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Vinesha glared at Sharin without even calling her name.

I could feel the thick malice in her gaze, as if telling her to get away from me immediately.

Sharin, however, simply looked at Vinesha for a moment before snorting.

"I'm the one who Hannon asked for help first."

"What?"

Vinesha's eyes widened as she turned sharply to look at me.

Her gaze was asking if that was true.

Vinesha had to be first in anything related to me—no exceptions.

Whatever it was, the fact that I had sought Sharin's help was something she absolutely could not accept.

"H-husband, is that true?"

The hallway windows began to tremble slightly.

The sunset that had been streaming in from outside had vanished, and a curtain of darkness had fallen.

Beyond the window, an unknown presence flickered past.

"Vinesha, that's it!"

And with that, I shouted with joy.

"W-what?"

Vinesha looked flustered at my sudden outburst of excitement.

She hadn't expected me to be pleased by the power she had accidentally revealed.

"We need to go to the Otherworld right now. We're going to bring back Grantoni."

"G-go to the Otherworld? Husband, do you even understand what you're saying?"

The Otherworld was the realm of the dead.

Going there was practically the same as seeking death.

But I wasn’t acting recklessly.

"It’ll be fine if we have divine relics."

Divine relics.

Objects imbued with the direct power of the gods.

Those who possess divine relics carry the blessings of the gods within them.

I had Lightning Caller.

Of course, even with a divine relic, one couldn't stay in the Otherworld for too long.

So we had to accomplish our mission within that limited time.

"And Sharin has Mirinae."

The greatest danger in the Otherworld was the wandering dead.

However, Mirinae, which sees through everything, would prevent the dead from even daring to approach us.

"Vinesha, you're a contractor of the Otherworld."

The Otherworld contained not only transcendent beings but many other entities as well.

Vinesha had contracts with some of these dangerous beings.

Naturally, the wandering dead would flee the moment they saw her.

With the three of us, we could go to the Otherworld.

I wasn’t just asking for help without reason.

"Vinesha, right now, you're the only one who can open the passage to the Otherworld."

If Vinesha didn't help, the Otherworld and the real world would begin to merge.

She was supposed to be a mid-boss, but right now, she had to be an ally.

"I don’t really understand what’s going on…"

Vinesha stepped toward the window and reached out her hand.

As she did, her fingers passed through the glass as if it were a sticky liquid.

"But if my husband wishes it, how could I refuse?"

Vinesha chose to help me first rather than question the situation.

Sharin and I stepped closer to her.

"But husband, this Grantoni… she’s not another woman, is she?"

Vinesha asked, a sinister smile spreading across her face as she opened the gateway to the Otherworld.

"Vinesha, take this."

Before answering, I handed her a pendant.

She took the old pendant and widened her eyes in surprise.

"Husband, is this a gift for me?"

As expected, Vinesha's memory was completely broken.

She no longer remembered Grantoni—nor the pendant.

And one day, when enough time passed, her memory would shatter completely.

The day would come when she remembered absolutely nothing.

"Yes, it’s a gift."

A gift, hoping she wouldn’t forget the memory of long ago—when her master had once given it to her.

Vinesha, unaware of the truth, smiled brightly and carefully put the pendant around her neck.

"A gift from my husband! I’ll treasure it forever!"

That had already been her treasure once.

And it was also a treasure left behind by Grantoni in the end.

But I couldn't say that out loud.

Even if I explained it, her broken memory would only make her confused.

At that moment, Sharin nudged my side.

"What about me?"

I blinked.

Was she asking for a gift right now?

"I’ve bought you plenty of bread."

"That’s all gone now."

Well, she must have digested it into nutrients by now.

Sharin was strangely competitive when it came to Vinesha.

"I’ll get you something after this is over."

"I want a house."

"That’s impossible."

I didn’t have that kind of money.

Sharin looked dissatisfied but then glanced at the pendant around Vinesha’s neck.

After a moment, she lightly poked my side again with her long fingers.

"Then I want another accessory."

I alternated my gaze between her extended fingers and her drowsy-looking face.

Did she even realize what she was saying?

I had spent enough time with Sharin to understand her personality to some extent.

Everything she was doing right now was completely unconscious.

Not a single action was something she was aware of.

When she finally realizes it…

I had no idea what would happen then.

"Husband?"

Vinesha had completed the passage to the Otherworld.

But her face was more twisted than the ghosts lurking beyond.

"Why do you keep whispering with her? You look like you're in such a deep relationship."

Her jealousy was reaching its limit—her teeth clenched tightly.

Before she could explode, I turned to Sharin.

"I’ll get you something when we return."

"Promise."

Sharin suddenly started humming in a good mood.

