Episode 355. My Girlfriend Can’t Be Unemployed.

As I played with Liliana, time flew by quickly.

Of course, listening to that hellish song was tough, but luckily, I managed to endure until Scarlet arrived.

“… She’s finally here.”

“Huh? What are you talking about… Ah, it’s Scout!”

“Yes. Liliana-nim.”

Tok-tok.

As always, Scarlet opened the window and appeared.

Despite that, not a single wrinkle on her clothes was a truly professional sight.

Now, I really wish she’d use the door.

“Hoyeon-nim. I have something to say.”

“Suddenly?”

“Yes. It’s important.”

“… What is it?”

Could she be pregnant?

I hadn’t checked the contraception magic, but… No way…

“Starting today, I’ve become unemployed.”

“… What?”

I blinked and looked at Scarlet’s face.

*

“That’s how it happened.”

“… Really?”

“Yes. I’m unemployed starting today.”

Scarlet’s words, that she had just submitted her resignation and received approval, made me cover my eyes with my palm.

My girlfriend couldn’t possibly be unemployed….

Right.

Let’s at least hear the reason.

“Quitting is your choice, but… what’s the reason?”

“Since it’s already been found out anyway, I have to give up one of the two. Either you or the Iris Guild. Since I chose you out of those two, I think I deserve praise.”

“You were found out? What did you do, you punk? You should have been more careful.”

“… In front of everyone, I took a hit for you, do you think the Guild Master wouldn’t know?”

“Ah….”

Thinking about it, that makes sense.

The great Isaac wouldn’t overlook that.

If he couldn’t even notice something like that, he should just step down as the Iris Guild Master.

“Besides, within the Iris Guild too, I kept coming and going from this dorm, so Isaac-nim probably knew about it.”

“Is that so. Then, does that old man know that I go to Alice’s place too?”

“Of course.”

That’s kind of scary.

As expected, I need to be careful at night.

Scarlet tapped her finger on the table and continued speaking.

“Since I’ll be returning to Korea soon anyway… tidying everything up in advance isn’t a bad idea. I was getting kind of bored, too.”

“I’m sorry, Scarlet. A woman who’s unemployed is a no-go.”

“Then, shall I try asking him to take me back, since I brought him good information?”

“I love you. For the rest of your life, I won’t let a drop of water touch your hands.”

“Thank you, my love. That was quite a romantic confession.”

Scarlet giggled.

In Korea, it’s a classic, tried-and-true confession, but it works in France.

I learned something good.

Just then, Liliana clapped her hands and chimed in.

“You don’t have to go to work anymore! Scarlet! Can you keep playing with me!”

“Yes. It’s thanks to you, Liliana-nim.”

“Yes, yes. Good job. Well done. Scout!”

“… Liliana. Can you please settle on a title now?”

It’s not just once or twice; she calls me Scarlet and Scout interchangeably as she pleases, so I get confused too.

I’ve almost called Scarlet “Scout” more than once.

It’s all Liliana’s fault.

“It’s okay. Scarlet is gone now. Only Scout remains.”

“… Right. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you’re sticking with Scout, right?”

Maybe she’s Scarlet when working and Scout when she’s home?

They seem similar enough, but I can’t be sure.

Now that she’s unemployed, I guess I’ll never know.

“Scout! This won’t do. Do you want to listen to my song too?”

“My song?”

“… Well, enjoy it.”

I don’t understand at all what she meant by “this won’t do.”

I gave up trying to talk to Liliana and looked at my smartwatch.

I should reply to my messages.

“How is it? Amazing, right? Hip-hop is trending, so I tried making one too.”

“… Yes.”

While replying to my messages, I observed Scarlet’s expression.

Was Scarlet also unable to give a positive response to that hellish song?

How to react so Liliana wouldn’t get hurt while Scarlet pondered this was quite cute.

Just then. Instantly, I sensed the surrounding mana distorting.

Sssuk-

“Hm?”

“Haa. Haa….”

