As soon as Siwoo finished showering, he hurriedly changed clothes and looked at the clock.

About ten minutes had passed.

Worried that Arte might be in danger, he rushed to the kitchen.

“You’re back already? I’m not done preparing yet.”

“I finished quickly just in case….”

“I told you not to worry and take your time…”

Fortunately, Arte seemed fine, probably because he arrived early, so Siwoo let out a sigh of relief.

This was already an improvement.

Right after they started living together, it was really serious.

“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly quiet?”

“No, I was just thinking how much you’ve improved. On the first day, it was really bad, but now you’re fine with being apart for about ten minutes. Remember that?”

“… Don’t talk about it!”

“You couldn’t even wait for me to shower and had to periodically knock on the door to tell you I was here, right?”

“Aaaaargh! I said don’t talk about it!”

Thump, thump.

Unable to overcome her embarrassment, Arte hit his back with her magic-infused hand.

…That really hurts.

As he rubbed his sore back, he saw Arte’s face flushed red. He glared at him as if telling him not to speak.

…She really has improved a lot.

Back then, she was so conscious of his every move.

It was pitiful how she looked at him as if begging not to be abandoned.

Now she’s comfortable enough to counterattack when he teases her.

‘But still, she gets anxious when I’m away. That hasn’t changed.’

As evidence, though she’s not showing it…

Her voice trembled slightly at first. Her eyes wavered.

Her breathing started to quicken.

Fortunately, he came out at the right time; if he had been a little later, Arte would have had a hard time.

He couldn’t let her get into that state after he had sworn to help her.

“…Arte. The meat is going to burn.”

“Ah?! I-I’ll get you later!”

‘Maybe I teased her too much.’

As Arte kept hitting his back, he felt like his back wouldn’t survive, so he mentioned the steak she was cooking.

Watching Arte hurriedly flip the meat after throwing a warning at him, his mood sank.

This was her original personality.

He thought the suspicious and cold Arte of Arachne was her true self, but…

In reality, her personality wasn’t any different from ordinary people.

She wasn’t as cruel as people thought.

“…I can’t forgive this.”

No matter how he thinks about it, he couldn’t forgive it.

Both the fact that Arte had to do such things and that she’s suffering mentally.

It’s all because of that ‘Author’, isn’t it?

He’s asked Arte several times but never got a positive answer.

She says she’s grateful for his words, but there’s no way he can win. She only knows the Author’s voice. She’s never met her directly and can’t meet her. If she gets serious, the world might really end, no joke.

She held back her words while saying such things.

That’s why he still didn’t know how to help her.

There’s only one way.

To raise Arte’s trust in him so she feels like telling him about the Author.

That’s why he can’t break Arte’s trust.

Because he needs her trust to help her.

‘…But it’s already been over a month since I started living with Arte.’

Isn’t this long enough to have endured?

Siwoo absent-mindedly stared at Arte’s back as she cooked.

Her snow-white nape that he caught a glimpse of… Ah, damn.

“The food is rea– Huh? What’s wrong?”

“No, my eyes are just a bit tired.”

“…We have blueberries. Want me to give you some?”

“Yeah. Please.”

This is bad.

He needs to gain Arte’s trust.

He’s trying his best not to look at her with sexual intent.

But his gaze keeps turning towards her with it.

She looks soft. She probably smells nice.

…It would feel good to hug her.

Such thoughts overturned his mind, and he tried several times to regain his senses.

Siwoo thought that it was becoming harder to endure.

If he didn’t know anything, it might be easier to endure.

But as it happens, Arte and he have frequent physical contact, at least for him.

A guy who’s never dated has had continuous physical contact with Arte.

… It’s embarrassing to think about, but he even hid in her locker once.

On the day he killed the villain, she hugged him from behind to comfort him.

He piggybacked her and gave her a lap pillow.

He’s even carried her in a swimsuit.

It’s rather easy to imagine because he’s had these various experiences.

Thanks to these unnecessarily good sensations, the memories of those days come back vividly.

Surely it would feel good to hug her. She must be soft.

She must smell nice, right? Her shampoo smelled good—a bit different from what he used.

“Here, have some blueberries.”

“Ah, thanks.”

As he put the blueberries Arte brought him in his mouth, he thought this couldn’t go on.

The dolphin shorts and loose oversized top she wears say they’re comfortable.

Of course, it might be comfortable for Arte, but it was an unbearably uncomfortable sight for him.

“…Mmm, it is uncomfortable after all.”

Arte looked back nonchalantly, as if bothered, and started tying up her hair.

“Then, please wait a bit! It’ll be done soon!”

