Chapter 15 – The President

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Hosanna had once owned a cat. It was a Russian Blue named Rain, whom he had met on a rainy day. When he first brought Rain home, the cat was on edge, its fur standing on end, wary of everything.

It would startle at the smallest sounds, hiss, and even bare its claws or bite the person feeding it. In short, it was a very skittish cat, supposedly a former stray.

Of course, after about a week of enjoying a life far more comfortable than the streets, Rain became a bit more docile. But the reason Hosanna was reminded of Rain, who had lived a long life and crossed the rainbow bridge, was for a different reason.

“You’re quite something, you know…”

It was because Mari’s current state reminded him so much of Rain back then.

Just a few hours ago, Mari had been running away in fear at the slightest provocation, flinching and being wary of every move Hosanna made. But after drinking the soup, it seemed Mari’s heart had softened a bit, and now Mari was sound asleep inside a sleeping bag.

Of course, that sleeping bag belonged to Hosanna. At first, Mari had been reluctant to use it, but after Hosanna threatened—well, not exactly threatened, but strongly suggested—that they’d have a very long conversation throughout the night if Mari didn’t use it, Mari tearfully accepted.

Even after accepting it, Mari hesitated for a while before finally making a resolute expression and crawling into the sleeping bag, quickly falling into a deep sleep. So deep that Mari wouldn’t notice even if someone carried Mari away.

It was baffling how someone who had been so wary could now be so defenseless. Hosanna couldn’t help but laugh, but he had no intention of doing anything to Mari, who was now fast asleep.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder.

“What could have happened to make someone like this…?”

Mari had claimed to be an adult, but there was no way to see Mari as one.

While Hosanna himself had an appearance that made it hard to believe he was fully grown (shockingly, this was his fully grown state), Mari’s behavior was also incredibly childish.

Of course, Hosanna had seen plenty of adults who acted like children, but those types were usually just eccentric, not this extremely timid.

Moreover, Mari wasn’t a dwarf like Hosanna but a regular human. So, it was reasonable to assume that Mari’s appearance and age matched.

‘Then, probably early teens… or maybe older, since Mari’s of Asian descent.’

Even Aoki Yuika, who was in her 20s (a woman’s age is a secret), seemed like a late teenager to Hosanna. Considering that, Mari’s claim might not have been entirely false.

Of course, even in that case, Hosanna had no intention of treating Mari as an adult. Hosanna believed that to be a proper adult, one had to at least take care of oneself and be able to navigate the world.

In that regard, Mari was a complete failure. Forget navigating the world; Mari couldn’t even take care of oneself.

‘I’ll have a lot to do when we get back to the village.’

“Huh?”

As Hosanna poked the campfire, lost in thought, the sound of footsteps reached his ears. The footsteps, not bothering to hide their approach, were heading straight toward him.

After a short while, the owner of the footsteps appeared.

“Why are you camping here, President?”

“Oh, you found me early.”

“Early? If it weren’t me, someone else might’ve missed you entirely.”

Ulrika, who had pushed through the bushes, spoke with a tone of disbelief.

It was only natural for Ulrika to react that way, as Hosanna, who should’ve been waiting at the base camp on the 5th or 4th floor, was instead camping on the 1st floor.

But Hosanna had his reasons.

“Well, I was planning to, but…”

“But?”

“I lost my compass and map.”

It had been a fierce battle where two of his companions had lost their lives. Losing belongings was inevitable. Hosanna tried to explain, but Ulrika found it ridiculous.

“…That’s why I told you to keep them in your inventory.”

“No way. Those two things have to be carried by hand. That’s the pioneer’s romance, isn’t it?”

“What pioneer gets lost like you, President? More importantly, how did you even make it to the 1st floor? I wouldn’t have been surprised if you were still wandering around the 5th floor.”

“Just got lucky.”

It was pure luck. Every step he took seemed to lead him upward. Though that luck seemed to have run out once he reached the 1st floor.

At Hosanna’s words, Ulrika shook his head and said,

“Well, at least we saved some time. Since you’re already here, we don’t have to go all the way down to the 5th floor.”

“True.”

“But I’ve been curious for a while now. Why is Mari sleeping over there?”

Ulrika’s gaze turned to Mari, who was sound asleep in the sleeping bag. Moreover, that sleeping bag clearly belonged to Hosanna, so why was Mari using it?

After a moment of thought, Ulrika smirked mischievously.

“Could it be—”

“Paralyze.”

“Gah!”

But before Ulrika could finish, Hosanna hit him with a paralysis spell, leaving him stiff and unable to speak.

Hosanna clicked his tongue and continued.

“Cut it out with the weird comments. By the way, did you know Mari too? Dispel, Paralyze.”

“Ugh… Not exactly know, more like we’ve met once? I got Mari to join U.P. a while ago.”

“A while ago?”

