Grin waved his hand and said, "There's no need for such formalities. Just call me Grin. May I ask where the toilet or bathroom is?"
Subaru Natsuki pointed toward the room he had just been kicked out of and said, "What a coincidence, Green-kun. The toilet is actually this one."
"No way! Are you trying to prank me, kid?"
Grin looked at him with a face full of disbelief.
"Absolutely not, Lord Grin!"
Even as he said it, a mischievous smirk flashed across Subaru Natsuki's face.
If the guest were also sent flying by that Drill-haired little girl, it would be highly disrespectful.
Grin swallowed hard, walked to the door, and comforted himself:
"As everyone knows, the probability of two artillery shells landing in the same spot is less than one percent."
*Creak~*
The door opened a crack, and soft light leaked out.
Looking inside, the space was vast, surrounded by bookshelves that soared to the ceiling. Countless grimoires emitted the scent of old paper and a faint trace of Mana.
Betty sat curled up on a wooden step ladder in the Forbidden Library, her cream-colored twin drills resting on her shoulders, her ornate frilled dress pressed into soft curves by her skirt.
The little girl, who looked about eleven or twelve years old, did not look up. Instead, she said in a cold voice, "What, does Betty look like an artillery shell to you?"
*Bang!*
Grin slammed the door shut, turned around, and put on a poker face as he looked at the awkwardly smiling Subaru Natsuki.
*Crackle!*
Grin cracked his Fingers with a powerful sound and walked toward Subaru Natsuki step by step, looking as if he intended to give him a beating.
Subaru Natsuki turned pale with fright. Backing away, he said, "I swear, I swear, this really is the toilet!"
Grin took a long breath to calm his nerves.
"I'll trust you one more time. If I get beaten up too, you know what I'm capable of."
"Right, right!"
Although Subaru Natsuki didn't know what Grin was capable of, he nodded repeatedly in agreement.
*Creak~*
The wooden door was pushed open again.
"As everyone knows, three shells in a row... Holy crap, let's just go find a bathroom!"
Seeing that the scene inside the room still hadn't changed, Grin immediately turned to run.
"Ah, help!"
Before he could finish his sentence, a massive suction force was released from within the room. Grin had no time to resist before he was sucked inside, tumbling and crawling.
Opening his eyes, he found himself right in front of Betty.
*Bang!*
The large wooden door closed on its own, as if it were alive.
"One after another, Roswaal always attracts fools to the Mansion."
Betty held an old book in her hands and looked down at Grin.
Grin stood up and brushed the wrinkles and dust off his clothes.
"I didn't even want to come in..."
This caused Betty to frown slightly. She said fiercely, "Constantly playing with the gate of opportunity has almost given Betty a cold from all the fanning."
Grin was somewhat surprised. Did the gate of opportunity really spawn in the same place three times in a row?
This was clearly impossible. While the gate of opportunity was said to be entered by probability, it was actually controlled by Betty. As long as she didn't want someone to enter, they would have to open every door in the Mansion to find her.
"Betty, you wouldn't happen to need something from me, would you?"
Grin asked tentatively; he could only think of that answer.
Being exposed to her face, a faint blush appeared on the tsundere Betty's cheeks.
"You have a bit more brains than the last reckless fellow."
Betty, clutching her book, elegantly stepped down from the wooden ladder and stopped in front of Grin.
She was only four feet seven inches (140 cm) tall. Her exquisite little leather shoes made a "tap-tap" sound on the floor.
She reached out her right hand and placed it against Grin's abdomen. This action startled Grin, and he quickly took a few steps back.
"Betty, I'm an injured person. If you want to drain my Mana, can it wait until I've recovered for a few days?"
"Idiot! Please do not misinterpret Betty's actions. Betty only sensed another life within your body and was curious. Also, please address Betty by her full name, Beatrice! Hearing the word 'Betty' come from your mouth makes Betty's entire body feel uncomfortable!"
Betty stomped her foot in anger, her small fists clenched tight.
"Okay Betty, no problem Betty!"
Grin's rebellious streak was triggered. His specialty was making tsunderes angry.
"Detestable fellow!"
With irritation, Betty reached out her right hand again. This time, she decided to squeeze a bit of Mana out of Grin.
Grin was already prepared, letting Betty's small hand rest on his lower abdomen.
*Hum!*
The Mana channeling began. A stream of pure yin-attribute Mana was drawn out by Betty, but strangely, Grin didn't even flinch.
"Ah! What's going on!"
A scream came from beneath Grin's inner garment, and a golden magic mirror flew out.
"Who did it? Who did it! Which blind fool dares to drain my Mana!"
The magic mirror flew in the air, shouting angrily.
Grin slapped it on the top and said, "Don't copy the way I talk!"
"Ouch, yes Master! Who, who is draining my Mana? It must be you, you little punk. I'm going to eat your soul!"
The magic mirror fixed its gaze on Betty. Since only she and its master were present, she must have done it.
Betty carefully observed the magic mirror and reached out to grab its handle.
"It seems you are not a spirit. Betty was overthinking. However, Betty has never seen a talking magic item before."
"Let go, you impolite brat! Don't push me, or I'll chew your soul into pieces and swallow it!"
The magic mirror threatened, unaware that it had stepped on a landmine. What Betty hated most was being treated like a child.
Sure enough, Betty's expression turned sour when she heard the word "brat."
"As expected of a fool's magic item, your way of speaking is just as irritating. It just so happens that a few bookshelves are loose. I'll use you to nail them together."
"What!"
The magic mirror was terrified. His handsome face, which he had worked so hard to fix, must not be scratched again.
Hearing this, he quickly twisted his body, slid out of Betty's palm, and rushed toward Grin. In the process, he accidentally knocked the book Betty was holding in her other hand out of her grasp.
The old book fell to the ground, its pages fluttering open. Eerily, the contents of the book were entirely blank—no signature, no text, just white paper.
The magic mirror flew back to Grin's shoulder and grew bold again.
"After all that, you're just reading a blank book? Stop pretending to be an intellectual!"
After speaking, he leaned close to Grin's ear and plotted, "Master, quickly make a Poisoned Apple and trick her into eating it. If we don't kill her today, this won't end well."
Grin's mouth twitched, and he covered his face with his hands, unable to look.
"As your master, you often make me lose face."
Betty ignored the magic mirror. Instead, she knelt down with some haste and carefully picked up the book.
"Still nothing?"
Whether it was Subaru Natsuki or Grin, their arrival had changed nothing.
No text had appeared in the book. It was as empty as it had been four hundred years ago.
Grin knew that there was indeed a verbal covenant between Betty and the Witch of Greed, Echidna.
That was that Betty must guard the Forbidden Library until "That Person" appeared—someone she could personally identify as suitable to inherit Echidna's knowledge.
But Betty relied heavily on the guidance of the Book of Wisdom, waiting for hints that would never appear.
"Are you alright, Betty?"
Looking at Betty's lonely figure, Grin was moved. If it were him, he probably would have had a mental breakdown long ago; it was impossible to wait for four hundred years.
The way these spirits treated their oaths was serious to the point of madness.