It wasn't long before a crisp knock sounded at Nowa's door.
"Beckitzer, it's me, Sakuya Izayoi. Lady Remilia has invited you to a formal meeting in the study, alongside Lady Patchouli and her assistant."
Nowa, who was curled up, palms on his face. Looked up at the door. He stared at the wooden surface for a long moment.
'Stop fucking bothering me!' He finally exhaled. "Sure, sure."
He took the rune pouch, stood, and opened the door to find Sakuya waiting.
"This way, Beckitzer," she said, gesturing down the hall.
"How about I take a shower first?" he said, raising a single finger. "I just went through the day covered in mess, you know." A dry smirk played on his lips. "Plus, I need to wear my own clothes, too."
Sakuya looked back at him, her expression unreadable. "Didn't I just clean you up while you were unconscious?" But inwardly, she noted. 'Will showering even make a difference? Water seems to dry on him relatively quickly.'
Nowa blinked. 'Straight to the face, wow. I like your honesty.'
"So you've seen my dick?"
Sakuya paused. "...Excuse me?"
"You said you've cleaned me up earlier, therefore, you've seen it." He leaned on the door frame, arms crossed, staring at her with a dry smirk.
Sakuya was genuinely silent for a moment.
'This guy! This guy! You're talking to a woman here! To a woman! Where are your manners!' She paused, a slight pinkishness on her cheeks. '...Well, we did… So why is he making a big deal out of it?!'
She cleared her throat. "Try to refrain from talking about private parts openly… Mr. Beckitzer."
He shrugged. "I dunno, you're the one talking straight in my face, so I talked to you straight back."
"...Are you not embarrassed to… Talk about it at all…?" She asked, genuinely confused.
"Embarrassed? I'm straight as fuck. Why should I care about the topic? You're eventually going to marry someone and fuck with—"
Sakuya's hand shot to close his mouth. "Stop with that nonsense!" She said her composure cracked, the pink on her cheeks now reddened.
'Yes. Her next line will be… "That's it, leave this mansion now.".' Nowa mused.
But Sakuya was just silenced, recomposing herself.
He sighed. "...Fine, you got me." His words muffled under her hand. Sakuya's hand lowers to her side.
"I don't get embarrassed anymore. There's no point. When you've been stripped, patched up, and put back together by strangers enough times, it stops mattering. You get used to hands on your body that aren't yours." He stated.
"W-what?"
"You get the idea," He vaguely gestures.
"So… you've been doing…?"
"Having sex?"
"Wha–! No—!"
"Infact," he overtook. "I haven't lost my virginity at all. I'm just used to it. Though there are things I dislike the most."
His gaze briefly drifted, before returning to her. Then he straightened.
"But I will still take a bath. I feel better when I'm doing it myself. And these," he plucked at the borrowed shirt, "aren't mine."
Sakuya held her gaze on him for a moment. "...V-very well. Your bathroom is through that door," she said, with a gesture of her hand towards a second, ornate door he had yet to explore. "The water will heat to your preference." She turned to leave. "...I will inform Lady Remilia of your brief delay. Please wear formal clothes. You will be escorted when you are ready." A pause. "...And make sure you don't talk like that once you are in her presence, or anyone in general."
"Sure," Nowa replied, his tone layered with nonchalance. He closed the door behind her, the latch clicking but he didn't realize the lock was not fully locked.
He then entered the bathroom and let out a low whistle.
The chamber was a masterpiece of the Edwardian era of luxury; high ceiling, intricate black and white mosaic tiles, and dark, polished wood. A massive, clawfoot tub dominated the space, its brass faucets shaped like unfolding bats.
"Of course they're bats," he muttered, a dry chuckle escaping him. "Over the top, but points for thematic consistency."
And a separate toilet and a porcelain sink beneath a large, gilded mirror.
"Well, it's not like I'm gunna enjoy the cold water anyway, they're just gunna evaporate after touching my skin. But still, gotta give em a bathroom rating. Ten outa ten, I guess." He shrugged and began to undress.
Meanwhile, Sakuya re-entered the study, she had recovered from Nowa's crude speech earlier and bowed towards Remilia. "...Mr. Beckitzer is taking a shower and will join us shortly. He wished to present himself in his own attire."
Remilia nodded in regal acknowledgement, then saw Sakaya's tensed posture. "Oya? What's the matter, Sakuya? You look… pink?"
