Chapter 40

I was staring blankly at Kabe, who was diligently eating chicken next to me, and then I absentmindedly picked up the chicken bone she had left and started nibbling on the remaining meat.

“Mom, why are you eating what I ate? What are you eating?”

Kabe picked up a chicken leg and handed it to me. Only a daughter would take care of her mom like this.

“No, you eat that, Kabe. Mom can eat this. There’s still a lot of meat.”

Since my front teeth are weak, the chicken Kabe ate was half bone, half meat.

Whatever, it’s not a big deal if it’s something the kid was eating.

I was picking at the meat with my fingers and then just popped it into my mouth.

It’s Eve’s fault. She should’ve bought boneless chicken. Why did she bring chicken with bones? So annoying.

“Why are you grabbing a third leg? Aren’t you going to put it down? Give it to Dusik, you brat.”

At my scolding, Eve pouted and tightly gripped the chicken leg.

“I like legs.”

“Who doesn’t like legs? Give it here.”

I snatched the chicken leg from Eve and handed it to Dusik. Dusik, wearing plastic gloves, quickly took it and smiled brightly.

“Thank you, unnie!”

“Ah, but I like chicken legs…”

“Dusik hasn’t had any yet. Eve, when are you going to grow up as an older sister?”

Eve pouted her lips. But I’m not going to let it slide.

It’s the night before we move from the hotel to the officetel building in Gwangmyeong. Kabe said she wanted chicken while watching a commercial on TV, so I called Eve.

-Why do I have to buy chicken and bring it all the way there?

-Kabe said she wants to eat it.

-How many should I buy?

-Four. For me, you, Dusik, and Kabe.

-Wait 30 minutes.

About 30 minutes later, Eve knocked on our door.

And so began the sudden chicken party. In the middle of it, Keru returned.

“Euuuiaaaoa?”

“Eve, swallow before you speak.”

Disgusting. I poured cola into a cup, and Eve took it, drank it, and then exhaled loudly. So gross.

“Where did Keru go?”

“I went to the Dark Realm to investigate something about the God-Slaying Wolf.”

As I was about to pick up another bone Kabe had left, Kabe suddenly reached out her hand to me. In her tiny hand was a piece of chicken the size of her palm.

“Mom, say ‘ah’.”

“Ah.”

Kabe eagerly put the chicken meat into my mouth. It was more like chicken skin than meat, but I eat chicken skin too! I like it!

“Delicious.”

“Yeah, it tastes even better because our daughter gave it to me.”

“Hehe.”

It’s not a lie. It really was delicious. I wanted to pat Kabe’s head as she giggled mischievously, but my hands were covered in oil and seasoning, so I held back.

For some reason, Eve was looking at me with a face that seemed like she was about to cry, but why? It really was delicious. Chicken skin is so good.

“Kabe, eat a lot too.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway, Keru, keep talking. What’s this God-Slaying Wolf?”

“It’s a beast that appeared during a minor dimensional war in Europe thousands of years ago.”

Can “thousands of years ago” and “minor” be used together with “dimensional war”?

“It’s a beast that killed a demon god who tried to forcibly overturn the board. That’s why it’s called the God-Slaying Wolf.”

“Kabe, is that true?”

“I don’t remember that.”

“She says no.”

“Well, that’s how it’s been passed down. After killing the demon god, it disappeared immediately. Since then, there’s been no trace of it, so I didn’t expect it to suddenly appear like this.”

“Hmm… I see.”

I threw the cleaned chicken bone to Keru.

I know. I’m being harsh on Keru. But if you were in my position, anyone would understand. Keru really needs to be grilled. He’s the kind of existence that needs to be tormented.

“What is this?”

“What do you mean? It’s a chicken bone.”

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“Payment for the errand.”

“I went all the way to the Dark Realm to investigate, and this is the payment?!”

“Oh, really?”

I was sitting on the bed. I quietly took off my slipper and lifted my foot, then started stomping on Keru’s head.

“Stop it, Mother-Body!”

“Hey, Keru. You killed a demon god and disappeared. Since then, there’s been no trace. You didn’t expect it to suddenly appear. The end. Is this what you investigated? Is this it? Huh?”

