IV. The Casual Daily Lives of a Landlady and a former Maou

I’ve been wondering for a while now, Why have I been living with a man who was not even my boyfriend? Besides, he’s actually, seriously, annoyingly, absolutely freeloading.

“Let me be clear about what I’ve told you last week.”

“Yeeees~ I completely remember it.”

I hit him with a broom.

“Don’t you even do a sarcastic tone on me, I’ll hit you with a broom.”

“But you already did.”

He didn’t even budged. Is he made of steel too?

It’s been a week since I’ve sheltered this freeloader. He’s not even going out of this room nor willing to do household chores. I was not even sure when he eats or something. I mean, he did join me at meals, but more often were times that he’s suddenly finished eating. How would I know? There had been used plates on the sink even though I’m still not eating.

He really treated himself as a prince and had been feeling comfortable on my unit already.

I’m thankful that he’s not someone who attacks me on my sleep but for the love of God, he’s doing absolutely nothing.

He did not consume so much resource that it affect my daily budget. It’s just that… The budget I allot to Tenji were now exactly the same budget I allot to him. What is he, a dog?

“Hey, Fred…”

“No.”

I hit him with a broom.

“Don’t cut me, I’ll hit you with a broom.”

“Says someone who hits someone with a broom before telling her warning.”

“Doing something before even giving a warning and you freeloading the house are two different things! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!” I felt the blood vessels on my head exploding due to madness.

“I didn’t even compared those two...”

I really couldn't tell how he felt so at home and freeload like that while I had been doing all the house work. He just borrowed some books about reading and writing and he spent almost 99% of his time studying them. And how on earth (he did not came from earth though) did he even not know how to read and write? That was quite contrary to how he could talk our native language.

I hit him with a broom thrice. Not as much force as from a while ago, I really needed to sweep the place he’s been sitting on.

“You should probably realize now that I’ll be sweeping that spot. Now move.”

“If my learning gets delayed, you take full responsibility and marry me.”

I hit him with a broom. That was a ridiculous joke, regardless, I just wanted to hit him with a broom for that one.

---

Besides the apartment complex, I had been working at the town hall as an office lady. It was a standard 8-hour office job with really not much to do. Just office documents, papers here, papers everywhere.

Office hours were from morning to mid-afternoon, so I could still have time to prepare dinner for the lousy freeloader and at times, for my other tenants too.

Crap, I remembered I need to do the grocer.

It was almost late afternoon when I arrived home.

“Heyo~~ Miss Landlady, a cup of tea?” Kyrie greeted me as she’s on a comfortable spot on her balcony having her tea.

I waved at her. But a part of me wanted to avoid communications with her as much. I didn't want to associate much with that weirdo.

I entered my unit.

As usual, the freeloader was sitting at the couch studying. How long would it even take him to accomplish his task?

I sat beside him with my office uniform still on me. I let out a sigh for today’s hard work.

He’s slouching.

“Hey you’ll ruin your posture if you sit like that.” -I said while tapping his back hard so he would fix his posture.

To be honest, I never got tired of stressing myself over his slacking and freeloading. I wondered why. I was not that busy of a woman, after work I got nothing else to do. I was not also the type to socialize that much with my tenants or rather, they’re not the ones who socialize that much or rather, our situations and schedules didn't match up so much that it prevents us from getting along. I got hobbies, but having someone to talk to at times, even though how ridiculous the topic was, had been really refreshing.

Maybe that’s the reason I still kept him at my unit.

I mean, look at him, what is he even doing?

He completely absorbed himself in studying. I knew almost nothing about his past but he didn't seem to be a bad guy.

“Heh… I don’t want to hear that from a woman who casually sits with a stranger on the same couch with her tight suit on. What are you, some kind of enchantress or succubus? Doesn’t work on me though, got high resistance on such alluring abilities. Having a developed body doesn’t mean you get to flaunt it to a stranger like me that’s freeloading under the same roof as you.”

“It’s an office wear, not a tight suit! Also, you slouching, ruining your posture and me resting with my office wear on are two different things, you can’t do that.”

Calling me an enchantress or succubus? How did this office wear even became a tight suit for him? Just because it’s tight doesn’t mean it is one. And why does he even bother talking about the other world he had been mentioning over and over? Can't he just move on already and give it a rest? Totally ridiculous.

It was already ridiculous if he's a regular earthling. All the more ridiculous if truth was he really came from another world. It’s so ridiculous that I just hit him with my handbag. But still, I didn’t find it irritating. It’s more fun this way.

I want to end the day already. I’m tired.

I stood up and proceed to my room to change my clothes and proceed to cooking.

Sometimes I wondered if this absurdity will continue each and everyday.

---

“Landlady Ingrid, here’s the pay for this month, sorry I wasn’t able to give it last night, I have to work overtime. Business is booming.”

“Hehe… Don’t sweat it, it’s not that I’m rushing you to pay or something.”

