The soft morning light streamed through the cracks in the shed's walls, illuminating its modest interior. Rina groaned as she stirred from her sleep, pulling the thin blanket off her and stretching her arms.
"Morning already?" she mumbled groggily, rubbing her eyes.
"Good morning!" Keitaro's cheerful voice rang out from his corner of the shed.
Rina blinked at him, still not quite used to waking up to a talking toilet. "Morning, Keitaro," she replied, stifling a yawn. She reached for her staff leaning against the wall, then headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Keitaro asked curiously.
"Outside," Rina replied, waving a hand vaguely. "Nature calls."
There was a brief pause. Then, Keitaro, trying to sound casual, asked, "Why not use me?"
Rina froze, halfway out the door. She turned back to him, her brow furrowing. "What?"
"You know, I'm a toilet," Keitaro said, his voice a mix of nervousness and enthusiasm. "That's literally what I'm made for. It's my purpose in life!"
Rina stared at him, her face a mixture of confusion and disbelief.
Meanwhile, Keitaro's thoughts were spiraling. I mean, wouldn't it be kind of nice? Having a cute girl like Rina use me? That's totally normal for a toilet, right?
Suddenly, he blurted out, "Does that make me a pervert?!"
Rina recoiled, her eyes widening. "W-what?!"
Keitaro immediately tried to recover. "No, no, no! It's perfectly normal for a toilet to think like that! Right? I mean… right?!"
Rina's face turned bright red as she waved her hands frantically. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation! No! Absolutely not! I am not using you!"
"But I'm clean!" Keitaro insisted. "I've got self-cleaning magic or something. Probably. I mean, I don't feel dirty—"
"Stop!" Rina shouted, covering her ears. "Just stop talking about it!"
Keitaro sighed in defeat. "Fine, but you're making this harder than it needs to be."
Rina shot him a glare as she opened the door. "I'm using the outhouse. End of discussion." She stepped outside and slammed the door shut behind her.
Keitaro sighed again, staring at the ceiling. "I'm just trying to be helpful," he muttered.
A few minutes later, Rina returned, her cheeks still faintly red. She avoided meeting Keitaro's gaze as she busied herself tidying up the shed.
"So," Keitaro ventured cautiously, "are we going to pretend that conversation never happened?"
"Yes," Rina said firmly.
"Fair enough," Keitaro replied, deciding not to push his luck.
The awkward tension hung in the air for a moment before Rina finally sighed and glanced at him. "Let's just focus on the day ahead, okay?"
"Works for me," Keitaro said with a cheerful tone, though he was still inwardly pondering the moral implications of his earlier thoughts.
Rina sat at the small wooden table, placing a chipped plate and a glass of water in front of her. She reached into a small cloth bag and pulled out a piece of bread that looked as old as the shed itself—dry, hard, and slightly misshapen.
Keitaro watched her from his corner. "That's breakfast?" he asked, his lid tilting slightly.
Rina shrugged. "It's what I can afford." She broke off a piece of the bread, the sharp crack echoing in the quiet shed.
"That doesn't look very appetizing," Keitaro commented.
"It's not," Rina admitted, chewing slowly. "But it fills me up. Sort of." She washed the bread down with a sip of water, her face briefly twitching from the bread's dryness.
Keitaro fell silent for a moment. Watching her struggle with the meager meal gave him a strange, heavy feeling—was this what sympathy felt like?
"You know," he said finally, trying to lighten the mood, "if I had arms, I'd bake you a proper loaf of bread."
Rina chuckled despite herself. "Thanks, Keitaro. I'm sure your imaginary bread would be amazing."
"Five-star quality," he said proudly, puffing himself up.
Rina smiled as she finished her bread, leaving about half a glass of water on the table. She stared at it for a moment, then looked at Keitaro.
"Well," she said, standing up and grabbing the glass, "you're probably thirsty too, huh?"
"Wait, what?" Keitaro asked, confused.
Rina stood over Keitaro, glass in hand. "You probably need water to stay… functional, right?"
Keitaro hesitated. "I mean, I haven't really thought about it. But sure, let's go with that."
With a shrug, Rina tilted the glass, pouring the remaining water into Keitaro. The liquid swirled briefly before disappearing inside him.
At first, there was only silence. Then, Keitaro froze—or he would have if he had muscles to freeze with. A strange sensation coursed through him, something beyond the simple tingle he expected. It felt… alive, faint traces of energy sparking against his awareness.
"Whoa…" Keitaro murmured.
Rina tilted her head. "Something wrong?"
Keitaro paused, trying to make sense of the sensation. "I don't know how I know this, but there's something weird about that water. It's not normal."
Rina frowned. "What do you mean?"
