Chapter 224 - Chapter 220: IF Side Story - Still Getting Devoured (22)
Today, the tables were turned, and I was the one invited to Yu-rin's place.
Being invited to a girl's room... it felt a bit suggestive, which made for a truly strange sensation.
That was only until I saw her place with my own two eyes.
"W-wait... this is your room? I... isn't this an entire house?..."
"It's more of a studio than a house. I just bought it because I thought it would be a good space to start streaming."
My god... contrary to her down-to-earth appearance, Yu-rin spoke as if her sense of money was completely warped.
"...Isn't that backwards? It seems more normal to buy a place like this once you've hit it big as a streamer and have some spare cash..."
"Don't worry about such trivial things."
Yu-rin said, acting like it was no big deal.
But to me, it was plenty surprising.
The car Yu-rin had parked in front of my place the other day looked expensive, but considering that even something like that could be a rental, it wasn't all that shocking—but this detached house with a garden was on a whole different level.
Even though Yu-rin called it a studio, who would ever think to put a mansion with a garden this large up for monthly rent or a deposit-based lease?
Just as she said, it was clearly property she had bought herself.
"Yu-rin-ah... are you perhaps a big-time streamer? Like one of those with millions of subscribers?"
"No... I haven't even been streaming for a few months yet. I don't have many subscribers either..."
If that was the case, there was only one conclusion left.
Yu-rin was definitely born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
"My god, you're loaded... Yu-rin-ah, let's be close friends!"
I said it half-jokingly and grabbed her hand, and she blushed as if she were shy.
"U-uh?... Sure, let's be close."
Seeing Yu-rin blush and act shy made me feel something strange.
Ever since she told me we weren't a couple the other day, I had assumed she must have a boyfriend and had dated countless men, but the way she was acting now made it seem like she had no experience with men at all.
I had only grabbed her hand as a joke, but Yu-rin was still just staring at me with a stiff expression.
"You seem really surprised?... Are you okay, Yu-rin-ah?"
"I... I'm fine... I was just flustered because you seem a little different from before."
"That's a relief. I was just joking, and I was going to apologize immediately if you didn't like it."
"I-I don't dislike it..."
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That strange atmosphere from when Yu-rin left my room the other day returned between us.
We both fell silent for a while.
And as a few minutes passed with us just standing there, I suddenly felt something eerie.
The source of that feeling was the white fog that had settled thickly outside the window.
As time passed, the fog grew denser, and soon the visibility became so poor that I couldn't even see a few meters ahead.
"W-what is this?... Something's weird... Fog all of a sudden... Could it be some kind of climate anomaly?..."
At most, it was just fog.
I figured it wasn't a big deal, as any climate-related fog would clear up eventually.
However, Yu-rin was different.
She stared blankly outside, her body trembling, and then she began to move in a hurry, like someone being chased.
"It seems a Gate has opened. Why... this place is... a Safe Zone... This makes no sense."
"A Gate? What's that?"
"I'll explain later, let's evacuate to the basement. I'm going to grab my gear from the bedroom on the second floor."
"Got it. Let's move together."
And so, Yu-rin and I moved together, grabbed our things, and headed down to the basement.
.
.
.
Miel was humming a tune, clearly in a good mood.
She was in the middle of inspecting her subordinates before setting out from in front of the Gate, but there wasn't a hint of tension to be found.
"Hehehe, lalalalala~"
Even though it was her first expedition, for some reason, she was in high spirits.
The reason was probably this talisman.
I had taken the photo found inside an object presumed to be Bianca-eonni's pendant and transferred it into a necklace to make it into a charm.
Strangely enough, the more I looked at the man in this photo, the better I felt.
Because he was the most beautiful man I had ever seen, I hoped that a male of this caliber would be caught as a prize.
"Then, shall we go now? Departure!"
As the Gate opened and Miel energetically took the lead, the twenty monster soldiers behind her began to enter one by one.
"Ha... is this Earth?... The structures are more bizarre than I thought."
It was fair for Miel to say that the appearance of Earth, which she was seeing for the first time, was quite peculiar.
