“Ugh…”

A man was lying face down on the beach, groaning.

Did I kick him that hard?

“H-hey! Are you alright?”

I crouched down and lifted the face of the man buried in the sand.

Though his cheeks were stained with sticky seawater and sand, it couldn’t hide his beauty. He was as handsome as Duncan.

Why would such a handsome man be collapsed on this quiet beach?

“Try to wake up!”

Bless, trying to help, swept across the man’s cheek with its wing.

Slap―!

‘Wake up!’

Though the sharp sound was concerning, it seemed effective as the man’s eyes opened.

The man had emerald eyes that resembled the sea.

“…fo…”

Incomprehensible words flowed from his slightly parted lips.

“Fo?”

The man opened his lips a bit more to express his meaning.

“Food…”

And simultaneously, an incredible growling sound echoed.

This man, did he collapse from hunger?

I dragged him to a nearby sunbed and laid him down. It was possible because the now-conscious man somewhat cooperated.

“Wait just a moment!”

I went to a nearby restaurant and bought several fish skewers. I also got some cool water and a towel.

Everything was for the man who seemed hungry.

Really, getting involved in something I could have just passed by again.

…Of course, it absolutely wasn’t because the man was handsome that I showed kindness.

By forming this connection, I might even be able to make him Employee No. 3.

With his outstanding looks, Employee No. 3 could handle customer service in place of me, who needed to hide my identity.

Marco for general tasks, Bonnie for Pandora Forest route planning, and this nameless Employee No. 3 for customer service. It would be a perfect composition.

Hiding my cunning intentions, I handed the man water and food.

The man quickly devoured the fish skewers right there.

Only after his stomach was full did he wipe his face.

His face, now free of seawater and sand, was remarkably handsome.

His brilliant golden hair, like sunshine and emerald eyes were extremely beautiful.

Those eyes in particular were peculiar. They gave the feeling that once you met them, you couldn’t look away.

The man’s red lips curved into a smile.

“Thank you for helping me. Cough cough“

Like Bonnie, he kept having dry coughs. His complexion was so pale, he looked seriously ill.

It didn’t seem like his poor complexion was just from hunger.

Perhaps this man also had a rare illness that required medicine from the capital?

“Are you sick somewhere? Should I take you to where there’s a doctor?”

The man shook his head at my kind offer.

“No. Even if I saw a doctor right now, it wouldn’t get better.”

An incurable disease? Terminal illness? I thought of words that were far from my reality.

After such speculation, I couldn’t help but look at him with pity.

“At such a young age…”

“Pardon?”

I must have accidentally spoken my thoughts aloud. I quickly tried to cover it up.

“It’s nothing. But why were you collapsed on the beach?”

“Ah, that… I was hungry and bought a fish skewer, but would you believe a cat appeared from somewhere and ran off with my skewer.”

“Oh my.”

“I chased after that cat but got too tired and collapsed on the beach.”

“….”

“If it weren’t for you, I might have starved to death here.”

Despite talking about death, the man wore his brightest smile yet.

I couldn’t tell if he was detached from death because he constantly lived on its border or if he was a bit mentally unstable.

Either way, he was clearly a pitiful person.

“I’m late with my introduction. I’m Cain. Please call me Cain.”

The sympathy-inducing man’s name was Cain.

I reflexively took his hand and introduced myself.

“I’m Anya. Please feel free to call me Anya too!”

Grinning, Cain’s gaze fell on Bless, who was proudly perched on my shoulder.

“Anya is quite unusual. Not only helping a stranger readily, but I’ve never seen someone followed by a monster bird.”

“…!”

“That monster bird, is it an otherworld bird that came through a gate?”

Oh no. H-how did he figure it out in one glance?

I was too shocked to speak when Bless’s identity was suddenly exposed.

Because Bless looked similar to ordinary birds, Cain was the first person after the Guildmaster to recognize that Bless was a monster bird.

Cain seemed to understand my surprise and began explaining how he noticed.

“My younger sibling is very interested in monsters that appear through gates. That’s how I naturally came to know about otherworld monsters too. I’m not a suspicious person, so please don’t be too wary.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. I won’t report to the Imperial Palace and have the research lab capture your monster bird.”

“What happens if they’re captured by the research lab?”

“They would thoroughly dissect the monster bird.”

At those brief but shocking words, I nervously gulped.

“Haha. Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

Your face looks too suspicious to tell me not to worry, you know?

Cain seemed to treat the capture of monster birds as no big deal.

And Bless also seemed to notice Cain’s strange gaze fixed on it.

―Grrrr.

‘My feathers are trembling.’

This won’t do. It would be better to completely withdraw the plan to make him Employee No. 3.

In trying to hire a handsome employee, my companion Bless might end up becoming a research subject.

I decided to bid him farewell.

“Monster bird? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have urgent business to attend to, so I’ll go now. Cain, see you next time!”

“The fish skewer payment…”

“Don’t worry about it! Then, really goodbye!”

I quickly turned around and walked away.

But what’s this? I could hear the man following behind me.

“I said don’t worry about the skewer payment! So please stop following me.”

“Huh? I’m not following you, I’m also heading in this direction.”

“….”

That’s what he says, but there are too many suspicious points.

I increased my walking speed to prevent him from following.

After walking for a while, I looked back to see the man still following me, appearing as small as a dot.

Even while stumbling, he didn’t stop walking.

It seemed like he was determined to follow me, or rather, the monster bird.

Oh dear, oh dear.

At this rate, that man might follow me to my business and discover my sanctuary.

“Bless. You need to be careful for a while. That man might report you to the research lab. They say they do dissections there if you’re caught?”

―Gurrrrk

‘Eeeek.’

Bless, making a strange sound, quickly hid inside my robe.

For Bless’s safety, I left the beach and took a detour through the city. I planned to hide our business location from the suspicious man by taking a different route.

Fortunately, once we entered the city, the man was no longer visible.

Just to be safe, I circled the city a couple of times before returning to the branch.

“Manager Ma, Bonnie. I’m late, right? Don’t even ask. I met a handsome stalker and had to shake him off. Really, is being pretty a sin?”

The voice that responded to my complaint-like remarks was unfamiliar.

“Anya! What a pleasure to meet you here again.”

Looking toward the voice, Cain was lounging comfortably on the sofa. He was even waving his white hand as if he was happy to see me.

I screamed as if I’d seen a ghost.

“Ahhh!”

Why are you here?

In contrast to my surprise, Cain responded leisurely.

“So Anya was the branch manager of Jinjijo Transportation?”

Ignoring Cain’s words, I moved closer to Marco.

“M-Manager Ma. What’s with this person? How could you let in someone so suspicious!”

To which Marco hesitantly replied.

“But this person…”