In the reception room next to the conference room on the 99th floor of My Home Tower.
For a while, no one spoke first.
Lilithis quietly sipped her black tea, while Yurining was busy completing a tutorial for a game with cute chubby cheeks on her phone.
Crow sat side by side with Tricia without his mask—or more precisely, with Tricia sitting on his lap.
And that was precisely the problem.
Tricia spoke first.
"How long are you going to keep holding me?"
...That was the issue.
"Until we leave here...?"
It was because Crow was hugging Tricia tightly, showing no intention of letting her go.
"How did I end up being treated like a doll..."
In response to Tricia's sigh-filled lament, Lilithis calmly said:
"Well, it's because just touching you has a calming effect on others."
"What am I, some cat that makes people feel good when they pet me?"
"You're actually much better than a cat."
"Tch, I can't argue with that."
Anyway, after that bombshell announcement, there was a need to stabilize Crow, so Tricia had sacrificed herself(?) to play the role of a sedative.
"Ah... this is so healing..."
Crow stroked Tricia's head with an utterly content expression while feeling her body warmth.
The gap between his personality with and without the mask was so large that it was still difficult to adjust to.
But if he put the mask back on, he said it would be harder to speak honestly, so they were currently conversing with his mask off.
"So, calmly... can you tell me when you started having those feelings for me?"
"Hmm..."
Crow lifted his head briefly to gather his thoughts before answering.
"Do you remember when we first met?"
"I remember. It was when we were fighting that deep night something, right?"
"Yes, I was cautious then... but after we talked, for the first time, the walls around my heart began to crumble."
Hearing this, Tricia paused briefly before responding.
"I see. You must have gone through a lot of bad experiences in the past... If you're comfortable with it, can you tell me what happened?"
"T-that..."
When Crow hesitated slightly, Tricia and Lilithis spoke in turn.
"You don't have to force yourself, I'm not pressuring you."
"That's right. If needed, I can offer one-on-one counseling. For you, I'll do it for free."
Tricia then asked if that was normal counseling, and Lilithis replied that of course additional services would require extra payment. Watching this exchange, Crow finally spoke up.
"...It's okay, I'll just tell you."
And so began Crow's story of his past.
———
He too was once a very ordinary boy.
Bright and energetic, he had many friends, but in reality, not a single person truly believed in him or empathized with him.
He wanted recognition from someone, but there was always someone who surpassed him in every field, and his efforts were always buried.
Outwardly, he wore a mask of "smiles" and pretended to be fine, but inside, he was drowning in loneliness and solitude, quietly swallowing his tears.
Thus, while his mental age remained stunted, his physical age continued to increase until one day.
Towers appeared around the world, and he awakened as a Climber.
But even here, he lagged far behind others. He was even told he was weak and a hindrance.
The reason was clear. He had fallen for the mysterious charm of [Gravity Magic], which was difficult to handle, hard to use, and lacked distinct power.
Like delving into an interesting game, he persistently explored only [Gravity Magic].
While others mastered more than ten skills in just a few months and fought spectacularly, he was treated as a novice who could do nothing but slightly increase gravity.
Nevertheless, he silently delved into gravity. Dispersion, concentration, diffusion... after developing applications one by one and overcoming a long period of two years.
"—You have achieved the conditions for the Unique Class [Gravity Mage]."
With the System alert, a path that no one had pioneered opened beneath his feet.
After that, he quickly grew stronger. He conquered a 50-floor tower alone and obtained the crow-shaped mask [Nachtkorps] for his achievement of defeating even the hidden boss.
The moment he put on the mask, his constantly anxious mind became calm. A coolness that could calculate and judge efficiently in any situation came to him.
From that day on, he called himself 'Crow' and always wore the mask.
When he gained overwhelming power, people flocked around him. They said they wanted to be his friends, his comrades.
But it was truly contemptible to see those who had never paid attention to him before now clinging to him hoping to get something.
So when choosing a guild, he selected the [Geom Heuk-beom] guild, which operated solely on money and power. He lived by profit and loss instead of emotions, receiving large sums for missions assigned by the guild.
There were times when he fought monsters during the Tower Collapse and rescued citizens, but he deliberately denied his innate goodness by dismissing even that as a kind of "reputation management."
Thus, he sealed his young and fragile self within the crow mask.
To never be hurt by emotions again.
———
"...That's it, was it too long?"
After finishing his story, Crow took a short breath and added:
"Anyway, on that day when you said you would believe in me, Tricia... I felt my always cold heart warming up. Thanks to you, I also found the courage to trust others."
"So... you fell for me since then?"
"It wasn't romantic feelings then. I just thought you were a kind and cute angel."
Crow said this while unconsciously reaching to touch Tricia's cheek before stopping and placing his hand on her head instead.
