Nanami stepped out of the bedroom after Nanoe.

She was still slightly dazed, like someone who had just woken from an overly long dream. Her short brown hair was slightly tousled, falling to both sides of her cheeks. Her bright golden eyes were clear and pure. Her beautiful face still carried a hint of redness from having cried with Nanoe for too long. On her head was a small pair of horns in red-black, looking both strange and a little adorable, completely unlike Nanoe’s dangerously gentle air.

A fitted black office dress wrapped around her soft figure, making Nanami look at first glance like a mature young woman, but her curious and slightly confused gaze made Rover feel she resembled more a small creature just thrown into an unfamiliar world.

Nanoe walked beside Nanami, one hand still holding her younger sister’s.

As if letting go even for a moment would make her afraid Nanami would disappear again.

Rover sat on the sofa, glancing at the two sisters. Morie stood beside the tea table. Monica sat on the other side. Selina leaned against a chair with an interested expression. Rilia still sat quietly near the window, her wrists still wrapped in a thin layer of spider silk Elith had left as a precaution.

Sunako was also present.

At some point unknown, she had straightened her maid dress and was standing seriously behind Rover like a proper handmaiden, even though everyone in the entire room knew she had only just self-appointed to that position not long ago.

Nanami looked around the room.

Her gaze paused on Morie, Monica, Selina, Rilia, Sunako, Thunder Dragon lying beside them, and finally fell on Rover.

"You’re Rover?"

Her voice was soft, but very quickly gained more vitality.

Rover nodded.

"That’s right."

Nanami blinked, then bowed her head deeply.

"Thank you for saving me."

Her motion was very sincere, but because she still hadn’t completely adapted to her newly resurrected body, she bowed too quickly and nearly lost her balance. Nanoe hurriedly steadied her, unconcealed worry appearing in her eyes.

Nanami raised her head, smiling awkwardly.

"I’m fine, Sister. It’s just a bit strange. The feeling is like sleeping through a very long dream, then waking up to find the whole world has turned into a horror game."

Sunako, standing behind Rover, immediately softly said: "Congratulations. Your first impression is very accurate. This place really does feel like a horror game, except there’s no exit button."

Thunder Dragon glanced at her.

Krit.

Sunako immediately seriously added: "But under the guidance of Great Lord Rover, this horror game can also be transformed into a warm, united, and hope-filled survival game."

Rover: "..."

Nanami looked at Sunako, slightly taken aback, then burst out laughing.

Her laughter was very clear and bright, like the heavy room burdened by too many secrets had finally gained a bit of normal air.

Nanoe watched her younger sister laugh, her eyes going slightly red again.

Rover saw this, lightly cleared his throat, then said: "Nanoe has probably already told you some things."

Nanami nodded, her face quickly flushing slightly.

"She told me... a lot."

Rover looked at her expression, then at Nanoe’s gentle but somewhat evasive smile, and immediately knew that "a lot" certainly wasn’t only about him using the [Eternal Heart] to resurrect Nanami.

He breathed out a sigh.

"Nanoe."

Nanoe blinked, smiling as she looked at him.

"Mm?"

"You decided something on your own again, didn’t you?"

Nanoe didn’t deny it.

"I only told Nanami that if she wants to live safely in room 2705, becoming your person is the best choice."

Monica lowered her head, her face slightly flushing.

Selina laughed with great interest.

Morie calmly looked at Rover, seemingly waiting to see how he would react.

Rilia raised her eyes slightly, her cold azure gaze also revealing a very small hint of curiosity.

Sunako quietly thought to herself: sure enough, in room 2705, this kind of topic was spoken about naturally to a frightening degree. She increasingly felt that her "backup maid" position might actually be fairly safe; at least for now no one was forcing her to make any strange life-or-death decisions.

Rover waved his hand.

"No need."

Nanoe was slightly taken aback.

Nanami also widened her eyes to look at him.

Rover looked at Nanami, his voice very calm: "I resurrected you for Nanoe’s sake, not because I wanted to force you to repay a debt with yourself. If you want to stay in room 2705, you can stay. Whether to become a Tenant or not, we can work that out slowly. As for becoming my woman, wait until you’ve thought it through yourself before saying anything."

Nanami fell silent.

Nanoe also fell silent.

The room suddenly became very quiet.

Rover continued: "After all, you just came back to life. Your head is probably still not fully settled. If I force you to decide things like this right now, it’ll be very troublesome if you regret it later."

Saying this, he paused for a moment, then added in a very serious tone: "I don’t like trouble."

The atmosphere that had just grown a bit moving immediately shifted slightly.

Selina burst out laughing.

Monica lowered her head, the corner of her mouth also curling up slightly.

Nanoe looked at Rover, her gaze becoming even gentler.

She knew Rover wasn’t the type who liked saying beautiful words. He was pragmatic, profit-minded, and sometimes even a bit wicked, but precisely because of that, what he had just said made Nanoe feel even more at ease.

He hadn’t used gratitude to pressure Nanami.

He also hadn’t used that Legendary item to exchange for her younger sister.

Just this alone was already enough to make Nanoe feel her heart soften considerably.

Nanami looked at Rover for a long time.

Then she suddenly smiled.

"You’re very strange."

Rover raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a thank you?"

"No, it’s a genuine impression." Nanami smiled even more cheerfully, her bright golden eyes curving. "But I don’t dislike this kind of strange."

