4

‘How childish, it’s killing me.’

Is work life the same everywhere you go? Or is this world K-optimized?

So right now, this situation is….

‘I’m marked.’

I seem to have been firmly put on someone’s bad side. If there’s a reason, it’s probably that incident when I caused a scene. I had no choice then, my paycheck and future were on the line.

‘Still, if you leave someone be, they’ll get screwed too.’

Who hasn’t been chewed out by the branch manager?

People who can’t tell if something helps or hurts them. You can’t expect them to act sensibly.

Actually, Cornelia’s family can read and write. Even fallen nobles were taught literacy. They were poor, but her parents taught her to read. Separately, I could read and write this world’s language like my native tongue. Thank heavens.

If I didn’t have even that… I don’t want to imagine it. Being good with a language and having it feel like your mother tongue are completely different things.

“Coco, aren’t you leaving?”

Nicola came to the storeroom, worried because I hadn’t shown up after waiting.

“You go first.”

“Why?”

I nodded toward the piles of boxes in front of us. He frowned.

“Don’t tell me… they told you to sort all that?”

“Yeah. Something like that.”

“So it’s you this time, huh.”

“Does this happen often?”

“If they don’t like you, they give you work right before leaving and expect it done before they come in the next day. But why are they targeting Coco? Even when you were late before, this never happened.”

“Honestly, I’d understand if it happened when I was late.”

Nicola’s frown wouldn’t relax.

“This will take ages to finish. Coco, I’ll help. I’ll count the items, you write them down.”

I shook my head.

“No, it’s fine. I’m leaving now.”

“Huh? Just leave? Our senior told you to do it.”

Nicola looked frightened, like he was worried about the fallout.

‘Once you start this kind of thing, it never ends.’

If it were a one-time retaliation, I’d go along, but people tend to keep stomping until the other can’t get up. And no matter how big the guild, a place like this won’t pay overtime. It might be wiser to run fast.

“If I do it and make a mistake, that’s an even bigger problem. This is work for full-time staff.”

“That’s true, but the senior won’t just sit still…”

Nicola kept trying to persuade me, probably because he’d seen similar cases end badly. The so-called senior was maybe in their early twenties, yet after being in my thirties I couldn’t help but scoff.

“Coco, go ahead. I’ll do it. I can write numbers well enough; you can come tomorrow and finish organizing.”

“What?! Why are you doing this—!”

I raised my voice without meaning to. Nicola’s eyes trembled with anxiety.

“But you’ve just started doing well, I don’t want to see you get scolded again.”

I couldn’t believe a person like that existed. Volunteering to take on someone else’s work? An angel?

Still, I couldn’t really hand it over and leave. I’m not especially moral, but this was… wrong.

“Why are you doing this… Fine, okay. I’ll do it.”

The senior’s task was simple enough. Count items by type and fill out the form. Irritated, I finished it in record time.

“Wow, Coco. I didn’t know you counted numbers this fast! Your handwriting flies too. Amazing!”

I wanted to say, ‘You’re just slow,’ but I kept that to myself, thinking about this world’s conditions. Unless you’re talented, most commoners can’t even get basic education.

‘Wait, then with better terms this might still be possible?’

If just knowing how to read and write gives you bonus points….

Not only food money but independence wouldn’t be so far off.

Even after unpaid overtime, my steps felt light with hope. Walking, I was soon in front of the house.

“I’m out.”

When I opened the door, Juli ran out frantically. She gets upset if you call her Juliana, so we used the nickname Juli.

“Sister! There’s a big problem!”

Sensing something was wrong, I asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“Rio, Rio…!”

Tears streamed down Juli’s face.

“What about Marcella?”

When I asked about the guardian—her second brother—Juli shook her head.

“He’s not back yet. What do we do, Unni? I wanted to go call the doctor, but I’m so worried about Rio… I was waiting for you to come and to go, but you didn’t… I was afraid something happened to you, sob, sob…!”

All those thoughts in that little head?

I first opened Rio’s room. The child had a raging fever and was gasping for breath, like he might stop at any moment.

But strangely, seeing him made my chest drop with a thud. I froze and couldn’t move.

“Sister?”

Juli called, but my stiff body didn’t move. Rio’s figure strangely overlapped with someone else.

“Sister!”

