I threw myself onto the soft, fluffy luxury bed as soon as I got home. My damp clothes left a spreading wet patch on the sheets, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
Slowly, I crawled up toward the headboard, leaving a faint trail of dampness behind. Leaning back against the cushioned frame, I reached for the two remotes resting on the small bedside table—the one with a lamp on it. A lava lamp, I think that's what it's called.
With one remote, I clicked on the air conditioner. With the other, the fan.
Cool air rushed through the room, mixing with the cling of my wet clothes. The sensation was strange—cold and refreshing at the same time. For a while, I stayed there, letting myself relax, letting the weight of the day sink away. Eventually, I pushed myself up. My blazer slipped off my shoulders and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. I unbuttoned my shirt, tossing it down to join the blazer, before making my way into the bathroom.
Standing over the basin, I turned on the tap and splashed cold water over my face. The icy touch jolted me awake, beads of water sliding down my cheeks and dripping into the sink below.
I took the towel hanging nearby and dried my face. My gaze drifted upward—toward the mirror, toward my own reflection. At first, it was just me staring back… but then the image began to twist, to warp, to stretch unnaturally.
The features of a teenage boy melted away, replaced by something else entirely: a towering creature with the body of a monstrous centipede. Six unblinking eyes gleamed with an otherworldly light, elongated arms dangled at odd angles, its back arched grotesquely, and its entire form was wrapped in jagged black armor.
"I could never allow anyone to know this secret…" I whispered, pressing my hand against my face. In the glass, the creature mirrored me, raising its scaled, clawed arm to its twisted visage. "If word got out, I'd be hunted without end."
I wished—desperately—that I had transmigrated as a normal boy, not into this… this nightmare. Not into the very thing magical girls swore to annihilate—the arch-nemesis of their kind. To them, creatures like me were abominations to be purged in the name of protecting humanity.
How I became like this, I don't know. There are only two known ways a human can turn into a monster, and yet the original Ezakiel hadn't fallen into either. It was a mystery I had no answer for.
Then the mirror cracked. Webs of fractures spread across its surface before the glass shattered outward, shards scattering across the floor. None of it touched me—none of it ever did. This wasn't the first time. Every time my monster form surfaced in a reflection, the mirror would shatter within seconds.
And that was why I hated mirrors. They were my bane.
I stepped into the shower to clear my mind, then changed into a fresh set of clothes. Afterward, I descended the stairs to the dining hall, where my five-star chef had already prepared an array of freshly made vegetarian dishes laid neatly across the table.
I was never much of a fan of non-vegetarian food. Meat, at most, I consumed only once or twice a week—not more than that.
As I began eating, my eyes shifted to one of the maids, an older woman with brown hair. "Miss Yumari," I said, "order a new mirror. The one above the basin in my bathroom has shattered into pieces."
She gave me a wary look before replying, "Young master… if I may, this is the third time now."
"Don't lecture me. Just get the job done. I don't want shards of glass stabbing my foot," I retorted. Miss Yumari nodded quickly and went off to make the call to the furniture store.
Turning my attention to my personal butler, an elderly man by the name of Higurashi Reitsu, I said, "Butler, there is a girl by the name of Rin Hoshinova in my school. She lives in Gotanno, Division 2, Block 17, Building 7. I want you to find out where she works part-time—and make sure she is removed from that job by any means necessary."
Reitsu gave me a long, measured look before finally speaking in a low tone. "Young master… if I may, why do you wish to have this girl driven out of her work? Did she do something to incur your wrath?"
"Nah," I said as I grabbed the glass, took a sip of water, then set it back down. "Not at all."
"Then why?"
"What why? Why does there have to be a reason?" I rose from my seat and began walking toward him, my voice firm. "I want it because I want it. That's enough." I stopped in front of him, letting my gaze linger. "And I think you're forgetting something, Butler. I pay you to do as I say, not to question me. So do what I tell you—or else I'll replace you with someone more obedient."
I leaned in slightly, my words deliberate. "And you don't want that, do you? After all… you still have a sick granddaughter and a disabled daughter-in-law to care for."
Reistu didn't say a word. He lowered his head. "Forgive me. It won't happen again."
"That's good. Very good. Anyway—about the picture. Go to my room and take the entrance ceremony photo from one of my drawers. Bring it to me. I'll be in the library. I'll call for you."
"Yes, at once," Reistu replied.
I left the dining hall, ascended the stairs, and went toward the library, which was right next to my room. I opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind me. Then I sat down on the rocking chair—or cradle chair, or whatever it was called. I had forgotten the proper name for it. Leaning back, I stretched my legs out and placed them on the table in front of me.
"Phew, with that, the first step is finally done," I said, taking a relaxing breath as a smile crept onto my face.
Still, a faint worry crept into my heart, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
I'm sure someone would ask why I wanted her to get kicked out of her job. The answer is simple: I want her to rely on me as a reliable friend. For that to happen, she first has to be forced out of her part-time job, and then I have to make sure she doesn't get another one anywhere else. That way, I can push her into a despairing situation where she wouldn't know what to do, especially with the person she had to take care of. That part depended on which version one was reading. In the novel, it was her sick older sister. In the manga, her younger brother. And in the anime, it was her sick mother.
There was no clear information on where she actually worked part-time, or what she did after being kicked out, or even later, after she was expelled from school when her secret job was revealed.
Some online edits suggested she ended up selling herself, or was trafficked, or that she was attacked by a monster and witnessed her sister's death—an event that plunged her into despair and awakened her latent magical girl powers. It could have been any of those three… or even something else entirely.
I really wished I had the series wiki with me. It would have made my future planning so much easier.
I glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall.
"One more day… after that, the plot of Secret Magical Lovers begins. Things are going to pick up pace now…"