Ara have handed me this months’ rent. She was the tenant of unit3. I seldom meet her because she works at night. At weekends she just took all her time to rest too. I wonder what was she doing at her free time.

I checked her again. I really didn't understand how a good girl like her was disowned by her father. A family dispute? I could not hear any rumours around the town circulating regarding her background. It seemed like she came from the neighbouring town. But I think it would be better not to pry in too much.

I just remember her talking odd on the first time we met. Something about ‘Ara’ inside her… It was really odd…

After receiving the cash I handed her a bowl of beef stew. Of course a tenant should have a good landlady too. It should be a mutual relationship.

I went to the open front yard afterwards to catch a falling envelope attached to a mini-parachute. It was the payment of the even weirder girl from upstairs named Kyrie. She’s just directly up my unit at unit8.

I really have no words for this girl. She’s one of the weirdest nutjobs that have ever existed. Count the fact that she’s a genius for fun, she never ran out ideas to cure her boredom. One of the examples was this. Who would even want to chute down a sum of money for rent towards the landlady? Can't a simple genius just hand it over to the landlady properly? What if wind blew and blown the money to a far, far away place?

Whooosh~~

“Ah, there goes the payment… What will you do now? Sometimes I really want to try using Mr Double-Barrel on you. Or calling your parents for them to fetch you back and discipline you at your house.” -I joked it, but partly pissed off.

“Humu, that’s a test-run miss landlady, here comes the real one.”

She let down another. I lost interest now. I can just ask her parents via call. Does high society people really live like this? Whatever became of the money at that second run, I felt, was not really of my concern anymore.

“You better catch that one fast before it gets blown away by the wind again—Eeh? Don’t leave who will pick up the money!”

I already went inside the unit.

“I can’t believe you housed 2 oddities within your vicinity.”

“I don’t want to hear that from the existence of the third high potential oddity…”

“At least I’m aware that I am one myself.”

“Why don’t you try to associate yourself with them? You know can’t keep on hiding here forever. No, actually that’s freeloading.”

“I can’t, not yet…”

That sure had a hidden meaning behind it. He continued studying. So we could also have these types of conversation sometimes. I wondered at times when he will fully open up? It had always been better to have someone to talk to with your worries and concerns. It had always been better that way...

---

It had been a months since I’ve had a smoke. I started smoking right after I turned twenty. I mean, I’ve always wanted to try one. I just don’t want to be a delinquent and get caught. That will ruin the reputation of my aunt as my legal guardian. I lit my cigar and puffed. With the smoke scattering all over the place, the nostalgic scent of cigar permeated within the balcony before completely vanishing through thin air.

“Seems like the girl upstairs hates the smell. What is she doing at this hour btw?”

“If you’re paying attention I remember she just said she’s having her tea time. You’re so lost in your thoughts again.”

He’s really an open book.

Fred finally thanked me for his months of stay and freeloading. He decided to venture on his own already. I remembered telling him that he could always rent a unit here once he found a job.

It’s not that I wanted him to stay forever, I was not trying to limit his choices. It should still be his decision, but he decided to take the offer. That was the only and best I could offer for him at that moment.

Time went by so fast. It was months ago that I was still uncertain of this young man who proclaimed he came from a different world and was summoned here after death. A world of war and magic. We were strangers, at first. But for some unknown reason I sheltered him here and as time went and we got along good too.

He just studied everything like a young kid starting from grade school but he have always kept me accompanied. I've been wondering how much of a human he was like back at the world he came from. How old was he? How much knowledge did he harbored already? What were his experiences?

What made him do such as to accept everything that I have been offering him instead of holding onto his own pride and insist to venture all by himself? He really had no reason to stay anymore. If he was exprienced back at the world he came from he could also apply those experience if he wanted to survive here. I was still wondering.

He could just keep his introverted attitude while being in here, but he chose not to. He must have felt at times that I had been lonely too. Was it out of consideration or concern? Now it looked like I was the one owing him.

At first we we’re awkward, trying to estimate each other as we communicate. He lost everything when transferred to this world, I lost my family and Tenji died. By concept we were similar to each other.

Now we are laughing. It is a huge wall that we decided to tear down, both of us, both opposite sides of the coin.

I really didn't have much experience being friends with males around high school. I had some, but not as close as the way I got along with the females. I was close with auntie’s two older sons but this was the first time I’ve had a relationship this close to a stranger male. For some reason it didn't feel like he’s got ulterior motives.

“Again, I hit a deadlock.” –he said.

This is not the same as before, I’m sure now, I’ll help you until you can truly manage on your own. You can count me on that.

“You won’t. I’m here. I’ll help you as much as I can.” –I masked what’s really on my mind that time.

We continued chatting for a while and we have discussed his terms and conditions on living on my apartment complex. That included him paying his six months’ worth of freeloading debt. I was so focused on his debt that sometimes I'm starting to forget things that matter more:

Six months’ worth of debt, also six months’ worth of friendship, I guess…