TRPM 358

chapter 358

After the misunderstanding about the wine was cleared up, the other kids began arriving one by one at Elena’s house.
Elliot, who had been sent out to buy salad, also came back.

… So, everyone’s here except Lee Doo-min.

Well, he hadn’t heard about the housewarming.
Even if he had, it would still take him some time—he’d have to finish sparring with Elliot, go home to change, and then come here.

“Whoa…”
“Wow…”

The kids who arrived at Elena and Elliot’s place couldn’t help but marvel at the food laid out on the table.

“Did you make all this, Elena?”
“Yes. Ah, except for the salad—I just bought that at the store.”
“Still, to make this much in such a short time…”

The kids swallowed hard as they spoke.
I was thinking the same thing.

Even though she didn’t have that much time to prepare, Elena had made a lot of dishes.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I didn’t know how she managed it.

Judging by the traces of elemental energy left on the food… she must’ve used spirit arts.

In simple terms… she hadn’t just grilled the steak on a frying pan—she’d cooked it using fire elemental magic.
Even though Elena was a spirit-caller who specialized in wind, it wasn’t as if she couldn’t use fire.

Sure, her fire elemental magic wasn’t strong enough for combat, but grilling a pile of meat at just the right temperature all at once? That much was within her reach.

“Alright, let’s eat before it gets cold.”

Of course, the temperature-control artifact on the table meant the food wouldn’t cool, but I didn’t bother pointing that out.

… Let’s see…

I cut into my portion of steak and took a bite.

… Nicely grilled.

…That was all there was to it.

The meat itself was just the usual store-bought kind, and the sauce was familiar too.
She’d grilled the steak well, but that was about it.

Not that it tasted bad, of course. It was just…

“Ordinarily tasty.”

That was the best way to put it.

It looked like Elena had been hoping for a different reaction, but honestly, there was no better way to describe the flavor of this steak.

“Yeah. Just ordinarily tasty.”
“…It’s good.”
“I agree.”

The others couldn’t think of a better description either, so they sided with me.

“……”

Elena’s expression seemed to crack at our verdict, but I ignored it.

After that, we ate her stew, pudding, pie, and so on…

“…It’s good.”
“Ordinarily?”
“…Yeah.”

Again, all we could say was that it was “ordinarily tasty.”
That really was the truth.

“I… see…”

I could feel that Elena was struggling to maintain her smile, but I didn’t bother dressing up my words.

Anyway, once we finished all the food she had prepared, we helped with the dishes.
Although in truth, I handled most of it with word-magic; the others only carried plates and bowls.

“I was planning to use spirit arts after you all left, but thanks to you, it finished much faster.”

Elena thanked us, then began showing us around the apartment.

First, the living room, where we had just eaten.
Naturally, what caught everyone’s eye first was the sofa.

“Where’d you get this sofa? It’s so soft!”
“I just picked the one with the best reviews. It was more expensive than the others, but it was worth it.”

Unlike with the food, the kids’ reactions here were enthusiastic, and Elena’s expression softened.
…Good, looks like her mood’s improving.

“The TV’s huge too. Same with the speakers next to it.”
“I heard the apartment’s soundproofing is really good. I wanted watching movies at home to feel like being in a theater.”

Oh, she even bought a popcorn machine.

“…That far, huh?”

Well, how she decorated her home was her business.

“This is the bathroom… and this is Elliot’s room. Elliot? Can I open the door?”
“Do what you want.”

With Elliot’s permission, Elena opened the door without hesitation.

“…Oh wow.”
“Just looking at it, I can smell the sweat…”

Elliot’s room was packed with workout equipment.
Since each machine was enchanted, it was clearly made for Awakeners, not regular people.

“I hate the smell too. But if I didn’t buy him exercise equipment, who knows what he’d do—so I caved. At least I made him promise to wash up in the en-suite bathroom after training.”

Elena looked genuinely disgusted as she said this.

“…You’ve been through a lot.”

I gave her that much, acknowledging the burden of constantly cleaning up after careless Elliot.

“…Thanks for understanding.”

After looking at Elliot’s room, it was Elena’s turn.
But when she grabbed her doorknob, she paused and looked at us.

“Wait—guys, don’t come in.”
“Oh, alright.”

