"Ding-dong..."
The doorbell rang. A black-haired girl stood uneasily before the front door, looking around. After a moment, the door opened, and a silver-haired girl with twin tails, dressed in a school uniform, stepped out. She stared at the black-haired girl and asked.
"Who are you? How did you get here?"
"Y-yes, sorry... I'm a traveler..."
Perhaps intimidated by the silver-haired girl's imposing presence, the black-haired girl answered timidly.
"I came to Kyoto... to travel, but I accidentally got lost. I searched through the forest for ages and couldn't find a way out... Then I realized there was a Western-style mansion here. Could you... um... let me make a phone call? Or..."
"There's no phone here."
Hearing the black-haired girl's request, the silver-haired girl smiled and replied. The black-haired girl's expression changed slightly at her answer.
"Huh? How could that be..."
"Come in."
At that moment, the silver-haired girl opened the door.
"I can let you stay here for the night. It's so late, after all. I can't exactly leave you outside alone. Come in."
"Ah, thank you very much."
Hearing the silver-haired girl's response, the black-haired girl froze for a moment, then hurriedly thanked her with a smile and walked inside. The heavy door slammed shut behind her, completely sealing off everything outside.
"Um... My name is Shizuku Kasugano. And you are...?"
"Kagari no Kiri-e."
Led by Kagari no Kiri-e, the two passed through a vast, lofty corridor and arrived in an equally empty reception room. The room was extraordinarily large, practically no different from a banquet hall. Yet within that immense space stood only a few sofas, coffee tables, and a piano, making it feel almost entirely devoid of life.
"Um... Miss Kagari, do you live here alone?"
Shizuku sat uneasily on the sofa, watching her surroundings like