Inside the Queen Dowager’s villa, the desk drawer in the study was packed with a staggering number of illustrations depicting men in various states of intimate entanglement. In Japan, this was a genre known as BL, or "Yaoi."
"T-this book... Why would Her Majesty the Queen Dowager have such drawings?"
Celestine’s face was flushed a deep, brilliant crimson. Even the "Ideal Lady," who normally never let her serene smile falter, was completely undone by the sudden ambush of erotic art.
Rest couldn't help but think she looked a little cute like that, but he quickly shook the thought away.
"Well... logically speaking, this must have been Her Majesty's private hobby."
Since the Queen Dowager had been the villa's only resident, there was no other explanation. On the desk sat yellowed, unused paper and pens. It was entirely possible that the Queen Dowager had drawn these herself.
"Wait, what?"
Rest tried to avoid looking directly at the hand-drawn sketches, but as he gave them a cursory scan, he spotted a man who looked remarkably familiar.
"Is this... could this be His Highness Andrew?"
Among the drawings of men entwined with one another was a figure that bore a striking resemblance to Andrew Aiwood. Rest didn't want to jump to conclusions, but the other man in the drawing looked exactly like Andrew’s aide, Yusgos Betras.
"I’m not one to judge someone’s hobbies, but I really didn't want to see people I know like this..."
There was nothing wrong with the genre itself; people were free to enjoy whatever they liked. However, he drew the line at seeing his acquaintances involved. Even if they were just lookalikes, it left a bad taste in his mouth.
"...I’ll wait outside."
Celestine turned her eyes away from the drawings and hurried out of the room, her hands nervously rubbing her upper arms. Since she was much closer to Andrew and Yusgos than Rest was, the shock was clearly on another level for her.
"I suppose I’ll leave these tucked away forever... but is there really nothing else here?"
Rest pulled the drawer out even further. He felt a slight resistance, as if something was caught in the very back.
"Is there something else?"
He reached into the back of the drawer and pulled out the object that had snagged. It was a wooden box, slightly larger than the palm of his hand. The box was sealed tight, but instead of a keyhole, there was a piece of paper pasted over the lid.
"This is...!"
Rest’s eyes widened as he looked at the characters written on the paper. He knew this language. It was only natural—it was Japanese, the language he had used every single day in his previous life.
The riddle at the villa’s entrance had been written in the language of this world, even if the content was Japanese in origin. But the text on this box was pure Japanese.
Rest felt a surge of conviction. The Queen Dowager was definitely a reincarnated Japanese person. He read the sentence aloud.
"『What kind of pan can you not eat?』... Seriously?"
It was an incredibly simple riddle. In Japan, almost everyone knew the answer. Compared to the puzzle at the entrance, the difficulty had plummeted.
"A frying pan...?"
The answer slipped out of his mouth almost reflexively. In the next instant, everything changed.
"Whoa—!"
The paper sealing the box tore itself open, and the lid sprang wide. A brilliant light erupted from within, bleaching Rest’s vision white.
"Incorrect."
"Huh...?"
A voice reached his ears. It was a high-pitched woman's voice, one he didn't recognize.
"That's the wrong answer. The real answer... was the toast my mom made this morning."
Rest blinked, and the light faded. A girl was sitting on a bench right in front of him. Behind the bench was a wooden gazebo designed to provide shade from the sun and rain.
The sky above was a flawless, endless blue. A black asphalt road stretched out in both directions, shimmering under the sunlight, and the sea was visible just a short distance away.
"Is this... Japan?"
He didn't recognize the specific location, but the scenery was undeniably Japanese. It was a rural bus stop, and sitting on the bench was a high school girl dressed in a sailor uniform.