The next day, my thighs were still sore.
By the time the broadcast ended the day before, I felt like a half-dried squid. Sure, I cleared the mission and made more money than usual, but the thought of doing the same broadcast again the next day was daunting.
So, I tossed the same mission aside.
“Should I have done it instead?”
Charlotte asked with a bit of concern, and I shook my head.
“That money was earned because I did the broadcast. You probably wouldn’t get the same amount just by doing it. People want to see me struggling, you know.”
“…I understand the sentiment.”
…No, you can’t understand how I feel in that situation. I mean, my friend worked hard!
Of course, I understood why she felt that way, so I kept my mouth shut. Honestly, if the others around me were suffering through the same broadcast, I would’ve just been laughing at them from the side.
Maybe Mia wasn’t like that? I felt like Mia would think we crossed a line or something.
“Well, thanks to that, we can go on a trip now. Since you two joined the broadcast, the daily income has increased, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
It’s been a while since the two of them joined. Of course, it hasn’t even been a week yet, but I didn’t want to waste the first holiday since they joined.
As soon as the broadcast ended yesterday, I got ready to leave, and after breakfast today, we planned to head out a bit more leisurely.
At first, I thought about saving money to move to a bigger house, but honestly, unless we moved to a different region, there’s no way we’d be able to save enough money to do that.
Even the costs of entering this place were cheaper compared to the size of the house, so if I were to take out the deposit now, I’d probably end up in an even smaller place within Seoul.
We’ve only just gotten the kids used to living here, so moving again isn’t something I want to do. Besides, it’s giving me a headache.
So, it’s better to spend what I can, except for the emergency savings. After all, I’m not planning to live here for the rest of my life.
“Are we going to Seoul again?”
“There are still places we haven’t gone to from last time. I’m planning to book the rooms in a different area.”
Since we’ve looked around the north side of the Han River, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to check out the south side this time.
I’ve always lived in Seoul, but the rest of them aren’t exactly from here. They can get the feeling of a trip abroad without going too far.
For now, we’ll start with nearby places, take our time to prepare, and then venture further down the line.
“You said that if you leave early in the morning, it’s too crowded, right?”
Charlotte tilted her head and asked.
“How crowded could it be to warrant avoiding rush hour?”
“You won’t understand unless you see it for yourself. I’ll find a video to show you after we eat.”
Charlotte nodded at my words.
After the meal, when I showed her the video, she nodded immediately.
See?
Don’t underestimate a Monday in Seoul again.
I’m not even working, and I don’t want to be caught in that mess.
Especially since my body is still crying out in protest.
And frankly, the check-in time isn’t exactly morning, so if we leave early, we’d be dragging our bags around for hours.
Charlotte wouldn’t understand such troubles being royalty, though.
*
“Ah, could you wait a moment?”
On our way to the subway, as I said that, everyone stopped in place.
“Where are you going?”
“Just a quick stop for lottery tickets.”
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Seeing their pitying gazes, I tilted my head.
“Older sister… if you’re short on money, you can just say so. You don’t have to push yourself. I don’t need allowance, you know.”
“Let, Crown Princess, you’re putting us up, so it’s okay to cut back on meals.”
“What are you thinking I am?”
I’m not some charity case!
Among us, I’m the one with the highest mental age. Legally, everyone here is an adult, but in reality, they are still teens.
Since I’m the oldest living with them, it’s only natural that I feel an obligation to protect them.
Reducing allowances or cutting back on meals? Nonsense!
Moreover—
“Do you all know? Buying a lottery ticket is essentially buying a dream!”
“……”
Their faces were blank at my words.
Well, that makes sense.
There are lottery tickets in Azernar, too. It’s even a game system in the first installment—when you return to the capital during the story, you can buy lottery tickets for a certain amount of money at the lottery shop and win prizes based on probabilities.
Of course, if someone just wins tens of billions, the game balance would go haywire, so the amounts won aren’t that high.
As a Crown Princess, I didn’t need to worry about money, so I never bothered with the lottery shop, but I know that unlike my country, there are limits on how much you can buy at once, and they check IDs in Azernar, they don’t have such regulations.
“When I lived as a commoner, buying lottery tickets was a source of enjoyment. Even if I didn’t win first place, I loved imagining what I would do if I won.”
“……Sis, there’s no need to explain.”
Hearing my explanation only made their faces look even more pitiful.
“In any case, it’s not that I need money; it’s just a chance to try since we’re back.”
“If we’re trying just because we’re back, does that mean we’ll try drinking or smoking too?”
“Absolutely not! You’re not actually adults yet!”
When I firmly replied to Alice, she smirked a bit and said, “Hah.”
“It’s precisely because we have the luxury that we can do this. It’s not betting like gambling, so it won’t cost that much. Just think of it as a pastime.”
“……”
At my words, they looked at each other and nodded.
“Then should we buy some too?”
“……”
Well, technically, they are legally adults…
Of course, just moments ago, I had said they shouldn’t be drinking or smoking, but there’s nothing harmful about buying lottery tickets.
Besides, all the kids here usually don’t worry about money. It’s likely that it would be much harder for them to get addicted than not.
“Alright then. It’s not something we’ll do often anyway; it’s just to try it once.”
Truth be told, if I win the lottery, I’m thinking about moving, but since the chance of winning is slim, who cares?
*
With that, we all bought our lottery tickets, stuffed them into my bag, and headed to the hotel I reserved.
“This place is pretty great. The architecture in this world has really advanced. How should I put it? It feels like it’s been standardized to a higher level.”
Charlotte commented as she looked around the room.
The place we reserved had one living room with two attached rooms. One room had a double bed while the other had three single beds snugly packed inside. It was literally a family room.
In a way, we can all be called family.
“Right? Buildings like this are something you would only see in Lindbergh in the Empire. Yet there are so many here in this city, even without a capital…”
“Indeed, and that’s why we can stay like this. If there were only a handful of such buildings in Seoul, the stay would cost way more than this.”
For reference, this place costs about 300,000 won per night. And that’s with a discount reservation on a specific site; the actual listed price was nearly double that.
Of course, not many would pay that listed price, so our reservation price was practically the standard rates.
“Let’s take a quick break before we head out. We’re planning to return late tonight.”
“Late tonight…?”
Mia, who had already laid down on the bed, looked up with disbelief, as if she couldn’t understand how I could say that after booking such a nice room.
“…You’ve gone out at midnight or even before dawn for requests, so have your thoughts changed now?”
“But right now, we’re living a completely different life.”
That’s true.
In a way, Mia was adapting to this world much faster than Charlotte.
Without pressure from her mother and with no need to put on airs of being nobility, Mia was much closer to the trending term ‘dried squid woman’ that was in vogue for a while in this realm.
Recently, it seems she even watches magical girl anime, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything about it, fearing I might ruin her viewing experience.
…And I felt a bit guilty that Claire was the one who introduced her to that.
“I was planning to eat a ton of meat for dinner, but if it’s fine, you can come back and rest alone.”
“I think it would be fine to come back late for dinner.”
As soon as Mia said that with a serious face, Claire, Alice, and Charlotte chuckled at the same time.
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