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Each of her knives hangs dangerously in the air, as if frozen in time. The silver-haired maid smiles casually at him.

"Won't you accompany me for a short while?" she says cheerfully.

This is most certainly unexpected, but he can't afford to panic. Grimnír forces himself to calm down. There is only one thing to do in a situation like this. He closes his eyes and rubs his forehead.

"Er... that is..." he mumbles, buying himself some time.

Think. An unexpected intruder who knows his identity... a girl in a french maid outfit... a threat of bodily harm if he doesn't cooperate. There isn't enough data to come up with a conclusion just yet. He looks into the girl's eyes. He can't read her expression, but she looks like she is expecting him to give in. But if that is the case, then..

Grimnír looks up and stares the girl in the eye.

"Huh... How rude."

"E-eh?" she says, taken aback.

"One generally introduces herself before asking a stranger to accompany her. Or maybe you're just the forward type?"

The girl stares blankly for a moment. Then she covers her mouth to stifle a giggle. While she is laughing, he takes this chance to take a better look at her. He notices something interesting.

"My, how clueless. You don't even realize that your life is on the line here, do you?"

Grimnír pauses and takes a good look around the room. He notices another little detail. He is sure now. Slowly, he smiles.

"Are you sure about that?" he says carefully. "From what I understand, my life is perfectly safe as it is."

"What are you talking about?"

"You have absolutely no intention of harming me, much less killing me."

"W-what?" she cries. "How can you be so sure?"

"If you wanted to kill me, then you would have done so while I was asleep. And if you only needed me alive, then you would have easily knocked me unconscious or broken my arms and legs so you could drag me out of here unseen. Therefore, that only leaves one possibility."

Grimnír smiles at her with confidence.

"You need me alive and intact."

"Ugh..."

"In fact, you were waiting patiently until I woke up, weren't you?"

The maid takes a step backward, suddenly cautious. Her eyes narrow at him. The knives suddenly vanish. She makes a strange motion with her hands. The pocketwatch disappears, and in its place is a single knife. The girl bites her lip before she speaks.

"How?" she whispers. "How did you know that I was waiting for you?"

Grimnír chuckles slightly.

"There was still the possibility that you just entered now. That would mean that you may still be willing to hurt me if I didn't cooperate with your request. However, you got careless, miss maid."

"Careless?"

The girl frowns at him.

"The first clue was your watch," he explains. "You were probably checking the time before I entered the bathroom. Perhaps you were feeling a little impatient?"

"..."

"But of course, it could have been a coincidence. It was the second clue that made me sure that you were already here, waiting for me."

"Second clue?"

Grimnír's smile widens. It really was a careless mistake. Slowly, he points his hand toward the western style toilet to the left. He hasn't taken his morning piss yet, but...

"The seat is down," he says.

"... what?"

"The guest rooms of Eientei each have their own bathrooms, so I left it up last night because I was too sleepy. You must have been here for a pretty long while if you had to take a bathroom break on the job, miss maid."

The girl turns white as he speaks. She opens her mouth, as if to argue. But then, she can't find any words to say. Slowly, her face turns beet red. She lowers her head, completely embarrassed and beaten.

For a moment, he almost feels sorry for the girl. Her plan failed completely, and now she has no way of forcing him to cooperate.

The tables have turned.
[ ] Force her to tell the whole truth. Use blackmail if you have to.
[ ] Force her to tell the whole truth. Use force if you have to.
[ ] Offer to forgive her if she tells you the truth.
[ ] Offer to assist her if she tells you the truth.
[ ] Leave her alone and prepare to leave.
[ ] Custom