"What… do you mean?"

  Rent's purple eyes stared warily at the girl in front of him. His brain tried to process the crazy information he had just heard, but his logic rejected it hard.

  "Don't joke around," he hissed, his voice sounding doubtful even to his own ears. "You just happen to look like me. That's all."

  The girl fell silent for a moment. Her purple eyes—which should have been nothing more than a reflection in a mirror—were now staring back with life. Her gaze was as sharp as obsidian, cshing directly with Rent's defensive stare.

  "Hooo…"

  A long hum escaped Kaensista's lips, the tone sounding both amused and challenging.

  Slowly, she closed the distance again.

  "Still don't believe me, huh?"

  One step forward. Cck. The sound of her heel echoed softly in the quiet alley.

  "It's already this clear. It's already proven by this identical face, and…"

  Kaensista didn't stop. She continued to advance until Rent's imaginary wall of defense crumbled. The distance between them thinned drastically, leaving no more than five centimeters between their noses.

  Rent choked on his breath. He could feel the warmth of the girl's breath hitting his face. The strong scent of vender wafted from her purple hair, mixing with a sweet aroma that was intoxicating.

  That wasn't the scent of a ghost. That was the scent of a living being.

  Without warning, Kaensista's right hand moved up. With a bold movement and without a shred of shame, she cupped one of her own breasts—the very asset that had fallen victim to an accidental 'squeeze' just moments ago.

  "You… have already touched this part of mine, haven't you?"

  Her voice dropped, becoming a dangerous, husky whisper in Rent's ear.

  "And you still deny that I am… real? Master 'Me'?"

  A thin smirk carved itself onto her pink lips again. Her gaze was calm, yet full of victory.

  Rent saw it. That smile. That condescending look. That scent which, for some reason, made him hold his breath slightly.

  Even though he looked cold on the outside, inside his head, his brain was working overtime to process the undeniable facts. Logic and reality cshed, drawing one conclusion: The girl was not a spirit or a ghost, but alive.

  Rent wanted to scream but couldn't, his voice stuck in his throat, choked by the scent—or perhaps the charm—of the person before him.

  "You understand now, right?"

  Kaensista wasn't finished.

  Her gaze remained calm, as calm as a ke surface before a storm. However, in contrast to her eyes, her lips made a movement that caused Rent's heart to stop beating for a second.

  The tip of her pink tongue slowly poked out, sweeping across her plump lower lip with a wet motion that was deliberately slowed down.

  That wasn't the movement of a hungry person. That was the movement of a predator eyeing a delicious meal.

  "If you're still in doubt..." she whispered, her voice ced with a sweet poison that paralyzed common sense.

  Her body leaned further forward, forcing Rent to swallow hard.

  "I can, you know... show you other proofs of my authenticity."

  Kaensista chuckled softly, her breath tickling Rent's neck.

  "If you want... Master."

  Suddenly—

  "MASTER! COME ON, QUICK! THE MORNING QUEUE IS HUGE!"

  A familiar screeching voice rang in Rent's ears. The sound came from the right path they had intended to take earlier.

  "MASTER! HURRY UP OR WE'LL RUN OUT OF—"

  The fur-ball who had just arrived instantly fell silent.

  "Eh?"

  The sight before him was truly... a scene not meant for children.

  Two people were wrestling in the corner of a wall.

  The floating fur-ball's (imaginary) eyes squinted suspiciously. Analysis Mode: On.

  "Hmm... Observation. Two people are engaging in a wall-sticking activity. And..."

  Sniff sniff.

  "There is a familiar smell here, hmm..."

  Moro's muttering instantly made the two people engaged in the 'wrestling' turn their heads simultaneously.

  Moro's eyes, previously squinting imaginarily, now bulged in horror. He was just presented with a terrifying visual of two people with the same face, the same purple eyes, supported by the dim morning sunlight.

  It made the purple eyes of both individuals seem to glow slightly. His round body instantly trembled in fear.

  "Mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo."

  A short pause.

  "TWIN WRESTLING MONSTERRRS!! HEEELP!!"

  Because Moro's ear-piercing scream instantly shattered the silence of the alley, Rent and Kaensista simultaneously put on annoyed faces.

  "SHUT UP!!" Both snapped in the exact same tone, harmonized and compact.

  "UAAHH!! THE MONSTER—eh wait... that voice." His eyes squinted again. Staring intently at the monster in the white shirt.

  "That is... MASTER RENT?!"

  "Yes. It's me," Rent answered briefly. "And keep your mouth shut. You're making my ears hurt."

  Moro was still trembling. "Bu-but if that's Master, then..."

