Chapter 343: Moving
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 343: Moving
“...”
“...”
An awkward silence flowed between Han Seoah and me.
Han Seoah kept fidgeting and glancing my way, as if trying to read my expression.
Unable to stand it any longer, I spoke first.
“What on earth are you thinking?”
“I-I heard it’s polite to share rice cakes with your neighbors on the first day you move in...”
“I don’t think that’s what I’m asking about.”
“...”
Han Seoah stealthily avoided my gaze.
It was absurd, but I didn’t really need an answer. I had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
“Then again, it would be weird for me to say anything about where you live. It’s not like I’m your actual brother.”
“...And who was it that told me to call you Oppa?”
“I can hear you.”
I took the plate from Han Seoah’s hands.
I’m not actually a big fan of rice cakes, but with two food lovers in the house, I figured they’d disappear quickly.
If they really didn’t like them, I’d just have to eat them myself.
“Anyway, thanks for the rice cakes. If you need anything, ask the landlord, not me.”
I was about to go inside to avoid any more trouble when...
“W-Wait a minute!”
Thud!
With a desperate cry, Han Seoah stuck her foot in the doorway.
I was a little taken aback.
“W-Well...”
As I stared at her, Han Seoah’s face turned bright red, and her lips trembled.
The way she fidgeted with her fingers and watched me nervously felt a little unfamiliar.
When I first met her, she was a total brat with a rotten personality.
“A-Are you free today...?!”
Her voice echoed in the hallway. I thought for a moment before replying.
“...Are you asking me on a date?”
“No!!”
Han Seoah shrieked in denial.
“I-I’m just trying to repay you for saving my life!”
“Is that so?”
Munch, munch.
I cut off a small piece of the steamed rice cake and popped it in my mouth.
Maybe because I hadn’t eaten breakfast, it was surprisingly tasty.
“I thought you were asking me out on a date.”
“...There’s no way I’d say that to you, the person who’s in that kind of relationship with my sister.”
Han Seoah’s voice trembled slightly.
Her heavy, downcast eyes seemed to reflect her true feelings.
“So, hurry up and get ready so we can...”
“Master? Are you still not done?”
Just then, Noel, having changed her clothes, came up from behind and hugged me.
She was in her usual tank top and dolphin shorts, and by a stroke of pure coincidence, the marks from last night were still vivid on her neck.
“...Huh?”
Han Seoah’s eyes met Noel’s, widened in shock, and then began to tremble.
Of course, the shock for Han Seoah didn’t end there.
“Hyun-woo...? Why are you out here...?”
Jeon Seoha walked out of the bedroom, still drowsy, and whined as she snuggled into my arms.
For the record, Jeon Seoha usually slept in just a thin t-shirt and panties.
On top of that, she’d recently started insisting on wearing rather provocative lingerie to seduce me, so it wasn’t hard to imagine what she looked like.
“...”
Naturally, Han Seoah’s face froze over.
The deep blush that had bloomed on her cheeks was long gone.
“...Hey, don’t get the wrong idea-”
“Die.”
SLAM!
Leaving behind that single, murderous word, Han Seoah immediately retreated into her apartment and slammed the door with all her might.
“Hoo...”
I habitually rubbed the back of my neck.
One wrong word, and I’d ended up with a troublesome neighbor.
If there was a silver lining, it was that whatever misunderstanding Han Seoah had, it had nothing to do with me.
It’s not like I was going to sleep with her.
‘Well... seeing what she did today, I guess I can’t be sure what’ll happen in the future...’
Squeeze-
Just then, Jeon Seoha tugged on my arm.
I reflexively stroked her head, and she started purring contentedly.
“That’s the woman we met at the gate, right? What were you talking about?”
“She said she moved in next door.”
When I handed Noel the plate of rice cakes, her expression turned peculiar.
“...Is she your stalker, Master?”
“Who knows...”
I didn’t know either.
And I really didn’t want to think about how she found out my address.
Tug, tug-
Jeon Seoha pulled on my arm again.
“Hyun-woo, let’s go back inside. You can’t leave yet.”
“That’s right, we still have six days left.”
“...Were you serious about that?”
Noel joined in, grabbing my other arm, and they started dragging me back into the apartment.
With both my arms restrained, I hesitated.
Being dragged to bed sounded nice, but I had plans today.
Whoosh-
“Ah?!”
I used Chin Na to break free from their grasp.
In the process, I pulled only Jeon Seoha into my arms and sat down on the sofa.
“I have to go out today, so go get changed.”
“Me and Seoha too?”
“Of course.”
Noel looked a little surprised by my words.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to look at a house.”
“...A house?”
“We can’t live here forever.”
This place was comfortable enough, but it was far too small for the three of us, and there was no space to build a training ground or a workshop.
Until now, I’d been renting a nearby training room and conducting my research in a makeshift workshop set up in a corner of the room we used for storage.
“Where are you thinking of going?”
“Not sure. The real estate agent called and said they found a good place, so we’ll check it out and sign the contract if it’s good.”
It’s not like I was short on money; I couldn’t keep living like this forever.
“Besides, you two need your own space.”
“I’m fine sharing a room with you, Hyun-woo.”
“Me too.”
“...”
I felt the same way, but that was only fine for a day or two.
Considering the time we’d be spending together in the future, we each needed our own room.
“We can’t keep rolling around in that tiny bed forever.”
“...True.”
The bed we were using was a double. Not only was it uncomfortably small whenever we moved, but I’d almost fallen off a few times.
Jeon Seoha said she liked being squeezed together in a small space, but I wanted to sleep comfortably.
“But even if we’re moving, why are you only holding Seoha? Isn’t this discrimination?”
