"Jashin-chan is definitely not the owner."
Kawashima Toya dismissed the serpent girl as a suspect immediately.
Given her frantic excitement, there was no way this treasure actually belonged to her. Jashin-chan was a notorious spendthrift who was perpetually broke. The idea of her amassing a fortune like this was laughable.
"It's mine!" Jashin-chan's eyes were glued to the glittering wealth filling the basement, practically drooling. "My precious treasure!"
"The scent of a dragon..." Toya muttered, noticing that the gold coins were faintly stained with a distinct, smoky aura.
In an instant, he realized the truth.
There was only one dragon living in his house.
Since the gold carried a dragon's scent, it was obviously Tohru who had stashed her hoard in the basement. Although Tohru usually acted the part of a maid, she was still a Chaos Dragon at her core. And dragons, known as the most avaricious creatures in existence, could never refuse shiny gold coins.
"Tohru! Someone is trying to steal your gold!" Toya shouted with a mischievous grin, watching Jashin-chan prepare to dive into the pile.
His voice wasn't particularly loud, but it seemed to carry a magical resonance, reaching Tohru who was currently washing laundry in the courtyard above.
"Stealing... my gold?"
Tohru's golden eyes instantly shifted into vertical reptilian slits. A terrifying, oppressive pressure—Dragon Fear—began to radiate from her body.
BOOM!
With a thunderous noise, Tohru vanished from the courtyard.
Nearby, Nyaruko, who was fiddling with some Kamen Rider gear, shook her head gently. "Even Dragon God's descendant can't escape the vice of greed."
"Trying to touch a dragon's hoard... that snake really has a death wish."
Back in the basement, Toya's smile widened. "Here she comes."
Just as Jashin-chan was about to dive into her ocean of gold, a hand clamped down on her shoulder like a vice.
Tohru gripped Jashin-chan's head, forcing the serpent to look into her furious eyes.
"Jashin-chan... what exactly were you planning to do with my gold?"
At that moment, the phantom image of a ferocious, roaring dragon seemed to materialize behind Tohru, casting a shadow over the room.
Seeing this, Kasugano Sora trembled in fear.
Toya gently patted Sora's head to comfort her. "Sora, do you understand now?"
"Never touch treasure of unknown origin. If the owner turns out to be a dragon, the consequences are unthinkable."
Sora nodded frantically. In her eyes, the glittering gold now looked as terrifying as a death trap.
BANG!
With a loud crash, Tohru tossed Jashin-chan against the stone wall like a sack of garbage.
The others watched calmly. Jashin-chan paying the price for her greed was just the natural order of things in this household.
Seeing that everyone was present, Tohru instantly reverted to her sweet, smiling self. "I'm so sorry! I lost control for a moment."
"Master, if you want some gold, you can take as much as you like!"
Toya looked at Tohru's beaming smile and shook his head decisively. "I don't need it."
"I might not be rich, but I'm not short on cash."
How could he not like seeing so much shiny gold? However, the image of Tohru's ferocious rage and Jashin-chan's tragic fate was fresh in his mind. He didn't dare test a dragon's protective instinct over her hoard. Even though Tohru said he could take it, instincts were hard to suppress.
"If Master doesn't need it, I'll put it away then." Tohru smiled and shifted partially into her dragon form, swiftly collecting all the gold into her personal pocket dimension.
With the gold gone, the basement, which was the size of a basketball court, returned to its original state.
The bright, clean floor was covered with a thick carpet. The vast basement was now empty, save for a single, peculiar object: a full-length mirror standing in the center.
It looked ancient. Unlike modern mirrors, the glass wasn't clear or bright. The surface was cloudy, as if it had been corroded by the passage of time.
"This mirror is a bit strange," Toya muttered as he approached it, a sense of dissonance rising in his chest.
It felt as though the mirror was connected to another world entirely.
"Onii-chan, why is this mirror so cloudy?" Sora asked, her voice filled with confusion.
The others nodded in agreement. It didn't make sense for such a flawed, antique item to be the sole occupant of the basement in this luxurious, newly built manor.
Toya shook his head. "I don't know."
"Let's just leave it here for now."
[Item: Mirror of Past, Present, and Future]
[Rank: Unknown]
[Effect: Currently inactive.]
"Past, Present, and Future?" Toya stared deeply at the mirror before turning to leave. "Let's go."
Aside from the mirror, the basement was empty. Since they didn't know what the mirror did, staying here was a waste of time. He would wait until the system's designated time tonight to find the answer.
As they left, Toya locked the heavy vermilion door.
.....
"Onii-chan, why are you locking it?" Sora asked curiously.
"That mirror is a bit special. It's best not to get too close to it," Toya explained.
A mirror of unknown origin with a name like Mirror of Past, Present, and Future—and a rank of 'Unknown'—was definitely not simple. To prevent any accidents, locking the door was a necessary precaution.
Heeding Toya's warning, the group lost their curiosity about the mirror and returned upstairs.
Back in the courtyard, the warm sunlight dispelled the gloom of the basement. Toya returned to his lazy lifestyle, waiting to see if the night would bring answers.
.....
Night fell.
Toya watched the time on his phone approach 1:00 AM.
"Almost time."
"Time to go see the Mirror of Past, Present, and Future."
Aside from resolving the mysterious cry for help he heard during the day, he also wanted to know the function of a mirror that even the system labeled as 'Unknown.'
Just as he stepped out of his room, he found a silver-haired girl standing outside.
"Darling, good evening!"
"Do you know," Toya said with a calm face, "that I was almost scared?"
"Haha! My surprise strategy worked!" Nyaruko laughed proudly. "I wanted to give you a fright. Looks like it was a success."
Toya chuckled dryly. "It was very successful. If I hadn't realized it was you at the last second, I would have punched you into orbit."
Normal people scream when they get scared. A select few punch first. Toya was definitely in the latter category. If he hadn't recognized Nyaruko, he might have treated her as a hostile spirit and obliterated her on the spot.
"Darling, you're going to the basement, right?" Nyaruko stopped smiling, her expression turning serious. "I'll go with you."
"But I won't go inside."
"Only you can enter."
Toya raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Nyaruko, do you know what's in the basement?"
Nyaruko nodded gravely. "Of course I do. I originally planned to have Kuuko guard the entrance with me."
"But Kuuko is busy, so it's just me."
"Don't ask about the mirror, though. I can't tell the current you anything about it."