Chapter 363: The Teleporting Magic Mirror (Subscribe Please)

"Mm!?"

In the mirror space, Theresa, head lowered and shoulders hunched, let out a tiny, mosquito-thin wail.

The half-blood girl was in a daze.

Who am I? Where am I?

This place… just where is this place?

She felt as though she hadn't quite woken up.

She had clearly been humming a tune while washing up by the lake in the Elda Territory — how, in the blink of an eye, had she ended up in another space?

This bewildering ambush had already reached the level of "taking the wife out of the city, eating hotpot and singing songs, and suddenly getting robbed by bandits."

Not a shred of guard up, not a trace of caution.

She had appeared, all dewy and fresh (soaked in the physical sense), in a completely unfamiliar, eerie space.

And all around were mirrors, reflecting her current bewildered appearance from every angle, with no blind spot.

Lost, helpless, weak…

And, because she had just finished washing up by the water, she was dressed very thinly — only a white silk nightgown she had received from Miss Mise.

But while passing through the water's surface she had been soaked by the lake, so the scenery hidden beneath the white dress looked faintly visible.

The moment the girl caught her reflection in the mirror, she reacted with a start, clutching her chest, pressing her thighs together, and hunching her body over.

!!!

Still, what gave her a little comfort was that in this eerie space she saw a familiar figure — that man.

The hero in her heart, a true knight!

Thank heavens, it's Lord Herbert!

We're saved!

Theresa straightened her back slightly, ready to ask Herbert about the situation, but the moment she opened her mouth, she realized things weren't quite what she'd imagined.

"Uh, Herbert… my lord?"

The sight before her left the maiden heart of Theresa feeling a touch complicated — Herbert wasn't looking at her at all.

The man hadn't spared a glance for her freshly-bathed delicate form; instead, with a thoughtful look, he kept gazing at his own right hand, nodding lightly from time to time and showing an expression of praise.

Hey, hey, look at me!

And why on earth are you nodding at your own right hand?

After tentatively calling out softly a few times with no response from Herbert, Theresa finally gave up and silently held her peace.

She hesitated, then shuffled over to Herbert's side, half-squatting on the ground against his leg, the picture of helpless pitifulness.

Theresa felt an instinctive unease when she saw the black-winged angel with four arms over there.

That was a… very terrifying existence.

It was as if she had encountered some natural predator; only by hiding behind Herbert could she gain even the slightest shred of comfort.

Fortunately, Lord Herbert was here, so the timid girl hadn't completely fallen apart.

"…"

Herbert had actually noticed Theresa's actions, but he had no heart for anything else, no energy to soothe her first, and continued to ponder.

"…"

After Lucalia mentioned her true body's ability, Herbert had actually had quite a few associations.

"A magic mirror that can only show what the heart desires — why does this ability feel a bit familiar?"

There were quite a few treasures with similar abilities, and the one that fit best was a famous magic mirror — the Mirror of Erised.

It was a magic mirror that could reflect the deepest desires of the one who gazed into it, the final test for detecting a pure heart.

But judging by the results, the two were not quite the same — and the difference seemed far from small.

After all, that mirror could only show reflections; it couldn't actually conjure the desired thing into being.

Otherwise, a certain wizard who lost an ear could have cast the Patronus Charm again, and a certain boy known as the Chosen One wouldn't still be an orphan… ahem!

Beyond the tasteless hellish jokes that kept surfacing in his mind, Herbert's brain was actually flashing through many thoughts.

He was quite excited right now.

Did you see that?

What had this magic mirror just done!?

First, he had used the magic mirror to observe in real time the every move of many people, and could even exert a certain degree of influence on them.

That ability was already quite good — like the crystal ball in certain classic images of witches, reflecting the picture of the person one thinks of.

But what was truly outrageous was the bold attempt he made on a sudden inspiration at the very end.

Herbert got an idea in his head, Herbert tried to put it into practice, and Herbert… successfully pulled the person in the picture out!

Reaching across space!

No, that's not right.

This should be… conjuring a living person out of thin air!!?

Teleportation?

And what is this place?

Mist Monastery, the Third Precept Prison… this is the prison holding powerful monster girls.

Even epic-tier monster girls like Lucille and Lucalia couldn't escape from it!

But what had he just done?

