Eldritch

 

This rude succubus maid walked now for quite a while with me.

 

"Uh, excuse me, where are we going?" (I)

"We're heading to the highest floor. It's rarely frequented and like this only gets cleaned around every fiftieth period. Which means it's quite dirty there. So since you're so good at cleaning this will be a proper challenge for you." (E)

 

I start to believe she does this on purpose.
The only positive point I see for her character is that, while she's clearly picking on me, she shows no eagerness to do so.
While we cleaned side by side she didn't make any unnecessary comments.
Also, she didn't do anything physical yet and her remarks come irregularly.
It's more like she feels obliged to act harsh and less because she feels some sick enjoyment from bullying.
I don't know the reason.
Maybe she thinks she has to appear strong, or there's some kind of peer pressure against the newbies, or something.
Yet even if this is the case it's not really an excuse.
It doesn't make her a good person.

However, there's something else I don't know.

 

"What's a period?" (I)

"What?! You don't know?" (E)

"Ahem, I just arrived here." (I)

 

If you don't count the time before their society existed when I created this place.
Details, right?

 

"Sigh. A period consists of two mealtimes and sleep. The schedule decides when we should sleep. Most of the work is done between two mealtimes and after the second you're free to act as you wish. Yet you have to make sure to sleep long enough." (E)

"Does that mean not everyone sleeps at the same time?" (I)

"Why would we do something so strange? We're scheduled in a way that ensures that everything keeps running. The knights are guarding us all the time, there shouldn't be too many scholars in the library at once, and we servants always maintain all facilities. Why should it be different from this?" (E)

 

Do I now seem strange to her?
Well, I forgot that they don't have day and night cycles here.
The light condition always stays the same.
I suppose I seem like someone who's unable to consider the most elementary things.

 

"Sorry. Thank you for telling me." (I)

"Anyway, move! There's quite a number of stairs left till we're there." (E)

 

I need to give ot to her that she does everything she expects me to do as well.
This is already much better than most bullies.
And different from me she has no inexhaustible body, so taking these stairs must take their toll on her.

Though, even if this is probably intended as another hard lesson or even a punishment I actually have to contain myself to prevent my excitement from showing.
It's maybe just a little thing, but I can finally confirm something.
The issue is, on the highest floor is a certain room.
And it holds a certain significance for me.
Because it's my room.

I already gathered that the lord commander and other most important people live on the third floor.
So this means that the room of the demon king should still be free.
And this means that there's hope that my stuff is still where it belongs.
And I actually brought quite a number of things over there.
Several mangas, light novels, and my portable gaming console.
The thought was that I wouldn't wake up mum if I play here during the night and if I need it I could simply bring it over to the real world.
Yet there was so much other stuff going on that I didn't come to use it here.

And now I really want to know if ever someone breached my privacy during the history of those people.
My only hope yet is that I haven't heard about stuff like holy inscriptions about schoolgirls or demonic machines making strange sounds.
So it might still be left untouched.

If I work quickly, I might find a moment to sneak away and take a look at my stuff.
Yes, okay I might have just teleported there when I had time, but I don't want to use my powers this much and especially not here.
Everything is already crazy enough without me doing outrageous things.
I am deeply afraid that there could be consequences for all the people if I open that door.
You know like making me more prone to throw my whole dream world into chaos once I start using my powers.

The thing is, when we arrive there I realize the succubus didn't overstate the condition of those floors.
It's extremely dusty.
If I repeat the same trick as down there to clean the walls this might look a little too suspicious.

Instead, I decide that I don't need to hurry.
If those people live here already for centuries then one or two hours won't matter.
So I simply clean the floor.

 

"Not like this! Not wiping. Stroking! Always in the same direction!" (E)

"So, uh, do maids only clean stuff?" (I)

 

It seems a bit monotone of a task for my taste.

 

"You do, at least for now. The maids do all kinds of things, from decorating to making deliveries. Yet I won't allow you to divert your attention before getting the first task even remotely right." (E)

 

Hah, if not for her attitude I might get through this without issues.
It's already bad enough that I have to wear this terribly cliché outfit, but that I also hear non-stop how bad I am is rubbing me the wrong way.
Yet Eryna is at least living up to her own expectations.
She makes barely any breaks and is quite the perfectionist.
The latter is slowing her down a bit.
Which is the reason why I do such wide wiping movements in the first place.
Because I'm manipulating the surface beneath the cloth to be clean.
Not like I could tell her about this.

