The bright sunlight awoke me, as my blinds did nothing to block it.
I was woken like this every morning.
Tch... I wanted to sleep a little more...
But what could I do? Buy better blinds?
I had no money in my account, and I wasn't going to sell my dignity to ask my parents for some.
My shabby apartment didn't have a bathroom inside it, so I had to use the public restroom.
Finished brushing and cleaning, I boiled some water and made instant cup noodles.
With noodles in one hand, I opened up my computer, and there, I loaded up the only important thing in my life.
Sword's Oath of Sacrifice.
Right now, I was grinding the new Halloween event, collecting as many candies as possible to get the time-limited rewards.
I'd been grinding through since the start of October, and I was almost there.
With the combination of Wen Shouyi and my character, Ghao Zhai, I easily wiped out the practice Zeng Meng, collecting fifty candies in the process.
... Okay... for the next Zeng Meng, I should have Shouyi as the sub-DPS, Ghao Zhai as support, and—
The doorbell had rung.
... It's not the landlord, is it...?
I paid the rent already...! I know I did... or is it a noise complaint?
I got up and wandered towards the door.
I would've looked through the peephole if I had one, but instead, I slowly creaked the door open.
Almost immediately, a hand came out, grabbing the edge of the door panel.
"Ah—!"
"Hello, Sir! We have a new program that's starting today, and we were wondering if you'd like to sign this sheet here to make it happen! It's about—"
Who the hell starts a conversation like that? And look at her, holding the door... It's like she's forcing me to listen!
With a game still behind me, I decided that listening to her speak was absolutely useless to me.
"I'm not interested."
"Oh, but Sir, you haven't even—"
The second she lifted her hand off to shuffle through some papers in her hands, I shut the door.
Ugh, I wish I had a peephole... at least that way these scams wouldn't keep coming in.
Program this, product that- they're all just stripping my time and energy away.
I could hear the women continuously talking through the thin walls, before finally giving up, probably going to harass another tenant.
God knows how these people keep getting in...
... But considering the rent here... I guess it makes sense.
And for the entire day, I continued on with my grinding.
The sunlight that shone through the closed blinds that I couldn't have bothered to open started to fade, and that's when I knew it was night.
The room was dark, and now, the only source of light was my dim computer screen.
I cooked up another cup of noodles.
A couple more outbreaks and I'll get enough candies...!
Ding Dong
To Yinuo's dismay, the doorbell was rung again.
Who is it this time?... Don't tell me it's the landlord...
But coming here at night to yell at me... does sound like something he'd do...
Seeing no reply, the person rang the doorbell again.
It's night, though... should I really be opening the door right now...?
If it really was my landlord, then he would've announced himself by now.
Instead of ringing the doorbell, the person had started knocking on the door.
It sounded small...? Almost like tapping, but it was rapid.
Curious, I creaked the door open, only to hear an incredibly irritating sound.
"Trick or treat!"
"... Ah..."
It was a little girl who couldn't have been older than seven, with her black hair pulled back into two ponytails and a large, puffy pink princess dress.
She held out a bucket, which already had a couple of pieces of candy inside.
"Well, little girl, I don't have any candy right now, so—"
"How?"
"What?"
"How do you not have any candy?"
"... I didn't buy any."
"But it's Halloween."
Well, would you like me to give you a ball of air then?
Of course, I didn't say that to her face, but seriously, what are kids doing these days?
And where are the parents?
"Alright, little girl, why don't you check that room over there? Maybe they have some candy for you."
"They did, actually. You're the only house that didn't."
My hand had already started to push the door closed.
I'd thought the girl didn't notice, but she did.
A sly one she is.
Those are the worst types of children.
She stuffed her foot into the opening.
"Hey! You're being mean!"
"I told you I don't have candy, so leave."
Her cheeks puffed up, and she furrowed her eyebrows even further.
"Nuh-uh!"
I reopened the door, yet her foot never left its position.
How observant.
Too bad she couldn't put her skills to other use—!
"H-hey! What are you—!"
All of a sudden, she dashed into my apartment.
"Did your parents never teach you about stranger danger?!"
She just shrugged her shoulders before looking around the room, not even paying the slightest attention to me or the situation she'd put herself in.
What if I was a bad guy? She'd be seriously screwed!
"Hey, I really don't feel like forcefully getting you out, so—"
"You live like this?"
"... Yes. I. Do."
"This sucks."
"..."
She stared at me, trying to get a good look at my face while I tried to control the anger boiling up inside me.
Then, she started to walk past me.
I thought she finally decided to leave, but no, she reached for the light switch that was right next to the front door, tiptoeing, struggling to reach it.
Ultimately, though, she just jumped and hit the switch.
Bright lights engulfed my room, and I instinctively shut my eyes.
"What are you doing!?"
"There, much better!"
She giggled before coming back and sitting right next to my monitor.
... Ha! She's got some nerve, I'll tell you!
"What game is this?"
"... A grown-up game. Not for you."
"Play it. I wanna see you play it!"
"You—"
"I'll leave if you play it! Please? This counts as the candy!"
"... Hah... fine. But I'm not playing for more than five minutes."
"Seven!"
"... Five and a half."
Am I seriously negotiating with a child right now? You know what, never mind.
"... Hmm... Then I'll watch you play for six and a half minutes!"
Reaching this conclusion, I sat down next to her and started moving around.
I just walked around the map, yet her eyes glowed with excitement.
Her face kept getting closer and closer to the screen, to the point where I had to push her back several times.
"Ahh! That's so cool! It looks so real! How does it do that?"
"It's just like that."
"Whoa, can you switch to that yellow-haired lady?"
"Her?"
I opened Wen Shouyi's character file, showing her 3D model.
"She's so pretty... like a princess...!"
"I guess she's sort of a princess already. Born into a noble family and all."
"I like her eyes a lot. I really like pink."
"Pink? Her eyes are red."
"... No, they're pink!"
"They're red. Don't argue with me; who's the one who's actually played the game?"
"Hmph! I still think they're pink, though."
"Right... anything else?"
"That world is really cool."
"I know. You said that already."
"Whoever made this game must've really loved it..."
She rested her head against the shabby makeshift table that held up my computer, her eyes still glued to the game.
"... Yeah, I guess so."
I looked over at the time.
The six minutes were definitely up already.
"What's the name of this game?"
"Hey, didn't I tell you this was a grown-up game? You can't play it."
"... Then—"
A voice could be heard down the hall, and I could hear footsteps running towards my still-open door.
"Mimi! There you are!"
It was the mother of the young girl.
"Mom!"
She ran over to her mom, talking about the game she'd just watched me play.
Surprisingly, after seeing that her daughter was all fine, the mother had become much more lax, seemingly even letting past the fact that her daughter had been inside a stranger's apartment.
"Okay, okay, Mimi, but next time no more running off like that. Now, say goodbye to the nice man."
"Aw, okay... bye, mister..."
"So, my candy debt is gone now?"
"Fine, I don't like to break my deals."
"Right..."
But she still lingered at the doorway, almost fidgeting.
"... Do... do you have something else to say to me?"
"N-no!"
"Mimi, if you have to say something, say it, dear."
"... Hmm... next year!"
I raised an eyebrow.
"... Next year?"
"Next year, will you play the game for me again?"
I was a little perplexed by this question.
Nonetheless, I replied to her wish.
"Alright. But no more nagging next time."
She smiled and finally stepped out, and now I was the one standing by the door.
Hand in hand, they walked down the hall.
And just before they turned the corner, the little girl turned around and waved goodbye to me.