14. Moving In
14. Moving In
14. Moving In
A chaotic few days passed.
Ever since I left my father's old house, I had to move out of the studio apartment that had always been my home and into the mansion.
Since I wasn't in a financial rush, I decided not to sell the studio apartment. I thought that maybe, if I ever went broke or got tired of life in the mansion, I might need a place to return to for some reason.
I told the twins' family that I'd be away for a while for work, so the house would be empty.
The warm-hearted twins' omma packed me all sorts of side dishes.
The effect of the Cooking card I'd obtained a while ago was incredible.
I never knew I could feel so overwhelmed by kimchi stew I cooked myself.
I must have felt happiness back then.
However, it seems the System doesn't react to one's own happiness.
Even with such cooking skills, I felt grateful for the food the twins' omma packed for me.
With the twins' omma's permission, I gifted a cosmetics set to Si-u and the bicycle I used to ride to Si-yoon.
And perhaps because the twins felt happy, I acquired a bit of Emotion.
I told my convenience store and delivery part-time jobs that I was quitting.
I must have worked diligently in my own way, as I felt proud seeing people express their regret.
Packing up my studio apartment, I realized I had more stuff than I thought.
Now that I'm rich, there are many things I don't need, yet I still feel a sense of attachment.
I unpacked again.
Thinking I might return someday, I only packed the essentials and decided to indulge in some luxury by shopping for new things at the mansion.
And finally, about 5.7 billion won was deposited into my bank account, and the transfer of the mansion's real estate title was completed.
The last day at the studio apartment.
Thinking I should convert some of my bank account's solid balance into happiness, I stopped by the orphanage where I used to volunteer.
Along with 20 pizzas for the 40 or so children.
-You have acquired Emotion.-
-Three units of Emotion acquired; issuing cards.-
-Please select one of the 3 cards-
-Unselected cards may reappear at the next acquisition opportunity-
-Think of 'Issue' and 'Select' to begin-
-You can currently select three cards.-
Since there were 40 of them, I guess a massive amount of Emotion is acquired.
I acquired enough for 3 cards in one go.
Plus, they were pure children starved for love, so the effect was tremendous.
If I treat them to pizza again next time, the efficiency of happiness gained from repeated actions will drop, but I'll still be able to acquire a large amount of Emotion once or twice.
And there are plenty of such facilities in our country.
I told them that while I wouldn't be able to come for regular volunteer work, I would visit irregularly.
The orphanage director, while sad to see me go, held my hand tightly and told me I had worked hard all this time.
I returned home and checked the acquired Emotion.
-Status-
[Owned Cards: 4]
[Current Emotion: 398/100]
[Cumulative Emotion: 698]
[You can now acquire C-Rank cards if you upgrade.]
[After upgrading, the unit of Emotion required for card acquisition will double.]
As expected, the System is getting harder to acquire things from.
Or maybe it'll get easier since I've collected some D-Rank cards?
I'm conflicted.
Even if I upgrade, it's not like only C-Rank cards will appear.
It just means the probability of acquiring a C-Rank card has been created, not that it's guaranteed.
In that case, a situation could arise where I pay 200 points to get just 1 D-Rank card.
If I only look at efficiency, it's better to upgrade after acquiring all D-Rank cards.
However, I'm curious about the C-Rank cards.
What kind of abilities would a card one rank higher have?
Would it be better to get my hands on a C-Rank quickly?
After much deliberation, I decided to postpone the upgrade.
Right now, I can acquire 3 cards, but after upgrading, it's only 1.
I didn't think a C-Rank card would be worth 3 D-Rank cards.
And I acquired the 3 cards.
In the first selection, Agility, Stamina, and Hearing appeared.
It was the Stamina card I had been hoping for, so I chose it immediately.
[No 45. Stamina - D]
[A life without fatigue. You need stamina even to enjoy happiness.]
[Basic physical strength increases to a high level. Afterward, the efficiency of stamina increase through training rises.]
In the second selection, Agility, Eyesight, and Drawing appeared.
They were all cards that had appeared before.
I guess the D-Rank cards are slowly gathering.
I finally choose Agility, which has had perfect attendance for 3 consecutive times.
Every time I acquire a physical enhancement card, I feel like my body is overflowing with power, but the feeling was slightly different for each card.
The last one was Hearing, Eyesight, and Architecture.
Since I keep not choosing those Eyesight and Hearing cards, they now always appear in the selection options at least once.
But as expected, I pass this time too. I choose Architecture for the remodeling of my new house.
[No 42. Architecture - D]
[Have you secured clothing and food? Next is the house.]
[Acquire top-tier architectural skills.]
Now I have become a master of cooking and architecture, with a body possessing Disease Immunity, athlete-level strength and stamina, and agility.
The last night at the studio apartment.
I called Mother.
