Seventeen

“Finally done. Let’s go; we can just catch the next train,” Makoto Takitani glanced at his watch. Their team had worked an extra hour today to finish the project at hand.

Kobayashi rubbed her neck and sighed tiredly. “They just tossed this urgent project onto us like that. It’s no wonder we had to work overtime.”

Makoto gave a slight shake of his head toward Suha Akira, who was already packing up, signaling Kobayashi to stop complaining.

Seeing Makoto’s gesture, Kobayashi swallowed her words immediately.

Suha, however, was lost in thought, staring at the messages on his phone.

“Did you miss me, Suha-sensei?”

“Don’t deny it—I can feel it.”

“I miss you terribly too~”

“Why aren’t you replying? Are you shy?”

“That’s okay; shy Suha-sensei is cute too.”

“...Did you not see my messages?”

“Suha-sensei?”

“Reply, reply, reply.”

“...Hmm.”

One message after another made Suha’s scalp tingle. The number was unfamiliar—one he had never saved—but the content was revealing enough for him to guess who the sender was.

To meet the final deadline, their team had been rushing all day, barely managing to eat a few bites of rice balls at lunch. Checking his phone was out of the question; it had been on Do Not Disturb mode all day.

Yet, messages from Tomie had been streaming in nonstop since 11 a.m., and by the time he looked, there were already forty or fifty.

The last message arrived just three minutes ago.

“I’m coming to find you.”

That simple sentence sent a shiver down Suha’s spine, like a ghostly curse.

“I’m leaving first; I have some things to attend to.” Suha hurriedly stuffed his belongings into his bag and rushed out of the office, leaving Makoto and Kobayashi staring after him in confusion.

---

Kobayashi pursed her lips uneasily. “I didn’t mean it that way.” Their team had suddenly been handed this project because someone among the executives wanted to target Suha.

Given Suha’s experience and project record, he was up for promotion to executive next month. Several senior executives, older and more experienced, saw Suha’s early promotion as a challenge to their competence.

They wanted to sully his record before his promotion to delay it.

Makoto wasn’t sure if Suha knew about this, but it was an unspoken truth within the company.

“No, Suha-senpai isn’t that petty. Let’s go; now it’s just the two of us left in the entire building.” Makoto patted Kobayashi’s shoulder to comfort her.

Kobayashi anxiously scratched her head, muttering regrets. “I shouldn’t have said those things.”

“All right, I’ll check the circuit breaker. You help me tidy up the desks.”

Perhaps because the empty office felt eerie at night, they quickly packed up and locked the doors.

As they reached the lobby, Kobayashi caught a glimpse of a figure resembling Suha, but he wasn’t alone.

Beside him was a slender figure, perhaps a young boy or girl.

Could this be the junior whom Suha mentioned was temporarily living at his place? Kobayashi stared in a daze. Suddenly, the slender figure turned around. Under the thick night, she couldn’t see the face clearly, but somehow sensed the presence of extraordinarily beautiful eyes.

A chill ran down Kobayashi’s spine, a wave of dread sweeping over her. She clutched herself and stepped back.

Makoto was startled by her sudden movement, glancing around anxiously. “What’s wrong?”

But the two shadows had vanished from sight. Yet the feeling of being watched by some malevolent presence lingered, and Kobayashi swallowed nervously.

Since meeting Thor, Kobayashi had come to understand that there were powers in this world beyond ordinary human comprehension—magic and supernatural abilities that transcended normal limits.

And the young figure just now surely possessed such power...

Lowering her eyes, Kobayashi clenched her fists. She worried about Suha. She didn’t know if he was aware of this. If that youth wielded such power to harm him...

Perhaps she should warn Suha. But how could she do so without seeming rude?

Wrestling with these thoughts all the way home, Kobayashi naturally ignored Thor’s suddenly serious expression.

It wasn’t until Thor firmly grabbed her shoulder and sat her down on the sofa that Kobayashi was bewildered. “Thor, what’s going on?”

Dressed in a maid outfit, her golden twin tails framing a sweet, delicate face, Thor was actually a dragon in her true form. Her eyes were grave as she said, “You’ve been contaminated with a very bad energy!”

“Huh?!” Kobayashi was startled. Despite their long acquaintance, this was the first time she had seen Thor so serious and solemn.

Thor’s sternness softened into concern as she examined Kobayashi carefully. “Have you encountered anything strange? Luckily, the contamination is recent, or else...” She trailed off, but her worried expression said it all.

Kobayashi’s eyes widened and her body stiffened as she tried to recall if she had come into contact with anything unusual recently. Then she remembered.

“I met someone tonight. I don’t know who exactly, but that person was connected to my colleague. When they left together, that person glanced at me—and I felt uneasy right away...”

Kobayashi’s voice was low and hesitant. Thor’s crimson eyes darkened briefly before returning to their usual harmless look.

“It’s okay. I’ve cast a protective spell on you. The discomfort you feel is the protective magic reacting to that evil force.”

At this, Thor clenched her fists involuntarily. Unfortunately, her protection spell was not powerful enough to completely negate the force.

Though only a trace of this dark power lingered on Kobayashi, Thor detected an extremely evil and terrifying aura—a plague-like curse even more pungent than the one on Fafner.

Such an existence in this world was astonishing. Worried, Thor cast several dispelling spells to purge the remaining power.

Suddenly, Kobayashi realized something and grasped Thor’s arm anxiously. “If that person is so dangerous, what about my colleague?!”

Thor shook her head. “I don’t know for sure. Maybe they’re allies, but it feels more like hunter and prey. Being with someone that dangerous rarely ends well.”

Such cursed, ominous energy marked a walking disaster in their world—wherever they went, curses spread.

Kobayashi’s face darkened. “I have to warn Suha-senpai.”

“Kobayashi, I don’t recommend you get involved with that person,” Thor said suddenly. Kobayashi looked up in surprise to see the ever-cheerful dragon maid’s face now cold and stern.

“If they’re hunter and prey, interfering in their hunt and causing failure could make you a target too,” Thor said calmly. This was common in her world.

“But even so, I can’t just watch my friend get hurt, Thor!” Kobayashi’s eyes were conflicted as she stared at Thor, biting her lip. “If that dangerous person makes a move...”

“Please, you have to stop them. I’m begging you!” Kobayashi grabbed Thor’s hand in earnest.

Thor hesitated. Interfering in another’s hunt was seen as a challenge, likely sparking an unending vendetta.

If not for Kobayashi being involved this time, Thor wouldn’t have told her any of this.

“Don’t you want to go to that amusement park?” Kobayashi added, hoping to sway Thor. “No problem! I’ll go with you this Sunday!”

A few days ago, Thor saw a TV commercial boasting the park’s Ferris wheel as a ‘love shrine’—couples who rode it always confessed their feelings and got together. Since then, Thor had been pestering Kobayashi to go.

Kobayashi had resisted, busy with work and feeling awkward about going on a ‘love Ferris wheel’ just the two of them.

Upon hearing this, Thor instantly imagined herself and Kobayashi riding the Ferris wheel, confessing their feelings, marrying, and living happily ever after without shame.

Flushed with excitement, Thor gave a thumbs-up. “No problem! Leave it to me!”