"...You can touch my cheeks if you want."
"Wow! I'm so excited!"
But as soon as her permission was given, Crow immediately used both hands to touch Tricia's cheeks, falling into supreme happiness.
"Uhhh..."
"Hehe~"
Tricia's cheeks stretched like rice cakes.
"This disconnect is seriously driving me crazy."
Lilithis grimaced and commented that the contrast between Crow with and without his mask was so extreme that she couldn't possibly adjust to it.
"Wow! When I pull the screen, the cheeks stretch! This is fun!"
For reference, Yurining was completely absorbed in playing a game on her smartphone.
A moment later, Crow continued the conversation while still touching Tricia's cheeks.
"But after being separated from you, every time I took off my mask at home, I could only think of you."
"Uhhh... I shee...(I see...)"
"So when we met again on the day of the conference, I first wanted to become friends."
"Sho then...?(So then...?)"
"But you said you'd grant my wish, remember? So I thought hard about it. What was my true wish... and I could only think of you."
"...Cahn you let go ahnd talk?(Can you let go and talk...?)"
"Oh, sorry!"
When Crow released Tricia's cheeks, the sound they made was probably just imagination.
"Anyway, you kept thinking about me, right?"
"Yes, and you didn't seem to dislike me either... so that's how it was."
After saying this, Crow let out a short sigh.
"I never imagined you were a man in your past life. And now you're genderless?"
"Yeah, I'm genderless."
"Honestly, I don't really mind—"
"Hey."
"—just kidding, just kidding."
When Tricia spoke with a serious expression, Crow gave a bitter smile.
"I don't want this incident to ruin our relationship either. So... I'll completely drop the dating talk."
Lilithis finally smiled at that.
"Phew, I almost had my Tricia NTR'd."
"No, you didn't!"
Tricia tackled Lilithis's statement with an incredulous expression.
"Then, what are you thinking of changing your wish to?"
"Hmm..."
After pondering Lilithis's question briefly, Crow said:
"...A one-hour free pass with Tricia?"
"What, just for something like that—"
"A total of 500 passes."
"?"
An unexpected request for 500 passes.
"What would you do with so many...?"
"Just... one pass each time I want to hug you like this?"
"Wow, I never thought of that."
Lilithis marveled at Crow's idea, sticking out her tongue.
"I'm not some kind of time-limited dakimakura..."
"But you're the one who said you'd grant my wish, Tricia."
"That's true..."
In the end, Tricia sighed and accepted Crow's wish.
"But 500 is too many, would you compromise at around 300?"
"Then would you like to compromise the 5 million won in your card to 3 million?"
"Oh come on, 500 passes is fine!"
Although cash supply routes would probably be established in My Home Tower soon, it seemed Tricia didn't want to lose 2 million of the 5 million won she currently had, so she finally agreed to give 500 free passes.
Shortly after, a kind of magical contract labeled [Tricia 1-Hour Free Pass] was delivered through a maid.
It contained various conditions, including that when the pass is used, Tricia must spend the specified time with Crow, but either party could refuse any actions that crossed boundaries they had set.
Lilithis quickly read through the key points, and Crow and Tricia signed the contract.
The contract then scattered into particles of light and absorbed into Crow's body.
"[You have acquired a 'Tricia 1-Hour Free Pass.' You can only use the pass when Tricia is nearby.]"
"[Remaining passes: 500]"
"Hehe~"
Crow laughed like a child, having gained the right to do whatever he wanted(?) with Tricia for 500 hours by using his wish.
Watching this, Tricia wore an expression that said this wouldn't be easy.
It seemed it would take quite some time to adjust to that side of him.
"Would you mind putting your mask back on now...?"
"Should I?"
At Tricia's request, Crow put his mask back on, and his calm breathing filled the reception room.
"Hm— Now that our business is concluded, I'll be taking my leave."
"Yes, this is the Crow I know."
"Ah, I just realized I haven't mentioned this."
"Hm? What else did you forget?"
Crow took off his mask again and looked at Tricia.
"My real name is Lee Ji-hyun. I look forward to our continued 'friendship.'"
"...Yes, me too."
After saying his final goodbye to Tricia.
Ji-hyun returned to being 'Crow' with his mask on and left My Home Tower for the guild branch.
And then—
"Ahahahahahahaha!!!! Keeheeheeheehee!!!! Nyahahahahaha!!! Puhahahahahahaha!!!!"
"Stop laughing, you rabbit!!!!"
"So you two are dating, right? Olleori kolleori~ Kyahahahahahaha!!!"
"We are not—!!!"
It is said that Rukki, who heard the whole story, spent a long time holding her stomach in laughter and teasing Tricia mercilessly.
