The manager was about to leave, but I stopped him. In my unsettled state, I wanted to engage in more conversation with the manager.

Even so, enjoying a proper teatime was out of the question. The manager had come in secret, and we couldn’t risk being discovered by the household staff.

I lay on the spacious bed at an appropriate distance. The manager sat beside me, each of us holding a book in our hands.

It would hurt terribly if we dropped them, but this was the most comfortable way for us.

We flipped through the pages of our books, chatting casually.

“It’s a shame though. The viewers’ reactions improved after Kabir started paying attention to me.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that.”

“Is my broadcast still entertaining these days?”

“I never really understood your broadcast to begin with, so I can’t say.”

The manager, as it turned out, wasn’t much help when it came to the content of the broadcast. He was better at managing things.

I might as well ask the regular viewers of the broadcast. I scoffed and turned another page of the book.

“Maybe I should ask Mr. Ian later.”

“Ian?”

The manager looked up from his book and stared at me.

“Have you met him?”

“Yes? Yes, when I went to the Celestial Realm.”

“How was it?”

“How? He was nice.”

He was quite friendly, unlike his blunt demeanor in the chat window. He was intimidating at first, but that was only momentarily.

“…That’s good then.”

Both Carrot and now Ian, why such a reaction to their mention? Puzzled, I placed my book on my chest and looked up at the manager.

“Is there something about him? Your reaction was similar to when I mentioned Carrot.”

“……”

The manager put down his book too and seemed to be deep in thought.

“…He’s not a bad guy, but there’s something.”

“Something?”

“Oddball, maybe?”

Oddball?

“More than me?”

“Hmm.”

The manager seemed seriously contemplative at that question. His deep thoughtfulness somehow irked me.

“Sometimes he has ideas that I can’t understand. I often find myself thinking if he’s crossing the line.”

“Like what?”

“I can’t reveal too much because it’s related to our work… but it seems like he’s a bit careless with humans.”

Really? He was very considerate when I met him.

But since it was a brief meeting, I might not know everything.

“It seems we can’t really know someone, be it a human or an angel, just by one facet.”

“Apparently not.”

“Is there a big difference between humans and angels?”

Their appearances were almost identical to humans. Angels, as I imagined them, didn’t have things like wings.

“Of course. It’s strange to even place humans and angels on the same level in the first place.”

It was an irrefutable point. I pouted.

Picking up the book again, I read the text and said,

“It must be nice, not being human.”

“Why would that be nice?”

The manager’s words felt like a reminder that our relationship could never be equal. Despite knowing it’s the norm, it left me feeling considerably disheartened.

“I want to become closer to you, Manager.”

Perhaps that was the reason.

Strangely, I wanted to get closer to the manager. Perhaps because he was the one I relied on the most.

The manager looked down at me and then patted my head a couple of times.

“I thought we were quite close. No?”

“When you draw the line…”

“When have I ever?”

“Always.”

The manager seemed to do it unconsciously, but I definitely felt it.

“You don’t know how I treat other people, do you?”

The manager seemed puzzled by my perception.

“This is the most I do. Everyone would be surprised if I treated them the way I treat you.”

I wonder how stoic the manager must be at work.

But it was true that he was kind to me, regardless of any boundaries he set.

“Why are you kind to me and no one else?”

The manager seemed a bit flustered by my question, as if he hadn’t expected it.

“…Well.”

The manager gave a vague answer.

“I have a colleague, a really strange one.”

“……?”

“And he fell deeply for a human.”

I listened attentively. It was quite an interesting story.

“I’ve never seen him care so much for someone before. His form of affection was a bit peculiar, but anyway.”

“Yes.”

“In the end, he even accepted them as family. I couldn’t understand it at the time, but now I think I get it.”

The manager smiled at me, making eye contact.

“The reason he cared so much for someone.”

It was an ambiguous statement. I slowly blinked.

“Do you think of me as family?”

“Not exactly.”

“See, this is you drawing a line.”

“Haha.”

The manager laughed.

Indeed, he laughed more than when I first met him.

Was it because he felt comfortable, or was it because we were reading? My eyes started to close gradually.

I wanted to continue talking with the manager, forcing myself to stay awake, but he gently covered my eyes with his hand. The bright view turned dark.

“If you’re sleepy, go to sleep. I’ll turn off the lights and leave.”

“…….”

I closed my eyes without responding.

The last thing I heard was a tender phrase.

