The baby snake lifted its head, and Neville saw it. It had the two tiny bumps on its forehead, barely visible unless you knew where to look for them. The same bumps he had seen before, when a lost little snake had found its way into his apartment.

He had spent a good amount of time with it until it suddenly disappeared. Now it mysteriously appeared in the penthouse of his boss. Neville found it baffling to say the least.

"It IS you," Neville breathed, a smile breaking across his face despite himself. He knelt properly, extending a finger for Lucky to explore.

"I wondered where you had gone. You just disappeared one day, and I thought—" He paused, the pieces clicking into place. "You’re Grayson’s pet, aren’t you? That’s why you know about my place!"

Neville gave an explanation for it, even though it didn’t actually make sense. Lucky’s tongue flickered out to brush against his finger and made a sound that could only be described as pleased. It began to coil its way up his arm, settling around his wrist like a living bracelet.

[Since the host has discovered the target’s pet, this could be a good way to rake in extra favorability! ✧*.ヾ(｡>﹏<｡)ﾉﾞ✧*.]

Neville ignored Shelly’s opportunistic dreams, though a calculating part of his brain considered this way to be plausible.

But would taking good care of Grayson’s pet really earn him some favorability points?

Even if it didn’t, Lucky was still adorable and clearly had excellent taste in humans. It would be fun to take care of it along the way.

"Alright, little friend," he murmured, stroking a finger along Lucky’s smooth scales. "Can you show me where your owner is? I need to make sure he hasn’t died somewhere or accidentally slept elsewhere."

Lucky’s head lifted sharply, its body tensing around Neville’s wrist. Before he could react, Lucky unwound itself and dropped to the floor, slithering away with sudden urgency toward a doorway half-hidden in shadows.

Neville followed, his footsteps silent on the plush carpet that replaced the marble as he moved deeper into the penthouse. The lighting grew dimmer here, the air heavier with that fresh water scent until it was almost overwhelming—like standing beside a waterfall, all cool mist and clean stone.

Lucky disappeared through a doorway that stood slightly ajar. Neville hesitated at the threshold. Clearly, the place Lucky had gone to was a bedroom. Even in the darkness, he could see the edge of an enormous bed through the gap, dark sheets pooling on the floor like spilled ink.

Maybe he should just turn back and fix some food for Grayson. Maybe he should also leave a message and go. Maintaining a professional distance would ensure that he was alive and employed in the future.

Walking into his boss’s bedroom uninvited was a line that, once crossed, couldn’t be uncrossed.

He should also contact Bryan to ask what to do next. After all, the system’s quests had never been given arbitrarily. There should be a clear reason why, and he was sure that he would find out about it after stepping inside this room.

But he should still check if Grayson was really there.

Neville pushed the door open completely.

The bedroom was large but completely dominated by a bed that could have comfortably slept five people. The curtains were still closed, casting everything in shades of gray and shadow. But a small amount of light filtered through was enough to illuminate the figure lying on the mattress.

Grayson lay on his side, one arm thrown over his eyes as if to block out even that dim light. His usually immaculate black hair was a tousled mess against the pillow, his face slack with what looked like exhausted sleep.

He had shed his shirt at some point, revealing a torso that was all lean muscle and sharp angles, marked here and there with faded scars that spoke of battles Neville couldn’t imagine.

But that wasn’t what made Neville’s breath catch in his throat.

It was the tail.

From somewhere below Grayson’s back was a massive appendage tail extended across the bed and down to the floor. It somehow coiled in on itself in a relaxed spiral. It was covered in scales the color of midnight.

A black sheen that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. The tail had to be at least twice the length of Grayson’s human legs, powerful and muscular and absolutely magnificent.

Neville stood frozen in the doorway, his brain struggling to process what he was seeing.

"Is this..." he whispered to himself, the words barely audible. "Is this Grayson’s semi-beast form?"

The tail twitched, scales rippling with reflected light. Its color was just like Lucky’s.

No wonder Grayson had Lucky as a pet; they were of the same reptilian origin.

Then, the tail suddenly moved.

Not a twitch this time, but a deliberate sweep, the tip of it swinging and stretching around in a wide arc. Before he could move or even think about moving, the tail wrapped around his ankles and yanked him inside.

"Wait—!"

Neville yelped as he was pulled off his feet and dragged across the floor toward the bed. The scales were smooth against his skin but shockingly strong, unyielding as iron bands as they wound higher up his legs, his thighs, his waist.

"Stop—! Please—! I’m—!" His protests dissolved into undignified spluttering as he was lifted bodily off the ground.

He was placed onto the bed with surprising gentleness. The tail continued to coil around him, drawing him closer to the sleeping figure at the center of the mattress until he found himself pressed against Grayson’s bare chest.

Grayson moved in his sleep, and Neville froze as an arm draped over his waist. He was pulled even closer to Grayson’s chest. Grayson’s face was mere inches from his own now.

Judging from how close they were, Neville could count his eyelashes if he wanted to. He could see Grayson, slightly furrowing his eyebrows. He saw his lips parted slightly with each slow breath.

No, he needed to get up!

"Mr. Maxwell," Neville said, keeping his voice steady through sheer force of will. "Mr. Maxwell, please wake up."