Chapter 49

The day after the closet incident — an event so embarrassing that my face still burned just thinking about it.

I woke up early, cleaned the general store, and returned to the office. The moment I opened the door, a rich, savory smell of oil wafted into my nose, making me gulp instinctively.

Is someone cooking?

Drawn by the smell, I walked in to find Raven grilling sausages until they were a perfect golden brown.

His hair was still unkempt like a bird’s nest, clearly not having been washed or combed. It was a comical sight, especially when paired with his cute pajamas.

It seemed he hadn’t been awake for long.

I hurried over to Raven and tugged firmly on the hem of his clothes.

Since I was freeloading here, I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. I had to help somehow.

“Hm? What, you wanna help?”

“…!”

“Then… set up the table with some forks and knives. I’m almost done cooking, so there’s not much left to do.”

My gaze naturally followed his line of sight as he gestured with his chin.

There, I spotted the toaster whirring away. Looks like today’s breakfast would be sausages and toast.

Guess I’m too late to be useful this time. I’ll have to be quicker next time.

Understanding the situation, I hurried to the table and set out forks and knives for the two of us.

Once everything was ready, breakfast began in calm, peaceful silence.

Raven was the type to focus solely on eating during meals, and since I couldn’t speak anyway, it wasn’t like we’d have much conversation.

The only sounds in the room were the faint clinking of knives and forks tapping against plates.

That quiet rhythm continued until, all of a sudden, Raven wiped his mouth with a tissue and spoke up.

“Yuria, about what happened yesterday—”

“…?!”

Guhak—! Cough! Cough!

I choked on my food at the unexpected mention of yesterday.

“Whoa, hey. Drink some water. Are you good?”

I quickly accepted the glass of water Raven handed me, gulping it down to calm my coughing fit.

Why is he bringing that up now? I thought we’d moved on!

Did he reconsider and decide it wasn’t something he could overlook after all?

I sat there, still gripping my fork and knife, unable to bring myself to put them down. I anxiously waited for him to continue, my gaze trembling with unease. 𝘙ＡƝÖ𝖇Ë𝒮

Noticing my reaction, Raven gave me a wry smile and gently placed his hand on top of my head.

“I’m not trying to scold you, you dummy. I just wanted to tell you that if you ever want to come into my room, you can do it whenever you want.”

“…?”

“I mean, you seemed so on edge, like you were trying not to be seen. Just thought I’d let you know.”

He said it so casually, and before I could react, he ruffled my hair so vigorously that my whole head swayed back and forth.

Ack! Stop! I’m getting dizzy!

I raised my hands, trying with all my might to push away Raven’s hand. But there was too much of a difference in strength, and in the end, I could only sway helplessly like a pendulum.

“Alright, that’s enough. When you’re done eating, put your plate, fork, and knife in the dishwasher. I’m heading out.”

“….”

After tormenting me to his heart’s content, he finally seemed satisfied.

He stood up, holding his empty plate and utensils, and walked off.

Meanwhile, I, still dazed and dizzy, could do nothing but rest my head on the table, groaning softly to myself.

How dare you treat me like this, Raven…

One day, I’ll pay you back for this humiliation!

As I gnawed on my sausage with renewed determination, I realized something odd.

The heavy anxiety that had been looming over me just a moment ago… now felt strangely insignificant.

***

Later that day, Alice and David arrived for work, and the rest of the day passed without much incident.

This city had no shortage of eccentric clients, but fortunately, there weren’t any high-risk requests that could drag the whole city into chaos.

Please, if something big is going to happen, let it be after I quit this part-time job.

I thought to myself as I lay nestled in Alice’s arms like a beloved stuffed animal.

“Ugh, I don’t want to part with Yuria… But I have to leave for the day… Jin, what should I do?”

Alice openly expressed her reluctance to leave, pouting like a child.

Raven, who was sprawled on the couch, casually picking at his ear, responded bluntly.

“Then don’t leave.”

“That’s… a bit… wait, are you saying you want me to stay? No way! We’re family, you can’t say things like that so casually…”

Pfft.

“Wha—! Don’t laugh at me! Now I feel like an idiot for joking around!”

Alice turned bright red as she shouted at Raven, who couldn’t suppress his snickering.

Their dynamic was a prime example of a relationship where neither side viewed the other as a romantic interest.

Alice was an incredibly beautiful girl — even by city standards, she stood out.

And Raven, though he didn’t take care of himself much, would probably be considered good-looking if someone took a closer look.

But perhaps because there wasn’t even a hint of romantic attraction between them, they had the air of squabbling siblings more than anything else.

If they ever did start showing signs of affection toward one another, I might just wonder if someone had cast a hypnosis spell on them.

Honestly, though, I think Alice and Raven suit each other pretty well.

Well, they’ll figure it out on their own, I’m sure.

Watching them bicker, I found myself grinning in amusement. Then, I noticed David was watching them with the same look of mild interest.

Our eyes met.

Oh? You’re enjoying the show too, huh? Same here.

With just a glance, it was clear we were on the same wavelength. We exchanged quiet chuckles.

“Alright, that’s it! I’m going home! Ugh, seriously…”

“Yeah, yeah, see ya. Take out the trash on your way out.”

