Chapter 35: Living Under The Same Roof (4) Part-1

I quit going to school, and the work I was doing at first didn’t appeal to me that much.

No matter how boring school classes were, they were never as boring as manual labor.

Plus, the hours spent working were longer than those spent studying at school.

Of course, if I started doing things like evening self-study sessions at school, things might change.

But, how should I put it…

“Let’s eat, let’s eat!”

It wasn’t a huge site, the work was short-term, and the number of people working there could be counted on both hands…

No, maybe it’s because it was like that that I started having these thoughts.

I started to think that this job wasn’t so bad.

I know why.

The reason I can feel this much at ease while doing such physical labor is surely because of the circuit I’m wearing.

If it were my original body, just getting through the morning would have left me exhausted.

Though I’d always done physical work, so I had a basic level of fitness, the type of stamina needed for continuous hours of labor versus one-off tasks is different.

In that sense, honestly, Jiguppa is impressive.

Isn’t he holding on in this environment?

In fact, the “reason” I know for Jiguppa is just something he himself said, so the real reason could be different, but whatever his true purpose is, Jiguppa—even at an age not much different from mine—was working hard and living here on this land.

He was doing what he wanted to do in his own way.

“Why?”

Jiguppa noticed me staring at him and asked.

Then he looked at the kimbap in his hand and offered it to me.

“Do you want more?”

“No, I still have some left from what I was eating.”

I said that and put the kimbap in my mouth.

By the way, I also got a can of coffee.

It seemed like it was meant to be drunk after the meal.

Of course, I didn’t give it to Jiguppa.

The people working here know very well what happens when he drinks coffee.

If you compare the amount of caffeine in the same volume, the can of coffee actually has more caffeine.

Jiguppa didn’t insist on taking it either; he quietly drank an ion drink.

He would probably buy a cup to take home after work.

I chewed on the plain kimbap and shivered slightly.

Just because I was using a circuit doesn’t mean I don’t get warm while working.

Of course, if I move around a lot, I sweat, and since it’s winter, when that sweat cools, it gets a bit chilly.

I sped up the pace of shoving the kimbap into my mouth.

I thought it would be best to finish eating quickly and sit somewhere warm for a bit.

At first, I was a little scared that the people working here might ask about my situation.

Even if they did ask, I was planning to lie, but as the saying goes, if your tail is long, it will get caught. I’d already lied several times…

But the people working here didn’t really ask about me.

“There’s no need to mention it.”

When I expressed my doubt, Jiguppa said this.

“There are many people who come here to work and leave. Some are Earthlings, some aren’t. Not everyone working here has a story, but there are people like that mixed in, so we don’t really poke around.”

So, Jiguppa and even I, introduced by Jiguppa, are in that position, huh?

Once I realized that, I felt a little more at ease.

I know my own situation well.

I can’t live hiding forever.

Once something happens, whether it’s the company, the Federation, or the government, those who will chase after me will definitely exist.

For now, I’m just temporarily hiding, but if the company cooperates, it wouldn’t be entirely impossible for them to find me.

Doesn’t Noir Corporation have the technology to track someone’s location by detecting a magical girl’s energy? It wouldn’t be impossible to apply that to me.

James had warned me about that too.

So, what we need to do is assess the situation as quickly as possible, and whether it’s taking revenge on the company executives or whatever, we need to make sure that neither side can touch me recklessly.

It will be dangerous. Once we start moving in earnest, this kind of life will no longer be possible. Involving

Jiguppa in it would be too much as well.

No, in some ways, I guess I could say I’m already caught up in this.

While thinking about this and that, I shoveled the kimbap into my mouth.

After chewing and swallowing it properly, I quenched my throat with the small can of coffee.

The coffee, which seemed to have a bit too much sugar and cream, revived my tired body as it went down.

Indeed, the combination of sugar and caffeine is perfect for physical work.

“Alright, let’s hurry up and finish, then head home.”

Hearing the man’s shout, I crumpled the can of coffee in my hand and stood up from my seat.

Maybe because I ate, I felt a bit warmer…

Taking a deep breath, the air felt refreshing.

