?」
「It looks like jjampong broth」
「If the boss eats jjampong, what about the subordinates?」
「Why is it so salty」
“Unni, these kids aren’t really that well-behaved…”
Not really. They seemed incredibly well-behaved.
“But the reactions are really weird…”
“What are they like normally?”
“Well… they try to dox me or…”
I’m not getting doxed.
“Or they try to get me in trouble by making the baby eat weird things…”
Jajangmyeon is fine.
“Anyway, it’s that kind of neighborhood… It’s strange.”
I glanced at Dusick muttering to herself that it was truly strange, then gently adjusted Cabe on my knee, tapped my phone, and sent Eve a message.
—Half the photos sold, you crazy woman.
No reply came for a while.