Reenacting the Unsolved Case: And Thus, Death Smirks

"Twenty hundred hours is correct. Let me confirm once more. I won't come to call you, and everyone will gather on their own. Is that acceptable?"

"That's fine. I'll inform Kiss myself."

"Mary, is that alright with you as well?"

"...Yes. It's fine. Thank you for your concern."

"I just don't want to add unnecessary complications before the succession rights dispute. I'd rather avoid having this discussion canceled because someone drops out before we begin."

"Exactly. The same must be true for you, too. Even after being chosen as a candidate, you could have refused due to suspicion. Yet you still came, which means..."

While Mary needed recovery magic to cure Kaito's illness, the same was true for everyone. Diana and the others had come to this place because they needed it too.

Everyone wanted to avoid having the succession discussion canceled over trivial matters. That should include Kiss as well.

"...Yes. I came here because I need that magic."

From Alcaiz and Diana's words, Mary realized it would be difficult to carelessly speak of abandoning succession rights.

Given how precious this magic was, could it be used for others? If there were limited uses, one would likely save it for themselves.

"My apologies. There are two more... things I need to tell everyone. First, though Diana-sama, Alcaiz-sama, and Mary-sama may already know this, please refrain from carelessly touching anything within the mansion for now."

Though rude, the master's servant held Diana and the others back to share these precautions.

"That's natural in a magician's dwelling. We never know what might trigger magical effects. However, the items in our prepared rooms are safe, right?"

"Yes. The rooms where Alcaiz-sama and others will stay are safe. You can touch anything there, but... please refrain from using magic as much as possible. Even inside the rooms."

The servant stated that the rooms prepared for Mary and the others were safe, but why warn against using magic?

"I have no hobby of destroying others' property with magic. If breaking something leads to a curse, that would be problematic. We'd need even more recovery magic then."

Magicians not only protect themselves but sometimes collect magic-related tools. These tools can be activated through various methods. They serve defensive purposes as well.

"There's a saying about letting sleeping gods lie, but when told not to touch something, human nature makes us curious. Don't touch anything yourself. However, that phrase 'for now'..."

As Mary's servant, Kaito understood that a magician's dwelling could be dangerous for others. They must avoid unnecessary actions.

However, her statement could be interpreted as suggesting there would be opportunities to touch things later.

Had such a failure led to someone's death?

Death remained silent about this to Kaito.

"The other matter concerns the location of the servants' quarters. They are on the left side of these stairs. Since I'm alone now, there's plenty of space. Please forgive us for not being able to prepare individual rooms."

While Kaito had an individual room now, when there are many servants, they use one large shared room rather than preparing individual rooms.

"There are no traps on the doors for the servants either, so you may freely enter."

The servants nodded, but whether they could go to that room depended on their masters.

"That seems to be all. Juu, you may proceed ahead."

Diana ordered Juu, and they climbed the stairs, followed by Mary, Alcaiz, and San.

"...May I ask your number? We might need it when calling you."

As they were leaving, Kaito asked for her name and number. The more information, the better.

"Rei. I was given that number as the final servant." (TN: Rei=0)