I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 196: Are we trapped? (2)

Da-eun vented her frustration.

"Is this even possible?!"

"If it's not possible, what are you going to do about it?"

Yuki responded bluntly.

"So what can you do about it?"

"...Yuki, are you T? How can you say something like that?"

Kana, I'm so sad...

As Da-eun said this, she subtly leaned against me.

Swoosh-

"...!"

As I avoided it and pulled back, Da-eun looked at me with a shocked expression.

"Kana...!"

She cried out in a mournful way, almost like a female protagonist in a movie.

Naturally, I wasn't going to be swayed by words like that.

Instead of me, Yuki pulled the corners of her mouth into a twisted smile.

"That's karma."

"...Did I do something so terrible that it's worthy of being called karma?"

"Do you know you've said 'Is this even possible?!' more than ten times? By the way, you've said 'The world is going crazy' more than five times. If no one responds, you should know when to give up."

"Is this my problem? On the contrary, if I've said that much, shouldn't they respond?!"

"At first, they responded, but because you kept repeating the same thing, that's why. Kana probably thinks the same way."

"...Kana, is that true?"

"Don't mind me, you two go have fun."

Why try to drag me into the mess?

I turned my body and didn’t hide my disinterest.

"Today, Kana seems a little off. Is it because it's raining?"

"She's like this in the mornings. Yuki, you don't know how cute Kana is when she just wakes up all groggy... Ah, now I get it."

"I agree that Kana is cute when she's still drowsy, but it's been a while since she woke up."

"Maybe she's just sleepy again? Kids tend to sleep a lot, you know."

"...Hmm. That makes sense."

"It makes sense."

She told me not to mind her, but now she was talking about me as the topic of conversation.

Seriously, they don't listen at all.

"By the way, this is bad. Even though the flight fare is one thing, we might not be able to go back today."

Da-eun muttered in a serious tone.

"Yuki, are you okay? Do you have a schedule or anything..."

"Not really. I wouldn’t mind staying here for a while."

"No, even so, that's not right."

Then she sighed heavily.

"I feel kind of bad..."

"Why do you feel bad again?"

"If I hadn’t suggested going on a trip, none of this would have happened."

"Do you really need to feel guilty about something you didn't know?"

"And it was me who said let's go on a trip first."

Yuki's words prompted me to add a comment.

"Everyone..."

I was just stating the facts, but for some reason, Da-eun’s eyes started to fill with tears.

No, I shouldn’t say “for some reason.”

Da-eun is always like that.

"I thought you hated me... but it wasn’t like that... Boo-hoo! I’m so moved...!"

"Yeah. Now, I think I hate you."

"Me too."

"...That's too much! Just a moment ago, it was a touching atmosphere! Why did it suddenly turn cold?!"

"That's karma."

"Yeah."

It’s nice when someone who agrees with you is nearby.

I don’t even have to open my mouth; they speak the words I want to say instead.

There were a lot of moments like this when I was in charge.

My subordinates would say things for me or act first, before I did.

"I’ll handle it."

"Huh?"

"You don’t need to bother the boss for such trivial matters. Just relax... or no, please rest comfortably, boss."

"Wouldn’t it be easier to just get it done quickly and relax instead?"

"...I didn't want to say this, but when the boss steps in, it just complicates things. If you destroy everything..."

"..."

"...Sigh. So, please just sit back. Okay?"

"...Okay."

"...Mmm."

It wasn’t just anyone; it was Aaron who said that to me, so I ended up just sitting back and watching.

It might be a little different from the situation now, but in the bigger picture, it’s not so different.

While I was lost in memories, Da-eun put down her phone.

"I went ahead and extended the pension just in case. It's good that it's the off-season..."

"What if it doesn't stop raining tomorrow?"

"Hey, don’t say such ominous things! Haven’t you heard 'be careful what you say'?!"

"I’m half-Japanese, so I don’t know that."

"...Stop joking! If you’re going to say that, at least say it in Japanese."

"Is that Korean? Jarul molayo."

"..."

With her killer line, Yuki sunk Da-eun.

Maybe it wasn’t that she was sinking but that she was speechless from being too dumbfounded.

I turned my gaze away from the bickering duo and looked out the window.

The rain, which had become stronger than yesterday, was now pounding against the window.

"..."

It wasn’t a prediction, but for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the rain wouldn’t stop for a long time.

Swooosh-!

"Now it's really pouring down. Pour it all out."

Da-eun spoke in a tired tone.

She didn’t even seem to think it would stop, not even glancing outside.

As I vaguely sensed, the rain didn’t stop by evening.

Instead, it had become even stronger, to the point that I was starting to worry about a flood.

