Chapter 5
Chapter 5 The mansion of the witch of the prison
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Moroha threw the door of the room open.
What appeared was an adjoining room.
There was a small window on the back, and on the left and right walls, doors leading to somewhere were found. There was a simple-designed yet long-lasting sofa and table, as well as a bookshelf and a closet; it had a full array of furnishings.
As he surveyed them, Moroha quickly drew a plan of the room in a notebook he had in his hand.
He took a peek at the landscape outside the window, examined the position of the inclined sun,
– It’s facing the west side of the mansion──done.
He also wrote down that information.
A week has passed since he was imprisoned in the mansion of “the witch of the prison”.
Moroha explored the first floor of the mansion like this every day.
In the old days, he recalled that his friends mapped in games, so Moroha tried to imitate that but in reality.
In the notebook he got from Nelly, the connection between rooms were written down, which spread like a vast dungeon.
When he opened a door, an adjoining room was there, and when the door of that room was opened, another adjoining room was there──in this way, despite a week has passed, he hadn’t run into the end yet.
Without a doubt, this was a proof that the scale didn’t fit into the mansion and that the space inside of it was another dimension.
Moreover, the way the rooms were connected was incredibly disturbing.
A different-dimension structure in which he found upside down windows in the rooms of the mansion and peeked through the windows that should be in the same direction in the next room, but he saw the front of the mansion.
Fortunately, the case in which room B that was next to room A changed to room C the next time he went there didn’t happen, meaning that the connection itself was immovable, so the mapping wasn’t for nothing.
Each time he finally reached a new room, Moroha examined every inch of the walls.
He tried to knock them lightly to confirm they didn’t give an inch and that he was stopped by the barrier.
There had to be an open seam of magic power somewhere from which the barrier could be destroyed, it didn’t matter how small it was or how long it would take him to find it out, Moroha earnestly looked for it.
– There’s no open seam here either──huh.
After a thorough inspection, he headed to the next room.
Except for mealtime, this was repeated from morning to night. Objectively seen, this probably was for naught. But Moroha kept doing it with an indomitable will. He didn’t think this was wasted effort at all.
The conclusion of Shuu Saura in his memory said──that there was no flawless barrier, so that was why Moroha wasn’t enthusiastic about working out a Barrier Dark Art in his previous life.
Between the doors to the left and right, he decided to go for round-robin first so he put his hand on the right door and threw it open.
What appeared was an adjoining room.
There was a largish window on the right and a door on the left that lead somewhere again──
Nelly was changing clothes in the middle of the room.
Both hands were behind her back, the movements with which she fastened her bra were sexy.
The bottom was garter belt, it was no good to instantly take a straight look at her.
Moroha stiffened as he stared in wonder.
Nelly moved her hands calmly with an「ecstatic」 face.
– You don’t have to undress!
Moroha closed the door as he screamed.
He sat down hard and supported his body, trying to cling to the door.
His heart was noisy. His breathing was rough. He focused to try putting them in order somehow.
– Open the door, Haimoro.
*Knock* *Knock*, the door was knocked from the other side.
– I can open it, but how do you look now?
– I’m naked.
Moroha seized the door with all his strength.
– Why aren’t you wearing clothes!?
– Haven’t you come to creep at night into my bedroom?
– It’s still evening.
– Haven’t you come to creep at evening into my bedroom?
– Don’t create a weird Japanese!
– It’s okay to not be shy, you know?
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– You could have a bit shame though.
– I’m sorry. Due to a trauma in my childhood, my shame is──
– What kind of trauma is that!? It’s all made up, made up.
– Hey. How will you allow me to do ecchi service then?
– There’s no need to ask me that so straightforward!
This woman was too pervert.
A vector pervert different from the demon vice-captain.
Tokiko was too carnivore, if one was careless, men would wither, but Nelly used to beg, and if one was careless, one would fall down easily.
Moroha wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, he didn’t want to be soaked in a festered life!
– Then open it here at least. I want to talk to you and see your face. That should be fine, yes?
– I’ll open it if you wear something.
– I’m wearing clothes, I’m wearing them.
– If you’re lying, I won’t talk to you ever again, alright?
– As you wish.
– Alright, it’s a promise.
Moroha opened the door.
Nelly in underwear was there.
