Ch.55. Arrival, Reunion

If I win the bet with Blanc, what would I do? Isn’t that already decided?

I would make sure that no magical girl or villain ever comes near me again.

With her abilities, that should be entirely possible.

“So, I’ve ended up living with you, but shouldn’t I visit my place first?”

“Ah, yes, we need to get your belongings. And prepare a room for you.”

“I think I could live just fine with a doghouse.”

“A doghouse? How could I possibly…”

“Or I could just spread a blanket in a corner of the living room.”

“What about your privacy? And if you stay like that, would my sister and the others leave you alone?”

“Indeed, we’ll need a proper justification. Come to think of it, there’s no justification for me moving in to begin with.”

“Ah, the surveillance role you mentioned earlier…”

“That would probably be difficult. I can already picture them lunging at me, trying to strangle me.”

“Then what should we do? Should we say I adopted you? I wonder if Vine would accept you as her foster daughter.”

“What adoption? Let’s just say you hired me as a housekeeper. It must be hard for you all to manage the house on your own.”

“Huh? Housekeeper? There’s no need for you to live with us and work…”

“No, this works out well. I’m uncomfortable receiving money without doing anything in return. It’ll be easier to think of it as compensation for my work.”

“That sounds good. Then let’s say I hired you as a housekeeper. Hmm, there is one empty room, so you can use that. There’s some stuff in there, but you should be able to use it from tomorrow.”

As we walked, discussing how to handle living with a magical girl, we arrived back at my place.

Actually, I don’t have much to pack. After Ragnarok, the Association restricted the removal of all items from Eden Headquarters, so all I have are a few clothes.

I picked up the cardboard box I used as a wardrobe with my clothes inside.

Oh, and I made sure to gather all my valuables too.

So I left with one box, my valuables wrapped in a blanket, and my pillow.

Blanc looked at the contents with a serious expression and swallowed whatever she was going to say.

We returned to the dormitory, my new home, with my belongings.

“Vine, aren’t your clothes too worn out…?”

“Where would I have had the luxury to buy clothes? These are ones I found in donation bins that were still wearable.”

“H-how…”

“As long as I can wear them, it’s fine. Even slightly stretched t-shirts and such are wearable.”

“This won’t do. Let’s go shopping for clothes.”

“There’s really no need for that…”

“No, there is. I can’t let you live wearing clothes like these.”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to spend money on me. I’m already imposing on you, so I shouldn’t ask for more.”

“No, this is for my satisfaction. You’ll have to be my mannequin.”

“Hmm, it’s troublesome. I’d rather wear these clothes than go shopping and face the contemptuous stares and violence from those disgusting humans.”

“No way. Let’s go shopping tomorrow. For tonight, I’ll lend you some of Arin’s old clothes to change into.”

“I have plenty of clothes, including ones Ellie brought to Eden Headquarters. I just can’t take them out.”

“Hmm, that would be too difficult. Getting entry permits and removal permits from the Association… just thinking about the procedures gives me a headache. I’ll just buy you new ones, so wear those.”

“Sigh, I’ll do as you say, employer…”

Honestly, I still think these clothes are sufficient. But a housekeeper wearing such shabby clothes while doing housework? Hmm, that might not look good.

So I guess I have no choice but to wear whatever clothes Blanc buys me. Whether it’s a maid outfit or anything else, I’ll just think of it as a uniform to wear while working.

“What a bother.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to say that I don’t care what it is as long as it’s not something weird like a maid outfit.”

“Oh, that might be nice too. If it’s for actual use and not cosplay, we’d need to custom order it, right?”

“Absolutely not. If you make me wear a maid outfit, I’ll show you exactly what an indescribable evil act looks like.”

When I shot back with complete sincerity, she hesitated and said:

“Ah, I understand. If you don’t want a maid outfit, let’s go to a department store tomorrow to buy clothes.”

Yes, a department store is better.

Department stores mostly have normal clothes, right? Surely there won’t be any weird outfits?

As we walked and talked, the sun was already setting, casting a reddish glow, and we had arrived at the dormitory.

“Vine, do you know the dormitory password?”

“Yes, if it hasn’t changed. I remember it was your birthday, Blanc.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As expected, this scatterbrained side of Blanc hasn’t changed. I wonder what she’d do if some villain got into the house.

