I marvelled at the skeleton key under the light of the desk lamp. The tiny pentagram-shaped handle at the butt of the key was smooth and shiny, much different from the oxidised texture that covered the rest of the surface. With the key measuring only half the length of my finger, the lock it was paired with must've been small too.
Okay, so now I've got this key. Where does it go?
I gazed across the room at the opposite wall. I stared for a moment – my eyes overwhelmed by the sheer number of old book spines.
Forget it. This place may as well be a library.
I uncrossed my legs and straightened myself up. Though I couldn't afford to get comfortable, my body had been gradually sucked into the chair's soft, velvet upholstery.
She could be back any minute, but would something like this really be of any significance?
I brought my fingernails to my mouth and began to pick at my teeth. Though the study didn't suffer from a lack of storage options, I figured such an inconspicuous key wouldn't be paired with obvious locks. Suddenly, an idea spoke up within me.
Wait. My diary had a small lock on it when I was younger. Maybe it opens something like a grimoire! It has to!
Maybe the wall of old, unsuspecting books might be a trick to stop me even looking there in the first place. Perhaps it really is hidden in plain sight!
Alright. Let's check that wall!
Clutching the key in my hand, I stretched out my arms and legs. The joints in my limbs softly crackled, and I swiftly jumped out of the chair when–
Thud!
"Agh—!"
A sharp pain reverberated through my knee as I threw my head back, and a small, albeit audible grunt escaped through my clenched teeth. I threw my hand in my mouth and bit down on it; I'd be dead if they heard me.
Ugh! This is the… Ugh! The worst!
"Mmmnngh!"
Please don't stop talking. Please, don't stop talking!
As I stood up, it seemed I had bashed my knee against the leg of the desk. This wasn't the first time I'd injured myself, though, and certainly wouldn't be the last. I was the most "accident-prone devil in the underworld", as my father often teased.
I continued to hold my breath, my eyes squeezed shut as I focused all of my attention on my ears.
Thump Thump! Thump Thump! Thump Thump!
Though I'd hit my leg, my heart pounded so hard that it felt like I'd been punched in the chest.
"…"
"The Black Wing [inaudible] … also wandering around Tokyo lately [inaudible] … What do you think that's all about?"
"..."
"Ugh. Thank Satan." I exhaled as I sprawled across the desk.
While I began to catch my breath and calm down, I unclenched my hands to find that the blunt teeth of the key had become partially lodged in my skin.
"Tsk."
Doesn't look that bad. It should heal in a few minutes.
My parents hadn't heard me, and the pain was beginning to subside; I was safe. I took a deep breath and collected myself.
Though it hurt like hell, my trivial ordeal made me realise just how time-poor I actually was. At this rate, if I didn't hurry up, I'd never leave the underworld, or perhaps even this room.
Droplets of sweat began to form on my brow, and I resumed looking for a lock. I rose from the chair, and doing so, cursed the desk in my heart as I scowled at it.
I clenched my left hand into a fist and motioned as if to hit the desk. How low the House of Gremory had fallen. I was a succubus that taunted furniture now.
Stupid bloody desk! I'll have you turned into scrap! Why are the legs so sharp and pointy, anyway?
Though when I looked towards the area that I'd hit myself again, my mind suddenly went blank. The suspect, the leg of the desk, was too far away. I was sitting in the middle of the table, and the desk was at least two and a half metres wide.
There had to be something I'd missed.
I narrowed my eyes and leant down towards a small structure that was tucked away against the side wall of the desk.
And like that, the mystery was solved.
I'd smashed my knee right against a chest of drawers! Just my luck!
Huh? Where did these come from? How did I not notice these?!
The same colour and make as the rest of the desk, the chest of drawers comprised of three drawers: the top two being shorter in height, and the bottom one so large that it looked like it could fit my head in it.
I knelt on the floor to get a closer look. Despite a bit of wear and tear, the unit looked completely ordinary. My curiosity had finally got the better of me. I opened the top two drawers and peeked inside, wrestling with my body as I did so, to keep sneezes from escaping.
Nothing, huh? Alright, big one it is. Please. I hope there's nothing alive in there. Or dead!
I pulled on the square, metal knob in the middle of the large drawer.
…
Nothing. No matter how hard I pulled, it wouldn't open.
"Hmm," I muttered, as I inspected around the handle for some kind of lock.
Suspicious! What's going on here? What would Mother even need shabby little drawers like this for, anyway?
