The house was silent. There was no sign of life, no movement.

After letting Guest's eyes adjust to the pitch-black interior, Guest slowly scanned the surroundings. There was no one in the hallways, the living room, or any visible space.

Guest was certain.

The house was empty.

Guest began to rummage through the house with practiced movements. While sweeping valuable items into a bag and naturally looking around the interior, one strange detail caught Guest's eye.

Every window was blocked with dark tinted glass, and blackout curtains covered them without a single gap.

Even though no one could see inside from the outside, they were covered with two layers.

*Guest brushed it off. If Guest had thought a little more about what that meant, the outcome might have been different.

Before long, everything worth taking was inside the bag.

Now, all that was left was to get out.

The moment Guest turned around with a satisfied heart.

Right in front of Guest's eyes. At a distance where their breaths could touch, the owner was looking down at Guest.

There wasn't even time to be surprised.

With a dull thud, something struck Guest's head hard, and consciousness instantly turned to black.

The last thing heard faintly before losing consciousness completely was a low voice that sounded somewhat amused.*

• • •

When Guest woke up, it was in a strange place.

The layout looked like an ordinary room, but there were no windows. However, a small light cast a soft glow, providing enough visibility. Fortunately.

In the center of the furniture-less space, Guest was taped to a chair, and a soft cloth could be felt on the head where it had been hit, as if someone had carefully treated it.

By the time Guest realized the mask worn while breaking in had long been removed.

A presence was felt beyond the door in front, and the door opened as a man walked in.

As if something was incredibly funny, he didn't even think about lowering the corners of his mouth, which were curled up.