It was unmistakably a room that could only be called a “library.”

The spacious area was more than double the size of a twenty-tatami mat room, with bookshelves installed all around, especially against the walls. Each bookshelf was crammed tightly with books, and it was hard to even imagine the number of volumes.

“Books take up space and are surprisingly heavy, so having a lot can be troublesome. In our case, our whole family loves manga, so we’ve even had the second floor cave in because we accumulated too many!”

Out of nowhere, the floor gave way in a catastrophic remodeling disaster. Fortunately, no one was injured, and afterwards, the manga was stored in a warehouse, so there were no problems.

Even for Subaru, who had experienced an incident like this with books, the sheer number of volumes in this room surpassed what had caused the collapse in his own home. Of course, it was undeniable that this mansion was sturdier than Subaru’s house.

“With this many books, surely there’s at least one I can read… or is that just wishful thinking?”

A glance around revealed no spines written in Japanese. There were no letters from the alphabet either; what dominated were mostly pictographic symbols that Subaru had seen on shop signs. That must be the official script of this world.

To survive in this world, acquiring that knowledge seems essential. For Subaru, who had given up on language classes in middle school, it already felt like a daunting task.

Letting out a sigh at the impending difficulty, Subaru suddenly heard,

“Staring at someone else’s bookshelf and sighing… are you possibly trying to pick a fight? If so, I’m down for it!”

“Hey, it’s not like I can just talk to someone I just met without any prep. I’m just trying to ease into the conversation, you know? My bad, so let’s take two!”

Subaru raised his hand towards the girl staring at him with narrowed eyes and stepped outside the room.

He then opened the door and reentered, looking at the girl still standing in the center.

“Oh look, a person! Nice to meet you, hi there! Let’s have a chat!”

“I see you‘re mocking Betty. Breaking and entering into my bookshelf, and you think you won’t be punished for that?”

As Subaru tried to make a grand reintroduction, the girl smiled sweetly yet coldly.

How many times had he experienced something like this in another world?—the girl was beautiful.

She looked even younger than Felt, probably around eleven or twelve years old. Dressed in a luxurious dress adorned with frills in deep blue, she had an adorably cute face that matched her over-the-top decoration.

Her hair was closest to cream-colored, flowing softly down her back, styled into gently curled ringlets. It was quite the drill hairstyle.

She looked like the very embodiment of the word “delicate.” When she smiled, it was impossible not to soften, as her cuteness was disarming.

And now, that adorable visage was standing there with a haughty demeanor in front of Subaru.

“Tsk tsk, making that cute face all serious ruins it, you know? C’mon, smile, smile!”

“It’s only natural for Betty to be cute. More importantly, the real issue is what to do about you.”

“Wow, that’s not very chill. My bad for ignoring your intentions. It seems I have this unconscious knack for hitting the mark in situations like this, huh? I can imagine the GM is just hoping I hit all the prepared events.”

With four options and no hints, coming up lucky feels like talent. People call that ‘not reading the room.’

In the past, Subaru had wrecked many events like that.

The earlier incident with the illusion hallway would definitely be added to that list.

“Trying to do your business in someone else’s hallway or just coming here without navigating a trap-filled hallway… It’s just the worst on every level.”

“I’m the type who sticks to straight paths in RPGs too. Because of that, I’m always busy collecting sub-events on a second playthrough.”

In a dating sim, he’s usually devoted to one heroine, making CG collection pretty easy. But if it’s a game where you take a lot of detours, CG viewing gets full of holes.

Shaking off those scattered thoughts, Subaru cleared his throat as if to gather himself before looking back at the girl.

Based on her previous comments, she was likely the culprit behind the hallway loop. After that, it seemed she had set up various surprise events to interfere with Subaru’s urge to relieve himself. Thankfully, he had thwarted them all.

“Still, I get the desire to show off your abilities, but to interfere with others’ bodily functions? That’s a bit much, don’t you think? I was almost socially dead there. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps.”

“Now that I think about it, I should’ve just kept you looping the same spot. That way, at least Betty’s humiliation would have been cut in half.”

“True that, but since I’ve stepped in this deep, I guess it means I’ve outplayed you in terms of luck too. It’s really not that big of a deal for me.”

The conversation about bodily urges heated back up again.

To cover his nerves, Subaru began doing a dance on the spot, as the girl sighed and put a finger to her forehead.

“You’re exhausting, you know? Roswaal lets that girl do whatever she wants, leading to a mess like this. I’ll have to discipline her later.”

“Exhausted at your age? Kids are supposed to be vibrant and full of energy! Frowning like that is no fun! C’mon, keep going strong!”

With a thumbs-up, Subaru flashed a smile.

“In the Poor District, it’s a catchphrase I’ve heard a ton of times: ‘Stay strong!’ At first, it felt weird, but somehow, while saying it, I feel a bit energized.”

The girl regarded Subaru with half-closed eyes as he found some joy in the phrase, and he stuck his tongue out at her with a sheepish grin.

“Wait a sec. That reaction is not what I expected. It’s a bit creepy, you know?”

