Chapter 19: Strange Figures in the Mansion
After Ram finished with Ayanokouji and the others, Rem immediately approached him.
"Ayanokouji-sama, Roswaal-sama wishes to meet with you, he is already in the hall, please follow me."
There was no room for Ayanokouji to refuse. He also wanted to use this opportunity to meet Roswaal and see the presence of the original nobleman. He considered whether Roswaal had any value that could be exploited.
❀❀❀
"Have you already started evaluating my worth before meeting me? Interesting man."
Roswaal looked towards Ayanokouji in the image, the smile on his face becoming clearer.
"Perhaps a personality like that would suit me very well... It might even save me from many troubles, bringing me closer to my goal!"
"Roswaal-sama."
Rem dressed in a maid uniform, slowly walked towards Roswaal and poured another cup of hot tea into his empty teacup.
"Rem, do you hate the person named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"
Roswaal sipped the hot tea and pointed his finger towards the sky.
"From the image seen in the sky, Rem does not like people like him, but Rem has never met him in real life, so I do not know his true thoughts. It doesn't bother me at all."
Rem answered slowly, her expression very serious.
"Yes..."
This made Roswaal think. He extended his fingers to stroke his chin, slightly curious why Rem emitted such hostility towards Ayanokouji in the illusory sky.
❰❱SKY SCREEN❰❱
Walking through the exquisitely built staircase, Ayanokouji arrived at the large hall.
The furnishings here looked very beautiful. The fine lines on the wooden furniture were clearly hand-carved by skilled craftsmen, indicating that Roswaal had extraordinary financial resources. Moreover, before arriving at the mansion, he had observed that Roswaal's domain was very vast.
But in such a strong mansion of Roswaal, there were only two maids.
As he walked around the mansion, Ayanokouji observed the details inside the mansion. Except for Rem and Ram, there were no other servants throughout the mansion.
In the hall, there was a large dining table with a variety of desserts on it. There was a retro candle holder in the center.
Felt looked around like a curious kitten, eager to see the luxurious items she had never seen in the slum area.
Rom was sitting at the dining table nervously. Although he was given an extra-large chair, the chair still felt somewhat cramped for him as a giant.
After seeing Ayanokouji's arrival, Emilia immediately stood up from seat and waved enthusiastically.
"Ayanokouji, come here!"
After saying that, Emilia pointed to the chair next to her.
At this moment, she had changed clothes. She wore a simple pink dress on her upper body. There was a small red flower sewn on the top of her left chest. She wore white knee-high stockings, with the bottom of her thigh visible in the gap between the stocking and the skirt. This was Emilia's casual attire. Although it looked somewhat plain and ordinary, it made her slightly more cheerful and cute.
Ayanokouji gazed at Emilia in front of him and nodded. After the incident with Elsa, Emilia seemed to truly trust him and consider him a close friend.
'It seems she has fully considered me as hers. She is very easy to manipulate. From the current perspective, this tool is quite easy to use.'
His eyes focused on Emilia's amethyst-like eyes, Ayanokouji's expression remained unchanged, and he sat next to her.
"Ayanokouji, how is the room that Ram prepared for you?" Emilia asked, turning to the side.
The very close distance made Ayanokouji feel the warm breath of the other party and the faint aroma emanating from her body.
"It's excellent." Ayanokouji quickly responded.
The environment of his room was much better than he had expected. It could even be said to be luxurious. However, he would check his room more thoroughly at night to ensure it was safe.
"If you have any requests, please let me know directly!" Emilia said enthusiastically.
Ayanokouji also nodded.
Sitting across from him was a petite girl. Although her feet were not visible, Ayanokouji guessed that her feet might not touch the ground if she sat in the chair.
She had long cream-colored hair, vertically curled into twin curly ponytails, and wore a beautiful red lace dress. She looked like a very delicate doll, with a bright smile on her face and her eyes blooming like bright gaze flowers falling on Puck in her embrace.
The girl held a small spoon containing hot soup and placed it in front of Puck.
Puck also licked the liquid in the spoon like a real cat.
"This is Beatrice, we all call her Betty, she is the forbidden library administrator in the mansion."
Emilia introduced, while Beatrice raised her head slightly. Her eyes shifted to Ayanokouji, and her expression vanished momentarily, appearing a bit cold. It seemed she had no intention of greeting him.
Ayanokouji had just heard Beatrice call Puck "Bubby." Was this just an intimate term, or did they actually have a blood relationship?
If the latter, it meant that the girl named Beatrice was also an existence beyond the human category.