It was probably just a feeling. After all, this is a construction site, isn’t it? It’s a place full of dust.

Even so, strangely, I didn’t feel any aversion.

Here, there were no jealous glances from people because I was near a famous kid, no teachers glaring at me for doing something they didn’t like, and no one trying to drag me down once the school year progressed.

I didn’t have to try to hide my circumstances, and there was no risk of getting beaten by anyone.

There were no days spent worrying about crashing into a burning mass of magical energy, nor days when I was anxious about where I might break.

It was just a normal routine: come, work, get paid, and on the way home, pick up something light to eat.

I miss Hayoon.

But even so, I was trying my best not to think about it.

Nothing had been resolved, and there was no sign that it would be.

The few relationships I had left had all fallen apart.

Naturally, what I should be feeling here is worry and regret.

It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel that at all.

However, the strongest emotion I felt right now was a sense of liberation.

A strange feeling of freedom, the pressure from those I had longed to escape from was finally gone.

“Hayoon, do you want to go grab something to eat today?”

A group of girls, with whom she rarely had conversations, approached her.

“Um, well…”

“Or, how about watching a movie? Do you like movies?”

“Karaoke would be fine too. You’ve been stressed out lately, right? Want to go and let it all out?”

The girls spoke as if they understood everything Hayoon was feeling.

Hayoon felt a little confused.

These were girls she would normally never have spoken to, and even when they did talk to her, it was always cautious, like they were trying to read the situation.

But in the past few days, it was as if they had seized an opportunity, coming closer in a way that almost felt a bit overwhelming.

And ironically, many of these girls were ones whose faces Hayoon recognized.

To be exact, they were children whose parents knew each other.

“Or, do you want to come over to my place?”

One of them asked.

“You don’t need to go anywhere noisy. You can just relax at my place, since we live nearby anyway.”

Had that been the case? Maybe. If their parents were friendly and they all went to this school, it made sense.

However, Hayoon felt a little burdened by their suggestions.

“Sorry, I can’t today…”

“There’s no one to bother you today, right?”

Someone said that, cutting off Hayoon’s sentence mid-way.

“That’s right. Even when we finally had some time alone with Hayoon, someone would come out of nowhere and interrupt, taking her away.”

“You don’t need to be scared. There’s no one trying to stand out anymore.”

“By the way, wasn’t she the one who lived in an orphanage? Didn’t she actually approach us for some kind of ulterior motive?”

“Why are you saying that?”

The conversation among the girls was abruptly interrupted by Hayoon’s words.

… “Sorry.”

The girl who had been gossiping about Jieun apologized to Hayoon. Her expression seemed pretty sincere, at least.

“What I mean is, I didn’t say that for that reason. There are lots of stories about people who overcame tough situations and succeeded. But still, you know, Hayoon.”

The girl lowered her voice a bit.

“Every time you were about to do something, someone would suddenly come out of nowhere and interrupt. We’d just try to talk to you and threaten you. You remember, right?”

“Not everyone who finds themselves in such situations is like that, of course. But… doesn’t it feel a bit off?

If it were you, Hayoon, more people would—”

No, wait.

She completely misunderstood the situation.

Hayoon immediately noticed what she disliked, and Jieun grabbed Hayoon’s wrist and pulled her.

Sudden closeness from people is scary. It’s scary when several kids surround you and start throwing out all sorts of words.

“I… I’m sorry. I already have plans today…”

“Ah~”

At Hayoon’s words, the girls surrounding her made no effort to hide their disappointment.

“I see. But, you’ve been like this for the past few days.”

“Because something happened.”

“Mm.”

The way the girls who were standing looked at Hayoon, who was seated, inevitably made them look down at her.

But when Jieun stood like that, Hayoon didn’t get that feeling at all.

Her smiling face wasn’t scary, and there was no sense that she was expecting anything.

Had the other kids always been like this?

Or…

“Hayoon, it’s not because you dislike us, right?”

The voice that carefully asked the question, and the slightly furrowed brows, as if showing concern. A smile that seemed a little awkward.

It all seemed to convey that “there’s no malice,” but…

Why was it?