Chapter 18

“You know,” Taku said, “it’s kind of fucked up that there’s a water fountain here, considering that there’s a death chamber next door.”

They moved north, the only way they could go. Going through the door meant activating the fire trap, but it was hardly a problem without the flammable gas filling the room. At best, it was a flame thrower and a mild inconvenience since they had to wait for it to run out and deactivate by itself. Yayoi suggested breaking the trap entirely, but Taku didn’t want to let her waste a spell just for that. They also had to leave the door on the southern side of the room open to make sure that their way back is extra safe; it meant opening the path to monsters if they do spawn, but that’s a risk they’re willing to take.

“Do you think it’s poisoned?”

“Wanna drink it?” Yayoi replied as she followed Teri’s footsteps. “If it’s poisoned, Taku can just heal you.”

Teri scanned the room. Paper roses filled the floor, some clusters gathering around the edges of the tall white fountain in the middle and the area’s corners. Walls look the same, still looking sturdy and made of paper, with the exception of paintings—portaits, their entirety blackened with ink except for their judging glare meeting the party at eye level. Their eyes seemed to focus on the fountain itself. Though the air itself suggests that these paintings were watching everything.

“She’s not exactly wrong. It’s just that the process itself is painful and messy depending on the poison. If the poison makes you shit your pants until you die… then hooooh boy. I mean, I can probably help you not shit your pants, but I can’t cast magic to unshit it, or even better, help you recover from mental scars,” Taku replied. He broke away from the party and checked the door on the eastern side of the room for traps. “Our exit’s clear, by the way. The corridor leads a bit further east and would have us turn towards north.”

Teri chuckled. “Thank you for letting me know that you’ll be with me through thick and thin, even when things get messy.”

“I’ll be with you too.” Yayoi clapped Teri’s shoulder, smiling. “So, don’t worry. If that happens, I won’t ever let you forget it.”

Teri found that the fountain itself served as a stage for a princess, her stone gown caught mid-twirl. She raised a bouquet of flowers over her head with pure joy, and from it, a graceful and sparkling stream of water arced gracefully into the pool below. A layer of unopened letters, however, filled the very bottom. Teri, without much thought and to Yayoi’s surprise, dunked his hand into the water to fish for one of them. It felt delicate and fragile to the touch, but it became dry and sturdy by the time it got to Yayoi’s hands.

“Oh, for me?” Yayoi gasped. Deliberately. Slowly. Painfully. Her tone was high. Wide-eyed, she covered her mouth. She gasped again. “You shouldn’t have!”

“A love letter!” Taku chimed in. “Dreamt about receiving one of these bad boys during high school. I didn’t get one. But it was a good dream to have. Look how pink the envelope is! And all that glitter…” Taku waved his brows at Teri and Yayoi. “That’s style. And look at the heart, too. Means it’s unopened. Try smelling it too. I heard about the girls using those scented ink and papers.”

Yayoi took a quick whiff. “Faaaanncccyyy…” She raised a brow too. “Smells like roses.”

“Faaaanccyyyyyy,” Taku said, dragging his words and meeting Yayoi’s energy. He set his staff against the edge of the fountain and twirled, posing like a princess. “Oh, my heart. My heart yearns. When will the sun shine upon my loneliness, for the wind to blow the clouds away—the rain. Oh, the rain. Will my light remain dead? Or will someone reach the depths of my heart and bring upon it a new light?”

“Princess,” Yayoi muttered, going as far as to deepen her voice. She set her piercing gaze to Taku, stepping in front of the man with the letter pressed against her chest. With a nervous breath, she thrust it towards Taku, holding it in front of him with nothing in her eyes but the floor. “Please, accept the proof of my feelings.”

“Kyaaaaaaaa~” Taku squirmed, gently picking up the love letter from Yayoi’s hand with his sweaty, delicate fingers. “I shall accept it, my dear prince. The proof of your love.”

“What the fuck…” Teri groaned as he walked to the side and waited for them to finish their bit. All the paintings in the room were glaring at them both, their eyes looking amused. “Hey guys…”

“My prince—” Taku opened the letter. The glimmer in his eyes died, and he dropped the princess act at the very next moment. “Eugh. What a mood killer.” He showed them both its contents; and the letter contained nothing but the words “I can’t” violently written all over.

“Guess that’s over,” Yayoi breathed low. “It was just getting better too.”

“Where the fuck did that come from?” Teri asked. “I mean, Taku doing it is kind of expected but… you?”

“YOU TOLD ME TO IMMERSE MYSELF—” Yayoi tilted her head. “Actually…” She cupped her chin, stepping away from the fountain. “Actually. Wait. In normal circumstances, I would be disgusted—no, repulsed—by the thought. But I ended up doing it anyway like it’s the most natural thing to do. I’m still weirdly okay with it even now that it’s over.”

“Yeah, just so you know. I would be repulsed by the idea too. You butt.” Taku gave himself a dejected smile. “And ignoring the fact that I behaved like a fucking princess, which I would respectfully request everyone to forget…” Taku’s eyes widened, his mouth half-open. “Yeah… no one drank the water from the fountain, no?”

“Is it poisoned?” Teri asked. “Will it make me shit myself to death?”

“The letter has a stupid Charm spell in it,” Taku continued, tired and disgusted. “It works on three levels. The person seeing this letter would be tempted to pick it up; I’m guessing it works especially well if you don’t know if it’s charmed. Then, the person, if they’re holding it, would then be tempted to give it to another person. I’m doing my best to resist that temptation right now. Lastly, as the other person, you would be forced to accept it. The spell ends the moment the letter is opened. Well, not really forced but you would be very okay with it. It’s a stupid spell, really. And if the water is filled with letters like these, then it’s safe to assume that the water isn’t as safe as we thought.”

“I see.” Teri replied, keeping a straight smile. A part of him cracked. He definitely drank some water from the fountain while the two were too committed to the bit to notice anything. He thought about surprising Yayoi with it. Fuck. “Does the Charm recharge if you close the letter?”

“That’s a very specific question… but yes,” Taku replied. “It looks like the letter will reseal itself with magic if it remains closed long enough. Do you want it?”

“At least it gets less effective now that we know about it,” Yayoi commented. “I’m not entirely against the idea of Teri keeping it and carrying it like a weirdo. It can’t be used against me, either. And who knows, it might become useful in the future.” Yayoi looked at Teri and stepped back, her face seeming a bit red. “Is there something wrong with my face?”

“I just think it’s neat.” Teri’s right eye twitched as he kept his stupid grin. Ye, something was definitely wrong. He snatched the letter from Taku’s hand and moved towards the door on the right side of the room. “I think there’s more to this area than we think. I guess we’re bound to get some clues someplace else. We can’t stop here right?”

“Guess so.” Taku moved towards Teri, his longing gaze pressing against him. “I’ll be right behind you, my… prince—” Taku cut his words. He looked away, confused. “What the fuck?”

“We need to get fuck out of this room.” Teri blurted, opening the door and getting out without any regard for his safety.