SWNOVELXO Chapter 106
“The day after vacation always feels the best, huh?”
In other words, after that, it’s not really that enjoyable anymore.
Once a day has gone by, doing nothing just becomes the norm.
And seeing as hardly anyone appreciates or finds joy in the ordinary, vacation isn’t all that fun.
At least for me. I’ve got nothing to do.
Right now, the organization doesn’t need me, and the kids are all busy with their own stuff, leaving me with nowhere to fit in.
Basically, all I could do was sit in this shabby rental without air conditioning or soundproofing, hearing the neighbors yell or do who-knows-what, while watching videos.
I thought it was fine since my place was temporary until I entered the Academy, but my thoughts have changed a bit now.
I should’ve chosen a better house. I don’t need a place like Lapiz or Ageha’s, but I should’ve at least aimed for something like Yeonhwa’s.
Living in a place like this, I don’t feel like a person. It feels more like I’m stuck in a pigsty.
It didn’t bother me before, but now I feel like I’m going mad listening to the ridiculous noises from the neighbors.
The urge to just get rid of everyone living above and below me was rising dangerously.
Those guys should get caught up in an Evil Society or by the Suicide creatures and just disappear.
If I stayed home like this any longer, I might really kill someone, I thought, so I hurriedly got dressed and rushed out of my smelly abode.
“Miss, your clothes are so pretty… Ke, cough, cough, cough!!!”
As I splashed some capsaicin on those crawling idiots, I left the apartment complex and started walking without a destination in mind.
I was out because I felt like I’d hurt someone, but I hadn’t exactly decided what to do, so I didn’t even know where I was headed.
What should I even do?
I used to really have fun even by myself, but ever since meeting the kids, I feel like doing things alone isn’t fun anymore.
…I guess I’ve changed. Just like the kids did, I’ve changed too.
Changing wasn’t part of the plan. Why isn’t anything going according to plan…?
As I walked while lamenting my situation, suddenly I found myself on a familiar street. Wait, where was this again?
Oh, I remember now. It was a quiet street near my hideout. I must have walked here without thinking.
With nothing to do, maybe I’ll tidy up my hideout. I need to handle those altered chemicals and throw away some useless stuff.
Honestly, it was a mess when I threw everything in while setting it up. A little organization was definitely needed.
I casually turned into an alley, opened the iron door of my hideout, and as I activated the secret mechanism to go down to the basement, the unpleasant smell immediately hit me.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed the lid wasn’t properly closed.
If this smell gets on my clothes, it’ll be super annoying. I started thinking about cleaning the basement, something I wouldn’t have even thought of doing before.
In the midst of tidying, I found a hand axe. I was puzzled for a moment, but soon remembered it was the axe I used when raiding the Evil Society’s storage.
It feels like a lifetime ago, but it hasn’t even been a few months. Strange how unfamiliar it feels.
This also needed to be thrown away soon. I should ask Wei to pinpoint a waypoint in the wasteland for me. It would take too long to dispose of everything without anyone noticing.
First, I swallowed the chemicals that had started to go bad and broke them down inside me before leaving the storehouse.
More than anything, I hated the smell getting on my clothes. How much did these cost?
And more importantly… what about that Evil Society? I’m curious. What could they possibly be up to right now?
There’s a storage facility of theirs nearby, and I could easily check it out, but it just didn’t feel like a good idea.
After all, messing with them was like kicking a hornet’s nest. It was the kind of thing you shouldn’t do when you’re in your right mind.
Or maybe not? I might not need to fear them as much. Back then, it was just me, but now I can handle slime freely.
And besides, this slime isn’t just any regular slime; it’s a Mimic, I think. It might not be able to invade, but spying should be within reach, right?
Even though I knew it was a bad idea, I ambled towards where their storage used to be with a carefree attitude, thinking, what could go wrong?
As soon as I arrived, I realized immediately that it looked a bit desolate. The security devices were gone, and the entrance was only guarded by flimsy iron bars.
Did they get robbed right after their last invasion? I couldn’t believe it, but at the same time, it seemed plausible.
Those guys were that cowardly, after all.
