I Became a Raid Boss

“Whaaaaaa!”

The loud, screeching sound of a siren struck my ears intensely.

It wasn’t the first time I had heard this sound.
I’d hear it occasionally when fire trucks or ambulances would pass by.
At first, it might be annoying, but after waiting for a little while, it fades away quickly, so it didn’t really bother me much...

“…It’s loud.”

This time, unusually, I covered my ears.
The siren had been blaring for almost ten minutes now without stopping.
Normally, if there had been a fire nearby, I would have peeked out the window, but I didn’t bother doing that.
Of course, it wasn’t because I was indifferent to safety.

“When will it stop?”

I knew that the siren wasn’t coming from outside.
And it wasn’t as if there was a siren inside the house either.
...Actually, in some ways, I guess it was right.

I looked down in disdain at Da-eun, who had possessed the siren and was screaming loudly.

“Doesn’t your throat hurt?”
“Whaaaaaaaaa!”

Before I even finished my sentence, Da-eun raised her voice even louder, almost as if she was protesting my words.
It was pitiful, yet impressive at the same time.
She had been doing this for ten minutes without getting tired.
If a stranger heard it, they would probably think, ‘Did a burglar break in?’

‘I’ll have to play this for Yuki later.’

I wonder what Yuki would say if she knew Da-eun was making this sound.
She’d probably seriously ask if Da-eun wanted to apply for a job as a fire truck.

As I finished recording the sound to show Yuki, I put my phone away.

-♪

“Whaaaa… huh?”

The intercom on the living room wall made a rattling sound, announcing its presence.
At the same time, the siren abruptly stopped.
Da-eun, who was relieved by the sudden silence, approached the intercom.

“Hello? ...Yes? Fire? Ah, no, there’s no problem. Yes, yes... I’m sorry... I’ll be careful.”

Da-eun’s voice, which had been casually answering the intercom, gradually grew quieter until it became a tiny whisper, like the voice of an ant.
She had been bowing even though the person on the other side couldn’t see her, and after finishing the call, she straightened her back.

I, watching Da-eun wipe off the cold sweat she had been sweating, threw out a casual comment.

“I told you to stop.”

Judging by the things I barely overheard, it seems that someone who had heard Da-eun’s noise contacted the security office.
I had heard that the soundproofing in this house was excellent, but Da-eun’s siren-like scream had managed to break through even the modern construction methods and reach the other floors.

“Ehh... but...”
“But what?”
“But if I don’t do this, Kana-chan won’t pay attention to me!”
"...Didn’t you think this would just make me lose interest?"
“…Gasp!”

Da-eun swallowed her breath.
Then she glanced around, seemingly worried.

“Did you really lose interest?”
"..."

“Ehh, I know, I know. I won’t do it again, so please don’t hate me...”
“It’s not that you won’t, it’s that you can’t.”

After all, after receiving a noise complaint, there’s no way she’d do it again.

‘But…’

I glanced at Da-eun.
She looked like she was completely deflated.
Her eyes, looking like they were about to cry, were trembling with sadness, and a pink tongue peeked out from her lightly tinted lips, gently licking them.
‘Could this really be the same person who was making that loud siren sound just a moment ago?’
I briefly wondered if I had been swapped with a dimensional being when I wasn’t paying attention, like Alice had done to me.

"Why do you want to follow me so much?"
"Because without me, Kana wouldn’t be able to eat properly... wouldn’t be able to dress properly... and would cry all day saying she misses me..."
"...Do you know someone else named 'Kana' besides me?"
"No? The only Kana I know is the cute Kana right in front of me!"
"That’s strange. Then why would you say that... Did I get shot in the head and I just don’t know it?"
"If I got shot in the head, I wouldn’t be talking to Kana like this, right?"
"True."

I thought I had trained enough to withstand being shot, but that was a little disappointing.
However, there was some truth to Da-eun’s words.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Of course, I didn’t agree with the part where she said I’d cry all day if she wasn’t around.
But if Da-eun wasn’t here, I probably wouldn’t remember to eat properly or wear clothes properly.
To me, those things didn’t hold much meaning.

‘So, it wouldn’t matter if she wasn’t around.’

If Da-eun wasn’t here, I’d probably be bored.

“Sigh.”

I let out a deep sigh, staring at Da-eun’s face.
Although I could tell it was an act, her face looked so pitiful that I couldn’t ignore it.
Even knowing it was fake, I couldn’t bring myself to brush it off.