He had actually directly ignored the layered defenses of the Third Precept Prison and reached his hand straight into the Elda Territory.

And the Elda Territory wasn't exactly a nice place either.

That place is a forbidden zone for the gods, a true deadly land—just how many people that fog has blocked, no one knows.

But just now, even that mysterious thick fog failed to stop Herbert's water-monkey antics.

Didn't stop him at all!

What kind of outrageous ability is this!!?

If my guess isn't wrong, the upper limit of this ability will be even more outrageous!

It might even be able to…

Ding.

Just as Herbert was worked up to the extreme, a cool flash ran through his mind, forcibly suppressing his excited mood.

His gaze cleared, and he quietly shook his head: "No, that's not right—I can't jump to conclusions this early."

After absorbing the Snow Witch's blood, beyond 【Ice Snow Body】, Herbert had actually also gained this passive ability that forcibly forces him into extreme rationality—【Frost Will】.

The instinct of a monster girl like the Snow Witch is extreme rationality, like ice and snow that never melts—very few will change because of personal emotion, all of them act according to the most rational thought.

But still, thankfully.

The ability Herbert wields is controllable to a certain extent; he can shut it off at certain special times and states, otherwise he would have almost walked down the same tragic path as a certain skeletal overlord.

He thought calmly, his gaze slowly falling on the half-blood girl squatting on the ground at his feet, hugging her knees and curled into a ball.

"Is she really Teresa?"

"What if she didn't actually reach Elda? What if it's just a false creation pulled out from the 'picture'?"

After hesitating for a while, Herbert didn't keep her in suspense and asked Teresa directly: "Are you Teresa?"

Are you you?

"Eh?"

The girl was stumped by his abrupt question, blinked as she processed it, and after several seconds said uncertainly: "Um… I, I am, am I?"

Teresa looked at Herbert's serious expression and for a moment grew uncertain; he made her lose confidence in herself, and the words that slipped out turned into a question.

Am I?

"Hmm?"

Herbert was also thrown off by this abstract answer, the corner of his mouth twitching, and asked again: "If you're not Teresa, then who do you think you are?"

"I think I'm… oh!"

The girl finally caught on to the question, sprang up abruptly, grabbed the knight's arm, and said anxiously: "I'm Teresa! Herbert, my lord, I really am Teresa!"

Why is Herbert, my lord doubting me?

"I! I… mm?"

Teresa was calling out in a panic when her lips were gently pressed shut by two fingers, cutting off her cry.

"Heh, of course I know you're Teresa."

Herbert showed a doting, gentle smile and laughed lightly: "Don't be nervous, I was just teasing you."

"There, there—look, aren't you no longer afraid of this environment now?"

Environment?

Teresa was stunned for a moment, then realized the fear of the unfamiliar surroundings in her heart had truly vanished.

Eh? It's real!

The girl widened her eyes, looked at the knight with a touch of admiration, and nodded hard.

"Mm-mm! Not scared at all anymore."

Herbert laughed when he heard that, and gently ruffled her hair.

Wouldn't you know it.

Kid, you're definitely not worried about the surroundings now—that's because all the fear in your head has turned into panic over not being recognized.

The fear didn't disappear, it just changed its effect.

But never mind all that—just tell me, does this method work or not?

His gaze swept covertly, passing over the girl's wet clothes, and a sliver of doubt rose in his heart.

Wait… has this Miss always had a figure this healthy?

In Herbert's memory, Teresa had started out as that emaciated, stick-thin slave, then on the return carriage she became a little more normal, but still somewhat thin.

But now, after returning to human form once more, she had completely become the picture of a healthy young girl.

What have you been eating?

How did you puff up in such a short time?

Still, although this question surfaced in his mind, Herbert, as an understanding and mature man, decided to pretend for now that he hadn't seen anything.

He wouldn't pry into the girl's secret; she'd probably tell him herself in time.

Herbert briefly soothed the girl, told her not to worry, then turned to chat with the Mirror Demon Young Lady, who had been waiting quietly.

The moment he opened his mouth, Herbert held nothing back with his praise.

"Miss Lucalia, please allow me to apologize for my earlier rudeness."

He bowed slightly and said with feeling: "I did indeed underestimate your ability before, and failed to show you the respect you deserved."

"Your ability truly exceeds my imagination—it can only be called… a miracle."