I had an overwhelming desire to barge in right away, but considering there might be something inside, I held back and carefully formed a tiny blob of slime with my fingertips.
Instead of sending it inside, I pooled all my knowledge to turn the slime into a ‘eye’.
…Whoa, this feels a lot weirder than I thought. Adding a low-quality Chinese black-and-white CCTV perspective to my original sight was a bit dizzying.
I wrapped the ‘eye’ in slime and tossed it over the wall into the building. I maneuvered the slime to see what was inside the storehouse.
There was nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Maybe they built some secret base underground like my hideout, disguising the top with nothing, but that was anyone’s guess.
In the end, I retrieved the slime without any significant returns. Meanwhile, my body had been on a call with the Hero Association and research lab.
No kidding, just by making a call, it’s like money gets copied!
After telling them I’d made an ‘eye’ with slime, they happily deposited money into my account, and it felt like I couldn’t even muster any resentment.
Whether it’s humans or AIs, people are just so fickle. They can hold grudges but will wag their tails and dance for a little carrot.
The Hero Association said they were done with me, but still used expressions like “Sorry” or “That’s too bad.”
And from that perspective, it looks like this world isn’t entirely rotten. Of course, regardless of how untouched the lower parts are, what does it matter if your head is rotten?
Even though they’re practically soldiers of Heros Company, there are quite a few decent folks among the heroes, like Justitia or Yeonhwa’s dad.
Being an organization formed voluntarily by such heroes, it’s only natural they’d be less rotten than Heros Company.
But seriously, what do I do now?
After cleaning up, spying, and creating a big commotion, realizing that only an hour had passed made me feel lost on how to spend my time.
I decided to fill my stomach and wandered into a nearby restaurant, ordering a bunch of things and waiting, but eventually, I couldn’t resist the boredom and texted the kids.
– Hey guys
– I’m thinking of going to the department store tomorrow or the day after to buy something
– Anyone wanna join?
I didn’t intend to invite everyone. I just wanted to gather a few people and hang out while spending some cash.
However, unexpectedly explosive reactions started flooding in.
– Really? What’s Blanca gonna buy? I’ll buy anything for you, but I can’t get you furniture or houses, of course.
– Oh, I meant I’d join you.
It hadn’t even been seconds before Ageha sent a long text that was hard to believe was typed in such a short time.
While I admired her typing skills, I revealed what I was planning to buy.
– A swimsuit
– Blanca going to the department store? I’ll join too!
– If we’re going to Busan, there’s definitely going to be beach time.
– I don’t have a swimsuit!
– You want to buy a swimsuit?! I’m totally in!
Timing wise, my chat with Yeonhwa slightly overlapped, creating a weird vibe, but she soon expressed her willingness to join too, which was good.
– I wanna go too.
– Oh, you’re gonna buy a swimsuit? Then I’m in!
– You creep, die.
– Seolhwa?
– It’s a girls’ trip, so what are you gonna tag along for, creep? Just die.
I didn’t specifically plan to just invite girls, but looking at Seolhwa’s message, it seemed like the boys were destined to be left out.
– What’s the big deal? I think it’s fine if guys come along too.
– Is that not allowed?
– No, Jinhyeon. Since Blanca gave the okay, it’s fine.
– Die.
It felt a bit awkward, getting in the way of the main heroine trying to lay down the law, but I still thought it would be weird to leave out Minho or Jinhyeon, so I included them.
– Minho
– If you peek when the girls are changing into their swimsuits, I’ll kill you.
– You got that?
– Yup.
Watching Seolhwa’s intense enforcement, I imagined the thorny path Minho was headed down.
The closer he got to the girls, the more furious Seolhwa seemed to get, shaking in frustration.
– I wanna go too.
Finally, I received a response from Lapiz, meaning it wasn’t just a couple of people; the whole gang was geared up to go.
This wasn’t what I intended, but it felt like it could be enjoyable.
Even though there wasn’t such an event in the original story, honestly, who cared about the original or not?
Right now, we were having an absolute blast.
Plus, everything doesn’t have to go exactly like the original, right? Just because it’s not written in the original doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
I wanted to savor this very moment.