Water drips, leaving wet footprints as I step inside. The convenience store clerk near my place, glued to his phone, glances out the window, wondering if it’s raining.
Sorry about that. Gotta clean those wet footprints.
“Raincoats, all you’ve got.”
“All of them?”
“Yeah. Hurry up.”
If I teach the Nightmare Queen how to spend money, will she run errands? I hurriedly bought all the raincoats in the store and returned home. Gotta do something to keep the place from getting soaked.
“Are we doing okay?”
The Nightmare Queen, balancing a rice cooker on her head and holding a basin to catch water, is wearing something ridiculously light. A simple bikini. Yup. And it’s small. What’s small? Her clothes are small. That’s all.
“No, no, you’re not doing okay. What’s with that outfit?!”
“Well… there’s water, right?”
“Fair point.”
I’m rolling up my long pants, exposing my leg hair.
By the way, the Nightmare Queen’s kinda looking out for RiceCookerMan? Maybe grab me some shoes too.
I open the front door. Water sloshing on the floorboards spills out into the hallway.
I managed to close the door, but the water’s increasing, turning my room into a legit stream.
“Haha, hahaha. Ahahahaha.”
I bought raincoats, but it’s too late.
The wallpaper and bed are soaked.
Forget the blanket—the mattress is damp too.
I moved the appliances I could to storage where the rain cloud can’t reach.
The wall-mounted AC is safe, thankfully, since the cloud isn’t pouring there.
“Are you crying?”
“Does this look like crying? Hahahahaha.”
“…It looks like you’re crying.”
Guess it’s kinda laughably sad.
“Gotta bail it out, huh.”
If I break the bathroom threshold, the water might drain naturally, but the thought of repairing it makes me dizzy.
Right now, the real issue isn’t the seawater gushing like a faucet from the gate—it’s the otherworld rain from magical artificial showers.
“I can’t drink any more.”
The Fairy Princess’s pot has been soaking up some water. But the Fairy Princess looks bloated, like she overate.
Hoo, ha, hoo, ha, she sulks.
At least she’s stretching her flower stems past the window frame to the balcony, absorbing water. But now the stems are so swollen, they can’t take in more.
“Aww, you worked hard, Princess. Stay put here, okay?”
“Okay, sorry.”
I lift the Fairy Princess onto the sink.
She clings to her pot like it’s part of her belly, sitting atop the sink.
“That side’s a no-go, got it? Your butt’ll get hot.”
“Hot!? It’s cold here.”
I warned her since the induction stove’s right next to it, in case she cries about a hot butt. Told her not to go there.
Water keeps flowing past the window frame, but I’ve blocked it with every towel I own.
The kitchen on the balcony has a fridge, and if it gets damaged, I’ll be seriously pissed.
I unplugged everything to prevent shorts, but still.
“It keeps coming. This damn thing. Ugh.”
The water’s not a ton, just enough to wet my feet.
“I’m helping out continuously.”
Meanwhile, the Nightmare Queen, in her giant form, keeps dumping basin water outside. She’s got a rice cooker balanced on her head with its cord draped over, doing her part.
She’s handling it calmly, not very queen-like. Labor’s valuable, huh.
[Careful, you’re splashing water.]
That damn cat’s lounging on my laptop, placed out of the water’s reach, acting like a king.
I could turn that pig cat into a black cotton ball and roll him across this flooded floor to soak it all up.
“Not charming, right?”
“It doesn’t feel right to charm in this tough situation. Though I’d love to.”
She says that, but since I found her slightly more useful than CatMan, it’s processed as charm.
“Uh, yeah, okay.”
She’s scooping water with a bucket, and I let it slide since it’s hard to stop her.
Like this, are we stuck hauling water like porters?
“Hey, Your Majesty.”
“Oh? No need to honor me like that.”
“No, can’t you just dry it all up with magic or something?”
“Maybe I could send the water to another space in the world.”
“Oh?”
That’s music to my ears.
We’re using every PET bottle meant for sikhye to scoop water into the bathroom and sink. If she can send it all somewhere else, problem solved, right?
“Yeah, let’s do that. Please, make it happen.”