Though his words were slightly exaggerated, this ability that surpassed expectations truly did leave Herbert in awe.

He praised her generously, and then—heard Lucalia's question, full of curiosity.

She didn't care at all about Herbert's flowery praise, and instead said: "Eh, don't go on about that—what exactly did you just do?"

"What?"

Herbert, for the umpteenth time today, was shaken by someone else's question and stared wide-eyed.

Wait, is this appropriate?

"No, uh… are you asking me?" Herbert was bewildered.

Exactly who is the Magic Mirror here? Or am I the Magic Mirror?

Isn't this your ability?

In the end, the figure in the mirror shot him a look and said, annoyed: "Tch, how would I know what you just did?"

"I've told you several times already, I don't know what I can do either!"

"I'm just your reflection, a medium. What you can truly achieve still depends on you yourselves."

"So, what exactly did you see? And how did you conjure this little one out?"

Lucalia was even more agitated than Herbert, curiously examining him up close, trying to find anything special about him.

This youth had already revealed far too many peculiarities — there had to be secrets about him that ordinary people could never believe!

"…"

After receiving an unexpected answer, Herbert furrowed his brow and began thinking quickly.

After a long silence, he raised his head and asked: "Lucalia, may I try once more?"

Herbert needed to try again before he could draw a conclusion.

"Go right ahead! Feel free to try as boldly as you like!"

At this moment, Lucalia no longer brought up her earlier assessment of Herbert as "lewd and filthy" — her curiosity outweighed that irrelevant embarrassment.

What on earth did you do?

Do it!

Let me see!

"Alright."

Herbert didn't waste any more words. With a solemn expression, he looked toward the ancient mirror and focused his attention once again on the Eldar Territory.

The scene changed silently, returning once more to the same lakeside setting.

The difference was that now an extra figure stood by the lake — the centaur spirit Sophia was looking around uncertainly, faintly sensing her lord's presence.

Herbert took a deep breath. Instead of stepping through with his whole body, he only leaned out the upper half and plunged headfirst into the mirror's surface.

Splash!

The scene before his eyes shifted, and Herbert caught the instant Sophia was startled out of her wits.

"What!?"

Sophia was so startled by the head that popped out of the water without warning that her spirit body flickered for a moment, and she immediately drew her spear.

"Who!? Eh! My lord!?"

The shaken spirit's lips twitched uncontrollably as she looked at the youth whose smile shone as brightly as a successful prank, and asked with difficulty: "You… what are you doing?"

You're not deliberately trying to scare me, are you?

You're so childish… wait, why is my lord here?

While Sophia was still in shock, Herbert waved his hand and said: "I'm trying out a special teleportation magic, don't mind it."

"We'll be back in a few days. If you have any questions, save them for then and we'll answer them all at once."

"Oh right, wait for me a moment."

Herbert tossed out a line, ducked his head back, and vanished beneath the water's surface, leaving not a single trace.

Only the lingering aura proved he had truly been there.

A moment later, when the ripples had calmed and Herbert reappeared, he was cradling in both hands a girl who sat hugging her knees, her face a picture of utter bewilderment.

Sophia: Hm?

Teresa: Eh?

Herbert: Hey!

"No time to explain, catch!"

He grinned, then hurled Teresa — curled up into a ball — straight at Sophia.

Toss you… girl!

Splash—

After tossing the girl back like some "river god," Herbert pulled his body back and returned once more to the mirror space.

"…"

His smile gradually faded. He lowered his head to look at the water stains soaking his upper half, and licked his lips.

Though he said nothing, the thoughts in his mind could no longer be held back at all.

"A teleportation gate — this is the teleportation gate I've always wanted to build!"

"The key to both the Eldar Territory and the Penitentiary!"

"If this teleportation mirror can keep working, doesn't that mean…"

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The sound of ice clinking kept flashing through his mind, but it couldn't suppress Herbert's surging excitement in the slightest.

Herbert stayed silent, slowly clenched his fists, bit down hard on his jaw, and did his utmost to keep his emotions from showing.

But in the end, he still couldn't hold back the upward curl of his lips, and couldn't help letting out a low chuckle as he murmured in his heart:

"Valentina and the others…"

"Could break out of prison without anyone noticing?"

(End of chapter)