Vinesha, on the other hand, clearly didn’t like it, but she endured it since I was right beside her.

"Hannon Irey!"

At that moment, Eve arrived, climbing up the stairs.

The final piece was here.

I had been waiting for this.

Eve looked at me with a face full of things she wanted to say.

But given the situation, she just let out a deep breath instead of speaking.

"We’ll finish that conversation later."

With that, Eve joined us.

Now, I had assembled the best possible team for the Otherworld.

"Let’s go."

We would bring Grantoni back from the Otherworld—no matter what.

＊＊＊

Nether World.

A world known as the realm of the dead, a gray, colorless place.

The world itself is not too different from the original, except for one thing: a white moon always hangs in the gray sky.

In that Netherworld, for some reason, I was walking with my arms and back restrained.

Beside me were two exceptionally beautiful women.

One was Vinesha, dressed and made up in a way that reminded me of a femme fatale.

The other was Sharin Sazaris, whose drowsy expression and elegant demeanor were striking.

Both of them were holding onto my arms tightly.

Please, stop.

My arms are going to burst.

But they weren’t the only ones holding onto me.

Behind me, yet another woman clung to my back.

Her name was Eve.

This all started right after we entered the Netherworld.

As soon as we arrived, Vinesha immediately clung to my left arm.

I was momentarily startled by the sensation of her not-so-small, soft chest pressing against me, but nothing more.

I was used to this.

After all, I often slept alongside Iris, who had a habit of hugging me in her sleep.

‘Is this really a good thing?’

A bitter taste spread in my mouth.

To any outsider, this would seem like an enviable situation, one worth shedding tears of jealousy over.

But for someone like me, who had severed ties with love, it only felt suffocating.

‘That damn Veil Bandages… what a terrifying thing.’

While Vinesha was holding onto me, suddenly, my right arm was seized.

I had noticed since the time we wore summer swimsuits, but she definitely had a certain softness of considerable volume.

Sharin wasn’t looking at me.

Instead, she was glaring fiercely at Vinesha.

It seemed she felt a sense of rivalry with Vinesha and had acted instinctively.

What kind of ridiculous situation is this?

Before I knew it, I had ended up with flowers in both hands.

As for Eve, it happened right after she saw a ghost in the Netherworld.

"Kyaaaaa!"

She let out a piercing scream and latched onto my back like a leech.

Ironically, the ghost was so startled by her scream that it ran away.

But even after that, Eve refused to let go.

Today, I became certain of Eve’s weakness.

She is terrified of ghosts.

Not just scared—absolutely petrified.

‘I had a vague feeling when she saw an evil spirit before, but…’

After coming to the Netherworld, I was sure of it.

But more than that, I couldn't understand why she even followed us into this world if she was this terrified of ghosts.

‘This is practically a trauma-level fear.’

Something must have happened to Eve in the past—something involving ghosts that I don’t know about.

"All three of you are making it hard to move."

"Exactly. Fox woman, husband says he’s uncomfortable. Let go already."

"Who are you calling a fox woman?"

"……."

The tension between the two was escalating.

It looked like it was about to turn into a full-blown fight.

Eve remained silent.

"Vinesha, how’s the pendant?"

So, to mediate the situation, I changed the subject.

Vinesha, hearing my question, lifted her upper body to show off the pendant.

My instincts made my eyes wander elsewhere for a moment, but I felt no emotional reaction.

Even I found it strange.

"Since husband gave it to me, I love it!"

Vinesha proudly flaunted it in front of Sharin.

Sharin simply narrowed her eyes at me.

"Other than that?"

"It’s really pretty!"

It was actually an antique far from anything pretty.

It seemed she didn’t feel anything special about it.

‘Was my hypothesis wrong?’

I had formed a theory regarding the pendant Vinesha was wearing.

‘Maybe it’s just not the right time yet.

There was no need to be discouraged.

More importantly, the pressure from the two squeezing my arms was getting even stronger.

Was it time to say something?

Just as I was thinking that—

[Hah, you’re nothing but a womanizer.]

A familiar voice echoed in my ears.

When I lifted my head, I saw a burly, muscular man standing there.

A ghost of the Netherworld.

The moment Vinesha and Sharin saw him, their expressions changed.

Eve clung even tighter to my back, as if trying to fuse with me.

Stop.

You’re really going to kill me.

Before Vinesha and Sharin could unleash their killing intent, I raised my hands—the ones they were clinging to—to stop them.

"Barcavaran."

[I thought I sensed something familiar, but I figured you must have died after getting struck by lightning.]

The original owner of my divine weapon, the Lightning Caller—

Barcavaran.

He had appeared before us.