episode_0007

Hmm, this is awkward. Right now.

I’m at a loss for how to explain this.

Carrying a basket, wearing a black scarf, I stand behind Blanc, observed by three pairs of eyes.

Well, excluding the pink-haired yellow-eyed one I saw earlier. The redhead over there is probably Camellia, the magical girl. She’s too lazy to even come up with a nickname, so we just call her Redhead.

And the girl sitting next to her with sky-blue hair must be the new magical girl.

Her name was Arin, right?

But what is this situation?

I vaguely remember that the white-haired guy said he would explain everything.

“Yoonseul…? She’s from Eden…”

“Yes, that’s the girl you know.”

“Yoonseul unnie…? Didn’t you say you were bringing a puppy…?”

“Hmm…? I never said anything about bringing a puppy.”

What am I becoming by getting involved with these magical girls?

Even though I’m a giant, my arms are starting to ache from the weight of the basket.

“Blanc, please come inside. I’ll prepare the meal.”

With that, the redhead stood up, pulled out a weapon, and aimed it at me.

Her weapon is a crossbow.

A strange weapon that can be detached and used as a regular bow, made with magic.

The arrow is aimed at me.

“Who are you. Why is the villain who should be in Marina here…?”

“What? Seohyun unnie? A villain? You don’t look like one at all.”

“You were a top executive in the already collapsed Eden before your debut. Surely, Eden has collapsed?”

“Seohyun, I’ll explain, so put that away. Yuri unnie. Didn’t you say you would tell everything?”

“Oh, Arin was expecting a puppy too much…”

“What? Unnie! Ha… Seohyun, sit down for now. Vina, bring that over here and sit down.”

“How can I trust you. Just a flick of my wrist can render you useless in battle, how can I trust that.”

The redhead’s crossbow was trembling slightly.

“Alright, yes. I’ll put this in the fridge first and then come back.”

“Hey! Why are you so casual about this! This is weird!”

“Wait a moment. If I shoot this here, the room will be a mess. I’ve cleaned it up so hard.”

“You, you, what… why, what. You, Vina, you…”

“Yes, I am Vina, the one from the already collapsed Eden. The Vina you arrested. Vina, the Dark Vine.”

“Are you still introducing yourself like that?”

“Oh, yes. It’s already become a habit.”

“Oh, no, that’s not right. The Vina I know is…”

“Seohyun unnie? Why are you so flustered about what Vina did?”

“Is that person ‘Arin’?”

“Y-yes? Me?”

“Alright, as expected. Nice to meet you. I am Vina, the second-in-command of Eden and the right-hand of the boss. The Dark Vine. Please, I hope you will like the vine that binds you.”

“What? A villain? A giant, right? Do I have to fight? Now? I have no combat experience other than D-class monsters?”

As Arin tried to take out her weapon next to the redhead, Blanc stopped her.

“No, both of you sit down. Vina, sit down after you finish organizing everything.”

“Yes. I’ll be right back.”

So, the redhead released her weapon, and I finished organizing my things and sat down.

Hmm, I guess you could say it’s a really awkward meeting.

A while ago, there was a pink-haired magical girl who was causing trouble, a red-haired magical girl who had just been aiming her bow at me, the strongest magical girl in the world, and a rookie magical girl who had just debuted a year ago.

And there I was, sitting face to face with them.

I was the villain, the adversary of magical girls, and the antagonist who had fought against them all except for Arin.

Breaking the awkward atmosphere was Blanc.

Blanc, who was just being nonchalant, and the two who still seemed unsettled.

Blanc’s first words were not much different from before.

Blanc made a bet with me about my past stories, various trivial stories, and whether our personalities were changing or staying the same, and that’s why I ended up working as a maid in this dormitory.

As I spoke, I showed them the necklace I was wearing.

Since the red-haired girl doubted if the necklace actually worked for me, I demonstrated using magic with it.

As the magic gathered at my fingertips, and then was absorbed back into the necklace, she quickly understood.

Well, it actually works fine, so it seemed like she thought I wouldn’t cause any trouble after being released.

“So, Vina… Unnie? You’re younger than me…?”