Simultaneously, I heard ragged breaths behind me.

Turning around, red hair blocked my vision.

Among the women I know, the one with red hair is only one person.

It’s Rebecca.

“What the, Rebecca-ssi?”

“Gasp… Baby daddy. Haa.”

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

It was the first time I’d seen such an urgent Rebecca.

Even when she mistook me for a Rune Clan member and tried to pounce on me, it wasn’t this bad.

“Drink this and calm down.”

“Haa, yeah. Thanks….”

I offered my coffee to Rebecca, and after drinking it and catching her breath, Rebecca soon sat beside me.

Looking exhausted, Rebecca brushed off her clothes, took off her outer jacket, hung it on the chair, and spoke.

“Phew… I almost died. Really.”

“… What’s going on all of a sudden? Speaking of which, you sent a message saying something big happened. What happened?”

“Uh-huh… I’ll tell you everything.”

The story Rebecca told me was quite shocking.

I was listening in on a Pandemic executive meeting, and the content was that Pandemic was keeping an eye on me, who had thwarted numerous terrorist attacks in France and Victoria Academy.

It is a big deal.

But…

“Hmm… Well, actually, it’s about time.”

It makes sense.

In the first place, the protagonist should naturally attract aggro from Pandemic.

Of course, in the original game, it takes at least a year, but my power level has already surpassed that of the original game’s second year.

It’s enough to attract attention.

Moreover, compared to the original story, I’ve stopped more of Pandemic’s terrorist attacks.

Not only at Victoria Academy, but I also prevented a major terrorist incident in France.

“Still, I don’t feel good about it.”

“It’s not just that. It’s a disaster.”

Rebecca seemed to be worried about me.

From my perspective, it’s just ‘what was bound to happen has happened,’ but to a third party, it’s natural to think it’s a disaster.

No, but if they’ve recognized my existence, isn’t Rebecca also in danger?

“Thank you for your concern, Rebecca-ssi. I also think it’s a big deal. But aren’t you, Rebecca-ssi, more in danger than me? Now that they know about me, they won’t let go of the connection between you and me, I suspect.”

Even though Rebecca has the Rune barrier, she could still get caught occasionally.

Pandemic’s eyes are everywhere.

And the moment she gets caught even once, she’ll be brainwashed again.

Now, being in Pandemic has become too dangerous.

“Yeah. So starting today, I’m quitting.”

“… What?”

“I’m unemployed starting today. Baby daddy. What am I going to do?”

Rebecca pouted and slumped over the table.

… You’re unemployed too?

*

A moment later.

Rebecca sat up and clenched her fist defiantly.

“Still, I’ve saved up a lot of money, so don’t worry!”

“… That’s a relief.”

For now, I guess I should be thankful.

If there’s no money, I can’t even save the Rune Clan.

That’s reality.

Raising a child costs so much money.

“Actually, I’m unemployed too, but I have a lot saved up.”

“Oh my, is the baby daddy’s girlfriend unemployed now too? Weren’t you part of the Iris Guild?!”

“It just happened that way. I got caught by a bad guy, really badly.”

“Yes, yes. That’s a good choice. Women are happiest when they’re at home looking after their children. Ah, I’ll cover the child-rearing expenses for our baby, so the baby daddy’s girlfriend doesn’t have to worry.”

“… Why would I worry about that.”

Just then, Scarlet and Liliana joined our conversation.

About the hellish song, it seemed they were done sharing their reviews.

“Speaking of which, why doesn’t Rebecca call Scout by her name?”

“I’ll call her that from now on. It was fun seeing her react when I called her ‘baby daddy’s girlfriend’, but she doesn’t react amusingly anymore. Scarlet-yang.”

“… I suspected it, and it’s true.”

“Why are you picking a fight with the quiet Scarlet….”

“I’m doing it because I want to get closer, that’s all.”

“That’s right. Rebecca also wants to get close to Scout.”

“As expected, Liliana understands well. … But Liliana, will you keep using informal speech?”

