> September 22nd. Overcast.
> Nail length: 2 cm.
>
> I set out from home today. It's roughly a three-day drive from Tokyo to the mansion, and I didn't want to waste the time on the road, so I chartered a private helicopter.
>
> I've discovered another condition of the Binding Vow: I have to travel alone, and I cannot disclose a single detail about Amber Mansion.
>
> Rain along the way. Visibility low.
Nanami Kira leaned against the window frame, eyes narrowed at the sullen sky outside, and closed the notebook in his hand.
"Mr. Gojo, I'm very sorry, but our helicopter may have to turn back."
The pilot in the front seat—a man who looked solidly built—half-turned to address the passenger in back. He pursed his lips, almost unable to meet Nanami Kira's eyes. Those black eyes. The pilot's fingers tapped uneasily on the control stick.
"Visibility is too low, and the weather's looking very grim. The meteorological station is reporting thunderstorms today—"
"Keep flying."
Nanami Kira sat with his legs crossed, his black pupils empty of any emotional ripple. His voice was soft.
"Right now. Keep flying."
"But—"
"Or would you rather get out?"
Nanami Kira lifted his head, a calm smile on his face.
"Plenty of room out there in the sky, isn't there?"
The captain swallowed hard, kept his eyes fixed forward, and turned his attention back to the controls without daring to say another word.
Nanami Kira lowered his gaze and went back to the diary in his hand.
The mask he wore was itself a Cursed Tool, requisitioned from the school. It could alter the wearer's features for a short time. The catch: the new face was generated at random—what features it produced depended on the user, and the wearer had no control. So it couldn't be used to disguise oneself as any specific person, which was why it had only been rated a Grade 2 Cursed Tool.
For Nanami Kira's purposes, it was perfect. This time, he needed to keep his identity hidden.
He couldn't show up wearing the face of "Nanami Kira, Semi-Special Grade Sorcerer." That would attract far too much attention and make movement impossible.
Whatever was at Amber Mansion shouldn't be expecting him specifically—the invitation letter was transferable, after all, with no named recipient.
He let his eyes drift from the invitation letter back to the dim, sagging sky outside the window.
The light was failing fast.
By the time he actually reached the mansion, dusk was nearly upon him.
The rain had never quite come, but the air was so heavy it pressed against the chest.
As the sun touched the ridgeline, a final sliver of light managed to filter through the haze—a pale orange, miserly, scattered between layered clouds. The mansion stood at the very edge of that sunset. Not large. Its spire was slender and tall, and as evening came on, it looked like the rim of the moon.
The lawns flanking the mansion were neatly trimmed. Three stories. Every floor lit.
"Welcome."
The front door pulled open from within. A slender hand released the handle, and a maid stepped out holding a lantern, peering through the doorway with mild surprise at Nanami Kira.
"Are you a guest?"
She lifted the hem of her skirt and offered a small curtsy.
Nanami Kira's guard ticked up a notch. He handed her the invitation letter.
She took it, pinching one corner between pale fingers, gave it the briefest glance, then stepped aside.
"It's cold at night. Please come in."
Nanami Kira pressed his lips together. Past the maid, he could see the warm hall beyond the doorway—a fireplace flickering at its center, a crimson carpet thick as bearskin running underfoot.
He drew a breath and stepped over the threshold.
The instant he crossed it, he felt something change. Something heavy lifted away from his soul, as if shackles had fallen off; his whole body went suddenly light.
The Binding Vow eased, layer by layer.
More than half of it was gone now.
He looked back once at the desolate dusk—at the wasteland gone bleak beneath the dying sun, at the world being slowly stained by autumn—and then he turned away.
Thunk—
The mahogany door closed behind him.
The maid had shut it. Her voice was soft.
"My deepest apologies, sir. The master isn't home at the moment. You're the first guest to arrive, so we haven't had much prepared in the mansion..."
"Are there other guests coming?"
"Yes. You're the first."
Nanami Kira studied the girl in front of him. Killer Queen rose up from within him, drifted around to stand in front of the maid, and tapped her on the shoulder.
Turning her into a bomb.
"You must be exhausted from such a long journey, sir."
The maid showed no reaction whatsoever. Her hands folded neatly over her stomach, her body inclined slightly forward, and she murmured—almost to herself:
"The guest carries an invitation letter, so of course he is my guest. Yes. My guest."
No reaction to the Shikigami. An ordinary human, then?
Nanami Kira gave a small nod. His black pupils were unmoved.
She led him into the hall, stoking the fire first to make sure it burned brighter, polishing the already-gleaming chair twice over before letting him sit, then disappearing to prepare him a cup of black tea.
"Black tea is excellent for easing anxiety and travel fatigue."
She explained as she poured.
So far, everything inside the mansion appeared normal.
It was very quiet. From the moment he'd entered, Nanami Kira had been cataloging the layout. Three floors connected by a spiral staircase. Each floor branched into perhaps ten rooms. The top floor seemed to be locked—when he asked the maid, she answered that it was used as a storeroom.
Strange, that. A storeroom would normally be on the ground floor, or in a basement.
He probed obliquely. She showed no impatience and explained that the basement had long since been abandoned.
She led him to the first room on the second floor, just by the staircase, and made a few quick arrangements—stowing his luggage, smoothing the sheets.
Mercifully, everything was clean.
"Your room is ready, sir."
The maid bowed her head slightly—the last bow of the evening—and only then allowed herself a small smile.
"In any case, please rest well. Maintaining a healthy state of mind is important for one's health."
She pulled the door closed behind her. Her voice stayed low and even.
"My name is Jasmine. If you need anything, sir, ring the wind chime by the bed. I'll be there at once."
"And so, sir—enjoy the game."
The maid left, and the room fell into hollow stillness.
Nanami Kira was caught on that last phrase. Enjoy the game.
Not enjoy your stay. Not enjoy the auction.
He let out a slow breath.
Outside it was already deep night. Now and again the cry of a crow cut across the dark.
Whatever else this place was—
Nanami Kira's first night at Amber Mansion had begun.