"How's the pressure?"

"Do I need to top up your water? Let me do it! Oh, want some fries? Open wide, ah~"

Down in the inn's first-floor restaurant, the fraudster stared at Ashe, who had been aggressively eager to please him since sunrise. Gently turning away the fry Ashe was trying to force-feed him, Iger let out a long, heavy sigh. "Just spill it. How are you planning to ruin my dignity this time? Do you want me to hypnotize you into finding a girlfriend, or are we rebuilding the Four Pillars Cult?"

"How could you even think that?!" Ashe declared with absolute conviction. "I just realized I've never properly thanked you for everything, so I wanted to work on our bonding. Purely as an academic discussion, though, how long does your hypnosis actually last, and how effective is it?"

"You really don't have an ulterior motive?"

"None! But Iger, how old are you this year anyway? What are your plans after the Woven Festival ends? Have you ever thought about settling down, starting a family, or building a career?"

"Oh, I see how it is." Iger dragged out his words knowingly. "But why are you only turning the interrogation on me? Harvey isn't any younger. Why don't you ask him?"

"What's there to ask?...