-Yes. Mother. The inheritance process is all finished. I also took care of all those weird Japanese items.-
-How do you feel?-
-Honestly, it's complicated. It's nice that a large sum of money suddenly came in, but it feels like the life I've lived for twenty-something years has suddenly become meaningless.-
-You don't talk about being sad or missing it.-
As expected of Mother. She pierces my heart precisely.
-Yes. It's a bit of a shame, but on the other hand, I even think it's for the best.-
In the mansion, I could see many sides of Father.
The affection that remained for me, and the disgusting ugliness beyond that.
The intense Japanese otaku side that now seems almost cute.
Complex emotions that cannot be defined in a single word.
-How are you going to live now?-
A question that pierces my heart once again.
I really haven't thought about it.
A life I couldn't even attempt because I was always exhausted from living.
What should I do now?
Should I go back to college?
Does a diploma mean anything at this point?
Should I get a job? I've done enough work to be sick of it.
Should I start a business? Do I know anything?
-I'll rest for a bit and think about it.-
-If you rest for too long, you'll become a useless person.-
Mother, who sometimes shows this side of a normal mom.
Every word she says is true.
-Yes.-
-Did you meet the lawyer well?-
-Yes. They were a good person. They took good care of this and that.-
-Don't get swayed just because they're pretty.-
-They really were pretty, though?-
-If you want to meet a pretty and smart woman, you have to become a person worthy of that.-
I know.
A man who met a wretched end while looking at a woman beyond his capabilities.
And that even the death of such a man doesn't give the woman any feeling at all.
-Then I'll contact you later.-
-I'm busy these days, so only contact me when you really need to.-
Mother, who is strangely cold yet affectionate.
I'll probably contact her around my birthday.
I can't sleep.
The Card System, or Father's inheritance.
Whether I changed because of the Fate card, or whether I obtained the Fate card because of the fate that was going to change.
A surreal Card System that transcends human understanding.
An organization that transcends my common sense.
It's full of unknowns.
Even if I put aside the Card System since it's incomprehensible anyway, what really makes me anxious is the Organization.
An organization without a name, just called by a common noun.
A group of evil that gathers powerful people, possesses unimaginable influence, and even engages in slave trading.
Father's sudden death without any warning.
I, who don't even know the reason, have one foot in the Organization, and a dangerous-looking beauty has approached me.
The situations, which are too close to clichés, are gathering, making me anxious.
Was Father's death really an accident?
Is the reason I kept the studio apartment perhaps because of the thought that I might need to run away someday?
Even if I can't sleep, the last night at the studio apartment flows by.
I finally arrived at the mansion.
Even though I'm coming to my own house, my heart is pounding.
In the end, the luggage I brought was just one backpack's worth.
I only packed enough for a 3-night, 4-day trip.
An employee dispatched from a security company is waiting in front of the door.
After explaining how to input my iris, fingerprint, and password, they call the security company.
They say that to register an iris or fingerprint, it must be authenticated by the headquarters.
Once registration is complete, they explain the security system inside the mansion.
They said that if I press the security button in the master bedroom, or if there's an attempted intrusion by an outsider, they will arrive within 5 minutes.
After finishing the explanation, they hand me a business card and 5 key cards, then disappear.
Like the security staff I've seen in movies, they disappear after doing only what is necessary, without any personal talk and with precision.
They were also employees of a company run by a member of the Organization.
I have to pay about 3 million won a month for security maintenance costs.
It's an expensive amount, but it was a grateful deal in that they knew the mansion's circumstances and took on the security.
Even though other management companies cut off contact after Father's passing, the security company renewed the contract with me.
I can manage other things, but security for this large mansion is impossible without professional personnel.
The garden I visited again after a week.
It looks spacious because the statues and various bonsai stones are not visible.
It is neatly and cleanly organized without any signs of being dug up.
Looking at the stylish garden, I let out a sigh.
How am I supposed to manage this in the future?
Whether in a good or bad sense, the mansion is not something to show others.
Especially the annex and the women there.
I have to hire only people I can truly trust, but I have no connections or information.
Father managed by getting employees introduced by the Organization, but right now, my Organization currency, Hwan, is actually minus 100 Hwan.
If there were no slaves, I would have immediately used a normal manpower agency, but that's impossible now.
The lawyer's words that managing slaves wouldn't be easy started to feel real.
Among the things discussed in the call with Mother yesterday, what I'm going to do in the future has been decided.
For a while, I have to focus on managing the house.
Inside the main building, the collection room is also neatly organized.
Opening the huge refrigerator, it's full of uncooked ingredients inside.
I think he must have hired a chef.
I put the side dishes the twins' omma packed for me from my backpack into the refrigerator.
The rice cooker is a pressure cooker, not an electric one.
It might be fortunate that it's not a cauldron.
There's no need to worry.
Since I'm already a master at cooking.