An Angel on the Lobby Floor
On the morning of the tenth day since My House Tower was transported to Earth!
"Sigh..."
Tricia let out a deep sigh, her face clouded with irritation.
The reason was actually quite simple.
Just yesterday, she had been about to hold a meeting on how to bring Earth food into the tower...
But due to the government's interference, the meeting had fizzled out completely!
However, trying to push for the meeting again right now felt a bit too risky.
With the government issue still unresolved, trying to handle both at the same time was premature.
And so, unable to do this or that, Tricia was left sighing in frustration.
By the way, although she was technically a "genderless" being, her appearance was so close to female that calling her "she" didn't pose much of a problem.
In fact, Lilithis had once conducted a precise evaluation on this very matter—
Wait, let's take a quick trip down memory lane to see what happened.
A long time ago, back in Eriel when tiger beastmen still smoked tobacco using mana...
Tricia was having a "conversation" with Lilithis.
"Hehehe... ♡"
"...Ugh..."
Lilithis looked at Tricia, seductively licking her lips...!
Tricia sat there, stiff and tense...!
Lilithis was sitting right across from her.
...With a psychological evaluation sheet spread out between them.
"Why are you so tense? It's just a simple psychological test."
"I just never expected to get a psychological evaluation here of all places..."
"Succubi are specialized in reading minds. And I pride myself on being the best counselor among them, you know?"
The counseling session proceeded with Lilithis asking questions and Tricia answering them.
The topic of the counseling was none other than this:
[Should the genderless Tricia be treated as male or female?]
After endless questions and a significant amount of time had passed.
Having finally grasped Tricia's psychological state, Lilithis shared the results.
"It's better than I thought. Emotionally, there aren't any real issues."
"Right?"
"And your mental gender did show up..."
"Oh? What about it?"
"Surprisingly, the results show that you are about 80% mentally female."
"Huh...?"
"For instance, you have strong maternal instincts, you try to soothe people's emotions first when they're in trouble, and when it comes to positions, you prefer defense over offense..."
"Wait. That last one sounds a bit weird."
"Your combat style is quite defensive, isn't it? Is there a problem?"
"...N-no, nothing. I guess I just misunderstood."
After this incident, the tower residents began treating Tricia as a female without much confusion.
In the process, they naturally started dressing her up in all sorts of cute, female-only outfits...
Which eventually led to the creation of a forbidden book called [Tricia's Sexy Photo Album]!!!
And here is a super-exclusive secret just for you!!!
The location where that legendary photo album is hidden is none other than—!!!
"Stop it, you idiot!"
CLANG!!!!
Returning to the present, Tricia was still lost in thought, sighing.
‘Sigh... There are so many climbers right in front of me, but not a single one of them is trustworthy...’
Tricia was sitting directly on the red carpet.
Her wings drooped, brushing against the floor, and her cheeks were puffed out in a slight pout.
The tower maids watched Tricia's sudden, erratic behavior with puzzled eyes.
And the climbers whispering around her...
...Wait, "climbers"?
Honestly, by this point, anyone would have realized something was off.
The place she was currently sitting was none other than—the lobby of the 1st floor of My House Tower!
That's right!!
This attention-seeking angel had been sitting on the 1st-floor lobby floor since morning!!!
Naturally, Tricia's descent to the 1st floor was absolute chaos for the climbers!
"Is... isn't that the [Tower Administrator]?"
"She looks exactly like the one in the video..."
"Shh! Quiet, everyone! I don't know why, but she looks like she's in a really bad mood!"
There was a reason the climbers recognized her immediately.
Crow had briefly mentioned her appearance before, and Tricia also frequently appeared in the promotional videos constantly playing on the walls of the 1st-floor lobby.
Thus, for the climbers who frequently visited My House Tower, the appearance of the [Tower Administrator] had become common knowledge!
Of course, this excluded climbers like Kang Geun-yook, who only listened to what they wanted to hear and ignored everything else.
Even for the tower maids, this situation was a bit puzzling.
"Why is Lady Tricia acting like that...?"
"Don't worry! I'm sure she has a plan!"
However, to the maids, Tricia was the greatest god in the world and an object of absolute faith. Thus, they did not act rashly and calmly observed the situation.
In any case, seeing a transcendent being they had only ever seen in videos suddenly appear on the 1st floor threw the climbers into a state of panic.
