Ch.118118. Good Roles and Villain Roles (2)

Watching Blanc cook.

Hmm…

Contrary to my worries, at least her back view looks fine.

Maybe that’s the only thing that’s fine about her.

She seems to be cooking with familiarity.

But is it genuine familiarity, or is she just trying to act like she’s familiar with it…

Chop, chop, chop. Dice, dice, dice.

“…Is that doenjang jjigae?”

“Yeah. Why? Don’t you like it? If I don’t use doenjang and use gochujang instead, it becomes gochujang jjigae. Want me to change it?”

“No. It’s not that I dislike it. It’s just unexpected.”

“Hmm…?”

“Usually, when girls cook… don’t they make things like pasta?”

“…Hey. I’m Korean too. I can’t eat that kind of food every day. Besides, you’re a girl too, but you don’t just make pasta, right?”

“Well… I was a man before. And I also enjoyed cooking. So let’s say that’s why. But you’re really surprising…?”

Looking at the way she’s cut everything—neatly and prettily.

All the ingredients are cut into uniform sizes.

Zucchini, onion, tofu…

“What’s so surprising? I really know how to cook, you know?”

“…Think about the state of that room again. How does that…”

“No, that’s… because it was hard to maintain the house… And I occasionally called cleaning ladies to clean too.”

“Then why was it such a mess when I saw it?”

“…Because I didn’t spend much time at home?”

“Still, with that many people, if you divided the work, it wouldn’t have taken long…”

“…You know everyone’s busy. There were a lot of emergency dispatches… And usually, it doesn’t pile up like that.”

“Yes, well… I know that Ellie does it now instead of me…”

“Right. Even without you, it’s clean. Ellie doesn’t seem to work that hard… but it’s not particularly messy.”

“…What kind of curse is on that house that makes it fall apart when Ellie and I aren’t there…?”

“No… I told you, we didn’t have time.”

While we engage in this odd small talk.

She’s making the stew in a more traditional way than I expected.

“…Bine, turn around for a second.”

“Ah. I use MSG too. What’s so strange about that?”

“What…? MSG… No, that’s not it…! What are you talking about!”

“No, it’s fine. Whether it’s natural MSG or whatever, the chemical composition is the same, so it doesn’t matter… I’m hungry. I don’t want to fill my stomach with tasteless food.”

“…”

Blanc quietly took out the MSG powder and added a pinch.

See.

She’s adding it.

*Click*

“…Bine?”

“What is it?”

“What did you just take a picture of…?”

“The crime scene… I mean, I took a picture of you cooking. I want to post it in that group chat you made yesterday.”

“Ah… the group chat?”

“Yes. Well… I can post pictures too, can’t I?”

“Sure. Go ahead and post it. Oh, wait. Can I take one later too?”

“Why not? You can just take one whenever you want. Oh, but photos that cross the line will be subject to group punishment.”

“Hey.”

“Well… I’ve seen my underwear photos circulating on the internet too.”

Blanc, who was finishing the stew and ladling it into bowls, was surprised.

“Eh…?”

Well. It might be shocking. To hear that photos of someone, especially underwear photos, are circulating…

“But magical girl photos circulate too, don’t they? When I was at Eden, I heard that the media department collected several photos and launched cyber attacks.”

“Ah, yes… We delete them as soon as they’re uploaded… Wait, media department?”

“Yes. Mental attacks should precede physical ones, after all.”

“Ah, damn… I was wondering why those weird people have decreased lately. So it was all you guys?”

“Not all of them. There are quite a few people who actually do such crazy things.”

“Ah…”

Well.

I wonder if that damaged her mental state.

“So. The Association doesn’t delete my photos? I guess villains have no human rights. Well, I understand.”

“No, that’s not it…!”

“No, I really understand. With limited manpower to manage all those little magical girls, it’s natural to put villains—criminals—as a lower priority. And I mainly wore pants… well, not really. Anyway, I didn’t have to wear skirts all the time like magical girls. Anyway, it’s fine.”

“…I’ll call the Association later. Tell them to delete them.”

“No… Well. Maybe they were helpful to people who like bodies like mine.”

“Don’t say things like that… I’ll make sure they’re all deleted. Please value your body more…”

“Well. This body has too much bad karma to be valued. This is how frightening sin is, Yoonseul. Be careful.”

As Blanc sets the table.

A bowl of soup and rice appear in front of me.

And side dishes.

Hmm. Not many side dishes.

I should prepare more later…

Ah.

That’s right.

Tomorrow. It’s the day I leave.

Just one day left.

…

I’ll just ignore it for now.

Better not to think about it.

If I get caught, it’ll just make things more complicated.

“Well. A decent lunch.”

“…Eat with the side dishes we have, without complaining.”

