“Ah, no. I just thought so. I was curious and asked. That woman, the one I know… No, never mind. Shall we take another walk? No, what time is it now? I was planning to attend the Youth Group Service…”
“Ah, the Y-Youth Group Service? It probably hasn’t s-started yet?”
Iris hurriedly tried to turn toward the congregation hall. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Johannes didn’t seem to have immediately caught on to the embarrassing misunderstanding she had just made.
But he might realize it later if he thought it over. She should have kept quiet! Why did she have to bring it up?
‘Hah, that was close.’
Meanwhile, Johannes let out a sigh of relief. The breath tickling his nose and the warmth of her arms around him made his head swim, and he nearly got into trouble like last time.
Fortunately, this time he didn’t blatantly rub his face against Iris’s chest, so his arousal wasn’t fully triggered.
But it was enough—just enough—that if he got any stronger stimulation, it might become obvious even through his priest’s robes and pants.
Why was this part of him so uncontrollable? He painfully suppressed the burning sensation in his core by recalling passages from the Bible.
Amidst this, Iris suddenly asked a question, and Johannes, still dazed, managed to answer.
Judging by her reaction, it seemed she asked out of simple curiosity.
‘I don’t want to get caught like this. Not now… I’d probably be rejected.’
Thinking negatively helped calm him down. Johannes dropped his shoulders weakly before gathering strength again.
He wasn’t hoping for any immediate relationship with Iris. The ultimate goal was to gradually get closer and be together forever.
‘I don’t want to be like Laika, just passing by her.’
Thinking about Laika—the man connected with Iris—put him in a bad mood. That sly fox who stuck to pure Iris.
Although he’d never met the man face-to-face, Johannes had seen his unpleasant face so often on Portal Sites that it haunted his mind.
He believed Iris wouldn’t get serious with that man, but still, the thought made him uneasy.
If she kept seeing him, Johannes was determined to deal with him somehow. But would it really be that easy?
As James advised, he wasn’t a man you could just get rid of easily.
‘He might have a powerful bodyguard like Father Kaisar… No. Taking a life… Killing someone shouldn’t be taken lightly. Iris might be disappointed if she found out.’
Johannes could be willing to kill for Iris’s happiness. But it was not something to do lightly.
If Iris found out what he had done, she might be disappointed.
While Johannes sorted through his tangled thoughts, Iris’s reddened face returned to its normal color.
From her reaction, it seemed she didn’t catch the implication of his words, and judging by his personality, he probably wouldn’t realize it later either. To Iris, he was marked as a clueless kid.
‘I worried for nothing. Johannes wouldn’t notice.’
She stretched to loosen her tense body, then walked with a relaxed air.
“We’re still far off. Then, Johannes, let’s take a walk quickly. There’s nowhere else to go…”
“Y-Yeah.”
When she proposed the walk, Johannes bowed his head deeply and hesitated before following.
The reason Iris decided to take another walk was to gather information about the Enraka Sect Leader’s Son from him.
It was time to follow the saying: ‘Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.’
She matched her pace to Johannes’s hesitant steps and casually threw out a conversation starter.
“I didn’t expect a space like this behind the congregation hall. The Enraka Sect really cares about its believers’ welfare. That’s quite nice.”
“It’s not exactly… as good as you think…”
“Huh? Not so good means it’s bad?”
Iris widened her eyes and asked. Johannes was thankful she asked so quickly after he threw out the bait.
Feeling her gaze, he scratched the back of his neck nervously and sighed.
He forgot he wasn’t wearing a hooded sweatshirt and instinctively tried to hide his face again.
Johannes didn’t like the Enraka Sect. More precisely, he didn’t like the people inside the sect, not the Enraka Goddess.
They acted for their own benefit rather than truly serving the goddess. Including his father, Reyners.
Because of his father, Johannes was reluctantly a believer in the Enraka Sect, but those who pretended to serve the goddess devotedly while looking out for themselves lacked true faith. He couldn’t honestly tell Iris his thoughts.
If she knew the reality of this place, she might be disappointed and stop coming. Johannes vaguely evaded the topic.
“Uh, well… it doesn’t exactly mean that. It’s just… like that.”
“Hmm, now I’m curious…”
“I-I just said it… Iris.”
The clueless Johannes seemed about to get caught right away but surprisingly didn’t spill any information.
Iris was about to press further but held back for now.
If she appeared to know too much, it might arouse suspicion.
After all, Johannes was the next sect leader of the Enraka Church… Yeah, he wasn’t a nice guy, right?
No way he’d spill all the Enraka Sect’s corruption just because she asked.
Realizing this, Iris began to feel confused.
‘I completely forgot Johannes was a villain. Where does a bad guy straightforwardly admit to bad deeds? Hmm, but talking to him is confusing. Is Johannes really a villain? Such a clueless guy…’
Her “Skill of the Back” probably didn’t misinterpret this.
But there were definitely blind spots.
The manhwa hadn’t revealed Johannes’s true identity or his inner thoughts.
Could it be someone else was the real villain?
Or maybe he was forced to help the Enraka Sect?
How could he, with this personality, be the one to lead evil deeds?
Talking to him, he was still a socially awkward dork.
‘No, Teresa-sunbae said it before. Unless someone admits to doing bad things themselves, how can you tell good from evil? Someone kind to me might be bad to someone else.’
She steeled her heart again. Honestly, hoping Johannes had a good heart was purely Iris’s personal wish.
From the villain-hunting perspective, there was no need to worry.
She already knew the most peaceful and certain way to reform a bad guy: the Upgrade Back Skill.
That could forcibly reform Johannes, whether he was good or bad.
She wasn’t ready yet to confront him directly. Not yet. To destroy the Enraka Sect, she would have to lure him eventually.
With her current ability, she couldn’t beat Johannes, who was so high-level his entire status panel couldn’t be seen.
But it wasn’t easy to lure someone she already knew. Her thoughts were a mess, wavering back and forth.
For now, it was on hold. She glanced at the silently walking Johannes and spoke.
“Now I’ll see you on weekends and sometimes when I go jogging. Sorry for not answering your morning calls every day. I’ve been tired with work lately…”
“Uh… it’s fine. I-I just… jog every day anyway.”
“Really? Still… about the morning calls, you don’t have to do them every day. I’ll contact you first when I want to jog.”
“Huh? I don’t… need them?”
Johannes suddenly stopped in his tracks. Did he only hear the part about not needing them? Flustered, Iris waved her hands hurriedly.
“No? I didn’t mean I don’t need morning calls! I just meant you don’t have to do it every day! I feel bad because I often can’t answer.”
“Oh… okay.”
Johannes’s shoulders drooped, looking dejected.
If Iris knew he woke up early every day and ran all the way to her house two hours away just to give her a morning call, she would be very surprised.
Maybe if they got closer later, she’d be touched?
For now, though, he couldn’t say that. They weren’t close yet, and he knew she might be annoyed.
“B-But…”
“Hm?”
“I’ll still contact you. It’s not hard… If morning calls bother you…”
Johannes forced out the words. He didn’t want to push her away after finally having a chance to get closer.
If she felt bad, there was nothing he could do.
After all, he had already resolved to stay in front of her house all night for several days to change.
Hearing Johannes say this, Iris was startled and immediately denied it.