  Moro turned to the other monster figure, the monster with the thin bck crop top jacket. Purple hair and, of course... a face that contrasted heavily with Rent's gloomy expression. That figure smiled and then winked at the fur-ball.

  "Th-That! Is this a mimic monster?! Don't eat my Master! You mimic monster!"

  Kaensista, having lost her desire to tease since the arrival of the noisy fur-ball, stepped back two meters away from Rent.

  "Heh. You faceless blue fur-ball, listen here." Her hand pointed at Rent's ft face. "I am not a monster, and I am currently conducting business with your Master here."

  Moro fell silent. His imaginary eyes blinked twice, scanning Kaensista from top to bottom like a supermarket scanner.

  "Not a monster?" mumbled the fur-ball.

  He flew closer, circling Kaensista with high curiosity. His small nose twitched.

  "Hmm... Re-analysis. Face resembles Master Rent. But skin is smoother. Aura is more... sparkling. And the scent..."

  Moro sniffed the air again, deeper this time.

  "The scent... this is the scent of vender flowers! Very different from the smell of Master's jacket which is mixed with dirt and the sweat of despair!"

  "Hey," Rent protested briefly, but the protest was ignored just like that by the traitorous fur-ball.

  Moro's eyes shone brightly. Without permission, the round creature shot forward and nded comfortably right on Kaensista's shoulder—seeking the softest spot, then rudely rubbing his furry cheek against the girl's slender neck.

  "Wah... So comfortable~" Moro sighed with pure pleasure, as if he had just moved from a straw mattress to a goose feather bed. "Premium texture! Master, can I change owners? The air is cooler here and the view is better."

  Kaensista, initially surprised by the foreign object clinging to her, now smiled with satisfaction. She patted Moro's head gently with her slender fingers, enjoying this instant validation.

  "See? Even your pet has better taste than you, Mr. Mirror," Kaensista mocked while flipping her purple hair with an exaggerated arrogant motion. "This little creature knows which is High Definition quality, and which is low-res quality."

  Rent just stared at the two of them with his zy eyes. No fire of jealousy, no sense of rivalry. Just the empty stare typical of someone who wanted to go home and sleep.

  "Just take him," Rent replied ftly.

  Kaensista's smile froze instantly. "Huh?"

  Rent sighed deeply, as if speaking to just the two of them had used up his energy quota for the day.

  "I said, just take him. I'm serious. Take that noisy fur-ball with you. You two are both chatty, you fit perfectly as a package deal."

  That answer was clearly outside Kaensista's prediction. She expected resistance, or at least a little possessiveness. But being tossed aside like that made her feel like a discounted item that no one wanted.

  "And..."

  Rent's eyes shifted, scanning Kaensista's appearance from top to bottom. His gaze stopped at the girl's fashion style—a bck crop top jacket exposing her ft stomach, and a pleated skirt that didn't even reach her knees, only enough to cover her upper thighs.

  "Don't people like you own any thick clothes?" Rent commented with a mocking tone. "Showing off your navel in a damp and windy alley like this... How ridiculous. Are you trying to catch a cold or catch attention?"

  Rent's words instantly made Kaen's forehead wrinkle deep. A vein of annoyance twitched faintly at her temple.

  "YOU!!"

  Her beautiful face turned bright red. Kaen was just about to retort that insult with a much sharper sentence, when another sound interrupted.

  A third voice. Not Moro's voice, not Rent's voice.

  But a terrifying call of nature.

  GRROOOOWLLL~

  The sound was long, low, and vibrated violently. Like the sound of a hungry dragon raging inside a narrow cave. The vibration could almost be felt on the floor of the alley.

  Absolute silence swept through the alley instantly.

  Rent fell silent. Moro stopped rubbing his cheeks. Even the wind seemed to stop blowing due to the awkwardness.

  And Kaensista...

  The expression of annoyance that had dominated her face slowly faded, repced by an expression of horror. The red hue on her face was no longer from anger, but from embarrassment spreading quickly to the tips of her pointed ears.

  The hand that was about to point arrogantly at Rent's face now slowly lowered, trembling, then clutching her ft stomach that had just committed the ultimate betrayal.

  Rent stared at the girl ftly. There was no sympathy in his eyes.

  "Ahem."

  He watched how Kaensista tried to hide her stomach with her hands, her face burning red from dying of embarrassment.

  Slowly, the corner of Rent's lips lifted to form a thin, annoying smile. He rubbed his chin, striking a fake thinking pose.

  "This is your business, huh?" Rent asked with a painfully innocent tone. "So the important 'business' you meant was a solo demonstration of a worm orchestra?"

  "SHUT UP!!"