"Hehehe, Master, you truly are the most handsome man in the world."
"Shut up. I know."
"Yes, Master."
The magic mirror let the false face fade away, restoring the surface of the mirror.
"Phew…"
Grin blew upward, making his bangs bounce, then stared into the mirror and admired himself shamelessly.
"Your eyes are swollen like this and you still look handsome? Tsk tsk tsk. That's just outrageous."
"Excuse me, this windowsill hasn't been cleaned yet."
Rem interrupted his self-admiration and gestured for him to move aside.
"Don't be so heartless, Rem. Look, the moonlight is beautiful tonight."
Grin was nudged out of the way by Rem and wore the picture of innocence on his face.
This blue-haired little brat was only slightly easier to deal with than her sister.
"Rem still has a mountain of work to do. I don't have time to enjoy the scenery with Grin-kun."
After saying that, Rem began wiping down the windowsill, carefully cleaning every corner where dust might be hiding.
"How much is left? I'll help."
As Rem worked, Grin drifted over to the large vase nearby, casually plucked a sprig of alpine lily of the valley, and placed it between his lips with the air of some overbearing president.
"Grin-kun, lily of the valley is poisonous. It won't kill you, but it can numb the tongue if you hold it in your mouth."
"What? Ptooey! Ptooey! I was wondering why it tasted weird."
Grin spat the flower out at once.
His mouth was already a little numb, and saliva kept gathering uncontrollably.
Whoosh—
While scratching at his tongue in a panic, his elbow accidentally knocked the vase off the stand.
Crash.
The white porcelain vase shattered against the floor.
The lilies of the valley scattered everywhere, and the droplets on the petals darkened the crimson velvet carpet.
Grin froze on the spot.
It was as if the air around him had solidified.
Rem looked at him calmly.
After a long pause, she finally asked,
"Grin-kun, are you hurt?"
Grin immediately snatched the broom and dustpan from Rem's hands and said with complete sincerity,
"I'm really sorry, Rem. I'll clean it up right away."
Rem did not stop him.
Instead, she turned and left.
A short while later, she returned carrying a fresh bundle of lilies of the valley.
After skillfully replacing the flowers, Rem also crouched down and began helping gather the porcelain shards.
"Grin-kun, these are a maid's duties. Your responsibility is to protect the mansion and Lady Emilia."
"Alright then, Rem-senpai. I'll protect you and Ram too."
Grin answered confidently as he sped up the cleanup.
After all, he was the one who had broken it carelessly. It would not do at all if Rem cut her hand on the fragments because of him.
At those words, Rem visibly paused.
A few seconds passed before she finally answered.
"As for Rem… that won't be necessary."
She looked a little down.
Like someone who had suddenly remembered something she did not want to revisit.
"Don't say lonely things like that, Rem. Plenty of people in this mansion care about you. Especially Ram."
Thanks to Grin's frantic efforts, the floor was soon cleaned.
The damp carpet was rolled up and replaced with a dry one, and only then was the work finally done.
At the mention of Ram, Rem's expression softened noticeably.
The two sisters were deeply attached to each other. Each saw the other as the most important person in the world.
But among the oni, twins were taboo.
Each twin was born with only one horn.
The tribe believed that Rem's birth had split Ram's power and held back her talent.
Rem had grown up in her sister's shadow. She loved and admired Ram, but buried beneath that love were also inferiority and resentment.
And when Ram lost her horn, Rem had once harbored the dark thought that at last it was broken.
That single moment of weakness had dragged her even deeper into self-loathing.
"Grin-kun, Rem will definitely repay you for saving my sister's life."
Rem stepped up to him and bowed deeply, her expression sincere and firm.
"There you go again. Why do you keep forcing yourself like this?"
Grin felt helpless.
The chains around Rem's heart had bound up her freedom far too tightly.
"Yawn… I'm sleepy. By the way, Rem, which room is mine again?"
"I'll take you there, Grin-kun. Your room is right next to Subaru's, so it's easier to look after both rooms together."
"Oh? So I'm Subaru's neighbor…"
A sly smile tugged at Grin's lips.
"Then I wonder whether some strange visitor might come knocking in the middle of the night."
Rem tilted her head, and for the first time in a while, her blue eyes showed fully.
It made her almost unfairly cute.
"Rem does not understand what Grin-kun means."
"Don't try to fool me with cuteness, alright?"
Grin really was worried.
If the blue-haired brat got up in the middle of the night and ended up killed by Subaru, things could spiral out of control very quickly.
…
"Ah… this feels great…"
At last, back in his own room, Grin threw himself onto the soft bed.
Roswaal's mansion was enormous, and the male servants' rooms sat all the way at the edge of the west wing. Even if something exploded over here, it probably would not disturb the women's quarters in the main house.
He had done far too much today.
His body and mind both felt wrung dry.
"I wonder whether Subaru Natsuki's asleep yet. Better add one more layer of insurance."
In the next room, Subaru Natsuki lay sprawled across the bed like a starfish.
The feeling of his magic gate being hollowed out left him vaguely nauseous, and sleep would not come.
"Damn it. I didn't expect the price of learning skills to be this high. But at least I've finally touched power beyond that of normal people. My otherworld journey, Subaru Natsuki, has finally entered the right track!"
Subaru sat up and clenched his fist tightly.
He knew it.
As someone summoned to another world, he had to be the protagonist of this world.
"That's weird. When did a full-length mirror appear in my room? Did Rem move it in without me noticing?"
Subaru got out of bed and stared in confusion at the tall mirror standing by the bedside.
It was about one point seven meters tall, a little higher than he was, with an ornate frame engraved with mysterious runes.
Buzz—
The mirror trembled and gave off a sinister hum.
Then blood-red words began appearing across its surface.
"Oh my god, it's haunted!"
Subaru's knees went weak, and he dropped straight to the floor.
"Ghost, please spare me! I… I haven't even had a girlfriend yet! Please!"
He immediately prostrated himself in front of the mirror and kowtowed repeatedly, shoulders shaking, forehead already covered in cold sweat.
Black lines seemed to twitch faintly across the mirror's surface, as though it was speechless.
When nothing happened for a while, Subaru slowly dared raise his head and peek.
The mirror was wrapped in bloody light, and what appeared on it was writing from another world.
To better suit Subaru's reading habits, the mirror even helpfully brightened the text.
"Ghost Teacher, I haven't learned these words yet. What does this mean?"
Subaru asked cautiously.
He guessed the ghost was trying to tell him something, but unfortunately, his current level was still too low to understand it.
"Damn it. Another illiterate one."
A faint curse came from the mirror.
Then all the bloody writing melted into voices.
Like whispers from devils, they flowed directly into Subaru's mind.
Welcome to Ghost Stories: Rules and Mysteries.
"Subaru Natsuki, you are a commoner, and you have already been marked by evil spirits. One wrong step, and you will die."
[Information One: There is only one evil spirit.]
[Information Two: Before sleeping, make sure the door lock is intact.]
[Information Three: If someone knocks at night, remain calm. If you hear chains rattling, do not open the door.]
[Information Four: The guards will protect you. The code phrase is: 'Godfather, save me.']
[Information Five: Hiding behind a mirror grants temporary invisibility. If someone attacks you, move away from the mirror.]
[Information Six: Someone is lying.]
"Lost lamb… struggle to survive."