Etta Moore didn’t notice his brother’s expression.
Mandy Donovan saw it, but she paid it no mind.
Even though the twins were brothers, they had different personalities.
People in the wasteland apocalypse were more sensitive.
She would just have to let them gradually get used to being part of a small family, and to her authority as the Family Head.
The two little soot-balls were now scrubbed clean, their skin so fair it was practically reflective.
They both covered themselves in unison, not even daring to look up.
Mandy Donovan pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation.
‘If they weren’t trying to cover up, I might not have even paid attention!’
‘There’s barely anything there, so what difference does covering it make?’ She certainly wasn’t having any improper thoughts.
“Both of you, stand on that old bedsheet over there.
Wait until your hair and bodies are dry, then you can get dressed.”
Even though they kept their heads down, Mandy Donovan still saw them—two identical, delicately handsome faces.
A beauty rarely seen in the wasteland.
Beauties in the making.
Their boyishness still clung to them, but you could already tell from their features how handsome they would become.
‘A worthwhile investment, for sure!’
‘Mine!’
“I’m impressed.
You’re so young, but you already know to hide your faces,” Mandy Donovan praised them sincerely.
“You’re doing the right thing.
Keep it up, and cover your faces whenever you go out.”
‘I don’t need them attracting unwanted attention.’
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she held back.
Even though the brothers were technically adults by wasteland standards, they were still just kids.
Demanding they cover their faces felt too tyrannical.
Gary Moore’s face grew redder and redder.
“M-Mandy, aren’t you going to wash up?
Why do you keep staring at us?”
“I’m not,” Mandy Donovan lied with a straight face.
It was her turn, so she carried a basin of water into the bathroom.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to close the door.
The problem was, aside from the one at the main entrance, the house didn’t have any other doors.
The bathroom was doorless, as was the kitchen.
Hearing the sound of water, the two brothers didn’t even dare to lift their heads.
Etta Moore whispered, “Bro, Mandy’s not wearing any clothes!”
“You’re not wearing any either,” Gary Moore said, staring down at his own feet.
“We’re married.
D-don’t be so loud.”
Mandy Donovan, in the middle of her bath, was speechless.
‘…In a thirty-square-meter house, of course I can hear what they think are whispers.’
‘Kids could be amusing sometimes.
But not when they were being brats.’
“Go to sleep once your hair is dry.
Take the towels, and before you get under the covers, wipe your feet clean.”
‘The three of us were practically the same, besides our gender.
Flat in the front, flat in the back.
A telephone pole from any angle.’
‘I honestly don’t have a single lecherous thought!’
There was no reasoning with two little brats.
She shooed them back to the bedroom to sleep, then gave herself a proper bath.
This was the body’s first bath in sixteen years.
It was her first bath in years, ever since she’d transmigrated.
“Bro, the blanket is so soft,” Etta Moore said, rolling around on the earthen bed.
The quilt was quickly bundled into a ball.
“Bro, feel my face, it’s so smooth.”
“Bro…”
Gary Moore had just lain down for a moment when he became too annoyed by his brother.
He got up to continue working on the faucet.
Mandy Donovan hadn’t told him to put on clothes, so he was stark naked.
Mandy Donovan, fresh from her bath, was also stark naked.
The moment she and her husband had their ‘frank and honest meeting,’ she wanted to cover herself too.
Swallowing her embarrassment, she asked, “Why aren’t you asleep?”
‘As long as I’m not the one who’s embarrassed, someone else will be.’
‘Husbands I have to raise myself!’
‘And I’m a work-in-progress myself…
‘
‘I really want to take things out of my Space and deck them out!’
‘What should I do?’
“I want to get this fixed,” Gary Moore said, placing the bucket on his lap to cover his privates.
“Y-you go to sleep first.”
“Then I’ll make a bucket too.
I know how now.” Etta Moore, butt-naked, climbed down from the earthen bed and squatted next to Gary Moore, using his superpower with him to make things.
Mandy Donovan went back to the bedroom, quickly took out underwear from her Space and put it on, then changed into her other set of clothes.
She had been careless when she went to the Black Market and hadn’t gotten any clothes for them.
