Chapter 64

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 22, 2025

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A day has passed since Aquamarine left.

They said they would prepare and distribute press releases from the public relations office or something, and sure enough, they did.

I checked to see if there was any new news, and it turns out that Aquamarine accepting my “challenge” was plastered all over every site.

Some people are venting their frustration, claiming it’s a conspiracy to harm the former gallery master, while others are honestly saying Eve is prettier than the Mother-Body… What is this kid even doing? Are they blind?

Anyway, Aquamarine is insisting that she is innocent and that this video doesn’t show everything. She claims she will prove it and have a fair match.

I wonder if becoming a magical girl makes your head spin.

Anyway, the match is set.

Now, there are six days left.

“Kabe, what do you want for lunch?”

“Ramen!”

“Hmm.”

Ramen, huh.

I wonder if it’s bad for the body, but since she eats vegetables well and is a good kid, it should be fine for a Sunday lunch.

“Yes, older sister.”

“Let’s have ramen for lunch. I’ll cook it, so call everyone.”

“Ramen? Sounds good!”

Who doesn’t like ramen?

I stretched and opened the cupboard, but there were only three packs of ramen. This won’t be enough.

Honestly, I’m really good at cooking ramen. Among the cooking skills I’ve developed while living alone, ramen is the one that has grown the most explosively.

I called Chilho as a porter to go to the mart.

I need to buy two boxes of thirty packs each, but I can’t carry them alone.

*

Dusik’s gaze is piercing.

“Just eat it. You can have it with kimchi.”

“Y-yes, older sister. I can have it with kimchi.”

I filled four large buckets with water and even used a burner to cook ramen for twenty people.

“Mom.”

“Yes.”

“I can’t taste the soup.”

Turns out the ramen is bland.

It’s beyond bland; it’s like that Han River ramen I sometimes see on the internet.

“Older sister, you’re really bad at cooking…”

“Shut up and eat. Eating too salty is bad for your health.”

Chilho just smiles at my scolding.

That guy.

“That’s right. Eating too salty is bad for your health, but since we’re minions, it doesn’t really matter.”

At that moment, a sickle flew right past Chilho’s head.

A few strands of Chilho’s hair were cut off.

“S-Sohee?”

“Next time, I’ll really throw it.”

Sohee’s fierce glare was enough to take down a tiger.

Wait, didn’t she already throw it?!

“D-didn’t you already throw it, Sohee?”

“Should I really throw it?”

“N-no!”

Chilho, pale with fear, started slurping the ramen without a word.

“Sohee, is it good?”

“It’s really delicious. It reminds me of the simple taste I used to enjoy so much.”

Sohee has been using more formal speech lately.

What if she really changes and asks for a wish?

Maybe just a date or something.

A date, that’s something I can do.

“Ugh.”

That’s when it happened.

The master bedroom door creaked open, and a familiar creature I hadn’t seen in a while shuffled out.

“Keu!”

Kabe, with a mouthful of ramen, jumped up and flew towards Keru.

“Keh, kehk! K-Kabe! Let go! I can’t breathe… kehk!”

Kabe grabbed Keru by the neck, causing Keru to start choking.

“Kabe, you’re going to kill Keru. Even if he’s useless, you can’t kill him.”

“M-Mother-Body, isn’t that a bit harsh?”

Even though I said that, I was also glad to see Keru.

Keru, the black-furred leopard.

A bit dumb and doesn’t know much, but still, he’s my mascot.

“Let’s go in.”

“Weren’t you eating?”

“I’m done.”

I can just grab a hamburger later.

*

“So, why did it take so long?”

Not the master bedroom, but a small room.

It’s my office, supposedly.

I even moved the desk from the basement office here.

Me sitting on the chair, and Keru sitting on the sofa across from me.

“It’s been a while since we had a victory report. We had to re-examine everything from the beginning to make sure there was no match-fixing, and even the auditors from the Divine Realm came down to investigate. It was no ordinary task. That’s why it took longer than expected.”

I see.

I’ve never been there, and honestly, just hearing about it doesn’t make it feel real, but the auditors came and checked if there was any match-fixing… Wait a minute.

“In the first match, was there match-fixing…?”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

Was Keru there at that time?

Probably not.

When Eve told me to lose.

You know, when she said I had to lose for the ad demonstration.

If my memory serves me right, Keru wasn’t there.

Then there’s no need to bring it up.

“Anyway, there’s no way anything would come out of that investigation. We fought fair and square, and even defeated Aquamarine, who came out as the captain.”

“Of course. I have nothing to be ashamed of. I won with my own strength.”

“Anyway, that’s why I came back. And…”

Keru looked around.

Confirming that only the two of us were in the room, Keru spoke with a serious face.

“I heard you’re going to have a duel with Aquamarine. Are you confident you can win?”

“How did you know that?”

Oh, right, of course.

“The betting is no joke. Even though you showed your potential in the last fight, there are still many gods who favor Aquamarine…”

Ah, this guy is getting long-winded again.

“Just get to the point.”

“I broke my savings and bet it all on you. Win this, Mother-Body.”

You little…

“Hey, you should have told me. Then I could have bet on myself too. Ah, you little…”

I got up and started choking Keru.

“After all the trouble I went through because of the lack of money! You made me go on TV and humiliate myself! And you watched from the side! And then you go and bet on your own! On a fight where your boss is fighting?! Huh?! Are you out of your mind?!”

“I-I’m sorry, Mother-Body! L-let go! I’m really going to die!”

“Since you’re screaming, you’re not dead yet, you brat!”

“Keh, kehk! Let go!”

*

After the commotion, I finally calmed down, and Keru’s face was still red.

“So, is the report done?”

“Yes. And the good news is that the balance has already risen to 17%.”

What did I do?

Just one win and the balance went up that much?

It was below 5% not long ago, and now it’s already 17%.

Does that make sense?

“The balance isn’t calculated just based on the record… NPCs, I mean humans, also factor in which side they favor more, so that’s why.”

Ten years ago, before the first magical girl, Eve, appeared, the Mogmog Group, which was powerful at the time, had over 90% control over humans.

Then Eve appeared, and as magical girls continued to appear, the Mogmog Group’s power rapidly declined.

The balance quickly reversed, with the Mogmog Group dropping to around 5%, and the magical girls gaining the upper hand, causing the Mogmog Group to fade from people’s memories.

Only the bereaved families remembered the Mogmog Group, while people forgot about them, and magical girls became a part of everyday life, solidifying that trend.

Then I, the Mother-Body, appeared, and the Mogmog Group started to become known again. Even though we lost the first match, our presence was revived in people’s memories.

And with the victory in the second match, people definitely recognized the Mogmog Group, and in addition—

“People are showing great interest in you, Mother-Body, and for some reason, they’re starting to have a friendly image of you. We’re still analyzing the reason.”

Well, do you really need to analyze that?

Just go into the community and you’ll see.

Tall, pretty, big chest.

I have all the elements to be popular.

Honestly, I’m much better looking than Eve.

If you disagree, Eve fans.

“Anyway. Keru, come here.”

“Are you going to hit me?!”

“No. Come here.”

I guess I hit him a bit too much. He thought I was going to hit him again, so he flinched and didn’t come over. I ended up grabbing his front paw and dragging him over.

“Anyway, you worked hard. Writing reports and all that must have been tough.”

“Why… why are you doing this, Mother-Body? Are you angry because you didn’t finish lunch?”

“No.”

I’m patting Keru’s head.

His short fur is well-maintained, and I can feel its softness every time my hand touches it.

“Ah. Vesperdel set.”

“Did you find out?”

Keru said he would look into it while going to report.

About where Bedel came from and how it happened.

Even though it’s a set with Vesperdel Armor, we have no idea about its origins.

“I did find out… but… Mother-Body, are you sure you were really human?”

“What? Do you want me to hit you again?”

“No, no! That’s not what I meant! Listen to me!”

According to Keru, it goes back to ancient times, to the age of myths.

When the gods, bored out of their minds, created a gambling den and turned this world into a game board, there was one goddess who opposed it.

She argued, why should we play such meaningless games with our creations? It is the duty of gods to love their creations, and she rebelled against the gods.

She had immense power, but it was not enough, and she was eventually defeated. The goddess, who was also the ruler of the Dark Realm, hoped that someone would inherit her will and stop this wrongful game of the gods. With her last strength, she created armor and spread it across the world before disappearing…

And Keru speculates that this is the Vesperdel Armor.

“It’s not certain.”

“It’s just a legend… but with mythical beasts and godslayers already appearing, it might not be just a rumor.”

“That’s true.”

But it doesn’t really have anything to do with me now.

If it were such powerful equipment, there’s no way I wouldn’t be able to use magic properly.

What’s the point of having so much magic power if I can’t use it?

“Whatever. It’s fine. There’s nothing certain anyway. Did you look into why I can’t use magic?”

“There’s no precedent. Everyone just scolded me, saying it doesn’t make sense for someone who can control magic to not be able to use it.”

Right.

It doesn’t make sense.

Why give me a unique weapon but not a unique spell?