Chapter 80

Taking a bite of the tomato pasta, a feeling welled up inside of me. What is this cheap taste?

I had expected as much from the look of the pasta that promised tomato but delivered none, but it was still quite disappointing.

People around wouldn’t believe me, but I wasn’t someone with a picky palate. Although people assume my background makes me fussy, that wasn’t the case at all. Given that I have memories of a previous life, and unlike my mother who’s into gourmet, I never judged food too strictly.

In the modern era, the very concept of food includes fine dining, so there’s hardly any “bad” food. There might be dishes that don’t suit one’s taste, but they still meet the minimum threshold of flavor.

Given that, there was no reason for me, born in such an era, to be fussy about food. Why argue when it can simply be eaten and enjoyed?

But this… it’s disappointing.

By the time I finished two bites, I was craving the meals from home. To be honest, even a convenience store bento seemed better. Although convenience store meals may appear cheap, they are top-notch products of food engineering, consistently meeting basic standards. I didn’t intentionally buy them, but they worked.

Thinking about it, pasta for breakfast isn’t ideal, is it? Breakfast should be light, gentle on the stomach, and not induce drowsiness. But it should also replenish the brain with carbohydrates and salts to compensate for the water lost during sleep. Ideally, it should pair well with coffee.

When I looked at it this way, all I wanted was toast.

Yuimina, who had been quietly sipping her wine, glanced at me, apparently curious despite pretending not to care.

Because I’m a person of common sense, I didn’t voice my recent thoughts directly. I just went back to eating the pasta.

“Doesn’t it taste good…?”

I must have shown it on my face.

“Dining is merely a function for obtaining nutrition and energy. Since this is a procedural matter, there’s no need for subjective judgment.”

Yuimina looked at me, then resumed sipping her wine, lost in thought, probably affected by the early wake-up.

“Lord knows, our young lady knows how to prank. If you don’t stay alert, you’ll get all mixed up.”

The conversation seemed to have skipped a few beats, so I paused eating and looked at Yuimina. What was this all of a sudden?

Her empty wine glass gently shook in her hand.

“You keep throwing orders around, sometimes acting shamelessly cruel, and it’s exhausting. Yet for the most part, it’s bearable. Sometimes, it’s even good. So at some point, I rationalize it’s alright.”

So, this is how you’ve been managing…

“Why am I the one rationalizing the situation when I’m the one who’s affected by it?”

Yuimina was smart, a fact I always noticed, but sometimes lacked experience. She didn’t realize it’s unwise to counsel the person directly involved.

I thought for a moment. Apologizing and engaging in polite conversation would be easy. While offering real counsel might be tricky, pretending to provide advice was doable. I’d done it in a past life.

Except, regrettably, I liked Yuimina, so I returned to eating the pasta. The tomatoes, truly, weren’t great.

Given this, maybe hiring a housekeeper would be a good idea? Wait, really? Is it true? We didn’t have one back home because my mother didn’t approve, but there was no need to uphold that here. Why hadn’t I thought of this before? Was it due to her education? This must be the power of it. Mother, you’re amazing. My dad exists, but I’m ignoring that for now.

Yuimina sighed.

“If I had a personality like our young lady, my work would be simpler.”

Well, sure, but hearing it makes me feel odd. If a teenager made such an assessment, it would seem improper. Honestly, my nature isn’t that great. If Yuimina had the same temperament as me, I wouldn’t keep her as a friend. Her looks might be appealing, but such a personality wouldn’t cut it.

“It’s only possible because you’re you.”

“Indeed, because you’re the young lady.”

She too, if not for her running away from home, could have behaved openly as a lady from a prestigious family—despite claiming to have no money while drinking wine instead of beer or soju. Strangely, she frequents coffee shops to sample coffee.

Speaking of which, is she wealthy now?

“I saw that you stocked up on wine in your room earlier. Are things going well in terms of income?”

“Absolutely not! Central management has been quite stingy despite the unification of Seoul.”

Annoyance flickered on her face as she immediately refilled and drank her glass in one go.

“I was so excited about taking charge of Seoul, expecting a big raise… But salaries vary depending on the importance of the region. Even though Seoul, being the capital, should be the most important, I was so hopeful…”

“You think Seoul is more important than other places?”

It was odd. If the unification of Seoul was forced through rebellion, how could it still be considered merely more important?

“The unification wasn’t just my attempt. Both the U.S. and China cover areas bigger than our country economically. Even if the national capital is more significant comparatively, it’s a delicate position. And there are cases where some magical girls get overly ambitious and attempt to unify places like Silicon Valley.”