“Don’t you remember yesterday? I came seven times for you, but only six for Seoha.”
“...Tch.”
Noel stomped off into the bathroom.
Now alone in the living room, I looked at Jeon Seoha.
“Hyun-woo...”
Swish, swish.
Jeon Seoha wagged her tail from side to side, her eyes filled with anticipation.
“Y-You can come twice for me...”
“Shh.”
That was my plan from the start.
*
“Thank you!”
That afternoon, I finalized the contract, purchasing a suitable plot of land on the outskirts of Seoul.
Leaving the real estate agent, who was bowing repeatedly, I got into a taxi.
You might wonder why I bought land instead of a house, but I decided it would be much better to build a new one from scratch than to buy and renovate an existing one.
That’s why I met with a contractor as well.
For the record, he was introduced by the Seongbuk Choi family, so I didn’t have to worry about shoddy construction.
“But isn’t a thousand-pyeong plot a bit too big?” [A pyeong is a Korean unit of area, approx. 3.3 m² or 35.5 ft²]
“It’s fine. I’m planning to build a large training ground and workshop.”
Actually, the planned construction site is a thousand pyeong, but including the surrounding land, it’s about three thousand pyeong in total.
You might say I bought too much, but if I’m going to live with all my women one day, even this might not be enough.
Managing the mansion wouldn’t be a burden either; I could just hire a contractor to install some magic tools and set up a few barriers myself.
The price?
Although this was the outskirts of Seoul, the land was cheap because it was in a high-risk area for gate appearances.
Plus, I had some extra funds thanks to saving on the staff production cost from Han Seoah’s case.
‘Did he say it would take a week to complete?’
I never imagined a mansion of that size could be built in just one week.
There was definitely a reason the construction cost was higher than the market rate.
Well, it’s not like I’d be able to see it before I leave for the UK anyway.
“So, are you two really not going to the UK?”
“...I have a reservation for a fine dining experience with a famous chef next week. If I miss this chance, I’ll have to wait another six months, so it’ll be difficult for me.”
“...Sorry, I’m not great with planes...”
Looks like I’d be going to the UK alone.
Choi Hyena also seemed busy with her personal research and family matters, so she probably couldn’t come either.
‘Well... I’ll be back soon anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.’
I could just have the custom-made staff delivered by mail when it’s finished; no need to wait for it.
I’d probably be there for about three days.
“Oh...? H-Hyun-woo. Look at this...!”
“Hm? What is it?”
Jeon Seoha, who was uncharacteristically staring at her phone, urgently poked me in the side.
I’d been wondering what she was so focused on. It was a news report from a media outlet I also checked from time to time.
At first, I thought it was a celebrity dating scandal. Jeon Seoha had been hooked on a drama recently.
But it wasn’t.
“...This is.”
[Cairo's Golden Magic Tower Collapses.]
The news was far more serious than I could have ever imagined.
Cairo.
The capital of Egypt, the only remaining nation on the African continent, which had been completely devastated by the invasion of magical beasts. It was also known as Africa’s last bastion.
And it was a major city where one of the 12 Magic Towers, the Golden Magic Tower, was located.
[Breaking news. At approximately 10:30 AM local time, a large-scale terrorist attack occurred in Cairo, Egypt. The current confirmed death toll is around 50,000, with hundreds of thousands injured. Property damage has not yet been accurately calculated, but we are receiving reports that Cairo's ‘Golden Magic Tower’ has collapsed due to this attack.]
For mages, the 12 Magic Towers built by the First Tower Lord were like holy sites.
-Rumble!!!
And now, such a place was crumbling helplessly on the other side of the phone screen.
I was speechless for a moment.
The Golden Magic Tower.
Its lord was a 7th Circle mage, and it was a place where mages who had built up solid combat experience from the constant invasions of magical beasts gathered.
And a place like that collapsed because of a mere terrorist attack?
I couldn’t believe it.
[According to confirmed reports so far, the perpetrator of this attack has been identified as Van Kruger, an S-rank villain and one of the high-ranking executives of Belmoras, a group of black mages.]
The back of a man was shown on the phone screen.
His build, which looked to be two heads taller than me, was quite impressive.
“Van Kruger...”
I’d heard that name somewhere before.
Van Kruger, also known as the Mage Slayer.
He was a madman who had not only caused numerous large-scale terrorist attacks in North America, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives, but had also gone as far as to assassinate the lord of Canada’s Purple Archmage Tower.
He was one of the worst villains, wanted worldwide for a long time.
“Hyun-woo, look who’s on.”
“...Who’s that?”
On the news screen, a woman with chocolate-colored skin was giving an interview.
Perhaps it was a traditional Egyptian outfit, but her sensual figure was on full display, and I couldn’t help but be captivated.
Her face looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite remember who she was.
“The caption says ‘Sitara Devkarni’.”
“Sitara Devkarni... the lord of the Golden Magic Tower?”
Known by the epithet ‘Sand Witch’, she was a top-tier mage who, like Han Lael, had reached the 7th Circle.
[...On this occasion, I swear to the great gods of Egypt that I will decapitate the perpetrator of this attack, display his head in Tahrir Square, and appease the souls of our citizens.]
I shook my head, feeling the faint killing intent even through the screen.
S-rank villain, Mage Slayer, whatever he was called, he wouldn’t live long now that he’d earned the enmity of the Sand Witch.
She, along with Han Lael, was a monster among monsters, called a future archmage and the strongest of the 7th Circle mages.
I tore my gaze from the phone and looked out the window.
‘That aside, is it finally tomorrow?’
The day of my visit to Shin Yuna’s family, the Cheonghae Shin Clan, was just around the corner.