"Whoa... I want to take a picture, but my phone won't turn on inside the tower..."
"More importantly, why did she show up...?"
Since the actual [Tower Administrator] had appeared, the climbers couldn't bring themselves to close the distance.
Some even fled outside the tower.
The faces of the remaining climbers were a mix of bewilderment, awe, and an inexplicable dread.
Tricia gazed at the climbers with an indifferent look.
Right now, she was—peering into the "souls" of the climbers.
With her unique ability, she could read their general alignment, personality, and values just by looking at the color of their souls.
Tricia had intended to strike up a conversation if she spotted someone with a "pure soul," but...
‘This one is a murky gray, that one is a dark brown... I don't see anyone with a pure soul like Crow.’
There wasn't a single person who met Tricia's standard of a "pure soul."
Still, having come all the way down to the 1st floor, she felt it would be a waste to return empty-handed, so she decided to wait a little longer.
【Outside the Tower / Downtown Seoul】
Tricia's appearance triggered chaos outside the tower as well.
A moment ago, a climber who had rushed out of the tower yelled at the top of his lungs for everyone to hear:
"The [Tower Administrator] is sitting in the 1st-floor lobby!!!"
Everyone's eyes snapped to him, and a government security agent asked him to clarify.
"...What did you say? The [Tower Administrator] personally appeared on the 1st floor?!"
The voice of security agent Kim Ha-cheong rose about two octaves higher than usual.
At first, he naturally thought it was nonsense.
But the climbers who followed out of the tower began giving the exact same testimony...
Eventually, unable to take it anymore, a government-affiliated climber went inside to check for himself. The moment he returned, he shouted:
"It's true! The real [Tower Administrator] is sitting right in the middle of the lobby! On the floor, no less!!"
Hearing this, Kim Ha-cheong clutched his head.
"Why does this kind of crazy event have to happen on my shift?!"
Just ten days ago, My House Tower was merely a "newly emerged tower."
But things had escalated rapidly.
The entire world had been thrown into an uproar because of the legendary-grade recovery item sold inside the tower—the [Holy Water of the Archangel].
And the absolute entity at the center of it all was the [Tower Administrator].
The government had been acting with extreme caution.
They had not made direct contact with the Administrator even once, and they were meticulously coordinating their approach and negotiating team to ensure not a single mistake was made.
Then, just yesterday, all the Holy Water sold in the 12th-floor market suddenly vanished.
The government climbers, who had been monitoring the situation, quickly inquired, but the only response they received was a brief message:
It will be back on sale soon, so do not worry.
That message... only made them more anxious.
And today, the final blow landed!
The [Tower Administrator] had actually "descended" to the 1st floor!
Kim Ha-cheong immediately reported the situation, and the government's response was far faster than expected.
What if the withdrawal of the Holy Water yesterday was a preparatory measure for this very meeting?
It felt like a silent pressure, as if the tower was warning the government that it wouldn't even give them time to play tricks.
It might have been wild speculation, but strangely, they felt that if they didn't seize this moment, they would lose the chance forever.
The government's decision was swift.
Less than ten minutes after Kim Ha-cheong reported the situation, the government issued an emergency directive.
◈ Attempt immediate contact with the [Tower Administrator].
◈ Convey the government's intent to negotiate exclusive purchase rights for the Holy Water and propose a meeting schedule.
◈ Deliver this message without fail and report the results immediately.
The moment Kim Ha-cheong received the order, he froze.
"...Are they insane? Why are they telling me to deliver this...?"
A crushing weight of responsibility pressed down on his shoulders.
If this failed, his career—and potentially his life—was over.
But at the same time, if they missed this opportunity, the government might never get another chance to contact the [Tower Administrator].
In the end, he had only one choice.
"Let's head in. If we hesitate and miss her, we're done for."
His colleague, security agent Lee Won-cheong, urged him to move quickly.
Lee Won-cheong had received the exact same order.
"Why... why does it have to be us..."
"Because we're climbers. We're the only security agents who can access the 1st floor right now."
"...Still... our opponent is the [Tower Administrator]...!"
"We'll find out once we get there."
Saddled with a responsibility heavier than anyone else's, the two security agents quickly entered the tower.
Meanwhile, Tricia, the root cause of this entire commotion, was...
"...What are you doing?"
"People-watching."
"Ooh, let me join."
...sitting on the lobby floor with Leukki, casually watching the crowd.