chapter C. extremely strange hobbies

“Come in.”

As soon as Keene spoke, the waiter who had checked on them a while ago entered the room. Shifting his gaze from the man quietly reciting a quiet prayer, he placed a medicine bottle on the table with a thud and gave an order.

“It’s not dangerous. But still, it might be different for Du, so I want you to know what it is.”

“…Why did you drink that in the first place?”

Hase, a former member of the Information Guild who was currently working undercover as a waiter, recalled what he had just witnessed.

The scene of a woman who seemed to have lived an incredibly ordinary life, pouring medicine recklessly without caring about her surroundings.

For a moment, it was surprising and absurd to see her dare something so bold with a face that would never catch a single ant. 

Hase wanted to say something, but he suppressed his desire to comment on how she could deceive the monstrous-looking man sitting next to her by making such conspicuous moves.

Naturally, the master, who had a face that seemed to have hundreds of snakes inside his heart, already saw through everything. He wondered if this was some kind of new game because he repeatedly made gestures at him, telling him to go and leave, at an angle that the woman couldn’t see.

Hase had heard vaguely from Sneka before that the master had found a new hobby. Similarly, the manager, who was working undercover, had also heard about the existence of a mysterious woman.

On a rare visit, the master not only sliced the steak for her, but also peeled the crustacean shells with utmost sincerity.

When they asked if what the master sliced was a steak and not the woman’s corpse, he received a blow to the back of his head.

With a smirk, Keene answered the question he asked.

“She was shaking so cutely when she handed me a glass. I had to accept it.”

“…….”

Hase was left speechless by words that even the manager, who was known as a loving husband to his wife, would not say. In fact, the Master, who made a goosebump-inducing comment, acted as if it were nothing.

Not only did he show no embarrassment, but he even went a step further and tidied up the unconscious woman’s hair.

Seriously, what kind of strange hobby was that?

Even in that moment, Hase could only empathize with the woman. She seemed like a typical priest, but she happened to get caught by someone like him.

“Oh, bring the antidote too.”

“What? Earlier, I thought you said it wasn’t dangerous…”

“The effects of the medicine are starting to kick in. I can’t stand up.”

“WHAT?”

Hase suddenly let out a loud scream. The master had a strong resistance to most drugs and sometimes managed to escape their effects with a frightening level of mental strength.

If he couldn’t get up because of a certain drug, then it must be an extremely potent kind.

“Are you okay? If you can’t move….”

“It’s not that.”

Keene sighed lightly and glanced down. Following his gaze, Hase looked at his pants and then quickly raised his head with a reddening face, as if he had discovered something and steam was about to burst out.

“What the hell….”

“I can’t walk around like this, so hurry up.”

“…Yes!”

He answered with a startled tone and left the dining room in frustration.

With a thud, the door of the private room closed, and Keene leaned against the shoulder and looked down at the sleeping woman, raising an eyebrow.

“It seems like you gave me an unnecessary medicine….”

Puff, there was a sound of air escaping. With a playful twinkle in his eyes, he gently pinched Duna’s cheek and playfully asked, 

“Can I count this as flirting?”

“…….”

As expected, the sleeping woman didn’t respond.