NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 213
“Why are you packing on the day of the trip?”
If I were to assign blame, I’d say 90% of it is Lapiz’s fault and maybe 10% is mine. Oh, is that an exaggeration? Fine, let’s say it’s more like 30% my fault then.
As a servant, it’s also my fault if I don’t advise my master when she’s making a poor judgment… But honestly, it feels like Lapiz is more to blame here.
I told her that if I didn’t pack my things right now, I’d be sweating bullets trying to do it all in the morning. But she persistently avoided packing, insisting she was too tired and questioning how much she really needed to bring.
And this is the result.
“Miss, did you pack your pajamas? Your underwear? Your swimsuit? Extra clothes? What about sunblock? Towels, hairdryer, cosmetics, shoes…?”
“I packed everything! I packed the textbooks and the cosmetics, and the swimsuit… I don’t really need it, do I? I’m not planning to even swim…”
“Miss, even so, you can’t just stroll around in casual clothes at the beach. Pack it. And you forgot some clothes here; what do you mean you packed everything? You left out the textbooks!”
“I’m going for fun, so I don’t need those…!”
Lapiz protested in a whispery voice, but after that massive blunder last night, I stood my ground this time.
“The lady and the other lady both said to have fun but also study, remember? Ageha told you to bring study materials for self-study time. By the way, how did you do on your finals this term?”
“I don’t want to study… I mean, if you’re a hero, you just need to be strong and kind… My grandma said brains are for people whose bodies are bad…”
She really didn’t want to study, going as far as quoting her grandma just to reinforce her point.
Guess I have no choice but to pull some strings.
“You’re not a lady yet. And how great would it be to be both strong and smart? Even if you don’t plan to use them, just take them. Otherwise, I’m going to hear your whining.”
Since it was clear her whining meant I’d get in trouble, Lapiz begrudgingly stuffed her textbooks into her suitcase.
“But… isn’t Blanca packing?”
With a groan while closing her suitcase, she asked, and I replied casually as if it was nothing.
“I already packed and got ready while you were mumbling in your sleep.”
“Ugh.”
Surprised and then rebuking me for not waking her, I mentioned how I tried to wake her up five times, but she just kept falling back asleep each time.
“I… don’t remember that…”
“That’s what mumbling’s about. I’ll move your stuff to the front door, so hurry up and wash up. It’s kind of close, but since we’re going to have some fun, you should look nice.”
While carrying Lapiz’s suitcase, I left those words hanging in the air.
As I set Lapiz’s luggage down next to mine in the entrance and helped Altera with breakfast, she suddenly spoke to me.
“Are you sure about this? In a way, you’re stepping out from under my and my daughter’s protection. We’re okay with it, but it’s a bit different for you.”
Even if I say I don’t mind, it’s evidently something she’s concerned about.
She was implying that Heros Company or other folks might want to mess with me, and she was asking if I was genuinely going through with it.
To that question, I admitted I was a bit worried.
“But, I can’t live forever looking over my shoulder at them, right? It seems like their power is weakening, so people will slowly forget about the Liberators. Isn’t that okay? Plus, I’m not going alone.”
After all, I was heading out with friends who could stand against even the higher-ups of Evil Society. No way would any Heros Company members or people harboring resentment towards me dare to attack, right?
“You seem to trust your friends a lot. Are you sure they won’t turn their backs on you like you did?”
Her question poked at a sore spot, but I already had my answer ready.
“If that’s the case, then that’ll be my punishment. If it’s truly them, then I’m fine with whatever happens.”
“Punishment, huh?”
“And… they’re all good people.”
At that, Altera scoffed, sarcastically asking if I was really taking advantage of those good people like that.
Seeing her laugh like that, it was clear she wasn’t serious about it, but still, hearing those words sent shivers down my spine. Especially since I couldn’t even defend myself.
“So, because of that, I want to do better for them. It might not heal the wounds, but I want to create enough happy memories to cover them.”
“That’s a rather excessive hope for someone who’s supposed to be paying for their crimes. Though, if you were really a good person, you wouldn’t have caused such trouble in the first place. Never forget to take care of those kids again. And come back safe.”
