Chapter 54
“Then you haven't gone home yet?”
“Yeah. Not the playground... I just wanted to see what the outside looks like.”
“Where's your mom?”
“Uh, mom..?”
Of course, legally Ophelia is my mom right now, but would it be okay to introduce Ophelia, in a maid outfit, as my mom..?”
Jiyun and her friends, who got help with their homework from Ddaengdaengi, gave me some food as thanks. But I don't really know what this is... It says freeze-dried Earth jelly, but what on earth is it. What kind of world is this turning into.
“I think she'd be over there... I'm not sure.”
“Well, whatever. I'll come by and say hello later.”
“Y-you're coming to say hi?”
“Why, should I not?”
“Ah... no. Come say hi.”
Jiyun was very friendly, unlike our first meeting when she ignored me. I guess you'd call it good social skills—she was the kind of kid whose first meeting never felt awkward, so I felt comfortable talking to her. As we talked, I felt like I understood why Jiyun was the leader of the group here.
“I live in Building 303.”
“I live in Building 308, and Eve is in Building 307, right?”
“Is there anyone in Building 307?”
“You'd be the first one, Eve.”
“Really? I see....”
Honestly, I was relieved that there wasn't anyone living in the same building. It's not like I'd really run into them anyway.
“I think I should head back now. My mom's probably waiting.”
“Oh, really? Got it. Bye! See you later!”
“Later...? Ah, okay.”
I don't really go out much anyway. And even if I do, why would I bother meeting elementary school kids?
I said my goodbyes to the little kids and left the playground. Honestly, one ride down the slide was enough. Come to think of it, it wasn't even that fun? Guess I'm an adult, so playgrounds for kids just aren't that fun.
“Mwahah, as expected.”
“Princess, did something good happen?”
“Ah, Ophelia!”
After getting all sorts of explanations from that older guide guy we saw earlier, it seemed she had been waiting for me to come back. I should've returned sooner, I guess? Somehow I feel bad.
“Hehe, no. Shall we go up now?”
“Yes, let's.”
ㅡbeep!
After telling me the shared front-door code, Ophelia and I went inside together.
“Wow..!”
Truth be told, elevators weren't something I got to experience often in my life. For one thing, my house was only a five-story building, so it wasn't really the kind of place that needed an elevator. Of course, it would be nice to have one, but there was no way a run-down villa in a hillside neighborhood would have one.
And my job was just at a convenience store, so I didn't exactly visit high-rise buildings often enough to need an elevator. I do use one now and then when I stop by the community welfare center, but other than that, almost never.
“23rd floor...? What if the building collapses..?”
“That won't happen.”
“I guess so....”
But isn't living in a high-rise a little scary? What if you suddenly woke up and the wind was blowing too hard? Or, like... a little earthquake? Tall buildings seem vulnerable to that. Honestly, if the villa I used to live in had collapsed, I'd have been confident I could walk out of the rubble.
But with a high-rise, the fall damage alone doesn't make sense. You'd start off with fatal fall damage right away, and then there'd still be several more floors above you. I guess you'd just have to pray the building doesn't collapse.
“This way.”
“This is our house..!”
And so, after waiting out the long, long elevator ride, we arrived at what would become our new home from now on. H City Apartments, Building 307, Unit 2302. I should remember the address well so I don't forget it; I'll have to look up the road-name address on my phone later.
“Princess, once we're home, let's have you take a bath first.”
“Mm... okay.”
When I told them to wash every day, it was kind of annoying, but now that I didn't wash in the morning, it felt uncomfortable.
ㅡbeep-beep
The sight that greeted us after punching in the passcode and going inside was....
“There's another door..?!”
“It's an inner door.”
“R-right, I guess...”
I was just joking a little. It keeps out the cold, keeps out dust, and all that. In any case, it's an entryway made to separate the front door from the inside of the house.
Even this entryway alone was about one-sixth the size of the studio I used to live in. There was even a huge mirror on the wall and a built-in shoe cabinet already there.
“Woooow..!”
After taking off my shoes and going inside, there was an absurdly long hallway and a spacious living room. The stylish kitchen had all the standard fixtures, including an island table, and even things that weren't exactly standard, too.
“This...”
“It's a microwave-oven combo.”
“Would we ever even need an oven at home..?”
“If you can use an oven, you broaden your cooking options, and it can also be used for baking.”
“Ohh.”
Anyway, it's nice to have one. It's not like they charge extra if I use it, right? The living room was also ridiculously huge, and there were three bedrooms. Then there's my room and Ophelia's room... should I give one to Minyumi?
“Oh right, Minyumi and Suri.”
The house was so big I'd forgotten. No wonder it felt empty; sure, there was no furniture, but... the golems weren't here.
“Minyumi, Suri! Over here!”
ㅡflash!
Minyumi and Suri, responding to the summoning skill, were summoned to the middle of the spacious living room. Minyumi, startled and looking around, nodded as if it understood the moment it saw me, while Suri calmly surveyed the inside of the house to figure out the layout.
“Hehe, what do you think, you guys! It's a new house! Do you like it?!”
ㅡclick!
ㅡsqueak..
“Right, right! It's the Princess's house!”
I did feel a little guilty after saying that, but it wasn't really that weird, was it?
“Ophelia, is that my room?”
“Yes, that's right. Your desktop should already be set up. The internet is installed too, of course.”
“Oh yeah.”
The innermost, largest room was my room. The room's actual floor space was almost the same as the studio I used to live in. The computer was already set up too, but the mattress I'd used for so long that it was awkward to bring to the new place was gone now.
“W-What is this bed..?!“
“It's the bed you'll sleep in, Princess.”
“Huuuh...”
