The Strongest People in the World Took My House
Rai Hopeless's face was utterly exhausted the moment he stepped inside his apartment and shut the door.
He was a 23-year-old college student majoring in the Gate Department.
Even after the gates disappeared, research on their cause, structure, monster ecology, and Awakened abilities continued, and Rai was studying that very field.
But between classes and assignments, Rai had one more headache than anyone else.
Swish.
He glanced at the couch in the living room.
................
There, sprawled in utter comfort, was a woman.
Her silver hair tipped with red, dressed in a flashy maid outfit, holding a bag of potato chips in one hand.
Crunch.
She was happily munching away with zero worries on her face.
Her name was Shalla Crosshope.
Twenty years old.
One of only seven S-rank Awakened in the entire world.
Back when the gates existed, she was the undisputed top-tier professional Awakened.
She took dangerous gates for massive pay, slaughtered countless monsters, and saved countless lives.
But the instant the gates vanished, so did her job.
And Shalla had been living in Rai's house ever since.
“What should we eat for dinner tonight?”
Crunch. Crunch.
Shalla asked, still chewing.
Rai's eyebrows twitched at her shameless expression.
“Hey... I told you how many times—?”
“What?”
“My house...”
“Huh?”
“Not your house—!!”
“Got it.”
Beeep~! Bip-bip~! Bip-bip~!
“Turn that weird background music off—!!”
“Why? It was fun.”
Beep.
Shalla paused the music on her phone and grumbled.
“I’m the landlord here—!! So why are you lying on the sofa like the owner—!!”
Shalla casually grabbed another potato chip.
“Eeeee~! Guests aren’t allowed to lie on the sofa~?”
“Normally, it’s polite to sit up, right?!”
Rai let out a long-suffering sigh.
When she first arrived half a year ago, he figured she’d stay for a bit.
The gates were gone, she lost her job, and who knew where she’d go.
But one day passed.
One week.
One month.
Three months.
And suddenly half a year had gone by.
Shalla was still there.
And she wasn’t working.
She wasn’t earning money.
She wasn’t doing housework.
She spent most of her time rolling around on the sofa.
Rai’s life, on the other hand, had become even busier.
As a college student, he had classes, assignments, and research to handle.
On top of that, he worked part-time at a convenience store just to cover living expenses.
Rent, food, utilities—everything.
If it was just him, he could manage, but now there was another person eating up the resources.
And she ate a lot.
Rai stared at Shalla.
“What did you do today?”
“Anime binges.”
“Yesterday?”
“Manga marathons.”
“The day before?”
“Games~!”
............
Rai’s face darkened at her casual answers.
But Shalla didn’t care.
She just grinned cheekily.
“Why are you staring so obviously~! I’m embarrassed~!”
“You’re S-rank.”
“Yeah.”
“One of only seven in the world.”
“Mhm.”
“Why are you freeload ing in my house like this?!”
Shalla thought for a moment.
“Because I worked hard, I can slack off a bit, right?”
“That’s not logic!”
Rai shouted.
Shalla giggled.
“Aigoo...”
Rai couldn’t stay angry anymore and scratched his head.
It was truly absurd.
The S-rank Awakened everyone once called a hero...
Now eating potato chips in his house and living off him, a normal college student.
Rai flopped onto the couch beside her.
“How do I get rid of this guy...”
Humanity had definitely regained peace.
And in this peaceful era...
One of the world’s strongest Awakened, Shalla Crosshope, was freeload ing in Rai Hopeless’s house, living a carefree unemployed life.
Rai leaned back on the couch and sighed deeply.
“Haah...”
At that moment, the doorbell rang from the entrance.
Ding-dong.
Rai turned his head.
“What did you order?”
“Nothing.”
Shalla denied it casually.
“Go get it then.”
Still lying on the sofa, Shalla said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Sorry, I can’t move right now.”
“Why?”
“I’ve become one with the sofa.”
........
Rai’s eyebrows twitched.
“Stop joking around.”
“I’m already one with it. If I move, the sofa will feel lonely.”
“Fine. I’ll go.”
Swish.
Rai sighed and headed for the door.
The moment he opened it—
Surprise~!
A woman stood smiling brightly, both hands making a V shape beside her face.
