Early in the morning, Laika, having just finished his shower, wiped his hair with a towel as he crossed the hallway.
He brewed some coffee in the dining room and stepped into the living room, where he gazed out through the wide window at the Ru River sparkling under the sunlight.
After spending a passionate night with Iris, he felt fresher than usual.
‘Hoo, I wanted to hold her all night, but the cute glasses girl got scared and ran off… Well then, I guess I’ll go wake Iris up with some morning sex.’
With a mischievous intent, he made his way toward the guest room where Iris was sleeping.
Sipping his warm coffee leisurely, he moved forward but suddenly stopped, sensing an unusual unease.
Was it because Iris was staying here? Nothing about the house’s scenery had changed, yet the feeling was strangely ominous.
Laika’s eyes flicked around the living room as he examined the surroundings before letting out a soft sigh.
‘She dropped a towel. Careless as always.’
A damp towel, seemingly dropped by Iris, lay near the bathroom door.
Shaking his head, Laika approached the bathroom and bent down to pick it up— but then froze.
His gaze lifted and stopped at a particular spot. He had found something out of place.
The smile on his lips turned cold.
‘Why is the showcase door… open?’
The door to the showcase, which housed various collectibles including the Ring of the Goddess, was slightly ajar.
Laika set his mug down on the long table beside the vase and peered inside the opened door with a tilted head and narrowed eyes.
Iris’s face, curious about the showcase last night, flashed through his mind.
His cold gaze scanned carefully for anything missing, finally settling on the most important item here— the Ring of the Goddess.
The ring was still in its place. Naturally. It was a deadly item that would steal moisture and wither anyone but Laika who dared touch it.
‘It’s intact. Iris couldn’t have touched it. The moment anyone else handles it, the ring sucks out their moisture and kills them.’
If she had touched it, Iris’s corpse would be right here.
Laika’s expression softened as he confirmed nothing was missing, then he closed the showcase door.
Most likely, Iris had just opened it out of curiosity. But she hadn’t touched the ring or anything else beyond briefly looking and maybe holding something.
That much he could forgive.
Raising his coffee again, Laika was about to head toward the room where Iris was still asleep but paused and glanced back at the showcase.
After taking a slow sip with a serious expression, he nodded slightly.
‘Maybe I should warn her. It’d be a shame if the glasses girl died after messing with the ring.’
Yeah. Just a shame. No other feelings.
No regrets about not warning her beforehand, either.
Looking through the showcase was one thing, but touching things without the owner’s permission meant intent to steal.
And if she lost her life because of that, it was her own responsibility—Laika thought firmly.
“Uuuh…”
Meanwhile, inside the guest room, Iris squirmed beneath the covers.
She felt every inch of her body ache as if she’d been thoroughly beaten, a result of being overexerted the day before.
She couldn’t even bring herself to get up and just wanted to bury herself under the blanket all day—if only it weren’t someone else’s home.
She had no idea that Laika, though more normal than the other villains, was thinking extremely inhuman thoughts.
With a creak, the door opened.
Iris shot her eyes wide and lifted her head.
The person who entered was Laika, dressed in comfortable clothes.
He closed the door behind him and smiled broadly at her.
Before she could think that smile was oddly chilling, he sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked her hair.
“Did you sleep well? It’s time to get up now.”
“Ugh, yes. My whole body aches all over…”
Iris nodded slightly, picked up her glasses from the side table, and put them on.
Leaning back against the headboard, Laika grabbed a handful of her lemon-blonde hair and caressed it.
“Yeah. Looks like you showered before going to bed.”
“Of course… I had to.”
Iris blushed and tightened her shower gown. The reason why they both knew she had to wash before sleeping made her embarrassed.
At the same time, she instinctively went into a defensive posture, worried he might suddenly pounce on her again.
Laika blinked slowly with lowered eyes and parted his lips.
“The towel was dropped.”
“Oh, really? I forgot to clean it up…”
“Yeah. You’re so careless, dropping things everywhere.”
“…Yes.”
His words sounded oddly pointed, and Iris’s expression grew awkward.
She swallowed nervously, remembering how she had rummaged through the showcase last night.
Probably about the towel, right? Not something else?
What if there were surveillance cameras in the living room she hadn’t noticed?
If so, it was over. Every move—from inspecting the ring to putting it back in the jewelry box—would have been recorded.
As Iris tried hard to keep her expression neutral, Laika caught her eye and lightly tapped her flushed cheek with a finger.
“The showcase was open.”
“Y-Yes?”
Her careless tone immediately vanished as she startled and lifted her head.
Laika stroked his chin, continuing thoughtfully.
“Yeah. It was open. Just a little. It’s usually shut tight. It’s not some cheap cabinet that would open on its own.”
“S-Sorry. I was just curious! But I only looked briefly. I wasn’t trying to steal anything.”
Judging by Laika’s expression, lying would only make things worse.
Iris flattened herself on the bed and admitted her mistake.
If she spilled the truth without filtering, it could be the end for her here, so she mixed in some half-truths.
‘Ah, whatever. If there’s CCTV, I’m doomed. But I can’t just confess everything. I’ll just insist I was looking around.’
Laika’s expression didn’t change as he looked at her, then a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
His blue eyes showed no trace of amusement.
“Hmm, I get it. You were curious about the showcase? Just say so. I would have shown you.”
“S-Sorry.”
Iris apologized again, lowering her gaze.
Her brown eyes trembled anxiously as they fixed on the bedspread.
Judging by her behavior, she really hadn’t seen much—at least not yet.
Or maybe she was still feeling her out; Laika couldn’t tell.
He rolled his eyes once, then smiled brightly and stroked her hair again.
“It’s fine. You can look, just let me know next time.”
“Y-Yes…”
“And… um. Even if you look, don’t touch with your hands. If something I treasure gets broken, I’d feel really hurt.”
Iris bit the inside of her lip hard and obediently endured his touch.
His hand felt chilling, like a lion’s paw gently stroking the deer it had hunted.
“Y-Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“And this apartment hires superpowered individuals as bodyguards, so always be careful.”
“Ah, got it…”
She felt like she was being treated like a complete thief.
Well, she was an attempted ring thief, after all.
So she should be thankful that the villain only gave a warning and didn’t go further.
It was a moment that made her feel like she’d lost ten years off her life.
Just as she thought she should check later if there were surveillance cameras in the living room, Laika laughed, his throat vibrating.
Then he grabbed her chin and lifted her head.
“That means you know I’m saying ‘come visit again,’ right?”
“Ah… really?”
Could she really?
Iris scrutinized his blue eyes, searching for any hidden emotion.
She suspected the villain might be playing coy, secretly planning to take her out the next time she came over.
It was a situation that made her uneasy and suspicious, which was only natural.
Laika narrowed his eyes and lightly pinched her chubby cheek.
“Yeah. What, were you planning to use me and toss me aside?”
“N-No!”
Iris snapped back, embarrassed and offended.
She had thought something like that before—sleeping together once and then being discarded.
Not just that. She had entertained even worse thoughts, from wanting her head to get caught on the chandelier to the ‘warm thighs, cold reason’ resolve of taking what she could get and leaving.
She hadn’t been tossed aside yet, but after having sex and gaining a skill, she’d definitely ‘consumed’ something.
On top of that, last night she’d even dared to plan stealing the ring while Laika was asleep, which made her conscience prick.
‘Keep my expression in check. If I get caught here, it’s over.’