Chapter 6 - Meow Meow~ It's Mohanya Meow♥
It’s out of the blue, but do you know about semi-basement houses?
I’m not sure if they only exist in Korea, but it’s a way of living where a living space is made in a place that’s about half underground.
I’ve never lived in a semi-basement house because I grew up in an orphanage. I’ve only seen it in movies. You know, in that movie everyone knows, where the main character’s family lives in a semi-basement house.
Never mind if you don’t know.
“But Hyungnim Agasshi, didn’t you say Fantasia was definitely an organization?”
For now, I decided to use informal speech since I’ve become the organization’s fighting dog. Formal speech makes you look weak, right? Eris doesn’t seem to mind informal speech much either.
“Yup! It is an organization. Although it was about to be dissolved tomorrow!”
“But usually, when you say organization, don’t they have an office?”
“Yup! We had an office too!”
“Then why is it a semi-basement house now?”
Yes, the reason I brought up the semi-basement house story is just one.
Because the place Eris introduced as Fantasia’s base was a semi-basement house.
“Well, that’s because we don’t have money… Hehe.”
Eris laughs while avoiding eye contact.
Is this something to laugh about and brush off?
At least you’re avoiding eye contact, so you must have some conscience.
After looking at the awkwardly laughing Eris with pitying eyes, I went inside the house. I heard that semi-basement houses usually have a lot of mold, but maybe because it’s well-maintained, I couldn’t see any at all.
Rather, except for the fact that it’s a semi-basement, it’s a normal house. There’s no problem living here. Could this be the result of the efforts of the person called Shizu?
No wonder her physical strength is reaching its limit when she’s not only working three part-time jobs but also keeping a semi-basement house this clean. It was only natural, if anything.
“How on earth did it end up ruined like this?”
While following Eris to the semi-basement house, I found out more information about Fantasia. And I was able to discover a surprising fact.
“They say Fantasia was the number one among the top 4 organizations until just 7 years ago.”
Now they’re called the top 3 organizations: Murim Alliance, Carpe Diem, and Esper Hunter.
But they say in the past, it was called the top 4 organizations including Fantasia. Moreover, Fantasia was the number one organization, but its downfall suddenly began 7 years ago.
The reason for that downfall isn’t detailed.
“Ah, that’s…”
Eris’s eyes turned sad. Is it quite a painful memory?
“It’s because of me.”
What is she talking about now?
“You’re saying it was ruined because of you, Hyungnim Agasshi?”
“Yes, because I inherited the organization but couldn’t do anything.”
Eris sighed.
“My mother, who was the boss of Fantasia, was a really great person. She was called a living magic book. She could use all the magic that existed in the world.”
“Don’t tell me, the people who could use magic were Fantasia?”
I asked, having some idea of where this story was going. Eris nodded.
“Yes, Fantasia was an organization that monopolized all the magic in this world. Then a person called Tushin, a legend of Murim Alliance, appeared and annihilated Fantasia.”
Tushin.
I had heard that name by chance not too long ago. Murim Alliance was definitely praying. Saying something about hoping for Tushin’s return.
“After annihilating Fantasia, Tushin looked at me and my younger sister, who were only 13 at the time, and said.”
─These two don’t know how to use magic at all. It shouldn’t be a problem to let them live.
“Shizu also survived for the same reason. And so, Tushin ‘single-handedly’ annihilated Fantasia, which seemed like it would be number one forever, and vanished quietly. He went missing.”
“It sounds like an unbelievable legend.”
How could he have killed everyone in that supposedly great Fantasia single-handedly? And why did he spare Eris, her younger sister, and Shizu because they couldn’t use magic?
…Wait, younger sister?
“You have a younger sister?”
“Ah, I had a twin sister. She’s not here now. She died from an illness.”
Oh no, I shouldn’t have asked. Eris’s expression already looked sad, but now it looks even sadder.
I should stop talking about the younger sister.
