Chapter 31

It’s raining.

Good thing I brought a shawl.

Returning to the hotel, I took off the shawl I was wearing and draped it over Dusik.

“U-unnie, I’m fine.”

“Fine, my foot. What if you catch a cold?”

“But unnie…”

“Would it look better if I caught a cold and you nursed me, or if you caught a cold and I nursed you?”

Dusik didn’t answer. As I wrapped the shawl around their shoulders, I realized it was actually pretty cold. Early October is autumn, after all, and the weather was quite chilly.

“Ugh, it’s really pouring. Dusik, your hair’s going to get soaked.”

Well, good. With the rain like this, no one will notice if you cry. Dusik.

Cry all you want.

—

When Dusik returned in a mess, Karin and Keru seemed to have a lot to say, but I subtly gestured for them to stay quiet and sent them away.

While Dusik cleaned up, I quickly washed Kabe and put her to bed. By the time Dusik finished showering, I asked,

“Want a beer?”

Offering alcohol to a minor isn’t exactly model adult behavior, but one can couldn’t hurt, right?

“Ah, no. I’m underage. I’ll have cola.”

We sat across from each other at the table with colas, neither of us opening them or saying a word.

“How are you going to handle the aftermath?”

“Dunno.”

I couldn’t leave it to Eve this time.

But honestly, I never planned to handle it anyway.

Should I have knelt and begged? But there’s no reason to.

Dusik was the victim, acting in self-defense.

Now it’s my job to protect them.

That’s why I get paid more than the others.

If something happens to my subordinates, it’s my job to fix it.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

Of course, I have no plan.

“Dusik, it’s late. Go to bed. Are you skipping school tomorrow?”

“Ah, no. I’ll go to school.”

Such a model student.

I put the unopened colas back in the fridge and headed to the shower.

When I came out later, Dusik had gone to their room, leaving a note on the table.

– Unnie, thank you.

It was a short and simple sentence, but the eraser marks showed they’d written and rewritten it. It felt sincere, and it made me smile.

—

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Do what?”

Eve handed me a printout of an internet news article along with a newspaper. I glanced at it and tossed it onto the table. The paper fluttered noisily.

“How are you going to deal with this?”

“Deal with what?”

It was the obvious question.

The evil organization Mogmog Group, the first terrorist act since the Mother-Body’s appearance.

Boldly targeting the police station as their first act of terror, the new Mother-Body’s aggressive actions begin?!

What a headline. There was even a photo of me smashing up the police station, taken from outside the window.

Wow, I was smiling. I was laughing while beating people up and breaking things. I must’ve been out of my mind.

“Hey, it’s actually good.”

“Are you insane?”

No, seriously.

The more I look like a ruthless, evil villain, the more the magical girls will shine in the fight at the end of the month. Isn’t that better for you guys?

I swallowed those words.

“Eve, you keep misunderstanding. I’m the villain. I’m fundamentally on the evil side. We need balance, right? The more we cozy up like this, the worse it gets. Understand?”

“You’re right. You are. But the more this happens, the harder it is for me to take care of you.”

Take care?

Hah, listen to this.

“Watch your mouth. Am I your kid? What do you mean, take care?”

“But you do need taking care of. The organization’s on the verge of collapse, and the boss keeps causing trouble because she can’t control her temper. How is that any different from a kid?”

“Hey, watch how you talk.”

“Waaah! Mom, Dad, stop fighting…!”

Oh, right. I was holding Kabe. She was hitting my chest and crying. I quickly stood up, holding her, and tried to calm her down.

“No, no, no. Kabe, Mom and Dad aren’t fighting. Right, Dad~?”

“Uh, uh… yeah, Kabe, Dad’s not fighting with Mom…”

Look at that awkward smile. Seriously, you’re a terrible actor. Tsk.

Kabe was stomping her feet, so I put her down. She grabbed my hand and Eve’s, pulling us together.

“Then, shake hands.”

“…”

In this atmosphere, a handshake? But seeing Kabe on the verge of crying again, I had no choice but to extend my hand to Eve.

“Here, we shook hands. Okay, Kabe?”

Honestly, even from the side, it looked painfully awkward. Like a handshake between two people who’d rather die.

“No. It’s weird. Hug.”

No, Kabe. That’s really not it. Kabe.

“Kabe, that’s really not it.”

Eve seemed to feel the same. I silently agreed with her as she voiced my thoughts to Kabe.

“Don’t want to…?”

Seeing Kabe’s eyes welling up again, I grabbed Eve’s hand and pulled her close.