“Even though I love you, I’d like to earn a bit of your favor by helping. Is that too much?”
“Uh, sure. Charm me all you want today.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah, if my level doesn’t go up from your charm, we’ll talk about vitality. I’ll accept your charm then. Just handle this.”
I’m so fed up with this flood, I’m ready to eat up her charm.
I’ll level up like crazy and fillet any fish that come through with one swing.
Once this flood’s over, I’ll learn to make sashimi and slice up any fishmen or fish that cross over, raw.
“Hmm, will you show me the world then?”
“The world?”
“I can pour liquid elsewhere with spatial movement. But I need to see the world for that.”
“You’ve got spatial movement too?”
“It’s basic for Gate Utilization. Yup.”
“Oh, then I’ll show you a desert or ocean picture. Dump it there…”
“Why’d you pause?”
“Wait, doesn’t that mean you can move yourself anywhere with spatial movement?”
“Probably.”
“Then why don’t you escape?”
“I can feel men’s vitality here too. There are giants like you out there. I could go to them and crave their vitality.”
“Yeah, makes sense. But why… huh?”
The Queen gently places her hand on my chest.
“Do I have to say it?”
<Level rises to 621.>
I was at 616, so that’s a 5-level jump.
If she’s serious, she really wants to boost me.
If the Queen escapes and drains other men or meets someone who can resist her charm and level them up, that’d be horrifying.
I heard that with high levels, spatial movement can take you to unvisited places if you have a detailed picture.
Maybe that’s why she was excited about photos yesterday.
“Oh.”
The rain from the cloud stops, and it vanishes.
She said she can’t sustain weather magic for long, and she was right.
But the water still flowing from the gate has no solution.
I wish it’d just drain into the bathroom’s floor drain. A hose…
“Showerhead! Hold on.”
I remembered and bought a new showerhead from the convenience store, but the gate, bathroom tiles, and sink are too far apart.
Sure, spraying with the showerhead might get water there, but it’ll splash everywhere.
Wasted money.
“Phew, you’re working hard. I’ll give it a shot. Since you’re hesitant about spatial movement, here goes.”
The Queen forms a massive fiery orb in her hand.
The orb labeled Hellfire makes a chiiiiik sound, turning nearby gate water into steam.
Sweat—or maybe moisture—starts beading on her barely-covered skin.
And suddenly, I feel summer heat, all humid and sticky.
Is this a sauna?
That heat reminds me of something.
If pipes freeze… water can backflow.
Don’t I have ice magic?
The dragonoid was summoning the sea itself, shoving water through the gate.
But then.
Chwahaaaaaaa!
“…”
The dragonoid got drenched by backflowing water from the gate.
No more water went through.
His mana could handle this much transfer, so the other side must’ve blocked the gate.
“They sealed it with ice magic.”
“Are you okay?”
“Other than getting wet, what’s the problem?”
Taking a towel from the fishmen—awkward for them to carry—the dragonoid had low expectations for water attacks.
Attacking the giant’s dungeon wasn’t just about that, but pouring water wouldn’t kill the giant.
The goal was to create a lake or pond in the dungeon, an environment where maritime clan warriors could thrive.
But the giant caught on faster than expected, likely sealing the gate with ice magic.
This would turn the dungeon into a frozen wasteland, no matter how much water they sent.
The Black Dragon had a thought.
“Wasn’t there a black sea that catches fire in our territory?”
“Yes, a place where nothing can live.”
The dragonoid recalled a black sea that could outsmart a giant expecting to block water with ice—a sea that ignites instantly.
“Phew.”
I’m wringing out the mop, drying wet appliances, blankets, shoes in the storage, and still wiping the room.
The wallpaper’s soaked, so I’m drying the walls too.
Freezing the gate stopped the flood.
It’s a bizarre water disaster, but compared to lowlanders hit by real floods, I can’t complain.
Still, why am I mopping up a mess that’s not in my fate?
“Hm?”
“Uh, no.”
“You felt something? You leveled up.”
She’s using it against me now?
Since we’re mopping the floor together, I noticed her bent-over figure, and that’s what happened.
Then.
