Salika's Enormous Door

"Lady Salika...?"

Those were one of the first words that Fang heard from Sonia.

"Yes... Lady Salika told me personally to come to check and clean this room."

It was only the start of their conversation, but like a flashbang, Fang was hit with a blinding light. Waves of memories forced their way into his head. They included a white-haired girl dressed in all white, saliva, a large beast, blood, and bathing. It all came back to him when the name Salika was brought up.

A nervous look appeared on Fang's face. "H-hey... Can you clear something up for me...?"

"Ah, yes, what is it!" Sonia said. "A-A-Ask away!"

The two of them were nervous wrecks for their own reasons. Fang was nervous because of the unfamiliar place he was in, along with the new mention of Salika. Sonia was just as nervous, but in her case, it was because she had no experience with boys.

"The Salika you're talking about..." Fang said slowly. "She doesn't have white hair by any chance, does she?"

"Ah, Lady Salika and every one of her siblings has snow-white hair," Sonia said hastily.

Fang gulped. He still felt like he should confirm one more thing, just to make sure. "Does the Salika you know have a strange personality?"

"Uh, I wouldn't say she has a strange personality... From what I've seen, she's more of a cold and cool type of person..." Sonia responded. Suddenly, she leaned forward, slightly getting closer to Fang's face. "And she must be especially cold towards me! She told me to clean a room with an imp in it!"

Fang backed away slightly from Sonia, giving a nervous look. He thought about what she said. A cold and cool personality? The description didn't match what he'd gone through with the Salika he knew.

"Interesting," Fang said quietly to himself. His suspicions about Salika grew. Did the Salika he know contrast that much from the one Sonia knew?

"Would you, uh, like me to continue...?" Sonia said. "About what I was saying before?"

Fang nodded.

"So uh, As I was saying, I was instructed to clean this room by Lady Salika," Sonia continued. "Right now, you're in the Kratian Castle, located in the Kratian Capital, located in the country of Kratia, in one of Lady Salika's chambers, and uh, that's it."

"Awfully specific," Fang thought to himself. The "Kratian Capital... That also sounds familiar."

"Would you like to know anything else?" Sonia asked.

Fang took a second to think. What more did he want to know? If Sonia didn't even know who he was, then that must have also meant that she had no idea how Fang ended up where he was now. The only person he could seek answers from was...

"Would you take me to Lady Salika?"

There was an awkward silence as the two stared at each other.

Sonia broke the silence. "Eh?"

Perhaps she heard her prince wrong. Having a moment with Lady Salika was no easy task after all.

"W-would you repeat that again...?" Sonia responded back.

"Can you take me to Lady Salika?" Fang repeated clearly.

"I uh, don't think you understand how difficult it is to get an audience with Lady Salika, she's a very reserved girl-"

Fang put both his hands on the mattress and leaned forward. "What if I told you I know Salika personally?"

Sonia's face was beet red. She tried looking away but noticed two intertwined rings colored silver and gold on the right side of Fang's neck.

"Wait a minute... Could it be that you're Salika's new servant...?"

Fang's eyes lit up. He remembered the master-servant contract he went through involving saliva. There was no mistake now. He and Sonia were thinking about the same Salika.

"Yes! That's right! I'm her new servant!" Fang said, spitting a little on Sonia's face from being so close to her.

"Gyaaah! Get back you're getting spit on my face!" Sonia said, closing her eyes and turning slightly.

Fang moved back from Sonia's face. "Sorry about that, I got carried away," he said embarrassed.

Sonia wiped the tiny bits of Fang's spit off her face. "It's fine, I can't get mad at my prince-"

She suddenly stopped after realizing what she almost said.

"Your what?" Fang asked obliviously.

Sonia put her hands out in front of her and waved them as if trying to shoo away any ideas Fang might have in his head. "N-n-nothing! D-don't worry about what I was going to say... Hehe..."

Fang looked at Sonia as if she was insane. Her mannerisms were confusing and contradicted what she said.

After having finally calmed down, Sonia cleared her throat and spoke again. "I'll take you to Lady Salika if you really are her servant... It's the least I can do for you right now after you saved me..."

"Success!" Fang thought to himself. A little smile appeared on his face.

"O-okay then Fang, let's get up and-"

Sonia suddenly let out a moan in pain. As she was about to stand up, her lower abdomen began to sting, most likely because of her rough fall. "S-sorry, I'm still a little hurt, just b-bear with me for a second..."

"Should I help you up...?" Fang asked nervously, offering his right hand. Since Sonia didn't know he was a Cerulean, helping her was fine, wasn't it?

Something clicked in Sonia's head. With Fang's hand offered to her, it'd be stupid to not take advantage of the opportunity with her prince.

"O-Oh, my body! It hurts! It aches all over!" She cried. She fell back down on the bed with her body and limbs spread out like a doll. Her acting was subpar, to say the least.

Fang cringed at her attempt at trying to seem hurt, but he went with it. "If this is how she was going to act, then so be it," he thought.

"Oh, whatever will I do! My b-b-body! I can't get up! If only there was someone to help me-"

Fang sighed. "Heave ho."