Fine, whatever. What’s the big deal? It’s just a hug. If my daughter asks for it!

Eve, pulled in, didn’t get a chance to say anything before I hugged her tightly. The silver hair brushing my nose carried a fresh mint scent. The warm feeling in my arms wasn’t bad, surprisingly.

After a while, Eve also wrapped her arms around my waist. The height difference was noticeable, and I could see the top of her head.

“No bald spots.”

“Ugh, seriously.”

As soon as we broke the hug, Eve burst out laughing. I laughed too. Well, what’s the big deal? We’ll figure it out somehow.

“Wow, Mom and Dad hugging looks so nice. Now, kiss!”

No.

That’s really not it.

No matter how cute my daughter is, that’s a line I can’t cross.

“Uh, no… Kabe, a kiss is, no, a kiss is really not it.”

“Dad, why…?”

“It’s not that Dad doesn’t like it… it’s just…”

“Kabe, Mom doesn’t dislike Dad either. We just do it a lot when you’re not looking.”

“Mom, will you kiss Kabe too…?”

Huh? What’s this now?

“Ah, you want Dad and Mom to kiss you?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s no problem at all!”

Eve scooped Kabe up. Our lips touched Kabe’s cheeks with a soft peck.

“Hehe, Mom and Dad are so nice.”

“Yeah, Mom and Dad love Kabe so much!”

—

“Anyway, let’s stick to that concept for the press conference tomorrow. I might’ve been a bit angry and lashed out, but as the Mother-Body said, a villain’s gotta villain, right?”

And… Eve hesitated for a moment, glancing at me.

“Dusik, what happened… I’ve figured out who those people are. I’ll handle it on my end, so don’t get too upset.”

“Why are you taking care of my subordinate?”

“It’s not just anyone’s business. They were my subordinate too. I couldn’t take care of them back then, so I want to do it now. Understand?”

Well, it’s not something I can’t understand.

“Fine. Go ahead. And because of what happened yesterday, I couldn’t learn anything from Karin. Can I keep her for another day?”

“Sure. Keep her for as long as you want. Karin’s only good at making money now anyway.”

“Lucky. My cat doesn’t even have that skill.”

“Anyway, I’ll head out. I’ll be back by 4 PM tomorrow, so wait for me. I’ve got makeup and other preparations to do. I sent you the script earlier, so check it out.”

“Got it.”

After Eve left, I opened my email and found a new message.

“Sender… M.P.E…? What’s this…”

But the email address gave it away. MiraclePrincessEve. I burst out laughing.

Wow, seriously. A 27-year-old with an email address like Miracle Princess Eve? Maybe she’s staying in a woman’s body on purpose.

The script was about 7 pages long.

My lines and expected questions from reporters. But most of the expected questions were useless now.

After causing such a scene yesterday, most questions would probably be about that.

I skimmed through the script and closed it.

“I’m back from school.”

“Ah, Dusik’s back. Everything okay?”

“Yes, unnie. They were all absent today.”

Of course, if they showed up to school after getting beaten up like that, it’d be a miracle. We should recruit them to our organization. That kind of endurance is impressive.

“What did the teachers say?”

“They didn’t say much. But…”

“Yeah?”

“Unnie, you don’t use the internet much, right?”

“No. Why?”

“Well.”

Dusik started grinning. What? Why?

“Unnie, what happened yesterday is all over the internet. Your popularity actually went up.”

“I beat people half to death and destroyed a building, and my popularity went up?”

What kind of nonsense is this?

“Well, those guys weren’t just targeting me. Their parents have a lot of influence, so they’ve been bullying teachers and classmates… they were pretty bad.”

Ah.

“But since unnie beat them up, a lot of people actually like you now. Especially because of that photo taken through the window.”

“Oh, that one. I saw it. This one, right?”

I found the printout among the scattered papers on the floor.

Even in the chaos, I was using my right hand to smash things. Guess I still had some sense left.

“Yeah. That photo, unnie looks so cool. Especially the girls really like it. They’ve been asking me what you’re like.”

“Really? What did you say?”

“I just said you’re a good unnie…?”

You should’ve said I’m amazing.

Ugh, this kid’s hopeless.

“Well, whatever. If nothing happened to you, that’s good. Go wash up and rest. Do your homework.”

“Okay, unnie, you rest too.”

Dusik smiled and turned away.

That wasn’t a forced smile. Today must’ve been a really good day for Dusik.

It made me feel better too.

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