“Well, that’s…! Research on the God-Slaying Wolf has been done much more in the Light Realm than in the Dark Realm, so there wasn’t much data in the Dark Realm! Eve, say something!”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Eve. Eve, feeling a bit pressured by the stares, scratched her cheek with her pinky and smiled awkwardly.

“There’s more data than what Keru investigated. Some legends have been passed down, so Prilly recognized the God-Slaying Wolf immediately. But we also couldn’t find any traces. It’s pretty much treated as a legend now.”

“But if our daughter is a wolf, then what about the father…!”

“Using ‘father’ and ‘brat’ together sounds weird.”

“Now, now, unnie. Keru-nim also worked hard, so let’s stop. We’ll figure it out gradually.”

Dusik awkwardly smiled and started massaging my shoulders. There, there, unnie, don’t get angry. If you get angry, you’ll get wrinkles. You need to take care of your skin. As she said that, my anger slowly subsided.

“Right. Dusik is right. Keru didn’t just go out to play.”

“Hey, but look. Since we’re on the topic, Keru really hasn’t told me anything properly, right? That fungus…”

Oops. Dusik is here.

“I mean, like, during battles, he didn’t teach me anything about maps, zooming in, or marking spots, right?”

“Well, unnie, there was a reason for that…”

“A reason?”

If Keru had said it, I would’ve thought it was just an excuse, but if Dusik says it, there must be a good reason.

“Probably because Keru-nim didn’t know either…”

“Mother-Body.”

“Yeah.”

I put my foot down, and Keru, finally sitting properly, looked at me with a very sad expression.

“I’ve taught you everything I know. What I haven’t taught you…”

“Is what?”

“Is because I don’t know either.”

What?

“Mother-Body, think about it. The rules of this battle were mostly created and confirmed by Cyclone-nim. And when he was around, our organization was doing well.”

“Right?”

That was over 10 years ago, before the Magical Girls appeared. Back then, the Mogmog Group was doing really well. They were on TV almost every day, urging people to surrender.

The Mogmog Group was unstoppable, charging forward with unstoppable momentum…

“And then the Magical Girls… this Eve here appeared, and our organization hasn’t won a single battle since.”

We got wrecked.

“Not a single victory…”

So, we haven’t won a single battle. Then…

“Moreover, after Cyclone-nim disappeared, all the Mother-Bodies since then have been weak, with insufficient magic power. They couldn’t even produce enough minions to go out and fight.”

“So?”

“They just went out, got wiped out by a couple of Magical Girls, the minions were destroyed, and the Mother-Body barely managed to recover before collapsing again, unable to go out.”

“So…?”

“And among those Magical Girls, there’s… you know, those two.”

“Cough!”

Eve, who was eating a chicken wing, suddenly started coughing and pounding her chest.

“Prilly and Aquamarine?”

“Yeah, them. Those two… fought over the previous Mother-Body… ahem.”

Ah. I get it. The story about how they fought over the Mother-Body and got tired of it, so they retired.

“Anyway, after suddenly retiring, the organization was really on the brink of life and death, and since the new Mother-Body was found before the retirement, there was no proper handover.”

Not wrong. Tsk. If you put it that way, I guess I have to accept it. I know Keru also tried his best, and Dusik also worked hard. I guess I should stop being so harsh. But then, shouldn’t Dusik, who was supposed to be in command, know? Did she not know either?

Anyway, that’s not important right now.

“But then, if Kabe is this God-Slaying Wolf, then what am I, who Kabe calls mom?”

“That’s the mystery now. Kabe doesn’t give proper answers when asked.”

“She’s just a kid, so that’s probably why. Kabe, do you remember anything?”

Kabe, who had filled her stomach a bit, let out a small burp and smiled at me.

“I don’t remember. Dad, can I have more cola?”

“Just a little. Do you have to brush your teeth before bed?”

“Yeah.”

Kabe, with her hands covered in seasoning, precariously held the cup. She already had a cup of cola earlier, but she’s getting more. Dads, huh.

“Kabe, just drink that cola and stop.”

