Elena was standing next to the door with her arms crossed. Her fierce gaze went from me to Viora, then back at me.

A moment ago, this room was filled with teasing and awkward smiles. But now? The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

"Elena?!"

What is she doing here of all times? She isn’t supposed to be here. Being busy is basically her character trait.

So unless there is something really major, she should be at her office or inside a Gate with her party.

"Interesting." Elena stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her. "So, this is what you meant by meeting a friend?"

Her tone was so calm that it made the situation even worse.

She has to be angry, or at least a little irritated. Because that would match her personality much more.

I was frozen at the spot where I was standing.

Now, what should I say? I had imagined introducing both Viora and Elena to each other, or Elena finding out about her before that.

But that was supposed to happen in the future, when Viora had adjusted to her life here, not on the first day.

Behind me, Viora grabbed the sleeve of my shirt, which told me how nervous she was.

I glanced back at her and then at Elena.

"Okay, before you misunderstand—"

"Misunderstand?" Elena’s brows rose, and she took a step forward while looking at Viora. "You brought a girl into my house, dressed her in my collection clothes, and hid her in an empty room."

Saying that, she paused for a moment and then continued.

"That is actually very hard to misunderstand."

Ouch.

When she phrased it like that, it sounded extremely brutal.

However, before our conversation could continue any further, Viora spoke up behind me.

"...Hello."

Both Elena and I looked at her.

"My name is Viora." Then she gave a small nod. "I apologize for entering your home without permission."

That was... surprisingly mature. I am not saying she is childish otherwise. But she had never talked like that before.

Elena studied her expression silently. First, her gaze lingered on Viora’s horns, then it moved to her clothes, and finally to the hand Viora was still using to lightly hold my sleeve.

"I know who you are, Viora. The former A-Rank Hunter," Elena said.

"Y-you know me?" Viora sounded so shocked that she clutched my shirt tighter and began to pull it.

"Of course. Who do you think I am?"

"You are Woo Jin’s aunt." Viora just let that out based on what she knew about me. It was clear that she didn’t know who Elena actually was.

But that was impossible. There is no character in the story who doesn’t know Elena.

So how come she doesn’t know her?

’Is she pretending not to know, or does she really not know who Elena is?’

I thought and raised an eyebrow. Elena was also skeptical because of her response.

The room became awkwardly quiet again. I could practically hear my own heartbeat.

"So," Elena broke the silence, "she is the one you met in the hospital? The girl who shared the same room as you?"

She knows?

"Yeah," I said quickly. "This is her."

After getting confirmation, she let out a sigh and uncrossed her arms.

"Then would you care to explain what she is doing here alone with you? Also, why does she have demon horns on her head?" she asked.

What story should I tell her so that she won’t feel suspicious or send Viora back to the hospital?

For a few seconds, I stayed quiet. I was thinking of a plausible excuse or lie that could save both Viora and me.

"What happened? Why aren’t you speaking?" Elena spoke again, and this time I just left everything to my tongue. Let’s see if whatever comes out of it can do the magic or not.

"Auntie, while I was in the hospital, I got befriended with her," I began.

Even I myself didn’t know what I was talking about. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"But then yesterday, these two horns began to come out of her head."

Yes. That is it. I just need to keep going.

"The moment I saw them, I realized that if someone saw her like this, they would treat her as a monster and try to put her down."

Without stopping, I kept talking.

’Now I should mix the lie with some truth.’

"So, as a friend, I covered her head. That was the moment when you came to the hospital yesterday and I was on her bed. Remember?"

"Hmmm... I remember. So that is why you were on top of her?"

On top of her? No. That isn’t what it was. But the lie is working, so let’s just ignore it.

"And today, I went back and brought her here just so no one can see her like this until she turns back to normal."

After somewhat making up the whole story, she was beginning to believe it. But there was still something left to make my lie hit even harder.

"I just wanted to help her. Is that really such a big problem? Helping someone in need?"

I know Elena is weak when it comes to helping someone in need. She is the type of character who would help even the devil himself if she saw him in trouble.

I mean, she is a really nice person at heart.

"So, what should I do about it?"

"Huh?!" I was shocked by her response. She isn’t going to fall for it? I thought she would be happy that her nephew was trying to help someone.

"You don’t expect me to just believe what you said just now, do you?" she began. "Especially after how you went into a Gate when I clearly told you to stay at home."

She knows that, too? Just how much does she know? Why can’t she reveal everything at once?

"Look, I don’t care about you going into a Gate or hiding a mana stone in the bushes, since you came back safe."

She continued.

"But this girl won’t be staying here. I will say it once. Send her back right now."

Hearing Elena, my eyes widened and my heart stopped for a moment.

"No..."