"It's like…" Keitaro struggled to find the right words. "There are traces of magic in it. Not the kind of magic you'd use for a spell, though. It feels… tainted, somehow."
Rina's brows furrowed. "Magic in the water?" She crossed her arms, her expression growing serious. "That's not something I've ever heard of before. Are you sure?"
Keitaro sighed. "I don't know how I know, but I'm certain. It's just… there. Like a residue or something."
Rina set the glass on the table, her mind racing. "If there's magic in the water, that could explain why people are getting sick. But why would there be magic in it at all?"
"That's the million-gold-piece question," Keitaro said, his voice grim. "It's not natural, that's for sure. Someone or something must be causing it."
Rina glanced at the remaining water in the glass, then back at Keitaro. "This could be a huge clue," she said. "If the water's tainted, it might be affecting everyone who drinks from the well."
Keitaro nodded—or at least, he felt like he was nodding. "We need to figure out where it's coming from. The sooner, the better."
Rina stood up, determination gleaming in her eyes. "All right. First, let's head into town and see if anyone else has noticed something strange about the water. We'll go from there."
Keitaro felt a surge of purpose. "Let's do it. And hey, maybe this is a sign that being a toilet isn't such a useless gig after all."
Rina rolled her eyes but smiled. "Don't push it."
With a shared resolve, they prepared to head out, unaware of just how deep the mystery of the tainted water would take them.
As Rina moved to gather her things, Keitaro's voice hesitated. "Wait, Rina, hold on a second."
She paused, turning back to him with a curious look. "What is it?"
Keitaro hesitated, unsure how to phrase his concern. "Don't you think it'll look… I don't know… suspicious if we go poking around the water sources in town? You know, you and a talking toilet?"
Rina blinked, caught off guard. "Suspicious? How?"
Keitaro groaned, his lid tilting slightly as if rubbing imaginary temples. "Think about it. If people are already panicking about the sickness, how do you think they'll react when a young trainee mage shows up with a magical talking toilet? They might assume we're the ones causing it!"
Rina frowned, her brow furrowing as she considered his point. "But we're trying to help. Why would they think we're involved?"
Keitaro sighed. "Because scared people don't think rationally. They see something strange, something they don't understand, and they jump to conclusions. I mean, would you believe someone if they told you a toilet solved a mystery?"
Rina opened her mouth to argue but then closed it again, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "You… might have a point," she admitted reluctantly.
"And even if they don't blame us," Keitaro continued, "would they even believe us? 'Oh, hey, everyone, the water's poisoned, and I know because my toilet told me!' Not exactly convincing, right?"
Rina's shoulders sagged as she let out a frustrated sigh. "So what do we do, then? We can't just ignore this."
Keitaro thought for a moment, the quiet hum of his Analyze ability still buzzing faintly in his awareness. "We need to be subtle about this," he said finally. "If we're going to investigate, we should avoid drawing attention to ourselves. Start small. Collect more evidence."
Rina nodded slowly, her determination rekindling. "Okay. We'll be careful. Maybe we can start by looking at the well near my house—it's not as busy as the main one in town."
"Good idea," Keitaro agreed. "And if we find anything, we can figure out how to approach the villagers without sounding like lunatics."
Rina chuckled softly. "You're surprisingly level-headed for a toilet, you know that?"
"I try," Keitaro said with mock modesty.
As Rina prepared to step outside, Keitaro spoke up again. "Rina, wait."
She paused, looking over her shoulder. "What is it now?"
Keitaro hesitated, his lid tilting slightly in thought. "Look, I don't think it's a great idea for both of us to go snooping around the well. People will notice, and, well… it's not exactly normal to see a girl dragging a talking toilet around town."
Rina frowned. "But we need to investigate. If there's something wrong with the water, we can't just sit here."
"I know," Keitaro said, his voice tinged with urgency. "But you can check it out on your own without drawing too much attention. I'll wait here."
Rina hesitated, glancing between him and the door. "Are you sure? What if I need your help?"
"You've got this," Keitaro said, his voice steady. "Just keep an eye out for anything unusual. If you find something, come back and we'll figure it out together."
Rina bit her lip, clearly reluctant to leave him behind. But she knew he had a point—dragging Keitaro around would only invite unwanted questions.
"Fine," she said at last. "I'll check out the well near my house. It's quieter than the main one, so I shouldn't have any trouble."
"Be careful," Keitaro said. "And if anything seems off, don't push your luck."
Rina nodded, her resolve firming. "I'll be back soon. Don't go anywhere."
Keitaro chuckled. "Not like I have legs, you know."
With a small smile, Rina opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight. Keitaro watched her go, a mix of concern and hope swirling within him.