We make a bit of progress, but not nearly as much as before.
This floor is really dusty.
Which is a good sign for my room's untouched condition.
Yet I think now is the right time to go looking.

 

"Ehm, would it be fine if I walk around? I cleaned for so long and need to stretch my legs a bit." (I)

"You want to wander off? Here?!" (E)

 

Weird.
She looks pretty concerned.
And this about me, which is totally abnormal for her.

 

"Uh, tsk, fine. You can take a very short break." (E)

"Thank you very much." (I)

 

She still looks worried in my direction.
Just what is distressing her so much?

Anyway, I follow my internal map to the place where my room should be located, which is quite convenient given that my orientation isn't too great since I was never too much into going out.
And so I finally find my place.
The only little oasis of respite and calmness I created for myself in this nightmare world, which literally consists of madness.
My room.
And the door is apparently still locked.
Not like that could stop me though.
Since I don't have the intention to physically merge with the wall and pass through the barrier itself, something my mind for some reason hints to me as being an actual possibility, I use the more normal alternative.
I'll simply tell the door to open up.

Yes, okay.
I know it's not exactly "normal" to command the very substance of the world to obey my will but it's still less invasive on me than becoming said substance.
I don't even need to come close.
Because my Chunibyuu heart leaves me no other choice I take a pose in front of the door, raise a single hand in its direction, and call:

 

"Open Sesame!" (I)

 

It might've been unnecessary and cringe, but naturally, it works.
Slowly, with deep crunching noises the giant double doors drift apart and reveal behind them a teenage room with my bed, white walls, some anime posters, the shelves, stacked with the mangas I've brought here, and most importantly my portable console still lying on the bed.
I guess one day I could also bring my gaming consoles and TV, yet we don't have a signal here and my games are in use when I receive friends in the real world.
All in all, it still looks completely pristine.
Which is somewhat surprising, considering that people lived here for centuries.
Just good that it was left alone.
I mean, it's my room.
This would feel like when someone would read my diary or something like that.

Suddenly several eyes plop open, revealing the area behind me.
And a very confused maid.

 

"What!? How did you... This room was locked since forever and nothing could open it! Not even a ram! You spoke an incantation and... How did you..." (Maid)

 

I panic, suddenly being seen and found out.
Even more, as I brought quite some stuff in there which shouldn't be present at this age.
Medieval people might react peculiarly towards a game console.
Not to speak of the mangas.
Some of the contents could appear "off-putting" to these people.
And I'm not even talking about my Yuri stories.
And certainly, I don't want my stuff to get burned.
I couldn't replace them with my abilities.
How would I do so without having them perfectly memorized down to the smallest detail?
Even if my new mental abilities might allow me to do so this doesn't account for stuff before my transformation.
And while I'm at it, I could as well land on the stake!

 

"Uh, please, can we act like this didn't happen?" (I)

"What are you talking about? This is the greatest revelation since you appeared! Maybe even greater! I have to relay it this instant!" (Maid)

 

Oh no, she's already moving towards the stairs!
Shit, what can I do?
The only thing I can come up with is grabbing her hand and pleading.

 

"Please no! Don't do this! Please, let's just forget about this." (I)

"Let go of me. Urgh. No." (Maid)

 

She rips her hand away from my grasp and I panic even more at the inevitable which is about to happen.

 

"No! Wait! Stop!" (I)

 

At this moment tentacles spring forth from the wall.
In less than a second they envelop the poor maid and drag her to the wall where she is now completely fixed.
With some covering her mouth, preventing her from screaming.

 

"Oh my god! N-no. I didn't want that! Sorry. Really, I'm desperately sorry." (I)

 

Her look of evident terror tells me that this isn't going to be laughed away.

 

Damnit!
What am I going to do now?

If I simply let go of her now, she is going to alarm the whole castle which will make them raise the troops against me.
Which wouldn't end well for all involved parties, yet mostly theirs.
But what can I do to prevent her from spreading the news?

 

"Please, that wasn't intentional. It's actually a bit difficult to explain, but this was just a huge accident."

 

I use my powers to connect to the stirred-up wall and slowly move that certainly very uncomfortable cover away from her mouth.
I mean, nobody wants to have tentacles in their face, right?

 

"HEL-" (Maid)

 

Before she can get out much of a tone I panic and the tentacles snap back.

 

"Umph!" (Maid)

"I am not evil! Really!" (I)

 

Okay, might be hard to sell this at this point.

 

• Why not simply erase her memories?