According to Da-eun, the news was already calling it "the worst weather anomaly in history."

Apparently, it hadn’t been predicted, and the rain was so heavy it was considered an impossible occurrence.

"There’s Murphy’s Law, right? If you wash your car after a long time, it rains. If you go out shopping, the store is closed. Maybe this is the same thing. The world’s evil that wants to mess with us has gone beyond the impossible."

"Is that it?"

"I’m just saying, but it does seem somewhat convincing, doesn’t it? Kana, you must have experienced something like that, right? You try to do something big but end up with nothing."

"Not that I haven’t. That’s just life."

"Ah... I didn’t expect such a profound answer..."

I didn’t expect that kind of deep response either.

"Thanks, but you don’t have to match me. I like you just as you are!"

"Yeah. Right."

"Wow... You changed your attitude so quickly. Even if you’re like that, the change was too fast!"

With a momentary laugh in her voice, Da-eun once again wore a troubled expression.

"This must be because of global warming, right? At this rate, maybe we’ll be destroyed by extreme weather before we’re done with dimensional destruction."

"Well, they say it's getting a little better these days."

"Yeah, they say that... But now that we’re in this situation, I’m starting to wonder 'is that really true?'"

"Hmm. You’re right."

Yuki, for the first time in a while, agreed with Da-eun.

"But are you okay? Your schedule."

"Yeah. I always leave some leeway when I plan a trip. You never know what might come up, like now. I'm a bit worried about the broadcast though..."

Well, what can we do?

"With this weather, they say they can’t fly the plane."

"Want me to tell you a good way?"

"I’ll pass. I don’t think it’ll help much."

That’s when it happened.

Screech-

"Huh? What’s going on? Why is this happening?"

The TV, which I had turned on to pass the time and get some information, suddenly went out. Instead of the usual clear pronunciation of the caster, there was only unpleasant noise.

The group’s eyes all turned to the TV in unison.

Da-eun, flustered, tried turning it off and on again, but it didn’t work.

The TV kept showing the message "No Signal."

"Wow, could it be because of the rain?"

"Seems like it’s highly likely."

"This is insane. Is it possible that we can’t even make a call?"

Da-eun pressed her phone to her ear.

After a brief moment of silence, she put it down with a bewildered expression.

"...I can’t make a call. There’s no internet either. It’s really raining a lot, but in this day and age, how is this even possible? It’s not like it’s decades ago."

"...I know."

Yuki, too, was frowning, something she hadn’t done even after getting soaked by the rain yesterday morning.

Apparently, even Yuki, with her nerves of steel, couldn’t stay calm in the face of such an unusual situation.

"...No internet either?"

And that’s when I realized that I, too, had been watching the situation passively until now.

Even though the pension we were staying in was big enough for three people to feel a bit crowded, it was still an indoor space.

Being cooped up here didn’t leave much to do.

Would I go for a walk around the pension or do some sightseeing?

The board games that Da-eun had brought were already boring, so the only things left to kill time were the phone and the TV, but now even those had been taken away.

...Well, nothing we can do.

It’s time for me to step in.

Swoosh.

"Heh, Kana. That’s not it. Be good. Sit back down."

"..."

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I had stood up with determination, but now I sat back down.

I thought it over rationally and endured it. It wasn’t because Da-eun stopped me.

Definitely not.

"Maybe I should say I’m glad Kana’s adapted well to Earth, or should I say it’s a problem that she’s adapted so well?"

"Isn’t it closer to the first one?"

"I’d like that, but sometimes I worry that Kana is getting too hooked on the internet."

"You sound like a mom worried about her teenage kid."

"It’s unnecessary worry."

"I’m not a kid."

When I said that, Da-eun looked at me with a slightly more complicated expression.

"Now that you’ve said that, I’m more worried. ...You wouldn’t mind if I asked to see your phone records, right?"

"Teenagers are so meticulous, so of course, I won’t. Would you be able to bear it if Kana said she’d never speak to you again?"

"...Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me..."

"You both know I’m listening, right?"

They were talking as if I weren’t here.

Hmm-

While I shook my head, I felt a small vibration in the hand holding the phone.

"...?"

Was it a notification?

I looked at the screen casually, tilting my head.

"Da-eun."

"Yeah?"

"Didn’t you say the calls weren’t going through?"

"Yeah, they’re not."

Da-eun tapped her phone just to be sure, and her face soon turned to a look of realization.

"Why? Is something going on?"

"Something...?"

If you call it an event, it’s an event, but I’m not sure what kind of event it is.

I shrugged and looked back down at the screen.

On the glowing screen, an icon showing an incoming call appeared, with the name "Edel" clearly displayed.