“Answer me. How do I complete this?”

Once again, Rudis felt certain. Somehow, for whatever reason, Xenon knew the answer.

“Hah. You’ve saved me some trouble. Or perhaps I’ve been wasting my efforts all this time?”

In response to Rudis’s question, Xenon emptied his glass in one gulp with a self-deprecating laugh.

“Rudis. Listen carefully. To complete this, you need to…”

The words Xenon delivered while maintaining steady eye contact were another dimension of shock beyond Rudis’s common sense and imagination.

“Sleep with me.”

‘Well. He’s just a lunatic after all.’

Rudis’s face, which had momentarily softened with nostalgia, instantly crumpled. Just as she was about to snap back asking what nonsense he was spouting, her eyes met Xenon’s. His gaze was straight, without a trace of mischief, and his lips were firmly set. It was a genuinely serious face. Probably the first time she’d seen it.

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

With that brief but resolute answer, Rudis plunged back into confusion.

No. Why? So suddenly? She’d thought the genre had changed, but not this dramatically. How did it come to this? Why on earth?

“H-how can I believe that!”

“Didn’t I tell you? Information Guild. We don’t deal in uncertain information. I promise you with everything I have.”

Despite her timid resistance, Rudis faltered before Xenon’s resolute and burdensome confidence.

“Then… couldn’t I just sleep with anyone?”

“Well. I won’t stop you from trying, but I can confirm that I’m definitely one of the people you need to sleep with. What will you do?”

Rudis’s gaze naturally turned toward Xenon at his leisurely question.

Looking at him again, she couldn’t help but swallow hard. A straight forehead with dark eyebrows. A nose bridge curved like the moon. Slightly upturned, sensual lips. A refined yet angular, arrogant jawline. And muscles that remained vividly imprinted in her memory even without looking.

Ah, right. No matter how female-oriented the game was, there was a reason he was this handsome. In an adult game, plausibility begins and ends with the face.

The Xenon before her now was perfect proof of that saying. Even if Xenon did something terrible, with that face, anyone would likely forgive him easily after just a moment’s hesitation. Everything was so perfect that it made sense why people said faces were plausibility.

Honestly, if she suddenly lunged at Xenon right now, people might point fingers, but no one would ask, “Why did you do that?” Why? Because he was too handsome.

At the same time, the current Xenon seemed to have regained his true self, unlike the tavern owner she had known. Faced with Xenon’s relaxed and composed demeanor like a predator dominating his stage, Rudis nodded in resignation.

Yes. She had to sleep with Xenon.

She had asked if she could sleep with anyone, but that was clearly nonsense. It made no sense to take a detour when she clearly knew what needed to be done. Especially not by sleeping with someone she had no feelings for.

In contrast, Xenon…

“You’re smart as always. Shall we get straight to the point then?”

Before she could fully process her decision, Xenon had somehow moved behind Rudis and licked her ear. Along with a spine-tingling laugh that made her lose focus.

“Ah, back in the cave. I didn’t need anything like Bahala extract. Just imagining it nearly made me explode.”

Rudis’s eyes widened at his low whisper, confessing like some great secret.

‘Oh, this seems seriously wrong.’

Suppressing her anxiety, Rudis followed Xenon to the bedroom. Though she had been here once before, it still felt unfamiliar and tense. The scent of aged wood strangely intermingled with Xenon’s subtle fragrance.

“Who do you prefer? The familiar tavern owner? Or the guild master with a different charm?”

Xenon bent slightly toward her, raising the corner of his mouth as if trying to ease her tension. He winked at Rudis while playfully throwing out the question.

“Just tell me. I’ll match your preference.”

Xenon licked his lips while changing his face like switching masks. Though clearly unhinged, the playful face underneath was definitely the Xenon she knew.

“Can I ask just one thing?”

Rudis opened her mouth with a trembling voice.

“I don’t know? Didn’t I tell you that questions cost money?”

“L-let’s trade. If you answer, I’ll… I’ll tell you who I prefer.”

Xenon, who had been licking her earlobe, met her gaze with interest at Rudis’s words. Having barely caught her breath, Rudis asked the question that had remained unresolved.

“Why didn’t you tell me directly? Why did you set up such a scheme?”

“What scheme?”

“Back then in the cave…”

“Ah.”

Rudis couldn’t understand Xenon’s methods. Even if Xenon had learned about the “anonymous gift” first, there was no need to orchestrate things that way.

The quest belonged to Rudis. Originally, she should have been the one making efforts to have a relationship with Xenon after getting the quest hint. Not the other way around.

That was what had been bothering her. Currently, it wasn’t her making the effort—Xenon was being too proactive. If the game’s genre had truly changed, this didn’t make sense.

“You see, I enjoy savoring my meals.”

What nonsense is that? Rudis continued to look at Xenon with questioning eyes. Seemingly unconcerned by her gaze, Xenon casually tossed something into a box on the side table. It was an earring with a familiar shape.

When did he…?

She touched her earlobe just to check, and indeed it was gone. So that’s why he had been licking her earlobe—to remove her earring.

Is he a thief rather than the head of the Information Guild?

“I thought Rudis would know my preferences.”

Rudis blushed at the mention of preferences. She reflexively remembered Xenon confessing that his preference was to perform oral s*x on women until climax.

“While I do have that preference, think about others too. You already know well. Just look at the gifts.”

Xenon didn’t hide his amusement, seemingly reading Rudis’s thoughts. Though he didn’t explain exactly what she supposedly knew, Rudis quickly understood his meaning.

Xenon’s favorite gifts were wine and perfume. All things that required time and effort to create.

But what did that have to do with this?

While she was still tilting her head at the disconnected explanation, Xenon took Rudis’s finger. When his lewdly parted lips touched her fingertip, a small gasp escaped involuntarily.

“You like helping others, don’t you?”

Xenon whispered softly, continuing with a smile.

“Everyone has their preferences. Simply ordering you to spread your legs like a business transaction isn’t my style.”

Xenon flashed an extremely sly smile.

“And this way is much more fun, isn’t it?”

Even after his explanation, she still couldn’t understand why he had orchestrated such a complicated scheme. She didn’t want to understand anymore either. The more explanations she heard, the more confused she became.

“So why do you need to go to such lengths to sleep with me?”

Thus, Rudis asked again. It was the most fundamental and crucial question.

“Didn’t we agree to exchange one question for one answer? I answered, but I haven’t heard your response yet.”

Xenon skillfully raised the corner of his mouth and placed something else in the box on the side table. It was Rudis’s ring.

“Are you a thief?”

When on earth had he taken it? Looking inside the box, she saw it wasn’t just the earring and ring. All the accessories Rudis usually wore were in there.

“I’ll return these when you go home, so don’t worry.”

The incredibly shameless Xenon tossed the box aside and approached as if about to kiss her again.

“Shall we stop playing word games now?”

“Hah.”

The red lips that had been whispering softly covered Rudis’s. As she exhaled heavily from having her lower lip sucked intensely, his tongue invaded deeper.