Life at the Mansion (Part 1)
After passing through the village of Arlam, which had about a hundred residents, a massive mansion appeared at the end of the road.
There was only one mansion, but it was noticeably larger than the Astrea mansion.
Hosting over thirty people would be a breeze for such a place. In front of the grand gate stood a blonde-haired, blue-eyed maid.
"Welcome, I've been expecting you. I'm Frederica Baumann, servant of Lord Roswaal."
Only when Subaru got closer did he realize she was slightly taller than him.
She greeted everyone with a smile, but her sharp fangs made her squinting, seemingly sincere smile resemble that of a predator about to pounce.
Once formally inside the mansion, Subaru began walking around at will.
Despite its size, the place felt utterly devoid of life, and even from his perspective, the courtyard looked messy and neglected.
"Yo, Rem. Cooking? Are you the only one here?"
"There are only three maids in this mansion: me, my sister, and Frederica."
"For a place this big?"
Subaru asked in surprise, and Rem nodded affirmatively.
"Talk about peak capitalism…"
Subaru muttered, then picked up a knife and started preparing food.
"Subaru-kun!!?"
"Well, you've helped me out a lot, so let me return the favor. Don't worry, I worked as a servant at the Astrea mansion too."
Subaru showed off a peeled potato proudly to Rem.
"That's truly perfect, Subaru."
"Even though I know you're being genuine…"
Subaru sighed, watching Rem swiftly and instinctively handle the food at a speed he couldn't comprehend.
"…when it comes from your mouth, it always sounds a bit mocking. Still, I won't lose so easily."
.
.
.
"Ugh, my shoulders are sore…"
Subaru rolled his shoulders, heading back to his room. But after walking a while, he looked in surprise at a painting on the wall.
"Huh?"
He frowned.
"This painting… I feel like I've seen it already…"
Standing in front of the decorative hallway oil painting, Subaru crossed his arms and fell into thought.
Because he had been pondering whose maid combat strength was higher—Rem or Reinhild—he wasn't entirely sure if his feeling was accurate. He drew his sword and cautiously continued walking.
"Unless that bastard Roswaal bought multiple copies of the same painting…"
Subaru shook his head, denying that unlikely possibility.
"Is there some mechanism under the floor? A circular hallway?... No, this feeling—I've experienced it before… That's it! The Astrea evacuation labyrinth!"
Suddenly, he remembered why it felt familiar and grinned.
"So, have you come to intimidate me, or invite me?"
Subaru spoke to what might be the dark-attribute great spirit lurking nearby, but got no response.
Gathering his courage, he opened the door in front of him, only to be disappointed—just an empty room.
"A ring-shaped hallway with countless rooms... Is this one of those trials where I have to find the right room?"
Thinking aloud, he figured that since he was still alive, the other party probably wanted to meet him.
Wiping sweat from his brow, he began strategizing how to win favor while casually opening the second-nearest door adorned with a painting.
"That easy, huh?"
Subaru said, surprised at the unfamiliar room before him.
"…What an infuriating guy you are."
A curly-haired little girl glared at Subaru with a tone full of resentment.
Subaru instinctively scanned the room and had a strong feeling that this was the so-called Forbidden Library.
—This room, indeed, deserved to be called a "library."
It was enormous. The bookshelves and ceiling were tightly packed, with no gaps at all. Even in a medieval era, the number of books stored here was unimaginable.
He began to examine the legendary great spirit before him.
At first glance, she appeared to be a girl of around eleven or twelve, with blonde hair, dressed in a frilly, luxurious outfit, and wearing tightly coiled twin-drill pigtails—a hairstyle only seen in anime.
Her blue eyes had butterfly-shaped patterns in their centers.
This "fairy-like" little girl sat on a step stool, hugging a slightly oversized book, and looked up at Subaru.
"So you're humanoid!?"
Subaru exclaimed in surprise, having imagined something like a glowing orb or a black cat.
"Did you come here to pick a fight? If so, I won't hold back."
A primal instinct honed through Subaru's many brushes with death screamed danger.
"Actually, I came to confirm a few things."
Facing the hostile little girl, Subaru finally stated his first goal:
"I want to learn more about the Witch of Envy… and whether a person on the other side of the waterfall has returned back to their home."
"You think I'll give you clear answers? Don't misunderstand. I only agreed to let you browse the materials."
The girl stood from her stool and walked over to Subaru.
"—Don't move."
Suddenly recalling Otto's weakness during dinner, Subaru felt a chill run down his spine.
"What is this?"
"Isn't it natural to charge rent? I'm not generous enough to let the enemy of my brother enter the Forbidden Library for free. Once a week. That green-hatted one paid too."
The girl's voice was ice-cold.
Then she reached for Subaru's chest and gently traced it with her fingertips. The sensation tickled slightly. And then—
"Ugh..."
In the next instant, Subaru felt as if his entire body was engulfed in flames.
It was as if something terrifying within him surged up, trying to burn everything from his fingertips to the ends of his hair.
Both inside and out, it was searing pain that made him writhe.
"You didn't faint? Just as rumored—quite resilient. Your energy flow is strange, though."
"So the rent… is mana?"
Collapsing to the floor, unable to support his upper body, Subaru still endured the pain and twisted his neck to look at the girl who now looked down at him with a joyful smile.
"Yes. Once a week."
The words that left the girl's mouth were utterly devoid of warmth, chilling to the bone.
Subaru felt something in his chest smoldering. But he didn't even have the strength left to describe the heat in words.
Then, his consciousness slowly sank into darkness, no longer under his control.
"Such low mana. If you die here, I'll have to step over your corpse every time I pass through. What a pain. Guess I should go tell someone."
—She talks like I'm a bug. Don't jinx me, damn brat. No, you damn little demon.
Unable even to voice such a comeback, Subaru slipped into unconsciousness once again.