None of the three of them had a change of clothes.
Until tomorrow morning, she’d just have to put up with the two little rascals running around naked.
‘I’m not embarrassed!’
‘I’m not embarrassed!’
‘I’m not embarrassed!’
After hypnotizing herself three times, Mandy Donovan forced herself to sleep.
Now that she knew where the Black Market was, she would go again tomorrow.
When she got up in the morning, Etta Moore and Gary Moore were, as expected, sleeping stark naked and spread-eagled.
The weather was still hot, and the quilt was a bit thick, so they hadn’t stayed covered.
‘My fault.’
Picking up the bamboo basket, Mandy Donovan knocked on the next door.
“Aunt Grant, are you going today?”
May Grant opened the door, revealing only half her face.
“I have to take Holly foraging today.
If you’re not in a hurry, I can go with you tomorrow.”
“I can go by myself.
I was just asking if you were going, Auntie.” After all, it was May Grant who had told her about the Black Market, and it felt a bit rude to go without asking.
Since she wasn’t going, however, Mandy Donovan could now go by herself without feeling any burden.
“Besides, I’m in a hurry.
We’re missing too many things at home.”
“Alright, I’ll go on my own then,” Mandy Donovan said, picking up the misshapen bamboo basket and heading out.
The Black Market was livelier today than it was yesterday.
Mandy Donovan randomly entered a bungalow.
Inside, the light was dim.
A strong, burly man, bare-chested, was swinging a hammer, CLANG CLANG, striking something.
From Mandy Donovan’s angle, she could only see a pure black silhouette and the motion of a hammer being raised and dropped.
People were standing around the room, all speaking in low voices.
This was a blacksmith’s shop.
Mandy Donovan wasn’t interested.
She watched for a moment, then backed out.
The next bungalow was crowded with people.
They were gathered around a rack hung with meat, where a burly man was chopping bones.
Mutated Beast Meat.
Mandy Donovan wasn’t the least bit interested.
She’d had the “fortune” of eating it once—the texture was like shoe leather, and the taste was indescribable, like an old sow that hadn’t been bled properly.
But she remembered her promise to Etta Moore.
“How much is it?”
The burly man looked up, saw Mandy Donovan, and grinned.
“Hey there, little miss, it’s you!
Which piece catches your eye?
For you, fifty points an ounce.”
“Give me 1kg.” The rank smell was nauseating, and Mandy Donovan fought to keep her stomach settled.
“Is there any difference between these types of Mutated Beast Meat?”
The man skillfully cut a piece of meat and tossed it on the scale.
“Yup, there is.
Mutated Beast Meat is great for Superpower Users.
It’s got energy in it.
But the taste…
well, anyone who’s eaten it knows.”
“Exactly one kilogram!”
He grabbed a large leaf from the side, wrapped the meat in it, and handed it over.
“As for the difference, the higher the level of the Mutant Beast, the more energy in the meat, and the better it tastes.
But I’ve never eaten it myself.
That’s all just what I’ve heard.”
‘There’s energy in Mutated Beast Meat?’ Mandy Donovan had only eaten it once and hadn’t noticed anything.
If it was the kind of energy that could enhance one’s superpower, she could force it down no matter how disgusting it was.
If she had known earlier that there was energy in Mutant Beast meat, she wouldn’t still be a level-one Wood Ability user.
Buying 1kg of Mutated Beast Meat at once earned Mandy Donovan some furtive glances.
The burly man saw it, raised the knife in his hand, and bellowed, “Knock off the greedy looks!
Do you know who she is?
If you dare touch her, the Defense Force will tear you all down.”
Mandy Donovan couldn’t tell if the others were intimidated, but she was quite embarrassed.
She had no connection to the Defense Force.
She raised her wrist, pointing her bracelet at the man.
“Here, scan for the points.”
‘I’m not afraid of their greedy stares.’
‘Anyone who dares to mess with me will only meet one fate.’
Carrying the leaf-wrapped meat, Mandy Donovan scanned the surroundings.
“If you get any High-level beast meat, save some for me.
I want to try it!”
The burly man responded readily, “If I get any, you got it!”