“Aren’t these all made by me?”

“No, they’re not.”

“Except for the doenjang jjigae… Anyway, thank you for the meal.”

I should eat since she cooked for me.

If it tastes bad, I can just eat the side dishes.

“Phew— Phew—”

“Oh, right.”

*Click*

The sound of a camera.

“Eh…?”

The sound that makes me freeze with my spoon of soup midair.

“Ah. I asked if I could take a picture earlier, remember? Hehe… I want to show off too.”

“Ah…”

I usually don’t check my phone while eating.

I put down my spoon and try to look… but the notifications…is this right?

I did post that picture earlier and was watching Blanc, so I couldn’t check my phone.

But…

Three digits…?

In such a short time…?

Me

– (Photo)

– Blanc is cooking for me. Is this really okay?

Crybaby

– ???

– Wait

– What?

– Yoonseul is cooking?

– And Bine is eating it?

– Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why? (This message has been deleted.)

Red Hair

– Unnie

– Calm down

– Bine is here

Crybaby

– Ah

– Sigh…

– But I’m jealous in two ways

– I wanted to eat Yoonseul’s cooking too

– I wanted to cook for Bine too

Red Hair

– Unnie, you can’t cook…

Crybaby

– Be quiet

– (Magical girl emoticon holding a gun)

Red Hair

– Eek

– Yes…

Arin

– Wow

– What is this?

– Yoonseul unnie is cooking…?

– I want to try it too!

– (Cute puppy emoticon throwing hearts)

Crybaby

– Arin

– Are you on your phone at school…?

– Shouldn’t you be in class?

– Wait

– Seohyun?

– Seohyun?

– Seohyun?

Red Hair

– Yes…?

Crybaby

– Aren’t you supposed to be in class?

– Phone in class?

Red Hair

– No

– Unnie

– No

– It’s break

– Break time

– Really

There was more conversation below.

Well.

Nothing special, just Red Hair and Arin getting scolded by Crybaby.

And the persistent “2” that won’t disappear…

Hmm…

The NEET is probably sleeping at this hour.

Ellie is probably sleeping too.

She doesn’t wake up easily if you don’t disturb her.

Especially these days, she sleeps longer.

I don’t know what she does at night…

Well. She kicked me out saying she had important things to do.

When Ellie says she has important business, it’s usually really important.

Well… even when she was at Eden, when I secretly visited her at night, she was playing with difficult numbers I couldn’t understand.

…And then she got annoyed and told me to leave.

That was Ellie.

Well… she probably has something similar to do at night and stayed up.

When I went into her room earlier, she was completely passed out on the bed.

So that’s the “2” that won’t disappear.

But why does it still show as “2” in the latest posts?

“Yoon. Do these students at school have break times that last over an hour?”

“Hmm…? Maybe it’s lunch time?”

“It seems like an odd time for lunch, doesn’t it?”

“Is it…?”

“Well… I’ll assume that’s the case… but are students allowed to use phones at school these days?”

“Hmm… Seems like it.”

“Wow. Schools are so lenient nowadays.”

“Bine… don’t say that… I used my phone at school too.”

“…Ah.”

…So there’s a generation gap here.

…Well, it’s possible.

There could be some time discrepancies.

“So… how should I interpret these reactions?”

Let’s set that aside for now.

The response to the photo Blanc posted is too intense.

No. It’s even longer than the chat I saw earlier…?

Is this right?

“Um. I’m not sure either.”

“Yoonseul… what kind of karma are you carrying? It seems you really did cook for magical girls?”

“I did. Before I got busy…”

“Before you got busy… that’s just a few years ago, isn’t it? You must have been busy for a few years after Eden collapsed. And you’re still busy now.”

“That’s right… but I still cooked for them several times.”

“Well… I see. Then, let me taste it.”

While dealing with the backlog of messages, the soup has cooled to a comfortable temperature.

“Phew, phew—”

“…It’s cute how you blow on it.”

“What? What did you say?”

“Nothing. Just be careful, it’s hot.”

“Ah. Yes.”

And then a mouthful. Nom.

…Huh?

It’s well-made?

“…This can’t be right.”

Another bite.

Why is it delicious…?

“Hehe… See, I’m a good cook, right?”

“This… can’t be right…? Even with MSG, the fundamental difference is…”

“Come on, eat up. Aren’t you hungry?”

“…Grr. This is frustrating, but…”

“Still, I’m not as good as you, so don’t worry. At least I can’t beat you in that area.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. So hurry up and eat.”

If she admits it herself.

Well.

Is this a win?

Hehe…

I won.

It’s been a while since I won.

“Huff… T-then! I’ll eat it!”

The rice is delicious.

I was hungry.

Yeah. This is nice too.

Delicious.

Hehe…