Nowa woke to an unfamiliar ceiling. Disoriented. He groaned and looked down. Chen was curled up asleep on his stomach.
'Ugh, fucking shet. Why her?.' A pause, staring back at the ceiling. 'Why am I still alive…'
Then he registered the other presences in the room. Glancing at them. He was surrounded. Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya, and a purple-haired woman he didn't recognize were all staring at him.
He scoffed. 'Surrounded by women… this is… heaven… for you Reader… Let's switch, how bout that?'
"You… okay Old-timer…?" Marisa asked, her voice small in response to his scoff.
'Oh… Yeah right. You can only read my life… as always… since twenty-six… Anyway. If heaven exists… why does someone have to suffer for it? While keeping the mask on? While pretending to be kind? Are lives not important? Because to reach heaven, you have to die. So dying is the point. Living is just… waiting. Well… Not that it matters anymore… Guess anyone who follows churches is crazy. And doesn't care about life. Not really. "The physical world are just a journey" my ass… their preaching does serve a purpose of making people kind… I don't know anymore, answer this question on your own, Reader.'
He finally met their gazes, his expression unreadable for a heartbeat as he touched his face with his fingers. It lacked the dismissive facial smirk.
Then the dismissive smirk reinserted back at his lips. "Woah. I just woke up to a paradise novel, apparently."
A collective, audible exhale of relief filled the chamber. Reimu simply brought a hand to her face, massaging her temples as if warding off an imminent headache. Marisa snorted.
"You wish, Old-timer," she said, leaning forward with a grin. "Well, it's good to see you're still you. And by the way, you were seriously cool an hour ago!"
Chen, stirred by the voices, blinked awake and let out an ecstatic mewl, nuzzling into her "warm source."
Nowa gave her a gentle pat as he slowly, carefully, pushed himself up slightly. "Not really. What's with the audience? You all look like you've seen a ghost."
The purple-haired woman—Patchouli—deadpanned, her voice dry. "We were attempting to reinforce the structural integrity of your damaged soul."
Nowa turned his gaze to her, his head tilting in a show of innocent confusion. "Ehhhhhhhhhhhh… Who are you again?"
The silence that followed was thick enough to chew on. Marisa's grin widened into a shit-eating smirk. Reimu's facepalm deepened. Sakuya maintained her impeccable composure, though a faint, almost imperceptible sigh escaped her.
Patchouli's eyes twitched slightly. "I am Patchouli Knowledge. And your attempt at feigned ignorance is less convincing than your vital signs, which indicate a perfectly functional health status."
He scoffed. "Who knows?" While shrugged, then sat upright, the motion causing Chen to re-adjust herself on his lap. He looked around the luxurious, book-lined room, the rune writing on paper tags woven on his body he identified as soul containment. Before returning to them.
"So. This is the Scarlet Devil Mansion, I'm guessing? Fancy. And I'm guessing the 'soul reinforcement' didn't take, since I still feel like a building that's ninety percent built on a lego-block."
"Lego block?" Marisa slightly tilted her head.
Nowa cleared his throat. "It means scaffolding."
"The 'lego-block' or this 'scaffolding' is the only reason you are conscious," Patchouli retorted. "Your soul isn't just damaged; it's been used like a consumable resource. We were not just healing you. We were simply applying emergency structural support to prevent your total collapse."
Nowa's smirk finally faded, replaced by a look of weary resignation. He looked down at his hands, then at Reimu. "I'm... a bad investment, aren't I?" he muttered. "A product tends to break after the warranty expires."
"That 'product' just saved my life," Reimu said, her voice low but firm, cutting through his self-deprecation. "So shut up and let us figure out how to keep you alive with your condition."
His eyes, distant and hollow, tracked the faint, shimmering lines of the magical tether they had woven around his core. It felt like a scaffold around nothingness. He shook his head slowly.
"I wouldn't if I were you. It's just not going to work."
The room fell silent, all eyes locking onto him.
Chen perked up, tilting her head to look into his distant eyes. "What do you mean, Mr. Warm Hand?"
'I've sacrificed too many things… Can't get them back… Power is balanced by what you give up… And I gave up everything… I don't want to keep living…' He then slowly met her gaze, his expression softening for a fraction of a second. "There are things that can't be undone, Miss Furry-Liked-Ma-Stomach. So it only just puts a comma sign into my life story."
Patchouli's hand briefly curled against her grimoire. "I see, no wonder why the integrity won't connect."
His focus shifted, the moment of vulnerability gone as he deliberately lightened the mood. He plucked at the borrowed shirt he was wearing. "By the way. How come I'm not wearing my clothes?" He gestured vaguely. "My rune pouch. My rune revolver. And where is the jacket I gave you, Miss Izayoi?"
Sakuya replied. "Your previous attire was smeared with the enemy's blood. They are currently cleaned and hung to dry. As for your tools—"
"They are in my library," Patchouli deadpanned, not a hint of apology in her voice.
Nowa's eyes slid to her, a dry, knowing chuckle escaping him. "Really now, Miss Rune Lover?"
"I will document every principle of that rune of yours," she replied. "It violates a dozen established metaphysical laws. Therefore," She stood, her body trembling slightly not from weakness, but from academic excitement. "You will explain its foundational theory."
Marisa slid in, elbowing Patchouli as if they were co-conspirators. "Yeah, Old-timer! Spill the beans already! This is a magician's dream!"
"Nuh uh." Nowa shook his head and waggled a finger. "I already told you, Mushroom Kid, why that's a bad idea." He smirked, then turned to Chen. "And by the way, why are you still on my lap?"
