I Did a Good Job For the Villain's Early Education - Chapter 52.2
Chapter 52.2
“I can pay more than my current rent. As long as I have somewhere to go…” Her lamenting trailed off. Her dark eyes darted around.
At the edge of her vision, a vibrant splash of pink clashed with the drab industrial landscape. And just like that, their eyes met.
“Hello.”
“Eek!” Aki recoiled as if she’d seen a ghost. If the bench hadn’t had a back, she would have fallen over.
“W-Who are you?”
“The magical girl who protects the hopes and dreams of adults?”
“W-What?”
“Actually, I can’t really do anything about hopes and dreams. But I can offer temporary safe housing.”
Aki blinked several times, then pressed her eyelids hard. She hadn’t been sleeping well lately, but she wasn’t hallucinating. Cautiously, she reached out.
“Oh my.”
“You’re, you’re real…”
“Of course, I’m real.”
She could distinctly feel the firm muscles in the girl’s arm. Looking up, she saw the girl still smiling, almost unrealistically. Yes, a girl.
‘Around my sister’s age? Maybe a little older?’
Her cheeks were too plump for an adult. Perhaps the pigtails contributed to her youthful appearance.
“Um, who are you, really?”
“I, I really am that magical girl?”
“Hey, what magical girl? What are you talking about…?”
“Oh, right. Has the rumor spread this far?”
At her coworker’s bewildered question, the girl readily nodded. A sudden gust of wind whipped her layered skirt around her. Aki recognized the fabric as something expensive, something she couldn’t afford to touch.
‘Is she a noble?’
But Aki quickly dismissed the thought.
“I specialize in finding people who owe money and, well, enacting private retribution. I do other things too.”
What noble would so eagerly advertise their services to commoners? Even more baffling was her coworker, nodding along intently.
“Why are you listening so intently?”
“You never know, I might need her services.”
“What makes you trust her?”
“She’s pretty famous. People say she’s efficient and gets results. Our manager highly recommended her.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
The ‘magical girl’ smoothly inserted herself into the conversation, smoothing back a stray hair and making eye contact. Her gentle, curved eyes, sparkling black pupils, and upturned lips were lovely.
“You said you urgently need a place to stay.”
“Y-Yes…”
“That must be difficult. Your current neighborhood is relatively affordable, right? And the transportation is decent for the price. It’s tough to be suddenly asked to leave.”
“It is, yes.”
“It would be great if there were a suitable place near the stagecoach stop! Somewhere you could stay for six months, or even three!”
“That’s exactly it!”
“Within 1.5 times your current rent?”
“Yes!”
“Could you share a room with someone for a few months?”
“Yes!”
“Then would you like to come to our mansion?”
“Yes! …Wait, what?”
“Excellent choice. Then, please come here after work.”
Swish. She came to her senses with a small piece of paper, bearing an address, in each hand.
“You can move in as early as today. See you then.”
“Wait, can I have your business card?”
“Sure. Both of you come together. It’s better to share a room with someone you know than a complete stranger, right?”
After diligently handing out business cards, even to Aki’s coworker, the girl walked away with a light step. In the gloomy alleyway, she was the only splash of vibrant pink.
“Mommy, look! There’s a princess over there.”
“A princess?”
“Hello, I’m the princess of my house. Have you by any chance suddenly lost your place to stay?”
“Oh, no. We’re fine.”
“That’s good to hear! If you know anyone struggling because of the recent development, please let them know about this.”
Within ten minutes, the entire industrial district was abuzz with talk of the ‘magical girl offering housing.’
***
An old mansion. Like everyone else in the neighborhood, Aki knew of it. Rumor had it that the King himself had bestowed the grand residence.
A spacious, immaculate home, the kind someone like Aki could only dream of.
‘I imagined some noble lord lived there, not someone like her.’
But like its serene exterior, the mansion’s owner had a subtle presence. As she cautiously walked down the hallway, a door suddenly burst open!
