The evening of the same day
Even though the beginning of the year had only recently passed, the weather in this district was quite different from the region I left because there were four seasons, not counting the mana disturbances that might cause various weather conditions.
It was supposed to be summer but by evening the temperature was 16 degrees Celsius. Uh, it's summer? It should be about 23 degrees Celsius!
Whoosh!
"Umi! You should go change into a long-sleeved shirt."
"Eh~ I don't feel cold at all in the morning."
Even though Umi complained, she did as I told her.
The most common type of long-distance travel in the world is by train, followed by plane, for reasons of safety and new UN agreements. It may sound strange, but there are trains that can travel from Europe to Southeast Asia. That is, from District 34ES to District 65SG. Although there used to be the longest railway line, the effects of the war made the North Asian continent uninhabitable and thus became a forbidden area. Although District 07RU now has a gate overload, the district is uninhabited due to the effects of the mana fluctuations being so severe.
'I don't know what will happen, it's so frustrating.'
Not long after, Umi and I went to buy some essential items for our daily lives at a nearby department store. There are many types of products, but the prices are quite high. The life of a student who has to study and work must be difficult. This is probably the reason why Umi is worried for me.
"It's a lot more expensive than I thought." Umi picked out various items as I pushed the shopping cart behind her.
"There are open gates in the Malacca Strait area, causing delays in goods being delivered."
"Eh, is that so? Why haven't I seen any news about this?" Umi asked in a curious tone.
gulp!
'Ugh, I forgot!'
"Oh.. I read it on the internet." I quickly corrected myself.
"Never mind, let's go to the condiments department~"
Phew!
When we arrived at the area that sold condiments.
-Mirin, a type of condiment, is out of stock. Another type of mirin is currently having a discount promotion. But this mirin adds salt.
-Mirin is a sweet liquor used for cooking.
-Not for sale to persons under 18 years of age.
"Why!"
"I agree with you. The rules are so ridiculous!"
"No one would use mirin for cooking instead of alcohol, right?"
"Uh, I don't know, but we'd better give up, Umi."
"So you don't want to eat my Japanese food?" Umi asked playfully.
'Cheater'
"If you say so, there are other menus, right?"
"Um, let me think about it. If you want to eat something, just request it."
At that moment, an adult couple walked past us.
"Darling, look at that youth. They're cute, right? Just like us when we were newly married." The wife whispered softly to her husband.
"Kukum, a past that is nostalgic hahaha~"
Even though they were whispering, Umi and I could clearly hear them.
So I glanced at Umi and saw that she was really embarrassed.
'You've just now realized that it's strange that a man and a woman live under the same roof and that dividing money between the two of us means something.'
"Uh, don't think too much. I want to eat Australian-Wagyu beef steak!" I tried to change the topic.
"who? It's not me, but you're so hopeless that you need me to take care of you hehe~"
'Even though you're shy, you still tease me.'
sigh
"I'm not so hopeless that I can't rely on myself."
"You idiot who doesn't take care of himself!"
"Why don't I take care of myself?"
"Hmph, go reconsider yourself, Nate~"
And that is shopping for various necessities for our home.
Dinner changed from a simple meal to grilled white barramundi steak. At first I wanted to eat another menu. But Umi insists on making this menu because it is the district's most famous regular food after beef steak.
I gave her a thumbs up.
'Maybe I'm worse off than I think. Is there anything more comfortable than having someone take care of me?'
"Umi"
"yes?"
"Would you like to explore the basement of the house with me?"
"Basement?"
"Right. Don't tell me you didn't know this house was a safe house."
"...I already know."
"You lie so smoothly. Hahaha."
"..Then I'll go too."
Inside the garage, there is a path leading down to the basement. The door is not as difficult to open as you might think, just use a keycard and a code contained in a wolf-shaped wax sealed letter.
FUUU!
Behind the door was another door, but using just my fingerprints was enough.
The inside was bigger than I had thought, almost a three-story house with everything ready for long-term shelter. Along the way, I saw various pipes connecting to various points in the whole house, probably air and water pipes. And there's also a fitness center!
'Thank you, Dad!!'
"Nate.. this place is awesome!"
"It definitely is!"
"When I came in I thought it would be dusty but it was so clean," Umi said as she touched the wall.
[9:23 p.m.]
"Umi, it's getting late now. I think we'd better go take a shower and sleep."
"Um"
Umi and I were used to the hot weather in the previous district. Therefore, it is not strange that we bathe often.
[10:10 p.m.]