I had a rough idea why, so I didn’t resist.
Seeing me step back, Ryu Amin and Jin Cheon-ha followed suit.

But…

“(…Elliot, why aren’t you turning away?)”
“(Well, now that I think about it, you’ve seen my room, but I’ve never seen yours.)”

Being her brother, Elliot charged straight ahead.
He yanked Elena’s door open.

I didn’t see what was inside, but I could imagine Elliot grinning—while Elena was fuming.

“(You… perverted bastard!)”
“(How was I supposed to know it’d turn out like this?!)”

Just as I expected, Elena lost her temper and went after him.

You could tell from that alone what her room must’ve looked like.

Wind Spirit Art: Biting Wind.

Using that kind of offensive spirit art inside the house…
Well, at least she hadn’t completely lost control—no furniture was damaged, meaning she’d held back.

“Elena, what about the other rooms?”

I quickly pointed to the remaining two, afraid things might really get out of hand.

She glanced over, then said casually,

“They’re both guest rooms. Though, when my family visits Korea, they’ll probably stay there.”
“Two guest rooms? This is an apartment, not a mansion like mine—why so many?”

Kang Ga-ram asked, puzzled.

Elena laughed awkwardly. “Ahaha… when my family moves, they tend to bring a lot of attendants.”

Kang Ga-ram still didn’t get it, but I did.
When royalty travels abroad, they naturally bring aides.

So two guest rooms might even be too few.

“And finally, this way…”

Elena led us to the veranda.

“Whoa, great view.”
“Oh, hey, you can see our school from here.”

On the veranda were rocking chairs and a table.
The view of the neighborhood was pleasant too—perfect for relaxing while watching the scenery.

Quite charming.

After finishing the tour, Elena turned to us.

“So, what do you think of my place?”

Clearly, she was hoping for praise this time…

“It’s nice.”
“Yeah! I’d love to live here too!”
“Elliot’s room aside, the rest is fine.”

Everyone gave mostly positive feedback.
Elena’s face lit up.

“Hmm…”

After the housewarming, I returned home and sat at my computer, browsing housing listings.
The reason was simple:

[Someday I’ll need a place of my own…]

It was something I’d been thinking about.
Not that I planned to move out of my mother’s care immediately.

But after seeing Elena proudly show off her apartment, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to prepare in advance.

“None of these really appeal to me.”

That was the problem.

There were plenty of listings, but none fit what I wanted.

Ideally, I wanted a house with a training room, an alchemy lab, and a sorcery workshop.
That pretty much required a detached house.

But in the city, houses are rare among the forest of buildings. And the few that exist don’t seem spacious enough for all three facilities.

Transportation being a little inconvenient was fine, but too inconvenient would be another problem.

“…Do I have to compromise?”

I leaned back in my chair.
But giving up on a training room, alchemy lab, and sorcery workshop…

“…What if I just build one?”

A house with all three included.

I could just buy land—or better yet, use the undeveloped land near the Shinsegye building my mother managed.

“Huh?”

I’d just tossed the idea out casually, but the more I thought about it, the better it sounded.

There was even a bus stop in front of the Shinsegye building, so transport wouldn’t be too bad.
They were building a dungeon herb farm and dorms for its workers nearby too—meaning more people would gather, and more facilities would follow.

What if I built a whole building—used the upper floors for myself, and rented out the lower floors as commercial space?

Even with magic, constructing a building would take time—but I still had over two years until graduation.

Money?
Sure, it would cost a lot. But earning that much wouldn’t be difficult for me.

“Not bad.”

I’d need to discuss it with my mother, since she owned the land, but it seemed like a solid plan.

So I told her about my idea for independence…

“My son, are you planning to put a swimming pool on the top floor of that building?”
“A pool? Well… there isn’t one near Shinsegye, so yeah, it’d probably attract demand…”
“I think six rooms would be nice, besides the living room and kitchen. One for me, one for you, a workout room, a storage room, and rooms for Mirae and Sophia too.”
“The layout can be arranged however we want, so that’s fine, but… wait, what?”

Why did it suddenly sound like she was planning to move in with me?
And why did it sound like Mirae and Sophia would be living there too?

I was too distracted by those questions to realize something important:

What it would mean, in a neighborhood where my presence had already driven up migration and land prices, if I were to move away.