But there was a ridiculously huge bed inside the room. There was even a separate mirror and what looked like a vanity beside it, and a new desk with a desktop already set up, too...
I could seriously get lost on this bed. I say princess this, princess that, but this is the real deal....
“I-Isn't this too big..?”
“Since you move around a lot in your sleep, I debated between putting up bed rails and using a wide bed. Would the former have been better?”
“Hm...”
A bed rail? That's totally for little kids... no, for toddlers. But did I really move around that much in my sleep? Sure, in the studio I'd sometimes wake up with just a pillow and find myself in the kitchen, but lately I hadn't been doing that, so I thought I'd outgrown it.
“I was the one who moved you.”
“Ah.”
I see. So it wasn't fixed; Ophelia had been moving me over....
“W-well, if that's how it is... okay. A big bed is nice too!”
The bed's height, if you could even call it that, was incredibly tall. When I stood next to it, it came up to just above my chest, so maybe it was about a meter high.
ㅡbeep!
“Mwahah, Ddaengdaeng! Feeling good?!”
ㅡbeep-beep-beep!!!
So happy that Ddaengdaeng even showed off a three-syllable bark it normally never used. But soon enough, Ophelia led both of us out by the hand.
“Princess and Ddaengdaeng both came back from outside, so first things first: bath time.”
“Ugh... such a pain...”
Now that it was time to actually do it, the bath dilemma was getting annoying again. Still, well... it's a new bathroom, so it'll probably feel different!
“But where's the bathroom?”
“There are two. The bathroom in the master bedroom doesn't have a tub, only a shower stall, so unfortunately, please use the other bathroom when you take your morning bath.”
“Ehh.”
Why does one house need two bathrooms? I really can't understand that.
“This is the walk-in closet. It's where we'll put the Princess's clothes.”
“Gasp!! Even a place like this exists!”
There were a lot of other interesting things too. Next to the kitchen there was a place for the washing machine and such, and beside that there was yet another door.
“Is this... an emergency evacuation space..?”
“It's a place you can evacuate to in an emergency.”
“So the building really could collapse after all..!”
“No.”
* * * * *
“Ahh, nice.”
“How was the new bathroom?”
“Hmm... expensive houses really are different.”
Unlike the shower in the old house, where the water always felt like it was trickling out in drips, here the pressure was so strong that if I turned it up high it stung my skin.
And the bathtub was much bigger than the one in the previous house. I still don't know why a tub was even squeezed into a house that small in the first place.
“Do you have anything else to do now, Ophelia?”
“No, a lot of time has gone by today because of the move. I haven't prepared any other plans.”
“Really? Then is it okay if I play now?”
“Yes, today is for resting.”
“Yay!”
I wanted to lie down in bed and rest right away. I was completely wiped out, you know?
“You must dry your hair completely before lying down in bed. This way.”
“Oh, right.”
Thanks to Ophelia's blow-drying skills, drying my hair wasn't hard at all. They say that when your hair is long, drying it is the hardest part, but I actually kind of like this part.
Maybe because of the warm air, it feels a little cozy and sleepy.
ㅡwhirr
“Hmm...”
“What are you thinking about?”
“I was thinking about what would happen if Minyumi dried my hair with a jet engine.”
“You would get severe burns.”
“I-I guess so...”
Well, I was just imagining it. They're both basically blowing out the same kind of warmth...
[LifeAintRuined : Why is my house so nice
Am I really the best]
-ㅇㅇ : Moved, huh
ㄴ LifeAintRuined : Ended up in a rich house
ㄴ LifeAintRuined : Housewarming possible?
ㄴ LifeAintRuined : I'll invite you later, for real.
ㄴ LifeAintRuined : What about me?
ㄴ LifeAintRuined : Who the hell are youㅡㅡ
ㄴ LifeAintRuined : (for real thoughhh)
ㄴ Gyahong : Princess, please give me your addressㅠㅠ I'll give you my liver and gallbladder and everythingㅠㅠ
ㄴ LifeAintRuined : Seriously not needed;;
ㄴ Gyahong : @LifeAintRuined : You can sell them for moneyㅠ
ㄴ LifeAintRuined : @Gyahong I'm rich, you knowㅡㅡ
Actually, it's not that I'm rich. Ophelia is the rich one... but then that makes me rich too, right? I'm Ophelia's princess, after all.
“Mwahah.”
“Princess, drying is complete.”
“Thank you! I can lie down in bed now, right?!”
“Yes, that's right.”
“Yay!”
I sprang from the vanity and leaped toward the bed.
ㅡboing
“W-Wah, Ddaengdaeng!”
ㅡbeep?!
Then, because of the bed's super-bouncy elasticity, Ddaengdaeng, who had been lying there quietly drying its feet and resting, went flying whoosh-. Luckily it also landed on the bed, so it wasn't a big deal, but still, that had been close.
“But what about Ophelia? Are you using that other room?”
Besides my room, there were two more rooms in the house. Honestly, it felt like there were a few too many. I couldn't exactly tell how expensive the house was, but I think it would've been fine to pay a little less and get one with fewer rooms.
Suri could just stay in the living room, anyway. Did Minyumi and Ddaengdaeng need a room? Ophelia probably needed one, though. She'd have clothes now too, so she'd need a room with proper built-in storage, right?
“Yes, that's right.”
“Heeeng, but that still leaves one room.”
“One of the spare rooms has a separate purpose.”
“Really? What is it?”
Since there are three golems, having them all in the living room would feel a bit crowded, right? Maybe they'd put Ddaengdaeng's food bowl and a place for Suri to sit in the room.
It will be used as a space for taking photos for the Princess to post on her personal SNS.
“Wuing.”
I don't need something like that.