“Hmph! Do it yourself, Jin! Anyway… Yuria, I’m heading out. See you tomorrow!”

“…!”

Chuu!

Alice hugged me tightly before leaving, planting a loud, deliberate kiss on the side of my fox mask.

Unlike the light pecks she’d secretly given to the top of my head or my hair before, this kiss was undeniably more… intense.

Wait, what?!

I froze in shock.

My guard had been completely down, so the sudden escalation caught me entirely off guard.

Is it just me, or is Alice’s skinship getting bolder by the day?

At this rate, I have no idea what might happen in the future…

Not that I dislike it. Honestly, it’s kind of nice to be liked so openly.

But accepting it so easily feels a bit overwhelming. It’s hard to figure out how to respond or repay it.

As I awkwardly rubbed the spot on my mask where Alice had kissed me, I returned her goodbye with a small wave. Alice just giggled and strolled out of the office.

She’s seriously such a troublesome person.

“Alright, I’ll be heading out too. Oh, Yuria.”

“…?”

David, who had been about to leave after Alice, suddenly stopped as if he’d just remembered something.

He glanced at me, then pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

I tilted my head, silently asking if it was okay to open it now.

David nodded as if to say, “Go ahead.”

“It’s a note from Sabrina. She wants to meet you this Saturday at 10 a.m. in front of Central Plaza… Sounds fine? Alright, got it.”

Saturday, 10 a.m., Central Plaza, huh.

I had no reason to refuse. I didn’t have any plans, anyway.

If I remember correctly, it was an apology meeting we had discussed before.

Well, since I’m meeting her, I might as well get a nice meal out of it.

Once David had delivered his sister’s message, he seemed to have no further business. Without a word, he quietly left the office.

With that, only Raven and I remained in the now-spacious office.

“Wanna have burgers for dinner? A new place called Peanut Crunch Burger just opened nearby. How about a peanut burger? You’re not allergic, right?”

“…!”

I vigorously nodded at Raven’s suggestion for burgers.

When he told me to pick something from the menu, I pointed to the Super Size option with my finger.

It was advertised as large enough to fill up an adult, but with my growing appetite these days, I figured it would be just right.

Alright, let’s get started.

If I had learned anything about Raven’s habits, it was that today was Dragon Racing Day — the day when small dragons known as “Arong” raced each other in fierce competition.

He would probably crack open a can of beer, sit on the sofa in front of the big TV in the office, and not shower until late at night.

The delivery time was estimated to be around 30 minutes.

Seeing my chance, I grabbed a change of clothes and dashed into the shower.

After taking a quick shower and changing into my cat-themed pajamas, I heard the sound of the doorbell.

Right on time, the burgers had arrived. I collected the hamburger set left at the front door and brought it inside.

Raven and I sat together and had our dinner.

Shower? Check. Dinner? Check. Brushed my teeth? Check.

Now, there was nothing left to stop me.

With everything ready, I slipped past Raven, who was pulling a cold beer out of the fridge.

I quickly grabbed a pillow from my room and made a beeline for Raven’s room.

Once inside, I opened the closet, tossed the pillow onto the bedding, and climbed up to the highest level.

‘Alright, close the closet… and… time to begin!’

From under my pajama top, I pulled out the Tesseract I had been hiding.

I lifted it toward the ceiling, as close to the rift as possible.

The moment the Tesseract neared the rift, a faint purple aura began to flow from the rift, gradually being absorbed into the Tesseract.

Just like when I had brought the fragment close to it, the dormant Tesseract was now drawing in energy from the rift beyond.

‘Hmm, this is… pretty slow.’

The rift was likely small, so the power being drawn into the Tesseract was sluggish.

It was so slow that my arms, which had been holding the Tesseract up, began to tremble from the strain.

This isn’t gonna work…

When I could no longer hold it up, I switched tactics, using telekinesis to lift the Tesseract and keep it close to the rift.

‘This is definitely easier, but… what if Raven opens the closet door right now? It’d look pretty suspicious.’

If Raven saw a mysterious floating necklace just hovering in midair, it’d be impossible to explain.

Ugh, that’d be bad.

After a moment of thought, I decided to try something different.

Using my telekinesis, I “grabbed” the rift itself while hugging the Tesseract tightly against my chest.

And to my surprise, the faint energy from the rift began to flow along my telekinetic line, funneling directly into the Tesseract.

It’s like my telekinesis is acting as a power cable!

This was it!

No need to worry about Raven opening the closet door and seeing something weird. I could power up the Tesseract in peace!

All I had to do was stay like this, focusing on maintaining the telekinetic connection.

I couldn’t believe my plan from last night actually worked!

I was so happy that I couldn’t stop myself from rolling around on the blanket like a child.

Clatter.

“…You having fun in there?”

“….”

…When did you get here?!

My whole body froze.

Peeking into the closet, Raven was looking at me like I was an adorable, mischievous child. His gaze was gentle but clearly amused.

Don’t look at me like that!

The warm, doting look in his eyes made me want to disappear.

My face burned with embarrassment as I slowly wiggled my way under the blanket, covering myself completely.

From under the covers, I could hear Raven chuckling to himself.

Ugh, I really wanna punch him…