“I’m older than you, so what are you talking about?”

“…”

Today, why are there so many headache-inducing conversations going on? I don’t know.

Whether they’re getting along well or badly, I can’t tell.

‘It must be the good side, right?’

That must all be expressions of affection.

I looked at Rebecca and continued speaking.

“Well, yes. Since you’ll be staying at my place too, Rebecca-ssi, it would be nice if we got along.”

“That’s a relief! I was worried I’d be kicked out.”

“Why would I kick you out? Oh, speaking of which, don’t you have your own personal forces, Rebecca-ssi?”

“Yeah. For now, I’ve removed all the brainwashing. And I gave them severance pay and fired them all.”

“Is that okay?”

Firing them just after giving severance pay…

I worried about the sad reality of a breadwinner losing their job overnight, but the reality was more dismal than I imagined.

“It’s better that way. They were all people I picked up with no talent anyway. I told them to live in hiding as much as possible before Pandemic notices, so they’ll manage on their own.”

“Ah… Maybe those people might become Pandemic’s targets. They could extract information about Rebecca-ssi, you see.”

“They probably will, no doubt. Still, their loyalty was decent, so I have to trust them. When I removed their brainwashing, I gave them a rough rundown of the situation.”

“… Rebecca-ssi is very sentimental.”

“I’m not sentimental. I just believe that living virtuously brings good luck.”

Actually, to eliminate all potential risks, killing Rebecca’s forces would be the cleanest solution.

Still, it’s fortunate she’s a good person.

While I was talking with Rebecca, Scarlet and Liliana were also conversing with each other.

“Scout, how will we earn our living expenses now?”

“Hoyeon-nim took quite a bit of money from Alice-agassi.”

“Oh… Right, right. He earned much more than my broadcasts did.”

“And Liliana-nim’s broadcast revenue will also gradually increase. I looked into it, and nowadays, uploading edited videos seems to be more effective than streaming….”

“Really? Can I do that too?”

Hmm.

Living expenses are important.

Since the two of them seemed to be discussing important business matters, I looked back at Rebecca.

“Speaking of which, how is that fake dungeon magic coming along?”

“Ah, I am preparing it… but honestly, it seems like it will take quite a lot of time.”

Someday, the day will come when I have to reveal the truth to the heroines.

The shocking truth that I have over ten girlfriends….

The fake dungeon magic I’m preparing to lessen the shock then.

Since I wasn’t expecting it to be completed right away anyway, I calmly continued speaking.

“Is there anything you need? Or can I help? I have some money saved up too. Or we could work on the magic circle formation together.”

“Hmm… Money-wise, I don’t have a salary coming in anymore, so I’m fine. As for the magic circle, we can create it together.”

“Then, let’s create the magic circle together. When we return to Korea, we’ll have plenty of time.”

“That’s good. Ah, when should we make our baby?”

“… Now that I’m a bit less busy.”

I had already prepared myself mentally to embrace Rebecca.

Actually, it’s not something that requires preparation.

For me, I just have to do what I always do.

“I’m fine with doing it right away, but… the baby daddy said he’s returning to Korea the day after tomorrow, right?”

“That’s right. The day after tomorrow is Thursday.”

“Then, shall we consummate our union that day…!”

Rebecca licked her lips and met my eyes.

It was like a child who got the toy they wanted.

“In Korea?”

“Yes. Babies should be made in a good environment!”

Rebecca seemed to have found some composure.

It feels like just yesterday she was crying her eyes out, saying she couldn’t make a baby.

“Now that I have nothing to work on… it’s because I have free time. First, I should look into baby supplies.”

“… You’re not even pregnant yet?”

“Yeah. I have to do it before my body gets heavy. Baby daddy, always take care of yourself. We need to extract good quality genes.”

“Well, the way you say things… gulp. Yes. Understood.”

I watched Rebecca smile happily and swallowed my remaining words.

Right. If she’s happy, that’s all that matters.