Walking along the corridor on the west side of the mansion, one would pass the servants' rest area, the supply warehouse, and an ordinary library on either side.
The East Wing was entirely different, featuring a grand VIP hall and guest rooms for visitors.
As Subaru walked side-by-side with Rem toward the front courtyard, she retraced the route Emilia had shown her during the morning tour in her mind.
Immersed in her memories of Emilia, Subaru unconsciously slowed her pace. Noticing this, the perceptive Rem quietly adjusted her own stride, maintaining a constant distance of half a step behind her.
Rem didn't say anything to disturb her, merely observing the thoughtful girl beside her from the corner of her eye.
When Subaru snapped out of her thoughts, she immediately realized she had slowed them down.
She turned her head and said apologetically, "Sorry, Rem, I spaced out for a moment."
Rem shook her head gently, responding expressionlessly, "It is alright, Subaru-sama. Though I do not know what Subaru-sama was thinking about, Rem will match your pace."
Hearing these considerate words, Subaru showed a gentle smile. "Then let's keep going. And Rem, just call me Subaru from now on. You don't need the honorifics anymore."
"Understood... Subaru."
Rem readily changed her form of address, an imperceptible glint flashing in her eyes.
In a pleasant mood, Subaru looked toward the nearby courtyard and asked curiously, "What work are we doing next?"
Rem answered, "Today's work is tending to the front courtyard and the garden, as well as patrolling the surrounding environment. Afterward, we will help prepare lunch, and from the eighth hour of Solartime, we will polish the silverware."
Subaru thought to herself, 'Tending the garden is just pruning plants, which I had learned during my part-time job at a flower shop, and polishing plates was even easier... But this "eighth hour of Solartime"...'
She asked, "Is there a specific way to tell time? Like... a clock?"
"A clock? If Subaru means Magic Time Crystals, there are some in the mansion."
Rem pointed to a crystal emitting a faint green glow on the corridor wall. "Right there."
"What a peculiar way of keeping time."
Tsukasa appeared beside Subaru at some unknown moment, rubbing his chin as he studied the crystal.
"Waaah?!"
Startled by his sudden appearance, Subaru nearly jumped and instinctively threw a punch—only for her arm to pass straight through his body.
Tsukasa raised an eyebrow smugly. "Except in the Consciousness Space, you can't touch me anywhere else. I just discovered that myself."
Hearing this, Subaru sighed helplessly and turned her gaze back to the green-glowing crystal.
Rem, who had already taken all of this in, thought to herself, 'That must be Tsukasa-san. Just as Ram said, only Subaru can see him.'
Setting her thoughts aside, she stepped forward to explain to the two of them, "From the zero hour to the sixth hour of Solartime Day is the Wind Time, followed by six hours of the Fire Time. Starting from the zero hour of Lunartime are the Water Time and the Earth Time. It seems Subaru and Tsukasa-san are not very familiar with this."
Seeing the faint, indiscernible smile on Rem's face, Subaru could only swear silently, 'Until my knowledge catches up, I won't say another word.'
Tsukasa didn't care at all. He recalled that the guest room also had a similar crystal, but the green here seemed deeper by comparison.
"So the color of the crystal changes with time. That's an interesting mechanic."
After this explanation, Subaru finally understood the local timekeeping: Solartime refers to the daytime, and Lunartime refers to the night.
Having integrated her knowledge of the real world with this other world, she signaled Rem to continue.
Along the way, Tsukasa curiously had Subaru ask on his behalf, "Are you two the only maids in the mansion? Are there any others on leave or who have resigned?"
"Occasionally, there are guests and colleagues from the separate villa who stay temporarily. But Ram and Rem report directly to Roswaal-sama, so we are permanently stationed in the main mansion."
Rem's explanation made Subaru realize that this was Roswaal's primary residence.
Thinking about how the man was both a Margrave and the Head Court Mage, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive.
'Can I really contend with someone like that?'
Sensing Subaru's low spirits, Tsukasa raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't worry. Even if I only use Blue, I can handle that guy easily. Your talent is high enough that surpassing him is only a matter of time."
Before Subaru could speak again, the three of them arrived at the courtyard.
Sunlight spilled over the somewhat untidy flowerbeds, bringing a temporary end to this interlude.
—
As noon approached, sunlight filled the garden.
Tsukasa lay leisurely on the distant lawn, watching the busy figures of Subaru and Rem.
After only a few minutes of guidance, Subaru had already skillfully mastered the pruning techniques, her garden shears precisely trimming the outlines of the shrubs.
"It's not so much that she learned it, but more like natural talent." Tsukasa couldn't help but sigh softly.
But just then, a familiar notification sound rang in his mind.
[Ding!]
He immediately vanished from the spot. At that moment, Subaru, who was pruning branches, looked up as if sensing something, only to see the lawn was empty.
'Lately, the frequency of Tsukasa entering and leaving the Consciousness Space seems particularly high.'
She thought to herself, 'Once I'm done with this shift, I'll have to ask him about it properly.'
Inside the Consciousness Space, Tsukasa stared at the pale blue panel that had reappeared.
"It finished early?"
There should have been quite some time left until the 24-hour mark. However, since the system had finished updating, he couldn't wait to see the new functions.
Touching the panel with his fingertip, system prompts popped up one after another.
[Ding! This system update content: System Shop]
[The system's shop is incomplete, the host will be given 100 System Points as compensation.]
"Only a shop function..."
Tsukasa felt slightly disappointed, but his eyebrows shot up when he saw the compensation points.
"Judgment error... that must refer to the incident at the tavern."
"Open System Shop."
In the next second, his breath hitched slightly. The item list displayed before him far exceeded his expectations.
[System Shop contents are as follows:]
[1. One-time attack 'Jacob's Ladder' - 150 points]
[2. One-time Domain 'Malevolent Shrine' - 300 points]
[3. One Cursed Technique Advancement - 700 points]
[4. Summon 'Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga' (Note: Requires self-exorcism/taming) - 1000 points]
[5. Special Grade Cursed Tool 'Inverted Spear of Heaven' - 500 points]
[6. Ten Shadows Technique (Note: What will be summoned—no one knows) - 4000 points]
—
After looking at just a portion of it, excitement sparkled in Tsukasa's eyes.
Although his points were currently limited, these items undoubtedly opened up new possibilities for him.
What caught his attention even more was that all items in the shop strictly followed one rule: no skills or items outside the current template would ever appear.