“Okay, got it.”

Eve, who was watching Kabe drink cola, turned her gaze back to me.

“By the way, Mother-Body.”

“Yeah.”

“When’s the next battle?”

Hmm. We need to decide that. But there’s something more urgent.

“No. There’s something we need to talk about first.”

You think I’m just going to let it slide?

“What?”

Eve looked at me with wide eyes, genuinely confused. This sly fox.

“Hey, aren’t you going to settle the advertising fees?”

“Ah, right.”

“Ah, right? Ah, right? You’re just going to ignore it!”

“That needs a contract signature for the money to come in. You haven’t lived in society… ah, no. Sorry.”

You’re looking down on me. Just because I can’t speak up now, I used to work with government officials.

“Hey, do you know how many years I’ve been rubbing shoulders with government people?”

“Right… I kind of know. Sorry. That was a slip of the tongue.”

“Good, then behave.”

Eve apologized with a sincere expression. If she’s apologizing like this, I can’t stay mad. But what does she mean by “kind of know”?

“Anyway, fine. Just show me the contract copy once it’s signed. And show me the deposit receipt once the money comes in.”

“Why those?”

“Hey, do you know how much trouble I had because of a messed-up contract? Contracts need to be checked perfectly. I need to see it too, so take care of it.”

“Alright. Got it.”

It feels a bit strange that Eve is being so obedient, but anyway, she said she got it.

“Anyway, Keru, report to me as soon as you find out anything about the God-Slaying Wolf. Eve, when’s the production device installation?”

“This Saturday. The day you guys move in. Maybe the evening before?”

“We need to do one more production then.”

I realized something during this battle. Commanding isn’t that hard. But with a severe lack of troops, commanding alone can’t cover it.

We always need to maintain a basic number of minions. We need to recruit enough minions to act as soldiers, and we need more high-ranking units like Kabe.

“I have some work that day, so I won’t be able to stay with you.”

I nodded at Eve’s words.

“It’s okay. It’s our work, so we should handle it ourselves. We can’t rely on you forever.”

“That’s a good mindset.”

“I’ll keep relying on your wallet.”

Eve made a face, but when I smiled at her, she also burst out laughing. Yeah, what are you going to do with all that overflowing money? Spend it on me and Kabe. Why the face? Huh? You mad?

“Hey, by the way, why aren’t you paying child support?”

Eve’s eyes widened at my words.

“What child support?”

“Think about it. Kabe calls you dad, and I’m the one raising her. Shouldn’t you at least pay child support to fulfill your fatherly duties?”

“Uh, uh? Is that so?”

Eve started blushing, clearly flustered. It’s kind of fun to tease Eve.

“How much should I pay…?”

“Just kidding. What child support? I was just messing with you.”

“But still… Kabe needs to go to school and all.”

Ah. I’ve been thinking about that but kept forgetting to bring it up.

“Right, that’s true. Kabe needs to go to school or kindergarten. What about her identity?”

“Hmm…”

Eve thought for a moment, then scratched her cheek and smiled awkwardly.

“I’ve handled things like that before. I’ll take care of Kabe’s identity. Should we send her to kindergarten first? It might be difficult to send her straight to school.”

“Yeah. That would be best. You made my identity too, after all.”

“Right. Did Keru tell you?”

“Yeah.”

I’m actually grateful for that. Looking back now, I realize how hellish the company I used to work at was. Thanks to Eve, I was able to escape that hell and gain a stable identity, so I should be grateful.

“I’m really grateful for that. If it weren’t for you, I might still be stuck in that hellish place, being treated like a zoo monkey.”

If a man became a woman, wouldn’t that be amazing? Being treated like a zoo monkey would be a blessing.

“Right…”

Suddenly, Eve tightly grabbed my hand. She looked so sad, with tears welling up in her eyes.

“Anyway, I’m really grateful. Take good care of Kabe. She’s our child, after all.”

“Right… trust me. I’ll handle it perfectly.”

“Okay, I’ll trust you, Association President.”

So, Kabe can start going to kindergarten now. I’m looking forward to seeing Kabe in a chick outfit.

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