Chapter 60
“Chaea.. Of course it's hard....”
“Unnie~ What am I supposed to do~”
Chaea unnie's ultimate aegyo move was blocked by Chaerin unnie's barrier. Chaea unnie could get anything in the world just by giving a slight smile with that pretty face, but sadly her opponent was way too strong this time.
“Let's just stay quiet today. Come visit again later.”
“Tch, okay.”
In the afternoon, the Nguyens deliberately rammed us, and they almost finished us off afterward. Obviously there was no way we could go splashing around for fun in some infinity pool or anything.
Chaea unnie looks so carefree when you see her like this. Honestly, I'm still a little shaken. I keep thinking there might be some weird people around.
“Hehe, it's nice having Ophelia here.”
“I'm relieved as long as you're somewhere I can keep an eye on, Princess.”
“Did you finish all the housework?”
“Most of it has already been taken care of, but since it was such an emergency with the princess in danger, there is still some work left.”
“I see....”
I even wondered if Ophelia was doing a good job and got called out because of me. But then again, I'm the princess, so isn't coming to rescue me the obvious thing to do?
“Was Minyum working too?”
ㅡclick!
“Heh, cool.”
In any case, we're staying one night at Signiel Busan. Traveling at night would be worse than waiting until morning when the sun is up. Chaerin unnie said she'd still be in Busan until tomorrow morning, so it would be better if we stayed in Busan too.
“Too bad, Eve? You were so happy because today, with Ophelia not here, was a day you could go to bed without showering.”
“Eek.”
“Is that true, Princess?”
“A-ah, no!? I never said anything like that!! Chaea unnie?!”
“Eheheh.”
Chaea unnie's surprise callout made Ophelia start staring straight at me. No, I definitely did say that, but it was just a joke. Of course I'd been walking around outside and doing all sorts of things today, so I was obviously going to shower.
“I-I’m going to shower….”
“Understood.”
I was starting to hate Chaea unnie.
“Eve~ Want to eat this?”
“I don't want it….”
“But this is super delicious.”
“What is it….”
“Do you know Dujjonku?”
“Gasp..!”
It's the Dubai chewy cookie, a dessert that's been all over Instagram Reels lately. I always try to buy one, but it's so expensive and often sold out that I've never been able to eat it..!
“Are you going to make up with unnie?”
“If you give me two….”
“Heh, okay. I'll give you two. Here, shake hands with unnie to make up.”
Chaea unnie held two Dujjonku in her left hand and stretched out her right toward me. I'm not making up just because of food; I'm forgiving you because I'm an adult. They say forgiving is how you win, right?
“H-handshake….”
“Make-up hug.”
“A hug..?”
After making me shake hands, Chaea unnie suddenly raised the difficulty and added a hug too. I don't usually do things like this, but today I came out to have fun, so I'm doing it because I'm in a good mood.
“Aw, good job~ You've made up with unnie now, right?”
“Mhm….”
What is this, I feel like I just got played somehow.
* * * * *
Ophelia and I used separate rooms, and Han Dohee and Chaea unnie used another room. Chaea unnie wanted to sleep in the same bed as me, but sadly I'm an independent person who prefers sleeping alone.
“Auuuuuuuuughghgh..!!!”
“Have you woken up, Princess.”
“Hwaee….”
A gorgeous view of the sea stretched out beyond the window. I must have been so tired after running around all day yesterday that I slept incredibly well, even though I normally can't sleep well outside. Or maybe it was because the golems were around too?
Looking at the time, it was already 9:18 a.m. I must have woken up a little later than usual. No wonder my body felt so sluggish—if I lay down at 11 last night, then I slept for 10 hours, right? That's amazing.
There's no morning shower today. That's because I already showered late last night. In the morning, I'll just brush my teeth and wash my face before heading home.
“Did you sleep well, Ophelia?”
“Yes, I got sufficient rest.”
Come to think of it, Ophelia's also a machine? A golem? She looks incredibly human, though. Anyway, does she even sleep? At night there are times when she closes her eyes and stays still. When I asked before, she said she was sorting out her thoughts.
“Dangdang, wake up already.”
ㅡbeep….
“Oh, really? You're not going to eat?”
ㅡbeep..!
Dangdang was startled by the mention of food, rolled around on the bed, and got up. What does this guy even do that he's hungry all the time?
Ah, but yesterday we did fight hard once. It was for only a moment, though.
“After a light breakfast, we'll head back to Seoul.”
“I see.. What are we taking?”
“It's Nova Guild's vehicle.”
The car Han Dohee drove when we came to Busan had been almost completely wrecked. All the windows on both the left and right sides were shattered, and there were so many broken parts underneath and along the sides that it might be better to scrap it.
It was a pity for Han Dohee, but she might have to say goodbye to her beloved Maxcruz (fully loaded) that she'd cherished so much.
“If I switch into a golem, heal the golem, and then switch back, won't it return to normal?”
“It might be possible.”
“Gasp, really? I was just saying that.”
I asked just in case, but I never thought it would actually work. I had been rolling around on the bed for a bit when Chaea unnie and Han Dohee came over and knocked on the door, so I opened it.
“Wow, Eve, you're in pajamas?”
“Hehe..”
“Are you going to go eat breakfast? If you are, you'd better head over early.”
“Really?”
Breakfast ends at 10, so if we go any later we might miss it. Han Dohee was wearing a black mask and a black cap pulled down low, while Chaea unnie had already finished her full makeup and hair.