Chen tensed and shot to the side, standing at attention. "Ah! I was, uh… I was told to guard you by Ran-sama!" she explained with a nervous giggle.
A dry chuckle escaped him. "Fair enough,"
Marisa wasn't deterred. "Come on! Just a little hint! You can make stuff that's seemingly—"
"Hey, Nowa." Reimu's voice cut through the chatter, devoid of hostility but full of a quiet, sober intensity. Nowa met her gaze, and the smirk faded from his face.
"What is it, Miss Ribbon?"
All eyes turned to Reimu. Her arms were crossed, a slight, almost imperceptible shake in her shoulder, a tremor so slight that no one else saw it, but he did..
'Is she… shakened? Where did your pride gone—'
"Is your three-day deadline still up?" Reimu asked.
Nowa paused for a long moment. "...Yeah. Still looking for a reason. You still have… uh," he glanced at the grand clock on the wall, then back at her. "About forty-eight hours of my protection—"
"Will you drop it?" Her voice was tight.
"You saw it for yourself. We're completely out of our league. My whole life's experience of fending off incidents, being called the combat prodigy… was useless. Sakuya's time manipulation was useless. They're smarter than us. They fight dirty. They almost—"
Her hand moved to her chest, where the Fractureborn had begun to tear her clothes. Remembering the eyes. The intent. The helplessness. She stopped herself. Her eyes briefly closed, before returning to his. Her hands lowered to her side.
"I've been into lethal battles many times, but not this severe… They don't even fight like us. Just dirty tricks… Moves that ignore everything we can do… They even know us from the start which complicates the fight even more." a pause. "I hate this… I hate admitting this… but we need you. Will you stop counting the hours?"
Her eyes held a mix of raw trauma and the fear of losing their only viable shield.
Nowa avoided every gaze, looking into the middle distance, his jaw clenching.
'I don't like the way you say that… But I can't live. Damn it… fuck all of you… just throw me out already…'
He finally met her worried gaze, his own expression unreadable. "We'll see about it. But the decision is mine."
Reimu tightened her grip on her own arms. He had just shut her down. A heavy silence fell over the room.
She let out a sharp sigh of profound resignation and frustration. "Fine. But know that your decision will cost us—"
"Don't get ahead of yourself now, my dear Miko."
The voice came from a high-backed chair in the corner, stopping Reimu from her near outburst. It was Remilia Scarlet, a small, knowing smile on her lips.
Nowa turned his head to regard her. Noticing her childlike height. 'Huh.. not what I expect to be someone of a boss in this rich castle.'
"I suspect you're the queen of this mansion?" Nowa asked.
Remilia's smile widened, a flash of fang. "Indeed, you are as perceptive as you are powerful. I am Remilia Scarlet, The creature of the night."
'A vampire… great. If it weren't you are the owner of this damn castle and friends with these people… You'd be dead where you stand.'
he blinked. "Nowa Beckitzer," he replied.
Remilia gave a regal nod. "You have saved what is ours, Mr. Beckitzer. That alone is evidence of your… inherent willingness to act. Therefore, I shall grant you your own room within this mansion." She paused, letting the offer hang in the air, a gift that was also a leash. "Consider it an exchange. Not for a future promise, but for the continuation of what you are already doing."
'...Great. I can see through your theatrics, great brat. Dangling a room as bait to keep me here. And possibly taking me in as her pet.' Nowa held his gaze to her for a moment, the thought of a room was good, but it could also be a leash. He let out a short, dry laugh. "A room, huh? Sure. But just so we're clear," he said, locking eyes with Remilia, "a room doesn't buy a soul. It just rents my time. The decision is still mine."
Remilia's eyes narrowed slightly. She noticed what he meant.
Reimu shot Remilia a look that said, "I know what you're doing." She turned back to Nowa, her voice flat. "Kay… At least you'll be somewhere with walls. Just... try not to break anything expensive."
"Whoa! A room in the SDM? That's the VIP treatment, Ze!" Marisa grinned, practically vibrating. "Hey, this means you're closer to the library! And the kitchens! I can show you all the good spots to raid—"
Marisa choked, cutting her sentence off as Reimu grabbed her by the collar and started dragging her towards the door. "Let's go. Let them deal with this. I had enough of this headache, …I need to rest."
"—Hey! You're no fun!" Marisa sulked, her arms crossed as her feet dragged along the floor. Just before they exited, Reimu paused, looking back at Remilia and Sakuya with a final, sobering glare.
"And for the love of god, you two," she said, her voice low and serious. "Make sure he stays on our side."
Sakuya gave a single, solemn nod. With that, Reimu finally left, pulling a complaining Marisa with her.
Nowa looked down at Chen. "How about you? Aren't you going too, Furry-Smol-Car?"
Chen saluted him. "Nya! Sure, I was just checking on you anyway! See ya!" With a cheerful wave, she hopped backwards into a small rift that snapped shut behind her.
"You said you were ordered by that fox," Nowa muttered to the empty space where she'd been.
"The Goldleaf Suite is a vacant residential room and is ready for your stay," Sakuya stated, her voice cutting through his thoughts. "I will have your possessions transferred shortly after cleaning them. Follow me, Mr. Beckitzer."
Nearby, Patchouli gathered her tomes, her movements slow and deliberate. "And do come by the library from time to time, Mr. Beckitzer," she said without looking back. "You have become a uniquely interesting walking research paper."
And with that, she too departed, leaving Nowa alone with the mistress of the mansion and her chief maid.