“So, you inherited the organization when you were 13, Hyungnim Agasshi, and since it was before you learned magic, Fantasia ended up losing all its power, right?”
“Yes, I tried to gather members again and revive it somehow, but it was useless. No one wanted to follow me who had no power, and I didn’t have any impressive business skills either…”
Certainly, saying it was ruined because of Eris is half true.
But isn’t it unavoidable? It’s nonsense to entrust the revival of an organization to a 13-year-old. There are things you can’t do no matter how much money you have.
“If I had done well, it wouldn’t have been ruined. I think I’m really stupid. No, I am stupid. Because of me, you too are actually─”
“Stop.”
She’s unnecessarily honest with her emotions and feels sorry for a lot of things. I felt this when I met her as a customer at the PC bang too, but while her emotions and expressions are simple, the thoughts she harbors inside are complex.
Then, it would be right to give her intuitive and simple encouragement for such an Eris.
In any case, she’s the Hyungnim I’ll be serving from now on.
“Hyungnim Agasshi, don’t think everything is your fault.”
“But it is my fault, so how can it not be my fault…”
“Hyungnim Agasshi is a victim. Fantasia’s downfall was because of Tushin. And what happened to me is not because of you, Hyungnim Agasshi, but because of Carpe Diem.”
The perpetrator is someone else. There’s no need for the victim to think it’s their fault.
Of course, I also think I lost the PC bang to Carpe Diem because I lived in a fantasy, but that doesn’t mean I think everything is my fault.
The bad ones are Carpe Diem.
So I want Eris to understand that too.
“The bad one is Tushin. It might seem cool that he annihilated everyone single-handedly, but from another perspective, it means he committed mass murder alone, right? He’s the bad bastard, why is Hyungnim Agasshi, who was 13 at the time, the bad one?”
“B-but…”
“But what? Have you ever killed someone in your life, Hyungnim Agasshi?”
“No.”
“Have you ever stolen money?”
“No…”
“Right, Hyungnim Agasshi is a good person. I’ve been watching you at the PC bang all this time, so I know, right? Hyungnim Agasshi, who only played Lineage and tried to live on your own without harming others, did nothing wrong. You’re so kind that I wonder if you can really be an organization boss.”
“Is it okay for an organization boss to be kind…? I ruined it because I wasn’t boss-like enough…”
“So what? Now you have me.”
Why did the Title Collector give me the title of fighting dog of all things?
I don’t know. But if I’m a dog crazy about fighting, I should jump in recklessly and bite the enemy’s neck.
“If Hyungnim Agasshi can’t do it, I’ll do it for you. That’s why I decided to become your fighting dog.”
“S-still, I don’t want you to do bad things. Because you’re kind too, Hyeonwoo…”
Kind.
Am I kind?
It was something I had never thought about before. It was something I had never heard from anyone. I didn’t really have any occasion to hear it, but I also hadn’t lived my life doing good deeds.
But could it be that even someone like me could appear kind to someone? It feels strange.
Still, the person I’m going to serve as Hyungnim from now on said she wants me to live kindly. If I’ve started serving her as Hyungnim, wouldn’t it be right to follow those words?
I grabbed Eris’s shoulders and said.
“Then let’s do this. We’re an organization, but we’re an organization that only beats up bad guys. Carpe Diem who took my PC bang, and Murim Alliance who brought down Fantasia. We’ll grow while beating up those bastards. How about that?”
“Th-that sounds good! Honestly, I don’t have the heart to make Fantasia the number one organization again. Even if it’s not as glorious as before, I just want to restore Fantasia to a state that wouldn’t shame my parents.”
“No, if we beat up Murim Alliance and Carpe Diem, Fantasia will be number one, right? Esper Hunter is a closed group that only accepts people with superpowers.”
“W-was that it?! I had no idea that’s what you meant because it sounded like you had no ambition…”
Are you stupid?