“Being called creepy hurts even more than being called flat-out gross! Just saying, can we get to the point? If I keep meandering, my bladder is gonna have a serious emergency.”

“While that might make no sense, it’s probably time we get to the matter at hand for Betty’s sake.”

“Okay, okay. So…”

Just as he was about to ask where the restroom was, he felt it wasn’t really a joke anymore, so he refrained.

Regardless of the situation, the person in front of him was a categorized magic user. With the trick of looping the hallway, the chances that Subaru could compare were slim.

Moreover, considering that he was recovering from illness and feeling quite hungry, his combat ability was significantly weakened. Especially after that sprint earlier, he could really feel the fatigue piling up.

Though his injuries had healed, he probably was still low on blood.

“I want to eat liver. I want to have stir-fried liver and replenish my blood. Tonight, I’m not hungry like ‘Tiger’s Iron’ but starving for blood, woo!”

“He’s shifted way off topic again. What even is this guy…”

“Oh, sorry, sorry, back to business. Um, first off, where exactly is this place?”

As the girl had been surprisingly cooperative in their conversation, it was best to gather information. Thanking her for her straightforwardness, Subaru decided to throw in a few questions.

First, he needed to confirm his position. He couldn’t believe he had actually been caught by Elsa’s side but couldn’t definitively assert it was one of the other two either.

He hoped to gain confirmation from her statements.

“This is Betty’s bedroom.”

“…Thinking you’re answering at face value is such a common manual behavior among today’s youth. That’s not too great, you know?”

“And here I thought this was a joke! Look at Betty’s outraged face!”

The girl—with the name she claims to be Betty—looked a bit upset by the frank response.

Subaru reflected that while it seemed like that was her name, it felt more like a nickname.

As the realization crossed Subaru’s mind, the girl puffed her cheeks.

She crossed her arms and approached him, her dazzling dress swaying as she did so.

“Betty’s had enough. It feels like it’s time to teach you a lesson.”

“Hey, hey! Torturing a prisoner? That’s so old-fashioned, cut it out! I’m just an ordinary joe with a full bladder, and I’m definitely less dangerous than your average guy!”

“In terms of ‘about to burst,’ you’re way more dangerous than a typical person.”

“Damn you for that clever comeback! I can’t even think of a way to prove my worthlessness in an instant! Gulp, I’m just not a bad person!”

He shook his head rapidly, trying to make himself smaller while pleading with glistening eyes. But instead of slowing down, her approach only quickened.

And then…

“—Don’t move.”

A chill ran down Subaru’s spine, making him feel cold all over.

Suddenly, the old paper smell that had dominated the library vanished, replaced by a sharp, painful sensation reminiscent of ice piercing through his nose.

His skin prickled, and a distant ringing echoed in his ears. The deficit in his sense of smell caused a part of his perception to shut down to amplify the other senses.

In this case, his sight and touch—his awareness focused entirely on those two.

Right in front of him, the girl had closed the distance to mere inches.

The height difference was glaring. The girl barely came up to Subaru’s chest, and her pale azure eyes looked up at him from so close.

Her soft pink lips were shaped in a smile, and only her innocent demeanor triggered an alarm bell in Subaru’s mind.

“Do you have something to say?”

The girl tilted her head, questions swirling in her bright eyes as Subaru’s lips quivered.

Sweat trickled down his forehead and across his cheeks, the rush of sensations momentarily breaking his paralysis as Subaru scrambled for the most appropriate words to say.

What he needed to express to break the status quo was—

“P-please don’t hurt me!”

“I’m quite impressed by how dedicated you are to light banter—How painful or not, well, that’s up to you, isn’t it?”

With a tone that genuinely seemed impressed, the girl reached her hand toward Subaru’s chest.

Her palm pressed lightly against him, delicately stroking the surface.

The ticklish sensation was accompanied by an unsettling cold creeping down his spine—and then,

“Whoah…!”

The next moment, Subaru felt as if his entire body was engulfed in flames.

Some overwhelming force rampaged inside him—the sensation burned everything from the tips of his hair to his fingertips.

Painful discomfort swept through him as if every inch of his being was being ignited.

His vision flickered, and before he knew it, Subaru collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he fell apart. His breathing was ragged, as if he had just run a marathon, and his body was aching like he had pulled off a ridiculous workout.

More importantly, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion dragged down the core of his being.

“Looks like you didn’t black out. You’ve got a pretty sturdy constitution.”

“W-What the hell did you just do, drill loli…?”

“I just checked the mana inside your body. —It’s ordinary, but you definitely have a weird soul shape. Seems like the gate is shut tight.”

She mumbled contradictory phrases and knelt down in front of the crumpled Subaru.

While poking the struggling Subaru with her finger, she added,

“Well, it’s clear you’re not hostile, at least. Also, I suppose I can forgive all your previous rudeness to Betty now that I have collected your mana.”

Reached the limit from being prodded, Subaru’s trembling arms couldn’t keep him up, and his upper body fell onto the floor.