“Good night, Jiha.”

With that, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

When I woke up, the manager was no longer there.

My body felt stiff. Perhaps it was because I slept in a different bed. Still, I was glad I had slept soundly.

“Well, now I’m confined again. What should I do?”

Pondering this while desiring to discuss it with the angels, I turned on the broadcast.

Previously, when I was isolated, I had impulsively used a Teleport Scroll to move around.

Do I have to do the same now? At least I should leave a message for Kabir.

But there were watchful eyes in the grand duke’s residence. If I just left like this, I’d surely be caught.

As I was mulling over this, the chat window lit up.

[Ian: How about trying that?]

[Stress: What?]

[MadelineTastesGood: ?]

[Ian: The Transformation Magic Scroll]

[Gold2: Oh]

[OnlyFinley: Sounds good]

Right, I had that. I had envied Irmin using it and asked the manager to add it to the shop.

I opened the shop tab.

〈Celestial Realm Point Shop〉

* Resurrection Ticket: 80,000P

* Teleport Scroll: 5,000P

* Transformation Magic Scroll: 10,000P

– Current Points: 140,700P

Having received a lot of points recently and not spending much, my points had accumulated quite a bit.

First, I purchased the Transformation Magic Scroll.

As expected, the scroll fell out of thin air.

“How do you use this?”

[Manager: Just think in detail about what form you want to take and tear it]

What form.

In that case, it would be easier to imagine transforming into someone I had recently encountered.

Then, the best choice would be the person I had seen until yesterday.

I finished thinking and tore the scroll.

“…….”

A bright light enveloped my body, and soon my perspective changed. It seemed to get a bit taller.

I raised my hand to look at it.

It was a man’s hand.

Meanwhile, the chat window was in chaos.

[L Loading: ?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Pongdang: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Gold2: Ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Ian: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Something: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Everyone was laughing and making a fuss.

It made sense. I had transformed into the manager’s appearance. For them, it must have been hilarious.

[PleaseShakeACarrot: When did you catch the manager’s appearance?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Manager: Hey]

[OnlyFinley: Ah, this is hilariousㅠ]

[Manager: I’m gonna sue you]

What’s wrong with borrowing it for a bit? Anyway, no one here knows his face.

I stood in front of a mirror to examine my state. In the mirror was the manager I had seen yesterday.

[Ian has donated 1,000 points!]

– Make a flower pose

I obediently made a flower pose as instructed. The manager in the mirror cutely made a flower pose.

[PleaseShakeACarrot has donated 1,000 points!]

– Give me a winkㅋㅋㅋ

Following that, I gave a wink. It was incredibly cute.

[Ian has been chat banned for 5 minutes.]

[PleaseShakeACarrot has been chat banned for 5 minutes.]

[Stress: Whoa, calm down]

[Manager: Don’t be annoying]

[L Loading: Why, it’s cuteㅋㅋ]

[L Loading has been chat banned for 5 minutes.]

“Manager, you look cute.”

[Manager: Why can’t this one get chat banned, so annoying]

[Gold2: It’s the streamer’s privilegeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Gold2 has been chat banned for 5 minutes.]

[Poppopo: Seems like typing in chat now just gets you banned]

[Stress: Guys, be careful]

[MadelineTastesGood: ㄷㄷ]

Ignoring those who were chat banned, I turned my attention back to the shop window.

〈Celestial Realm Point Shop〉

* Resurrection Ticket: 80,000P

* Teleport Scroll: 5,000P

* Transformation Magic Scroll: 10,000P

– Current Points: 132,700P

Now it was time to use the Teleport Scroll. As I touched the screen, points were deducted, and a scroll fell out.

“I hope I got the coordinates right this time?”

[Manager: Yep]

[Poppopo: But won’t the guards catch you first if you go like that?]

[Manager: I made it so you can go straight to Kabir’s office]

[Isaac: Oh]

Then there’s no need to waste time.

Without hesitation, I tore the scroll.

The destination was Kabir’s office. True to his nature of preferring to work alone, Kabir was the only one in the office.

The problem was, Kabir was shirtless.

“…….”

“…….”

Kabir froze on the spot as our eyes met.

Silence lingered in the office.

After a long quiet moment, I finally spoke up.

“Wow…….”

“…Anais?”

Kabir called out Anais’s name with a softened expression.

How did he recognize me with just one word? Even though I’m completely disguised as someone else, he immediately knew who I was. It was astounding.