Subaru Natsuki responded immediately, throwing the mirror in his hand to Grin.
The magic mirror instantly sensed something was wrong and tried to flee, but it was firmly locked in place by Grin's summoning power.
Even though Rem was poisoned, she was still in her Oni transformation state.
To force her out of it passively, the only way was to strike the oni horn on her head with a heavy blow.
Grin raised the magic mirror high and, with all his might, aimed a strike at Rem's horn.
"Master, wait! I can hypnotize her, I can hypnotize her!"
But it was useless; Grin had to finish this quickly.
Thud!
Rem groaned in pain as the magical coating covering her oni horn shattered, dissipating into stardust and light.
The horn itself lost its luster and slowly retracted beneath her skin.
At this moment, Rem seemed drained of all strength and fell into a deep sleep.
Grin extended his right arm and caught Rem in his embrace, preventing her from falling to the ground.
The body of the girl who had just reverted from her Oni transformation was much warmer than usual, and the soft sensation felt like holding a warm heating pad.
"Ah! I quit, I'm resigning!"
The magic mirror was knocked senseless, wobbling unsteadily as it floated in the air.
"OK, OK, you're fired."
Grin ignored the evil-filled magic mirror; the matter of it stealing Emilia's socks still hadn't been settled.
"This... this, I was joking, Master. Hehe, how could I bear to leave you?"
The magic mirror channeled mana within itself to repair the dent from the impact, then shamelessly stuck close again.
Grin carried Rem into the room, placed her on his own bed, retrieved her morning star, and used the chain on it to bind Rem's hands to the headboard.
High mountain lilies of the valley grow at relatively high altitudes where temperatures are naturally low, which also makes them intolerant to heat.
Once the temperature reaches around 38 degrees Celsius, the paralyzing toxin within them begins to slowly decompose.
Don't think Rem is down for the count; with her current body temperature, she'll wake up in half an hour at most.
After doing all this, Grin finally approached Subaru Natsuki.
"Ouch~ Bro, you've really been messed up. Can you still stand?"
"It hurts so much. I've lost too much blood and feel dizzy. Green-kun, can you help me up?"
Subaru Natsuki's will to survive was quite strong; he had already torn off a piece of bedsheet to wrap the wound on his face.
Grin extended a hand and helped Subaru Natsuki to his feet.
"Let's go, Subaru. I'll take you to see a doctor. You can find the gate of opportunity, right? Only that Drill-haired Little Loli can save you."
"Of course, probability games are my specialty!"
...Click!
"Could you not disturb Betty at this late hour? Even a Great Spirit needs to sleep, Asira (verbal tic)."
Inside the Forbidden Library, the scattered books had been tidied to the side, and in the center was a luxurious small Princess Bed.
Betty sat up, looking displeased at the two who had disturbed her.
"You filthy-looking fellows, don't get blood on Betty's books, or I'll have no choice but to make you atone with your lives."
"Sorry, Betty. I didn't mean to disturb you. Look, this guy's face is almost sliced off; he's lost so much blood he's in shock."
Grin carried the heavy, unconscious Subaru Natsuki over to Betty, showing her the terrible wound on his face.
"How disgusting. If he's dead, please throw him into the forest."
Betty pinched her delicate little nose, fanning the air with a look of disgust.
"He's not dead yet, Betty. Please, be merciful and heal him."
"Why should Betty have to save him? Betty doesn't recall having such an obligation."
Grin grew anxious, pacing back and forth around Betty as he thought.
"Aren't a few of your bookshelves loose? As an exchange for you saving him, I'll fix them for you. How about that? Please, Lady Betty~"
Betty crossed her arms over her chest, her proud eyes shifting. "Well~ Betty will be merciful and help you this once."
"Great! Then it's a deal!"
Grin extended his fist, indicating for Betty to seal the pact with a fist bump.
Betty clearly hesitated for a moment upon seeing this, but ultimately extended her small pink fist to meet his.
