Chapter 227: Spring Cleaning

Since there were no slippers that fit, those small feet in white cotton socks stepped directly onto the fluffy, synthetic fiber, cheap carpet.

Entering a single woman’s apartment for the first time, Clara cautiously took off her shoes.

However, unlike Clara’s carefulness, the apartment’s owner, Nangong Xiwang, as usual, kicked her leather shoes onto the shoe cabinet with a loud thud.

Of course, they couldn’t just be kicked in that simply, and even if they fell outside, she didn’t even bother to pick them up and put them away properly. They were just left casually askew in the corner, like debris from a car crash.

This went beyond just being casual; it seemed a bit rough…

Was Miss Nangong really like this?

Clara felt this didn’t quite match her impression of Miss Nangong.

Inside the shoe cabinet in the entryway, besides the slightly larger shoes that were obviously Miss Nangong’s, there were nine pairs of small shoes about Clara’s size.

If she wasn’t mistaken, those should be the shoes of the Magical Girl Kamui, all in comfortable styles like casual shoes and sneakers.

So, Nangong Xiwang really was sharing the apartment with that Magical Girl?

Miss Nangong, being a corporate slave, usually had to meet with manga authors, which was a relatively formal occasion, so her shoes were mostly leather shoes and high heels.

While these kinds of shoes looked nice, their comfort level…

That was evident from the way she had just kicked them off; she clearly had a grudge against them.

However, this was just the tip of the iceberg of Nangong Xiwang’s lifestyle.

When Clara tidied up the discarded leather shoes and followed her into the living room, she was shocked by the hellish scene before her.

Empty beer cans, takeout containers, and greasy paper wrappers were piled everywhere—on the sofa, floor, and coffee table.

The cans were from various beer brands, the containers were obviously from packed dinners or straight-up takeout. The greasy paper wrappers still had dried squid residue, tormenting Clara’s senses…

No, even without the dried squid, the scene before her was enough to make any normal person uncomfortable.

The entire living room air was permeated with the stench of alcohol. The advanced environmental control system of this smart apartment hadn’t been able to completely eliminate the smell.

Ha, a dorm shared with a Magical Girl?

Clara had thought it would be more dreamy, more fluffy and pink…

Instead, this was a pigsty.

No, even a pig would shake its head at this, let alone Clara with her cleanliness obsession.

She couldn’t help but frown, took a deep breath, gathered her emotions for a long time…

And finally questioned loudly:

“Miss Nangong! Don’t you and Miss Kamui ever clean?”

It was as if a switch had been flipped, and she even became uncharacteristically forceful.

Nangong Xiwang, however, was nonchalant.

“Huh? Oh, well, I’m very busy with work, you know? I have other part-time jobs after work at night too. I only really have time to clean on weekends. Can you just make do for a bit?”

It sounded like an excuse, but it wasn’t entirely one.

During the day, as Nangong Xiwang, she had to work. After work, she had to transform into the Magical Girl Kamui and go on patrol. Her life was indeed overly packed.

But Clara wouldn’t accept this reasoning.

“Please don’t make lazy excuses like that! Now is the time to clean! Let’s put the manga aside for now! I… I’ll help too. Hurry up and tidy up your own place!”

Without waiting for Nangong Xiwang’s response, she found a dustpan and broom from the corner and started collecting the scattered cans.

Then, she used her Touch Tentacles to pick up a cloth and cotton swabs, cleaning every nook and cranny of the room, wiping and sweeping…

Nangong Xiwang felt like she had hired a part-time maid.

A loli child laborer at that.

But Clara was indeed quite serious and meticulous while cleaning. After all, she had kept that shabby cheap rental apartment very tidy. Apart from being a bit worn, the overall impression was even better than this apartment she lived in.

Clara really was a child suited to be raised as a daughter.

Nangong Xiwang was surprised by the thought that popped into her head.

But she really was at the age where she should be thinking about marriage.

Her peers, classmates, and friends were getting married one after another, some even had kids already, while she was still running around busy with work and part-time jobs. Where would she find the time to look for a partner?

Even her rare free time was spent drinking.

But…

If she had a child, she’d hope it would be like Clara.

“Miss Nangong, why are you just standing there? Hurry up and help!”

Wait, no. The way Clara stood with her hands on her hips ordering her around was more like a nagging mother.

“…Got it.”

Since she was helping clean her apartment, it wasn’t good to refuse.

Nangong Xiwang reluctantly picked up a cloth and started tidying the apartment’s kitchen…

The kitchen was the cleanest place in this home.

Apart from occasionally boiling instant noodles, the kitchen was barely used. She simply couldn’t cook and didn’t have the time for it.

Based on the clues gathered so far, that was roughly the conclusion.

Although there was no definitive evidence yet, if she wasn’t mistaken, the Mutant who stole the tip drive from the sewer back then was Squill.

