Tanaka stood still for about four minutes, finishing his cigarette.
Despite finding himself in an unknown location, he didn't display any signs of panic. Instead, the sense of exhaustion permeated his being, causing him to react apathetically.
Once he had extinguished the cigarette using the sole of his shoe and discarded it, Tanaka took a deep breath and slowly approached the massive door of the mansion before him.
Suppressing any apprehension about entering this unfamiliar territory, he mustered the courage to knock on the door.
"Knock, knock."
Tanaka: "Excuse me, is anyone here?"
His call went unanswered at first. He pondered the possibility that the mansion might be inhabited, dismissing the idea when he glanced back at the well-maintained garden. Clearly, more than one person lived here.
Confusion etched across his face, Tanaka decided to knock again. Just as his fist was about to make contact, the door creaked open slowly, revealing a beautiful girl with short pink hair dressed as a maid.
Pink-haired girl: "Yes?"
Tanaka's bewilderment deepened at the sight, struggling to comprehend the situation before him.
Tanaka: 'Is this an anime convention?'
The concept of a large mansion and a girl with pink hair dressed as a maid seemed to fit the theme, but he couldn't explain the sudden shift in time and location.
Pink hair girl: "What do you want?"
Her response snapped Tanaka out of his stupor, prompting him to inquire further.
Tanaka: "Excuse me, what is this place?"
The girl tilted her head in response to his question and replied matter-of-factly.
Pink-haired girl: "Roswaal-sama's mansion."
Her answer seemed obvious to her, but Tanaka interpreted it as part of the role-playing.
Tanaka rephrased his question: "I meant, what is the location?"
Pink-haired girl: "North of Lugnica."
Her vague and incomprehensible response caused Tanaka's frustration to grow.
Tanaka: "Shizuoka! Shizuoka! Fujieda district?"
His words hung in the air, hope for recognition and understanding fading away. The girl's expression remained stoic, offering no confirmation or acknowledgement.
Annoyed, Tanaka sighed and muttered to himself: "Never mind, let me speak to the owner of this place."
Tanaka realized that he needed to engage with someone else. Interacting with the girl felt like a futile exercise. He stepped forward, attempting to enter forcefully by wedging his foot in the crack of the door.
However, the girl abruptly closed the door, trapping his foot. Despite his efforts to push through, the door remained immovable, and his foot began to hurt. He eventually retracted it.
The pink-haired girl then spoke: "Please wait here. I will go inform Roswaal-sama and see if he allows you to meet him."
With that, she closed the door, leaving Tanaka staring at it in confusion.
Tanaka: "What the hell?"
Tanaka was taken aback, feeling as though he had exerted force to push the door, but it hadn't budged. The girl, with her slender body, had managed to stop him.
He muttered under his breath, "I must be really tired."
Stepping back to the small staircase, he leaned against it and took out his phone to check the time: 10:30 PM.
During this period of contemplation, Tanaka considered three possibilities. The first was that he was the victim of a prank or a hidden camera show. However, the idea of being drugged and transported seemed absurd and criminal rather than humorous.
The second possibility was that he had stumbled upon an anime convention, which would explain the medieval castle-like structure and the pink-haired girl dressed as a maid. Yet, he had not spotted any anime enthusiasts in this large space, leading him to reject this theory.
This left him with the last possibility, which seemed the most plausible: he had fallen asleep and was now experiencing a bizarre dream. It was the only explanation that made some sense in this absurd situation.
To resolve this puzzle, the solution was simple. Tanaka closed his eyes, stretched his hands, and took a deep breath.
The sound of the door creaked open.
Pink-haired girl: "Roswaal-sama has agreed to meet yo..."
"Slap!"
The sound of Tanaka slapping himself echoed briefly. He glanced back at the girl in the maid outfit, who stared at him with a red mark on his face, dumbfounded.
Tanaka: "Great, I'll go meet him."
Tanaka rose to his feet, dusted off his legs, and walked towards the entrance, as if his recent act of self-slapping hadn't happened. The maid made no comment.
Upon stepping inside the mansion, he was taken aback by the sheer size and exquisite decor of the interior. It was a sight to behold.
The maid gestured for him to follow her, leading him to a spacious living room.
Pink hair girl: "Please sit down and make yourself comfortable while you wait for Roswaal-sama to come down to meet you"
Tanaka nodded and sat on the couch. Despite the girl's invitation to relax, he couldn't. Living the last three years in a cramped space made him develop agoraphobia, causing anxiety and uneasiness whenever he found himself in large open areas.
Tanaka closed his eyes with his hands on his head and let out a heavy sigh, he didn't know how or why he was in this situation, he only wanted to get this done and go home to rest.
*********************************************************************************************************
5 minutes later
[????]: "Ohhh, goood evening, sooorry to keep youuu waiting."
Tanaka: "...….."
After a brief moment of silence, Tanaka mustered his words.
Tanaka: "Excuse me, maid-San."
The pink-haired girl turned towards him and asked, "What is it, dear guest?"
Tanaka's voice carried a tinge of frustration as he voiced his concern, "Didn't you say that you called the owner?" He closed his eyes, his brows twitching in annoyance.
"Yes, this is Roswaal-sama," the girl replied confidently, pointing towards the man seated on the couch.
Tanaka's gaze shifted to the man beside him, who stood noticeably taller than him despite his own height of 178cm. But it was the man's face that caught his attention.
The man's visage was an extravagant display, delicately adorned with a light-lavender powder. His lips shimmered with purple lipstick, perfectly complementing the vivid purple eyeshadow adorning his right eyelid.
However, it was the left eye that truly captured attention. Elaborate and intricate eyeshadow covered the entire area around the eye, creating a striking contrast against the yellow iris.
Accompanying his unique facial arrangement was an outfit reminiscent of a clown or jester, emphasizing his whimsical appearance. A black hat sat atop his head, embellished with intricate patterns and decorations.
"That's a clown," Tanaka remarked, looking at the man.
Tanaka's remark about the man being a clown seemed to displease the maid, causing her to frown. But Tanaka didn't give a shit about their role-playing, the guy looked like clown and his manners of speech were like a clown, then he's a clown.
However, the man himself didn't seem offended. In fact, he let out a small chuckle.
Roswaal: "It's quiite alriight Ram, I understand how my appearance mayyyyyy be perplexing. This makeup is simply an expression of my personal style. So, what brings you here?"
Tanaka glanced at Roswaal and responded, "So I will ask you the same question I posed to the maid: What is this place?"
"Thiiis is Al Mathers mansion, and IIIII, Roswaal L Mathers the current heeeeir and the ooowner of this place."
"Augh, never mind."
Tanaka sighed in frustration. It was clear that he wouldn't receive a straightforward answer from someone who maintained their peculiar manner of speech.
He took out his phone, which suddenly lit up. Both Roswaal and Ram watched him curiously as he swiftly typed on his device.
Tanaka: "I'll just use GPS to figure out how to get back home, huh?"
As Tanaka contemplated his situation, he realized something he hadn't noticed earlier. When he checked the time in front of the door.
His phone wasn't picking up any signal.