"Baka baka xi, you're really as childish as a kid, Grin."
Betty walked over to Subaru Natsuki, knelt beside him, and placed her small hand on his cheek.
Night-like mana, like a reversed river of stars, instantly spread across his entire head.
The cold light of the yin attribute wasn't warm; instead, it carried the dryness and dust scent of old library book pages.
Yet wherever it went, the runaway pain was "snip" cut off by an invisible pair of scissors.
The unconscious Subaru was awakened by the sensation of withdrawal, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"It hurts..."
"Already blocked."
Betty knelt beside him, her cream-colored curls falling to hide her disgusted expression.
"I only cut off the pain; the wound is still there. Make any more noise, and I'll freeze your nerves along with it."
She raised her other hand, tracing a pale purple magic array in the air with her fingertip.
Yin mana condensed into fine threads, like sewing needles, but instead of stitching flesh, they stitched "time" itself, folding the moment of blood spray into a hidden layer and pausing the countdown of his constantly draining life.
Finally, Betty switched to water magic, and warm mana flowed into Subaru Natsuki's wound, urging the flesh to regenerate and the tissues to knit together.
"Done. Before you leave, remember to clean the bloodstains off Betty's floor."
After finishing, Betty returned to the Princess Bed.
"Why are you still here?"
"Well... this... If I go out, Rem will try to kill me. Let me stay here for a while today."
"Why would Rem try to kill you?"
After speaking, Betty seemed to realize something and looked down at the peacefully sleeping Subaru Natsuki.
"I see. But what does that have to do with Betty?"
"Don't be so heartless~ Betty-chan."
Grin pulled over a chair and placed it beside Betty's bed.
"As compensation for disturbing your rest, how about I tell you a few bedtime stories?"
After saying this, Grin even fluffed Betty's pillow, gesturing for her to lie down.
"Betty doesn't recall being that close with you."
Despite her words, the tsundere Betty still somewhat reluctantly leaned against the pillow, her actions contradicting her words.
Grin immediately, with keen awareness, tucked Betty in and dimmed the magic lamp by the bed, creating a sleep-friendly atmosphere.
A storybook inscribed with the words "dark fairy tale book" materialized in Grin's hand.
The pages flipped on their own without wind, rapidly turning until they settled on a fresh, new section.
The page glowed with a golden light, lines of text slowly fading in. Besides "Snow White," two new pages of content appeared in the dark fairy tale book.
"beauty and the beast" and "Little Red Riding Hood."
"What luck, Betty. There's a new story today."
"Once upon a time, there was a merchant named Maurice who had a lovely daughter named Belle."
"One day, Maurice had to travel far for business. Before leaving, he asked Belle, 'Daughter, what would you like as a gift?'"
"Belle said, 'Father, I only need a golden rose.'"
"...On his return journey, Maurice got lost and wandered into an ancient castle in the forest."
"Inside the castle, a teapot poured tea, a candlestick provided light, and a table was laden with delicacies, yet there was no one in sight."
"After eating his fill, he saw the castle's garden was filled with golden roses. Remembering Belle's request, he plucked one."
"The moment he turned to leave, he was blocked by a massive, half-wolf, half-lion monster covered in brown fur."
"'You took my golden rose; you must compensate me. The first thing you see when you return home will belong to me!'"
"...Maurice thought it would be a bird, a tree, or the hearth at home. Unfortunately, the first thing he saw upon returning was his beloved daughter... Later, Belle, holding the golden rose, came to the castle. She tamed the lonely beast trapped within, teaching him about love and being loved."
"When she climbed a ladder, stood on her tiptoes, and offered a kiss, the massive beast shed its fur and transformed back into a handsome young man."
"It turned out the man had been cursed by a witch for his arrogance, and only by learning to love and be loved could the curse be broken. In the end, Belle and the prince held a grand wedding amidst a garden of golden roses that never withered."
"And so it ends. Goodnight, Betty."