Chapter 53

Doyugeon entered his room and placed a flowerpot on the desk.

“Why did you bring this?”

Doyugeon raised one of his eyebrows.

“Having a plant around can block electromagnetic waves and it’s good for you.”

“What kind of plant is it?”

“It’s a Scindapsus. It’ll survive as long as you water it. Didn’t you see it in our kitchen?”

“Oh, that one. I saw it. Is it a broadleaf?”

“No. Broadleaf is a term used for classifying trees, and this is a herb. The leaves might be wide, though.”

“Does it absorb electromagnetic waves?”

“I don’t know that. I haven’t really read any related books. I assume it absorbs, but I’m not sure if it’s meaningful. Besides, it’s questionable whether electromagnetic waves are harmful enough to need guarding against.”

“…?”

Doyugeon alternated glances between the flowerpot and this side.

“Why are you acting weird?”

“No, it’s nothing. Rather, what’s this?”

What was indicated was an electric cord sticking out below the flowerpot. It stuck out but when pulled, the cord could be extended for plugging into an outlet.

“Because it needs electricity.”

Eavesdropping devices usually require electricity.

“Why does the flowerpot need electricity?”

“In any case, I’ve laid an electromagnetic wave blocking device under the flowerpot.”

“Blocking device? What’s the principle behind it?”

Principle? I haven’t thought about that.

“Using the principle of emitting electromagnetic waves of the same frequency, they resonate and cancel each other out?”

Now that I said it, it sounds plausible. Indeed, I seem to have a knack for marketing. I quietly pulled my rising smile down.

“Is it effective?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“Uh… Okay.”

He pulled the cord and approached the outlet. It was too tight to plug in easily. After several attempts, it wouldn’t fit. I was wavering between using magic to simply plug it in and the thought that using magic for such purposes might hurt my pride, but then Doyugen plugged it in for me. I should have used magic.

Seriously, when will wireless power transmission technology be developed? How long am I supposed to keep struggling with plugging in cords? The progress of engineering is too slow compared to the need. Is it a matter of cost-efficiency? How about forcing Laplace to become the god of capitalism once? If only I could copy the spell to rewind time, it’d be easy.

“By the way, won’t the water touch the wires when you water it?”

“It won’t if you’re careful and use a spray bottle. That’s right, using a spray bottle would work well.”

“Did you just think of that?”

Unnecessarily sharp.

“No, it’s obvious that a spray bottle should be used.”

Embarrassingly denying it, Doyugeon picked up a store-bought cookie left on the desk and suddenly popped it into my mouth. The taste of chocolate synthetic fragrance spread in the mouth. Why did he give this out of the blue? Did I say something too absurd?

Anyway, it tastes good. While hesitating and eating, the guy picked up the flowerpot and changed its position. Even though it was placed roughly with some consideration, it seems he didn’t like it.

Fiddling with the positioning, the guy eventually stepped back from the desk and smiled with satisfaction looking at the flowerpot. My conscience suddenly ached. It’s not as if I’m doing this for personal gain but to prevent unnecessary commotion, all of it for Doyugeon, so there’s no reason for my conscience to bother me.

Casually standing and partly blocking the guy and the flowerpot.

“We should go soon, or we’ll be late.”

“We have plenty of time.”

“Arriving early isn’t bad, though.”

Today, we’ll follow Doyugeon’s request and tackle the Rift strategy. To do that, the plan is to head to Yumina’s place first. Let’s stop looking at the flowerpot.

—

According to media columns, while society may not feel it much, it has undergone two drastic changes due to the appearance of the system and the goblin attacks.

The spread of illegal firearms, the rapid deterioration of public safety, selective support of social capital considering cost-effectiveness, and the disparity between insufficient police manpower and hastily distributed high-performance equipment. The place Yumina is heading to now is a location directly affected by those changes.

Well, actually, I haven’t been there, so I don’t really know. It’s just that I don’t have a reason to go to such a troubled place. But now that I have to…

As we walked with Doyugeon down an alley, a collapsed brick wall could be seen. Glancing inside, there was a mansion in ruins, with broken windows and overturned furniture. If a wanted fugitive was hiding here, I wouldn’t be surprised. However, there is no one with that kind of aura judging by the magic power detected.

Sneaking a side-eye at Doyugeon, his C-class protective gear, Marfigna, was slightly untidy. I approached to tidy it up. He instinctively took a step back, but it was futile resistance. I walked half a step closer and straightened it for him.

Looking over, it looked passable. Thanks to the system update that allows partial modifications of item appearances through paid draws, the old-fashioned wizard robe was changed to a modern wizard robe design, making it somewhat wearable. Still, it reflects my personal preference that a wizard robe should look like one, so it’s not exactly suitable for wearing outside.

