Ch.179179. Future Plans

“What are you going to do, Vine?”

Blanc asked me.

“…You said you had something in mind. I’m destined to follow whatever you decide.”

“Right, that’s true. Yes, yes… You abandoned us and tried to escape to Eden… Do you remember, Arin?”

“Yes… I, I remember everything.”

Arin was trying to feed me a slice of pizza while giving that answer.

But I can eat with my own hands.

It’s already confusing enough when both Arin and Blanc offer food from both sides at the same time.

I’ve been so busy accepting food from both sides that no one has touched the pizza right in front of me.

I’m even holding one slice right now.

I ended up being asked that question while unable to eat what’s in my hand and being fed by Arin instead.

And from Arin’s answer, I heard something I didn’t really want to hear.

Well, it’s obviously my fault, my problem.

I never thought she wouldn’t remember.

Still, I…

I just had this personal wish not to hear about it right here, right now.

Couldn’t I have had that small personal wish?

“But, sis. That punishment for trying to escape to Eden. Didn’t we say you’d be under our probation?”

“…Yes, that’s what I understood.”

“To be precise, we’re going to revise our contract. Extending the period indefinitely.”

“Well, wasn’t it already indefinite? Because of that bet.”

“Huh? No? It was a contract renewed annually? With salary increases…”

“Salary…?”

“We haven’t paid you yet. When should we give you your first paycheck? First, you’ll need a bank account.”

“I remember having an account for deposits. There’s also money for damages. As for the fines… ah, they were all converted to labor, but I was released under special pardon. What’s left is just compensation for damages. I don’t have money, so I can’t even file for bankruptcy. Can’t rehabilitate either. It was damage caused by illegal actions in the first place. With proven intent. It probably won’t be discharged through rehabilitation. I don’t know the law well…”

“Then… the amount, I remember it being quite large.”

“After deducting minimum living expenses, everything will probably be seized. Maybe? I’d need to see my account first. I haven’t been able to go to a bank.”

“Ah…”

“The Association is a public institution, right…?”

“Yes…?”

“Then I guess… I should try something. Should I open an account first? I had an account… but I think I lost it. I believe it was created when the National Intelligence Service forcibly created my identity. I had a seal made too. And so on. Honestly, I don’t remember much from that time. It was quite shocking for me.”

“Sigh… Then should we go to the bank first?”

“A bank… Will I be able to enter?”

“We can go together.”

“Hmm… They can’t take more than half of my salary… Wait. How much is my salary…?”

“Huh? Didn’t you look at it carefully?”

“Do you not remember that I signed without having time to look, and then all that chaos happened?”

Looking around, I see Glass and Seohyun.

And Arin.

Hmm…

I should say I couldn’t watch because I was dealing with that mess at the dormitory.

But well…

The truth is I wasn’t really interested in the salary.

And.

It’s still vivid.

The image of that dormitory that looked like a pigsty.

Ah, wait.

Don’t tell me it’s gone back to that state…

Probably.

Maybe.

Sigh…

There’ll be a mountain of work to do when I get back.

“Vine, why are you suddenly holding your head…?”

“Isn’t it natural to have a headache? I’m already worried about how messy the place will be when I return.”

“Ah, it’s still clean though…?”

“Clean by your standards, I suppose.”

“No, no…! It’s really clean!”

“I’ll check that later when we get back. Sigh… Anyway. We need to go to the bank… Well, I suppose we can handle public affairs at the Association too?”

“We are civil servants, so…? But things are probably compartmentalized, so it’s better to go to the appropriate departments rather than the Association. But why?”

“…My home address.”

“Ah…”

“Actually, it wasn’t even a shack, where was it… Was it the Association’s address, or somewhere else? I don’t remember exactly. Anyway, my ID should be in the box I brought from my home…”

Blanc looks at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“You changed everything—my wallet and everything else. I didn’t even have a chance to take anything out.”

“For now, let’s handle that. What else do we need to do?”

“Opening a bank account… and then there’s my mobile phone.”

“It’s still where you left it. Still plugged into the charger.”

“I turned it off before leaving… But that phone isn’t registered under my name, right? Since I must have bad credit?”

“No…? That wasn’t the case. It was registered under your name. So we kept it that way.”

“What…? But I should have bad credit…?”

“You didn’t.”

I don’t know how it happened, but my debt situation and credit weren’t…?

Even though I didn’t want to discuss the confusing financial matters further, after talking more with Blanc.

The compensation money should be in my account, but there’s no income recorded, and they can’t seize anything because they have to leave minimum living expenses.

Then, perhaps deciding they couldn’t get any more, when I checked, it turned out that the government and some companies had granted exemptions.

