"Sorry, Keya. Coming over so early in the morning like this."

"Oh, no, don't worry about it. But... you have a spare key, don't you?"

I wondered if he had lost it, but since he had already passed through the apartment's auto-lock, that couldn't be the case.

"Yeah, well… But it's early morning, and I felt weird just letting myself in with the key. I figured you'd already be awake, so I thought it’d be better to ring the doorbell."

"You don't have to be so considerate."

I opened the door wide.

"Come on in."

"…"

"What's wrong?"

"Uh, well… You go in first. I'll open the door myself."

"Huh? Uh, okay…"

Following his request, I stepped away from the entrance and moved into the hallway.

Shahzad followed me inside, but I got the feeling he was keeping his distance from me.

(He’s probably misunderstanding something again…)

"Ah, can I borrow your shower? My internal clock is completely off by half a day, and the bathhouse wasn’t open. I went out thinking it was still night."

"Of course, go ahead. You must be tired. I can heat up the leftover bathwater from yesterday if you're okay with that."

"Nah, no need for that."

"Don't be so considerate."

Arguing about it wouldn't get us anywhere, so I quickly went to the bathroom and pressed the reheat button.

"Just relax in the living room until it’s ready. Want some coffee?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks."

We moved to the living room together.

I brought my half-finished coffee to the low table and sat on the sofa facing him.

And yet, Shahzad…

"Uh… I told you to make yourself comfortable, didn't I?"

"…Yeah, you did."

"Then why are you just standing in the corner?"

"Well, you see… I just got back from a dungeon, and I might be dirty."

"I don’t mind. Besides, you’re not even dirty."

"No, seriously, I'm fine like this."

"You say that, but standing there makes *me* feel awkward."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Shahzad seemed to choke on his words.

People who are overly considerate often hate making others feel the same way.

"Well, um… the thing is…"

Shahzad’s face turned red.

"I think I smell bad…"

"Smell bad?"

"At the Dungeon Park, people kept avoiding me…"

"Oh. Well, that’s…"

They probably *were* avoiding him, but for a completely different reason.

(So that's what the weird tension at the entrance was about…)

"Not long ago, this never happened… But I guess now that I’m getting older, it’s like, body odor or something…"

"Body odor? You’re only twenty-seven, Shahzad."

"But people are actually avoiding me…"

"…"

That was true, which made it tricky.

Realizing words wouldn't convince him, I stood up.

Then, I strode straight toward him.

"Wait, Keya!?"

Shahzad stepped back, but since he had been standing in the corner of the living room from the start, he quickly bumped into the wall.

He tried to escape to the side, but I blocked him with my hand.

With the other side being a corner, he had nowhere to go.

"Wait, seriously, please don’t—stay back…!"

Shahzad’s face turned pale.

He really hated the idea of being told he smelled bad.

Since we were almost the same height—though that was because I was tall, not because he was short—it probably looked fine from the outside.

But thanks to his reaction, there was no romantic tension at all.

Instead, it felt like a scene from a horror movie.

(*I’m literally cornering the strongest man in the world…*)

A sadistic urge rose in me, but if Nadia saw this, it would be a disaster.

I leaned in and sniffed Shahzad.

He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth.

"Yep, you don’t smell bad at all."

"…What?"

"There were times when you spent *way* longer in dungeons, and I never thought you smelled bad. So, it's just in your head."

"No, you’re just being nice—"

"It’s the opposite. In these situations, honesty is kindness."

"Huh? So…?"

"You don’t smell bad. I guarantee it."

Shahzad's face lit up instantly.

(*He’s so expressive. Like a kid.*)

But his face soon clouded over again.

"Then why was everyone avoiding me…?"

"Ah…"

And we're back to this.

"Maybe they just don’t like you?"

"Oh, that makes sense… I never thought of that… I have been going to that dungeon for a long time… Haha…"

I had meant it as a joke, but it hit him hard.

(*Sorry, Shahzad…*)

He understood that he wasn’t smelly, but he still remained in the corner of the living room.

To change the subject, I spoke up.

"Oh, right. I saw something on T."

"T?"

"Dungeon’s SNS - D. They changed the name recently due to some trademark issue."

T (formerly D) was a social media platform originally made for adventurers to exchange information.

It eventually grew beyond that and now had over two billion users worldwide.

Since it was acquired by Dungeon Link, it specialized in dungeon-related topics.

"I saw that there was trouble in the dungeon you were in. Something about a *Nagin* escaping from the circus?"

"Oh, yeah, that. It's already spreading? That was fast. I kind of got involved in that, actually."

"Really?"

I sounded innocent, but of course, I already knew.

The reason it was a trending topic in the first place was because *he* was involved.

"So, what happened?"

"A woman was about to be attacked by Nagin, so I jumped in and saved her. But I panicked and ended up killing it."

"And?"

I didn’t see why he looked so apologetic.

"Well, you know… Even though it was a beast, Nagin technically belonged to the circus. So I thought I’d get in trouble…"

"Ahh…"

He saved someone and still worried about things like that.

(*He’s either too kind or just too negative…*)

"I gave them a fancy ring as compensation, just in case."

"I see…"

So that’s how it happened.

"Still, Nagin, huh…"

"What?"

"Just thinking… Who named a Medusa-like creature *Nagin*? It has to be a Bangladeshi person. Then again, given its popularity overseas, maybe not. The name does have that kind of *internet humor* feel to it…"

"Eh?"

"Hm? What?"

"Nothing…"

The one who named it was Shahzad.

In an old stream, he had found a monster resembling Medusa and had gone,

*"Wait, what’s this called again? I know it! Nagin? No, not Nagin… Uh…"*

But he never remembered Medusa’s actual name and kept calling it Nagin.

By the time he finally remembered, it was too late.

The name had stuck.

(*Shahzad doesn’t like his own name, but his naming sense is just as bad. Maybe it runs in the family?*)

Just as I was lost in thought, the bedroom door suddenly slammed open.

Nadia burst out in her pajamas.

"Good morning, everyone!"