Chapter 4
Chapter 4
I finished gathering Yeo-reum’s belongings from her old home and handled everything exactly as it was, leaving all of her property under her name.
That wasn’t mine to touch. It was Yeo-reum’s. I had no right to interfere, and honestly, I had no intention of doing so. I was already satisfied with my current way of life, and I had enough money to live comfortably.
Anyway, when we returned home together, Yeo-reum spoke to me in a slightly surprised voice.
“…Mister…”
“Yeah.”
“Is… this your house?”
“Yeah, it is. Why?”
“But…”
She blinked and slowly looked around the house before glancing back up at me.
Her wide, bright eyes were oddly cute, so I lowered myself to match her gaze.
She spread her arms wide.
“It’s really big…!”
“Really big?”
“Yes…!”
The house Yeo-reum used to live in, after sorting out her belongings, was smaller than mine. Around a 30-pyeong place.
Mine was over 50 pyeong.
“Mister, are you rich…?”
Kids really were getting surprisingly sharp these days. I just didn’t expect it in this direction too.
“I won the lottery.”
“…Huh? Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
Of course, it was a lie. This house was already mine the moment I took over this body.
More accurately, it was probably prepared for “Gu Hyun-min” by the organization behind the monster Nacht.
And that money likely came from illegal sources.
I felt a bit guilty, but I had no time to care about that.
What mattered now was raising this child… Yeo-reum… safely and happily.
“Yeo-reum, you can pick any room you want. That will be your room.”
“Anywhere…?”
“Yeah. If you want, you can even use my room. I’ll move out immediately.”
Yeo-reum shook her head and walked inside, inspecting the rooms.
Then she pointed at one.
“Mister, I want this room.”
The room she pointed at was the smallest one. Practically a storage room I didn’t even use.
“Yeo-reum, you want that one?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Her answer was exactly what I feared.
“Because it’s empty.”
Her voice was calm, completely different from her earlier excitement.
It might be that she simply accepted it as normal. After all, she wasn’t my real daughter. She was just a ward. Even for a child, that kind of distance might feel natural.
That thought irritated me a little. And honestly, it made me sad.
I knelt down again to meet her eyes.
“Yeo-reum, you can use any room you want. Really.”
“But I… want this one…”
She looked hesitant, so I reached out my hand.
After a moment of confusion, she gently took it.
I led her around the house and showed her all five rooms.
“This one is the smallest room. I didn’t really know what to do with it, so I left it empty.”
“So it can be my room…”
“Let’s see the others first.”
I guided her carefully to the opposite side.
“This room over here is the storage room. It’s actually quite big. It gets a lot of sunlight, and it even has its own bathroom.”
“…It has a bathroom, so why don’t you use it?”
“…It just ended up like that.”
Probably because it got too much sunlight.
Monsters like me naturally prefer darkness.
Not that someone like Nacht is weak to sunlight, but it still feels unpleasant.
We went through the rest of the rooms together. My dressing room, my bedroom, and the study.
Yeo-reum quietly looked around every one of them.
Then she finally spoke.
“…I still want the room I chose…”
She meant the smallest one.
“Is that okay?”
“Yes… I think it’s similar in size to my old room… so it feels more comfortable.”
If she insists that much, I won’t stop her.
But I had to make one thing clear.
“If you ever want a bigger room, just tell me. Okay?”
“Yes, mister…”
She nodded slightly and stared at me.
I soon realized what that look meant.
She had a room, but no belongings in it yet.
Of course. A bare room wasn’t livable.
It needed a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, maybe an air conditioner.
Thankfully, I hadn’t disposed of the furniture from her old house.
Her bed, her pink desk, her expensive-looking wardrobe, her clothes. Those were already being moved here by movers.
They should arrive in about an hour or two.
Until then, she had nowhere to properly stay, even though she technically had a room.
“…Yeo-reum, want to watch TV for a bit?”
She nodded again and kept watching me carefully, as if waiting for permission for everything.
I led her to the sofa and helped her sit down.
“You can watch anything you want.”
“…Anything? Really?”
I nodded.
She hesitated, then carefully picked up the remote and opened a streaming service.
Then she started watching an anime.
And that anime was—
“Magical Girl Prettya, appear—!”
…Of course. A magical girl show.
So she liked magical girls even as a kid. It must’ve been deep in her bones.
I had just told her she could watch anything, so I couldn’t exactly say, “Don’t watch magical girl anime.”
So I quietly stood up and pretended to go do something in the kitchen while watching her.
Just moments ago, she had looked so uncomfortable. But now, she was completely absorbed in the magical girl anime, melting into the house.
Her mouth slightly open in awe was honestly too cute.
Too cute, seriously.
…Do I need to study magical girl anime just to get closer to her?
That might actually work. Sharing hobbies is one of the easiest ways to bond.
I walked over and asked casually.
“Yeo-reum, what’s this anime called?”
She jumped slightly and looked away, clearly unsure whether she was allowed to answer.
To reassure her, I softened my voice as much as I could.
“You were enjoying it, right? I’m just curious.”
Silence lingered.
The only sound filling it was the anime playing on the TV.
Maybe I made her uncomfortable.
I stood up, about to step away—
“Ma… magical girl… Prettya…”
Her voice was so soft I almost missed it.
I knelt back down and met her eyes again.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear that. Can you say it again?”
“Magical Girl… Prettya…”
She answered shyly.
I smiled at her.
Why was she embarrassed? Was she too young to admit she liked magical girls? Or was she shy because she was talking to an adult?
Either way, I hoped she wouldn’t feel embarrassed.
Because I had already decided.
I would use this life… this life as a monster… for her.
I gently ruffled her hair and stood up again, preparing the empty room that would become hers.
Normally, I would’ve used my tentacles to clean, but not anymore.
Not with Yeo-reum here.
What kind of guardian would I be if I scared her like that?
And if she ever became a magical girl, she would never forgive a monster like me.
In Magical Girl Estia, Yeo-reum could become vulgar or extremely pure depending on the route, but in all endings except the corruption route, she was always upright and kind.
Maybe that purity, that unbreakable will even in hardship, was why I liked Seo Yeo-reum in the first place.
Anyway, for today, I would clean her room… arrange her furniture… and then—
I’d have to cook dinner before heading to work.