He attempted to close the door without delay, but the fingers of Nelly got in the way.
– Liar!
– I didn’t lie. I am wearing clothes. However, Haimoro is a liar because he didn’t open it.
– Kuh…
He should have said to put on clothes….
There was no use crying over spilt milk, Moroha took his hand away from the door.
– Okay. Put on clothes, please! Then I’ll join you and talk as much as you want, okay?
He pleaded while being troubled where to look at.
– I will wear clothes if Haimoro chooses them.
– Me…?
He reluctantly nodded and Nelly headed to the closet.
– Nelly has lots of clothes yet this is the only one for men.
Moroha said as he looked at the Akane Academy uniform he wore.
No, it wasn’t like he was complaining, this was nice, but.
– I brought a lot of clothes when I got in here.
Nelly answered as she rummaged through the closet.
The pretty buttocks moving lightly in nothing but panties were too much of a temptation, so Moroha looked around the room.
A room with a fancy interior design wholly unified in light pink color.
A「girl’s room」like in a manga.
– Say, could this be Nelly’s room? The one to the back of the left stairs on the second floor?
– Yes.
He gave up, even though he was exploring the rooms on the first floor, they were connected to the second floor.
Different-dimension spaces were going too far.
(Someday, I’ll reach the third floor that shouldn’t exist…)
He stopped imagining what he would see through the windows.
It was quite terrifying.
As he got tired, Nelly began to line up her clothes on the bed.
– Choose, Haimoro.
There were three of them.
An apron dress.
A bunny coat.
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And bra and panties that covered even less.
The degree of chaos increased as he moved to the left.
– These aren’t choices…
– If you don’t choose, then I will stay like this.
– …… The apron dress then.
The Onee-san in maid clothes was born.
– It’s almost time for dinner. Let’s talk in the dining room, shall we?
Moroha opened a different door from which he came in and Nelly came out to the corridor.
(She’ll prepare food while wearing maid-san clothes? What kind of play is that…?)
Moroha followed her while dropping his shoulders, feeling dejected.
A week has passed since he started a semi-cohabitation with Nelly against his will.
He still wasn’t used to her eccentric behavior….
Nelly was eccentric, but her service, “her reason for living” like she said and her cooking abilities were extraordinary.*
*TN: “her reason for living” is the furigana reading for “killing time”.
He was worried that by the time he would leave the mansion, he would be fat.
Moreover, he was fed every day with an ability regardless of the genre, he never got tired of it.
– Today’s evening meal is Chinese food.
On the large table in the dining room where 10 people could eat at the same time.
A large number of luxurious plates were set up in about half of it.
All of them seemed to raise appetizing steams that directly stimulated Moroha’s appetite.
But Nelly wasn’t going to let him devour them greedily to his heart’s content.
She sat next to him at the large table and said, holding chopsticks.
– Which one do you want to eat, Haimoro?
– … Chop Suey.
Nelly picked up the filling and sticky Chop Suey.
– Say “aah”, Haimoro.
– … Aah.
She fed him gallantly, and filled his mouth with Chinese cabbage, bamboo shoots and baby corn all at once.
Nelly insisted that it had to be done this way.
From the point of view that accepted what she had prepared, he couldn’t refuse her bluntly.
– Is it delicious, Haimoro?
– It is.
He had no honest complaint about the taste.
The texture and consistency were wonderful.
The delicious Chop Suey was crispy, but Nelly prepared it a step higher. It was properly cooked to the core and the food texture was raw-ish despite the steam rising steadily. Thanks to this mysterious food texture, the fresh taste continued eternally.
– How were you able to do this?
– The trick is to fry it quickly with a strong flame.
Nelly replied like it was easy, but surely a high skill was needed.
– I got suddenly curious now, but this mansion has neither electricity nor gas, so how is that you can cook so well?
The mysterious toudai that kept burning all the time without burning oil were everywhere, so he wasn’t bothered by the illumination.
– Foodstuff is always in a cold underground storage. About cooking, the demon starts the fire.
– … The demon, huh.
He was told he lived in the back of the right stairs on the second floor.
– Which one will you eat next?
– Well, that chicken meat.
– This is Kung Pao Chicken.
She took the fried takanotsume, cashew nuts and chicken meat in garlic oil and fed him.*
*TN: Takanotsume is an extremely spicy chili pepper.