Squill lost his job at the big company Naitemel because of it, and Clara got the chance to become a Hero and joined the startup Hero Company dream witch.

But for some unknown reason, that drive unit ultimately ended up in Clara’s hands.

However, Blue Cavalier’s plan still needed to be executed for verification. After all, the possibility that they still maintained some connection with Naitemel couldn’t be ruled out.

Nangong Xiwang’s heart was both happy and anxious.

If all this was true, then she could trust Clara with peace of mind.

But if that was the case, she couldn’t restore her own Quasi-A Rank Hero status. Even if she knew the identity of that technology thief, she couldn’t report him to the Association.

Otherwise, World Tree Technology would follow the trail and find Clara, preventing her from being a Hero…

That wasn’t the outcome Nangong Xiwang wanted to see.

This apartment of less than fifty square meters took the two of them nearly an hour to deal with.

During this time, Clara didn’t talk much, focusing on cleaning every corner…

However, she didn’t clean the upper-floor bedrooms.

Those were the private spaces of Nangong Xiwang and Kamui.

Although Nangong Xiwang didn’t use them much, this apartment had quite a complete set of cleaning tools prepared when it was rented out—a vacuum cleaner, brushes, rollers, etc.

Perhaps it was to encourage tenants to clean more and reduce the cleaning burden when moving out?

“All done~”

Clara wiped the sweat from her forehead and sat back on the sofa that felt comfortable to her.

“Thanks, although it’s a bit off-topic.”

Nangong Xiwang thanked her and brought a chilled bottle of soda water from the fridge.

Her home didn’t have any drinks besides alcohol. The soda water was what she used to mix cocktails.

However, this tasteless, bubbly drink suited Clara’s mild taste perfectly.

She sat on the sofa with her legs together, taking small sips.

She also said:

“Sorry, I really can’t stand dirt. Seeing an environment like this, I couldn’t help it… Miss Nangong, you should really pay more attention to cleanliness. You don’t need to do it to today’s extent. Just spending ten minutes every few days would be enough.”

I really want to grab this kid and make her my Zashiki warashi.

Pop—

Thinking this, Nangong Xiwang also opened a can of beer for herself.

Clara just watched her chugging the beer, lost in thought.

Miss Nangong really liked drinking. Was her part-time job related to alcohol?

She had to be an editor during the day. If she had a part-time job, she only had time at night…

Could it be something like being a bar hustler outside?

Since her alcohol tolerance was so good, and her looks and figure were completely fine, even within Squill’s strike zone, she should be able to earn a lot of money in that line of work.

Bar hustler was already a rather reserved guess. Maybe it was something like… a hostess?

Although she thought this, asking it out loud would be rude.

So, Clara just kept this guess hidden in her heart.

“Alright, let’s talk about the manga now?”

Nangong Xiwang placed her phone face down on the table.

She was still sharing her location with Blue Cavalier. If any crime related to Naitemel occurred near the Blue Court Area, he would notify her immediately…

Then, she took out the previously printed manga manuscripts, though she just placed them on the now-tidied coffee table without opening them.

“First, let’s talk about choosing a publishing platform.”

“You mean on which website platform to publish it?”

From Nangong Xiwang’s tone, it was clear she didn’t recommend this approach.

“You have two choices. The first is to publish on a manga platform. Then, an editor from the platform will contact you to follow up on the content.”

“They’ll also provide suggestions, but the manga’s profits and subsequent content updates will be subject to their meddling.”

“The second option: since this manga is a promotional manga for Magical Girl Clara, the best approach is for dream witch to publish it themselves… even release it for free.”

“Free?”

After all this effort, it was going to be released for free?

“Not just free to read, but also spend money to promote it. As a promotional manga, your original intention should be to boost the popularity of the Hero Magical Girl Clara.”

“One shouldn’t focus on small, immediate gains. Once popularity is established, publishing a physical book later will also have fans willing to buy it.”

Clara thought about it. Nangong Xiwang’s reasoning seemed to make sense.

Using this reason to apply for promotional funds from President Qiexiya would definitely get approved.

“I’ll go discuss it with the President tomorrow.”

Clara couldn’t give a direct answer right away. Then, she looked at her with hopeful eyes and asked:

“Miss Nangong, if… if this manga succeeds, could I ask you to be my dedicated editor?”

Nangong Xiwang raised an eyebrow teasingly.

“Aren’t I already?”

“I mean… for the physical book, the kind that would be printed on the book cover.”

Clara was serious about this.

If she could recruit Nangong Xiwang to dream witch, then she could focus more on handling manga matters for her. Though the title would be editor, it would be more like a head of publicity.

She just didn’t know how deep Miss Nangong’s attachment was to her current magazine company.

After all, people are often sentimental. Just having better salary and benefits might not necessarily make her switch jobs…

Maybe Miss Nangong simply loves manga?