I! Anomaly Cleansing Agent!

Upon hearing the administrator matron’s concerns, after the initial surprise, Leon finally snapped back to reality. The situation at Happiness Apartment seemed to be more complicated than it appeared.

The elderly administrator couple was just too “human-like,” causing him to always treat them as exceptionally kind neighbors, inadvertently overlooking their “non-human” essence.

Happiness Apartment came into existence thanks to the anomalous seed provided by the Aquarius Director. It also stemmed from the gratitude and怀念 of those helped by the old couple in the almshouse over ninety years ago, who deeply wished for their continued existence.

So, as an anomalous item, although they were administrators and even received wages from the city government, they were actually “attachments” to this building, not real humans, unable to exist independently outside the apartment.

Moreover, anomalous items themselves weren’t indestructible.

Like his Witch’s Broom, once broken, it had already completely lost its function. If the municipal department merely maintained it, it probably wouldn’t affect the existence of the elderly couple. However, if there was a large-scale renovation or expansion, the situation could truly become uncertain.

“I can’t say for sure about this…”

Realizing the crux of the matter, Leon’s expression became serious. After some thought, he suggested:

“How about this? I can file a report with the Clearing Bureau, using the name of preserving the anomalous item, to stop this renovation. Then, we can request a large sum of funds, allowing you to decide how to proceed. This way, you won’t have to worry about any issues.”

“Hmm…”

What Leon didn’t expect was that after hearing his suggestion, the administrator matron hesitated slightly before shaking her head and rejecting it: “Let’s not do it this way. Just let the apartment be renovated normally. Compared to stopping the renovation and expansion, my old man and I would rather you ensure that they don’t evict tenants or raise the rent here after the expansion.”

“That definitely won’t happen.”

Although he wasn’t fond of wielding the privileges of his noble status, for such reasonable requests, Leon naturally had no reason to refuse and immediately nodded in agreement.

However, he then reminded them somewhat hesitantly:

“But are you really sure there’s no problem? I can’t confirm whether this expansion counts as maintenance or damage to [Happiness Apartment]. If the result leans more towards destruction, then you and Uncle John might really disappear!”

“It’s fine.”

Relieved after hearing Leon’s promise, the administrator matron smiled and explained:

“This place really does need some repairs. The handrails on the stairs are missing for quite a long section. Every time your two little ones run around crazily inside the building, I always worry that they’ll fall down the stairs while playing around.

Besides, several households in the building, including Hannah’s, plan to have children in the next few years. We can’t possibly keep letting those kids live in such an unsafe place, right?”

“Auntie Mary, these two things aren’t conflicting.”

Leon insisted upon hearing this: “Based on my understanding of anomalous items, if the municipal department doesn’t take charge and you handle the renovation yourselves, the impact should be minimized. Even if a major repair is carried out, it’s highly likely that it won’t affect your continued existence.”

“Still, no thank you.”

After pondering for a while, the administrator matron shook her head and kindly refused: “We can only manage minor repairs; we don’t have the ability to expand the building. But the people from the municipal department said they’ve already negotiated with the surrounding buildings and even acquired the abandoned factory behind us, planning to expand Happiness Apartment eight or nine times its current size.

In addition to continuing to provide low-cost housing, they seem to want to reopen the former almshouse, taking in parentless children from the Old District, providing basic education, and teaching them some livelihood skills.

According to their statement, this seems to be the new decree of the princess. Since children represent the future of a country, under permissible conditions, the fiscal budget will prioritize education and child-rearing, with a substantial special allocation every year.”

“But if there’s really an expansion, the possibility of you disappearing along with Happiness Apartment will be very high.”

After thinking for a moment, Leon continued to insist:

“Alright, I can go ahead and greet them, ensuring that during the expansion, they skip the range of Happiness Apartment and only touch other places. This way, both sides can remain.”

“Still no.”

Looking at Leon who was determined to preserve Happiness Apartment, the administrator matron thought for a moment, knitted the yarn in her hands, and then kindly rejected with a smile: “Happiness Apartment faces the street corner. If our building is skipped, the future almshouse and apartment will either have to detour or open a new small lane from the back, which would be quite troublesome.

Moreover, my old man and I have lived long enough. Counting both our lives before and after death, I’m already over 150 years old. Even three people who used to pay us salaries at the municipal department have passed away. There’s no need for us to continue lingering!”

“But…”

“Thank you, dear child. We know you don’t want us to disappear, but we’ve already made up our minds.”

Seeing Leon who seemed to still want to say something, the administrator matron gently explained: “Initially, we wanted to survive to take care of those expelled children. After they all… left, we felt that good people in the Capital City had a tough life, so we decided to help as much as possible.

Neither of us was anything extraordinary when we were alive, and after death, we don’t possess remarkable abilities. We can only lend a helping hand when we see someone in difficulty.

But now, with this rare good news, as long as the new almshouse is built, the building we left behind initially and the small piece of land behind it can help more people. We’re already content and have no regrets.”

“Alright…”

Unexpectedly, the ascension of the princess has affected the continuation of Happiness Apartment. Seeing the administrator matron, whose face showed a sense of relief after opening up, Leon could only nod and stopped persistently persuading, choosing to respect their personal wishes.

However, respecting is one thing, but some matters still need to be attempted.

Noticing the faint hint of anticipation on the administrator matron’s face, knowing she also looked forward to the completion of the new almshouse, Leon tentatively suggested: “Alright, I won’t stop them from expanding Happiness Apartment. But within the scope that doesn’t affect the layout, I’ll try to minimize changes to the original structure, seeing if your essence can be preserved.

Also, I understand a bit of the secret art the Aquarius Director used to create you two. When the municipal department starts construction, I can try to use the secret art to combine you two with the new almshouse… What do you think about this?”

Combine us with the new almshouse? After hearing Leon’s words, the administrator matron was slightly interested but still hesitated: “But wouldn’t this affect…”

“It won’t.”

Leon shook his head: “You two can consider it as finding a part-time job. In addition to managing Happiness Apartment, you can also serve as administrators and gardeners for the new almshouse!”

At this point, Leon paused briefly and then addressed the administrator matron who still looked hesitant:

“Auntie Mary, you wouldn’t want to disappear before the new almshouse opens, right?”

(End of Chapter)