Tick tock tick tock
Inside the dark living room, the only sound was the sound of the clock ticking diligently, and as night fell the temperature dropped, so I had to turn on the heater to warm up the temperature in the house.
Now I am lying on the sofa with a blanket, just as I am about to fall asleep there is a noise from the darkness in the room.
"I'm really not used to it," Umi said sleepily.
"Hm.. yawn. Me too. In the district where we used to live, when it was hot we just turned on the air conditioner. But when it was cold, we mostly turned off the fan. It was enough, not to the point of having to use a heater."
"Um.. I agree.. with you. Yawn~"
"..."
"..."
There was an awkward silence between the two of us.
"But why don't you go sleep on the bed on the second floor, Umi?"
"..."
"You won't answer me?"
"..."
"Umi?"
'Don't tell me she's already asleep.'
I enhanced my vision with mana, allowing me to see in the dark.
Most of my abilities were focused on strengthening the body, and I didn't practice much magic. Although it was a pity, I had to choose the ability to train on strengthening the body first, which really helped me a lot.
'There's a lot of space on the sofa. Why do you have to take my blanket? I don't understand.'
"Or is this another form of teasing?"
The sofa in the living room was quite large and could be converted into a bed, but half of it was now taken up by Umi.
Zzzz Zzz
'Should I wake her up? But Umi must have been very tired today.'
She cooked for me all day and even came to help me clean the house after she calmed down around noon.
Seeing Umi sleeping peacefully made me not want to disturb her.
"Nighty night"
I went back to bed and fell asleep easily.
***
Counting down the days before the new semester begins.
Umi and I made the most of our remaining time visiting various places such as famous landmarks around New South Wales.
Dating? Well, just being happy is enough, right?
But we don't travel every day. Most of the time we stay inside the house and travel around the house to get used to it.
After a while a starter box from The Hexagon was delivered to our house. This was included in the tuition so there was no additional charge. Inside the box was a uniform that looked like a black-and-white warm-up suit with long sleeves and long legs, suitable for fluctuating temperatures. And there are also student ID cards and many other things. Such as free health examination cards for students and free flu vaccines.
One day before the new semester starts.
Umi and I traveled to The Hexagon to get a checkup and receive a flu shot.
With current knowledge, even though magic has the ability to heal, it does not cover the treatment of disease. Even though there are some types of magic that can provide relief, modern medicine is still necessary.
The company that my mother and Umi's mother worked for is now the world's leading pharmaceutical company called Terra Pharmaceuticals, which is a state-owned enterprise.
A state enterprise is an organization or company or government agency or the state is the major shareholder. State enterprises are entities that operate for profit. The same is true for private business organizations. Some state enterprises are monopolies. This means that the state can act alone. Private entities are prohibited from operating such as lottery tickets, etc. The purpose of establishing state enterprises is In addition to profit, some state enterprises are established to provide public utilities for energy security. Or sometimes because there is no private sector that has the ability to carry out that type of business. And medicine is an indispensable necessity.
And the reason why me and my subordinates always complain about money problems is because most of my company does things that aren't immediately tangible and take time. For example, doing a lot of research projects or reverse engineering things. But it's not like I don't have any other companies to make a profit from. To be honest, I'm quite rich if I really use my money. Speaking of myself, it feels a bit strange.
Sigh!
"Why do you sigh so often, Nate?" Umi asked softly beside me.
"Well, there are a lot of things I need to think about."
"About the new semester starting tomorrow?"
"There's some part."
'It's almost time to merge the companies'
My latest company, Night Corporation, was actually opened by me as a front company. But I'm not trying to launder money or do anything illegal, I just want to turn it into my own secret mercenary company.
"I'm also very excited to study at The Hex," Umi said excitedly.
"I know you really want to study, but I'd rather just stay home and sleep."
"..." Umi stared at me with strange eyes.
"Why are you looking at me like that?!" "
"Nate.."
"Huh?"
"Then let's compete again to see who can get more points so you can get motivated to study. Hehe~"
"Again? I didn't get anything last time."
"Are you sure~?"
"It's late now. You should go to bed, or you'll wake up late tomorrow."
"Okay~"
Umi walked over and turned off the living room light for me.
"..."
"..."
Thud!
'Ehh!'
"Why are you!... my sofa?!! Hey! That's my blanket!!"
"Well, I'm too lazy to walk to the second floor. Yawn~"
"Tsk, as you wish"
Since we moved into this house, she has never slept on the second floor.
Hehehe
"Sweet dreams, Nate~"
"..Nighty night"
.
It's tomorrow, The Hex.
.