Her long black hair cascaded all the way to her waist.
Even in a black suit, she looked serious at first glance, but the smile and high energy on her face erased that impression in an instant.
“Hi~! Rai~!”
Rai bowed to her, familiar with her face.
“Oh, Bat. Long time no see. How have you been?”
“I’m always great~!”
Her name was Bat.
A special agent who only went by her code name, working in the S-class Awakened Support Division of the National Awakened Management Bureau.
She assisted S-rank Awakened missions, handled their safety, and provided on-site support.
At 31 and married with twin sons, she looked far too energetic and playful to be someone raising children.
Rai opened the door wider and asked.
“You came to see that freeloader again today?”
“Exactly~!”
Bat answered with surprising energy.
“Today I’m here to take Shalla~!”
Swish.
Rai pointed at the living room with his thumb.
“Can a lazy person even leave?”
“Aigoo~! But we have to go at least once!”
Bat entered the living room with a cheerful smile.
Shalla, lying on the sofa, only slightly turned her head as Bat approached.
“Welcome, Bat.”
“Shalla. Why do you look so dead?”
“Because Rai’s been annoying me since morning.”
“Isn’t it afternoon right now?!”
Rai’s voice suddenly rose as he had been listening quietly.
“It’s six in the evening!”
Shalla closed her eyes without a care.
“If it’s morning in my heart, then it is morning.”
“Stop messing with time!”
“My heart still thinks it’s morning.”
“Then fix your heart first!!”
Bat watched their argument with a grin.
“Fufu... I could never raise my kids like that.”
..........
Shalla’s expression suddenly stiffened.
“Ouch... that hurts a little.”
“Oh, sorry~!”
She didn’t look sorry at all.
Bat sat beside Shalla and grinned slyly.
“By the way, your living expenses are tight lately, right?”
Shalla’s eyes opened slightly.
...........
“Actually, I got a mission just in time.”
Bat pointed at Shalla with her finger.
“Let’s go together!”
Shalla’s face immediately fell.
“I really don’t want to go.”
“Fufu, I knew you’d say that.”
While Bat smiled, Rai’s voice suddenly came from behind.
“Go ahead.”
It was an unusually cold tone.
Shalla slowly looked at Rai.
..........
“Come back soon.”
“Haah.”
Shalla finally sat up with a sigh.
“I guess I have no choice with the landlord.”
Rai’s face twisted.
“What did you say?!”
“W-wait! Both of you stop fighting~!”
Bat pulled Shalla’s arm, laughing.
“We have to take her today, so let’s go!”
“Wait, I’m not ready yet...”
“You can do that while walking!”
Shalla looked back at the sofa one last time.
Her eyes were full of longing, as if she were looking at a place she would never return to.
“Couch... take care.”
“Stop joking and hurry up!”
With Rai’s shout, Bat dragged Shalla out the door.
Just before the door closed, Bat waved cheerfully at Rai.
“I’ll probably be back sometime tomorrow!”
“Yes. Have a good time.”
“I’ll be back~!”
Click.
The door shut, and the house fell silent once more.
Rai stared at the empty living room and muttered.
“I hope she doesn’t come back.”
From somewhere, it felt like Shalla’s voice was echoing.
Squeak.
“I heard everything.”
Shalla opened the door and glared at Rai.
“I told you to listen.”
___.___
That night, Rai was heading to his part-time job at the convenience store as usual.
There were no customers, and quiet music played from the speakers.
Rai rested his chin on the counter and looked at his watch, a small sigh escaping.
“I’m so bored.”
At that moment, memories from half a year ago flashed through his mind.
It was raining that day too.
It was late at night, just like now, and raindrops hammered against Rai’s house without pause.
The first thing he saw when he opened the door was a woman standing there, getting soaked by the rain.
It was Shalla.
But she was nothing like the Shalla he knew now.
Her expression was completely empty.
Her silver hair, drenched and plastered to her face, and her red eyes, lifeless, looked up at him.
As if nothing in this world mattered to her anymore.
Rai asked in confusion.
“Uh... you... who are you—?!”
Shalla didn’t answer for a long time.
She just stared at him silently.
Her eyes were so hollow that Rai couldn’t even speak for a moment.
“S-rank... Shalla...?”
................