Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Selfish Desires (2)
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[The construction company has announced that they are currently investigating the cause of Jericho Tower's collapse due to an explosion of unknown origin. Police and fire authorities are looking into the incident based on reports of a massive roar coming from the direction of the Power Device room at the time.]
"Oh my, what on earth is that?"
Unlike Mom, who commented on the sudden massive accident in a casual tone as it flashed by, I bit my lip.
I gripped the sofa tightly for no reason, trying hard not to show my delight, and forced strength into my eyes to control my expression.
Success.
Jericho Tower had exploded, sending stock prices into a nosedive. My investment had paid off big time, raking in enormous profits.
The dopamine hit from money flooding into my account was no joke,
but honestly, I never wanted to go through it again.
Even knowing the future, the gut-wrenching anxiety until the results came in—why do people enjoy this feeling?
I had no idea what I'd do if my prediction was wrong, if this timeline veered off and the tower demolition never happened. The suspense had me on pins and needles.
Even if you know the future and have some way to fix things, it's this delayed payoff. Are the people betting their entire fortunes in uncertain situations even sane?
"Serika. Enough with the news. Time to get ready for school."
"Yeah."
Twelve people died in the Jericho Tower collapse.
143 injured.
And I made money.
When I was debating whether to invest, my conscience tugged at me from all sides, but once I pressed that button hard, my mind cleared, and I started thinking what I did was right.
Yeah, these were people I couldn't save anyway, an event I couldn't stop.
What's wrong with making money?
Someone else's misfortune is just that—misfortune. It doesn't mean I can't pursue my own happiness.
Looking out the window, it was raining. I'd need to bring an umbrella today.
"Mom. It's raining outside."
"Oh, it is. Serika, wait just a sec? Mom'll finish this up quick and drive you."
Looked like nothing special today, either.
"Ugh...! Hic...! Sniff..."
I was wrong to think nothing special would happen.
On my way home alone, I ran into a woman sobbing in a dingy alley. There she was, revealing her presence like some ominous ornament in the pouring rain.
I'm not a planner. The original Serika wasn't either, and neither am I—I'm closer to impulsive. A bit hot-tempered, selfish, and not all that smart.
"Sniff... Hic... Sniff..."
Talking to someone collapsed on the street crying on my way home wasn't wise, either. Sure, I'm a little girl with Super Strength, but this neighborhood's full of folks with powers, and I'm a rich kid to boot.
"Hey."
"Sniff... W-what?"
But the crying woman, who looked older, was probably just barely twenty. Rain was falling from the sky. Walking with my umbrella, I was predictably impulsive. The gloomy vibe and her desolate sobs—like she might kill herself if I just passed by—made me speak up.
"Sis, what are you doing here? You'll catch a cold like this."
I tilted my umbrella slightly to shield her from the rain. Up close, her clothes were a sight—drenched like she'd been dunked as punishment, sopping wet in layers, sticky to look at. And her body gave off some weird smell, maybe.
Her face was smeared makeup, bits of dried mud stuck here and there, giving off a bizarre vibe like I was talking to a water ghost instead of a person.
"...Hic... Sniff..."
"Sis, why are you crying?"
But despite all that creepiness, the reason I spoke to her was because her face rang a bell somewhere.
Seen her in the original story somewhere?
That red hair kept catching my eye.
As I asked with an innocent look, she grimaced, tears streaming clear even in the downpour as she wailed.
"Th-the tower collapsed... They say it's m-my fault... Hic... I checked the P-Power Device th-thoroughly..."
No one to confide in? How unjust must she feel? She cried like someone younger than me. Amid hiccups and hyperventilating, her words came through crystal clear.
She'd inspected the tower facilities, but blamed for the explosion originating from the power check, and fired for it.
And I knew who the protagonist of this story was.
Red hair, framed for the Power Device failure and chased out.
One of the villains from Alice in the Multicolored Garden.
Researcher Sally.
In the original, after the tower bombing, her career tanked with no one hiring her, and in despair, villains approached offering revenge and alliance.
Luckily, I showed up right when she was wallowing in gloom.
"What did I do w-wrong... I still have tuition left... Didn't even get this month's pay..."
I pondered as I watched her.
Made some money, sure, end of story? But ignoring her crying right in front of me felt off.
My dreams had been restless anyway, and now that we'd talked,
saying 'Wow, life's ruined huh? See ya' and bolting might turn her grudge against society's unfairness into revenge on me.
Ah, shoulda never spoken up from the start. But she cried so pitifully, now I'm stuck. Fleeing now would just earn resentment, and honestly, the tower bombing ruining her life does prick my conscience a bit.
"Sniff... Ugh...! Hiiing..."
I said I'd live quietly, but leaving now would ruin that for good. She's staring at me like she's memorizing my face.
Wait, thinking about it, she's the one who turns villain in the original. Saving her here would kinda help the protagonists, right?
Kids pick up stray puppies on the street and take 'em home all the time.
Right?
So, can't a 20-something college grad count as a stray too?
The villains might not even bat an eye if I scoop her up?
Stuff like that happens.
Plus, even though Sally was a fresh power researcher post-grad, the biggest reason villains targeted her was she had the most wrecked life among those involved in the Jericho Tower incident.
If I save her here, someone else might turn villain instead, or time wasted saving researchers could disrupt their plans.
I've profited from the original story, so maybe I should give back a little?
Yeah. Little girl power is invincible.
No problems from something like this.
"Sis. Get up."
"...Huh?"
Decision made. I'm taking her with me. Can't keep her at home, but Dad runs a small company, so a job's doable, and Mom's kind—she won't turn away a girl looking like a beggar.
"Get up first."
I grabbed her arm, thinking that. Sally, who just tilted her head in confusion, yelped as I yanked her forward.
"Eek!"
She stared at me, flustered and bewildered.
"Sis, let's go to my house."
Of course, no need to explain to her. I gripped her wrist firmly and started dragging Sally along. My power is Super Strength. A 20-something college girl limp from crying in the rain can't resist my strength.
"W-wait...! Y-you can't take a stranger...!"
Sally flailed like our roles were reversed, spouting nonsense to break free. But weakened from crying in the rain, she couldn't muster strength and just got dragged along, making weird noises.
"Eek! Hya! Hiiik...! W-wait...! Why are you...! Huh?"
I looked at Sally. Smeared makeup and panicked expression from the downpour. Her wide eyes held all of me. We stopped in the rain, facing each other. My hand gripping her was getting soaked too.
I told her.
"Sis, it's raining. Staying here will just make you cold, hungry, and miserable. So come to my house and rest first."
Sally didn't reply. She stared blankly at me, shocked.
Then her head drooped limply, and she started sniffling again.
"Sniff...! Hic...! Hiiing...!"
Her cries were loud, but at least she stopped resisting my hand.
Thanks to that, I could walk a bit more comfortably.
"...Our daughter. What is this? Who's this lady?"
"Picked her up."
"...Picked her up?"
"...I-I'll just go."
"No, no. Wait just a moment. Stay. Serika. What do you mean? Picked up a person?"
"She was crying alone in the rain on the street, so I picked her up. You said we have to help pitiful people, Mom."
Silence.
A long silence stretched out. Mom pressed her forehead, deep in thought, then sighed.
Sally trembled, glancing nervously at Mom.
Mom thought for a while before finally speaking.
"...Come in for now. How'd a young lady end up like this?"
As expected.
Little girl power is invincible.