Chapter 1150

"......"

Hearing the administrator lady's worries, Leon, after the initial surprise, suddenly realized that the situation at Happiness Apartment did not seem to be that simple.

The elderly administrator couple were truly too "human-like," which led him to always treat them as two exceptionally kind neighbors, somewhat overlooking their "non-human" essence.

The birth of Happiness Apartment, aside from the Seed of Anomaly provided by the Water Bottle Director, was also due to the gratitude and nostalgia of those helped by the elderly couple at the poorhouse over ninety years ago, as well as the heartfelt hope that they would still exist.

Therefore, as an anomalous object, although the two of them were administrators and even received a salary from the municipal government, they were actually "appendages" of this building; they were not truly human and could not exist independently away from the apartment.

And anomalous objects themselves are not indestructible.

Like his Witch's Broom, which had completely lost all response after being snapped, if the Municipal Department were only performing maintenance, it likely wouldn't affect the elderly couple's existence, but if there were truly large-scale renovations or even expansions, the situation would be hard to say.

"I can't say for sure about this either......"

After understanding the crux of the matter, Leon's expression turned serious. After thinking for a moment, he proposed:

"How about this, I can file a report from the Cleanup Bureau, and in the name of protecting the survival of an anomalous object, stop this renovation. Then, I'll request a large sum of funding for you to decide how to proceed yourselves; that way, you won't have to worry about any problems arising."

"Hmm......"

However, to Leon's surprise, upon hearing his proposal, the administrator lady hesitated slightly, then unexpectedly shook her head and refused:

"Let's not do it that way. Just let this apartment undergo its normal renovation. Compared to stopping the renovation and expansion, the old man and I would rather you put in a good word so that after the expansion, they don't drive away the tenants, and don't raise the rent here."

"That definitely won't happen."

Although he didn't like using the privileges that came with that noble status, Leon naturally had no reason to refuse such a reasonable request, so he nodded and agreed directly.

But afterward, he reminded her with some hesitation:

"But is it really okay? I can't determine whether this kind of expansion counts as maintenance or damage to 【Happiness Apartment】 itself. If the result leans more toward damage, then you and Uncle John really might disappear!"

"It doesn't matter."

Hearing Leon agree to her request, the administrator lady smiled with relief and then explained:

"It really is time for this place to be repaired properly. The handrails in the stairwell have been missing a long section for a long time. Every time those two little ones of yours run wild in the building, I'm always on pins and needles, worried that they'll fall down the stairs while playing.

Besides, several households in the building, like Hannah's, are planning to have children in the next two years. When the time comes, we can't keep letting those children live in such an unsafe place, right?"

"Auntie Mary, these two things don't conflict."

Leon insisted upon hearing this:

"Based on my understanding of anomalous objects, if we don't let the municipal government lead it, but instead let you carry out the renovation, we should be able to ensure the impact is minimized. That way, even if major repairs are carried out, there's a high probability it won't affect your continued existence."

"Better not."

After pondering for a while, the administrator lady shook her head and refused with a kind expression:

"At most, we can just do some repairs; we don't have the ability to expand this building. But the people from the municipal government said they have already negotiated with the several buildings around us and even secured the abandoned factory behind us, preparing to expand Happiness Apartment eight or nine times over.

Besides continuing to provide low-rent housing, they seem to be preparing to reopen the poorhouse from back then, to take in children in the old city who have lost their parents, provide some basic education, and teach some skills to make a living.

According to what they said, this seems to be a new decree from the Princess. Because children represent the future of a country, under conditions where it is permitted, the fiscal budget will prioritize education and childcare, and there will be a large sum of special funding every year." Speaking of this, the administrator lady seemed to have completely let go of her worries; she first smiled a bit embarrassedly, then said quite happily amidst Leon's silence:

"I've never really cared much about these decrees and such, so I don't understand much of what they say, but I think that since we can take care of more homeless children, that's a good thing after all. So, just let them do whatever they need to do!"

"But if the expansion really happens, the possibility of you disappearing along with Happiness Apartment will be very high."

Leon thought for a moment and continued to insist:

"How about this, I can put in a word so that when they expand, they skip the area of Happiness Apartment and only work on other places. That way, both sides can be preserved."

"Forget it."

Looking at Leon, who was trying his best to preserve Happiness Apartment, the administrator lady pondered for a moment, lowered her head to wind a ball of yarn, and then refused with a kind smile:

"Happiness Apartment is right across from the street corner. If they skip our building, the future poorhouse and apartment will either have to take a detour or open a new small side road from the back, which is really quite troublesome.

Besides, the old man and I have lived long enough. If you count both before and after death, I'm already over one hundred and fifty years old. Even three of the people who issued our salaries from the Municipal Department have already died of old age. There's no need to keep clinging on!"

"But......"

"Thank you, good child. I know you don't want us to disappear, but we have truly thought it through."

Looking at Leon, who seemed to want to say something more, the administrator lady explained softly:

"At the very beginning, we wanted to survive because we hoped to take care of those children who were driven out. After they all... left, we felt that good people in the capital don't have an easy life, so we thought we'd help whenever we could.

It's just that the two of us weren't anyone remarkable when we were alive, and we don't have any extraordinary abilities after death, so we really can't do much. We can only help out whenever we see someone in trouble.

And now that there's finally good news, as long as the new poorhouse is built, this building we left behind, along with the small plot of land in the back, will be able to help more people. We are already content and have no more regrets."

"Alright......"

Not expecting that the Princess's ascension would actually affect the survival of Happiness Apartment, Leon could only nod as he looked at the administrator lady, whose kind face held a trace of relief after speaking her mind. He chose not to continue persuading her and opted to respect her personal will.

However, respect is respect, but some things still had to be attempted.

After glancing at the expectation faintly revealed on the administrator lady's face, and knowing that she was also looking forward to what the new poorhouse would look like after completion, Leon tentatively proposed:

"How about this: I won't stop them from expanding Happiness Apartment, but I can try to minimize the changes to the original structure without affecting the layout, and see if I can preserve your will.

Additionally, I know a little bit about the secret arts the Water Bottle Director used to create you. When the Municipal Department starts construction, I can try to use those secret arts to combine the two of you with the new poorhouse and see... do you think that would work?"

Combine us with the new poorhouse?

Upon hearing Leon's words, the administrator lady was slightly moved, but still said hesitantly:

"But if that's the case, will it affect......"

"It won't."

Leon shook his head and said:

"The two of you can just treat it as finding a part-time job; aside from managing Happiness Apartment, you can also serve as the manager and gardener for the new poorhouse!"

Speaking of this, Leon paused slightly, then said to the administrator lady, who wore a hesitant expression:

"Auntie Mary, you wouldn't want to disappear before the new poorhouse opens, would you?"

(End of chapter)