A silence lingered between us.

Then, the manager reached out and flicked my forehead.

“Don’t mess around.”

After that, he lay back down on the bed.

I finally let out a long breath I didn’t realize I was holding. My heart was pounding so loudly it echoed in my ears.

‘…This feels strange.’

It was an emotion I was experiencing for the first time.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up before the manager.

He was still sleeping.

“……”

I quietly observed the manager’s face.

The morning sunlight settled on his eyelashes, the same color as his hair. His usually sharp and intimidating face seemed gentle in his sleep.

How long had I been staring?

“It’s quite unsettling to be stared at like that.”

The manager spoke in a low voice.

Startled, I flinched back. Only then did he open his eyes and smile teasingly.

“Why, do you find me particularly handsome now?”

“…You’re shameless.”

“It’s because I’m getting influenced by you.”

The manager stretched and then got up. Before getting off the bed, he casually ran his hand through my hair, as  if it was a habit.

“Let’s go for breakfast. I’ll wash up in the next room and come back to pick you up.”

“…Okay.”

With that, he left the room without looking back.

“……”

I touched the spot on my head where the manager’s hand had been. I could still feel the warmth of his touch.

“…I must be going crazy.”

My face felt hot. I was definitely not in the right state of mind.

It was just some strange feeling because of the manager’s antics yesterday.

I slapped my cheeks with both hands.

Get a grip. It seemed best to start the plan as soon as possible.

‘What plan?’

 If I were broadcasting, the viewers would surely ask. Since I wasn’t, I asked and answered myself.

‘Of course, the Twelve Million Project.’

Though the value of twelve million points had decreased since Ian or PleaseShakeACarrot could easily donate ten thousand points, it was still a significant amount.

Since the manager’s presence had prevented me from broadcasting often, I had to extract points from him. I trampled over the manager’s request to keep his identity as Bates a secret.

I had to look out for myself first. I was quite selfish.

I called a maid and dressed as impressively as possible.

It was definitely too much for a breakfast, but for the slightest chance, it was necessary. Maybe the manager was the type to be swayed by appearances.

“……”

Not that I really believed so. It was more like clutching at straws.

People who usually didn’t bother to dress up were suddenly getting dolled up from the morning, making the maids serving them a bit puzzled.

 

“It’s fine.”

Anais in the mirror looked very pretty to me too. Indeed, she was someone whose beauty was powerful enough to surpass anyone’s, just by her face alone. Right, she had a status too. Anyway,  if it weren’t for her personality, she would have been remarkable.

 

I snapped back to reality from my stray thoughts when I heard a knock.

“Are you not coming out―”

It was the manager’s voice. He seemed to have come looking for me because I was taking too long, as we were supposed to have breakfast together.

I adjusted my outfit and left the room, feeling inexplicably nervous.

“……”

The manager, seeing me, widened his eyes in surprise.

He seemed startled, but more bewildered than anything.

“Where are you going today?”

“No.”

“Then why did you dress up like this?”

“……”

It’s for you, Mr. Manager.

…was too embarrassing to say honestly.

As I evaded his gaze slightly, the manager burst into laughter as  if he’d quickly caught on.

“Don’t laugh.”

I spoke grumpily, but the manager kept laughing. It seemed like the first time I saw him laugh so much.

The manager, wiping the tears formed at the corners of his eyes, said,

“Fool, you think that would work? That’s not even like you.”

It seemed like the manager had also noticed that I was striving for the twelve thousand points.

He clearly had no interest in Anais’s appearance.

How could he not be interested when she’s this pretty? I wondered  if it’s because, in the manager’s eyes, she was just another human.

“So, you mean  if I were in my true form, I’d have a chance?”

“Why is the conversation going that way… Ah, forget it.”

The manager dodged the question.

It felt like a possibility had just brushed past.

Excited, I asked the manager,

“When are we going out? Now, right now.”

“Why are you so impatient?”

“Because I want to go. You promised, to go out together.”

“Ah……”

The manager looked utterly exhausted.

“Fine. But after breakfast.”

I was thrilled. The thought of visiting the Celestial Realm made me ecstatic.

Should I be this excited about the Celestial Realm? Anyway, it didn’t matter as long as I was enjoying myself.

* * *

The two of us came to the temple under the pretense of a short trip.

The way there was the same as before. Initially, it was shocking, but now I’d become indifferent to it. The excitement about going to the Celestial Realm was now much greater.

Once again, thanks to the manager, we didn’t end up in Gabriela’s office.

Naturally, I had returned to my original form. Even  if I stayed as Anais longer, my own body was much more comfortable.

“Where is this?”

“My house.”