'She seems to be a difficult character to befriend. I'm worried I'll end up in an awkward situation if I talk to her.' Ayanokouji thought to himself, not intending to communicate with Beatrice, but more interested in the Forbidden Library that Emilia had just mentioned: "The Forbidden Library?"
"Roswaal is the head Mage of the palace in this land, so it's understandable that he has many forbidden books." Emilia explained.
Ayanokouji heard and immediately realized that the Forbidden Library held very high intelligence value. However, even though he could understand the words of this world now, he did not know the words of this world. Even if he could read the forbidden books, it would be meaningless.
So, for him, it was crucial to learn the writing of this world as quickly as possible.
At the same time, Ayanokouji's eyes continued to move.
There was a man sitting in the front seat at the dining table. Ram and Rem stood respectfully on both sides behind the man.
He was tall and thin, wearing a circus-like costume and clown-like makeup on his face.
Although this man seemed out of place, the fact that he sat in the front seat was enough to prove that he was the owner of this grand mansion.
He should be Roswaal.
"First meeting, Ayanokouji-sama." Roswaal spoke first, with a smile on his face.
His eyes met Ayanokouji's.
"You must be Roswaal-sama, I have admired you for a long time." Ayanokouji said calmly.
He gazed carefully at Roswaal's face. There was a hint of fox-like cunning in his eyes, and there were strange things painted on his face.
The excessive makeup and clothing were indeed somewhat strange. Most people would consider Roswaal odd at first sight, but in Ayanokouji's eyes, Roswaal's appearance and clothing were just aspects to analyze his personality and life as clues. Only others could benefit from it, so he didn't care how strange it was.
Ayanokouji had conducted very in-depth research on psychology in the past, which was why he could easily control people's hearts. If someone liked to wear strange clothes, there were often reasons, whether it was to seek attention from others, to attract attention, because they did not want to be the same as others, or maybe they were just imitating someone...
Why did Roswaal do this, Ayanokouji still didn't know, but he was sure that Roswaal was undoubtedly strange.
And based on the information obtained earlier, even though Roswaal chose to support Emilia, he seemed not to provide any assistance to her.
Ayanokouji also knew that he would never be able to let his guard down around Roswaal.
"This is food made by Rem herself. If Ayanokouji-sama doesn't mind, please try it!" Roswaal said enthusiastically.
"Yes! Ayanokouji, it's really delicious! Try it quickly!" Emilia beside him also said immediately.
"So delicious!" Felt had already devoured all the food on the plate.
Her movements were a bit rough, and her face was covered in food remnants.
"Roswaal-sama, may I have another bowl?!"
"Of course, you are our extraordinary benefactor. If you have any requests, please make them as soon as possible!" Roswaal said with a smile.
Ayanokouji looked at the food in front of him, the carefully cooked dish emitting steam, accompanied by an aroma that stimulated one's appetite.
When he first saw the food, he wondered if there was poison in it, but it was almost impossible, so he took a spoon and slowly put the food into his mouth.
The sweet and slightly salty taste filled his mouth. He had to admit that the food tasted very delicious.
"I heard Emilia-sama mention your affairs. May I ask, Ayanokouji-sama, are you from... the Empire where the sun never sets?"
Roswaal's body leaned forward slightly, his deep gaze fixed on Ayanokouji saying, "But I have never heard of this country before."
"It's just a small unknown country. It may not even be recorded on the map." Ayanokouji said lightly.
He could sense that Roswaal seemed to be testing him and wanting to get more information from him about something for everyone in the foreign land of unknown origin.
In the previous regressions, he could gather from conversations of many passersby that not only was there the Lugnica Kingdom in this world, but certainly there were many unknown small countries, so his reason could also be to maintain his stance.
However, Ayanokouji also wanted to obtain information from Roswaal.
"So, it seems my knowledge is still somewhat shallow." Roswaal smiled, a moment of doubt flickering in his eyes, but he did not inquire further, "It seems Ayanokouji-sama already knows about the Lugnica Kingdom. I heard that you also want to be in the same camp as us, so you will also be an honored guest here! Is there anything you need assistance with, Ayanokouji-sama?"
Judging from his attitude and tone of speech, Roswaal was very honest.
"Thank you very much. If possible, I would like to learn some of your country's writing." Ayanokouji said slowly, "Although there is no issue with oral communication, I am not familiar with your country's writing, so if possible, I would also like to see the nearby area."
For him, learning about the world's characters was very important, and another thing was to get to know the nearby geographical environment.
In the future, they might still face threats from assassin organizations. Understanding the surrounding area might be useful in facing potential dangers in the future.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone