Chapter 108
Eventually, I made a U-turn and headed back home.
No matter how cursed I was, I was still in a man’s body now, so I couldn’t just stay at the A-jin’s house.
The empty room downstairs was fully furnished, set up so that all I had to do was walk in to enjoy a comfortable stay.
From the moment I returned to the modern world, I was relieved that this house had no tenants, which came in handy at times like this.
If there had been a strict tenant, dealing with that would have been one massive headache.
Well, I can’t say there wasn’t any incident during the process of entering the house, but it wasn’t anything serious.
“Ah!”
At the sudden scream from behind, A-jin and I both turned sharply around.
Instead of a 180 cm boy, there stood a high school girl desperately trying to hold up her drooping pants.
Seeing Yuli back in her original form made me realize I should’ve warned her about the effects from the yard beforehand.
“Phew, thank goodness no one is around. Let’s hurry inside. A-jin, lend me a hand.”
“Uh, okay.”
“I’m s-sorry.”
Walking in a bit unsteadily, we finally reached the elevator and arrived in front of the room, taking a sigh of relief.
Having not bathed for a while, I immediately threw Yuli into the bath as soon as we got home.
While her filthy clothes were in the washing machine going through a full cycle, I inspected the furniture and whether the electricity was working properly.
‘Wow, there are so many empty rooms.’
This was Room 501, located at the very end of the 5th floor.
That means there were more than ten empty rooms in total across all floors besides this one.
Even if Jisehee moved in after me, it would still feel incredibly spacious.
So, to explain the place: it’s a penthouse consisting of six above-ground floors and one basement.
Its size was even bigger than your typical ten-story villa.
The top floor was solely mine, and from the 5th to the 2nd floors were for tenants.
Each floor had space for four households.
The 1st floor was vacant for commercial remodels, and the basement was a parking lot.
It was quite a bizarre architectural structure, and at first, I worried it might fall into legal trouble.
So, I consulted others and researched various things, but the verdict on this building was ‘no problem.’
After that, I decided to comfortably think of it as one of the gifts bestowed by the goddess and not harbor any doubts.
I had thus far ignored the downstairs, but now that tenants were moving in, I felt the need to check things out as the landlord.
Fortunately, after a few months, the appliances and furniture still looked pretty new.
Maybe it was thanks to the aura barrier I set up just in case. When I think about it, I’ve optimized my life for lazy living too.
‘In that case, there’s no need to hire a caretaker.’
I should set up a barrier against those with ill intentions just to be safe.
“Sis, if I move in with the idiot, will we live in this room?”
“Yeah. You’ll probably be in Room 502 or 503. What about your family, will they come over?”
“Eh, um, I guess since I have a separate family home, it’s likely just me living here. My younger sibling might come over, though.”
Ah, A-jin has a younger sibling.
Well, finding out I’m her older sister was quite the mismatch.
I smiled softly and said, “Feel free to bring them over anytime. And if you need to live alone in Seoul, I’m fine with you staying together, just let me know in advance.”
The house is too big to live in alone anyway.
Each room had a usable area of over 80 pyeong, right?
Although it’s nice to have a big house, there’s a limit to that.
When you’re alone, having too much space could be worse than not having enough.
“So, um, what about the deposit or maintenance fees?”
“Just give me a million won for the deposit. The rest? Just go crazy with it.”
“……”
What’s with that expression? Did I say something wrong?
‘This is comfortable.’
Yuli thought how happy it was to enjoy the benefits of civilization.
Just hours before, she was no different from the zombies wandering the streets, but now she was enjoying a warm bubble bath.
Life has its ups and downs, but could there be a situation that fluctuates so wildly?
Thanks to Jisehee, who called herself a hero, she could finally let out a sigh of relief.
At first, Yuli thought it was all just bragging, but witnessing the power that temporarily restored her appearance made her realize.
No matter what, they’d stick together, grabbing at their pant legs if necessary.
Her instincts as a hero honed by crossing life-and-death situations rang a bell in her mind.
‘So, I’m not the only hero here.’
Fascinating.
So there are many heroes after all.
I heard there’s one more besides those two. Who knows, there might be even more in the future.
They hadn’t talked in detail yet, but seeing how they extended such kindness, they didn’t seem like bad people.
After all, they were heroes who held the title of a hero. There’s no way they would harbor ill intentions.
‘Took quite some time, huh?’
I tried to finish as quickly as possible, but there was so much grime accumulated that it wasn’t simple to get clean.
Nevertheless, looking at her neatly restored original appearance, Yuli felt a rush of emotion inside her.
