Raven possessed an extraordinary sense of intuition.
To be precise, thanks to enhancements, his sensory abilities—such as sight and hearing—were several times sharper than those of an ordinary person, giving him exceptional perception.
So when he returned to his room after a shower, he immediately noticed the presence of someone inside the wardrobe.
No matter how much she tried to hold her breath and stay still, the faint sound of breathing and her distinctively sweet scent were too vivid for him to miss.
Slide.
Visit freewёbnoνel.com for the best novel reading experience.
Without hesitation, Raven opened the wardrobe door.
And there she was—Yuria, still wearing her usual maid uniform even though work hours were long over.
“...!”
Sitting primly on top of the thick blankets inside the wardrobe, she flinched as the door opened.
Lowering her shoulders as if overwhelmed by unease, she helplessly bowed her head.
She looked like a criminal caught red-handed in the act.
Raven subtly moved his gaze around the space before furrowing his brows slightly.
‘What is she doing in the wardrobe of all places?’
From his perspective, it was utterly baffling.
How was he supposed to interpret finding his employee inside his wardrobe after stepping out for a quick shower?
Raven pressed his fingers against his temples, suppressing a sigh, and addressed Yuria, who was sitting obediently inside.
“Uh... hide-and-seek?”
“....”
“Or were you planning some kind of mischief?”
“...!”
“Careful there.”
Thunk!
As Yuria hurriedly tried to stand up, she hit the back of her head hard against the wardrobe ceiling.
The impact seemed strong, and she grabbed her head in pain before collapsing back onto the blankets.
Groaning and curling up for a moment, Yuria eventually gathered herself. She frantically shook her head at Raven, as if to say she hadn’t done anything wrong.
If that’s the case... there could only be one reason she was in the wardrobe.
Raven stroked his chin with a detached expression, his tone tinged with amusement.
“Impressive wardrobe, isn’t it? You could’ve just asked. I’d have let you explore it.”
“...?”
Yuria, still tense, tilted her head at his unexpected comment.
Was he serious? Or just testing her reaction?
A quick glance at his face revealed that he genuinely meant what he said.
He was letting this slide so easily despite catching her snooping around his room?
Yuria was bewildered by his nonchalant reaction.
‘What if I were up to something bad?’
But from Raven’s perspective, it wasn’t unreasonable.
To him, Yuria was nothing but harmless—a completely docile herbivore.
Raven viewed her as easygoing and mild-mannered. Even considering her inability to speak, he’d never seen her lose her temper.
She was even the type to get flustered and forget all about it if someone playfully stole her snacks. No wonder Alice adored her so much, even smothering her with attention.
And the way she marveled at everyday objects with childlike curiosity only reinforced her innocence. Even when he tried to be suspicious of her, the thought just dissipated.
Of course, Yuria couldn’t help it. Having reincarnated into a world brimming with magical wonders and advanced technology she’d never seen before, how could she not be curious?
‘Perhaps she’s afraid of appearing childish. Considering her upbringing, it makes sense...’
This was the first time in the two weeks since they’d met that she’d exhibited behavior reminiscent of a child.
While her usual mature and efficient demeanor was admirable, it also raised concerns.
Now, finding her hiding in his wardrobe and acting so visibly flustered? It added an unexpected layer of context to her typically composed actions.
And then there was the matter of her hiding place: his wardrobe. The fact that he hadn’t caught her rummaging through any boxes made it seem all the more trivial.
The wardrobe was nothing special—just a storage space stuffed with junk.
To him, it was no different from someone hiding under the bed out of embarrassment.
Summing it all up:
Her harmless demeanor, the laughably mundane hiding spot, her nervous behavior, and the way she floundered after being caught—it all pointed to innocence.
To suspect her of wrongdoing in this situation would be borderline paranoid.
The only lingering doubt was the possibility of Yuria being connected to the Nexus Project as a psychic.
Could someone with such abilities truly be trusted?
‘...Even if I don’t trust the ghost, I can trust Yuria.’
Raven smirked to himself.
At least this girl in front of him didn’t warrant suspicion. He trusted his intuition.
And when he asked if she was up to something shady, her response had been a genuine denial. There was no need to drag it out further.
“....”
Still nervously darting her eyes around, Yuria finally realized Raven wasn’t suspicious of her.
Somehow, he’d concluded that she was simply curious about the wardrobe. She slumped onto the blankets with a quiet sigh of relief.
When the wardrobe door opened, she’d thought the gates of hell were about to swallow her whole. But now it seemed she’d only scared herself. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
‘Well... at least it’s over. And he didn’t notice the rift.’
Yuria belatedly remembered that rifts couldn’t be perceived without special tools or abilities.
If Raven hadn’t sensed anything off, then perhaps she’d worried for nothing.
With that, the ordeal seemed to be over. Yuria began crawling out of the wardrobe, ready to leave it behind.
Watching her, Raven casually asked:
“Need a hand?”
“....”
No, thank you. I’ll manage on my own.
Not wanting to rely on help for such a minor task, Yuria firmly shook her head and climbed over the blankets toward the wardrobe’s edge.
But just as she was about to exit...
The blanket beneath her feet slipped, sending her tumbling forward.
With half her body already outside the wardrobe, her head suddenly tilted toward the floor—a dangerous situation that could’ve led to serious injury.
Yuria instinctively suppressed her telekinetic power before it could activate.
“...?!”
“See? I told you I’d help.”
“....”
She didn’t hit the ground.
Raven’s arm shot out, catching her mid-air with a firm but gentle grip.
Her ears, peeking out from beneath her mask, flushed bright red.
Boasting that she could handle it on her own, only to end up like this? Humiliating.
What a day...
Accepting his help, Yuria let him lower her to the floor.
Once her feet touched solid ground, she bolted out of the room without looking back. Grabbing a towel and a change of clothes, she dashed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
Standing under the hot shower, she closed her eyes as the water streamed down her face.
How many embarrassing moments had she racked up today?
The thought of facing tomorrow filled her with dread.
*
After finishing her shower, Yuria dashed back into the room and slipped under the blanket with a smooth roll.
Once completely covered, she pulled the blanket up over her head, tossed her mask out onto the floor, and sighed deeply, savoring a sense of liberation.
‘...But now that I think about it, there’s no real reason for me to stay here anymore. If the naturally occurring rift was what created the fragment, then it’s not directly related to the Invaders.’
Who would’ve thought her objective would be accomplished on the second day?
While Yuria admired her own efficiency, she couldn’t help but feel a hint of regret.
Living here, eating meals someone else prepared, and sleeping in a warm bed—it all made the thought of returning to the cold streets and sleeping rough seem unbearable.
Maybe... just maybe, she could stay a little longer?
Peeking out from under the blanket, Yuria unconsciously started coming up with excuses in her head.
Once her part-time job was over, she’d leave anyway, so staying here until then wouldn’t make much difference.
Besides, wouldn’t saving up a little more money to secure a proper home be the most logical and reasonable course of action?
Yuria murmured these thoughts silently to herself, as if convincing some invisible audience. Then, suddenly, a brilliant idea struck her, and her eyes widened.
‘Wait a second—could this be the key to awakening the Tesseract?’
Killing two birds with one stone.
Catching two fish while bailing out a stream.
An idea that could solve two problems at once had just flashed into Yuria’s mind.