Still.
Even if all of that were true, it was nowhere near something they needed to worry about right now.
"Don't overthink it. This has nothing to do with you, not yet." Gojo's tone was blunt enough to sting. "If you ever ran into something on that level, you'd be dead before you finished exhaling."
One sentence, and all the fire drained out of Subaru. His shoulders slumped.
He was right. As things stood, Subaru was no different from any ordinary person. What could he possibly do?
"You two are so weird."
Felt had been listening to their cryptic back-and-forth without understanding a word of it. When neither of them offered an explanation, she didn't bother pressing. She dropped down beside the campfire Rem had built and started toasting some of the dried rations they'd traded for.
Night watch fell to Subaru, who'd volunteered with enthusiasm. Whether he took the shift or not didn't matter much. If anything happened, Gojo was confident he'd sense it first.
Inside the carriage, the three girls huddled together under blankets. Gojo spread his own blanket on the grass beneath the tree, close enough to the fire to stay warm. Comfortable enough.
Subaru sat beside him, poking at the embers now and then, keeping his vigil with quiet diligence.
The night passed without incident.
Come morning, Rem had the Dragon Carriage moving alongside the early-rising merchants, continuing toward the manor. It wasn't until well into the afternoon that they finally pushed deep into the Lost Forest of Kremaldy and arrived at the estate hidden within.
"We've arrived."
Rem's voice carried back from the driver's seat.
Through the carriage windows, the manor came into view, and it was enormous.
The residence in the capital had been luxurious enough. But that was the capital, where every square foot of land came at a premium. Even a family with as long a lineage as the Mathers couldn't afford to be too extravagant there.
Out here, in the middle of nowhere, money was the only limit.
A single glimpse, not even the full picture, and the estate already loomed like some great beast sleeping in the forest.
The main structure was Gothic in style, painted in pale white and deep violet. The central tower rose high, its roofline bristling with spires. Rows of neat rectangular arched windows lined the walls, each one reinforcing the weight of old nobility.
The grounds in front were even more impressive. A marble-paved drive ran up the center, wide enough for several Dragon Carriages to ride abreast. On either side, expanses of manicured lawn were subdivided into sections of trimmed hedges and ornamental shrubs, dotted with bright clusters of flowers that lent the whole scene an air of studied elegance.
As the carriage rolled closer, a fountain appeared near the entrance. An intricately carved stone figure stood at its center, water arcing upward and catching the afternoon sun in scattered points of light.
More than a display of wealth, the estate felt like a work of art.
"This makes the capital residence look modest," Subaru murmured, eyes wide at the view beyond the glass.
"How many Holy Gold Coins do you think this cost?" Felt's attention, as always, went straight to the practical.
Gojo didn't share their awe. If he was being honest, the Gojo clan back home had comparable wealth, maybe more. Generations of accumulation added up.
Not that any of it did him much good in another world.
The carriage swept past the fountain and came to a stop at the foot of a broad staircase leading to the manor's entrance. At the top, a small figure had been waiting.
"Lady Emilia. Honored guests. I am Ram, a maid of this household. Lord Roswaal has been expecting you. Please, follow me."
The girl who spoke was about the same height as Rem, dressed in an identical maid's uniform, with a face so similar it was almost a mirror image. The only obvious difference was her hair: where Rem's was blue, Ram's was pink.
Beyond that...
"Would the guest kindly stop looking at Rem's sister with those lecherous eyes?"
Rem materialized in front of Gojo, blocking his line of sight to Ram.
Gojo, whose thoughts had contained nothing remotely lecherous, used the close-up view to confirm one observation with complete certainty.
Between the two sisters, Rem was the more generously proportioned.
"Would the guest kindly stop looking at Ram's sister with those lecherous eyes?"
Now the pink-haired one drifted over too. The sisters stood side by side, delivering near-identical lines.
Matching uniforms. Matching faces. The effect was striking.
"Maid sisters..." Subaru stared at the pair and whispered, low enough that only he could hear, "This is definitely a sight you can only see in another world."
"Well, I don't have whatever indecent thoughts you're accusing me of." Gojo held up his hands. "But I've made a decision. When I meet the Margrave, I'm putting in a formal request. I want the two of you transferred to my service. A pair of beautiful maid sisters running a dessert shop? Just picturing it is fantastic."
"You have my sympathy, Rem, dealing with a guest who has such bizarre delusions."
"It's all right, Sister. I've already identified the guest's weakness."
The sisters traded quips in perfect rhythm, and somehow it never felt rude. If anything, it was entertaining.
"Stop wasting time." Felt shot Gojo a look, irritation plain on her face. "Don't forget why we're here."
In her eyes, the man had zero sense of priorities. Compared to Holy Gold Coins, what were a couple of maids worth? Even with Lugunica's ban on slave trading, money could get you almost anything if you had enough of it. Forget maid sisters who could bake. With the right price, you could probably buy a fallen noblewoman's daughter.
Everything had a number attached to it.
"Relax, relax." Gojo waved her off. "I haven't forgotten the plan."
Led by the twin maids, they stepped through the front entrance and into the manor proper.
From outside, the estate had already been breathtaking. But it wasn't until they crossed the threshold that everyone realized the exterior hadn't even been a fair preview. What lay inside was on another level entirely.