I don’t think Blanc would lose, but it would be annoying. A petty villain like that.

So we entered the dormitory. Is this home now?

Since this is where I’ll be staying, I looked around carefully.

Structurally, nothing has changed since the last time I came to rescue the arrested Ellie.

Down there, through the elevator under the stairs, there’s a passage connecting to the Association’s underground and the temporary isolation facility for monsters.

And the rooms on the second floor, reached by climbing the stairs from the living room, must be the magical girls’ personal rooms.

Yes, it’s the same.

If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s the messiness of the place.

Apart from the living spaces, there were piles of laundry on the sofa, drink cans and what looked like yesterday’s delivery food still on the dining table, and in the kitchen, except for the pots, all the dishes looked unused and new.

Yes, from my perspective, it was a complete mess.

Well, if you think of them as average people living alone, you might consider it relatively clean, but to my eyes, it’s a disaster.

Being a housekeeper is going to be tough.

“Blanc, what is this that I’m seeing?”

“Hmm…?”

“This chaos, is this a place where people live?”

“This much is…”

“Sigh, it seems organizing the house is more urgent than unpacking my things.”

To clean up this mess, I started by clearing the garbage from the dining table.

Half-drunk sodas and beer. Delivery food containers. While cleaning all this up, I nagged at Blanc.

How are you any different from Ellie in this regard?

Just as I finished the noisy cleanup and was about to organize the laundry on the sofa, a certain freeloader came down from upstairs.

Magical Girl Plum, real name Ha Yuri. One of the magical girls I had been entangled with for not-so-pleasant reasons.

And it wasn’t long before her bright yellow sun glared at the darkness.

* * *

“Yoonseul, what did you say?”

Yuri, who was gnawing on a chicken leg, asked in surprise.

“I said I want to keep something. You never come out, the kids go to school, and when I come home, there’s no one to welcome me.”

“Hmm, you want a pet?”

“Yeah, something kind of like a dog. I’ve been watching this pitiful one for a while. Will you scold me if I bring it home?”

“No, Yoonseul… but those are such a hassle to take care of… When you’re not here, I’ll have to manage everything…”

“Sis, don’t worry. If I bring it home, I won’t abandon it, and it won’t be that difficult to take care of.”

Arin, who had been listening nearby, put down her cola can and said:

“Sis, a dog? Really? Can I pet it all I want? Can I hug it like a little sibling? Hehe…”

“Hmm, wouldn’t it dislike being hugged too much?”

“I guess so? Then I’ll just pet it lots! My mascot doesn’t let me pet it…”

“Just don’t do it when it doesn’t like it.”

“Yoonseul, when are you planning to bring it home?”

Hyewon, sipping beer while sitting next to Yoonseul, asked.

“Hmm, probably tomorrow or the day after.”

“I don’t like fur shedding.”

“It’ll shed less than you do. The number of drains you’ve clogged must be in the hundreds.”

“Oh come on! Are you going to keep doing that?”

“Every time I clean, all I see is blonde hair.”

“Yoonseul, seriously!”

“Anyway, everyone’s okay with it, right? Seohyun too?”

“Huh? Oh, I don’t mind. I actually like animals.”

“Good, then I’ll go get it tomorrow.”

“But where did you find such a dog that you’re so eager to bring home?”

“Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve seen Yoonseul being so proactive about something.”

“I have my sources. It’s someone I’ve been watching for a long time.”

“Well, if that’s the case.”

Yoonseul smiled slightly and raised her beer can.

“Shall we make a toast? Before welcoming our new family member!”

“””””Cheers!”””””

The cans in the magical girls’ hands remained on the table after Hyewon, who had drunk too much, went to bed.

The next day, with Yoonseul staying out overnight and Hyewon going to her parents’ home to see her sister, the remaining three went out to eat, leaving the mess unattended for another day.

* * *

“You, what are you doing here?”

The question came from the freeloader watching from above.

It’s common courtesy to answer a question. So I answered her honestly.

After all, she’s my employer too.

“I’m Vine. I’ll be working in this house from today. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

“You, why are you here?”

“Umm, to work…?”

“Get out. Now.”

“Hmm, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Last warning. Get out.”

Her signature weapon, a pink dagger, glowed menacingly, adding weight to her words.

But with Blanc here, I can’t back down either.

I can’t give up on the bet.