Chapter 17

I changed into my T-shirt as pajamas and put Kabe to sleep, then lay down next to her, about to drift off into a hazy sleep.

From under the bed, Keru’s voice, curled up, reached me.

“Mother-Body. You must not gather magic power next to the child. Don’t do it.”

What’s this about gathering magic power? As if I’d do something like that.

“What are you talking about? I’m just lying down to sleep.”

“What? Then what is it? This high-purity magic power’s… gathering… wait?!”

As Keru sat up, I also sprang up. For some reason, I could feel it too. Something dangerous, a dark and murky energy swirling and gathering above the bed. And at its source was Kabe.

Around Kabe’s body, the dark and murky energy swirled like a whirlpool, gathering intensely.

The ominous gathering of magic power was so intense it sent chills down my spine.

“Mother-Body! Get away!”

As the magic power condensed, Keru shouted at me to move, but instead, I threw myself towards the sleeping Kabe and hugged her tightly.

At the same time, a powerful explosion erupted from my room.

Children are not adept at controlling their power.

In other words, children cannot predict what will happen when they exert this much power.

It’s the adults’ responsibility to care for such children.

“Mommyyyyy…”

My room was almost like ground zero. Looking around, all I could see were scorched and burned marks.

Startled from her sleep, Kabe clung to me, looking around. Seeing the room in chaos, Kabe tightly gripped my collar.

“Mommy, are you okay?”

“Yeah, Kabe. Mommy’s fine. It’s nothing.”

I patted Kabe’s hair, who was worried about me first, and stood up holding her. Even though there wasn’t much proper furniture left, the bed, which was the only piece of furniture that served its purpose, was also destroyed, with mattress pieces and springs scattered everywhere.

“Boss!”

Dusik and the minions rushed into my room. Still half-asleep, seeing my loyal subordinates stumbling in, I felt proud—

Not at all, I have no idea what to do now.

-Ding dong.

-Ding dong.

-Ding dong.

“We know you’re inside. Come out quickly. We’ve received a report!”

“Mr. Kwak Dusik, we can see you’re inside. Come out quickly!”

Twisting the already dysfunctional door open, the police and the landlord rushed in.

“Boss. Please handle the police.”

“Alright. Good job.”

Holding Kabe, I walked towards the police.

Dusik walked towards the landlord with a grave expression.

Now it’s time to beg for forgiveness.

“It’s just a simple explosion. There must be something you’re not telling us.”

“That’s, no, I don’t know either. Look, how scared the child is. Is it right for the police to harass people like this?”

“It’s police, not a cane. Anyway, can we take a look inside?”

Kabe’s eyes widened as she looked up at the police. Holding her, it was clear we looked like mother and daughter. Using Kabe as a shield, I protested, and the police seemed to back off a bit from their interrogation stance.

“Yes, feel free to look. There’s nothing strange here.”

Keru said it wasn’t illegal remodeling. We reported the structural changes, right? Anyway, I’m confident. The production facilities are all enchanted with illusion magic, so they just look like ordinary furniture to normal people.

“Hey, Mr. Dusik.”

“Uh, sorry. I, uh…”

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it. How many times have I told you that the floor above is a study room? If the students complain and leave, what will you do? Will you pay for everything?”

“Sorry…”

While the police went inside to look around, I approached Dusik, who was bowing to the landlord, holding the sleepy Kabe.

“Look here, newlywed.”

What?

“I allowed you to live here with so many people because you said you wouldn’t be noisy, but what is this now!”

…The building owner is above the creator. If we get kicked out, we have nowhere to go. I was a bit offended by being called a newlywed, but seeing me holding Kabe, I couldn’t really argue.

“Uh, sorry, but the child is sleeping, so please lower your voice. And this explosion, we don’t know why it happened, but it could be a building defect.”

“Building defect? What defect?!”

“The child is sleeping, so please lower your voice.”

“Are you in any position to tell me what to do?!”

No, seriously. I handed Kabe to Dusik. Dusik silently held the sleeping Kabe.

“Hey, ma’am.”

“What? Ma’am?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re done talking!”

“I’m not done. Look, if you’re human, shouldn’t you at least ask if anyone’s hurt or what happened before jumping to conclusions? Do you know if we caused this or if there was a gas leak in the building? Why are you only blaming Dusik? Are you out of your mind?!”

“You, you?! Hey, are you done talking?!”

“I said I’m not done! Hey, Kwak Dusik!”

“Yes!”

“Call the forensic team! Damn it, this crumbling building, do we have anywhere else to go? Huh?!”

We don’t.

“Good timing. Hey, officer! Officer or cane or whatever, come here!”

The police, who had been looking around inside, were coming out. Seeing me angrily gesturing, they slowly approached.

“Hurry up!”

“What’s the matter?”

