Re:Zero -Starting Life in Zero

The magic mirror picked up the pen again and drew several lines on the existing writing.

Looking at the blurred page, he felt uneasy.

After thinking carefully for a moment, he raised his hand and added a few more words.

"The mediocre fortune teller Grimm Andersen was here, haha, now there's no problem. The super-powerful master will battle the evil loli, while the great Soul-Eating Nightmare Wotox watches from the sidelines! Hehehe..."

"What are you doing?"

A weary, questioning voice came from the darkness.

The magic mirror turned up its brightness, reflecting Green's still sleepy face.

"N-nothing...Master...how did you get out of that beautiful dream?"

How do you know it's a sweet dream?

Green immediately became alert, for he had just dreamt of a jade seal descending from the sky, inscribed with: "By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous."

Just as he was about to ascend the throne, he suddenly heard someone say that he was mediocre.

Enraged, Green swore to heaven that he would exterminate the entire family, and only then did he regain his senses.

"Hand over what you're hiding behind your back!"

"No...really not!"

"Give it to me, what could you possibly hide in that tiny frame?"

Green snatched the object hidden behind the magic mirror, and what he saw shocked him.

"You son of a bitch, how dare you scribble all over Betty's Book of Wisdom? Holy crap, you even wrote my name on it!"

"Master...I...I can explain..."

"I must have had the worst luck imaginable! This is going to kill me!"

Green's face turned pale; Betty would kill him if she saw him.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the bed.

The girl's delicate sleeping face displayed a peaceful and sweet smile, as if she were dreaming of the most beautiful things in the world.

"Thank goodness Betty isn't awake yet. Hurry up and figure something out!"

"I've got it! Master, we can kill them to cover our tracks!"

The magic mirror looked up and saw that Green's face was practically spitting fire. He immediately changed his tune:

"What I mean is that killing him to cover it up is definitely not an option. How about we tear this piece of paper off? The pages and cover of this book aren't very securely attached; they're practically teetering on the edge."

The magic mirror stretched out its semi-transparent arm, grabbed a corner of the book page, and carefully pulled it off.

"Master, look, we only need to exert a little force..."

A page fell out, revealing the contents of the next page.

The sentence written by the magic mirror was still firmly stuck to the paper, only the trace had faded considerably.

Green was furious, his fingers cracking as he clenched them.

"Now you know to use less pressure, but why didn't you hold back when you were writing! It's already seeping into the second page, hurry up, tear it again!"

Sizzle, sizzle.

After tearing out four or five pages, there were finally no more words left.

However, some markings remained, but the room was too dark for the two to notice.

Green picked up the Book of Wisdom and tried flipping through it, feeling somewhat uneasy.

"Don't you think this book is a bit thinner?"

"An illusion, Master, this must be an illusion!"

"It's all your fault! Damn it, you made me eat all this extra paper!"

Grimm bared his teeth, crumpled the torn paper into a ball, and stuffed it into the mouth that appeared in the magic mirror.

"Master...no...I really can't eat anymore...ugh..."

After tidying up the magic mirror, Green tiptoed to Betty's bedside and gently tucked the book back under Betty's pillow.

Just as he was about to pull back, Betty flipped over and pinned him down.

Two restless little paws gripped Green's arm tightly, and he mumbled incoherently in his sleep.

"Mother...please...tell Betty...who is that person...?"

Feeling the soft touch from his fingertips, Green stopped moving instantly and turned his head mechanically like a wooden puppet.

"You damn mirror monster, do something already!"

The magic mirror quickly flew over, hovering above Betty and beginning to cast a hypnotic spell.

"Sleep now, my illiterate daughter..."

"What are you babbling about?"

"Master, my spell needs to say something as a vessel for its power."

This time, the Magic Mirror increased the dosage of the Dream Factor.

Betty had no strength left and stretched out her body like a doll.

"Finally done..."

Green slumped to the ground, panting heavily, feeling a sense of relief, like he had just finished copying homework on the last day of his vacation.

"Wo, To, K, S!"

"Master...Master, you can just call me Magic Mirror."

The magic mirror trembled when it was called by its full name; it felt as if it might be forced to become a wanderer.

"You'd better not go out anytime soon!"

Green grabbed the magic mirror and pulled it down from mid-air.

Then, with a thought, he retrieved the magic mirror back into his body and revoked its authority to descend on its own.

After doing all that, Green finally crawled back to his original position, closed his eyes to rest, looking exhausted.

……

Time passed quietly, and dawn gradually broke.

Yesterday could be considered a peaceful night, at least no one died in the dark.

The sun had barely risen when the maids in the mansion were already busy.

The kitchen was filled with the sounds of clanging and banging, and the aroma of milk and oatmeal wafted out slowly.

"Rem, speed up the stirring a bit, otherwise it will clump and the texture will be much worse."

"Sorry, big sister, Rem's wrist is a little sore."

The blue-haired maid was stirring the oatmeal porridge carefully.

She was tied up for a while yesterday, which has caused her wrists to be a little stiff.

"Let me do it. You come over and add the milk."

Ram glanced at her sister with concern, then took the spoon and replaced Rem.

Tap tap, tap tap.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the kitchen door.

"Why did Betty have to do this, Ashira? Stop pushing you two idiots!"

An enraged Beatrice appeared at the doorway, followed by Grimm, who was half-crouching, and behind Grimm was Subaru Natsuki, who was also half-crouching.

The latter clung tightly to the former's clothes, hiding behind him like an eagle catching a chick.

"You promised so readily, you have to get us breakfast safely!"

Green peeked out from behind Betty to check if the situation was dangerous.

He held Betty's skirt in both hands, using it as a human shield.

This was a last resort; he and Subaru Natsuki were both starving, one working all night and the other a patient.

Even Subaru Natsuki, who was known for his thick skin, felt a little ashamed at this moment: "Grimm-kun, is this really going to work?"

He looked up and stole a glance at Rem with lingering fear, his face involuntarily contorting with pain, as if the deep wound from yesterday had reappeared.

Betty couldn't take it anymore. Just then, Green was crouching down, and his head was right within Betty's attack range.

boom!

Betty raised her hand and punched him hard; judging from the sound, it must have been a good start.

"oops!"

Green rolled to the side, frantically rubbing the spot where he had been hit, trying to ease the pain.

"Hiss... What are you doing, Betty? How come you can't tell friend from foe?"

Betty glanced at Ram and Rem, but didn't sense any murderous intent.

"Betty doesn't think there are any enemies here; that's probably just idiot Green's imagination."