Ah, so that’s what she really wanted to say—come back safe. If that was the case, she could’ve just said it plainly instead of circling around it…
Then again, I tend to do the same, so I can’t really criticize.
Hmm. There’s a strange resemblance between us, for some reason. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were oddly alike, even if I couldn’t put my finger on why.
In the end, being alike didn’t mean much, so I just found it curious.
– – – – –
“Sorry! Am I late…?”
True to form, I was late, but none of the kids looked even remotely annoyed. Like, metaphorically or literally.
They were all resting comfortably under the big ice parasol Seolhwa made, completely unbothered.
“Oh? Ah, it’s no big deal. It’s the weekend; it’s normal to sleep in a bit. We’re just waiting for the bus anyway. But since you’re here, let’s start tidying up.”
“It was nice and cool…”
“It’s just as cool in the bus too, Alice. Right, Yeonhwa? Jinhyeon? Could you help melt and tidy this up?”
“Wouldn’t it be faster if I did it?”
“It’d be faster if Changwon chopped it up and spread it, but then the grass around here would get ruined. It’d be harder to manage it that way, so melting it and cleaning it up is the better bet.”
“Alright, Jinhyeon. Make some fire.”
The kids looked like they were reluctant to move but soon regained their energy and tidied up the ice parasol.
“By the way, Blanca, aren’t you hot in that outfit? It looks like you’d be unbearably warm.”
“Yeah, I think so too. And since we’re going to have fun, that outfit might not be the best choice, right? Like that outfit I bought for you a while back.”
“It’s not as warm as I expected. Plus, it’s comfortable now. I lost the outfit from before, and I can’t forget my duties even while having fun. So just consider me practical.”
“Practical, huh? If you say so, I guess I won’t argue with you about it.”
“Speaking of which, Ageha, what’s there to do in Japan? I mean, where are the decent cities left?”
The gate incident was a worldwide event, so Japan wasn’t any different. A significant portion of the country had long become uninhabitable.
“Osaka is one of the few cities still decent. Plus, as people from various cities are gathering, just visiting Osaka is enough to experience Japanese culture.”
Hearing her casually mention that you can feel the diverse characteristics of each city in one place due to the refugee situation, I once again realized this world is a complete mess.
Eventually, the monsters pouring out of the gate will also be handled by the protagonists, but… wait, isn’t that not the case? Did my interference cause such futures to vanish?
…I guess I’ll find out when I get there, but even thinking about it gives me chills.
“Blanca, are you cold?”
“No, I just suddenly started shivering. It feels like someone is staring at me.”
“Ah… that could be possible. Want me to cover you?”
“No, it’s fine. I can’t just keep hiding forever.”
After a bit of light bickering filled with goodwill, since I stubbornly refused to let them do it, Ageha and the others eventually had to concede.
“Yeonhwa, what do you want to eat?”
“Me? Uh, udon?”
“Isn’t it a bit of a waste to have udon all the way in Japan? How about sushi?”
“I’m not really a fan of raw fish…”
“It’s okay, Yeonhwa. Sushi isn’t just raw fish. There are also cooked octopus and well-cooked meat options.”
“Th-that’s also sushi…?”
While listening to the kids chatter, the bus arrived to take us to the airport.
After grabbing the luggage from the kids and putting it in the bus’s luggage compartment, I got on, and a few faces around seemed to change as if they recognized me.
Some kids looked at me as if I was some kind of hero, while five adults wore expressions that looked skeptical or outright confused about why I was there.
They didn’t seem to want to get involved with me, just silently watching.
It seemed the kids picked up on that too; they made sure I could sit by the window in the last row.
I expected some people would definitely recognize me, but the fact it happened so soon meant I’d be in for a rocky road ahead.
I thought I’d gradually fade from their memory. If I had known it would turn out like this, I would’ve done an ego-search beforehand.
I figured there wouldn’t be anything good written, so I didn’t bother looking, but at least I could’ve known my level of recognition.
“Blanca, what do you want to do when we get there?”
Noticing I was deep in thought, Lapiz asked what I wanted to do.
There’s really no need for her to care.
“I’m not sure. But I’d like to do something that leaves a lasting memory.”
…Still, thanks for considering me.