"...Alright. I’ll ask Edel."
"Really?!"

Da-eun immediately dropped her fake act and smiled brightly.
I had expected her reaction, but the sudden change in expression was so dramatic that I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

"Yeah. But if Edel says no, you have to give up without hesitation. And no more siren screams like earlier."
"Of course! I’m not that crazy!"
"Well, getting Edel to agree is already pretty extreme."
"No, that’s... As a fellow comrade who’s in this together, it’s something I can definitely do."

Flustered, Da-eun started to fumble with her words, desperately trying to prove that she wasn’t like those overly obsessive parents seen on the news.
Eventually, she started talking about how, if she had kids, she would raise them in the same way.
I turned my head, not really interested.

‘I wasn’t that curious about that.’

She had never brought up marriage or even the topic of dating, yet it seemed like it was something on her mind.
Well, at least she’d probably play well with the kids.
Sometimes kids say nonsensical yet innocent things, and Da-eun often says outlandish things, so maybe they’d get along well.

"Marriage, huh..."
"Oh, Kana’s interested in marriage?!"

Da-eun reacted even more strongly than when I said I’d ask Edel.

"Why do you care so much?"
"Well, Kana didn’t seem interested in things like dating or marriage. I couldn’t talk about it before, but now we’re finally having a girls’ talk!"
"Not happening, so wake up."

I threw a sharp remark at Da-eun, who was daydreaming about an unfulfilled dream, and fell into thought.
I’ve probably said this before, but I honestly couldn’t imagine myself building a family with anyone.
I’ve never even felt excitement or butterflies in my stomach, so how could I?

"Love can start from a complete lack of interest and then suddenly blossom due to strong attraction."
"Oh, really?"

She said that, even though she had no experience with love herself.
The way she spoke as if she knew everything made me chuckle in disbelief.

The premise was flawed from the start.
I wasn’t interested in love or marriage, I was just reacting to Da-eun’s words.
I just briefly imagined what it would be like if Da-eun had a family.
Well, it was a meaningless thought.

“I’ll call Edel, so keep quiet.”
"Ah, okay."

Da-eun, knowing when to shut up, immediately closed her mouth, pretending as though she hadn’t been talking.
I enjoyed the brief silence before picking up my phone.

"Can Da-eun join us?"
Edel answered my question clearly.

• "Do as you please."

"...Is that alright?"

Her answer was so direct that I reflexively asked again.

• "Why not? You can go together, just separate during the meeting."

“I thought you’d tell me to keep business and personal separate.”

• "That is business and personal. And if that motivates you, isn’t it practically the same thing?"

"...Is that so?"

It didn’t quite feel right...
I mumbled as my mind wandered, still not fully processing.

"Maybe."

• "Actually, after hearing you, I think it might be better to definitely bring Da-eun."

"Definitely bring her? Why?"

• "It’s well known that you and Da-eun have a special bond. The whole world knows that."

...Special.
It’s not an incorrect statement, but hearing it from someone else made me feel embarrassed, so I pretended not to care by fiddling with my hair.

"...So?"

• "If the two of you go abroad together and start looking at places to stay, people will definitely suspect, 'Are they planning to leave the country?'"

"..."

• "You’re using the fact that people don’t think you’ll leave Da-eun behind to your advantage."

That was certainly convincing.
It fit perfectly with the business trip I was planning.
After pondering Edel’s words, I eventually nodded.

“Alright. Then I’ll bring Da-eun too.”

Yeah. If I can go with a camera, there’s no reason Da-eun can’t come along.
Now that I think about it, it’s funny that I was willing to go with the possibility of something happening, but now I’m trying to separate myself from her.
The invasion isn’t even over yet.

I hung up the phone and made my decision.

“Da-eun. I got permission—”

Then, I stopped mid-sentence.

“…What are you doing?”
"As you can see!"

Whether she knew I was looking at her in disbelief or not, Da-eun cheerfully answered.

"I’ve packed!"

There, standing next to her, were two large suitcases.
I stared at them for a moment, then...

"..."

I quietly scratched my head.
It seemed that after hearing the good news from the call, Da-eun started packing.
It’s fine that she had the suitcases ready in that short time, but...

"Why now...?"

Why is she acting like she’s about to leave immediately?
In the end, I had to stop her from running off, and only then did her rampage end.
What happened during that process, well...
...It’s better not to know.