Chapter 146: My… House?

Johannes had never gone out to have fun in the bustling city, not even with men, let alone women.

He spent all his elementary, middle, and high school years thinking only about Iris, chasing after her constantly, and so he failed to form any normal friendships.

At best, in high school, he hung out with a few people, but even they were all under his father Reyners’ influence.

After awakening his ability, he gained a little freedom, but because of Mind Reading, his distrust of people deepened and he couldn’t build close relationships.

That’s why, with everything being a first for him, James worried Johannes would mess up the date and made a Plan for him.

‘What if she refuses? She looks full.’

The Plan James sent had the address of the reserved restaurant written on it.

Johannes glanced at Iris’s face.

She looked very full, probably from all the snacks she’d eaten.

What if she said she was full and wanted to go home?

Still, he decided to follow the Plan for now.

There was even a line in the Plan telling him to ask, “Aren’t you hungry?” as he made the suggestion….

“Iris, I-I’ll buy dinner. Are you… hungry?”

“Huh? Mm. I am a bit hungry. What should we eat?”

He was a little surprised at her answer but felt relieved.

Because now he could spend more time with Iris.

With a brightened expression, Johannes asked.

Perhaps because he felt they were getting closer, his words came out more smoothly than before.

“I-I have a place I reserved. Do you like pasta?”

“Who in Gyodam City doesn’t like pasta! Of course I do.”

“That’s a relief. It’s, uh… pretty close to here.”

As Johannes started walking, Iris followed along.

A short while later, a lovely restaurant with a grassy front appeared.

It was a hot place that James had carefully selected.

According to him, it was the most popular spot on Pink Street.

Iris’s eyes grew wide, recognizing the restaurant from photos she’d seen on social media.

She’d never imagined Johannes would reserve a place like this.

‘Who knew he’d know a place like this. He never seemed the type to go out in the city… Well, it’s easy enough to find something like this online….’

Following the staff’s guidance, they sat at their reserved table.

While they waited for the food to arrive, Iris’s heart beat pleasantly.

Watching a movie together, then eating at a nice restaurant he’d reserved—no matter how she thought about it, it felt just like a date between a man and a woman.

The persistent gazes from people around them, trailing after them since earlier, made her feel even better.

‘Johannes really is handsome. Just look at how people keep sneaking glances at him everywhere, on the street and even in the restaurant.’

A soft smile played on Iris’s lips.

But what she didn’t realize was that it wasn’t only Johannes attracting attention.

All dressed up, Iris herself was drawing just as many looks.

Her cute and lovely face, voluptuous figure contrasting it, and the green dress that complemented her pale skin made her look even more radiant.

To others, the cute Iris and the handsome Johannes looked like a perfectly matched couple.

Soon, the staff set their food before them and stepped away.

Iris beamed and picked up her utensils.

“Thanks for the meal, Johannes.”

“Mm….”

After taking a bite of her chop steak, Iris tilted her head and asked,

“Come to think of it, Johannes. I get why I’m here, but why didn’t you go to the Temple today? Aren’t you supposed to never skip it?”

The words ‘Enraka Sect Leader’s Son’ caught in her throat, unspoken.

When they’d talked about it before, Johannes hadn’t reacted oddly, but since she knew Enrakakyo was suspicious, she was hesitant to bring it up.

As he twirled pasta around his fork, Johannes suddenly choked, coughing hard.

Because she was right—he really shouldn’t be skipping.

A few days ago, his father had insisted that he absolutely come to the Temple this weekend for an event.

But for the first time, Johannes disobeyed and skipped the ceremony.

He was more afraid of breaking his promise to Iris than disobeying his father’s orders.

If he postponed their plans, he feared Iris might coldly say, ‘Then let’s not see each other anymore!’

Just a moment ago, James had sent him a message: his father was furious.

It was exactly the reaction he’d expected.

So when Iris brought it up, he felt guilty and choked on his food.

“Ah, ugh… mm.”

Johannes gulped down some water and rubbed his chest in relief.

Iris watched him, then continued carefully.

She wanted to get information about Enrakakyo from Johannes.