People always say she's a healer or whatever, but whenever she has time she faithfully pays for a spot in front of famous gates and works hard as a healer. She uploads photos to Instagram, takes sponsorships, and does ads too—maybe she's actually a pretty diligent person.
“Hmm! I should work hard too!”
“Huh? What exactly are you going to work hard at?”
“J-just.. this and that….”
* * * * *
Back home, I showered, ate, messed around with my phone, played Roblox, and lazed around. Yesterday was rough, so I spent the day taking it easy behind my shield. If you ask whether there was ever a day I didn't spend it comfortably, though.. I don't think there really was.
“Hmm.”
And so today is the long-awaited Super Earth holiday, Christmas Day. After sacrificing two green-badge mods who hadn't shown up in the gallery at all yesterday, the gallery goons who had fun in the dawn gallery are still burning the gallery down hard in the afternoon.
[ㅇㅇ : Ah+!+ja+!+ja+!+ja+!+ja+!+ja+!+ja+!+ja+!+jat!!!
(Photo)
Butt+!+Ah+!+Ah+!+Ah+!+Ah+!+Ah+!+Ah+!+Ah+!+Aht!!!]
-ㅇㅇ : Damn it, Rengoku
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : This is seriously fucking insane
[The post does not exist or has been deleted]
“Eek!! What are you doing, modㅡ!!!”
Lately, with my computer having gotten so high-performance, Ophelia's ultimate mod move doesn't work on me anymore, so I get caught a lot. Honestly, clicking on a post with a title like that is also my fault, but it's way too interesting not to.
[Gyahong : How dare a mod leave the gallery unattended on Christmas?
I was bored, and you just happened to be the unlucky one]
-ㅇㅇ : Let's pre-ban this bastard
ㄴ Gyahong : I haven't even done anything yet?
[YubuYasking : Stop spamming the recommend button, I'm about to shit myself
Mm-hmm]
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“What is this now..”
I'm mindlessly clicking posts in the gallery and munching on Dujjonku while having nothing to do. But in my head, I'm caught up in a pretty big dilemma.
‘What should I say….’
The standard rule of the ultimate Earth holiday: grown-ups give presents to kids!
Of course I'm an adult, right? I've shed a few tears this year because it was rough, but those were justified tears, so I think Santa should cut me some slack.
And, and of course I know Santa doesn't exist—of course I know that, of course—but what, if you know that, does that mean you can't get presents? I became aware of it because I grew up too fast and got mature too early, so what am I supposed to do about that? Still, if I went to Ophelia and asked, “It's Christmas, so where's my present?” wouldn't that make me seem kind of childish?
While I was wondering whether there was a way to make Ophelia give me a present without me showing it, one idea came to mind.
[Insaenganmanghetta : I want a present
Why don't they give me one, hmm..]
If I did it on my phone, it would seem way too obvious to Ophelia, so I'm writing it on the computer, thinking that maybe once Ophelia notices later, she'll give me a present.
-Daemokdan : Send me your address, I'll send you a gift
ㄴ Insaenganmanghetta : Give it as a gift card
ㄴ Daemokdan : (Huh..)
-ㅇㅇ : What do you want?
ㄴ Insaenganmanghetta : Switch
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : Mwah
ㄴ Insaenganmanghetta : ????????
Yesterday, I made my 9,999th vow to live diligently, and now I'm sitting in front of the computer, hanging out with gallery goons who have nothing to do on Christmas..
Of course, from seasons 1 through 9,998, the vow was basically the same: shout a loud “Welcome!” to the one customer who comes into the convenience store, and if they don't react, say “Ah, how embarrassing” once and disappear.
ㅡcreak
“Princess?”
“O-Ophelia? What is it?”
No way. Had she already seen the post I wrote in the gallery? It was already 1 p.m.—could the present I'd been preparing already be here? Or was the Christmas present actually supposed to be given in the evening??
I've never received a Christmas present before, so I don't know.
“You have an appointment, so I'll help you get changed.”
“Wuing.”
* * * * *
But the present I had been imagining wasn't there.
“I prepared this to help improve the princess's abilities.”
“Hoeeek.”
Because Ophelia had heard my resolve to live diligently, I ended up signing up for an Awakener training center subscription pass—a super-expensive ultra-luxury one that costs 2.8 million won a month.
Excluding the guild-member-only training centers used by big guilds, it's the largest private training center in Korea. The location was Wirye? A place I don't remember ever hearing of, but anyway it's inside Seoul and not ridiculously far from our house.
“It was just a mutter to myself....”
“There was the incident before as well, and it certainly looks like the princess needs to improve her abilities.”
“Hmph. But what am I training for?”
“For now, this. It's your Christmas present.”
“O-oh..!”
Ophelia handed me a gift box about the size of a slightly large pencil case. So there really was a present after all! I had trusted Ophelia, of course.
“What is this..?!”
“I think you should open it.”
“H-hwaaah..!”
I was so excited my heart was pounding. But it was a little small. What could be inside? It felt slightly heavy. Instead of wrapping paper, it was a box that separated into top and bottom, tied with a ribbon.
ㅡrustle
When I peeled off the wrapping on the gift box and lifted the lid.
“This is….”
A simple item neatly arranged inside, almost like a smartphone box.
“A, a gun..?”
“It's a firearm designed to fire low-power subduing rounds for low-rank Awakeners.”
I got a handgun as a Christmas present.