“Just call me whatever you want.”

“But you’re still older, right…?”

“Is that so? My age is the same as Blanc’s.”

“I wanted a puppy as a younger sibling in my dreams…”

“You wanted a younger sibling? A puppy? What are you talking about?”

“I was going to ask Yoonseul unnie…”

As Arin was about to answer, Blanc quickly covered her mouth and said, “Alright, I think we’ve greeted each other enough, right? So, Vina working as a maid in our house, no objections, right?”

“I-I prefer someone taking care of me… I’m Chanseo.”

“Alright, it’s better for us to keep you with us until we know what will happen if the collar comes off.”

“I wanted a puppy sibling, but now I have a maid unnie… Am I forever the youngest…?”

“Wait, a maid? I don’t understand why that’s happening.”

“I saw in a comic that people who help with housework at someone’s house were maids.”

“Huh, magical girls treating villains as maids. Something seems off.”

“I don’t like it either. Just think of us as fellow soldiers.”

“Vina, you’ll look good in a maid outfit. Come to my room when you wear it. Be my model…!”

“I will never wear a maid outfit. Alright, is everything done? Then let’s prepare dinner and each do our own tasks.”

“Wait, you’re not going to poison our food, are you?”

“Hey, Redhead. Do you want to play tricks with the food?”

It took her days to eat solid food, and months to eat meat. Why would she waste poison on it?

With eyes full of pure anger and hunger, she left without a word and settled in a corner of the living room sofa.

Oh, she dragged the lazy person who was lying down and took the spot. Oh well.

Alright, I should start cooking rice first.

Here’s the rice container… Put in 6 cups of rice, wash it thoroughly, and cook the rice.

Now, it’s time to make braised short ribs.

I’ll take out the ribs I secretly stored earlier, chop the vegetables, potatoes, carrots, nicely, and prepare them.

When it’s all cooked, the braised short ribs will be ready.

Ah, really. How long has it been since I’ve tasted this?

And some simple side dishes I bought from the mart’s side dish store.

After wiping the table once again with a clean cloth, neatly arranging the spoons and chopsticks.

And a cup of water each.

Dividing the side dishes and placing them on the table, then placing the finished braised ribs in the center.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Come and eat, everyone. It’s all ready.”

“Wow… What’s this? Did Vina make this herself?”

“Vina, you can do this kind of thing? If it wasn’t for Eden, my new year’s resolution would have been ruined.”

“Unnie, why are there only 4 sets of utensils?”

“Oh, I’ll eat separately in the kitchen.”

As I answered like that, Blanc looked at me with a worried expression and said, “You should sit here and eat too. Why are you eating separately?”

“I’m not a magical girl, just a military family member.”

“Come here and eat together.”

“It’s okay. I just need to eat well.”

“Arin, bring me one more set of utensils!”

If I refuse here, it will definitely lead to an endless argument.

I should just sit down. It’s less tiring that way.

In the end, I sat next to Blanc and started eating.

The braised ribs, which I hadn’t eaten in a long time, were truly heavenly.

I probably couldn’t hide my happiness on my face, but what does that matter.

And after the joy of the meal ended and I was full, if this isn’t heaven, then what is.

And then, I have to do the housework again.

“If you’re done eating, you can leave. I’ll clean up.”

“Huh? You don’t need to clean up. Vina, you can go rest.”

“Employer, go rest. This is my job.”

“Okay, I got it. Oh right, Vina, where are you going to sleep tonight? The room isn’t fully cleaned yet.”

“Just laying a blanket on the living room floor is enough.”

“How about sleeping next to me?”

“No, I’ll suffocate.”

Does this person not remember the mischief they caused yesterday?

“Then I’ll sleep on the sofa. Is that okay?”

“Okay, but I want to sleep in a more comfortable place. Is there no other place?”

“No need for that. If you treat your employees so well, you’ll regret it later.”

“Think of it as an investment for the future.”

They really have a sharp tongue.

So, as my first night’s sleeping place was decided on the sofa, I safely made it through the first day in the tumultuous dormitory.

Unaware of the presence of a looming conflict to come the next day.

Still unaware of the unresolved tensions that remained.