episode_0117

[Episode 117] – At that time, Vivian (2)

No matter how much I washed my eyes, it was a bizarre house. The ceiling was made of chocolate-covered crackers, the window frames were decorated with cookies, the handles were smooth lollipops, and even the glue used was whipped cream.

“It’s surprising that bugs don’t get caught…”

“Because it’s magic.”

What is that damn magic?

I frowned at the sticky-looking cookie house, but Fran, as if nothing was wrong, grabbed the handle made of lollipops and opened the cookie door! opened.

Is it okay to touch that thick lollipop? At first glance, the candy looks melted and sticky, but would it have gotten on your hands? I felt like I wanted to hold Fran’s hand right now and run to the spring to wash myself.

As I thought about that, Titania suddenly came to mind.

‘I remember when Titania ate chocolate when she was little.’

At the age of six, Titania had her hands full of chocolate and was happily licking the chocolate off her fingers. The memory of thoroughly washing Titania’s hands came to mind. It was really cute back then.

Feeling helpless when I thought of Titania, I pinched my cheek and came to my senses. Now was not the time to miss Titania. Because right now in front of me is the witch from ‘Hansel and Gretel.’

Fran opened the door and entered the house and called the witch’s name.

“Katarina, are you there?”

The interior of the house made of cookies was more normal than expected. A floor made of wooden planks or ordinary wooden furniture. Unlike the strangeness of the outside, the inside was very ordinary.

If you have a problem instead…

‘…dirty.’

The inside of the house was seriously dirty.

Except for the kitchen where snacks were made, the entire space was dirty. Garbage and dust on the floor, laundry that hasn’t been put away. This was one of the reasons I didn’t want to meet this witch.

As Fran walked around the house, digging through the trash piled up on the floor, the sound of trash falling over was heard from inside the house. The innermost door burst open, and a half-dressed woman came out.

Crisp green hair. Dark circles extending down to the cheeks. Underwear worn in matching top and bottom. It was almost pitiful to see him hurriedly getting ready, turning his clothes inside out.

Katarina, who was hastily putting on a skirt and clothes, smiled brightly and bowed her head to the waist to greet me and Fran. It was a welcome greeting, but I looked at her blankly, feeling like I wasn’t being treated well at all.

“Uh, uh, uh, welcome…! “To my bakery…!”

“Katarina, it’s me. “Kirven’s Franc.”

“F-franc?”

Katarina bowed her head and looked at Fran, sighed in disappointment, and collapsed on the floor, sobbing. It looked like a doll with its strings unraveled.

“W-what… I thought I was a guest after a long time…”

Would guests come to such a dirty place…?

No, the exterior was definitely outstanding as a bakery, but it was clear that customers who saw the inside would run away. It’s so dirty that you don’t know where the shelves are and where the checkout counter is.

Fran continued speaking, ignoring Katarina.

“Katarina. “I brought in someone to work with me that I needed last time.”

“Uh, huh?! Me, really?! Uh, where?!”

Fran pointed to me, who was standing next to me. The moment Katarina turned her head and looked at me, who was standing next to Fran, her cloudy eyes shook as if there had been an earthquake.

“Ah, ah, ah, ah-”

“…I’m Vivian Liliensol. Please take care of me.”

“evil!! Vivian!!”

Katarina screamed almost as if she had seen a ghost.

Yes, I expected it to some extent. Most of the people who knew Vivian so far reacted this way. Rather, it was a new feeling because it had been a while since I had received such a response. Ugh.

Katarina’s eyes rolled back and she fell backwards. This was the second reason why I didn’t want to meet this witch. Even if a person is timid, he or she is too timid.

In other words, it meant that there was no communication between people.

‘Even in the original work, we had a hard time because we couldn’t communicate. Because the dialogue options were meaningless. This is why I didn’t really want to meet you…’

Fran looked back and forth between Katarina and me, then shrugged. As if to say, ‘It’s not my fault.’ Okay, what could be your fault? It’s all Vivian’s fault.

I sighed deeply and looked at the dirty corner of the house. I felt like now that Katarina had collapsed would be an opportunity, so I rolled up my sleeves and asked Fran to take care of the fallen Katarina.

“I’ll ask for Katarina. “I… need to clean this dirty place.”

“It’s okay if I clean it.”

Fran is pounding her chest as if she can’t see her maid uniform. I smiled and patted Fran’s head as he looked confident, as if he was saying, ‘I’m in charge of cleaning!’

“I’m afraid that if you make eye contact with me as soon as you open your eyes, you’ll faint again. “When you open your eyes, explain me well.”

“That too. All right.”

Fran picked up the collapsed Katarina and entered the inner bedroom. I turned my head and looked at the house that looked like it had been bombed again, sighed, and started looking for a broom.

*

It took almost four hours for Katarina to come to her senses and for Fran to explain me. Unlike other witches, Katarina may not have known about ‘me’, but it took her a little while to understand that Vivian was dead.

“Well, so. Rain with different contents, Vivian? “You mean that?”

“…yes. “You’ve already asked this question dozens of times.”

“I’m sorry… I just can’t believe it…”

Katarina is looking at me with her eyes glaring as if she really can’t believe it. When I sighed at the frustrated sight, Katarina’s shoulders jumped up as if they were on fire. Even with Fran’s mediation, it still looks like this…

I felt like I wouldn’t be able to talk about work even after a lifetime if things continued like this, so I quickly asked Katarina about the ‘job’ she had asked Fran for. In a situation where the applicant actually asked a question to the hiring manager, I almost laughed without realizing it, but I brushed it off and asked.

