TWYK 15

CHAPTER 15………………………………………….

At last, the third day.

Zenya looked at the three demons. Aside from what had happened on the first day, there hadn’t been any major incidents. Even yesterday, when it looked like a fight was about to break out, things had somehow smoothed over in the end.

Count Vine really has it rough.

Just as Zenya kept Leraje in check, Vine calmly soothed Berith whenever his temper flared. With one more person who still had a sound head on his shoulders, Zenya’s workload had dropped significantly.

Still, judging by how things were going, it didn’t seem like the final day—today—would pass quietly either.

“Are you kidding me? Isn’t cleaning something you can just sweep away with magic?”

The moment Zenya finished organizing the entire list and mentioned that all that remained was cleaning the storage room, Leraje and Berith clashed.

Even as Berith snapped that this was outrageous, Leraje merely smiled faintly.

“But Lord Berith, isn’t this meant to be a punishment? Cleaning with magic would be far too easy.”

“So you’re saying we should sweep and scrub everything by hand?”

Berith looked less angry than utterly dumbfounded. As he let out a hollow laugh, Leraje shrugged leisurely.

“This place is full of magical items. What if someone misuses mana and causes a problem?”

It wasn’t completely unreasonable, but it was a bit of a stretch. As expected, Berith pointed that out.

“We already checked—there aren’t any such items here.”

That was something Berith and Vine could say with confidence, since they had already separated anything that might be dangerous.

Even so, Leraje remained unabashed.

“There could be something you failed to notice.”

It was obvious he simply wanted Berith to suffer more. Naturally, Berith finally unleashed the anger he’d been holding back.

“…You!”

More precisely, he unleashed his mana.

“Tsk. Do you really think threatening me with force will work? Do you even stand a chance against me?”

Watching the mana surge threateningly toward him, Leraje twisted his lips into a grin.

“I show no mercy to those who lack beauty.”

Berith bared his teeth.

“Yeah? Then it’ll be even more fun when you get smashed in that state.”

Zenya looked over at Vine with a weary expression, but he wore much the same look as she did.

Just then, Leraje turned toward Vine and smiled brightly.

“Count Vine, it would be wise for you to step back for a moment. Zenya, you as well.”

Vine stared at Leraje as if he wanted to say something, then shook his head and walked over to Zenya. He was more compliant than expected.

If this were the Vine Zenya knew, he would’ve complained about why he had to protect that man. It seemed even he was thoroughly sick of these three days.

Feeling a sense of shared misery, Zenya hoped Vine would hang in there until the very end.

“You don’t need to do it by hand. You can use enchanted tools instead. I’ll bring them once the fight is over.”

“Fine.”

With that response, the chill that had begun when Berith flared up disappeared.

Vine was diligently protecting her. Zenya looked up at him. After a few seconds of staring, Vine clicked his tongue and looked back at her.

“What is it?”

Seeing his sharp eyes, Zenya smiled softly.

“I thought I should thank you. I know you’ve helped me a lot.”

Vine’s face twisted into an odd expression.

He looked embarrassed to be thanked, and at the same time baffled. He also seemed annoyed with himself for protecting a human.

Instead of snapping back as usual, he sighed.

“…I didn’t do it for you. It’d be troublesome to anger the Duke any further.”

True enough. This was the first time Zenya—or even the servants—had seen Duke Gremory demand punishment so firmly.

Rather than thanking Vine again, Zenya turned her attention back to the noisy demons.

It seemed they were done testing each other; the two demons were now charging at one another without restraint. From the looks of it, the fight wouldn’t end anytime soon.

“Wouldn’t it be better to wait outside the storage room?”

Honestly, she wanted to tell them to take their fight elsewhere. Zenya surveyed the storage room, which was becoming more and more of a mess.

There would be even more to clean up now. Maybe this really was what Leraje had been aiming for… though seeing how broadly he was smiling, it seemed he might simply enjoy provoking people.

What a pervert.

