Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Strawberry Cake
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"Want to have some cake with me?"
Se-hwa walked into the room just then and spoke up.
She looked utterly exhausted, her dark circles even heavier than usual.
If I keep treating her to food and racking up good deeds, maybe I can snag a level 5 keycard?
Time to put in some real effort for that level 5 keycard.
"Cake? Where'd that come from? It hasn't been on the institute's menu lately."
Se-hwa naturally pulled out a chair and sat at the table.
It was a fancy new white round table they'd installed not long ago.
"Hehe. There's always a way. I've got all sorts of drinks from last time too. Pretty much everything—coffee, black tea, you name it."
"From last time? Where'd you get them?"
Se-hwa gave me a puzzled look.
"That guy in the black clothes, Park Cheol-woong? He bought them for me."
"Park Cheol-woong? That's the Reacquisition Mobile Team Leader's name. He bought drinks for you, Princess?"
Se-hwa looked utterly baffled, like she couldn't picture the Team Leader buying me anything.
"It wasn't just drinks. He got me other snacks too."
"Huh? Other food too?"
Se-hwa's confusion deepened.
Looks like she'd only believe it if I showed her.
I walked to the bed and pulled out a box of food from underneath.
"Wh-what's all this?"
Se-hwa gasped at the box overflowing with cookies and crackers.
I kept going, pulling out more boxes.
There were too many to show everything, so I just grabbed three for a taste.
"The Team Leader bought all this for you?"
"Yep."
I straightened my shoulders proudly and answered.
Se-hwa eyed me with a suspicious expression.
"...Did you threaten him or something?"
"What do you take me for? He offered first. I couldn't turn down his kindness, so I just accepted."
Se-hwa hesitantly rummaged through the box, inspecting the food like she couldn't believe it.
She let out a small sigh soon after.
"Guess there's something I don't know about. It's good that you're getting along with folks from the other institute, so whatever."
Se-hwa grabbed a canned coffee from the box and returned to her seat at the table.
"I'll have coffee. That's okay, right?"
"Sure. I'll go with milk tea."
I pulled a pale beige can of milk tea from the box.
I sat down across from her.
"By the way, where's the cake? I didn't see any in the boxes."
"I'm about to make it."
"Huh? Make it now?"
Se-hwa stared at me with wide eyes.
Was making a cake such a shocking thing?
Well, I'd never shown her me cooking before, so I guess it was surprising.
"Yeah. Food tastes best right after you make it. So, I'm making it now."
"But there's no kitchen here. No oven, not even a microwave."
"Do I need an oven or microwave?"
"Huh?"
Se-hwa tilted her head in confusion.
She cautiously spoke up.
"...Can I ask what the ingredients for the cake are?"
"An anomaly."
"Ahh... yeah. I see. That makes sense."
Only after hearing my answer did Se-hwa nod like she finally got it.
She glanced around subtly, searching for something.
"Anyway, there aren't any anomalies here. How are you gonna make the cake?"
Se-hwa asked when she couldn't spot any in the room.
She was right—there weren't any anomalies in the room right now.
"Brweeeeh."
Now there was.
"Right here."
"Ah, haha. So this is the one I've only heard about."
Se-hwa stared at the anomaly I'd vomited up, full of curiosity.
It was cake ingredient I'd saved for a special occasion.
Since I'd preserved it so carefully, it was as fresh as when I'd gotten it.
"I'll make the cake with this."
"I-I'm curious what a cake made by you, Princess, would taste like. What flavor is it? From that red, round ingredient?"
"Like strawberries."
"Strawberry flavor, huh..."
I ignored Se-hwa's dazed expression and started making the strawberry cake.
Squelch, squelch.
"I-I'm allergic to strawberries, you see. I don't think I can eat that cake."
"This isn't actual strawberry. It just tastes like it."
"...I've got strawberry flavor allergy. Can't eat anything that tastes like strawberry."
"That's a thing?"
"Yeah. It is."
Se-hwa nodded firmly.
Was there really such an allergy?
I wasn't sure, but if she said so, I couldn't force her.
Next time, I'd make a different cake and do some good deeds.
My journey to get that level 5 keycard had only just begun.
A little later, the delicious cake was ready.
I took a big bite.
The sweet strawberry scent filled my mouth.
"Too bad you can't have something this tasty."
"Y-yeah. I wanted to, but oh well."
I gave Se-hwa a biscuit since she couldn't have cake.
Milk tea and cake for me, coffee and biscuits for her.
We enjoyed a pleasant tea time together.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ On the way home from work.
I reflected on the day while driving.
The morning experiment with Type 0 personnel had left me feeling down for a bit.
Thankfully, tea time with the Princess in the afternoon lifted my spirits.
'Dodged a bullet not eating that strawberry cake.'
The anomaly the Princess vomited up was red like a strawberry, sure.
But no way did it taste like one—no matter how you sliced it.
'Does it really taste good?'
The Princess had taken a huge bite, smiling happily as she savored it.
How long had it been since I'd seen a pure, genuine smile like that?
Including me, everyone at the institute smiled with this weird stiffness.
Might just be my imagination, but I don't think any of us had ever laughed freely.
So the Princess's smile was more than enough to melt away the day's fatigue.
Even if I was on edge about that strawberry cake.
'Phew. Finally home.'
The drive home felt longer than usual today.
I got out of the car and headed down the alley to my place.
Someone stood under the dim streetlight.
Head bowed low—no face visible.
Wearing a white top and white bottoms, they looked like a ghost.
'What the? Do they think they're some kind of anomaly?'
Probably one of those pranks where people dress like anomalies to scare folks. It's been trending lately.
Even though it's technically a crime, people keep pulling these stupid stunts.
Might scare regular people.
But after dealing with countless anomalies at the institute, I could tell.
That's not an anomaly. It's a person.
'Gotta pass that way to get home.'
Person or not, could be some criminal.
I hugged the opposite wall and walked as fast as I could.
I hurried past the white-clad figure.
They didn't budge until I was on the other side.
I rushed into my house.
Only once inside did I relax.
'Phew. Weirdos everywhere.'
I showered and changed into pajamas.
Had a quick dinner, then killed time on my phone.
I lay down to sleep.
Suddenly, a chilling premonition hit me.
'No way... right?'
No idea why I felt that.
A sharp instinct flashed through my mind.
I got up and went to the window.
This place is on the fourth floor.
Looking down from the window, I could see the alley I'd come through.
The alley where the white-clad man had been standing.
I peeked through the curtain.
'Ah.'
Under the faint streetlight.
The white-clad figure stood there.
Too dim to see the face.
The guy had his head raised, staring right at me.
I jerked back and slammed the curtain shut.
Whoosh.
The sharp sound echoed in the quiet room.
'What the hell? Why's he still here? How'd he know where I live?'
My head was a mess.
I took deep breaths to calm down.
Thinking rationally, he hadn't spotted me.
He was just looking up—nothing confirmed he saw me.
'How long was he standing there?'
It'd been over three hours since I got home.
The guy had been rooted in place for at least that long.
'Should I call the cops?'
Not a criminal, but standing still for hours in the dead of night? Super suspicious.
I slowly approached the window.
If he was still there when I looked, I'd call the police.
I lifted the curtain just a bit.
'Gone.'
The guy had vanished.
"Phew..."
I let out a deep breath and settled my nerves.
Tomorrow's got that analysis experiment on the Equivalent Exchange Machine's output.
For a smooth day, I needed to calm down and get to sleep early.