As my curiosity lessened and my frustration grew, I grabbed the sides of the drawer unit, and tried to move it. It wasn't much, but I was only barely able to move it out of the deep grooves it had created in the carpet. Who knew red cedar was such a heavy wood? I strained to pull them further, but it was no use. My strength had all but completely disappeared after a full day of corset shopping and intense training.
Instead of pulling further, I pushed the drawers back into place. As the wooden feet reluctantly caught on the carpet and slid back into their craters, something could be heard from inside.
Thud!
It was a dull, muted sound that had some weight behind it. Something had either been knocked into the thick, inner walls. Whatever it was, it sounded heavy.
No way! There's really something inside! How the hell do you open this thing?!
My heart began to race once more. It felt as if I was committing some sort of crime. I felt my eyes widen, and now that I knew that there was something inside, I needed to open that drawer at all costs.
My search for some kind of keyhole hastened. I ran my clammy hands across each face of the drawers, as my adrenaline began to blur my vision and sense of time.
Nothing.
I felt like I'd been in the study forever, but in reality, it was mere minutes. Still, I couldn't count on Mother and Father to be talking much longer.
Going so far as to even flip the drawers over, I began to panic. There was still no sign of a lock. Nothing.
As I stood them upright once more, having patted the underside of the unit clean for a keyhole, a chill shot up my spine.
…
click, clack, Click, Clack, CLICK, CLACK…
?!
What the-?!
The sound of heels strutting down the tiled hallway echoed under the door. The footsteps were slow and approached with intent.
I threw myself under the desk and made my body as small as possible against the backboard. The heels continued approaching until they didn't anymore.
The key still in hand, I closed my eyes tightly and took a sharp breath.
Oh. Oh no. I'm done for! This is it! Mother was wearing heels today. She's going to open the door, and when she does, my life is over. You idiot! You should've just stayed in your room!
The door handle slowly turned, and with it, so did my stomach. The plan to run away was a total failure, and it had begun to dawn on me how stupid the whole operation was. Even if I found out what was inside the drawers, the fact remained that I didn't know how to get to the human realm.
Even if there were some manual on how to dimensionally travel, I had no magic to do it. The best I could do now was hope that I wasn't found, and that if I was, that I did a good job begging for my life.
The door handle continued turn, and time stood still. I held my breath as the click of the lock released.
The heavy door creaked open.
Mother was now inside.
…
…
"Hello? Luna? Hmm… I wonder where the Young Miss went off to? Maybe she's in with the Lord of the House? Of course she wouldn't be in here." a soft voice inquired.
…
Click!
…
As the door closed once more, I struggled to catch my breath. Just as quickly as she had come, she left. The head maid, that is.
Gwyneth! Of course! Oh, what a relief!
If you're looking for me, why would I be here?! Well, I suppose I am, but… !
As I clenched the neckline of my corset, I slowly opened my eyes, feeling like I'd dodged death once more. I looked towards the drawers wearily, reluctant to resume my search. When I did, though, I finally found the answer to the mystery of the pot key that I'd held all this time.
On the back of the drawers, I noticed a small chip taken out of the wood about the size of a fingernail. I carefully stuck my fingernail under it, and with just a little bit of force–
Creeak~!
A thin sheet of wood the size of the backboard popped off from the drawer unit.
Woah. A fake back?! Mother! Just what are you hiding?
I looked over the back of the drawers once more, and towards the bottom of the unit, a small metal ridge protruded from the back panel. I ran my fingers along it, noting an indent where something could fit inside.
This… This is it! Yes!
I hurriedly put the key in and turned it clockwise.
Click!
My heart began to pound faster, and I could hear it in my ears as they rang. I moved out from under the desk, and pulled once more on the handle of the bottom drawer.
Sliiiiiide~
The drawer finally opened!
Overwhelmed with a sense of pride that my efforts had paid off, I peered into the bottom drawer, which, unlike the top two, was padded with some kind of silk cushion. Atop the cushion, was a half empty glass bottle that lay on its side, filled with a dark orange liquid.
I reached in carefully and grabbed the neck of the bottle with one hand, cradling it like a baby with the other. I spun the label towards me, and read it in a whisper.
"'Hakutsuru Umeshu',"
"Hmm. What is that, again? 'White Crane Plum Wine'? Huh, I guess my Japanese is better than I remember…"
While I was proud of myself for remembering, Japanese was my favourite of the human languages I had learned. As a child, I'd wanted to travel to Tokyo after hearing the stories of Father's trips when he went away for work.