Rover felt this girl was adapting faster than he had expected.

Sure enough, she was Nanoe’s younger sister.

Only one of them was gentle, sharp, and dangerous like a knife hidden in a flower. The other was bright and lively, and had barely woken up before already beginning to be curious about everything around her.

Rover looked around the room.

Nanoe, Selina, Monica, Morie, Rilia, and now Nanami added to the mix, plus Sunako standing behind him in the backup maid outfit.

A feeling of unease suddenly surfaced in Rover’s heart.

The number of women around him seemed to be increasing a bit too fast.

If it were only the number, that would be manageable. The problem was that none of their physical conditions were ordinary. Selina went without saying; her combat strength was high enough to pin people against walls. Nanoe, after awakening her bloodline, was becoming more mysterious by the day. Monica looked frail, but her Curse Class and special innate gift were very frightening. Morie had awakened the Titan bloodline; once her body fully recovered, her strength was certainly not weak. And Rilia was the Ice Wolf General; her physique needed no elaboration.

If he continued being unrestrained in his greed, Rover wasn’t sure whether the monsters would be drained first.

But he might be drained first.

Thinking this, Rover quietly decided he needed to invest more into Physique from now on.

This was no longer a matter of enjoyment.

This was a matter of survival.

Nanami was very quickly pulled over to sit down by Monica. Monica was normally somewhat reserved, but watching Nanami ask curious questions about everything, she gradually relaxed more. Nanami asked Morie why her hair was as beautiful as snow, asked Selina whether she was a swordswoman, asked whether she could pet Thunder Dragon, then nearly got startled back by Thunder Dragon’s gaze.

Sunako immediately found an opportunity to perform.

"It’s fine, Miss Nanami. As long as you compliment Great Lord Thunder Dragon sincerely enough, the great lord won’t randomly fire lightning. This is precious survival experience I traded my hair to learn."

Thunder Dragon raised its head.

Krit?

Sunako immediately bowed her head.

"Of course, what I mean is that Great Lord Thunder Dragon is inherently very noble and magnanimous, absolutely not the type of small dragon who randomly scares people."

Nanami looked at Sunako, then looked at Thunder Dragon, then laughed until her shoulders shook.

Rilia sat to one side, quietly observing the atmosphere in the room.

She didn’t understand.

Truly didn’t understand.

The women here were not weak. Nanoe was very dangerous. Morie had Titan strength. Selina was like a sword drawn from its sheath. Monica, though appearing soft, carried a curse aura on her that made people uncomfortable. Even Sunako, who appeared useless, didn’t seem like an ordinary person.

So why could they all coexist gathered around one man?

Not the kind of submission under coercion.

Not a cold master-servant relationship either.

They argued, teased, blushed, and joked, but when Rover spoke, everyone naturally placed him at the center.

Rilia had once been a general. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She understood power.

But the kind of power in this room was different from the military orders she had once known.

It was softer.

But also more solid.

Sunako looked at the atmosphere in the room, internally also letting out a breath of relief.

At least for now, she could be a bit more settled.

Staying in room 2705 was indeed stressful, but this stress was still better than being thrown outside to face fog, monsters, and insane Survivors. This place had food, had safety, had Rover, and also had Nanoe who smiled gently but was actually more frightening than the monsters.

Being like this for the time being was fine.

At least until she found a way to save her own tribe.

Thinking this, Sunako quickly lowered her eyes, then immediately flashed her professional maid smile again, continuing to stand behind Rover as if she hadn’t been thinking anything at all.

But Nanoe saw it.

She only glanced briefly at Sunako and said nothing.

Just as the atmosphere in the room was gradually becoming more relaxed, a message notification sound rang out before Rover.

[Ding!]

[You have received a private message.]

Rover opened it.

The sender was John.

Rover’s gaze immediately changed.

Nanoe noticed it first.

"Is something wrong?"

Rover didn’t immediately answer. He read the message content.

[John: Rover, if you still remember me, we should meet privately once.]

[John: Come down to the basement.]

[John: There’s a vehicle with plate number NN77-2910.]

[John: Get in. It will take you to where I’m waiting.]

[John: Don’t bring too many people. Some things are better discussed in private.]

Rover looked at those lines of text, the smile on his face slowly disappearing.

John.

The psychiatric hospital.

The man who always kept a cheerful smile, talked like an ordinary person, but made Rover feel something was off.

Rover put down his tea cup.

"Seems like... new trouble has found its way here."

Nanoe walked over beside him and looked at the message content.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"John?"

Rover nodded.

"Mm. Someone I met during the first side mission."

Nanami curiously asked: "Your friend?"

Rover thought for a moment.

"Not exactly."

He looked at the message once more, then slowly said: "Perhaps someone dangerous but temporarily without ill intent."

Sunako, standing behind Rover, immediately felt a chill run down her spine.

In this world, "dangerous but temporarily without ill intent" usually meant there was a very good chance of having ill intent later.

Rover stood up.

Nanoe didn’t stop him.

She only softly said: "Before you go, make sure to tell us everything clearly."

Rover nodded.

He had no intention of hiding anything either.

After all, this time he had a feeling the meeting with John wouldn’t be simple.

And if it truly had something to do with the Lamp-Bearers, then this could be the first time room 2705 touched a deeper layer of secret in this world.