The Fighting Dog of a Ruined Organization

“It seems a bit chaotic today.”

Fuyuka, my mom, asked me with her usual deep gaze. Mom’s eyes always remind me of the pure white snow falling in winter.

Rather than fiercely blowing or heavily falling snow, it’s like the snow that gently falls in a warm, white winter landscape. It feels like cherry blossoms fluttering in the middle of winter, and looking at it makes me feel at ease.

If such a mom asks me if it’s chaotic?

“I think it’s because I turned on Mohanya.”

“Oh my, you’re busy playing games, so of course it seems that way when you turn on something interesting.”

Of course, I wouldn’t tell the truth.

To me, who was an orphan before the possession and still an orphan after, Fuyuka is my first, only, and true mother.

She took in and raised a complete stranger like me out of pity, so I didn’t want to worry her.

“Anyway, you’ve worked hard. Go in and get some good rest now.”

Since it’s a PC bang run by mom, I don’t really get paid. I work without pay from morning to evening, and then switch with mom in the evening.

But isn’t it dangerous at night? I was worried about mom and always suggested we switch between day and night shifts. But mom said I should grow well in my teens and only made me work day shifts.

Thanks to that, I’ve grown so much and become this tall, but even though I think I’ve grown enough, mom shakes her head and continues to work night shifts.

“No, I’ll work through the night today. And from now on, mom should work during the day, and I’ll work at night. It’s dangerous at night, right?”

But after Chunsik caused a ruckus, I became worried. Usually, those kinds of guys cause real trouble at night when there are fewer people.

I thought that from now on, I should take the night shift.

“Hm? No. My son needs to sleep well at night and grow a lot. Besides, the night isn’t as dangerous as you think.”

“I’ve already grown enough. If I grow any more, it’ll be scary, you know? Mom, go in and rest. Don’t say strange things like the night isn’t dangerous.”

Mom looked up at me. We see each other every day so we don’t usually notice, but she might have just realized how much I’ve grown.

“You’re right… When did our son grow so much? It feels like yesterday when you were this small…”

She seemed deeply moved, her usual deep gaze becoming even deeper. While patting her back, I pointed towards the door.

“So, mom should work day shifts from now on. I’ll take care of tonight, so please go in.”

“But…”

“It’s okay, really.”

I semi-forcefully pushed mom out and escorted her outside. Even while doing so, mom turned her head towards me several times.

Seven years.

It’s been seven years since mom adopted me, so it’s time to start repaying her kindness little by little. I even insisted on working myself instead of letting her spend money to hire a part-timer.

If not in this way, I couldn’t see any proper way to repay her kindness, so I selfishly pushed forward, pretending not to notice even when mom felt sorry towards her son.

I also didn’t like the idea of mom experiencing dangerous situations.

“…She’s finally gone.”

Only after mom completely disappeared from sight did I go up to the PC bang. The PC bang at night was quieter than I expected, and there wasn’t any particular danger.

“So, how was it? Not that dangerous at night, right?”

As the day broke and mom came for the shift change, she asked with a slight smile.

“Yeah… It doesn’t seem dangerous at all.”

“That’s why you should only work day shifts, son.”

“I don’t want to. It could still be dangerous, you know.”

Even if it doesn’t seem dangerous now, you never know when someone like Chunsik might go wild. This time Chunsik came early for a real-life fight, but next time he comes for ramen, it’ll probably be at night.

“…You’re so thoughtful.”

Maybe because I spoke with a serious look. Mom chuckled and patted my bottom.

If we were to count, I might be the same age as mom considering my 31 years before possession, 7 years after possession, totaling 38 years of life.

Is it because my mind is in sync with the body I possessed? Or is it because of the affectionate touch I’ve never felt since birth?

I like the patting that could be embarrassing. That’s why sometimes I dislike the reality that I’ve grown too tall for mom to pat my head.

I preferred having my head patted more than having my bottom patted.

“But you’ve really worked hard, so go in and sleep now. You’ve got dark circles this big under your eyes.”

Mom exaggeratedly pointed at the area under her eyes and smiled broadly. Although she spoke playfully, her sincere desire for me to rest is real, so it would be impolite to insist on working more.

“Okay. I’ll go get some good sleep.”

“Good, and make sure to eat the meal I prepared before you sleep.”

“Even if you prepared it, it’s just frozen dumplings you heated up, right? You don’t even know how to cook.”

“Still, it’s tastier when mom heats it up.”

It wasn’t something I particularly wanted to deny. But it was also strange to affirm, so I didn’t say anything. I just nodded and then bowed.

As I came out of the PC bang, the mild temperature and warm sunlight welcomed me. It’s May now, so the weather is just right. Maybe because I stayed up all night, the familiar daytime looks unusually bright.

And as bright as the day, Eris was smoking a cigarette, her white hair shining. Is that what they call a cigar?

Cigars themselves are rare to see, but to see a small and delicate girl like Eris smoking one. The feeling was strange, so I went over and lit a cigarette myself.

Then Eris asked.

“How does a minor buy cigarettes?”

“You’re not asking why a minor is smoking, but how they buy them. You’re a bit strange, noona.”

“But I smoked when I was a minor too, you know?”