“Officer, can you tell if this explosion was our fault or a building defect?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure…”

“Right? You can’t tell, can you? Hey, ma’am. Even the officer doesn’t know, so why are you blaming Dusik, huh?!”

“Well, circumstantially…”

The police actually helped this time. Since even they couldn’t determine the cause of the explosion, the landlord had no choice but to back down. Seizing the opportunity, I—

“Alright, let’s stop here. The explosion has been reported, and thankfully, there’s no fire. It’s best to wait for the results instead of arguing.”

I made a big fuss, but now I’m worried about the aftermath. Luckily, only my room was destroyed, and the hallway is still intact.

“Kabe is definitely not an ordinary minion.”

“Is that so?”

My arm was a bit sore, so I switched the hand holding Kabe. The hallway floor was just stone, so there was no place to lay Kabe down.

So, I sat on the office sofa, holding Kabe.

“That high-purity dark magic power isn’t something just anyone can handle. From what I’ve seen, only a few can. A child like Kabe handling it is a first. And that concentration…”

“Is that so.”

I didn’t feel much. I need to understand to react.

“Mother-Body, it’s thanks to you.”

“What is?”

“When the magic explosion happened, you covering Kabe reduced the explosion’s power. If it weren’t for you, the explosion would have spread and destroyed the entire floor. The building would have collapsed. As expected…”

“As expected, I’m a true boss, right?”

“Mommy is amazing.”

“You little brat.”

“Anyway, what are you going to do?”

“Changing the subject. First, the forensic team is coming tomorrow. We need to clean up by then. Once the results are out, they’ll blame us anyway, so we need to clean up, right?”

“I guess.”

Keru curled up on the office floor and started purring.

“Call Eve?”

“Yeah. Tell her to come tomorrow morning. And Kabe and I will stay at the hotel nearby. What about you?”

“I’ll just sleep here.”

“Alright. Do that.”

I could sleep on the office chair, but I can’t let Kabe sleep like that. I need to eat well and sleep well. She’s already sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world.

I stood up, holding Kabe.

“Ah. The corporate card…”

Wait. The corporate card, I think I put it in my wallet. The card I gave Kabe to buy toiletries is on the office desk, and the corporate card should be in my wallet.

My wallet is in my jacket.

My jacket was on the hanger in my room.

The hanger in my room is gone with the room…

“Sigh…”

“It’s, it’s not my fault this time, Mother-Body.”

“I know… I know…”

I know, but seeing Keru saying it’s not his fault makes me even angrier.

“45,000 won for the stay~”

“One-time payment…”

The credit card usage notification came through text. My balance is still sufficient. Since I don’t have expensive hobbies, my salary just keeps piling up.

But that doesn’t mean I can spend it recklessly.

Holding the toiletries, I entered the room. Seeing the bed, I laid Kabe down. Sniffing, I noticed a faint burnt smell, so I took off her clothes, opened the window, and shook them out.

“Ugh. Mommy’s done for.”

I took off my clothes and shook them out too. Hanging Kabe’s and my clothes on the hanger, I decided to take a shower and went into the bathroom.

“Phew…”

I didn’t have the luxury to look at myself in the mirror. I’ve seen enough. I quickly showered, wrapped a towel around my head, and left the bathroom.

I didn’t know when Kabe would wake up. Thankfully, Kabe was still sleeping soundly. I heard children wake up if their mom isn’t beside them, but Kabe doesn’t seem to be like that.

I might be naturally taking on the mom role, but it doesn’t matter. Having grown up without family warmth, I had fantasies about family.

Even if Kabe isn’t my biological daughter, and even if I won’t have children in the future, since I created her, she’s no different from my own child.

Thinking that, I lay down next to Kabe, looked at her sleeping face, and dozed off.

“So, this is”

Kabe, held by Eve, tugged at Eve’s hair.

“Daddy, daddy’s hair is long.”

“Kabe’s”

Kabe, held by Eve, poked at Eve’s chest.

“Daddy’s boobies are small.”

Oops, Eve’s angry face…

“…Kabe. You shouldn’t say things like that.”

Eve, who arrived early in the morning, held Kabe and looked around the base.

Scared by Eve’s expression, Kabe reached out to me, and I took her.

“Kabe, fact violence is bad.”

“What’s fact violence?”

“It’s something like that. You shouldn’t say things too truthfully.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You don’t need to understand yet.”

Holding Kabe, I listened to the mother-daughter conversation. Eve suddenly got annoyed and frowned.

“Daddy’s angry?”

“No, no. Anyway, this, Kabe caused a magic explosion, and this happened?”

“Yeah.”

“So why did you call me?”

“To help clean up.”

“Hey, what am I, we just met yesterday?”

“Kabe, daddy says mommy and Kabe should sit on the street…”

“Street? We don’t have a home now?”

“That’s what it seems…”

“Damn it.”

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