 

"Huh? Did you say something?" (I)

 

The look I receive from her gagged face is actually hard to place.
Uh, not you.
Understood.

 

• No, not her. Stupid!

 

That's... That's like the other occasions when I heard her.
But this time it's different.
More... independently conscious?

 

"You're... Are you me? Damn, I know what I mean." (I)

 

Now that I'm more aware of the source, I realize that they feel like my own thoughts, but with a foreign feeling to them.
Yep, certainly.
Oh, great.
My dark twin is back again.

 

"Didn't you say that you'd stop being... there because of our merging?" (I)

 

Yes.
And if I would stop putting a billion mental walls to prevent this I might actually return to being just a slightly violent stroke of myself.
But as things are, I'm stuck the way I am.

 She's slightly aggressive while saying this.

I become aware that my accidental hostage might be disturbed by my self-talking.
At least her panicked, wide-open eyes support that impression.
Yet I'm a bit troubled to really lead a discussion without real talk.
That's simply a bit too abstract.
So why don't I go ahead and take care of this problem?

 

"You mean... No! I won't meddle with her mind! That's plain wrong!" (I)

 

What's wrong with doing that?

 

"The mind is important. Erasing memories is the first step towards mind controlling others. If I'm going that far this will lead me on a path I don't want to take." (I)

 

But you're fine when Zika does it?

 

"What the demon does is her thing. I am not responsible for her actions." (I)

 

So it's also fine if she does it for us and we accept it as a convenient thing to happen?
You can see the slope?

 

"What do you mean? I honestly don't believe that doing so is okay." (I)

 

Oh please.
Zika does it for her own benefit.
Zika does it to prevent you from going crazy after one of your frequent screw-ups.
You do it to prevent the worst after you lost control and there are unwanted witnesses.
You do it to make things easier for yourself.
You do it for your own benefit.
You're starting to influence personalities to prevent you from getting discovered in the first place.
You influence personalities to make people behave like you think it's morally right.
And while we're at it, why not mess with their souls to even remove the base for any 'bad' personality traits?

 

"N-no!" (I)

 

This sounds terrible.
Absolutely nefarious!
I... I can never go that far.
The worst part is, the way she said it, it doesn't even seem too farfetched.
Then why won't I just let it happen?

 

"Y-you'd do it?" (I)

 

Yes, I'll only use my powers for a moment and it's done.
I don't even need to take full control.
A fraction of myself is enough.

 

"No. You're essentially me. It's the same as doing this myself, right?" (I)

 

Well, if I say it like this.

 

"I cannot allow this to happen! It's wrong!" (I)

 

Well, then find another solution.
I'm going back to standby.
Bye.

And I'm again alone in my head.
Somewhat.

Not really if one thinks about that this whole place is my head.
With the villagers, the knights, scholars, my friends...

Oh, and the terrified maid!
The fact that tears are streaming down her face makes me feel a little guilty.

 

"I'm going to release you now. But I really, really need to ask you to stay calm, and more importantly quiet. Not like I don't trust you, but if you would go and spread whatever you think you saw here this whole castle might turn into a hellhouse. And we both don't want this, right? Blink twice if you understood me." (I)

 

I become aware that she might need a bit more confirmation to ensure that she's not going to call the knights, thinking they would have a chance against me.

 

"I seriously mean it. You cannot tell anyone! I really don't want to fight someone else. This would end terribly. Just look there." (I)

 

I point down the corridor and use my mind to take control of it.
To prove to her my powers are genuine, let the very substance they consist of come to life and spread to the middle.

 

"Sstk"

 

"Oh shit!" (I)

 

Damned overreactions!
I just wanted some tentacles!
Why are now countless greyish spears filling the hallway so thoroughly that one can't even see the other side?

I didn't want to threaten her.
Well, maybe a bit so she won't do something stupid, but the mortal fear she shows now is going a bit too far.

 

"Uh, well, so much for this. Basically I can do this with everything in this world. But I really have no intention to do something bad with this power. Ehm, I'll release you now." (I)

 

Okay, here goes nothing.
At least this place is still somewhat secluded, so there is a limit to how much further this can go out of hand.
I slowly let the tentacles move forward with her, then I first lift those over and in her mouth, one after the other, and finally set her carefully on the ground, retracting the tentacles back into the wall.

 

"Plomp"

 

Where she instantly breaks down, her legs unable to keep herself upright any longer.
Directly I make sure that she's not falling hard, maybe with the help of some further tentacles.

 

"Are you alright?" (I)

 

And... I think she passed out.
Uhh, what do I do now?