“About two weeks ago? I remember being surprised that someone like Mari showed up out of nowhere.”

Most of the summoned on the Floating Island were members of U.P. Even those who weren’t officially members were at least registered in U.P’s database, so it was safe to say that all summoned were part of U.P’s records.

But Mari was an exception, appearing out of nowhere. It was baffling where Mari had been and what Mari had been doing for the month between being summoned and being found.

“By the way, I sent Mari’s application to you last week, President.”

“Did you?”

“‘Did you?’ You’re the president, for goodness’ sake. How can you not know?”

“Tsk.”

As Ulrika said, Hosanna was the president of U.P.

In fact, he was the one who had calmed the chaos when people were first summoned to the Floating Island, created U.P. to share information, and helped those struggling to adapt.

Thanks to that, there wasn’t a single summoned person who didn’t know Hosanna. His appearance was so distinctive that even if someone didn’t know his name, they’d recognize him as “that short, blond boy who founded U.P.”

That’s why Hosanna had been surprised when Mari didn’t recognize him. It wasn’t out of arrogance but because people usually did.

Anyway, while Hosanna was called the president, he didn’t feel a strong sense of responsibility toward the title.

Of course, it wasn’t wrong to say that as the founder of U.P., he had a duty to work hard. But it had already been six weeks since the summoning.

Those who had struggled to adapt were now starting to stand on their own, and those who still hadn’t adapted were being helped by other members who had time to spare.

So, maybe it didn’t matter if he didn’t do much. Just refilling the treasury with gold whenever it ran low was enough to fulfill his responsibilities, right?

As Hosanna grumbled to himself, Ulrika approached and asked,

“So, what really happened? Did you finally decide to date someone who matches your appearance… Ouch!”

“Do you want another Paralyze? I’m way too old to be dating someone like that. I’d be thrown in jail.”

Hosanna kicked Ulrika’s shin, causing Ulrika to hop on one foot while yelling in pain. But even as he did, Ulrika kept grinning and continued,

“What’s the big deal? This isn’t America, and there’s no jail here. Besides, you two look about the same size, so it’s not like—”

“Paralyze.”

“—Gah!”

‘This guy’s been messing with me all along.’ Without hesitation, Hosanna cast another paralysis spell and knocked Ulrika over. Then, he sat on Ulrika and continued what he’d been doing before Ulrika showed up.

Which was poking the campfire to keep the flames alive.

“Stay like this until sunrise.”

“…”

Ulrika glared at Hosanna with a look that said, “This is too much!”, but Hosanna just snorted. Then, he suddenly turned his gaze to Mari.

He was worried that all the noise might have woken Mari up.

“Sniff…”

But his worries were unfounded. Mari was still fast asleep.

Even snoring softly.

–

When I woke up, Hosanna was using Ulrika as a chair.

I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was dreaming, but the sight of Ulrika, stiff and holding onto one leg, remained.

“You’re awake?”

“Ah, yes… But, um, isn’t the person you’re using as a chair Ulrika-nim…?”

“Yeah, that’s right. You two know each other, huh? You even know his name.”

“Well, yeah…”

We did know each other, sort of. I awkwardly smiled, and Hosanna let out a small grunt as he stood up. Then, he pointed his wand at Ulrika and chanted a spell.

“Dispel, Paralyze.”

“Ugh…”

“Don’t mess around next time.”

I had no idea what had happened while I was asleep, but it seemed like Ulrika had done something wrong. I cautiously spoke up.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Huh? What’s up?”

“Why is Ulrika here…?”

“Well, I came to find the president. Ugh, my limbs are so stiff I could die.”

I had asked Hosanna, but the answer came from Ulrika. However, instead of clearing up my confusion, it only made me more curious.

“Who’s the president?”

“Huh? Who’s the president…? He’s right next to you.”

“Right next to me…?”

The only person next to Ulrika was Hosanna. I looked at Hosanna with a questioning gaze, and he nodded casually.

“He’s talking about me.”

“…When Ulrika says ‘president’, does he mean the president of U.P., the organization Ulrika is part of?”

“That’s right.”

“So, Hosanna, you’re the president…?”

“Exactly.”

I didn’t know much, but I was pretty sure the title of president was a high-ranking position.

So, does that mean I had been rude to the president of a major organization on the Floating Island?

The thought made my vision go dark, but thankfully, my body moved on its own.

In an instant, I dropped the cracked core, the pouch of gold, and the 10 magic stones, then knelt and pressed my forehead to the ground.

“I-I’ll make it up to you, so please forgive me…”

“Are you trying to socially bury me?”

Hosanna spoke with a tone of disbelief.

Ulrika, watching the scene, added, “Boo—you’re trash—” but got hit with another Paralyze. But that’s another story.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
15th chapter… Oh right, PLUS!!!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
A girlfailure who locked herself up for a month surviving with no income.

Smh.