"...Why did I do that?"
I had reflexively rejected Hayul’s offer to help.
Why had I refused?
It wasn’t like her offer was a bad thing.
Even if it was a little awkward, I could have just said thanks and accepted her help. Then this would’ve been over faster.
I stared at the clothes scattered across the floor, my expression troubled.
But I’d already turned down Hayul’s kindness.
Looking at the sheer amount of clothes strewn about, there were more than I’d expected.
Then again, since Yu Siwoo sweated so much every day, he did tend to change clothes often. That must’ve been why.
"Hmm, this is weird..."
Sighing, I started picking up the clothes one by one and tossing them into the laundry basket.
All while agonizing over why I’d done that.
It had been an instinctive reaction, but I couldn’t figure out the reason for the life of me.
After gathering clothes for a while, I finally realized it. Why I’d stopped Hayul from helping.
"...That was close."
Had I really been trying to protect Yu Siwoo on instinct?
A pointless sense of pride made my shoulders hunch up.
"Even if Hayul is part of Arachne, that doesn’t guarantee she’s an ally. Good call."
Hayul was an ally.
A former investigator, deeply connected to the Association.
A veteran with countless real battles under her belt.
And even if her ability couldn’t be maintained for long against humans, it was practically invincible.
She was undeniably the strongest member of Arachne.
Yes. The strongest in Arachne.
Even including me.
"If she’d turned out to be a traitor and tried to pull something with Yu Siwoo’s clothes... Phew, good thing I stopped her."
[What the hell is that nonsense... Hng!]
"?"
What was that?
I thought I’d heard something just now.
Must’ve been my imagination.
The girl hastily clapped a hand over her mouth and held her breath.
Even though she’d already blocked the sound so he couldn’t hear her, she couldn’t bear it otherwise.
The subject of her observation—Yu Siwoo—had paused at the sudden noise, scanning his surroundings for a while before resuming his task of picking up the clothes one by one.
"Phew... That was a close one..."
[He didn’t notice.]
"What, what was that?!"
[If he had noticed, I could’ve seen that bastard whining... What a shame...]
"I’m not crying, okay?!"
The girl snapped, though even she wasn’t sure if she really wouldn’t have cried.
She made a resolution.
When the time came for the Reader and the protagonist to begin confirming their feelings for each other—that was when she would speak to the Reader again.
But the girl’s already short patience had been shattered by the past month of this.
Among Transcendents, her patience was actually considered exceptional.
Especially compared to those who’d rather force a connection than wait around in frustration.
To be honest, she was getting tired of not being able to talk to the Reader.
There were so many things she wanted to say. But being unable to speak was agony.
And yet, the reason she hadn’t spoken to her Reader was simple.
She didn’t want to waste the past month.
If she spoke now, everything she’d built up until this point might collapse.
But it was getting harder to endure. She felt like she might give up and speak first.
Just to relive that feeling, she’d briefly reconnected the sound—but then his muttering had slipped out of her, and she’d almost let her voice leak through.
She’d nearly thrown away a month’s worth of waiting for nothing.
"Ugh, this is frustrating! How can you react like that?!"
[Weren’t you the one who liked that before?]
"Even that has its limits! If I’ve waited a whole month, shouldn’t we be at the stage where we’re all over each other by now?!"
The plan had been perfect.
Right after realizing the contradictory situation—where the Reader feared her yet still depended on her—she had clamped her mouth shut of her own accord.
Because the progress between the protagonist and the Reader had suddenly stalled.
So she thought, just a little longer.
If she stayed still just a little longer, things would move forward. So she endured for a whole month.
Of course, a month wasn’t exactly a long time, but she had assumed progress would come quickly.
"Why… why did it turn out like this…"
The girl was certain.
The Reader’s body was her greatest masterpiece.
If this weren’t such a world, if they had gone out into an ordinary modern society, that face alone would make them an instant celebrity. She was sure of it.
As for why she had made it that way… well, there wasn’t any deep meaning.
Since her own essence had to be mixed in, she didn’t want it to be ugly. There was a saying, after all—what looks good tastes good.
"With a body like that, acting like that…!"
So why wasn’t the protagonist reacting?
Was he impotent?
No, that couldn’t be. He was definitely fine, right? The settings said he should be!
"Why isn’t he jumping me?! Why won’t he just take me?!"
[This is getting pathetic to watch.]
"Shut up! Do you even know how I feel?!"