Sensing something was off, Juli grabbed my arm hard. I snapped back to my senses and hoisted Rio up.

“…Take me to the doctor’s house.”

“Okay!”

Juli ran ahead and I followed behind carrying Rio. We seemed to bump into someone along the way, but it was too urgent to feel the pain.

We got up and ran straight away. All I could think was we had to hurry.

“Doctor! Doctor! It’s Juli!”

We arrived sweating from running; it was late, but thankfully the physician opened the door.

“Oh, Rio! Come in quickly!”

“Doctor, sob, please save Rio! Please heal him! Sob.”

While the doctor laid Rio on the bed and checked him, Juli couldn’t stop crying.

“…The doctor will treat him well.”

When I awkwardly patted her head, Juli hugged me tightly as if that were a sign.

“Sister, ugh… sob, sob…”

I was a bit embarrassed but patted her back and recalled what had just happened.

Fourteen years had passed since I lost my family. While I was backpacking, my mom, dad, older brother, and younger brother went out for dinner and were killed in a traffic accident.

They were a normal family who laughed and bickered. I loved them. So after coming to this world, I couldn’t pretend to be family to strangers. It felt like betraying both my lost family and Cornelia’s family.

Maybe because I was in Cornelia’s body, Rio’s barely-breathing figure overlapped with my sick younger brother. I couldn’t move, afraid I’d lose someone again—even knowing it was a different person.

Fourteen years have passed… I didn’t expect I’d still react like this.

I wiped the sweat from my face with my sleeve and tried to calm myself.

“Sister, are you okay? You look pale.”

When Juli asked, I gave a small smile.

“I just ran—I’m fine. Rio’s gotten so big. I can’t carry him for long.”

A little later the physician came out, wiping his brow. He didn’t look good. I sent Juli in to be with Rio first.

“Is Rio’s condition very serious?”

The physician’s expression was grave.

“Rio’s illness isn’t untreatable. However, in the long term he needs medicine containing the blue frost flower to get healthy.”

“Then…”

“Rio’s body runs hotter than most children’s. Usually, if this symptom is found very early, it’s quickly treatable… but it seems it was found too late. His body can’t handle the heat now, so he collapses often, gets fevers, and loses stamina. Rio’s endured it well so far, but in my view if we miss this window I can’t guarantee the outcome.”

“Then what should we do?”

“As I said, he needs long-term doses of the blue frost flower. It’s an imported herb, so even if I sell it at cost, it’s not cheap. I just used some on him.”

In the end… money. If I hadn’t been living hand-to-mouth, I probably could have paid the medicine right away.

“How much is it?”

“A day’s dose is 50 zeni.”

I inhaled without meaning to.

‘Medicine that used to cost 40 zeni for a week’s supply… so this is at least seven times more expensive.’

In that moment I was grateful to Nicola. If I were fired tomorrow, my income would stop. I said something I never even tried to say in the modern world.

“Could we… buy it on credit?”

If we left Rio like this, I’d be crushed. The moment he overlapped with my brother in my head, it might have become irreversible.

“I’d like to do that, but… I’m sorry.”

Of course. Even if he sold the herb at cost, he’d still need the money upfront, and it doesn’t grow on trees. There are other patients, too.

“No, I’m sorry for asking. We’ll find the money and come back for today’s medicine. You don’t need to tell the others.”

“How could you at this hour? You can pay me later for this one.”

The doctor smiled wryly, looking apologetic, and shook his head. I couldn’t refuse.

‘How to get the money right now.’

At the corner of the doctor’s house, watching Juli and Rio sleep holding hands, I fell into thought.

Nicola, glad I finished the senior’s task yesterday, went to work. He was happy to have me as a friend and didn’t want me to get scolded or fired. Coco wasn’t someone you’d praise for work, but she wasn’t a bad kid.

‘She’s just clueless about the world.’

Like she was from a rich family, exactly.

But lately she stopped being constantly late and stopped causing trouble. Nicola was quietly pleased with her quick, small growth. No need to point out that it should’ve been normal.

“Hi.”

At that moment Coco, who had made it in on time again, spoke. Nicola turned to greet her happily.

“Gulp!”

But instead of saying hi, he froze. Coco smirked at his reaction.

“I was annoyed, so I cut it.” Her long, shiny hair had been cut short to just below her ears.