As expected, Eris doesn’t seem very smart. And the fact that she’s not smart is fortunate for me.
At least, those who are stupid can’t stab you in the back. Even if they try, it’s so obvious that you catch them midway. How fortunate is that?
Of course, mentioning that would be rude, so I kept it to myself.
“By the way, where is this person called Shizu? I’d like to meet her once.”
“Oh, oh my. You’re right? It should be about time for Shizu to get off work…”
The sun had already set and it was evening, and neon signs were twinkling, lighting up the darkness.
It’s night.
It felt ominous that the person who should be getting off work wasn’t coming. Maybe because of the recent bad experiences, I felt like I should urgently search for her for some reason.
“Hyungnim Agasshi! Where does Shizu-ssi work?”
“Oh, well, her morning part-time job is at a convenience store called Happy SG, and her afternoon part-time job is at a meat restaurant called Hwangdang Meat…”
Let’s skip the morning part-time job for now.
I marked the location of Hwangdang Meat on my phone and urgently shouted.
“Hyungnim Agasshi, wait here for a moment! I’ll go look for Shizu-ssi!”
“Huh? I’ll come too!”
“No! Hyungnim Agasshi is weak and slow.”
“W-well, that’s true, but…”
Eris mumbled as if bitter. I’m sorry too, but it can’t be helped. If by any chance Shizu has gotten into dangerous trouble, we need to find her as quickly as possible.
“…Alright! I’ll wait here, so make sure you find her!”
But soon Eris seemed to have made up her mind and spoke with raised eyebrows. It’s fortunate that her decision-making is quick, perhaps because she’s an organization boss.
“Of course. Don’t worry and wait.”
I ran towards Hwangdang Meat while looking at my phone screen. Hwangdang Meat wasn’t too far from Eris’s house.
But the employees at Hwangdang Meat tilted their heads.
“Shizu-ssi? She cleaned all the grills early today and left work…”
“She left work?”
As expected, the situation doesn’t look good. I’ve never actually met this person called Shizu, but you can tell just from hearing a little about her, right? She’s not someone who would be late without saying anything to Eris.
But where should I go now? Should I go to Happy SG, the daytime part-time job, first?
As I was confused about what to do, a voice came from somewhere.
“Hey! Puppy spinning around like it needs to poop! Look at me for a moment meow!”
A sentence pattern that sounds familiar from somewhere.
When I turned my head towards the voice, there was a woman wearing a black eye patch.
Pink hair and pink eyes.
Her mouth shape is like a cat’s mouth, and there’s a long scar on her nose that looks like it was cut by a knife.
On top of that, a carelessly worn red shirt, a loose black tie, a black vest, black gloves.
And even a strange heart engraved in her eyes.
“What the hell is this Mohanya cosplay?”
It’s identical to the popular animation Mohanya. It’s amazing how identical it can be, but it’s just cosplay after all.
“Meow meow, you think it’s cosplay? Unfortunately, it’s not cosplay meow. Mohanya is the real Mohanya meow!”
She even seems to be suffering from mental illness. Or has she immersed herself too deeply and entered a method state?
“I’m busy, so can you move aside?”
“Move aside because you’re busy meow? What’s so busy? Where are you rushing to?”
“I’m looking for someone. I don’t have time to play with you.”
“Do you know where they are and you’re looking for them? From what I see, you seem to be spinning around like a puppy that needs to poop because you have no idea meow.”
It’s not wrong.
But shouldn’t I be running around searching the neighborhood even a little more instead of wasting time like this? Stop talking nonsense and move aside.
I was about to say that, but the self-proclaimed Mohanya said with a smile.
“But Mohanya likes such cute puppies meow. If you want, should Mohanya teach you the technique to find people meow?”
“Who are you to teach…”
I was about to argue, asking who are you to teach me, but.
At that moment, I got goosebumps because I couldn’t believe my eyes.
『Title: ???』
It was the first time in my life that I saw a title appearing as ???.