But why didn’t I know about this…? The answer quickly came to mind.

That damn woman.

Sigh…

She probably didn’t tell me about the exemptions.

Would someone who wanted to torment me for the rest of my life do such a thing?

So, my remaining compensation was a more realistic amount than I thought.

“…50 billion isn’t a small sum. Still… it’s better than the trillions in damages I had before.”

“I have that much money too. Should I pay it right away?”

“Who are you to pay off my debt? You’re just my employer. You don’t need to bear my… karma. Just make sure to pay my salary on time.”

“Sorry for not paying you on time? But that was your fault, wasn’t it?”

“…Sigh. So what’s my salary?”

“Ten million won.”

“What…?”

“After tax. Excluding bonuses.”

“W-wait a minute…? That was the amount?”

“Why? I wanted to give you more.”

“Are you insane, Blanc?”

I couldn’t help but say those words to Blanc at the absurd amount.

Unless she was crazy.

Who pays a villain ten million won, ten million won per month?

“Think about it? You’re basically working 24 hours a day, right?”

“What…?”

“Night shift allowance, weekly holiday allowance too. We’re supposed to give you rest days, but you worked on those days too.”

“I… guess so?”

“Then your hourly wage comes out to about 10,000 won, doesn’t it?”

“No, wait… sleeping time isn’t working time, is it…?”

“You sleep with our kids almost every day, don’t you?”

“What…?”

“And sometimes you wake up and prepare snacks for Glass.”

“Yes…?”

“I think I’m not even paying you minimum wage… You’re being exploited by an evil employer like me. You’ve also committed crimes recently, right? You have to work indefinitely for this evil employer with the worst salary.”

“No, wait…? Isn’t the calculation wrong…?”

“Remember when you said you get 10,000 won per hour? I’m giving you less than that.”

When I looked at her with disbelief, Blanc continued.

“Well, I dragged you here forcibly. And it’s your fault for being tempted and signing without reading. Blame yourself for that.”

Blanc declares to me with a proud look of victory.

But is that right…?

Sleeping is just sleeping, and preparing snacks is just… heating them up and serving them…?

“Wait a minute…? This still doesn’t make sense…!”

“Ellie works less and gets paid more.”

“What…?”

“Anyway. Congratulations? Our punishment for you is to be exploited by evil magical girls! Hehe… I’ll make you regret your choice to abandon us for the rest of your life. Look forward to it! I’ll give you bonuses that are stingy, just like an evil employer would!”

When I tried to argue against those ridiculous words.

She forcibly stuffed a chicken leg into my mouth.

“Hehehe… I won’t listen to any objections, Villain Vine!”

When I looked at her with indignant eyes.

“This is all because I want to win our bet. I’m definitely going to win. Against you.”

“Mmph…”

“So… that’s my punishment. The others probably have their own ideas too.”

“*gulp*… Pfft… Cola… *cough*… Haah, haah… By others, you mean… I guess Glass…”

I look toward where Glass is.

Ellie is being tormented.

She looks over here and smiles…?

“Vineee~? Let’s have you work in a maid outfit~? I’ll match you with Ellie as a couple~?”

“W-wait! What are you talking about!”

“Hehehe… I’ll just watch for a bit and then stop… don’t worry~?”

Yes.

Another headache-inducing situation has arisen.

As for Seohyun…

She seems to have no thoughts on the matter.

She’s just eating a chicken leg,

A bright red, glistening, plump chicken leg with sparkling eyes.

I can’t bother someone who’s focused on eating.

“What about Hyewon?”

“Me? Hmm… I don’t know? Dat… No. I just want more days like this where we spend time together.”

“…I understand for now? But I can’t promise anything since I don’t know what will happen to me…”

And then Arin, who couldn’t wait for her turn and raised her hand first, looks at me.

“Me! Me! What about me! Wait… Vine, are you completely recovered now?”

“I think so… Why do you ask?”

“That training from before! I think you should regularly help me with my training! In case you try to escape again, I need to become strong enough to stop you! You have to train me!”

“Uh… Arin?”

“Until I can defeat you with my own hands!”

“Ahaha…”

Blanc laughs awkwardly.

…

If it’s until she can completely defeat me.

That could take decades.

“I’m also a perso… no, I was a person, so if we train together, I’ll grow too, Arin…?”

“Then it will take a lifetime! Even better!”

“Sigh…”

There’s no way to dissuade the free-spirited Arin.

I can only say I understand and tell Blanc I’ve got all my answers.

“Really? Then my training too!”

I didn’t expect Blanc to join in as well.