Whoosh—! Zenya turned her head, following a spell that flew past her. She saw it strike a mirror not far away, dead on.

Her anxiety rising, Zenya called out to Vine.

“…My lord. That mirror—don’t tell me it’s cracking?”

“What—”

Vine, who had been deflecting spells while focused on the fight, turned to look at the mirror. His face hardened.

“Damn it—!”

Before he could finish, another spell flew straight toward the mirror.

Crack—! Seeing the mirror visibly fracture, Zenya staggered backward. Then she heard Leraje’s startled shout.

“Get out of the way!”

As if that were possible.

Zenya squeezed her eyes shut as she watched black smoke pour out of the shattered mirror.

Zenya opened her eyes to someone shaking her. She met a pair of dark green eyes.

“My lord.”

“Wake up. You’ve been caught in a spell.”

Vine didn’t appear to be injured. As Zenya sat up, she saw mirrors filling the space around them.

“Has the space been distorted?”

“Probably.”

At least Vine hadn’t been swept away alone—that was a relief.

Following behind him as he moved ahead, apparently searching for an exit, Zenya looked around.

With mirrors everywhere, it was hard to tell which paths were open and which were blocked.

She remembered the list Berith and Vine had given her.

Mirror of the Labyrinth.

An item created for the purpose of mental torture or punishment.

True to its purpose, it was a mirror enchanted so that escape was impossible until the spell was解除 from outside or the maze’s exit was found from within.

“If we get separated, we won’t be able to escape.”

Zenya already knew that.

“Yes, I know.”

“Stay close.”

“Yes.”

Being told to stick close was more than welcome. Zenya quickly positioned herself right behind Count Vine.

For a moment, his body stiffened. She tensed, worried he might take back his words, but fortunately, Vine stepped forward again without complaint.

Looking at the mirrors reflecting them endlessly, Zenya spoke.

“It’s not just a simple maze, is it?”

“If it’s meant for mental torture, then no.”

That matched the explanation written on the plaque beside the mirror.

“Does it show you something?”

The moment she asked, Vine stopped short, and Zenya nearly bumped her head into his back.

Did I talk too much?

She was trying to act normal, but being caught in a spell had left her a little rattled.

As she wondered how to avoid irritating Vine, he pushed her back slightly and said,

“We’ll find out soon enough. This way.”

“…Don’t tell me.”

Zenya stared at the large mirror that appeared before them. Unlike the others, which reflected them clearly, the image within this one was distorted.

“Can’t we just avoid it?”

It looked unmistakably ominous, like the beginning of the torture itself. If so, wouldn’t it be better to leave before it fully transformed?

But Vine’s answer wasn’t so simple.

“There’s no other path. We have to go through here.”

So there was no avoiding it.

“This won’t be easy.”

No sooner had Zenya spoken than the mirror flared brightly. It wasn’t just something appearing within it—the space around them twisted.

Vine grabbed Zenya’s arm tightly.

“A spell within a spell. Be careful not to get swept away.”

Zenya nodded vigorously and wrapped both arms around his. At the same time, the space surrounding them completely changed.

A garden in full bloom, soft grass beneath their feet, the scent of flowers in the air, and a cool breeze brushing past them.

The wind moving through her hair felt unnervingly natural. For a moment, Zenya almost thought the spell had been broken. The place was so realistic it was indistinguishable from reality.

She looked around and asked,

“Is this really magic?”

“Yes. Even after all this time, it’s remarkably intricate.”

“Is that bad?”

It felt like a pointless question, but Vine answered more kindly than expected.

“No. This is better than unstable magic. There should be a clear way to break it.”

Whether that was true or simply meant to reassure her, she couldn’t tell.

Noticing that Vine neither pulled his hand away nor told her to step back, Zenya glanced up at him and asked,

“Then what are we supposed to do here?”

Vine raised his hand and touched the tree beside him.

“It seems to be a space formed from memories. I don’t have anything like this in my memories, so it must be yours.”

“My memories?”