Seeing Grin act so unreliable somehow made Ram feel much more at ease.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly, her breathing gradually relaxed, and she took a half step back before sitting on the edge of the coffee table.
Grin's breath hitched almost imperceptibly as he looked at her pale, swaying legs.
"So you're just going to exploit me out in the open like this?"
Ram raised her chin and looked down at him with cool superiority.
"Allowing you the chance to touch Ram is already generosity, you greedy man."
Grin looked a little dazed.
In that posture, Ram was honestly stunning.
"…Fine. You win."
He lifted his index finger and bit gently into it.
A round drop of blood slowly welled up from the wound.
Ram tilted her head back slightly and exposed the scar where her oni horn had once been, quietly waiting.
"Mm…"
The moment Grin's blood touched the broken horn, a warm tremor ran through her body, and a soft sound escaped her lips before she could stop it.
Outside, the greenery in the courtyard began rustling without any wind at all.
Guided by the Blessing of the Forest, countless tiny sparks of life force gathered toward the conference hall.
The broken horn seemed to awaken again, like a gear being nudged back into motion by some invisible hand, and began drawing mana from the air.
A tingling, almost intoxicating pleasure spread through Ram's limbs and bones.
Her body leaned forward slightly.
As the distance between them closed, her breath carried a faint fresh scent like crushed leaves and clean wood.
She deliberately turned her face away and refused to meet Grin's eyes.
But even with her ears hidden behind her hair, the slight blush was still there.
Rustle…
A small pulse of mana spread from Ram's body.
Then at last, all her strength gave out, and she collapsed straight into Grin's arms.
"Ram, your horn really is regrowing under the nourishment of this life-blood," Grin whispered. "But the speed is extremely slow. It'll probably take several more times to fully complete the process."
Ram barely had the strength to answer.
Her body seemed to be devoting everything to the regrowth itself.
"…Okay…"
She murmured that almost like sleep-talk, then curled up quietly against him.
Grin swallowed hard and quickly wetted his lips.
Not for any weird reason.
He was just a little thirsty.
"Don't move, Ram…"
But the truth was, the soft warmth in his arms was becoming a genuine test of self-control.
Looking down at her resting there so defenselessly, Grin's imagination immediately started sprinting in dangerous directions.
So this is what Roswaal felt when he was replenishing Ram's mana…
And then, as expected, an especially terrible idea popped into his head.
"Hehehe…"
Just imagining what he was about to do almost made him laugh aloud.
Then Grin suddenly cast Transformation Magic in secret.
A purple magic circle rose from beneath his feet and passed up over his body.
When it faded, he had taken on Roswaal's appearance.
A despicable minotaur indeed.
Barely suppressing his laughter, he leaned close to Ram's ear and copied Roswaal's voice.
"Ram, I hereby bestow upon you the protection of the stars…"
The effect was immediate.
Ram's eyes flew open as if she had been electrocuted, startling Grin so badly he nearly yelped.
He hurriedly covered her eyes with one hand while trying to keep the blood contact going with the other.
"Don't open your eyes, Ram-chan, it's me, Ros—ow!"
Before he could finish, a sharp pain shot through his hand.
He looked down.
Ram had bitten him hard.
"You low-grade bastard… turn Ram back immediately…"
Grin flung her onto the sofa and shook his hand furiously in pain.
The transformation spell collapsed at once, revealing his real face again.
"Hiss… Ram, you dog!"
"Once Ram gets her strength back, Ram is absolutely going to beat you to death."
Ram lay weakly on the sofa, one hand over her chest, still looking like someone recovering from an illness.
Grin grimaced and raised his hand to inspect it.
There, neatly lined up over the old Ulgarum bite scar, were two rows of small, perfect teeth marks.
"Hey, Ram, your teeth are pretty straight."
Ram looked at him like he was hopeless.
At this point, getting angry with Grin was practically self-harm.
After a while, she let out a faint sigh.
"Ram needs to rest for a bit. You can go now, Grin."
…
Time passed peacefully after that.
Grin remained perfectly happy taking care of the supposedly bedridden Rem.
After feeding her dinner as usual, he returned to the kitchen carrying the empty dishes.
Rem's recovery had been so fast that he was starting to suspect she might be exaggerating her condition just a little.
When he reached the kitchen, Grin took out a key and unlocked the newly installed door lock.
Ram's execution speed was, as always, terrifying.
To protect her beloved ingredients from further criminal activity, she had installed a lock that looked suitable for a vault.
"Tsk. What a wasteful woman. You could probably buy three kitchens for the price of this thing."
Creak—
Still humming to himself, Grin pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Then he stopped.
"Huh? No way. Are we at the Door of Chance again?"
He immediately turned to leave.
"You stop right there! It is infuriating how little respect you show for Betty's Door Crossing."
Beatrice's angry voice rang out from behind him.
She had both fists clenched, looking very much like she wanted to jump up and punch him in the knee.
Grin turned back helplessly.
"Betty, how about I go wash the dishes first, and then come back and play with you?"
Beatrice's brows snapped together at once, and her purple eyes flashed with displeasure.
"Do you think Betty is a child? You rude fool."
With that, she flicked one small hand, and a violet spatial crack opened beside Grin.
A strong suction force burst out from it, and in one whoosh, the dishes in his hands vanished inside.
Then the crack sealed itself shut like a zipper and disappeared.
Grin stared blankly.
Now he finally understood how he kept getting pulled in here.
"Betty, what am I supposed to say if Ram asks where the dishes went?"
Beatrice folded her arms and looked at him with total disdain.
"They were not valuable. Just deduct it from your wages."
"I'm already working under a mountain of debt. My salary's been advanced for three months."
Grin only shrugged and smiled lazily.
"At this point, I think we should call in a scrap dealer, sell all your old books, and use the money for something practical."
Click. Click. Click.
That was the sound of Beatrice grinding her teeth.
"You insolent creature. Betty is about to throw you into another dimension together with the tableware."
"Wait, wait, don't be mad, Betty. If you banish me, who's going to fix your bookshelf?"
Grin instantly changed tactics and slipped behind her to start massaging her shoulders in a shamelessly flattering way.
Beatrice took a deep breath, and most of her anger subsided.
"Hmph. Betty thought you intended to break the contract."
"How could that be? Everyone knows elders never lie."
To prove his sincerity, Grin pulled a nail from his pocket.
He had specially commissioned it from a blacksmith in Arlam Village, and a tiny bow had even been engraved at the end.
Beatrice's expression visibly improved.
Stubborn spirits like her valued agreements far more than they admitted. If you ignored that, they would never truly warm to you.
"With only ten years of life, you dare call yourself an elder in front of Betty? Have you no shame? Betty has lived more than four hundred years."
"Alright then, Betty, my wife—you're the elder."
Then, with the nail pressed into the loose bookshelf in one hand and a very confused magic mirror summoned in the other, Grin got ready to begin the repair.