As I thought, it looked like a private home. It seemed he brought me to his own place first, having no other suitable location.

I looked around the house thoroughly. It was definitely more spacious than the dormitory I had been assigned to, but there were no stairs in sight. It seemed to be an apartment-style layout.

The interior of the house was, true to the manager’s personality, only impeccably tidy. It was surprising how dust-free it was, considering how long it had been unoccupied.

“Can I look around the house?”

“There’s not much to see.”

“Still.”

“Suit yourself.”

The manager’s house had a total of three rooms. I entered the nearest one.

It was a bedroom with just a wardrobe, a bed, and a closet. Other than a stand light beside the bed, there wasn’t much in terms of interior decoration.

Is this what they call minimalism? Given the manager’s personality, he probably disliked clutter and chose not to have much.

I flopped down on the bed. The manager, following behind me, looked at me in astonishment.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s a habit.”

Seeing a bed, I instinctively laid down. The manager, knowing me well enough, didn’t bother to add any more words.

On his usual days off, the manager said he just lays on the bed, just like I was doing now.

‘To think he relaxes here.’

I felt oddly pleased. Perhaps it was because I felt like I got to know a bit more about the manager.

“What’s in the other rooms?”

“Get up and see for yourself.”

I immediately got up and headed to the next room, with the manager following.

The adjoining room opened up to a slightly more decorated space.

It was based in beige, with dark brown  furniture lined up.

There were a desk and large bookshelves. The shelves were packed full of books.

“You really like books, don’t you?”

“It’s the only hobby I have.”

Indeed, even when the manager was in the other world, he was always reading a book whenever he got the chance.

While perusing the books, a familiar one caught my eye.

“It’s the original novel.”

The novel in which Anais was the protagonist.

Other than just before my possession, it was the first time I had seen it.

“The books in that section are all novels written by her.”

“She’s released a lot of works…”

I knew she was a popular author, so I had thought of her as an established writer, but I didn’t realize she had produced so many works.

“Are you close with the author?”

“We just know each other, but she gifts me her new releases. So, they naturally accumulated.”

Gifting personal books like that seems quite intimate. It was clear that it was only the manager denying their closeness.

“It’s more of a hobby room.”

“It’s more of a study than that.”

It was definitely a room that would belong in the real manager’s house.

There was one more room, a bit tucked away in the corner.

As I tried to open it, the manager stopped me.

“Why?”

“It’s a bit messy in there. Not much to see, really.”

“Now that you say that, it makes me even more curious.”

“What’s your problem?”

I stared at the manager intently. He sighed and lowered the hand that was blocking the door.

Yes! I opened the door excitedly.

It was a much smaller room compared to the bedroom and study I had seen before, and it was filled with various items, both large and small.

“If you have a hobby of exploring storerooms, well…”

The manager commented sarcastically.

So, it was a storeroom. I thought he was into minimalism, but it seemed like he just crammed all the miscellaneous items into one room.

Among the large boxes, peculiar items frequently caught my eye.

Things like a giant ribbon headband or rainbow-colored sunglasses. They definitely didn’t seem like the manager’s style.

“So, you have hobbies other than reading.”

“What kind of fantasy are you having?”

The manager replied, looking baffled.

“Those guys, they only gift weird stuff on my birthday. It’s just a collection of trash.”

‘Those guys’ must be the celestial viewers, the angels. They were the only ones the manager referred to in that way.

The manager then closed the door again. It seemed too messy to show, something he was embarrassed about.

“Enough of this, let’s go out. We came here to enjoy, remember?”

Exploring the manager’s house was quite fun, albeit a bit disappointing.

But our main purpose was different. I nodded in agreement.

The manager asked me,

“Do you have a place you want to go?”

“Umm…”

I hadn’t really thought about it.

After pondering for a moment, I came up with an idea.

“I want to go shopping.”

“Shopping?”

The manager looked puzzled by the sudden suggestion.

Realizing the reason, he chuckled wryly.

“Planning another dress-up strategy?”

“Yes.”

Compared to Anais, my appearance may be modest, but I was still determined to give it a try.

“Haven’t given up yet?”

“You never know.”

“That’s absurd.”

The manager was just firm in his response.

But that was only for a moment. He then nodded.

“Alright, I wanted to give you a gift anyway. Let’s go.”

It seemed he wasn’t convinced by my strategy, but he was willing to accompany me.

We got ready to leave and stepped out of the house.

As soon as we closed the front door, the door of the neighboring house opened.

Naturally, both of our gazes drifted in that direction, and so did the person who had just opened the door.

“Oh.”

The moment our eyes met, I blinked in surprise.

The person coming out of the neighboring house was Ian.