He found himself kissing the ground in this facedown position for the third time. His lips had seen some things now. Thinking about it, in this reset world, it was still technically his first kiss.

Amidst all those trivial thoughts, gathering every last ounce of strength he could muster, Subaru slowly adjusted his position. He took his time before finally gazing up at the girl’s face.

“Hmm?” As she watched his struggle, the girl’s mouth curled into a cheerful smile. Motivated by that, Subaru flashed a grin back.

“You’re not human… in this instance, not in a personality sense or anything.”

“Considering you’re meeting your sister, your realization came a bit late.”

The way she spoke felt far younger than she looked, reminiscent of someone playing cruel pranks on insects.

Watching Subaru crawl on the ground, drooling, her playful demeanor reinforced that impression.

“One correction… you’re not human either… in personality.”

“Don’t try to measure a noble being with your standards, human.”

Those words from the girl were too cold for someone so young to say.

Subaru felt a strange tugging in his chest. Although he felt it, he didn’t have the strength anymore to act on that feeling.

His mental and physical fatigue, regardless of his intentions, tried to drag his consciousness into darkness.

—I just woke up, yet here we are, back to being unconscious.

“I’ll let the others know. I’d hate for you to spill it all in here.”

With that final thought, Subaru realized he lacked the guts to say even a peep.

And with that, he once again fell into slumber.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

“Oh, you’re awake, Sister.”

“Yes, I have awakened, Rem.”

The sensation of waking from sleep was akin to emerging from under water.

Reawakening moments later began with the voices of two girls who shared an identical tone.

The soft bed beneath him indicated he was sharing the mattress.

A sliver of sunlight from the curtains burned Subaru’s sleepy eyelids. The gentle light suggested it was morning.

“When you’re out and about, you can’t tell the time. That’s when a scruffy beard timer comes in handy.”

He spoke to an unseen presence while propping himself up.

Touching his scruffy beard clock, it felt like about four or five hours since he last woke. There was still a hint of drowsiness left.

“Currently, it is 7:00 AM, dear customer.”

“It is now 7:00 AM, dear customer.”

Perhaps because he was staring out the window to check the time, the voices kindly answered his query.

7:00 AM—the meaning was unclear, but from the wording, it must refer to a bright hour; however, whether this world followed a twenty-four-hour cycle was uncertain.

It was tricky to declare it was morning at seven, but counting out what felt like a mere few minutes,

“I almost slept a whole day. Well, for someone who’s stayed up a record-breaking fifty-two hours in a row, that’s not uncommon.”

“What a disgraceful statement. Did you hear that, Sister?”

“Yes, that’s quite a lazy remark. I heard it, Rem.”

“So, who are you two, the ones stereo-actively accusing me, dear ladies?”

With a sudden burst, Subaru threw off the blanket and sat up.

The girl that had been standing beside the bed with her sister looked surprised by his exaggerated reaction. They both circled the bed, joined hands at the center, and gazed at Subaru.

As Subaru expected, their interlocked fingers and keen stares highlighted their similar appearance—they were twin girls.

They seemed to be about 150 centimeters tall. Their big eyes, pink lips, and delicately etched faces exuded youthful charm.

While their faces were identical, their hair was styled in short cuts—one with pink hair and the other in blue. Furthermore, one girl’s hair obscured her left eye while the other’s hid her right.

But those small differences paled compared to what hit Subaru the hardest in this moment—

“No way… this world has maid outfits?!”

Dressed in black-themed apron dresses with white prims perched on their heads, the twins embodied the orthodox classic maid style.

—This truly was the realization of Subaru’s ideal maid fantasy.

“This is a disaster! Right now, our dear customer is plagued by lewd thoughts about you, Sister.”

“This is terrible! Right now, our dear customer suffers the height of humiliation, as well! It’s Rem!”

“Don’t underestimate my capacity, ladies! You’re both getting your wishes granted and more—”

Crossing his arms, Subaru wiggled his palms in the air. The meaningless motions caused the maids to shudder, and they hastily released their linked fingers to point at each other.

“Please forgive us, customer! Let Rem go while you indulge in my sister!”

“Stop it, customer! Please spare Ram, and definitely violate Rem instead!”

“How’s that for sisterly love?! You both sell each other out, and I’m the ultimate villain here?!”

“Eeeek, how scary!” The twins linked their hands again and ran away.

Subaru jumped out of bed to chase after them.

In the spacious room, the three of them swirled around in a game of tag until—

“…Couldn’t you wake up a little more quietly?”

Knocking on the door, a girl in silver hair peered in.

Her sleeping beauty locks were untouched, cascading like a waterfall down her back. Unlike the robe style he saw in town, she was dressed in a form-fitting attire with dark tones. Her skirt was short, yet silky, almost reaching her thighs, all underneath knee-high socks.

“I get it! Whoever picked that design, good job!”

“…It’s quite sad how I can recognize something is dull without knowing exactly what it entails.”

Clenching his fists, Subaru couldn’t help but cheer.

At that moment, the girl—Emilia—stood at the door, looking at him with an exasperated gaze.

 

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