Walking in, the place looked exactly like the kind of traditional Japanese mansion you'd see in a drama or an anime.
It didn't fit the stereotype of being cluttered with priceless vases or gaudy ornaments; the interior was simply quiet and understated. The air was thick with mana, carrying a sacred, purifying quality that felt almost divine.
It wasn't exactly an unfamiliar environment. I had memories of places like this—it was the spitting image of the castles in Wakuni I’d visited back in Mythologia.
"Reima-san, are you feeling alright? No mana sickness?"
"Eh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine."
"That's good to hear. For now, we're heading to the guest room. Please, follow me."
Before I could lose myself in the nostalgia of another world, Mikoto led me through the mansion. After about ten minutes of walking, we arrived at a particular room.
Based on the distance from the entrance, I’d already gathered that the estate was massive, but the sliding doors we eventually stopped at radiated a pressure that stood out even in this house. While I was wondering if it was actually okay for me to just barge in, Mikoto slid the doors open.
Inside the room, I found a scene I hadn't quite expected.
"Um, Milady? It’s getting a bit difficult to maintain this silence, you know."
"..."
"Saaya, even I have my limits."
"............"
"Look, Reima-sama is here! So, please... I’m really, really sorry."
There stood the guild advisor who handled my affairs, a young woman currently occupied with wordlessly burning holes into her childhood friend and maid with a heavy, oppressive glare.
Her mana wasn’t supposed to have ice properties, yet for some reason, the room felt like it was sitting at Absolute Zero. Mikoto and I, having just stepped inside, found ourselves unable to utter a single word.
"Ah, Reima-kun—I’m just having a little chat with this dumb maid right now. Could you wait a moment?"
"Um, I’m the one who got lost, so I’d appreciate it if you could leave it at that."
"...Are you sure you aren't just covering for her?"
"No, it was entirely my fault for wandering off."
I had my complaints about being kidnapped and brought here so suddenly, but getting separated after arriving in Kyoto was my own problem. I felt a pang of guilt seeing her this angry on my behalf; more than anything, it was my own negligence for getting so lost that I forgot to check in. When I apologized, she finally let out a sigh.
"Fine. I'll drop the matter for now. But can I ask you one thing?"
She seemed willing to let it go, though likely only because of the urgency of the situation. Her jade eyes pierced right through me. Her pupils were trembling as if she couldn't believe her own sight, her face a mask of pure bewilderment.
"Sure."
"Why are you so small?"
"I got cursed."
"And... why, exactly?"
She asked with an expression that suggested she was developing a massive migraine. I felt the same way, but since I’d already interrogated the culprit before coming here, I gave her the honest truth.
"According to that idiot, it was for her own amusement, a way to kill time, and to help her recover mana."
"Will you go back to normal?"
"Probably. Most likely."
It was a non-committal answer, but even that woman surely couldn't have crafted a technique to keep someone a child forever. I wanted to believe it would be fine. Besides, this was technically a body I was supposed to return to her; staying like this permanently would be a problem.
Saaya-san pressed a hand to her temple, deep in thought. After a long moment of deliberation, she finally spoke.
"Well, you’re still Reima-kun, so... I guess it’ll have to do."
"You sound pretty uncertain. What’s actually going on? I was basically snatched off the street for this."
"I'll give you the full breakdown later... but the short version is, Tsubaki-chan is in trouble."
"...Tsubaki?"
Hearing that name made me tense up. She was one of the companions I’d met in this world who was always there to help me. If something had happened to her, I wasn't just curious—I wanted to do something about it. I couldn't sit still.
"We don’t have much time, so I need you to get ready. Tsubaki-chan has an arranged marriage meeting today."
"...An arranged marriage?"
"Yeah. I only found out about it suddenly myself, but the whole thing feels wrong. I have a terrible feeling about this."
When I asked for details, she explained that there was an arranged marriage meeting scheduled between the Kanna family and the Tsuchimikado family—Mikoto's family. Saaya-san wanted me to be present. I wondered if an outsider like me should even be there, but Saaya-san’s intuition was screaming that something was very wrong, and she’d reached out to me as a form of insurance.
"I’m basically a total outsider, though. Am I even allowed into a meeting like that?"
"The plan was to have you disguise yourself as my attendant... but even as a child, I think we can pass you off as an apprentice."
"Isn't that plan already falling apart at the seams?"
"...Look, I didn't expect you to have turned into a kid!"
That was fair.
However, with the meeting about to start, we were out of time. I was forced into a navy kakinagashi and given a mask to wear, completing the look of an apprentice attendant.
"By the way, if this is an engagement with the Tsuchimikado family, isn't it bad for Mikoto-san to be here?"
"No, don't worry about that. I’m personally against this whole thing anyway... and more importantly—"
Just as she was about to explain, a voice called out from behind the sliding doors, summoning Saaya-san. I didn't get to hear the rest. Resigning myself to my role as an attendant, I followed behind Saaya-san as we stepped into the mansion’s large hall.
The room was filled with extravagant food and a crowd of people. Scanning the area, I spotted Yamato-san... and for some reason, Ouma and Ryuga were there as well. The rest were strangers. Everyone was dressed in formal, high-status clothing, with attendants standing at the ready behind them. Most of the people were wearing masks.
I wasn't exactly well-versed in the etiquette of arranged marriages, but was it always like this? It was nothing like I had imagined. It felt ominous—scary, even. The atmosphere wasn't the least bit celebratory; it felt more like a grim ritual.
"...Tsubaki?"
The name escaped my lips in a tiny whisper. At the far end of my gaze sat Tsubaki Kanna, draped in a pure white shiromuku. She sat there, motionless and expressionless. It was such a far cry from her usual energetic self that I thought she was a different person for a second, but the mana and presence she radiated were unmistakably hers.
I stood there, momentarily stunned, before regaining my composure. I followed Saaya-san as she took a seat directly across from Tsubaki, and I moved to my position behind her.
I sat there, feeling the same bad omen Saaya had mentioned, wondering what was about to unfold... when the doors to the large hall suddenly slammed open with a heavy thud.
"Hey there, everyone... sorry I'm late! I was out hunting Yokai again today. Oh, and here's a little something for you!"
Something was tossed into the center of the room. It was a head—specifically, the head of an Oni. The red-skinned monster had been sliced so cleanly that it hadn't even dissolved into a magic stone.
"Now then, where is my bride?"
The man who entered had pitch-black hair and eyes the color of fresh blood. He was dressed in Onmyoji robes, and he practically bled a suffocating amount of mana... The moment I saw him, he became the first person I had ever met that I took an instantaneous, visceral dislike to.