We quickened our pace. Thinking that even criminals might live here, one after another empty houses with no one were revealed. Passing by some suspicious-looking empty houses, I simply ignored them. The streets were eerily quiet, without even TV sounds. Thus, while walking with Doyugeon, the only noise we heard occasionally was the footsteps of security officers who seemed to momentarily forget we were there.

According to the columns, these situations lead to organized crime. When damaged areas take too long to restore, people move elsewhere for services and safety. Those who cannot afford to move stay behind. As the economy dies out, central restoration support decreases based on cost-benefit analysis. And inefficient areas, the inefficient neighborhoods, or slums are born.

A somewhat lived-in shabby villa came into view. Yumina was sitting on a discarded chair beside the entrance.

Doyugeon cautiously approached Yumina as he asked.

“Isn’t sitting in an open space dangerous? You could be shot.”

“This is still a place where people live. There’s no need to over-guard against an unknown attack. Plus, with Laplace existing, who’s undefeated, this is a crime-averse area.”

We climbed the steps covered in empty cans and entered the house Yumina resided in. Taking off our shoes and entering, the interior was surprisingly clean compared to what I expected. I had anticipated trash and unmade bedding sprawled out, but it looked like she cleaned regularly—it was tidy.

“Unexpected.”

As Yumina entered the living room, she turned around with her hands crossed.

“What’s unexpected?”

“Everything. I didn’t know you lived here. Where do you spend your money to live like this? The atmosphere of the roads on the way here seemed dangerous.”

Magic Girls operate on a performance-based system, so the pay unit itself is high, to my knowledge. Doyugeon once gave me a bag of money for help in a task. I still don’t understand why she lives here. Was the money not enough?

“This neighborhood has cheap spacious houses, which is good. And my money goes toward savings. You can’t live without the future.”

Then, why say it.

“Choosing misery.”

Doyugeon and Yumina are both infuriating sometimes.

Yumina brought out a map and some paper documents from her room and placed them on the living room table. Drawing circles on the map, she explained today’s Rift strategy and future schedules.

“There will be spiders at today’s Rift.”

“Ah, spiders…”

Doyugeon muttered with a hint of reluctance. Excited about the Rift strategy, but it seemed he didn’t like spiders. After observing his reaction, Yumina blinked and grinned.

“Big spiders.”

“There’s no reason to emphasize that.”

Yumina nodded and suddenly raised both hands.

“Much bigger spiders!”

“No…”

“Stop teasing.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

It was explained that the Boss Monster would be the real challenge for him alone. As we were about to quibble over the degree of difficulty, Laplace suddenly poofed out of a magic circle. He glanced at this side then casually headed toward the kitchen, opening the fridge. In his hand as he closed it was a can of beer. There’s alcohol in the house? I briefly glanced at Yumina, startled, but Laplace had already disappeared with a poof. It looked quite convenient. Should I practice time-space magic more seriously? It shouldn’t be impossible with some effort.

But it’s more efficient to teleport objects rather than go back and forth directly by time-space magic. As she’s a Magic Girl who uses her lifespan to cast spells, could it be a sign of her reckless lifestyle?

Since Laplace’s behavior seemed natural, I asked Yumina.

“Does he live in this building too?”

“We live together.”

Live together? Last life, I received just one house and lived independently, enduring hardships, but I’ve never experienced joint living. I know firsthand how much of a headache joint living can be.

“I didn’t know you lived like this.”

“One of our dear Young Lady’s good traits is that she doesn’t ask how you’re doing these days. It might be because she’s uninterested.”

“I am interested.”

“Thank you for the honor.”

As the conversation paused briefly, Doyugeon, who had been sneaking glances at the kitchen, gleamed his eyes and slipped in.

“Is there alcohol in the fridge?”

“What are you so interested in?”

The words slipped out reflexively, so my voice came out cold. The guy stiffened and cleared his throat.

“Hmph. I’m curious about the taste.”

“It’ll probably be sour and not good. But I don’t know personally.”

“Our Young Lady has already shared a drink with me.”

Yumina boasted. What? Looking at Doyugeon in shock, his expression wasn’t particularly startled. Did he already know that I drank alcohol? Hmm…

I apologized and explained that I had only drank once with Doyugeon and normally don’t drink alcohol. Then, I went on explaining how alcohol is bad for both body and mind and negatively impacts studies, damages reputation, disrupts the biological rhythm, etc., with added statistics and research results.

But it didn’t seem to have much effect as Doyugeon ignored my lecture and asked Yumina.

“By the way, where did you buy the alcohol?”

Why?

“Schrödinger sells them.”

What’s the sudden mention?

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