It had been two days since I moved to Proud.
By noon, the sun blazed fiercely overhead.
But unlike the weather, my mood was terrible.
‘…Something’s weird.’
No, seriously.
‘Why is everything going wrong today?’
I missed freshly baked bread. Failed to buy the orange juice Gilbert recommended.
Ah, come on.
‘This has to be sabotage.’
I smacked a hand against my forehead. Thinking about it now, my luck had been exceptionally awful all day.
“Haah… this is so annoying.”
Getting scammed was already infuriating enough. At this point, I at least deserved a good meal.
‘Still… life’s starting to feel manageable.’
I’d found a way to make money, more or less. Sure, this was the underworld, but it wasn’t like I was going to die screaming in an alley overnight.
From now on, all I had to do was quietly earn money and wait until I came of age.
‘Humans really are adaptable creatures.’
Rather than endlessly panicking and beating myself up, it was better to quickly figure out how to survive.
“Up we go.”
I stood and headed toward the dining table, where the food I’d bought earlier sat piled together.
As my gaze swept across everything, I picked up the potion bottle that caught my eye.
‘Filled it quite a bit this time.’
It was still difficult, but I was satisfied with this much. Compared to my first attempt, it was massive progress. Setting the potion back down, I continued unpacking my things.
Then suddenly—
“…Ah. Right.”
I pulled out a loaf of bread before clicking my tongue in realization.
“I forgot to buy a knife.”
And not just that. I forgot a cutting board too.
Without a knife, all I’d eaten yesterday was soup and tiny rolls. This morning and lunch had also been hastily dealt with outside.
“What a pain.”
I scratched my head irritably. This was exactly why living alone drained money as naturally as breathing. Out of habit, I reached for a cup—only to freeze again.
“Damn it, I don’t even have water.”
Wonderful. I forgot everything.
Now utterly deflated, I stared blankly at the groceries.
And despite failing to buy orange juice, I’d still somehow managed to buy a completely different drink instead.
‘Is this for real?’
A classic example of disastrous solo living.
‘I should just hire a maid later.’
Of course, that required money first. But once I started selling potions, it wouldn’t be impossible.
High-grade potions were apparently extremely rare. Sitting on a pile of gold would only be a matter of time.
Though before bringing any to Gilbert, I should probably test their effectiveness at least once.
‘The taste of capitalism… incredible.’
I grabbed a bottle of juice and popped the cap open in one smooth motion.
Sweet apple juice slid down my throat as I gulped it down. Then I lowered the bottle—
Or at least, I tried to.
Crash!
“Mother of—!”
Startled, I stumbled backward as strength vanished from my hand. The juice bottle I’d been holding shattered into pieces instantly.
“Jeez, that scared me.”
At least I’d finished drinking it. Otherwise, this would’ve become even more troublesome.
As I bent down to pick up the broken glass, the bag of bread beside me suddenly toppled over too.
“What the hell now?”
Everything was falling apart today. Seriously.
Grumbling, I grabbed the bread bag and straightened up.
And then the perfectly fine floor beneath me split open with a crack.
“Seriously, what is wrong with today?!”
I burst out laughing in disbelief as I set the bread down.
Was today cursed or something?
‘This is making me nervous.’
Clicking my tongue, I released my mana. Pink strands of magic gathered the scattered shards into one place.
I was in the middle of collecting the broken glass when suddenly—
BOOM!
Thunder exploded overhead.
Flinching, I hurriedly turned toward the window.
Shhhhhhh—
Rain poured down in sheets.
I stared blankly outside, tilting my head. It had been bright and sunny right until I got home…
This felt seriously ominous.
‘Yeah. I’m staying inside today.’
After some thought, I made up my mind. Days like this were meant to be spent quietly at home.
But one hour later—
I pointed furiously out the window and screamed.
“AAAAH! DAMN IT! YOU CURSED HELLHOLE OF A CITY, PROUD!”
There’s a dying person here!
They say unlucky people break their noses even when falling backward.
Maybe that was true.
“Am I cursed this year or what?”
Two days ago, I accidentally bought the wrong house.
And today…
“Khk—! Hahk!”
…I rescued a half-dead stranger.
‘As expected of the underworld.’
Amazing Proud, truly.
“What am I supposed to do with this…?”
But this wasn’t the time to sit around lamenting.
“Cough—!”
A thick stream of red spilled from the stranger’s mouth along with violent coughing.
Ugh.
I furrowed my brows helplessly.
‘Thank goodness I like gore.’
Otherwise, I might’ve been the one foaming at the mouth first instead of him.
‘Calm down, Amelia.’
I couldn’t exactly host a funeral in my house. First, I had to save this guy before he actually died.
Damn it.
‘I didn’t buy any medicine.’
Then again, considering I hadn’t even bought water, there was no way I’d bought medicine either.
I dragged a hand down my face.
‘Tomorrow. First thing in the morning.’
Emergency medicine was essential for anyone living alone.
Though admittedly, this situation felt a little beyond “emergency.”
“Khk! Hahk!”
“Ugh…”
Returning to his side, I wiped the blood from the stranger’s mouth.
His cheeks were frighteningly cold.
And then, suddenly, an incredible idea flashed through my mind.
But…
‘…Can I really use it?’
I’d made potions before, sure—but I’d never actually used one. It wasn’t like I could intentionally injure myself just to test it.
Still, Gilbert had said that the range of healing depended on the maker’s skill.
Which meant I needed to know exactly what this potion could heal.
‘Ah, whatever.’
Surely there wouldn’t be side effects. Healing was literally its purpose.
And when Gilbert explained potions, he never mentioned any drawbacks.
Even if there were side effects, it was still better than dying here.
‘Saving him comes first.’
I hurried over and grabbed the potion I’d spent two whole days making.
But just before pouring it into his mouth, hesitation struck me.
‘…Wait. What if he attacks me? I mean, I’d still be the person who saved him…’
Then again, this was Proud.
“Hmm…”
But now that I’d already dragged him into my house, throwing him back outside wasn’t really an option either.
‘Haah… whatever.’
I could at least protect myself.
‘It’ll work out somehow.’
Getting attacked was a problem for later.
Someone had collapsed right in front of me. Ignoring that and walking away would’ve haunted me far more.
In the end, I chose to save him.
I approached the sofa immediately. The stranger still looked agonized.
‘Please work.’
Even for someone as bold as me, dealing with a corpse was absolutely terrifying.
“You can do this. You can do this.”
The hand holding the bottle trembled violently.
Soon, blue liquid streamed out in a long ribbon. There wasn’t much left, but I shook the bottle desperately, draining every last drop.
After forcing all the potion into his mouth, I held my breath.
Tick. Tock.
Only the sound of the clock’s second hand filled the room.
Then—
“...Huu…”
The man’s ragged breathing slowly began to calm.