“…Okay. Got it.”

‘This is driving me crazy.’

What’s driving him crazy is how perfectly it fits his taste.

The loose top and dolphin shorts.

She raises her arms to tie her hair, revealing her armpit. The tied hair makes her snow-white nape visible.

Her waist, which looks smooth to the touch, also came into view.

It’s usually fine, but occasionally, when she shows a bit of skin like this, it drives him crazy.

It’s not good for his eyes.

Until now, he’s tried to pretend not to notice, but should he start talking about it soon?

“…Arte.”

“Yes?”

“Can you maybe… Never mind.”

He was determined to say it today. With that resolve, he called out, but it crumbled instantly.

‘Can you maybe wear your leotard at home.’

There’s no way he could say such a thing.

He decided to keep the words he was about to say to himself.

He could guess why Arte wears a leotard.

To make combat easier, she needs to use the thread on her body, so she wears clothes with as much surface area as possible.

The uniform is needed so it can’t be touched, so he could guess that she somehow increased her sustained combat power with gloves, stockings, and underwear.

But there’s no way he could say that he knows about such things.

Come to think of it, the leotard is Arte’s underwear.

He confirmed it when he entered her locker before. There’s nothing but the leotard under her uniform.

But if he, a man, say such things to Arte?

Arte, you wear different underwear at home…

‘How could I say that?’

Are you crazy, Yu Siwoo? She might try to kill him on the spot, let alone slap him.

It’s not even polite.

Siwoo decided to bury it in his heart.

Arte wears the most comfortable clothes at home. That’s enough.

He decided not to dig deeper.

“?”

“It’s nothing. Let’s eat quickly… Mm, it’s delicious as always.”

“Right? I’m confident in my steak!”

As Siwoo tasted Arte’s steak, which he had become familiar with after eating it several times, he thought.

He felt like his gaze towards Arte was becoming increasingly lecherous recently.

He had been suppressing it somehow, but it was getting harder.

Even then, he tried his best to suppress his gaze towards Arte.

“Haah…”

He really, really didn’t want to try it, but Siwoo decided to use his last resort.

Wouldn’t Amelia have some useful opinions?

Suspicions have increased recently anyway. There’s no point in hiding it anymore.

Looking at Arte’s figure, Siwoo decided to consult with Amelia tomorrow.

***

“I thought you two were sticking together too often lately.”

“Well…”

“Say less… So that’s what it was.”

Muttering like that, Amelia started circling around him.

“I don’t have time, Amelia. I told her I was going to the bathroom and came to you. What should I do in this situation?”

“…You’re in a dangerous condition too, huh?”

He ignored Amelia’s incomprehensible mutterings as she looked at him.

He couldn’t have this kind of consultation with other female students.

At times like this, he felt fortunate that Amelia was involved in the incident related to Arte.

If he told this to Dorothy or other female students, they would either treat me as a pervert or waste time chattering excitedly.

With Amelia, there’s no worry. She’s not the type to do such things.

Sure enough, Amelia put aside all trivial talk and said.

“Indeed. It must be quite troublesome not to be able to be apart for more than 10 minutes in the same house. Someone like Arte would be enough to trouble you.”

“Don’t you have any good ideas?”

“Do I look like some kind of thought repository to you? Do you think I can answer everything you ask?”

Amelia looked at him as if she couldn’t believe it.

…Well. It’s not like Amelia is perfect either.

Although she was the only person he could ask about this, thinking she might have a good solution was just his assumption.

Only then did he realize the error he had made.

“It’s not like there’s no method…”

“Th-There is?!”

“…Well. I’m not sure if it will work or not. But I think it’s worth trying. Want to give it a shot?”

“Tell me. Right now.”

As he was hanging my head in desperation, he heard something hopeful.

Even if it’s not certain, he’ll do it if it’s worth trying.

He had to have some time to himself somehow.

He couldn’t endure any longer.

“…How about this?”

Amelia’s explanation continued.

And after hearing all of her explanation, he nodded.

‘I’m not sure if it will work, but if it’s possible, I have to try.’

“The important thing is sincerity. Got it?”

“I got it. Thanks.”

“It’s nothing.”

“…Oh no. It’s already this late. Sorry, Amelia. I’ll see you later!”

Suddenly looking at the time, he found that over five minutes had passed.

It was time to return to Arte.

Siwoo hurriedly said goodbye to Amelia and started heading back towards where Arte was.

“… What’s with him, acting like a henpecked husband? Anyone who sees this would think they’re already married.”

Because of this, Siwoo couldn’t hear Amelia’s muttering.