“Speaking of that, wasn’t Silicon Valley outright suppressed by Central, with U.S. supervision making things impossible? But the scenario is roughly similar. The U.S. is brutal, with legal firearms, vast land, where seizing existing drug distribution channels could generate revenue, making it easy to escape Central interference.”

It’s chaos. Our country might seem easy to underestimate, but how did Seoul come this far? Although young magical girls are difficult to mess with directly, they’re surely being monitored extensively from behind.

Is it easier to manage when areas are consolidated? Come to think of it, though Yuimina’s been causing trouble, she’s technically still a student. If something drastic happened, maybe an accident on her commute to school… who knows? And maybe by coincidence public authority will step in to suppress magical girls. Thinking about this, Yuimina’s situation seems precarious.

“Honestly, I was looking forward to this.”

So confident now about having “ate up” Seoul.

“But the budget plan from Central shows a cut from the previous budget! They’re saying that since regions are merging, we need less funding, but it’s clearly revenge!”

Ah, so much pent-up frustration.

Whatever composed demeanor she had before vanished as Yuimina launched into a tirade about her misfortunes, drinking her wine in gulps. She complained about how the austerity measures were causing tension with other magical girls, how most of her wines were bought from markets and convenience stores, then unexpectedly praised the quality of convenience store wines as acceptable, making her appear endearing. She likely wasn’t embezzling public funds, or if she was, she’d become adept at lying to conceal it.

Though it’s worrying me now, she’s about to head to school soon—does it really make sense for her to drink alcohol?

She knows her limits, so she’s likely managing her consumption, but I’m unsure how she’d explain the alcohol smell.

As a model student, I’m quite concerned.

—

After changing into my school uniform, I stepped out of the house. As the chauffeur opened the back door for me, I paused mid-action, reconsidering.

Since it’s the first day of enrollment, how about walking to school? High school’s first day is special, right? The school isn’t too far, so the walk wouldn’t take long, and given the weather, it seemed like a fine plan. Although showing up early loses its point if I walk, but I’d probably be briefed on the procedures for the freshman representative at the opening ceremony anyway.

I turned away from the car and began walking. Some of the security detail followed anxiously. Did they replenish their ranks recently?

Walking along, a Starbucks appeared. Thinking about it, I hadn’t had coffee today. Upon further reflection, it was true. I often drink it after washing or with breakfast, but today I rushed through the morning. Strangely, I hadn’t had coffee.

Lost in this realization, I stared at the coffee shop before moving on. Not having coffee felt odd after hearing Yuimina’s comment about me asking too much from her. As I walked, someone handed me a cappuccino. Good choice. Sipping through the straw, warm coffee touched my tongue.

Glancing casually backward while walking,

“The coffee is hot.”

The guard’s eyes flickered with unease upon hearing my words and meeting my gaze. It was clear he felt startled and uncertain about what to say.

Continuing forward, I thought to myself: Coffee is obviously hot, I just mentioned it offhandedly.

After walking a little further, a curiosity arose: Why am I walking?

Just as this thought occurred, a cat peeked out from under a parked car.

Startled, I froze momentarily. Regaining my composure, I noticed this was a plain black cat—not Schrödinger. Damn that Schrödinger.

The cat eyed me cautiously before retreating under the car. Squatting down to get a better view, the cat was alert, yet not overly terrified. It was adorable.

That’s what cats should be like. They shouldn’t suddenly jump onto beds, pick arguments over every word, watch magical girl anime on others’ electronics, or, worse yet, talk like humans.

The more I thought about it, the friendlier I felt toward it.

Then I remembered—it’s odd to see a black-furred cat on the way to school. Its cuteness reminded me of Schrödinger. Yuimina aside, even if a person’s appearance fits one’s preferences, that doesn’t justify tolerance toward everything—thinking of Schrödinger solidified this realization.

“Go ahead and speak.”

I encouraged the cat to respond, expecting if this were Schrödinger, it’d nonchalantly answer by now. But perhaps it refrained with guards around.

The cat-watching eventually grew tiresome. No matter how adorable, over-watching leads to boredom.

So, I should start walking again… except lingering effects of squatting left my legs a bit tired.

Maybe I should’ve taken the car after all. Why bother suffering for no reason?

Looking around for somewhere nearby to wait for the car, I unexpectedly realized our vehicle had been following us.

Why…

Baffled, I watched as the car moved closer.

Without word, a guard opened the rear door.

A fleeting thought crossed my mind: Isn’t this a bit excessive?

Nevertheless, I climbed into the seat.

Comforting to have it.

—

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