I didn't know what this 'plum wine' was, though, and the fact that my mother had gone to such lengths to hide it meant it had to have some value.
It's not that I actually hated her, but if I could just take one thing for myself, I wanted it to be this. I'd never had the chance to try much human food, no matter how much I begged Father to bring home gifts from his travels.
"Human food is for humans. It's beneath us as devils, Luna." Mother always said. So even though this was just a beverage, it'd have to do.
I'm probably not ever getting to the human realm, anyway. Forgive me just this once, Mother. Even though it's me who should be forgiving your hypocrisy.
Without a second thought, I twisted off the lid and brought the bottle up to my mouth. A strong, unfamiliar scent pierced my nose. My eyes stung, and I felt it seep into my lungs. Though it was harsh for a moment, the smell quickly mellowed out and became sweeter.
As I looked at the liquid in the bottle, it was strange; though my mind told me "Don't drink it. You shouldn't do this," it seemed as though the liquid called to me. "Why not? She lied to you," it said, like a devil on my shoulder.
Choosing the voice of the latter, I slowly leaned my head back, the rim of the bottleneck pressed against my lips, and took a large gulp of the liquid.
Woah. That's… Actually, really good!
I paused to savour the taste, marvelling at the shimmering, liquid gold in the bottle.
It tasted like the one fruit that Father had snuck home once when he had visited the human country 'France'. The sweetness of 'red apples' was a taste that I'd never forgotten. After all, it was one of the only human foods I'd ever tasted.
Along with the taste of apples must have been this 'plum' flavour that the label had mentioned. I'd remembered reading in some books at Sera's mansion that humans made wines from fruits, but I'd never imagined it would taste like this.
Wine is delicious! Forgive me, Mother.
I threw my head back once more and emptied the bottle entirely. As I tapped the last remaining drops into my mouth, I was suddenly overcome with a feeling of happiness.
We need more of this! Why is she hiding this from the underworld?! If we sold this to the masses, then I'm sure we'd make a fortune! Much more than just red apples! Who said I wasn't a reliable businesswoman?
***
Feeling as though I'd had my fun, and that my Mother would be upset to find her precious Umeshu gone, I quickly locked up the drawer and placed the skeleton key back where I'd found it.
No matter how I looked at it, though the plan had failed and I wouldn't escape the underworld's clutches, I had begun feeling overly optimistic about the situation.
Well, I guess I'll just go back to my room and sleep. I'll… Give them an earful tomorrow morning at breakfast, or something!
Yeah. That's what I'll do! I won't marry that Stolas kid anyhow! I'll stay confined forever if that's what it takes.
As I slid my mother's chair back into the middle of the desk, somehow, I started to feel uneasy on my feet. I pinched the bridge of my nose and rubbed my eyes before taking a step backwards.
…
Thud!
…
… Ugh. What now? Ughhh…
A loud sound rang in my ears as I raised my hand to my head. I opened my eyes and winced in pain as I clutched the back of my neck. I looked straight ahead, only to notice the intricate murals that depicted the final battle of The Great War painted across the ceiling.
Wh-What happened?
I lay in a heap on the carpet, forced to take in the scene of the mural above me. The Satans were depicted bringing the fires of Hell up to the Heavens. I continued to stare for a few moments, before finally coming to my senses.
That's never happened to me before. I just… Tripped over myself? I mean, I guess it's not all that uncommon for me, but… Am I sick? Tired? I guess I did have a pretty exhausting day…
I propped myself up from the carpet and awkwardly helped myself back into my mother's chair. As I reclined into the violet backrest, with one hand on my forehead, I closed my eyes. After a few moments, I opened them.
…
It was then that I saw it.
Just as I had left it, I once again spotted the name 'Souta Tsukigawa', on the open page of The Gremory Tome. Only this time, the characters of Souta's name didn't just glow – they leapt up and off the page, like they were being projected into the air. As I leaned over to get a closer look, through the thin pages of the paper, more writing had suddenly become visible.
What?! What is happening?!
I flipped one page, and then another. I went all the way back to the first page of the tome. There was writing on all of them. The invisible had somehow, suddenly become visible!
As the sound of paper excitedly flicking filled the study, I caught glimpses of magical techniques and spells that I'd heard of all my life. And at the very back of the tome, were the exact words I'd never believed I'd stumble upon.
'Using Transportation Magic', it read.