[We don’t want to know, not in the slightest.]
For an entire month, nothing happened. Nothing at all.
It was true they had grown closer than when they were just friends before living together.
Yu Siwoo had clearly been affected by Arte’s not-quite-seductive seductions—she could tell he was trying to manage his gaze, even if she couldn’t see it herself.
…But the progress was still way too slow.
It wounded her pride.
It felt like he was saying, *The body you made isn’t pretty enough.*
"Fine! Even if the protagonist is like that, the Reader is the worst!"
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the protagonist could be like this too.
But the Reader was the most infuriating of all.
"That reaction is just too much!"
Honestly, it was unfair.
What had she even done?
She didn’t understand why the Reader was so wary of her in the first place.
Had she ever done anything bad to the Reader?
She’d been scolded by the Reader before, but she didn’t think she’d ever tormented them.
"A former investigator who hunted villains suddenly turning traitor? Me, doing something like that…?"
Hmm.
That actually sounded kind of fun.
A man who realizes killing is wrong and returns to the side of justice once more.
Standing alone against the association and secret organizations that rule over the superhuman society…?
Should she try it?
[You’re not thinking of doing something weird again, are you?]
"…Hah. N-No, I wasn’t thinking anything!"
[This bitch is up to something again, isn’t she?]
Hmm, hmm.
It was a tantalizing idea, but she’d set it aside for now.
The Reader definitely had feelings for Yu Siwoo. There was no way they didn’t.
They spent so much time together—wasn’t it natural for love to bloom?
"And yet, this is the reaction I get."
She had no intention of interfering.
But if things continued like this, it might take years for any real progress to happen.
Though the reader’s mental state had improved somewhat recently…
"Hahahaha, well, there’s nothing else for it now."
I’d have to force an event to happen.
After all, emotions needed a spark to bloom.
The reader was still picking up clothes.
Completely unaware of what was about to come.
"…Huu. Is this finally over?"
I sighed as I gathered the last of the clothes.
It’s finally done.
Glancing at the clock, nearly ten minutes had passed.
I needed to get back before another problem popped up.
Just as I hurried toward the washing machine—
Thunk.
Something caught my foot, and my body lurched forward.
"A-ah?!"
-THUD.
The basket in my hands tipped over, spilling its contents, and with nothing to brace myself, I tumbled onto the pile.
Ah, damn it.
Now I have to pick them all up again.
My mood sank. Today just wasn’t going my way.
"But there was nothing here…?"
There hadn’t been anything around to trip over.
I scanned the area, trying to figure out what I’d caught my foot on, but I couldn’t see a thing.
…Was it just my imagination?
"Ugh, I have to pick them all up again…"
How was I even going to explain this?
Guilt gnawed at me as I saw the white clothes now stained with dirt. Those kinds of marks didn’t come out easily. I’d have to find a way to fix it.
Swallowing my frustration, I forced myself to gather the clothes again.
After finally tossing the collected laundry into the washing machine—
That was when I realized something was off.
"Huh?"
Frowning, I checked the clock again.
The hands were still ticking away, marking the time.
Fifteen minutes had already passed since I’d separated from Yu Siwoo.
"Hmm…?"
Before, when I was apart from Yu Siwoo, my breathing would start to destabilize after ten minutes.
But now, the time had stretched to more than half again as long.
That didn’t make sense.
It wasn’t like my condition had suddenly improved. My hands had still trembled yesterday.
So what had changed?
What about Yu Siwoo could possibly let me last this much longer than before…?
Then—
My eyes landed on the basket in my hand.
Now that I thought about it, when I’d fallen, something had felt warm.
"…"
Gulp.
Should I do this?
Was it really okay to do this?
I didn’t even know if this was the right thing to do.
But then again, clinging to him all the time might’ve been more of a nuisance.
Compared to that, this was…
"Arte! Arte, where are you?! Are you okay?!"
"Hiiik?!"
"There you are! Arte, are you hurt?!"
"Y-yes, I’m… fine."
"Thank goodness… Let’s get back to the room first."
"A-ah, no, before that, I should—"
"Oh, that. I was going to say, don’t worry about it. Those are my clothes, so you can do it later."
"No, it’s just—"
"Let’s just go inside first."
Wait, hold on—
Even as I tried to say something, Yu Siwoo was too busy ushering me back to the room.
And so, before I knew it…
I’d stolen one of his clothes.