There were roads made of black stone without a single blade of grass to be seen, and light was leaking from the top of things that looked like artificial iron trees.
"Hmm... it wouldn't be right to move rashly, would it? Search team, go scout that building first."
That building was a two-story house with a large garden attached.
The reason she had pointed her finger at it first was simple.
Unlike the other houses, the grounds here looked vast, and it reminded her of the estates where the wealthy and nobles of the Demon World lived.
"Understood."
As Miel gave the order to the three Orcs in front of her, the search team entered the building and began to look around.
Confirming that the three Orcs had gone inside, Bianca looked around and took in the scenery.
"Ha... there are so many buildings, it would be impossible to loot them all, right?... Well, even if I did, most of the items from the Human World break when taken to the Demon World, so I don't really need them... I'd rather take a decent human male if I could."
Miel waited for the search team to return while indulging in pleasant fantasies.
"But why aren't they coming out yet?... I only ordered a simple search... Did something go wrong?"
If she lost the valuable troops she had borrowed from her mother, she didn't know what kind of reprimand she would receive, so the best course of action was to keep them alive and bring them back.
Miel began to hurry into the building with her subordinates.
.
.
.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Crash!
Thud, thud.
The sound of something blunt violently pounding on the front door echoed, and soon, along with the sound of wood splintering, heavy footsteps began to ring out.
Seon-ah and Yu-rin, waiting breathlessly in the basement, felt the vibrations from the floor above with their entire bodies.
"Um... Yu-rin-ah, now that I think about it... you said you'd tell me what a Gate is."
"Shh... for now, let's just stay quiet until they leave... I don't know what will happen if we get caught."
"Okay... I understand..."
'What on earth... is happening... what is a Gate... is it like a disaster situation?...'
Thud, thud.
The footsteps of the people who had broken into the house continued, and soon after, the sounds of them smashing and wrecking things could be heard.
'If they're intruders or robbers, shouldn't we call the police?...'
Yu-rin probably knew that fact well, too.
However, seeing as she wasn't taking action, there was clearly some reason for it.
I just assumed there must be some circumstances, which was also why Yu-rin was holding a sword in her hand right now.
With nothing to do for a moment, I slowly admired Yu-rin's appearance.
Looking at her, many thoughts crossed my mind.
Her current appearance, holding a sword to protect me, the "gold-spoon" Yu-rin who seemed to have no sense of money earlier, and Yu-rin doing her streamer activities.
And finally, those moments when she took care of me at the hospital, shedding tears on my chest and worrying about me.
Why does she, who I can find no connection to, know me so well from before I lost my memories?
Furthermore, why did she act like she was treating me as her boyfriend while saying we weren't a couple?
It was full of things I couldn't possibly understand.
Just then, I saw her shoulder twitch and tremble slightly.
On top of that, I could see her chest swelling and sinking as if she were taking deep, ragged breaths.
It looked as if she were forcibly enduring a terrifying situation.
'Because of me... she must be enduring the fear... so I wouldn't be startled... she was being considerate...'
I approached her very gently and hugged her so she could calm her trembling body.
Then, I felt the warm heat radiating from her.
When I touched her, she flinched in surprise for a moment, but realizing that what was wrapped around her body was my hand, she accepted my embrace.
In this moment, we both felt each other's warmth and waited for this dangerous situation to pass.
But that was only for a moment.
The sounds of them rummaging through the floor above stopped, and I heard footsteps approaching the door to this basement.
"Thank you... Seon-ah. Thanks to you, I've calmed down a lot."
"I'm sorry there's nothing I can do... I really want you to tell me what happened when this is all over."
"Yes... I definitely will."
I couldn't help but naturally know the fact that she was going to go outside the door.
Because Yu-rin was slowly moving toward the door with her sword in hand and an expression filled with grim determination.
"Then, please wait for a little while, Seon-ah..."
"Yes... I understand."
'Even so, if you happen to be in danger... I'll come to help you... Yu-rin-ah.'
Seon-ah made a resolution as he watched Yu-rin go out of the basement.
That he, too, would find something he could do for her, who was dedicating herself to him.