He couldn’t understand the name but this was appetizing at least too.
Thanks to the takanotsume and the garlic, the fragrant and spicy oil matched the sweetness of the chicken.
Moroha liked pepperoncino very much, but if noodles were added to the dish, he felt it would taste very good.
– The next is boiled gyoza.
He requested so and Nelly cooled it down, blowing 「Fuu fuu」on it.
His embarrassment doubled because she went so far to do so, but if he complained, he would be fasted.
– Say “aan”, Haimoro.
– … aan.
– I like your manner of eating.
Nelly smiled suddenly.
Her usual hard-to-figure-out facial expression changed completely, she looked lovely.
– Are you enjoying this?
– Actually, I am. My days are perfect since Haimoro came. I have become a normie.
She bluntly said such embarrassing words.
– You don’t feed demon-san?
– He doesn’t flirt.
This “he” meant devil-san was a man, probably.
– Why doesn’t he do that?
He asked and Nelly replied immediately.
– He hates people.
Clearly and sadly.
– … As expected of a demon, huh.
Moroha had no choice but to beat around the bush.
He thought that saying something to comfort her, encourage her or something out of place weren’t the answer.
– Do you like demon-san?
– You’re a bit wrong.
Nelly shook her head slowly.
– I can’t leave him alone.
How’s that different from liking him?
Moroha didn’t get it.
But probably there were subtle delicate signs between Nelly and the demon that nobody could perceive.
After that, they talked about nothing special as she fed him.
Nelly was a person who loved being a pain in the neck, loved ecchi stuff and sudden eccentric behavior, but when he calmly exchanged words with her like this, she looked like a charming Onee-san, like a junior looking like a senior.
Moroha didn’t dislike that type of Nelly.
It was too early to sleep after the evening meal, so Moroha spent his time exploring the first floor.
He opened the door opposite to the door leading to Nelly’s room and restarted.
How many doors did he open since then?
Since the mapping plans increased, he had to check for open seams.
Despite not having good results, Moroha threw a new door open──and opened his eyes wide.
This looked obviously different from the other rooms.
First, it was absurdly wide.
Many times wider than the other rooms.
And countless bookshelves were placed disorderly.
All of them were packed with books.
The ceiling was high, the air was clear and when he came inside, the next two things made him feel like adopting a more serious attitude.
Tranquility and chaos──
A mysterious library that harmonized such conflicting components.
Where exactly in the mansion was this?
There was a window on the back wall, he crossed the large room, trying to wave his way through the bookshelves lined up disorderly.
He could overlook the open space in front of the mansion and the setting sun from the large sliding glass door.
Yes, this was connected was once again to a room on the second floor.
He prudently tried to take an extensive view of the outside──
– What sin did you… commit?
He suddenly heard the voice of a man.
A strange voice.
With a youthful and yet adult-like style.
It felt like a whisper and yet he could catch his words clearly.
Moroha turned around, frightened.
To the place behind the bookshelves.
There was a sofa installed, a lamp placed on a small table and a man indulged in reading.
An unknown man as old as Zhixin. The features of his face told him he was around 20 years old.
But his facial expression in the prime of life had bitterness flowing in it.
The thin frame eyeglasses nicely gave him an intellectual appearance, they suited him.
He wasn’t wearing a jacket, the shirt and pants were the uniform of Akane Academy.
While he was in a calm seated posture, he didn’t feel fragile.
Rather, he felt solidly dignified.
It looked like the medium-build man let all the grim bookshelves around serve him.
The man said as if whispering, without raising his eyes from the book.
– To think new residents came to this mansion…
– Yes, I’ll be troubling you for a while.
Moroha asked to get to the heart of the matter even though he cracked a joke.
– So? Who are you?
– I’m not a person who gives his name. But, let’s see…. I used to be called like this──
The man replied without stopping his hand from turning the page.
– ──I’m〈Demon〉.*
*TN: Demon is the furigana reading for apostate/renegade.
He understood.
This man was the「demon」Nelly had mentioned.
Who was this man?
What kind of crime did he commit to be imprisoned here?
In front of this quiet man who felt like he couldn’t take his eyes off him──
Moroha couldn’t help but feel a strong curiosity about him.