Even after I turned over, the licking sensation didn't stop; instead, it silently shifted its position and began to lick my neck.

I instinctively flinched away, barely managing to open one eye a crack before immediately closing it again and raising my hand to shield my eyes.

The light was too bright, and I don't know where it came from.

I managed to stop the tongue that was attacking my neck again, and pushed that soft thing away. I mustered up my strength for a while before I finally opened my eyes.

"Oh, you're awake."

The girl with loose black hair was right in front of me, which startled me so much that I immediately backed away and tried to get up from the ground. But before I could even get halfway up, the girl, who was much weaker than me, reached out and pressed her hand against my chest, forcing me back into place.

In the dim, yellowish light, the dark red eyes gleamed with an unusual brilliance, like a predatory beast hunting its prey, sending a chill down my spine.

"What happened?" I turned my head and looked around to make sure this was indeed the tent I had entered while falling asleep last night. "What are you doing here?"

"Why can't I be here? This is my tent! I'd like to ask you, you rude fellow, how did you even get in here?"

The girl narrowed her eyes dangerously, giving me a completely different feeling from her usual self, filled with a strong sense of aggression.

As if struck by a sudden thought, she leaned closer and breathed softly into my ear, her slender fingers tracing restless circles on her chest. She whispered sweetly, "Ah, I see. So, you finally discovered my charm, and last night you wanted to have a pleasant nighttime raid, but you weren't paying attention and fell asleep as soon as you stepped inside? Oh dear, what an embarrassing sight! Luckily, I caught you red-handed~"

I silently turned my head to look at the girl, meeting her smiling gaze.

Finally, Annie couldn't hold back any longer: "Say something! Why am I the only one talking here? It's so awkward!"

I shook my head, pushed the girl away, and sat up, tidying my clothes which were a little disheveled from sleeping in them all night: "I just want to see how long you can keep up this act."

"What do you mean 'how long will this act last?' If you saw through it from the beginning, you shouldn't have kept quiet! It makes me even more embarrassed!"

With a slight smirk, I held up three fingers: "First of all, I won't even point out that you have absolutely no acting skills; I'm sure you know that yourself. Who would be trembling with shyness while seducing someone? You know, you were practically on top of me just now, and even through the blanket, your trembling was completely transmitted to me, okay?"

"Secondly, those lines are completely inconsistent with your usual performance. Where did you get them from? Did you just improvise them? You even delivered them in a few obvious, stiff lines. To put it simply, you didn't get into the emotions or the character at all. Let me think, could it be that that silly little Hikari shared some inappropriate book with you, or maybe you just happened to see it while she was reading it?"

"Finally, your performance was completely off. You tried to make a flirtatious gesture, but forgot to finish drawing circles with your finger when you started talking—oh, and you were even drawing them through two layers of clothing. To be honest, if I hadn't seen it, I probably wouldn't have even noticed it at the end and would have thought you were being pressed down by something."

"You were on top of me, but you subconsciously kept your distance. You breathed on my ear, but I could even smell the aroma of the barbecue you had just eaten from your breath."

Anne quickly took two steps back, crossing her arms to cover her mouth in surprise.

I thought for a moment, then scooped it up and rubbed it against my hand. The cat, which had been looking up at me, gently stroked its back. I withdrew my first three fingers and then raised my ring finger: "Hmm, one more thing. It was clearly the cat that woke me up just now. The way it licked me was so familiar. I can't mistake it."

Only when the cat licks someone does it create a sensation at the point of contact that feels like being gently rubbed by barbs, and also like the slightly smooth surface of the drawing paper. After all, this little creature isn't a real living being, but rather a life born from the painting, a life within the painting given life by Miss Aisha.

To the best of my knowledge, they are the only family that can possess both the tactile sensations of living and non-living things.

Ah, speaking of this, I suddenly remembered that in the last exhibition hall of [Hidden Dungeon - Art Exhibition Hall], I seemed to have encountered [Crow] possessing "Starry Night". I wonder if it was the one that Miss [Aisha] lost.

However, considering the missing testimony and the man's physical characteristics, this guess seems to be absolutely certain.

So here's the question: after we defeat the [Raven] that manifested from the black water, will it return to its creator, Miss [Aisha], on its own? Or will it simply disappear, like the other creatures we defeated before, leaving behind only a pile of spoils?

When I recall that moment, I do seem to have seen the figurative painting collapse and turn into black water again. The mournful cry of the [raven] after being struck is still clearly audible even now. But what happened afterward is something I haven't been able to confirm clearly.

At that time, I was so busy collecting the rewards that appeared out of nowhere and the sudden battle between the sword demon and the demon [Mephisto] that I completely forgot about everything else when I hurriedly escaped.

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