How long had it been since she saw her original self?
When she had turned into that 180 cm monster due to that wicked Demon King, it felt like the sky was falling.
‘Just hold on for a year… that’s what they said.’
If she made it through that time, she’d be able to meet her family again.
Even if it’s only in this house for now, just holding on a little longer means she could face the world in her original form with confidence.
‘Let’s hang in there.’
Cheering herself on, she put on her neatly pressed clothes and stepped outside.
During mealtime, she nearly teared up for no reason, so she had to calm herself down.
Maybe it was because it had been a while since she fed herself oil.
It’s been quite a long time since she felt moved just by eating.
“Sis, when are you going to broadcast?”
“Oh, soon! After my collab with Dayoung, I’ve been on a break. I need to focus on boosting my Soul Warfare rank. It’s time for a time attack.”
“Leave the video editing to me. I’ll polish it to perfection.”
A streamer, come to think of it, she introduced herself as an active streamer during our first meeting.
Yuli felt curious about the woman in front of her, Jisehee.
With a beauty that seemed otherworldly, along with her incredible skills as a fellow hero.
Yet, she works as a streamer. It felt a bit dissonant.
‘I thought she’d be doing something more amazing.’
If she could wield the Hero’s Power freely even after her return, wouldn’t there be other things she could do?
As she quietly ate while listening to the conversation, she couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer and spoke up.
“When it comes to streaming… do you do live broadcasting, Jisehee-nim?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I… find it fascinating. It’s not something I typically think of a hero branching into live broadcasting.”
Without any displeasure or awkward feelings, Jisehee simply smiled at Yuli’s question.
“The reason is pretty simple. It’s just a mixture of my desire to play games and the hunger for attention.”
“A-attention?”
“Yeah, it’s just that the best way to gain attention while playing is to be a top-notch streamer, right? Professional gamers are too intense and strict.”
What a simple desire.
So she doesn’t have the intention to lord over others as a hero.
The sincerity felt in Jisehee’s reply.
Her life as someone who enjoys games while blending into modern life made her seem more human than an overwhelming hero with immense power.
Yuli felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
Is that why?
Before she even recognized it, her body moved first as she said, “Can I maybe watch?”
* * *
As the alarm indicated that Friede’s broadcast was starting, participants in the chat began pouring in like a burst dam.
With a slight lag, the number of viewers jumped from hundreds to thousands in a wild exponential growth.
In the elegantly decorated MS Room, Friede waved to welcome them.
“Long time no see, everyone.”
Though it was the standard greeting for a broadcast debut, there couldn’t be a sweeter whisper from the perspective of every subscriber who adores Friede’s show.
Friede’s voice hung in the air like a fading echo, and the chat became a livelier din.
[Haha!]
[Sis… we almost froze to death.]
[I missed you, sensei!]
[I’ve noticed you’ve been on a break a lot lately. Did you get a boyfriend or something?]
[Oh no! That’s big news! Our sis doesn’t have a boyfriend or anything like that.]
[If you take too long of a break again, we might die. We’ll all die!]
[It’s been a while, right? Sniff sniff, this is the joy of Soul Warfare coming back!]
[Yes! Sis’s home ground is Soul Warfare, not those weird side games!]
[If you play a different game now, Soul Warriors might be obliterated lolololol.]
“Today, we’re going to play Soul Warfare. We’re going all out because I must live up to my promises!”
At her declaration, the chat fluttered with excitement like fish catching onto a bait.
What does Friede’s broadcast symbolize?
No matter how much she tries to change as an all-purpose streamer, her home ground is undoubtedly Soul Warfare.
She was the light’s hero descending upon the apocalyptic dark fantasy as she continued her crusade toward Challenger Rank 1.
Then Friede leaned closer to the camera with an enigmatic smile and said, “By the way, since it’s a lucky occasion and I won’t be wearing a helmet, my head feels a bit empty, so I prepared a cool item.”
[New character model?]
[Don’t tell me she’s just going to wear a ninja mask?]
[I trust sensei. Show us your new character model quickly!]
[Something big is coming!]
[Thumping excitement!]
A new item, and everyone couldn’t hide their excitement as they speculated wildly.
“Alright, take a look.”
As she manipulated the panel, what appeared as a character model focused solely on her head.
A fantasy-inappropriate, black metallic headset resembling rabbit ears fitted with blue LEDs.
The appearance of a sacred hero donned in white armor and a golden cape.
On top of that, the quirky rabbit ears added a delicate balance, making it look adorably uncertain, quite unlike her usual self.
“Rabbit Hero Friede, let’s go!”