"I'm fine." She said so quickly. "...Mr. Beckitzer is just giving me a hard time."
Remilia dryly chuckled. "First I ever heard from my Chief Maid. Very well then." She then turned an amused glance to Patchouli. "It seems our guest has a sense of theater. He wishes to make an entrance. We shall grant him that courtesy."
Patchouli, a mix of deadpan and annoyance, let out a short sigh. She carefully laid out another item on the table: Nowa's shed obsidian feather that Sakuya handed before. The collection was now complete: the revealed rune revolver, the conjured recipe, and the feather, a triad of mysteries waiting for their owner.
After a short while, a cluster of fairies assigned to escort duty gathered outside Nowa's door. Their cheerful bickering escalated until, pushed from their antics, tumbled through the unlatched door and landed on each other on the floor.
Just at that moment, the bathroom door opened.
Nowa stepped out, a cloud of steam following him. His torso was bare, his hair nearly dry already, and a single bath towel, more for modesty than absorption, was wrapped securely around his waist. He stopped, staring at the flustered fairies picking themself up from the floor and the panicked faces peeking in from the hallway.
The fairies zipped upright, their faces flushed crimson and simultaneously said. "S-sorry!"
Nowa let out a long, weary sigh, running a hand through his hair. He muttered under his breath. "Mga kupal, ang kulit din eh.(These damn fools are annoying)."
He then gestured with a jerk of his thumb for them to get out. They obeyed in a frantic, silent blur, pulling the door shut behind them.
Nowa dried himself not of water (that was already gone) but of soap leftovers, then neatly folded the borrowed clothes and placed them on the table. From his rune pouch, he retrieved his own attire: a plain white long-sleeve sweater, knee-length black pants, and, with a final flourish, a pair of gloriously cozy, bright pink Croc slippers.
A dry chuckle escaped him. "I wonder how they will react to this particular dress code. Might get kicked out or not. Both are beneficial either way."
He dressed quickly. He attached the rune pouch to his waist, and opened the door.
Outside, the fairy maids were in a hushed, frantic gossip cycle. "...No scars!... foreign language! …Good looks!" The door swinging open silenced them instantly.
They took in the sight of him: the simple, almost aggressively casual sweater and pants and the blindingly pink, rubbery footwear. They flinched in unison, then bowed as one, a chorus of awkward, squeaked greetings meeting him.
Nowa paid their flustered energy no mind. "Right," he stated. "So, where's this room they're at?"
The fairy maids, their tiny minds short-circuited by the attire, whispered in cheerful confusion. "Is that even allowed?" one muttered. After a shared giggle and a unanimous, confident nod, they turned to Nowa and bowed. "This way, Mister!" Two flew ahead to lead, while the other three began gleefully dancing in looping patterns around him as he walked.
Nowa glanced at each of them. '...Do they act like children, or are they actually children in that size?' He followed, a dry smirk on his lips as he watched their aerial ballet. 'Whatever. This doesn't change anything... but they're kinda... uh, what-cha-ma-call-it.' He tapped his chin, the word avoiding him. 'Oh well, whatever.' The thought faded, replaced by an unacknowledged feeling of ease in their simple, chaotic presence.
A short moment later, they arrived. The fairies gestured to the door and bowed. "They're here, Mister!"
Nowa scratched the back of his head with a sigh and gave a nod. The fairies zipped away, leaving him alone before the ornate door. A final smirk touched his lips before he pushed it open and entered without knocking.
His entrance was a table of instant reactions:
Patchouli's eyes, rising from the revolver, instantly twitched, locking onto the pink crocs with horror.
Remilia, seated regally, leaned forward, a delighted smirk spreading across her face.
The librarian's assistant—Koakuma—behind Patchouli clapped both hands over her mouth, failing to stifle a low, escaping giggle.
And Sakuya, standing at attention, maintained her perfect posture, but a single, throbbing vein at her temple betrayed a titanic internal struggle.
"Beckitzer," Sakuya's voice was arctic. "You knock first before you enter."
"Okay," Nowa replied, utterly nonchalant. He stepped back pulling the door shut with him, and stood in the hallway once more. He then raised his hand and delivered three crisp knocks.
"This is Beckitzer."
From the inside, followed by the sound of the absurd knock, was a barely suppressed snort can be heard as the librarian's assistant finally lost her battle and let out a low, gleeful wheeze.