Jjaek-jjaek-jjaek, jjaek-jjaek-jjaek.
Who’s that?
I haven’t had time or energy to cook, and I was planning to order delivery while cleaning up.
But I haven’t ordered yet.
“Who’s there?”
[“Landlord. Young man.”]
“Yes? What’s up?”
[“Just open the door for a sec.”]
The landlord grandpa’s already intimidating—why’s he here now?
Did I make too much noise again?
“Sorry.”
[“Why’s it a problem? You sneaking a girl in to live with you? That’s no good.”]
Damn, no choice.
Time for my ultimate move.
“I’m pooping!”
[“What? Really? 203’s pooping. I’ll come back later.”]
Who’s he telling I’m pooping?
Anyway, the ultimate move worked…
“Hey, everyone shrink. Now! Uh, Princess?”
“I don’t shrink anymore!”
“Uh, okay. Wanna wear this?”
The Fairy Princess—well, I don’t have a sister, but I could say my sister left her kid with me. Or my mom had a late baby, a 23–24-year age gap sibling.
Gotta cover it somehow.
Her light green hair and pointed ears are a problem, so I put my cap on her.
Her hair and eyes I can explain away, but elf-like pointed ears are obviously weird.
She’s got a big head for her size, maybe because she’s young, but still smaller than an adult, so my cap covers half her eyes.
“Ehehe, Joo-heon gave me his cap. Wanna see a mirror.”
She adjusts the cap, showing her teeth, all happy.
“Sorry, I’ll show you later?”
“It’s shiny here!”
She’s thrilled looking at her reflection in the sink’s sheen, but it feels a bit sad.
Kinda feel bad for her.
“Hey, Queen.”
“I know how it feels to hide from other men. I’ll stay small.”
“Yes, yes.”
Hiding the female crew and cleaning up the messy house while trying to block the gate.
Jjaek-jjaek-jjaek-jjaek.
[“Young man, done pooping?”]
“Nope. My gut’s exploding! More’s coming.”
Haven’t blocked the gate yet.
Gotta activate RiceCookerMan to seal it.
[“Haha, is this guy proud of pooping? I’ll wait a bit more.”]
[“No, it’s taking too long. Can you come down to 103 when you’re done?”]
A woman’s voice.
103?
Someone from the apartment below? What’s this?
The landlord grandpa and the 103 woman seem to have left the hallway.
I had a hunch and looked at the Nightmare Queen.
“Uh, look, you might not know the etiquette here, but indoors… uh, never mind?”
I suspected the Queen first, thinking her high-heeled boots from when she arrived caused floor noise complaints.
But she’s not wearing them.
Guess not that.
Then what?
I don’t know why, but they’re asking me to come down. Weird.
“Yes, what’s up?”
I blocked the gate and went out. The landlord grandpa’s still in the hallway, scratching his back with a back scratcher.
“Yo, you’re out. Got something to hide in that room?”
“No, it’s just… I was cleaning up some water. Wanna see?”
“Water cleanup? Hmm…”
“What?”
“So that’s why?”
I head to the elevator, but the grandpa passing by pipes up.
“What, taking the elevator from the second floor? Come this way. Young guy riding the elevator.”
“Then you cutting rent for the first and second floors?”
“Hey, just saying. Think of your health. A man needs strong thighs. Stairs are good, right? Back in my day, I carried three sacks of rice up five floors easy.”
That’d kill someone.
He’s probably just saying low floors should use stairs to save electricity.
Anyway, I get to 103, and a college-aged woman opens her room to show me…
“This looks like a leak. It just happened.”
“What a mess.”
“Gulp.”
103’s wallpaper is soaked from top to bottom.
Beyond the wet stains, the whole place feels damp, with water marks on the walls.
Oh crap.
“Must be a leak from 203, or a burst pipe.”
“…”
I know why, but I’m keeping my mouth shut.
Even so, isn’t a leak the landlord’s or contractor’s fault?
“We’ll need to call a leak detector and repair crew. Sorry, young man, you okay with that?”
“If I say no, you won’t fix it?”
“Haha, gotta fix it, of course.”
I’ll buy this studio from the FDA, screw it.