“I’d forgotten, but today’s a worship day, right? I only registered as a believer recently, so skipping isn’t a big deal for me, but aren’t you an important person there? Is it really okay for you to skip?”

“…Today, it’s okay.”

“It’s okay to skip today? …Why?”

At his strange reply, Iris’s hand paused mid-bite.

The Prophet’s Disease she’d managed to suppress began to surface again.

There’s no way she could be the girl Johannes had liked for so long.

If he’d liked her that much, he would’ve confessed a long time ago.

Yet, for some reason, she kept having the mistaken thought that maybe she was the one.

Johannes pushed up his sunglasses, which had slipped down.

His throat bobbed roughly.

Iris’s question sounded loaded with meaning.

Should he confess now, at this timing?

He felt a sudden urge, but forced himself to hold back.

It wasn’t the best moment yet.

Before leaving home, James had repeatedly urged him to restrain himself.

If he confessed recklessly and got rejected, their relationship would be ruined.

If that happened, he’d go back to being awkward with Iris after finally becoming close, with no hope of ever improving things.

The thought alone was dreadful.

‘That’s right. I heard she met Laika last week, but I can’t even ask what their relationship is…. I hope they never meet again.’

Remembering the report from the Watcher, Johannes felt gloomy.

Come to think of it, Iris’s relationship with Laika wasn’t over yet.

They’d met last week, so they could have met again since then.

He’d been enjoying his date with Iris so much that he’d nearly forgotten such an important fact and almost confessed to her on impulse.

If he did it now, she’d one hundred percent reject him.

Johannes sighed and opened his mouth, his voice coming out flatter than before.

“I just… wanted to skip. It’s been suffocating.”

“Ah… I see. Yeah, getting out for a change of pace feels nice, right?”

“Yeah. I’m really enjoying this. S-sometimes… I want to hang out like this.”

After finishing, Johannes lowered his head deeply.

Even though it wasn’t a confession, it felt almost as weighty, and his ears turned red.

Feeling a bit strange herself, Iris cooled her flushed cheeks with the back of her hand.

‘Does he mean he wants to hang out with me? Judging by how embarrassed he is, it sounds like that… Or maybe he’s just like this by nature. I can’t tell.’

Maybe he just meant he was happy to be out in the city for the first time in a while.

Or maybe he had a terrible habit of speaking ambiguously and stirring up a girl’s heart while pretending to be innocent.

But she doubted it was the latter.

If he were like that, rumors would’ve spread about him being a player back in school.

Either way, saying he wanted to hang out like this sometimes was a positive sign.

It meant he wanted to get closer.

‘If I get closer to him, maybe I’ll be able to get all sorts of things. Even if not, Johannes is pretty interesting.’

She couldn’t tell if she wanted to gain something from him or just get closer.

It was like the chicken and the egg; impossible to know which came first.

In that state, Iris blurted impulsively,

“Then shall we hang out again? We could even… go to your house….”

“Huh? My… house?”

“Yeah. Is that not okay?”

Under the table, Iris fidgeted with her hands.

If she went to his house, she could dig deeper into Enrakakyo, and also physically get closer to him.

Nervous that her ulterior motives might be discovered, her palms grew sweaty.

Seeing Johannes hesitate, the corners of Iris’s mouth twitched.

They weren’t close enough to be invited to his house yet; maybe she’d overstepped.

But Johannes’s hesitation had another reason.

He was, of course, reluctant because he might run into his father if he brought Iris home.

But that wasn’t the decisive reason.

The real problem was the state of his room, which was full of photos and things belonging to Iris.

He was a bit crazy, but not totally gone.

He was at least aware that others wouldn’t see him as normal.

After some hesitation, Johannes spoke.

“Ah, well….”

“We live in the same neighborhood anyway. It’s close, so it wouldn’t be a hassle… But if you don’t want to, that’s fine!”

Same neighborhood? Johannes’s face lit up as he blinked in surprise.

He’d just realized that Iris had misunderstood him as a local resident.

Suddenly, he remembered the officetel near Iris’s place that he’d contracted together with her but hardly ever visited.