“Katharina? Now that you think about it, why do you need people to work?”

“Oh, that’s it… As you can see, my store doesn’t have many customers…”

“…Yes, so?”

“I-I can’t help but say that I can’t do business here… Now, should I say that the location is not good…? So, I’m thinking of moving the store, so I’m looking for employees to work with me there.”

“……okay. “Exactly, what does that employee do?”

“Uh, well, well, everything except cooking.”

“yes?”

Everything but cooking? As I looked at her in bewilderment, Katarina flinched and shook her shoulders. Could it be that he feels like a threat just by looking at me? I sighed involuntarily when I saw Katarina starting to tremble.

“…So, you’re looking for an employee who will take care of all store work except kitchen work?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. If possible… I’m looking for an ideal employee who will always accept customers instead of me and meet people instead of me… I’m looking for that kind of ideal employee.”

…At that moment, I had no choice but to unconsciously hold my forehead due to the pounding headache. I couldn’t help but feel that I had come for no reason. No matter how much I needed a job, this wasn’t enough.

I rolled my eyes and glared at Fran, but Fran, who had introduced this to me, didn’t seem to think much about the situation. She probably thinks it’s possible because she’s the perfect maid.

It was a moment when Fran, who had seemed reliable until now, looked like a fool.

Just as I was sighing, wondering what on earth to do, Katarina’s belly button, which was lying on the bed, rang loudly. Katarina, whose face turned bright red at the sound coming from her stomach, laughed awkwardly.

“S-sorry. “Because I couldn’t eat properly…”

“…? “I don’t have any money?”

“Oh, no. Well, money isn’t the problem… Because I only focus on making snacks… All I eat every day are the snacks I make… I don’t eat things like rice… Hehehe… !”

Is this something to say as if it were something to brag about?

I felt absurd when I saw Katarina scratching the back of her head and smiling shyly. Should I say that every single action is irritating, or should I say that I can’t leave it alone?

I knew about Katarina through the original work, but I knew for sure when I saw it with my own eyes. Katarina was a person who I thought would die alone if left like this.

“Ha…is it okay if I use the kitchen?”

“yes yes? “Gwa, it’s okay…”

“Then wait. “Fran, can you help me?”

“all right.”

I got up and headed to the kitchen, which was the cleanest in the house, with Fran. When I opened the warehouse where food was stored, funny enough, it was full of ingredients for making snacks. Flour, sugar, eggs, etc –

I took out eggs from the storage and started cooking with Franc’s assistance. It was an omelet that could be made with just eggs and salt, but I had never used this kitchen before, so I had to get help from Fran.

‘Cooking is easy if you can handle the kitchen. I didn’t cook when I came here because I didn’t have a chance to cook, but I used to live on my own.’

After putting three well-made omelettes on a plate, I picked them up and headed them towards Katarina. Katarina looked down at the plump yellow omelette in front of her and drooled.

“I’m sorry that I can only do this. If I had a variety of ingredients, I would have made something suitable… I only had the ingredients to make cookies, so I just made a rough omelette. “Eat it quickly while it’s warm.”

“Okay, I’ll eat well…”

“Also, we cleaned up some of the dirty things outside. I haven’t done the laundry yet, but if you tell me where to do it before I go, I’ll do it accordingly. And again…”

“Cleaning?”

Katarina, startled by the word cleaning, stood up and looked out the door. Although it was still less organized, Katarina couldn’t forget what she said as the interior looked noticeably different than when she first saw it.

“Bah, I can see the floor…!”

Katarina looked at the slightly organized house and thought about the spoonful of omelet she was holding in her hand. The omelette was like pudding, as soon as it touched the spoon, it fell out in its original shape.

When the salty omelette touched my teeth, it went down my throat without even chewing it a few times. My body was so full of warmth that I could feel the warm energy traveling down my esophagus to my stomach.

Katarina, who had hurriedly put all the omelet on her plate into her mouth, suddenly ran towards me. When I was startled while sitting, Katarina hugged my waist where I was sitting and snuggled into my stomach.

“Chae, hiring! “We’re hiring!”

“yes?! Oh, no, I don’t like it?!”

“Well, I refuse to refuse! Chae, we’re hiring! “You can’t go anywhere!”

“No, more than that…! “Get away from me!”

I tried to push her face, but Katarina, who was stuck like a leech, had no intention of falling off. I looked at Fran with sad eyes as if asking for help, but Fran just nodded while eating the omelet I made.

“Good for you. Vivian. “I found a job, so everything is okay.”

“What if everything is okay…!”

“Uh, Mom! Do not go!”

“Who, who is your mother?!”

…This is how I came to work with Katarina. Katarina cooked in the kitchen, and I took care of all other tasks. Displaying the sweets made by Katarina or serving guests.

After some discussion with Katarina, I moved with her to a small countryside far from the capital. There, Katarina opened a very small bakery in a small shop in the forest that she had prepared.

Although there were few customers and no money was made, Katarina said she was happy that others were eating the snacks she made.

He says that cookies containing his ‘magic’ become ‘medicine’.

A country bakery whose sweets contain little magic that can cure colds and other minor illnesses. From there, Katharina and I started living in the country alone.