Two Doors
The next morning, I woke up.
"Good morning, Master."
Risha smiled, holding out a towel.
I took the towel—just damp enough, water squeezed out—and wiped my face.
As I went to hand it back, I noticed she was acting unusually cheerful.
"What's with that big grin?"
"Just remembered something from long ago."
"Long ago?"
"The time when we first started building the town… when we were in the same room as you, Master."
"Yeah… I built my own house, but you said this one was better."
"Yes…"
Risha blushed, still as cute as ever.
Huh. Come to think of it, that was a thing.
I handed the towel back and stretched as I stood.
"Master. What shall we start with today?"
"I’ve already decided. The most important thing."
"The most important thing?"
"That’s right."
With a flick, I pulled out the Black Card DORECA and drew a magic circle in the corner of the house.
Three million units of magic power—probably the highest single requirement among everything I’ve made so far.
Side note: totalled up, it’d make a battleship—Risha.
A beam shot out from the magic circle in the corner.
The beam pointed straight at Risha. Her hair began to glow.
Same scene as before—the moment I forged the Eternal Slave sword.
Back then, it was Risha again.
—Magic power charged: 50,000.
Risha beamed, face lit up.
No words yet, but her joy poured through.
It was crystal clear: she was thrilled to be of service to her master.
“Wait, master—I’ll get the blade.”
“No need. Just one will do this time.”
“One? Just one?”
“Yeah. Just one.”
“Is that right…”
Risha, a little downcast.
She knows exactly why.
So she steps in—just to see her slave’s smile.
“Only one is needed… but it has to be yours.”
“Mine? But—”
“Exactly. A proof of loyalty.”
“—Yes!”
——Magic charged: 100,000.
The radiant grin on Risha’s face—just looking at it makes you feel happy, too.
Oh right, not the time to be staring.
I take a single strand of her hair, place it into the magic circle.
The circle shifts, reacting to the material.
After a moment, a glowing vortex appears.
A strange thing—like the typhoon swirls on weather forecasts, flickering in and out.
“What is this, master?”
“You’ll see when it comes.”
“Comes?”
Leaving Risha puzzled, I step first into the glowing vortex.
The world went white for a split second, then snapped into something else.
Not the modest, cramped wooden house—no, this was a lavish interior, with a city sprawled beyond the windows, its streets paved and lit with magic.
The royal office of the capital, Libek.
“C-can this be… your room, master?”
Risha stepped out of the glowing vortex behind me, her smile gone, replaced by wide-eyed shock.
“That’s right. My room. My room in Libek.”
“W-what on earth is going on?”
Risha’s mind short-circuited. A little panic, just a flicker.
I took a breath. Calmed her.
“The magical door I installed there—the one that doesn’t look like a door, but DORECA calls it a ‘magical door,’ so we’ll call it that—links directly to this place. The effect? You’ve seen it. Instant travel between two distant spots.”
Saying that, I stepped into the vortex once more.
The scenery shifted again—back to the wooden house.
Risha caught up, and since it was the second time, she wasn’t nearly as surprised.
Through it again, back to Rebeck.
“That’s how it works—staying in Rebeck while practically being there. If we’re going to infiltrate as residents, we can’t just keep showing up every other week. The house would be empty too long.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
“So, Risha, you’ll come by every day through the gate, play a little resident. I’ll slip in when I can.”
“Understood.”
Risha nodded, then stared hard at the magical door.
“Can make something this convenient… truly, my lord. Ah—”
“What is it?”
“With this, we could move all sorts of cargo instantly between towns. Even people. No need for trains anymore.”
Risha grinned, eyes bright.
Would’ve liked to say, “Good job noticing that.”
“Unfortunately, that’s impossible.”
“Why not?”
Risha tilted her head, genuinely bewildered. Pure, unadulterated Eternal Slave—perfect for that look.
“Better show you. Anyone? Anyone here?”
She called out loudly toward the hallway.
“Yes, sir!”
Rirya stepped in.
“What is it, big brother?”
“Rirya. Stand there.”
“Here? This weird spot?”
“Yeah.”
She nodded. Rirya stepped into the magic door, puzzled but obedient.
Nothing happened.
Rirya blinked, head tilted.
I turned to Risha.
“That’s how it works. Only you—the one who gave your hair—and me, your master, can use it.”
“Oh! That’s right!”
Risha nods, satisfied after seeing for herself that Rirya can't pass through.
She looked at him, then at the magical door.
—Charged one hundred thousand units of magic.
A shy smile played on her lips.
Slaves, I’ve decided, look best with a smile.