“How did you buy them, noona?”

“Shizu bought them for me!”

“Who’s Shizu?”

“My secretary.”

Well, even though it’s ruined, it’s not strange for a boss of an organization to have a secretary. It’s not strange that she smoked as a minor either.

“Well, they didn’t really check my age.”

“I guess! Even I would sell cigarettes to you. Because you look cool.”

“I feel like you’ve been teasing me about looking old since before.”

“No, that’s not it, really! I’m not the type to lie much.”

For someone who doesn’t lie much, she lied very well to Chunsik yesterday about being 10 years old. I even doubted for a moment if she really was 10 years old.

“But is it okay for you to smoke, noona?”

“Hm? Why?”

“You look very weak.”

Even though she’s trying to show off by exposing her forehead and wearing a white shirt and slacks, it doesn’t hide her weak body.

My words must have been accurate because Eris shrugged her shoulders.

“You’re right. My body is weak. That’s why this isn’t a cigar.”

“It’s not a cigar? Then what is it?”

“It’s a magi addiction treatment that can be smoked like a cigar.”

Magi addiction.

“…What’s that?”

I’ve never heard of it before.

Well, what can I do? Just because it’s been 7 years since I was possessed doesn’t mean I know everything, right? It can’t be helped.

I’m not sure who I’m making excuses to right now.

“There’s an energy called magi in the air. To use magic, you need to know how to handle the magi in the air.”

This is the first time I’ve heard of magi too.

“But occasionally, there are constitutions where the body absorbs too much magi from the air and becomes addicted. The magi that has infiltrated the body struggles to return to nature, but because the body won’t let it out, it tries to kill the body.”

“So you’re saying that the magi, which is essential for using magic, can conversely become poison?”

“That’s right. Magi is poison to me. If I knew how to use magic, I could release it back to nature and be fine, but now there’s no one who knows how to use it…”

I think I’ve heard something like that before.

Seven years ago, all those who knew how to use magic were killed, and all books related to magic were burned.

Now there’s no one who knows how to use magic, that kind of story.

Something seems strange, but I don’t know the details either. I don’t particularly want to look into it either.

“But why did they make the treatment in the form of a cigar?”

“Magi addiction treatments exist in various forms. I just chose the cigar form. I’ve liked smoking cigars since long ago.”

She’s only 20 now but says she’s liked it since long ago.

If someone heard that, they might think she’s been smoking cigars since she was a toddler. Well, she still looks like a toddler now.

“The problem is… this is much more expensive than cigars.”

Well, this place looks similar to South Korea, but it’s very far from South Korea.

I’m not sure which organization is closely related to pharmaceuticals, but the prices are generally set high. For rare diseases like magi addiction, it must be even more expensive.

“That’s why Shizu has a hard time. She works three part-time jobs a day to earn money. All that money goes to my treatment…”

“This Shizu person, she must be very loyal to you, noona?”

“It’s beyond loyalty. She says she could even give her life for me. I’m grateful, but also feel sorry…”

Eris smiled bitterly as she pulled out the cigar. Unlike real cigars, maybe because it’s a treatment, it had quickly worn away.

“But someday, you know. If I earn a lot of money with Lineage and use that money to revive the organization…”

If she could just revive the organization, she could easily get treatments like this.

But whether the organization revives or not is none of my business. I really hate getting involved with organizations.

Now that the talk has turned to organizations, it’s probably time to draw the line and pull out. I took the cigarette out of my mouth to throw it away.

At that moment, a noise similar to a warning sound rang out from Eris’s pocket.

“Wh-what? This is an emergency message…”

Eris wondered as she put her hand in her pocket. What she took out was a folder phone. Not a fold-type smartphone, but a real old-fashioned phone.

How much financial hardship must she be in to use such a phone? My mouth gaped open in shock without me realizing, but Eris’s expression became serious as she read the message sent to the phone.

What could the content be to make her look so serious? She didn’t make such an expression even when her item was destroyed during enhancement.

Just as I was wondering, a hologram window appeared in front of me.

『Eris needs help… Become the Fighting Dog of Fantasia (Ruined)』

This bastard is at it again. It’s not even an advertisement, why does it keep popping up?

I’ve said this many times, but I don’t want to be connected to any organization. Do you know how scared I was that I might get connected when Chunsik was causing trouble?

I tried to live peacefully in every way possible. I was even scouted by Murim Alliance, one of the top 3 organizations, just based on my build and eyes, but I flatly refused.

And now you’re telling me, who even refused Murim Alliance, to become a member of a ruined organization? There’s no way I’d accept unless I’ve gone crazy.

After boldly pressing reject, I saw Eris looking at me with tense eyes.

“Um, excuse me…”

I wonder why she’s so tense about what she’s trying to say.

The hologram message about needing help and the emergency text, based on these, there must be something going on.

“So, um…”

And at the words that followed, I laughed in disbelief.

“So, you’re saying you got an official notice that they’re going to revoke your qualification because you’re running an organization with only 2 members? And you want me to pretend to be a member?”

This is the first time I’ve heard such a complex nonsense.

So, to indicate that she should stop talking nonsense, I pointed to the title above my head.

The title that says ‘Unrelated to Any Organization’.