It was 7 in the evening. Ryder and Esmi were sitting on the couch in the same room where they spent some intense moments just a few moments ago.

Esmi's head was resting on Ryder's shoulders while her eyes were closed. There was a flash of red on her face.

"That was great," Esmi muttered as her eyelashes fluttered. 

"It sure was," Ryder replied softly. He was quite fond of Esmi. She was the first woman he had ever been with, and he liked spending time with her.

Esmi's position meant that she was a fierce leader who didn't worry about killing people, but before him, she was always like a good girl. He couldn't find any flaws in her at all. He and Esmi were together. They had been intimate on more than four occasions, but still, they didn't have any formal name for their relationship.

Esmi didn't ask him, and Ryder wasn't sure either. He believed that if people were to listen to his situation, they would think that he was in a Friends with Benefits relationship with Esmi, but only Ryder knew that it wasn't all. There was definitely something more. It wasn't love exactly, but it wasn't less than that either. Even he didn't understand what he thought.

He believed that he even liked her, but he decided to take some time before naming their relationship.

"Alright, I should go now. Thanks for a great time," Esmi let out as she stood up and started getting dressed.

"Esmi?" Ryder suddenly asked while Esmi was wearing her dress.

"Yeah?" Esmi inquired without looking back. Her back was facing him as she dressed.

Ryder looked at her for a few seconds without saying anything but ultimately shook his head.

"Nothing. I'll tell you later," He smiled as he stood up and started getting dressed as well.

Esmi turned back as she faced him.

"What was it? Now I'm even more curious," Esmi asked Ryder as she looked at him.

She had always seen Ryder speaking whatever he wanted, even when it came to embarrassing stuff. For him to say something and stop? Was it something serious? she couldn't help but wonder.

"Nothing. It was Just some fleeting thought. I even forgot what I was trying to say," Ryder let out casually as he shook his head.

"You know, you can tell me anything. If there's a problem troubling you, you can tell me. I will solve it for you," Esmi replied as he looked at Ryder's face.

"I know that. Don't worry. You'll be the first person I contact if there ever comes a situation like this," Ryder said as he finished getting dressed. 

After he and Esmi got dressed, they left the room.

****

Esmi dropped Ryder off near Shu's place before she left. During the journey, they talked a lot but mostly about random things.

Esmi didn't even bother asking Ryder why he asked for her men just to make a girl cry. She believed that he must've had his reasons. Even if he didn't, she didn't mind him bullying others.

Esmi had dropped Ryder around 300 meters away from Shu's mansion as per Ryder's instruction.

Ryder wanted to walk the rest of the way, but just as he walked a hundred meters, he noticed something strange.

He felt as if someone was looking at him. It was the first time he felt like that.

He started feeling like that only a few seconds ago. 

He stopped in his tracks as he looked around to see if he could find the person.

Ryder looked around for quite some time, but he didn't see anyone.

That lingering feeling didn't go away, though. 

"Stanner, I feel like someone is watching me. Search my surroundings to see who it is," Ryder muttered softly as he talked to the Spirit that had become his helper after he helped it finish its long-awaited revenge.

While Ryder continued walking towards the Mansion of Shu, Stanner went in a different direction. Stanner's task was to find the person who was spying on Ryder, and he could do it easily if the person were when he was keeping an eye on Ryder, and it wasn't hiding.

Stanner looked around for quite some time before he found the person who was spying on Ryder.

It seemed like a young woman who was wearing black jeans and a black jacket. There was a black cap on her head. Her long hair was tied to a bun.

Stanner observed the girl for a few minutes before he started flying back towards Ryder.

Ryder still hadn't reached Shu's Mansion when Stanner reached him.

"Did you find anything?" Ryder asked Stanner as he saw him get back.

"Yes. A woman is standing on the top of the second house on the left side. She is keeping an eye on you," Stanner explained to Ryder.

"A woman?" Ryder frowned as he wondered why a girl was keeping an eye on him. He was also curious about who the girl was.

"What does she look like?" Ryder asked Stanner.

" She looks like a girl. She is wearing a black jacket and black jeans. Her face was covered in a pollution mask. She was also wearing a black cap," Stanner explained.

Ryder looked at Stanner weirdly as he heard his first line, but he soon calmed down as he shook his head. He decided to focus on other things Stanner said. 

"The clothes you described makes it seem like she's trying to play pretend detective because dressing like a spy is the most stupid thing an actual spy can do," Ryder let out as he shook his head.

"Who could be this girl?" Ryder muttered as he thought about it. 

'Should I let her know that I know about her and scare her a bit to try to find her motivation? If she's actually a spy planted after me, I can use her without her knowing,' Ryder thought as he continued walking towards Shu's Mansion. There were only fifty meters of distance between him and Shu's place.

" Alright. I have decided. Stanner, You go to the girl. Follow her for the next 24 hours and come back to me after that. Try to find as much as you can about her," Ryder told Stanner.

Since no one could see Stanner except Ryder, he believed that he was the most appropriate person to spy for him.

Stanner probably had many more advantages like that. He could simply follow the girl and listen to everything she talks about on the phone or to a person.

If she was a spy, then she was definitely going to report to someone. That could be the moment Stanner was able to find out about it.

Stanner flew back to the girl while Ryder entered Shu's Mansion.

****

Ryder entered the mansion; he saw the butler of Shu.

"Where is Shu?" Ryder asked the butler just out of curiosity. If she was free, he wanted to talk about something to him.

"Master Shu went to his room. He said he was going to rest. Should I go inform him that you wish to meet?" The butler asked Ryder.

"It's fine. Let him rest. I'll talk to him in the morning," Ryder shook his head as he replied.

It was night already, and he wasn't in any urgent need to talk either.

Ryder went back to the guest room where he and Alice were staying.

As he entered their room, he found the hall empty. 

"Alice?" Ryder called out, but he didn't get a response.

He went towards the room that Alice had chosen and opened the door, but just as he opened the door, he got a little surprise.

Alice was lying on the bed, and there were glasses on her face. The glasses weren't normal, though. They were the Divinity Glasses that Ryder recognized too well.

'She's playing Divinity too?' Ryder frowned as he looked at her face.

"She didn't even tell me about it," Ryder muttered as he kept his gaze on the glasses.

"The game is dangerous, and for her to play it... I can't allow it," Ryder muttered as he stepped forth, but he stopped as he heard Janus' words.

<Don't do it>

"What?" Ryder inquired as he heard Janus' voice. Whenever Janus talked before, it seemed like he was just a system that sounded like a human when it talked. At Least most of the time it talked, Ryder got a feeling that he was talking to a businessman except a few times where he felt some emotions.

This time it was different, though. It felt as if the system wasn't his being like it's old self. It was really talking like a human being that was telling him not to do it.

"What shouldn't I do?" Ryder asked Janus, testing if it was just his misconception.

<You will ruin everything. Let her use Divinity whenever she wants. Stopping her now will have unforeseen complications> 

"How are you talking like that? You sound no different from an actual human I can have a conversation with now. Did something happen?" Ryder asked Janus.

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