The feeling of the soft bed was no longer felt against Sonia's back. It felt like being lifted into the air. She opened her eyes, and to her surprise, she was being held like a princess in her prince's arms.

Fang, with Sonia in his arms, walked along the bed. "If you're hurt, I'll just have you give me directions on where to go."

With his eyes no longer making him look like a Cerulean, he felt as though it was now safe to leave the room by himself, or rather without concern.

Sonia looked up and down at herself and Fang's face. Her breath was frantic. She couldn't believe her acting actually worked!

Jumping off the bed, Fang quickly made his way to the door before stopping in front of it.

"Can you open the door?" Fang asked. He looked down at Sonia. "My hands are kinda occupied..."

Sonia looked like she was trying to say something but nothing was coming out. Her mouth was open, jittering because of how anxious she was.

"Ah, yes, yes! Sorry, I'll uh, open the door for us now haha..." She said awkwardly. Her left hand was trembling as she reached out for the doorknob. She twisted it and pulled the door open.

With one step, Fang left the room for the first time.

It was an enormous corridor that could fit even titans without any issues. Lined with lamps spread out every few meters, it created a medieval-style atmosphere. There were massive paintings of unicorns and dragons on the walls, as well as a red carpet that ran along the decorated floor.

"Holy crap," Fang thought to himself. It exceeded far past his expectations.

To Fang's right were multiple doors identical to the one he just passed through, and at the end of the hall were options to head left or right, most likely leading to even more hallways. His left also had multiple doors, but at the very far end of the hall was a massive dungeon-like door. It made an imbalance in the aesthetic of the place.

Sonia pointed her finger at the massive dungeon-like door. "S-She's uh, in there. Lady Salika's bedroom..."

"Seriously...?" Fang said in disbelief. There was no way one girl needed a room that big.

Nodding, Sonia added. "Today is the Elpis Parade, a day to honor the Virtue of Hope Elpis. Salika is probably getting ready to attend right now... It might not be best to go in and disturb her-"

Ignoring the girl in his arms, Fang began walking toward the titan-like doors of Salika's chambers.

"I have too many questions," Fang said in his head. "Only Salika will be able to answer them."

"H-Hey! Didn't you l-l-listen to me...!" Sonia shouted strictly. She began pulling on Fang's black buttoned pajama shirt.

Fang sped up his walking pace before finally standing face-to-face with the massive door. It was maybe at least ten times taller than Fang. Sonia was still tugging on his black shirt trying to stop him, not even realizing he had already made it to the door.

A loud creaking was made. It was like the doors had detected the two of them, and suddenly, the doors began to slowly open outwards.

Fang quickly took some paces backward, letting the door open by itself. He was getting nervous for whatever reason, as if just now realizing he shouldn't be doing what he was doing. His body trembled just a bit.

"You've really done it now!" Sonia shouted, trying to make sure her voice was heard through the loud opening of Salika's doors. She put her hands on her face, looking away as if trying to protect her eyes from what was coming.

The doors became quiet, no longer creaking. They were now completely open, but it was nothing like Fang had expected.

Behind the massive door was a brick wall.

"You're kidding, right?" Fang said. His body began to relax—all that build-up for nothing.

Taking her hands off her face, Sonia took a peek at what was behind the door. It was indeed a brick wall.

"Aha! L-Lady Salika must not want visitors right now as you can see from that brick wall, haha..." Sonia said, beyond glad that the cold Salika who told her to clean a room with a dangerous imp wasn't behind the door.

Upon closer inspection, Fang noticed a small, circular yellow button in the middle of the wall. His body, without thinking, began to walk towards it.

"H-Hey! What do you think you're doing! Don't y-you listen! S-s-stop!" Sonia begged.

Chest height was the level of the yellow button. It had the letter "S" on it colored black. Fang looked at it curiously, wondering what it'd do if he pushed it.

The cries of Sonia were being slowly drowned out by Fang's undying interest. To meet his master, it was the only way. He had to press it.

Still holding Sonia, he turned to the left side of his body. Raising his left elbow slightly, he leaned forward against the button, pressing it. No sound besides a quiet click was made.

"Huh," Fang muttered disappointedly. He pressed the button again with his elbow. "It doesn't seem to do anything-"

In a flash, a red, cloudy, shadow-like hand emerged from out of the brick wall. It grabbed onto Fang's waist, holding it firmly within its grasp.

"What the-"

In an instant, Fang was pulled into the brick wall, passing straight through it like water. The wall itself created a ripple effect as it forcefully brought Fang in.

Sonia fell to the ground, landing on her butt on the red carpet that lined the floors. Her face was in shock. Her eyes were unable to see the red hand that stole her prince away from her, and that left her befuddled.

"Eh? Where did my prince go?"

Sonia, who was utterly confused, looked at the yellow button as it became green threads of magic that vanished into the air.

The large doors began closing after having abducted Fang. In a panic, Sonia crawled back, just narrowly avoiding the large doors from crushing her to death.

The doors finally shut. Sonia didn't know what to think. She was already used to Salika's doors nearly crushing her almost everyday, as well as the wall she created when she didn't want anyone bothering her, but it was the first time she had seen a button appear, and the first time she saw someone travel through the wall.

"M-M-My prince...? C-Come back!"